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This third and final look at some lesser-known Packers were all signed as Undrafted Free Agents (UDFAs) after the 2010 NFL draft. All three spent parts of the  season on the Packers practice squad and were signed to futures contracts after the Super Bowl. I guess you could call them the “veterans” of the Packers’ lesser-knowns. Without further ado…

Chris Campbell, Eastern Illinois, 6’5”, 328lbs.  Pro day Stats: 5.28 40yd time, 1.77 10yd time, 4,14 20yd shuttle, 8.08 3-cone, 25” vertical, 14 reps@225lbs, and a 8’0” broad jump. Ranked 18 out of 96  Wide receivers by NFLDraftScout.com.

Scouting Report:  Campbell has the talent to become a good starting left tackle, but he has a lot of work to do first. He is a tall, well-built prospect with the long arms, quickness and athleticism to slide out and block edge pass rushers. He also has the agility to move outside and block effectively in space. Despite these positives, Campbell won’t be a high pick because his technique is very raw and he gets beaten too often. He won’t be able to contribute any time soon, which is why he’ll most likely be a seventh-round pick or a free agent.  Read more... (1104 words + 3 images, estimated 4:25 mins reading time)

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With the 32^nd pick, the Super Bowl Champions selected Derek Sherrod, offensive tackle from Mississippi State and raised one big question, where is he going to play?  The question stems from the 2010 NFL draft, where the Packers used their 1^st round selection to nab offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga from Iowa.

Bulaga and Sherrod seem to have a lot in common; both players were predicted to be drafted far ahead of where they actually ended up and both were technically sound and athletic offensive linemen who weren’t as highly touted as some of the other offensive linemen in their respective drafts (such as Russel Okung and Trent Williams in 2010 and Gabe Carimi and Tyron Smith in 2011).  Both are considered more technicians than maulers and were considered left tackle prospects.

The Packers have claimed after drafting Sherrod that both will get a chance to battle it out in training camp, but lets see how they compare to each other and who fits the mold of a left tackle.  Below is a side by side comparison of Bulaga and Sherrod.  I don’t claim to be a evaluator of talent, so I’ve used analysis from CBSports.com (most likely written by Rob Rang), Doug Farrar (of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner and Football Outsiders) and Kevin Seifert (of ESPN).  Read more... (1477 words + 1 image, estimated 5:54 mins reading time)

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Weekly Packers News from Twitter and other sources by Al Bracco and Jayme Joers. (As heard on Cheesehead Radio. 8/19/10 )

Packers News – 8/13/10 – 8/19/10

AL: Rumors were swirling this week that Al Harris could be cleared to start practicing with the team this upcoming Monday. Although no one from the Packers or the NFL would confirm that, Harris was seen working out on his own during practice for the first time.

Jayme: That’s sure a good sign Al…   And another good sign was the return to practice of the only real punt returner the Packers have, Will Blackmon. After resting his knee for the last week, Blackmon said his knee felt better so he decided to get back out there to work on his transition to safety. Blackmon also worked on catching punts, which everyone agreed, he looked very good at. Afterwards, Blackmon remarked that he can return punts “in his sleep.”

AL: Hmm, as opposed to some other returners that seemed to be asleep…    Certainly not asleep last Saturday was the Packers first team offensive line. They graded out very well, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. Despite a preponderance of blitzes from the Cleveland Browns, they managed to keep Aaron Rodgers unsacked and untouched. The second team line did not fare so well, testing Flynn’s manhood as he absorbed some really hard hits.  Read more... (712 words + 1 image, estimated 2:51 mins reading time)

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Weekly Packers News from Twitter and other Sources by Al Bracco and Holly Phelps. (As heard on Cheesehead Radio. 8/12/10 )

Packers News – 8/5/10 – 8/12/10

Al: Packers coach Mike McCarthy was pretty vocal this week in giving out both praise and criticism. He talked up AJ Hawk for his scrimmage performance and for having an excellent camp in general. At the same time, he was unusually candid about Jarius Wynn, saying Wynn has just been OK and needs to step it up. Not surprisingly, Wynn was seen winning a lot of his one-on-one matchups during the next practice. And thanks to Greg Bedard, you can watch it after the show on jsonline.com, including Wynn’s pancake of Chris Campbell.

{Holly:I guess he got the message.}

Holly: And speaking of motivational factors, Donald Driver has a lot more to play for these days, as in another two years on his contract. The Packers extended Driver’s deal through the 2012 season, prompting Driver to say he wants to prove the Packers right and then retire as a Green Bay Packer.

{Al: That will certainly be a bitter sweet day when Donald hangs up the cleats.}  Read more... (875 words + 1 image, estimated 3:30 mins reading time)

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While the Green Bay Packers are still in the early stages of training camp, I usually like to pay more attention to the second units. This seems especially true this year, as there aren’t many starting spots up for grabs (left guard and fullback, maybe).

So my interest then turns to who will be called upon to save the day in case of injury to a Packers starter. To that end, I fired up the Family Night scrimmage on the DVR and put the old slow motion remote to use. Time for a little dissection by DVR.

Some observations…

Bryan Bulaga: I can see why Mike McCarthy is giving Bulaga a chance at a starting job. Bulaga was almost perfect in his Packers debut. He wasn’t beaten once. Whether out on the edge with a linebacker or further inside battling the likes of Cullen Jenkins, Bulaga stood his ground and neutralized the pass rush. He showed quick feet, a good punch, excellent balance and proper body position. I can’t say enough about how solid he looked. the Packers didn’t run enough with the twos to make an evaluation on his run blocking.

Marshall Newhouse is going to have a hard time making this team. He displayed a lack of strength and was easily thrown off balance, but in his defense, he was given reps at left tackle, which is not a position he’ll play in the NFL. Newhouse needs to build a lot more strength and then be used at guard, where his football smarts will help him more. As I have written previously, I believe Newhouse is destined for the practice squad, at best.  Read more... (833 words + 1 image, estimated 3:20 mins reading time)

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Call him the Florida Flash.  By now, most Packers fans know that Sam Shields can outright fly. Shields himself knows that putting that speed to use on the playing field will be his ticket to outpace other candidates for a spot on the 53-man roster. Let’s just say that after his 98 yard interception at the family night scrimmage, Shields has made a good first impression.

I generally like to do my undrafted free agent evaluations before training camp starts, so I can make more of a “blind”  evaluation uninfluenced by camp performances (I like the challenge). While in the previous weeks I covered the wide receivers, running backs and offensive linemen free agents, there just hasn’t been time to get to the defensive UDFAs.

But there are a couple of defensive UDFAs in camp that are worthy of a “better late than never” evaluation, and we’ll start with Sam Shields.

Shields was born in Sarasota Florida and played football there for Booker High School. After a senior year where Shields caught 67 passes for 1,201 yards (17.9 avg.) and 22 TDs, as well as two TDs on punt returns and a 44 yd average on kickoff returns, Shields was a top-20 nationally ranked WR recruit. Shields chose the University of Miami over Florida, LSU and other suitors.  Read more... (1084 words + 1 image, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

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