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Packers CB Tramon Williams

Coming off a memorable postseason in 2010, Packers cornerback Tramon Williams suffered a serious shoulder injury in the first game of 2011 that still hasn’t fully healed.

A year earlier, in the Packers’ run to Super Bowl XLV, Williams emerged as one of the top cover corners in football.

That season, Williams started all 16 games for the first time in his career. He intercepted a career-high six passes in the regular season and picked off another three balls in the playoffs.

At that point, ProFootballFocus ranked Williams No. 7 among the 69 cornerbacks that played at least 50 percent of their team’s snaps. This past season, Williams came in at No. 43 among 71 players at the position.

The shoulder injury has certainly played a part in Williams’ performance the past two seasons.

“I had some tears in my shoulder and I had nerve damage in my shoulder, and it was tough,” Williams told 107.5 The Fan in March. “I only missed one game because of it, but it should have been one of those things to where I should have sat down for quite a few games. But at the same time, I haven’t been hurt at any point in my career … Everyone goes through adversity at some point in their career — that was one of my points, and I got through it.”  Read more... (879 words + 1 image, estimated 3:31 mins reading time)

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Packers CB Davon House

Every NFL season begins with a blank slate and ends with a long list of newly-minted star players.

Last season, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick may be the prime example of a player that took the next step and pushed his team to the next level, as San Francisco won the NFC and advanced to Super Bowl XLVII.

Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas went from being an afterthought in a Tim Tebow-led offense in 2011 to being one of the most dangerous offensive players in football in 2012. Thomas ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,434 receiving yards.

And in Green Bay, a pair of Packers wideouts enjoyed breakout years of their own.

After showing flashes of brilliance as a rookie in 2011, Randall Cobb exploded onto the scene last season, leading the team with 80 catches and 954 receiving yards. Cobb is the odds-on favorite to lead the team in both categories in 2013.

Fellow receiver James Jones enjoyed a breakout season of his own. Jones set career highs in all three major categories, catching 64 passes for 784 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Playing in an offense with Aaron Rodgers under center, any receiver could become the team’s “go-to guy” on a week-to-week basis. But Jordy Nelson had his coming-out party in 2011, and Jones and Cobb had their last year. So unless one of the Packers young, unproven receivers can take a step forward and join the rotation, this year’s breakout player may be on the defensive side of the ball.  Read more... (1330 words + 1 image, estimated 5:19 mins reading time)

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Packers Cornerbacks:  All eyes were on the cornerback group during Training Camp in 2012. This unit, above all others, had some serious competition going on for a starting job. And the result was that this competition continued throughout the season until we ended up with Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, and Casey Hayward as the clear leaders of the secondary.

For expanded coverage of this topic, listen to the podcast using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Tramon Williams (UDFA, 2006)
Jarrett Bush (UDFA, 2006)
Sam Shields (UDFA, 2010)
Davon House (4^th Round, 2011)
Casey Hayward (2^nd Round, 2012)
James Nixon (UDFA, 2012, Practice Squad)

How many teams can say that their top two cornerbacks went undrafted as rookies? The Packers can, though they can also say that their past two draft selections on cornerbacks are also beginning to make names for themselves.  Read more... (936 words + 1 image, estimated 3:45 mins reading time)

• Williams: After a horrible showing in 2011 thanks to an early shoulder injury, Tramon Williams was looking to get back to his championship form of 2010. Unfortunately, he only seemed to get about halfway there. He showed clear improvement but still came up short, especially in key moments. The big question is whether he’ll continue the upward trend or start falling again.

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Aaron Rodgers and Josh Sitton are two of the Packers “blue chip” players.

Now that my fellow staff members and I have completed our annual player evaluations and report cards, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the Green Bay Packers’ impact players. Taking a page from Michael Lombardi, former NFL Network analyst who now works in the front office for the Cleveland Browns, I have categorized the players into representational colored chips.

I’ve added a couple more categories beyond the usual blue and red chips, but for the latter groups, I have taken some of the qualifications as used by Lombardi. While some players might have fallen short of their expectations this past season, I have attempted to look at their entire body of work and where they stand going into 2013.

One thing I did notice in this exercise was the lack of playmakers on the defense, which Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Dom Capers need to work on correcting.

Feel free to chime in with any agreements, disagreements, or additions to the lists!

Blue Chip Players:

» Demonstrates rare abilities and creates mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game.
» Is a premier player in the league and a weapon on the field.
» Combines competitiveness and skill to provide a consistent championship-level performance.  Read more... (914 words + 1 image, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)

• Aaron Rodgers – One of the best quarterbacks in the modern NFL era, Rodgers is the heart of this team. His exceptional football intelligence, technique, and work ethic make everyone else around him look better.

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Davon House

1) Introduction: When Davon House was selected by the Packers as the 131st pick (fourth round) in the 2011 NFL Draft, he was one of the lone defensive players drafted by Ted Thompson that year. After the monster season by Woodson, Williams, and Shields, he was looked at as more of a future cornerback prospect. The hopes were that he could oust the underwhelming Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood.

2) Profile:

Davon Thomas House

• Age: 23
• Born: 07/10/1989, in Palmdale, CA
• Height: 6’1″
• Weight: 195
• College: New Mexico State
• Rookie Year: 2011
• NFL Experience: 2 years

Career Stats and more

3) Expectations coming into the season: Coming into training camp, Davon House was in the heat of a battle for starting cornerback opposite Tramon Williams. His primary competition consisted of the infamous Jarrett Bush, the fallen Sam Shields, and the raw Casey Hayward. Throughout camp, House kept proving his worth and his ability in the starting role, but a shoulder injury shot that chance dead. While he would eventually be able to play with a harness, the injury would keep him out for the first six weeks of the season.  Read more... (492 words + 1 image, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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House will have surgery on his injured shoulder but is expected to be ready to push for a starting role by the time that training camp opens this summer

According to PackersNews.com,  Green Bay Packers cornerback Davon House will undergo surgery on his injured shoulder today.  This was learned after House’s wife eluded to it via Twitter on Wednesday morning.

House injured his shoulder in the 2012 preseason opener at San Diego and did not see his first regular season action until October 21st against the St. Louis Rams.  House played the rest of the season with a harness protecting the shoulder.  

The hope was that he could avoid surgery and recover via the rehab process, but the decision to have surgery is indicative of the team’s concern over the injury possibly worsening.

This calls to mind the situation that another Packers cornerback, Tramon Williams, was in last year.  Williams suffered nerve damage to his shoulder in the 2011 opener against the New Orleans Saints.  Williams’ play seemingly dropped off after that and many suspect that the shoulder injury was a big contributor. 

Hopefully House is able to recover and return to full form by the time camp opens this summer.  Since being drafted in 2011, House has given the Packers and fans high hopes that he will play a large role in the team’s future plans at cornerback.

House played in nine games and racked up 26 tackles, a sack and a blocked punt on special teams this season.  Read more... (277 words + 3 images, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

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Packers DB Charles Woodson is close to returning.

It appears that Charles Woodson is close to returning to the Packers. That’s great news.

So, what are the Packers going to do with him?

As soon as Clay Matthews got hurt, you saw an immediate decline in the pass rush. There hasn’t been a major dropoff in pass coverage with Woodson injured. In fact, we’ve seen a few young players step up and emerge with Woodson out.

Getting Woodson back will be helpful, but it also will raise some questions about how the secondary will look. Here are a few of those questions:  Read more... (640 words + 1 image, estimated 2:34 mins reading time)

• Will Casey Hayward’s playing time get cut? It’s hard to put this kid on the bench. He covers well in the slot and makes plays on the ball when he’s in the area. Watching Woodson trying to cover a good slot receiver these days is not very fun. Woodson might be a better tackler than Hayward, but not by much.
• Will Davon House’s playing time get cut? House plays with an attitude. He’s far from perfect, but he attacks whoever he’s trying to cover on the outside. Plus he’s big. Woodson can’t play on the outside any more so I don’t see him cutting into House’s opportunities. Maybe if Woodson plays inside, Hayward would get kicked to the outside, but that doesn’t seem realistic, either.
• What about Sam Shields? Oh yeah, Shields. Remember him? He’s close to returning, too. He might cut into House’s playing time some, but I don’t think Shields’ return will impact Woodson much.

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