AllGreenBayPackers.Com

The injury to D.J. Smith was one of many among the Green Bay Packers linebackers.

When the injuries started compounding for the Green Bay Packers this year, fans didn’t seem to flinch. Too fresh in their memories was the story of 2010, when the Packers overcame several key injuries to become Super Bowl champions. “Next man up” became the rally cry for the team, its fans, and the media.

The motto’s resurgence in 2012 showed the confidence of Packers Nation in Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy’s ability to add and develop depth throughout the team. While concerns still brewed in the back of our minds, they were overshadowed by what we’ve come to expect from Green Bay’s second string players.

No more Desmond Bishop? Bring in D.J. Smith. Now Smith goes down? Get Brad Jones in there. Lose Cedric Benson, James Starks, and Brandon Saine? Promote Alex Green and DuJuan Harris, then re-sign Ryan Grant from free agency. Even undrafted rookie Don Barclay surprised us with his ability to take over for Bryan Bulaga and not get Aaron Rodgers killed.

The specific team building philosophy of Thompson and McCarthy have allowed the Green Bay Packers to succeed even when some of their best players end up on injured reserve. Many other teams would struggle to handle such losses, whereas the Packers push through, fill in the holes, and still win their division.  Read more... (778 words + 1 image, estimated 3:07 mins reading time)

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Are the Packers still elite?

Remember when the Green Bay Packers were legitimately thought of as elite and the next NFL dynasty? All the ingredients were there: A great quarterback. Talented receivers. Young defenders on the rise. A Super Bowl win. Playoff chops. A smart coaching staff and front office.

Then the Giants and 49ers manhandled the Packers in playoff losses and all that dynasty talk seems like so long ago.

Forget dynasty. Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press Gazette says the Packers are no longer even an elite team.

Vandermause gets a little carried away early in the column when he says that Colin Kapernick is now a more feared player than Aaron Rodgers (ridiculous). But for the most part, I see where Vandermause is going. He thinks the 49ers have a lot more talent than the Packers. After watching these two teams play each other twice this season, it’s hard to argue with him.

Can a team fall from potential dynasty to less-than-elite in about one year? Sure, these last two playoff losses sting, but do they really mean the Packers are no longer elite? I can see both sides of the argument:

Packers are no longer elite  Read more... (687 words + 1 image, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

• Did you watch the game on Saturday? There is no way to use the words “elite” and “Packers” in the same sentence after that ass whooping.
• That’s two straight playoff losses where the Packers were dominated by a bigger, stronger and more physical team. Elite teams don’t get pushed around like that.

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Are Dom Capers’ days in Green Bay over?

Before you read further, I want to make one thing clear: This post is not a defense of Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers. After the Packers got shredded for almost 600 yards on Saturday night, Capers cannot be defended.

Go ahead and call for Capers’ firing and criticize him all you want. He deserves it.

However, Green Bay’s problems on defense go much deeper than Capers. I don’t think there was any magical scheme that Capers could have come up with that would have stopped the 49ers from winning Saturday. San Francisco was bigger, stronger, faster and tougher than the Packers. It’s too simple to just pin that performance solely on the guy with weird hair who sits in a booth high above the field.

Look at the Packers’ linebackers. Brad Jones, Erik Walden and A.J. Hawk are no match for a team like the 49ers. An elite offensive line combined with an athletic quarterback, bruising running back, and talented tight ends? The 49ers had to be salivating all week while watching film and preparing to face that unfearsome trio.

The Packers are built to take a lead, then play aggressive defense that relies on blitzes and creating turnovers. They’re not the type of team that is able to stand toe-to-toe against physical teams and out-tough them. That’s extremely frustrating, but true.  Read more... (430 words + 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

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Once is a coincidence.  Twice in three years should raise some eyebrows.

Once again, the Packers seem to be the team in the NFL that has been most decimated by injuries.  The Packers heading into the bye have three linebackers on injured reserve and a fourth in Clay Matthews that could miss a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

Add in injured wide receivers Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson plus injuries to starting running back Cedric Benson and offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga and the Packers once again find themselves behind the eight ball and looking up at the Bears in the NFC North.

If this script sounds familiar, it should.  The Packers put 15 players on injured reserve in 2010 on their way to Super Bowl XLV and their fourth Super Bowl championship.  They also were chasing the Bears all season in the NFC North.  Could lightning strike again for the Packers?

The odds of pulling another rabbit out of the hat seem long, but Packer fans seem to be optimistic given the roster GM Ted Thompson has put together.

That may all be well and good, but there’s still one big question that remains unanswered—why do these injuries keep happening?

Could it be practices are too intense?  Packers coach Mike McCarthy has had to change his practice schedule a bit with the new CBA the NFL and NFLPA agreed on last year, but that was written to lower injuries and the Packers seem to be the only team impacted so severely.  This isn’t likely it.  Read more... (487 words + 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packers rookie LB Nick Perry is out for the rest of the 2012 season with a wrist injury.

The Green Bay Packers have announced that the team hasactivated tight end Andrew Quarless from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and have placed rookie linebacker Nick Perry on season-ending injured reserve for a wrist injury.

Perry reportedly sought a second opinion on the wrist he injured earlier this season and apparently opted for surgery that will cost him the remainder of what was a promising rookie campaign.   With D.J. Smith and Desmond Bishop already out for the season and Clay Matthews dealing with a hamstring injury that could keep him out for a few weeks, the Packers find themselves dangerously thin at linebacker.   Rookie Dezman Moses will likely get a chance to prove that fans’ excitement over his potential is warranted.

As for Quarless, this is a moment many have been waiting for since he went down last December with a knee injury.  He was not ready for training camp so the Packers put him on the PUP list until this week.  It’s unclear how large of a role Quarless will immediately have, but if Jermichael Finley continues to struggle then it’s possible Quarless could earn some playing time along with Tom Crabtree.

Kris Burke is a freelance sports writer currently residing in Wisconsin. His work has been linked to by sites such as National Football Post and CBSSports.com. Follow @KrisLBurke

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The Turk visited the Green Bay Packers today

4PM EST today is the deadline for the Green Bay Packers to pare their roster down to 75 players. Here are the cuts and/or roster moves as we hear them:

Jarius Wynn – Reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This isn’t the first time Wynn has been cut by the Packers. Wynn was a sixth round pick for the Packers in 2009 and surprisingly made the team that season. The next year he was cut and then brought back onto the practice squad when Justin Harrell went down again and then eventually onto the 53-man roster. Wynn played in every game last season, even starting four. But DL improvement was obviously a priority for the Packers this year with all the new additions, so the handwriting was on the wall for Wynn. Evidently, he didn’t do enough this camp to keep his spot.

Jon Hoese – The former Minnesota fullback was sidelined for much of training camp with injuries, and the team ultimately cut him Monday afternoon. Reserve fullback Nic Cooper was a much better runner than Hoese, which made the Packers’ decision relatively easy.

DeMarco Cosby – Placed on Injured Reserve. The tight end from Central Missouri had a very brief stint with the Packers and was never a serious threat to make the roster. He was consistently outperformed by fellow tight end Brandon Bostick–whom also will likely not make the 53-man roster.  Read more... (781 words + 3 images, estimated 3:07 mins reading time)

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TE Andrew Quarless will probably start the year on the PUP list.

The first NFL roster cut-down of the season is fast approaching. On Monday, August 27th, the Green Bay Packers will need to have trimmed their roster down to 75 players from their current total of 90.

Even though these are essentially the worst players on the team, the decision of who to cut is a tough one. Not only do Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson need to consider the skill of each player, but they also have to take into account the remaining depth they’ll have to work with for the remainder of the preseason. This being the case, the first roster cut-down can be a good time to declare some of the Injured Reserve (IR) or Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) players for the start of the season.

As a reminder, only players who did not practice at all during training camp are eligible for the PUP. They remain on the list for the first six weeks of regular season, after which they have a three-week window to return to practice. From the point at which the player returns to practice, the team has an additional three weeks to decide whether to elevate them to the 53-man roster, place them on injured reserve, or release them.

Here is a group of eight players who could possibly end up on one of these lists during the upcoming roster cut-down:

Physically Unable to Perform (PUP)  Read more... (944 words + 1 image, estimated 3:47 mins reading time)

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