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My Postulate: Brandon Jackson has not done enough to just be handed a spot on the Green Bay Packers 2010  roster.

Everywhere I look, I see Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson mentioned as the two “locks” at the running back spot for the Packers.  I say, not so fast…

This started out innocently enough as a look at the battle for the last running back spot on the Packers (that will be coming soon), but soon diverted into a full-fledged disparagement of Brandon Jackson. See, I admit it.

Now certainly, I can be fickle. There are certain things I expect from players at certain positions. Pretty key for a running back is to be productive when he gets the ball. Even though Ryan Grant doesn’t fit my perfect running back mold, I’ll never deny that he’s been productive and has done a good job for the Packers.

As for Jackson, his failures as a productive ground gainer and as a receiver are disturbing. One would think he would be perfect for the screen game, yet, with a few exceptions, he has mostly struggled there.  Read more... (623 words + 1 image, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)

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In this multi-part series, I will be examining the Green Bay Packers 2010 crop of undrafted free agents and analyzing  their chances of making the 53-man roster or practice squad. This first installment will deal with the wide receivers.

With 13 undrafted free agent rookies (UDFAs) currently on the 2010 roster, the Packers’ Ted Thompson will once again be spinning the “Undrafted Free Agent Wheel of Fortune.”

Will any of these 13 spins of the wheel land them a big win or will they hit bankrupt and go away empty-handed? Recent history indicates the Packers will walk away with at least a consolation prize. But before that happens, three of these players are likely to be let go to make room when Mike Neal and Bryan Bulaga sign contracts and if and when Atari Bigby signs his tender.

Since 1992, 21 undrafted free agents who signed with the Packers immediately after the draft have made the Packers season opening roster. Presently, there are 32 players on the Packers current roster who entered the league as undrafted free agents.  Read more... (1930 words + 1 image, estimated 7:43 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers bandwagon is sagging heavily from the load, and it seems like everyone wants to drive. Every new day seems to bring more and more pundits, writers, bloggers and fans touting the Packers as having the best ____ (fill in the blank) and guaranteeing Super Bowl wins.

The latest one just put me over the edge. For this I can thank the the evil wickedness of Greg Bedard, Packers reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Filled with malevolence or at best, sadistic capriciousness, he felt the need to bring this to my attention:

People, I have but one thing to say…

EVERYBODY. JUST. STOP.   ENOUGH!!!!

Please folks, find another team to be your darling. Nothing good ever comes of this type of wanton behavior.  The overwhelming majority of pre-season Super Bowl predictions are, get this, WRONG. And I say this as someone who correctly picked New Orleans last summer as my Super Bowl favorite. So you know what that makes me? Lucky – that’s all. You know what they say about blind squirrels.  Read more... (653 words, estimated 2:37 mins reading time)

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Vince Lombardi had 30 picks in his first draft.  The next year the AFL had its first draft of 33 rounds. Competition for picks was an all out war.  In today’s draft when the final pick is made, it becomes the Wild Wild West for GM’s working to sign the best of the UDFA’s.  With 32 teams drafting, and 7 rounds of picks, getting those picks right can cure or kill a team. Signing the lesser-known players you have scouted is just as important as getting those draft picks right.

(This article is by Lifetime Packer fan Don Christensen, a frequent contibutor as “Yoop” on the TalkinPackers Message Board, who weighs in today with his choices for the UDFAs with the best chances to stick with the team.)
NFL General Managers build teams from the top down with the draft, then from the bottom up developing young players. Many expect their top picks to start right away.  Last year, Clay Matthews made it to the Pro Bowl his rookie year.  But many high draft picks end up playing limited roles in their early years.  I believe the expectations the fans have of higher draft picks is unrealistic and the development of late round picks and undrafted players is greatly overlooked.  Read more... (1322 words + 1 image, estimated 5:17 mins reading time)

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As Green Bay Packers third round draft pick Morgan Burnett continues to impress Packers coach Mike Mccarthy, surely he is grinning inside and saying to himself, thank you Atari Bigby.

For a player that came on as an undrafted free agent, had one good year, and then missed 12 games the past two years, Atari Bigby seems surprisingly secure in not signing the Packers’ RFA tender offer. He was even willing to lose $54,000, as the Packers have the right to re-work the offer to 110% of his 2009 salary and surely will.

While I have no problem with players trying to get as much  money as they can, it seems fairly obvious to everyone except Bigby and his agent Drew Rosenhaus that they have no leverage to seek a long-term deal. But I’m not here to write about that, as the topic has been covered pretty concisely elsewhere. (One good treatise on the subject can be found here: The Game of Atari )

But while Atari stays away from the Packers’ OTAs, Morgan Burnett is getting all the first team reps and his star continues to rise, especially in the eyes of Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy has made it a point to compliment Burnett in every press conference he’s held since the Packers started their Organized Team Activities (OTAs).  Read more... (864 words + 1 image, estimated 3:27 mins reading time)

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So are OTAs (Organized Team Activities) really necessary? As we all know, Green Bay Packers bloggers have been known to argue just about any point. I was reminded of this fact today as I briefly checked into my twitter account. (I am trying to avoid twitter during the day so I can make it home and watch my “Tivoed” World Cup games without knowing the scores).

But I decided to take a chance today (no games I was THAT interested in today), and see what’s going on. Well, right off the bat, I run into, say, “a difference of opinion” between Packer blogger extraordinaires Brian Carriveau and Aaron Nagler.

Seems that Aaron is outright questioning the value of OTAs, and Brian felt the need to respond with reasons why he thinks they’re important. Here’s how the discussion went:  Read more... (1093 words + 1 image, estimated 4:22 mins reading time)

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As the Green Bay Packers’ 2010 voluntary OTAs get underway, it’s apparent the Packers coaching staff have some different positional ideas for this year’s defense.

Will Blackmon is moving to safety, Ryan Pickett is moving to left DE, BJ Raji is back at nose tackle, Brady Poppinga was the first team LOLB and Jarret Bush is now strictly a corner (insert joke here…).

The defensive line change was the first one revealed, where the Packers have decided to have BJ Raji and Ryan Pickett switch positions. For the foreseeable future, BJ Raji will be at the position he was drafted to play, nose tackle, and Jenkins will move out to left defensive end.

For his part, Pickett said all the right things, “Personally I think because B.J. is more of a nose and his body type, I’m a little taller, a little different style than him,” Pickett said. “They thought that would be the best move to help the team. and I was like, ‘All right, that’s fine,’ even though that wasn’t my first desire to play end.”  Read more... (1018 words + 1 image, estimated 4:04 mins reading time)

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