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Packers Offensive Lineman Don Barclay

After stepping in for an injured TJ Lang at right tackle in last week’s game against the Vikings, Packers rookie Don Barclay is suddenly the subject of many questions.

Even before the Vikings game, there were calls by many to move Lang back to left guard and insert Barclay at right tackle (all without ever having seen Barclay play a single meaningful offensive snap in the NFL).

Either these folks knew something we didn’t, or blind luck shall be given the credit, as Barclay stepped in and did an adequate job. Adequate meaning he didn’t do anything fantastic, but he also didn’t do anything horrible. For his first game ever, a solid performance.

For some fans, this is enough to anoint Barclay the Packers starting right tackle for the rest of the season in place of TJ Lang, there in place of Bryan Bulaga. And so the questions start…

Packers fans have a seemingly endless unquenched thirst for information about every guy in a Green & Gold uniform -even undrafted rookie free agents no one has ever heard of before.

And that, in a sense, is why we’re here. To provide you, the insatiable Packers fan, with volumes of minutiae about your beloved Packers players.

So without further ado, we present to you Don Barclay:

Don Barclay, 6’4″, 310lbs, West Virginia University

Barclay is from Cranberry PA, about an hour outside of Pittsburgh. He was deemed too big for Pop Warner football, and didn’t start playing until just before High School.  Read more... (955 words + 3 images, estimated 3:49 mins reading time)

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After finishing dead-last in total defense last season, the Packers put an emphasis on improving their defense last offseason.

Packers general manager Ted Thompson used the 28th overall pick on USC outside linebacker Nick Perry, before trading up twice in the second round to help bolster the Pack’s struggling defense. Thompson is stingy when it comes to parting with his draft picks, but as he put it after the draft, “I’m no longer my father’s son.”

In the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Packers traded up to No. 51 overall to select Michigan State defensive end Jerel Worthy. After losing Cullen Jenkins the previous offseason, Green Bay hoped to add a versatile pass rusher to its defensive line.

Seven picks later, the Packers, again, surprised everyone by moving up to select Vanderbilt cornerback Casey Hayward with the No. 58 pick. The secondary struggled mightily in 2011, and given the fact that Pro Bowl safety Nick Collins would no longer play for the team, the Packers wanted to add a defensive back capable of playing from day one.

And so far, Hayward certainly looks the part.

Through six weeks of the 2012 NFL regular season, Pro Football Focus has Hayward graded out as the No. 2 cornerback in football. Not the No. 2 rookie cornerback in football. The No. 2 cornerback in football, just behind Vikings veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield.

The folks at Pro Football Focus take every single play from every single game, and put each player under the microscope.  Read more... (816 words, estimated 3:16 mins reading time)

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Packers D-lineman Mike Daniels

Remember my post yesterday about three players raising eyebrows at Packers training camp?

Well, those players might already be yesterday’s news. The new eyebrow-raiser at camp is Mike Daniels.

Mike Daniels
Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette says Daniels has gotten plenty of snaps, especially in Dom Capers’ dime package. Like they do in the secondary, the Packers have a bunch of bodies on the defensive line and are hoping that somebody, anybody, steps up and makes the entire position group better. I suppose Daniels could be that guy. Like fellow rookie D-lineman Jerel Worthy, Daniels created chaos in college. And that’s what the Packers need up front. No more tying up blockers and calling it a day.

Wait a minute….Never Mind
Looks like Daniels might already be yesterday’s news, too.  He dropped out of practice Tuesday with an injury.

I wrote my original eyebrow raising post on Monday evening. It was posted Tuesday afternoon and it already felt like old news. I began writing this current post over lunch on Tuesday and by time I got home from work to finish it, it also already felt like old news.

I didn’t even finish writing the post yet and it felt like old news!

What’s this world coming to when a blogger can’t even keep up with the news cycle?  Read more... (429 words + 1 image, estimated 1:43 mins reading time)

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Packers Cornerback Casey Hayward

If you’re suddenly enamored with Packers rookie Casey Hayward, be prepared to join a very large club. Three days of training camp, and it’s obvious the kid is a player, right? At the same time, know that around here you’re very late to that party. Indulge me for a  bit:

Very early on during “draft season”, I was told told by a little birdie that Casey Hayward could be the second or third best CB in the draft and that the Packers were in love. I was also told the Packers would be willing to trade up for him, which is why I included him in my one and only mock  draft  and whispered just before the draft that the Packers loved Casey Hayward.

I’m not mentioning these things to brag (although it does sound like that), but rather to point out that if you are a regular reader of AllGreenBayPackers.com, you’ve known about Casey Hayward for awhile. So you weren’t one of those fans who said “who?” when the Packers traded up to snatch him up. And months later, you aren’t surprised that Hayward has made an instant impression in training camp, picking off passes, blanketing receivers and gaining the enthusiastic praise of his teammates.

Hayward has had a fantastic first three days of camp, and has opened up some eyes. Here are some quotes about Hayward that Bob McGinn of JSOnline.com recently garnered:  Read more... (1045 words + 3 images, estimated 4:11 mins reading time)

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Newest Green Bay Packer, Greg Van Roten

The Green Bay Packers’ team IQ went up a few points yesterday after signing Ivy League guard Greg Van Roten of the University of Pennsylvania. The three-time All-Ivy Selection was originally invited to the Packers rookie mini-camp, but a conflict with the Jets’ camp kept him from participating. Van Roten also attended the San Diego Chargers’ camp but received no offers from either team.

Van Roten kept in contact with the Packers throughout the summer, and they brought him in for a tryout on Monday. The Packers liked him so much, they wouldn’t let him leave, asking him to stay in Green Bay overnight, while they figured out a way to make some room for him. By the next morning, the Packers had released Charlie Peprah along with offensive guard Grant Cook, and Van Roten was a Packer.

Contacted b y the Daily Pennsylvanian, UPenn’s offensive coordinator Jom McLoughlin commented, “I’m so happy for Greg. This opportunity is a real testament to him and all the hard work he’s put in. Coming out of high school, he was told by several coaches that he couldn’t play at the Division I level, and he always used that as motivation.”

Van Roten played left tackle for the Quakers until halfway through his senior season, when injuries on the offensive line necessitated a move inside during some games. The offensive line didn’t miss a beat, continuing to lead the way for the Quakers’ 3rd highest Ivy League scoring offense while allowing the league’s third fewest sacks for the season.  Read more... (333 words + 3 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

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How do the new Packers compare speed-wise to other rookies?

Even though most of my time for the past month has been spent doing team draft grades, I have indeed been watching roster activity and the rumor mill. I want to touch on a couple of aspects of the Packers’ current roster and it’s composition.

But before I head in that specific direction I want to debunk one of the myths I heard during and just after the Packers 2012 draft. I heard talk on national TV and read several articles in print that a big goal for the team this off-season was upgrading team speed. My observation two months after the draft would be that rumors to that affect were greatly exaggerated. Either that or they absolutely had one of the League’s slowest collection of players coming out of the 2011 season, during which they went 15-1. Yes they lost to the Giants in their first Playoff game, but I think that has more to do with their D having problems (like many do these days) containing ELI, and the fact the Packers’ O suddenly decided to become a turnover and mistake machine.

I will grant you that some of their rookie additions could increase team speed incrementally if they pan out, but based on the simple numbers coming out of the combine, Green Bay is still going to look a tad slow indoors on fast tracks. Let’s just look at the numbers of players who are now Packers who ran a 40-yard dash at the combine and how they fared.  Read more... (1140 words + 1 image, estimated 4:34 mins reading time)

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Surviving Sunday with no Packers Football

This is the time of year when we plant our flowers/veggies while NFL teams hold rookie camps. There are some parallels there.

We select what we think look like healthy new plants/vegetables, and give them an initial strong foundation, planting them firmly in the ground. We then watch over them, monitoring their progress and giving them the care and nurturing they need to sprout into flower or veggie-producing mature plants.

NFL teams pick this years plants (rookies) in the April draft and the free agency period in the days following. Rookie mini-camps are held, where the players are given their initial foundation of knowledge with regards to team operations and offensive/defensive schemes. They are evaluated by the coaching staff, who then decide what kind of individualized ongoing attention and care they will need.

Training expectations are established and their progress is monitored and assisted. The goal is for these young players to develop and blossom into valuable producers in their own right.

Staying on that theme, today’s “Surviving Sunday” will focus on these new Packers players. While we all know their names by now, here are some articles that will tell us a little more about some of these players.

Tyler Dunne of JSOnline.com does an in-depth profile of Packers UDFA running back Marc Tyler.

Over at Acme Packing Company, they take a look at Nick Perry getting all his camp reps at left OLB.  Read more... (385 words + 3 images, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

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