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Marshall Newhouse auditioning for 3rd RB role

Welcome to the Week 16 Packers Stock Report.

Those of you familiar with the stock report here on AllGreenBayPackers.com may notice that this week’s report looks different than all the others from this season.

Changes include:

• No Aaron Rodgers in the rising category. Last week I left Rodgers out because I was sick of trying to think of new ways to highlight how great he is. This week I left him out because he played poorly. That hasn’t happened before.
• There are three Packers in the falling category. When the Packers win, I reserve the final spot in the falling category to mock and ridicule a player or coach from the opposing team. Since the Chiefs outplayed the Packers on Sunday, there is no mocking and ridiculing this week.
• Only two players in the rising category. Normally I have to whittle down a long list of rising players to only three. Not this week. I suppose I could have bumped up Scott Wells from the steady category to rising, but I chose not to.
• This is the first stock report following a Packers loss. The comments section could get a little negative. Remember Packers fans: Your team is 13-1. The Packers chances of winning the Super Bowl are still rising.

Rising  Read more... (689 words + 1 image, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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Is this really happening?

The Packers lost to the Chiefs on Sunday in a complete trainwreck of a football game. Receivers dropped passes, the pass rush never entered Kyle Orton’s zip code and more Packers limped off the field with injuries.

It was a horrible way to end an amazing run. Just horrible.

There’s probably going to be some people that say it’s good for the Packers to lose a game. They’ll say that the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl and losing will build character and force the Packers to correct mistakes… or something like that.

Ignore those people. Tell them to go away.

Losing sucks. No team ever says, “Hey, lets lose this game today to build some character and increase our chances of going to the Super Bowl.” That’s not how it works.

If this Packers team goes 18-1 and repeats as Super Bowl champions, it’s going to be amazing. I’m going to be just as happy as I was for the other Super Bowl titles the Packers have won in my lifetime.

But there’s always going to be a small part of my green and gold brain that reminds me the Packers could have been 19-0 — undefeated — but they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

THE !$*?!#%! KANSAS CITY CHIEFS!!!!!!  Read more... (524 words + 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

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When Packers fans take a break from criticizing Jermichael Finley, they usually direct their ire toward A.J. Hawk.

By now you know the drill:

• Hawk bashers say he hasn’t come close to meeting the expectations of a No. 5 overall draft choice and that he’s undeserving of his five-year, $33.75 million contract.
• Hawk supporters say the linebacker is a steady presence on a sometimes chaotic defense and that his value shouldn’t be judged by raw statistics or the number of SportsCenter highlight-worthy plays he makes.

Both Hawk and Desmond Bishop got hurt on Thanksgiving. D.J. Smith and Robert Francois have filled in admirably and the Packers remain undefeated. Smith has played so well that there has to be some discussions among the Packers coaching staff about Hawk’s role when he returns.

Hawk has 39 solo tackles in 11 games this season, about 3.5 per game. Since taking over for Hawk, Smith has 18 solo tackles in about three games, an average of six per game.

Smith was all over the field on Sunday against the Raiders. He picked off Carson Palmer and made the sort of tackles that get you noticed by the television cameras. In other words, Smith made plays and did things Hawk hasn’t been able to do (unless you consider flicking off your own bench getting noticed).

Smith’s play has fired up the Packers fan base — so much so that many are calling for Hawk’s role to be reduced (see the comments sections here and here).  Read more... (602 words + 1 image, estimated 2:24 mins reading time)

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Remember when blowout wins were fun? The Packers destroyed the Raiders on Sunday, but a lot of the fun was ruined by various Packers hobbling off the field and the star QB taking too many hits.

This is where we’re at as Packers fans these days. Instead of basking in the glory of a 46-16 win, we’re worrying about the health of the team.

It’s kind of a weird feeling. Whenever I see Aaron Rodgers running around or another player trying to fight off tacklers for a couple extra yards, I start yelling at the TV: “Yeah! Go! Go! Go…..wait a minute! Don’t get hurt! Just go down!”

Don’t get me wrong. I want the Packers to go for 19-0 and I think they will, but damn, it sure makes for some nerve-wrecking moments in these final regular season games. Thankfully, it appears that Greg Jennings will be back for the playoffs.

Time for the stock report. I left Rodgers off this week, mostly because I was sick of always trying to come up with something new to say about how good he is.

Rising

D.J. Smith
Mike McCarthy gave game balls to Smith and fellow backup ILB Robert Francois after Sunday’s win. Smith’s 10 tackles and one interception also earned him a spot in the rising category. Smith has 24 tackles since replacing the injured Desmond Bishop on Thanksgiving.  Read more... (778 words + 1 image, estimated 3:07 mins reading time)

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Crow.  It tastes like chicken.

Or maybe bratwurst?

Anyway, as has now been logged for posterity on this fine website, last week I thought the Packers would go down 28-24 to the Giants and thus ending their 17 game winning streak dating back to last season. The final score was close (38-35) but the outcome was reverse as the Packers won in thrilling, last minute fashion.

Truthfully, I don’t think I have ever been happier to be wrong.

More importantly, I learned a very valuable lesson as I wipe egg off my face: I believe in the 2011 Green Bay Packers.  The team had not been tested quite like this and the way Aaron Rodgers imposed his will on that final drive against a good but wounded Giants defense opened my eyes as wide as saucers.

I had a fair amount of doubts that this team could go the distance due to a leaky defense and with injuries affecting the linebacking position.  I thought the law of averages would catch up with Rodgers and the offense would finally struggle.

Shame on me.  In hindsight, I made the fatal mistake of underestimating Rodgers and he made me pay for it.   I thought someday he could be stopped.  Not anymore. This offense is a juggernaut and the man at the controls won’t yield to anyone, so pedestrians had better get the hell out of the way.  Read more... (873 words + 1 image, estimated 3:30 mins reading time)

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Great win on Sunday for the Packers. A signature win.

I’m not sure if I’d call this week’s stock report “great” or “signature,” but nonetheless, here it is:

Aaron Rodgers
After the first half, I thought this might be the week that Rodgers drops out of the rising category. Boy, than was a dumb thought. Rodgers  came to life in the second half, overcoming several dropped passes and shaky protection to keep the Packers out front and eventually put together a game-winning drive with 58 seconds left. He finished with a QB rating of 106, his lowest of the season, but I think we’ll let that slide this one time.

Clay Matthews
Can you name another player on defense that did much of anything on Sunday? Walden had a few pressures. Shields tipped away a couple of passes. Raji was active early. Otherwise, Matthews was the lone bright spot on D.

Jordy Nelson
It didn’t matter if Nelson was covered or only had a few inches to work with along the sideline, he was determined to make the catch when Rodgers threw it to him. A nice rebound game for No. 87 after a ho-hum performance against the Lions.

Steady

Greg Jennings
Not even the NFL’s silly rules about catches in the end zone could keep Jennings from scoring. After a brief slowdown in weeks nine and 10, Jennings is back on track.  Read more... (473 words + 1 image, estimated 1:54 mins reading time)

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Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Another week. Another team throwing everything they had at the Packers. Another Packers victory.

The Packers beat the Giants 38-35 on Sunday and are now 12-0. It was a forgettable game for the Packers defense, but Aaron Rodgers and the offense came through late to secure the win.

Some quick thoughts on how it went down:

What went right
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•  Aaron Rodgers. He struggled occasionally and threw a pick that led directly to a Giants TD, but finished 28 for 46 for 369 yards, four TDs and a 106.2 passer rating. Also, the winning drive he led with 58 seconds to play was unreal.
• Clay Matthews. Matthews was a one-man show on defense Sunday. No other defender did much of anything.
• Jordy Nelson. It didn’t matter how covered he was or where he was on the field, Nelson was determined to come down with the ball when Rodgers threw it to him.
• Donald Driver. The old guy still staying relevant.

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