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Jermichael Finley has the drops

The party’s over, folks.

For the first time in one day shy of a full calendar year, the Green Bay Packers lost a game.  The whole team was flat in a 19-14 loss to the 5-8 Kansas City Chiefs.   The Packers’ dream of an undefeated season en route to a second consecutive world championship came to a screeching halt at Arrowhead Stadium.

After having a chance to come to terms with the defeat, it interested me to see what the fan reaction was to the Packers falling to 13-1 on the season.  The responses were about what I expected.

Some were sad, some were sad yet relieved that the Packers wouldn’t have the pressure of a perfect season on them entering the postseason and others were on the ledge and ready to jump so to speak.   Being a fan is an emotional investment in a team and an emotional like this is expected to draw a wide range of reactions.

In particular, the reaction to one particular player’s performance caught my eye: tight end Jermichael Finley.  Finley had another rough game as his habit of dropping passes continued.  A few of his catches may (may) have cost the Packers some points.  We will never know for sure.

What was more alarming was fans’ reaction to his play.  Some were saying he is just going through a rough patch while others went way beyond that and were calling for Finley to actually be released.  Read more... (1193 words + 1 image, estimated 4:46 mins reading time)

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In this third installment of our 2011 Draft Prep series looking at the Green Bay Packers’ needs by position, we are going to analyze how the tight end position currently stands. Strengths, weaknesses, depth, and uncertainties will all be examined to determine the urgency of need in regards to next season.

This series is meant to help us figure out the needs of the team and how the draft could be used to improve the weaker areas. While Ted Thompson largely uses the “best player available” (BPA) approach, his decision to trade up or down the board is affected by what position players he would prefer to have. Additionally, the picking up of players in the later rounds and in undrafted free agency is often based on need, since the talent is less defined.

CURRENT PLAYERS:

#88 Jermichael Finley
24 yrs. old / 3 yrs. exp.
Signed through 2011

#81 Andrew Quarless
22 yrs. old / 1 yr. exp.
Signed through 2013

#83 Tom Crabtree
25 yrs. old / 1 yr. exp.
Signed through 2012

#41 Spencer Havner
28 yrs. old / 2 yrs. exp.
Free Agent (tender offered)

* Contract information acquired from RotoWorld.com

POSITION STRENGTHS:

Jermichael Finley could be the best receiving tight end in the league right now, and his case for this distinction would be much stronger if not for his season-ending knee injury. In the first four games of 2010, Finley had 21 receptions for 301 yards and a touchdown, which would have put him on pace for a 1,000 yard season.  Read more... (1021 words + 1 image, estimated 4:05 mins reading time)

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