Al: After their week of rest, Packers players returned to the locker room on Monday and were greeted with a surprise – Monday practice would be padded. While players did not expect it, there was no grumbling and in fact, it got their juices flowing again, according to some players. McCarthy was sending a message that it’s no time to be lazy or complacent, and he will still have the usual Thursday padded practice, making this the one week of the season he is allowed to hold two padded practices.
Jayme: There was a flurry of Roster moves in Packerland this week. Moving out were Alex Green, who was placed on IR and Cecil Newton, who was cut from the practice squad. Moving in was Brandon Saine, signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad just in time to make the team picture. Then to fill out the practice squad, the Packers signed center Paul Fenaroli and brought back safety Anthony Levine, who spent last season on the Packers’ practice squad. Read more...(785 words + 1 image, estimated 3:08 mins reading time)
Al: Well, last week was Throwbackweekend, the first of hopefully many more such events that brought members of the Packers blogosphere to beautiful Green Bay Wisconsin. Fans came from all over the country for a Saturday Night tweetup at The Abbey Bar in De Pere and a pre-game tailgate in the shadows of Lambeau. Raucus fun was had by all, and yes, we all survived…
Jayme: Sounds like a great t-shirt idea! Speaking of which, effervescent Packers tight end Tom Crabtree was present at Saturday Night’s tweetup, with samples of his new T-Shirt line. Tom signed autographs and posed for pictures for a full hour before heading home to start getting his game-face on for Sunday. In addition to Tom, the tweetup was also graced by the presence of some local Packers writers, namely Jason Wilde, Rob Demovsky, Kareem Copeland, Ty Dunne and Chris Jenkins. Next year, we work on Bob McGinn… Read more...(819 words + 1 image, estimated 3:17 mins reading time)
Al: The Packers dispatched the Falcons Sunday night, but despite the win, several Packers were left with a bitter taste in their mouths. Seems that many Packers consider the Falcons to be a dirty team. Late hits, going for the leags and the old bait and flop routine were some of the complaints. Seems the Falcons live up to their nickname, the Dirty Birds.
Jayme: Well the chains have been taken off of Bryan Bulaga. Bulaga has been permitted to participate this week, much to his delight. Bulaga is wearing a knee brace as a precaution, and has looked fine in practice. According to Mike McCarthy, Bulaga participated in some one-on-one blocking drills with the defensive line and was moving well. No word yet on his status for Sunday, but Bulaga of course is optimistic he’ll be cleared to play. Read more...(797 words + 1 image, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)
Al: Jordy Nelson was shown a little Packers love this week, as Ted Thompson wrapped up the blossoming wide receiver for another 3 years. Nelson’s contract will be worth 13.2 million over 4 years. Nelson’s comments were fantastic, “I think some people are in this league to get the money, and are excited about it. For myself, I love winning. I don’t know why you would want to leave a team like this, an organization like this.”
Jayme: Great that he feels that way and it would be hard not to when your quarterback is Aaron Rodgers, who was honored as NFC offensive player of the week for the second time in 4 games. Rodgers won the award for his record-setting performance, when he became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards, throw four touchdown passes and run for two all in the same game. Read more...(803 words + 1 image, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)
Al:The news coming out of Mike McCarthy’s press conference yesterday was not good. Injured Packers defensive end Mike Neal will be missing more games after undergoing a surgical procedure on Tuesday. Details of the procedure were not released, but Mike McCarthy said the doctors were pleased with how it went. McCarthy would only say Neal will miss “significant weeks,” but he doesn’t think it would be long enough to put Neal on injured reserve.
Jayme: The news was better about Tramon Williams. Thanks to the extra 3 days between games, McCarthy believes Williams’ shoulder could be improved enough for him to play Sunday at Carolina.
McCarthy also said that it wasn’t a requirement Williams be able to practice this week to play in the game. Sounds like Mike really doesn’t want to play the game without him… Read more...(723 words + 1 image, estimated 2:54 mins reading time)
Last season AllGreenBayPackers.com received an exclusive peak inside the Packers locker room before they faced the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome. Through tireless reporting and source development, we were granted access to the locker room on the first day of training camp last weekend. Here’s what went down.
All the Packers coaches are gathered in the locker room. Mike McCarthy arrives
McCarthy: When are the players supposed to get here? I thought everyone was so excited to have football back. Why are they not in here already?
Winston Moss: They’re all in the Hall of Fame down the street, staring at our Super Bowl trophy. I sent Capers to go get them. The players are frightened by his hair, so they’ll probably come running back here once they see him coming.
The locker room door opens and players start coming in. Rodgers has a perfect tan, and is accompanied by two beautiful young women – one blonde, one brunette – both with tattoos on their lower backs. Tom Crabtree walks headfirst into the wall because he was Tweeting instead of paying attention to where he was going. Ryan Pickett and Howard Green start punching each other over who gets to go through the post-practice buffet line first.Read more...(853 words + 1 image, estimated 3:25 mins reading time)
Al: This past week marked the return of Packers President Mark Murphy to the NFL negotiating table. It also has been full of optimistic news about the potential end to the lockout with the players to vote on Wednesday on a proposed settlement. It could be coincidence, or as CheeseheadTV’s Aaron Nagler suggests, Murphy’s presence might have made a difference.
Holly: Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio attempted this week to put together a list of things the Packers need to do when football resumes. Unfortunately, the very first one was an epic fail. He listed Howard Green and C.J. Wilson as the candidates to replace Cullen Jenkins – completely ignoring the guy that will surely have the job, Mike Neal. Neal took it in stride on twitter and said he will use it as additional motivation. Read more...(800 words + 1 image, estimated 3:12 mins reading time)
