Category Archives: Donald Driver

30

December

Packers vs. Vikings – Game Day First Impressions, Unfiltered: GB 34 MIN 37

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson

Peterson scores an early touchdown and helps Minnesota secure the win but falls 9 yards shy of the single-season rushing record

Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings:

I’m taking the reins for Jersey Al in today’s Game Day First Impressions.  Here are my unfitered game day running blog post of comments and observations.

Inactive for Packers today:

WR Randall Cobb, RB James Starks, S Charles Woodson, CB Davon House, LB Terrell Manning, WR Donald Driver, DT Jordan Miller

Inactive for Vikings today: 

QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, WR Stephen Burton, CB Brandon Burton, S Robert Blanton, LB Audie Cole, OL Troy Kropog, DE D’Aundre Reed

Game Notes:

Adrian Peterson needs just 205 rushing yards to eclipse Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set in 1984

Packers can clinch the second playoff seed with a victory today.  Can still clinch #2 seed with a loss coupled with a San Francisco loss and a Seattle loss or tie

WR Jordy Nelson (hamstring) returns for the first time since the December 2nd meeting against the Vikings.  DE C.J. Wilson (knee) returns for the first time since late November

Jeremy Ross will assume kick return duties today with Cobb out

Packers can even their all-time record at Metrodome to 15-15 with a win. Have a chance to win three in a row in Minnesota since ’82 – ’85 seasons

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Mike McCarthy Pregame Show on 620 WTMJ:

Motivation today with playoff implications looming:  Playing to sweep division which is our goal in training camp.  Thursday’s padded practice was sharp

24

December

This is a Very Likable Packers Team

DuJuan Harris

DuJuan Harris is one of the players that makes this a very likable Packers team.

As I was watching the Packers 55-7 win over the Titans on Sunday, I realized that this is the most likable Packers team I’ve seen in a long time.

Of course, it’s the Packers. I’ll like the Packers no matter what. You could make Bernie Maddoff the quarterback and Dick Cheney head coach and I’d still bleed green and gold.

But this team is just really likable. Every category of likability is covered.

There’s Aaron Rodgers, the golden-boy MVP quarterback. Super talented, open with fans, funny, intense, exciting to watch, confident…I could go on and on…

There’s Mike McCarthy, the coach who seems to have a knack for guiding his teams through injury and adversity. McCarthy also isn’t one of those annoying fake tough guy, look-at-me kind of coaches (see: Schwatz, Jim and Carroll, Pete). He also doesn’t completely blow off the media, and every now and then gives us great lines like “We’re nobody’s underdog,” or “Self-pity is a waste of time, it’s a wasted emotion.”

There’s a young secondary that keeps getting better. Every likable team needs players that people do not know much about, but play so well that people are forced to care as the season progresses. That’s what’s happening with Casey Hayward, Jerron McMillian, Sam Shields and M.D. Jennings.

27

November

How to Forget About the Packers Losing to the Giants (Hint: It Involves Beer)

Packers and Beer.

Packers and Beer.

The Packers got destroyed on Sunday night. It really wasn’t much of a game from about the middle of the second quarter on.

I’m not used to the Packers getting blown out, so I didn’t know how to react. My mind started wandering in the second half.

Instead of panicking or trying to figure out why my favorite football team just laid an egg on national TV, I started thinking about which Packers players reminded me of certain types of beer.

I like beer. I like the Packers. Thinking about beer and the Packers is a lot more fun than being depressed about the Packers losing to the Giants.

Here are my random thoughts on which Packers (and some non-Packers) remind me of certain types of beer. If you also want to take your mind off of Sunday night, use the comments section to chime in with some of your own comparisons.

Packers & Beer
Ryan Pickett: Darkness. Heavy and strong. Overwhelming if you’re not ready for it.

Tramon Williams: Grain Belt Nordeast. Punches the clock and comes ready to work every day.

Mike Neal: Michelob Golden Draft Light. Careful, the bottle breaks easily.

Donald Driver: Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss. There are better options, but it remains a Wisconsin favorite.

Clay Matthews: Size 7 IPA. A little undersized, but brings it every time you pour one.

Jermichael Finley: Ten Cent Strohs. Whenever Finley drops a pass or says something stupid, fans pound ten cent Stroh’s and this happens.

8

November

Packers Playbook (aka Hobbjective Analysis): Week 9 versus Arizona Cardinals

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Packers win over the Arizona Cardinals was that they run the ball effectively.  I’m pretty sure Packers fans were as surprised by me, but the Packers really ran the ball well and actually committed to giving their backs enough reps to feel comfortable with the offense.  The final stat line: Alex Green (11 rushes for 53 yards, 4.8YPC), James Starks (17 rushes for 61 yards, 3.6YPC), is a stark contrast from last weeks game against the Jacksonville Jaguars where Alex Green gained one more yard, but took him double the amount of carries to get there (22 caries for 54 yards, 2.5 YPC).  So the question becomes, why were the Packers so terrible at running the ball against the Jaguars, who have one of the worst defenses in the league at the moment but so dominant against the Arizona Cardinals, whose defense might be the only reason why they’ve even won four games?


The situation: The score is tied at 7 a piece in the beginning of the 2nd quarter.  After a costly fumble/interception by Randall Cobb, one long pass to Andre Roberts and one failed goal line stance (though the defense read the play right), means that the Packers offense wants to respond quickly to the turnover and quick touchdown, and in this instance the Packers elect to slow the pace down and wear the Cardinals defense a little bit, which means pound the rock. The very first play is a designed run by Randall Cobb and this is the second play in the drive.

29

October

Game Balls and Lame Calls: Packers 24, Jaguars 15

Aaron Rodgers

QB Aaron Rodgers was good but not spectacular for the Packers in their 24-15 win over the Jaguars

It was ugly but the Green Bay Packers will take it.

The Packers offense was not firing on all cylinders Sunday without their top two receivers in Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson, but thankfully the defense was up to the task against a relatively impotent offense as the Packers hung on in an ugly 24-15 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Aaron Rodgers was good but not stellar as he missed his two favorite targets and Alex Green had a fair if not unimpressive performance against the Jaguars.   The defense, despite a third quarter touchdown, played solid in the red zone and kept the Jaguars out of the end zone for the rest of the game.

It would be unfair to say the Packers offense suddenly regressed thanks to injuries at wide receiver, but the running game needs to get going.  The defense also has been hobbled by injuries, but some bad habits seem to be resurfacing despite the unit’s overall solid play in the win.

Here’s who stood out and who didn’t in the win over the Jaguars.

Game Balls

S Morgan Burnett

People were watching to see how the secondary would do with the loss of Charles Woodson and Burnett came up big.  He had an interception, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and led the team with nine tackles.

26

October

2012 NFL Regular Season Week 8: Packers vs Jaguars Preview

Aaron Rodgers

The Packers offense and Aaron Rodgers should keep rolling against the Jaguars

The Green Bay Packers seem to be on a roll.

One week after their statement victory over the Houston Texans, the Packers followed it up with a 30-20 win over the improved St. Louis Rams.  Aaron Rodgers continued his recent hot streak, going 30 of 37 for 342 yards and three touchdowns.  The offense seemingly has emerged from doldrums it was in early in the season.

This week, the Packers go into a game that by all signs appears to be a cakewalk against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The Jaguars very likely will go into the game without their star running back Maurice Jones-Drew and their improving but still struggling starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert.   In their places will be Rashad Jennings at running back and Chad Henne at quarterback.

The Packers come into the game without Greg Jennings and perhaps without Jordy Nelson, who is nursing a hamstring injury.  This would leave a receiver group of James Jones, Randall Cobb, Donald Driver and Jarrett Boykin.  The Packers will also not have Charles Woodson on defense who will be out for six weeks with a broken collarbone.

Scouting the Jaguars

On paper, it looks like the Jaguars don’t have a fighting chance against the Packers but it’s still the NFL.  They still have to play the games and anything can happen.

20

October

2012 NFL Regular Season Week 7: Packers vs Rams Preview

Aaron Rodgers

Can Aaron Rodgers keep the offense on a roll against the improved Rams?

There is nothing wrong with Aaron Rodgers. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with Aaron Rodgers.

Any doubts about issues the Green Bay Packers may have been having on offense were silenced permanently last Sunday as Rodgers threw a franchise record-tying six touchdown passes as the Packers shredded the NFL’s best defense in a 42-24 win over the Houston Texans.  The win moves the Packers back to 3-3 on the season and helped alleviate any concerns fans may have had about the direction of the team.

The Packers now move on to face the St. Louis Rams, who also stand at 3-3 and are one of the league’s more improved teams.  That said, this is a game the Packers should win and really have no business losing.   The Packers lost to one of the league’s best teams in the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, but have lost to the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks* as well. (* is citing the controversial ending to that infamous game).

They’ve beating the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints and Texans who all are considered some of the better teams in the NFL

Can the Packers get above .500 for the first time all season and finally beat a team they should have no problem beating?

Scouting the Rams