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Sundays are rough without football, especially after how the Packers season ended.

I love Sundays, but I love Sundays more when football is on. Football makes you forget about your hangover from Saturday night and the fact that you have to go back to work on Monday. Football also makes you feel less guilty for lazing around on the couch all day, eating food that raises your cholesterol and swearing at your TV.

Now we’re stuck with the NBA, NHL, MLB and golf on Sunday for the foreseeable future. I like all of those sports, but none of them makes a Sunday like football. Those other sports are for the other six days of the week.

Sunday is for football.

To kill the time on these offseason Sundays, I’m going to publish Surviving Sunday: Packers New, Notes and Links for the Football Deprived.

It’ll be a regular notebook-style column that opens with a random thought or rant (like the one you’re reading now), followed by some quick opinions on a couple of key issues related to the Packers that I didn’t have a chance to cover with a full post during the week. From there, I’ll include links to must-read/must-see stories, videos and blog posts from the previous week and a preview of possible Packers storylines for the upcoming week. I’ll close each Surviving Sunday with a few words on a subject unrelated to the Packers.  Read more... (914 words, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)

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Packers 2012 NFL Draft Guide

Pre-Order Discount Here – Only $4.99

Brought to you by the fine folks at CheeseheadTV, with contributions from yours truly and Zack Kruse, this Packers-centric guide to the 2012 NFL Draft is a must have for any Packers fan. You’ll get feature articles, interviews and most importantly, player profiles and rankings according to how they fit for the Packers.

Last year was the first edition for this guide, and just for you, here it is for you to look over.

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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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During the 2011 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers added an additional 10 players to their team roster, with six going to the offense and four going to the defense. They now have a roster of 85 players, which they must cut down to 80 by training camp. (These details are, of course, subject to change based on the labor negotiations.)

With the lockout currently prohibiting teams from signing undrafted rookies, this is currently the best picture of the players that Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff will have to work with. Also note that there are currently 14 free agents on the roster (restriction status pending for some). In the far off chance they let every single free agent leave, that would give them 9 spots to fill by camp. If they managed to keep all of them, they would have to cut 5 players by then.

So enjoy perusing the current roster, and feel free to post your thoughts below. If you would like a printable version, I have posted both Excel and PDF versions below:

Packers 2011 Post-Draft Roster (*.XLSX)
Packers 2011 Post-Draft Roster (*.PDF)

*** Players in RED are free agents.
*** Players in GREEN are drafted rookies.  Read more... (1081 words + 1 image, estimated 4:19 mins reading time)

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With the 141st pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Arkansas tight end D. J. Williams.

Williams measures in at 6-2, 245 pounds. He posted a 4.59-second 40-yard dash, 20 bench-presses, 4.51-second 20-yard shuttle and a 33.5″ vertical leap.

Before reading this preview on D.J. Williams, the Packers fifth-round pick, watch this E60 story about Williams’ journey to the NFL. It’s amazing and will have you cheering for Williams even if he never plays a down for the Packers.

Are you back? Ok good. Dry your eyes and continue reading about Williams on the football field. He looks like a good

D.J. Williams is a high-character guy that should get a chance to compete at TE and FB.

one.

College Highlights
Williams set an Arkansas tight-end single-season record with 61 catches as a sophomore. He only caught 32 passes the following season because he says he focused on refining his blocking skills. Everything came together his senior season when he caught 54 passes, blocked well and was named the John Mackey award winner as the nation’s top tight end.

Analysis
Williams is undersized but has continued to persevere both in life and on the football field. When he needed to overcome a bad family situation, he did it. When he needed to become a better blocker, he did it. When he needed to put it all together his senior season, he did it.  Read more... (449 words + 1 image, estimated 1:48 mins reading time)

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Davon House went to the Packers in round four.

With the 131rd pick in the 2011 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected New Mexico State CB Davon House

House measures in at 6-1, 200 pounds.  At the NFL Combine, he posted a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, 14 bench-presses, 4.12-second 20-yard shuttle and a 33.5″ vertical leap.

After trading the first of their two fourth-round picks to Denver, the Green Bay Packers selected New Mexico State cornerback Davon House with the compensatory picked received after DE Aaron Kampman’s free-agent departure.

House is a 6-foot, 184-pound press-coverage corner with the size and speed necessary to handle bigger outside receivers.

College History
House played 12 games as a true freshman and continued to improve throughout his entire college career. He intercepted 11 passes in four years and returned three for touchdowns. He also demonstrated an ability to stop the run, racking up 202 solo tackles.

Commentary
With Charles Woodson getting older and Tramon Williams and Sam Shields coming off seasons where each played out of their minds, the Packers needed to add some depth at CB. It would be great if Woodson, Williams and Shields all repeated what they did in 2010, but just in case they don’t, House is there to help.

Most analysts peg House as a press coverage corner that shines on the outside. Speaking shortly after House was drafted, Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said that House is not a one-dimensional player. Capers praised House’s versatility and indicated that he would be used throughout the field.  Read more... (344 words + 1 image, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

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With the 96th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Hawaii running back Alex Green.

He measures 6-0, 225 pounds with 32″ arms. Green posted a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, 20 bench-presses, 34″ vertical leap, 114″ broad jump, 6.91-second 3 cone drill and 4.15-second 20-yard shuttle.

College History

Playing in Hawaii’s pass-happy offense, Green was able to rush for 1,199 yards on 146 carries (8.2 ypc) and 18 touchdowns his senior season. He also caught 27 passes for 363 yards and another touchdown. Green was named Second Team All-WAC in 2010.

Green was only at Hawaii for two seasons, having transferred from Butte Community College in California—the same place that produced Aaron Rodgers.

One other thing of note: Green rushed for 372 yards against New Mexico State, a performance that broke Hawaii’s single-game rushing record.

Commentary

I’ll admit to knowing little about Green when the pick was made, but I had heard from some of the talking heads that he was a sleeper candidate at the running back position.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock certainly gave him a vote confidence when he said that “Green will be an impact player this year for the Green Bay Packers.”

After a little digging, there was plenty of other solid reviews on Green. Russ Lande of The Sporting News said that Green could develop into an “Arian Foster-type back.” Foster rushed for 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns last season for the Texans.  Read more... (361 words + 1 image, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

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With the 64th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Kentucky receiver Randall Cobb.

Cobb measures out at 5-11, 196 pounds with 31″ arms. He posted a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, 16 bench-presses, 33.5″ vertical leap, 115″ broad jump, 7.08-second 3 cone drill, 4.34-second 20-yard shuttle and 11.56-second 60-yard shuttle.

College History

Cobb finished his college career at Kentucky as one of the nation’s most versatile players. He entered college as a decorated high school quarterback, and ended up throwing for over 600 yards and five touchdowns with Kentucky.

He ended up moving him to receiver, however, and Cobb continued to produce. Over his three years in college, Cobb racked up 5,000 all-purpose yards, including 1,661 receiving and 1,313 rushing. In his final year, Cobb posted 84 catches for 1,017 yards and was selected as a First Team All-American for his efforts.

Commentary

I’ve said it for awhile now, but Cobb seems like the perfect pick for the Packers. Not only is he versatile, but he’s versatile at positions that the Packers needed. He should immediately be the Packers returner of both punts and kicks, giving the special teams unit a dangerous threat for the first time since possibly Allen Rossom in 2000.

Cobb also has unique talents at the receiver position. He’s not tall, but he’s well-built and should be an excellent slot receiver. I hesitate to fully compare him to Percy Harvin, but he has a very similar skill set as the Vikings dynamic receiver/returner.  Read more... (410 words + 1 image, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)

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