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1) Introduction: A fifth round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2003, Donald Lee was signed in free agency by the Green Bay Packers in 2005. His career hasn’t been as bright as some other tight ends in Green Bay history; nevertheless, he did serve his role well in the Packers’ “transition” from Bubba Franks to Jermichael Finley. From 2007-2009, Lee had a combined 124 receptions for 1,138 yards and 12 touchdowns.

2) Profile:

Donald Tywon Lee

Position: TE
Height: 6-3    Weight: 255 lbs.

Born: August 31, 1980 in Maben, MS
College: Mississippi State   (school history)    (Lee college stats)
Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 5th round (156th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season: With the emergence of superstar Jermichael Finley, Donald Lee’s role this season fell significantly. In fact, the only thing keeping Lee on the roster seemed to be his veteran experience. After the Packers drafted Andrew Quarless and signed Tom Crabtree, the tight end position suddenly became more crowded. Lee was still expected to perform to his previous level of play, but it was clear the younger players were taking over quickly.  Read more... (566 words + 1 image, estimated 2:16 mins reading time)

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1) Introduction: As the sixth Iowa player to be named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, Bryan Bulaga was one of the top prospects at his position going into the draft. That’s why many people were shocked when – despite his “dinosaur arms” – he fell to the Packers at the 23rd pick. In what seemed to be fate calling, Green Bay practically had to take him. Not only could Bulaga be considered the “best player available,” he was also filling a dire need for the team that allowed over 50 sacks in 2009. Many fans and media experts saw Bulaga as the Packers’ LT of the future, eventually replacing veteran Chad Clifton.

2) Profile:

Bryan Joseph Bulaga

Position: T
Height: 6-5    Weight: 315 lbs.

Born: March 21, 1989 in Barrington, IL
College: Iowa (school history)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1st round (23rd overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season: As a first round draft pick, many people expected Bryan Bulaga to be a starter at the beginning of the season. The problem was, however, that there was some uncertainty as to where along the line he should play. Since he was a LG-turned-LT in college, Bulaga was projected to take on one of those positions. Some people said he should only be trained at tackle, others said he was a superior option to Daryn Colledge and should be played at guard. And yet, despite his first round status and the paycheck that went with it, there was the thought that he should be groomed to start in 2011 and play as a backup in 2010.  Read more... (904 words + 1 image, estimated 3:37 mins reading time)

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1) Introduction: A couple of games into the 2010 season, many of us were convinced Chad Clifton was finished. He looked old, slow, overmatched and hobbled. Replacing Clifton with rookie Bryan Bulaga seemed like a logical move to avoid getting Aaron Rodgers killed. But Mike McCarthy insisted that Clifton was banged up, and that once he got healthier (we probably will never be able to say Clifton is fully healthy), he would keep his job. That patience paid off.

2) Profile:

Jeffrey Chad Clifton

Position: T
Height: 6-5    Weight: 330 lbs.

Born: June 26, 1976 in Martin, TN
College: Tennessee (school history)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2nd round (44th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season for that player: Above average. Clifton signed a three-year, $20 million contract in the offseason. Normally those types of salary figures come with high expectations, but I’m not sure that was the case with Clifton. Everyone could see Clifton was aging and breaking down, and he was resigned because he was the only other logical option (unless you were comfortable with Bulaga the rookie). Not many expected a pro bowl season out of the grizzled veteran.

4) Player’s highlights/lowlights: Clifton took on Peppers for most of the season finale and kept him away from Rodgers. He also handled Lamar Woodley and James Harrison during the Super Bowl. Lowlights included a bad first two games and giving up a costly sack late in the Redskins game.  Read more... (463 words + 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

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1) Introduction: As a fourth round draft pick in 2008, Josh Sitton actually had high prospects of starting at right guard his rookie season. Unfortunately, a preseason knee injury sidelined him, and he was replaced by Tony Moll. Sitton only ended up starting two games that season. Fast forward one year, and he swiftly becomes possibly the best player on the offensive line. Josh Sitton was the only Packers offensive lineman to open every game at just one position in 2009. He also played all 1,093 snaps on offense, the only player on either side of the ball to not miss a snap with his unit. In 2010, the NFL Alumni Association named Sitton Offensive Lineman of the Year.

2) Profile:

Josh James Sitton

Position: G
Height: 6-4    Weight: 320 lbs.

Born: June 6, 1986 in Pensacola, FL
College: Central Florida (school history)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 4th round (135th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season: For an offensive line that was coming off a horror of a season in 2009, Josh Sitton seemed to be the only true bright spot. In his first year as a full-time starter, he proved himself to be a reliable lineman (both “available” and “accountable,” to use Coach McCarthy speak). Sitton was a young player with a solid skill set, and it was a performance he was expected to repeat – and improve upon – in the 2010 season.  Read more... (710 words + 1 image, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

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1) Introduction: Those of us in the AllGreenBayPackers.com community consider ourselves smart football fans. Based on Jersey Al’s history of quality content, the recent addition of  some new writers and intelligent discussion in the comments section, I’d say say that assessment  is accurate. We are smart football fans!  But as much as we like to pat ourselves on the back for our knowledge, we shouldn’t kid ourselves and pretend that we have the ability to fully evaluate how a center played throughout an entire season. Intelligent or not intelligent, most football fans only notice the center when he snaps the ball over the QB’s head or gets flagged for holding. Unless you break down film every week, you mostly have to rely on what the coach’s are saying when asked about center play. In the case of Scott Wells, Packers coaches raved about him all season, and most fans barely realized he was on the field. Those two things mean Wells was solid.

2) Profile:

Scott Darvin Wells

Position: G-C
Height: 6-2    Weight: 300 lbs.

Born: January 7, 1981 in Spring Hill, TN
College: Tennessee (school history)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 7th round (251st overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season for that player: Above average. Offensive line play was still a concern entering 2010, but nobody worried much about Wells. He was generally regarded as a solid but unspectacular player who wouldn’t get blown up every other play, but also wouldn’t dominate whomever he was lined up against. When you consider the high level of interior lineman in the NFC North and the quality of overall pass protection this season, Wells surpassed “above average” and wandered into ”good” territory.  Read more... (580 words + 1 image, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

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Here it is, the COMPLETE list of Green Bay Packers Defense Player Grades for the 2010 season. After a fun week of in-depth evaluations, here is the Cliff Notes version for you. Click on any player’s name to see the full evaluation.

(B)   Cullen Jenkins

(A-)  B. J. Raji

(B)  Ryan Pickett

(C)  Howard Green

(A) Clay Matthews III

(C+)  A. J. Hawk

(C)  Frank Zombo

(B+)  Desmond Bishop

(C)  Erik Walden

(A+)  Tramon Williams

(B+)  Charles Woodson

(B)  Nick Collins

(B)  Sam Shields

(C)  Jarrett Bush

(B-) Charlie Peprah

(D)  Pat Lee

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He 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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1) Introduction: When the Green Bay Packers drafted C. J. Wilson in the seventh round last season, I immediately went searching for You Tube videos of him. I found some video that really impressed me, leading me to believe he could be as good as Mike Neal, who the Packers took in the second round. Of course, that was a stretch, but my point is, my expectations for Wilson were probably higher than most.

2) Profile:

Clifford James Wilson

Position: DE
Height: 6-4    Weight: 271 lbs.

Born: March 30, 1987 in Bellhaven, NC
College: East Carolina (school history)    (Wilson college stats)
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 7th round (230th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.

3) Expectations coming into the season for that player: As a seventh round draft pick, just making the roster would normally be exceeding expectations. Wilson, however, showed enough for the Packers to cut Jarius Wynn and keep Wilson on the active roster. And it sure was a good thing they did.

4) Player’s highlights/lowlights: C.J. Wilson got his first significant playing time when he was thrown into the fire of the Packers’ home game against the Vikings. With both Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett injured and out of the game, the Packers were down to 3 healthy defensive linemen (the others being B. J. Raji and Jarius Wynn). C.J Wilson played like a veteran that day, recording 5 solo tackles and 4 assists. The playoff game against Atlanta, where he had 3 tackles, one assist and a sack was another highlight. As for lowlights, it was difficult coming up with specific examples, so we’ll go with the 5 straight games after the bye where he saw little or no action when the Packers picked up Howard Green.  Read more... (460 words + 3 images, estimated 1:50 mins reading time)

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