Category Archives: Seasons

22

May

Packers Coaches Campen, Slocum Out of the Fire?

James Campen

Is James Campen finally off the hook in the eyes of Packers fans?

There’s been something missing this offseason, and I’ve finally figured out what it is: the annual tirade of Packers fans against special teams coach Shawn Slocum and offensive line coach James Campen. What once was a common occurrence has quietly but certainly escaped from our foremost thoughts. They have only been mentioned in mere passing in recent news stories, and even the most rabid of fans have barely even whispered their names.

All of this, evidently, must be a good thing.

Just about 11 months ago, our own Zach Kruse wrote a post detailing five areas in which the Packers could improve in 2011, despite having won a Super Bowl title the previous year. Three of those areas were Kick and Punt Returning, Kick and Punt Coverage, and Pass Protection. In revisiting those now, we’ve seen some noteworthy improvements.

In first looking at Special Teams, the addition of Randall Cobb as a punt and kick returner was huge. Not only did he win the NFL Honors Play of the Year for his 108-yard kickoff return against the New Orleans Saints, but he made a significant mark on the statistics sheets. In yards per punt return, Cobb ranked third in the NFL (13.4), and he ranked seventh in yards per kickoff return (27.6).

21

May

Watch the Video: Week 10 (The Finals) of Packers’ Donald Driver on Dancing With the Stars: Freestyle

Video from week 10 (The Finals) of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. Lets see what Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd came up with for the Freestyle dance:

 

Donald and Peta finished the season with their first perfect 10s across the board.  Len Goodman finally broke down and awarded Donald a 10 for the first time. Bravo Donald and Peta.

Remember to vote:  1-800-868-3403 or vote online here (until 10:00AM CT , 5/22/12).

 

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You can follow Jersey Al on Facebook and Twitter .

#82914 on the Packers Season Ticket Waiting List.

Be sure to bookmark Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com where we are "All Packers All the Time"

Jersey Al Bracco can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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21

May

Watch the Video: Week 10 (The Finals) of Packers’ Donald Driver on Dancing With the Stars: Argentine Tango

Video from week 10 (The Finals) of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. Lets see how Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd perform the Argentine Tango:

 

 

Donald and Peta matched their season high (set just last week) with a score of 29 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba (10), Len Goodman (9) and Bruno Tonioli (10). Goodman has still not awarded the pair a 10, consistently finding something  imperfect with Donald and Peta’s performances. This time around, he thought they played it a bit safe.

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You can follow Jersey Al on Facebook and Twitter .

#82914 on the Packers Season Ticket Waiting List.

Be sure to bookmark Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com where we are "All Packers All the Time"

Jersey Al Bracco can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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21

May

Packers President Mark Murphy: Could He Be Leaving for Stanford?

Could the Packers lose their President?

Mark Murphy, current President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, is reportedly interested in the Athletic Director job at the University of Stanford.  The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to break the possibility of Murphy leaving Green Bay.

The job as the AD of Stanford became available when previous AD Bob Bowlsby took a job as commissioner of the Big 12.  Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette reported today that Murphy tried to get the Stanford athletic director job in 2006, but Bowlsby got the job.

While the idea of leaving one of the most successful franchises in the NFL for a college may seem like a step down, Murphy has a long and rich history with the college game.

The bigger question that needs to be answered is what is happening with the Packers’ front office?

With so many coaches and staff leaving this offseason (i.e. Joe Philbin, Reggie McKenzie, etc.), losing Murphy could be another tumultuous hit to Green Bay.  It’s understandable that other teams or schools want to hire successful people, but at what point do the Packers need to pony-up some dough to keep these guys around?

21

May

Donald Driver: Is It Packer Nation Vs Ted Thompson Part Two?

Packers WR Donald Driver

Have Packer fans seen the last of Driver's trademark smile?

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver learned a brutal lesson last week on the power of social media.

Driver, whose place on the Packers’ 2012 roster is most certainly up in the air, sent out the following message on Twitter this past Thursday:

“Hello everyone: I’m a packer for life. It will never change. Go Pack Go!!!!”

With that comment, Packer Nation immediately awoke from its post-draft slumber. Had the Packers decided to hang onto one of the most beloved players in franchise history or was this a way for Driver to cryptically inform Cheeseheads all over the world that his time in green and gold was indeed up?

Even after clarifications issued by Driver and his agent, Jordon Woy, it’s currently the hot topic around the water cooler for Packer fans everywhere. Some see things through the eyes of GM Ted Thompson and say that while they will always love Driver, the Packers are so deep at the wide receiver position that Driver has to be a casualty to keep players like Tori Gurley on the roster.

21

May

Questioning the “Effort” and “Motor” of the Packers’ Nick Perry

Nick Perry

It's too early to question Nick Perry's effort.

There are several words used by analysts to describe college players entering the NFL draft that drive me crazy.

Examples include:

  • Athletic. What does it mean to be athletic? Shouldn’t all athletes getting paid to play sports be considered athletic?
  • High upside. How many teams draft players because they have little or no upside?
  • Get-off. This is a newer term and it’s just weird. Am I reading about NFL prospects or porn actors?

Perhaps my least favorite words, however, are “effort” and “motor.” I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think effort has to do with how hard you try and motor has something to do with how hard you try throughout an entire play/game/season (I’m not sure about motor. It’s another one of those words, like “athletic,” that people tend to throw out there even though they really don’t know what it means).

Nearly every prospect is judged as either a max-effort guy with a high motor or someone whose effort is questionable with a motor that runs hot and cold.

20

May

Surviving Sunday: Packers News, Notes and Links for the Football Deprived

Surviving Sunday with no Packers football.

Surviving Sunday with no Packers Football

This is the time of year when we plant our flowers/veggies while NFL teams hold rookie camps. There are some parallels there.

We select what we think look like healthy new plants/vegetables, and give them an initial strong foundation, planting them firmly in the ground. We then watch over them, monitoring their progress and giving them the care and nurturing they need to sprout into flower or veggie-producing mature plants.

NFL teams pick this years plants (rookies) in the April draft and the free agency period in the days following. Rookie mini-camps are held, where the players are given their initial foundation of knowledge with regards to team operations and offensive/defensive schemes. They are evaluated by the coaching staff, who then decide what kind of individualized ongoing attention and care they will need.

Training expectations are established and their progress is monitored and assisted. The goal is for these young players to develop and blossom into valuable producers in their own right.

Staying on that theme, today’s “Surviving Sunday” will focus on these new Packers players. While we all know their names by now, here are some articles that will tell us a little more about some of these players.