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Kris with Tom Crabtree

Tom Crabtree stood on stage and told all of us he hoped never to see us again.

No, the Green Bay Packers tight end didn’t go all “Jay Cutler emo” on us.  What he meant was that he didn’t want to see us at the 2013 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes because he wanted a cure to be found by then and therefore nullifying the need for a walk.   People in attendance, including yours truly, applauded.

That’s why we were there. We weren’t there to talk football (although I sheepishly admit I asked a few football questions), we were there to spend time together and hear stories of people’s heroic battles against Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) of which there obviously is no known cure.

This cause means a great deal to Crabtree personally.  His wife Chelsea was diagnosed with T1D when she was four years old. He lives the disease every single day of his life, and so do many others.  More than 80 people are diagnosed with T1 each day and more than 3 million Americans currently have the disease.  Read more... (1012 words + 1 image, estimated 4:03 mins reading time)

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Aaron Rodgers stock fell a bit during the playoff loss to the Giants, but it remains high heading into next season.

The Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl and there will be no more meaningful football games for the next six months. That’s six months to reflect on how a team that lost twice to the Redskins during the regular season could go on to knock off the mighty Packers in the playoffs and keep rolling all the way to the Lombardi Trophy.

Depressing.

It’s hard to find a silver lining, but if you’re searching for one, take a few minutes and look over the Packers roster. It’s pretty good. Go ahead and cross off some of the players you think won’t be around next season, and it’s still pretty good. This team is going to contend again next season, and probably for the next couple of seasons after that. At least Packers fans have something to look forward to.

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks at AllGBP.com evaluating and grading every player on the Packers roster. Those report cards are done now, and it’s time to put this season in the rearview mirror.  Read more... (1632 words + 1 image, estimated 6:32 mins reading time)

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Tom Crabtree

1) Introduction: The Packers signed Crabtree to the practice squad late in the 2009 season, then the gritty tight end surprised by making the Packers 53-man roster out of training camp in 2010. Despite a recent revolution at the position, Crabtree is a throwback player who’s primarily asked to block and be a contributor on special teams.

 

2) Profile:

Tom Crabtree

Position: TE
Height: 6-4
Weight: 245 lbs.
AGE: 26

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: The Packers drafted two tight ends in April, including one (Ryan Taylor) who possessed a skill set that resembles Crabtree’s. Five tight ends then came to camp with a chance to crack the 53-man roster, including Crabtree, and all five ended up making the team. Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson weren’t willing to give up Crabtree’s blocking and experience on special teams. Expectations for 2011 were that Crabtree would reprise those far from glamourous roles.  Read more... (547 words + 1 image, estimated 2:11 mins reading time)

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Andrew Quarless

1) Introduction: When the Packers drafted Quarless in the fifth round of the 2010 draft, few thought his impact on the following season would be as profound as it ending up being. At the moment when Jermichael Finley tore up his knee in Week 5 at Washington, Quarless had exactly 12 career professional snaps. From that point on, Quarless played over 500 for a Packers team that ended up winning the Super Bowl.

2) Profile:

Andrew Christopher Quarless

Position: TE
Height: 6-4
Weight: 252 lbs.
AGE: 23

Career Stats

3) Expectations coming into the season: Some saw a mini-Finley in Quarless when he came out of Penn State, but there were never the flashes of elite athleticism from Quarless in 2010 like Finley showed during his rookie season. After an injury in camp and the drafting of both D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor, a number of people thought that Quarless might not make the final roster. He made the 53, but expectations for the second-year tight end were low.  Read more... (433 words + 1 image, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)

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Packers TE Jermichael Finley led his position in drops with 14.

It might be difficult to say that a team that won 15 regular season games went through many “struggles,” but the truth is that the 2011-12 Green Bay Packers had their fair share of significant flaws that were successfully covered up for most of the season. In the end, all four of them came back to bite the Packers in their 37-20 loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Divisional Round.

The weaknesses I speak of could be summarized by a high percentage of Packers fans. But while those defects pass the eye test, they also pass the stat test. Using numbers from Pro Football Focus, we can take a closer look at just how poorly the Packers played in certain areas of the game this season.

Missed tackles: 109  Read more... (983 words + 1 image, estimated 3:56 mins reading time)

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Jermichael Finley has the drops

The party’s over, folks.

For the first time in one day shy of a full calendar year, the Green Bay Packers lost a game.  The whole team was flat in a 19-14 loss to the 5-8 Kansas City Chiefs.   The Packers’ dream of an undefeated season en route to a second consecutive world championship came to a screeching halt at Arrowhead Stadium.

After having a chance to come to terms with the defeat, it interested me to see what the fan reaction was to the Packers falling to 13-1 on the season.  The responses were about what I expected.

Some were sad, some were sad yet relieved that the Packers wouldn’t have the pressure of a perfect season on them entering the postseason and others were on the ledge and ready to jump so to speak.   Being a fan is an emotional investment in a team and an emotional like this is expected to draw a wide range of reactions.

In particular, the reaction to one particular player’s performance caught my eye: tight end Jermichael Finley.  Finley had another rough game as his habit of dropping passes continued.  A few of his catches may (may) have cost the Packers some points.  We will never know for sure.  Read more... (1193 words + 1 image, estimated 4:46 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed on Monday that tight end Andrew Quarless would be lost for the rest of the season due to a “significant” knee injury. Quarless was hurt on a kickoff in the second half on a horrific looking sequence that saw the second-year tight end’s knee buckle underneath him. He’ll have surgery in the upcoming weeks.

The injury is a tough break for Quarless, who was coming into his own as the Packers primary run blocking tight end this season. Quarless was also becoming a core cog in the Packers special teams coverage. To replace him, the Packers will likely lean more on Tom Crabtree in blocking sets and also rookies D.J. Williams and Ryan Taylor.

There was a silver lining Monday, as McCarthy said that the medical staff felt good about Charles Woodson’s status for this week after suffering a concussion in the second half Sunday. Woodson banged helmets with Ahmad Bradshaw in the flats and didn’t return. An independent neurologist will still have to evaluate and clear Woodson for practice and game participation, but that’s an encouraging sign for the Packers’ upcoming game with the Oakland Raiders this Sunday.  Read more... (511 words + 1 image, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)

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