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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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Can the Packers make room for a sixth WR like Tori Gurley?

The recent contract restructuring that Donald Driver agreed to with the Green Bay Packers has stamped a gigantic question mark over the wide receiver position. Namely, will the Packers’ 53-man roster include six wide receivers now that a roster spot is virtually guaranteed for Driver? Second-year players Diondre Borel, Tori Gurley, and even Shaky Smithson will all be competing for a spot on the roster, but it might require an additional receiver spot to make it possible.

Instead of debating the validity of keeping six wide receivers, I’ve decided to consider how this could actually happen. What roster moves would have to happen, and which option is the most likely?

Before diving in, I decided to do a little preliminary work and see how Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson have built their opening day rosters in the past. I first charted how many players were kept at each position, then went through and looked at the minimum number of players McCarthy has kept throughout the years. I didn’t take an average, since I though it more important to see how low the Packers were willing to go at a given position and use that as kind of a breaking point.

(Note: I only went back to 2009 due to the defensive scheme shift. Defensive positions prior to that point, especially DL and LB, would carry significantly different numbers.)  Read more... (1189 words + 1 image, estimated 4:45 mins reading time)

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Packers WR Donald Driver took a pay cut to stay in Green Bay.

Someone once said “show me the money!”; as we all know, what players and front office men say in public is often not what’s really happening behind closed doors (for instance, we’ll probably never know what the real reason behind the “Favre divorce”).  This is especially true for the Packers, where General Manager Ted Thompson has made it an artform to talk a lot without actually saying anything.  However, one thing that will always be true is the value of a contract (minus all the technical jargon, i.e. Washington Redskins and Donovan McNabb).  Money never lies and it gives us fans a true indication of what the Packers think of Donald Driver and what Donald Driver thinks of the Packers.  Below is the contract that Donald Driver recently signed and how it compares to another Packers wide receiver, James Jones.

• Contract:
  • James Jones: 3 year contract worth $9.4 million
    • Yearly average: $3.1 million
• Donald Driver: 1 year contract worth $2.5 million
  • Yearly average: $2.5 million
  • Signing Bonus
    • James Jones: $1.5 million
      • Yearly average: $500,000
• Donald Driver: $500,000
  • Yearly average: $500,000
  • 2012 Base Salary
    • James Jones: $2.3 million
    • Donald Driver: $2 million

I would argue that on a yearly basis, Jones’ and Driver’s contracts are essentially identical.  Obviously Jones has a little more security with 3-year deal (and more guaranteed money), but considering Driver is nearly a decade older than Jones, it’s a pretty good sign for Driver and a pretty bad sign for Jones.  Read more... (872 words + 1 image, estimated 3:29 mins reading time)

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The rookies on the Green Bay Packers roster have yet to complete a half-season in 2011, but the bye week in Week 8 gave us an opportunity to gauge how the Packers’ first-year players look through seven games.

Snap-counts and statistics are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

T Derek Sherrod (R1)

The Packers wanted him to take hold of the left guard position coming into training camp, but that experiment died in a hurry when Sherrod couldn’t handle the switch. He’s a right or left tackle from this point on. The only major action Sherrod has seen this season came against the Falcons in Week 5. After Chad Clifton went down with a hamstring injury, Sherrod filled in at right tackle as Marshall Newhouse slid over to the left side. Of the 51 snaps he played, 36 came on passing plays, and Sherrod allowed just two quarterback pressures and no sacks or hits. That kind of snap distribution shows the confidence that the Packers have in their rookie at right tackle in pass protection. Sherrod also came in on seven snaps (five run, two pass) against the Broncos in Week 4.

WR/KR Randall Cobb (R2)  Read more... (1468 words + 1 image, estimated 5:52 mins reading time)

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Let’s change the pace a little bit, let’s talk about you.

Let’s talk about you the fan.

Now that General Manager Ted Thompson has won a Super Bowl using the “Thompson Method ™”, he can apparently do no wrong in the eyes of the fans.  People who had been clamoring for years to get more veteran free agents and big name signings have quieted down, ready to admit the error in their ways and venerate the white-haired one.  Even the most staunch Thompson hater is now ready to board the “draft and develop” bandwagon that Thompson preaches.

One interesting fact that I’ve noticed is that almost as adamantly as fans were criticizing him before he won a Super Bowl, fans are now just as adamantly supportive of him now that he has won one.  Fans now seem to think the same way as Thompson now, which brings up a interesting question: are Packers fans now psychologically predisposed to think like Ted Thompson?

It’s an interesting thought.  If you are a Packers fan right now, you couldn’t be happier and you’d like status quo to continue (repeat anyone?).  Obviously Ted Thompson did something right to win a Super Bowl (right?), so it makes sense that people are following in Thompson’s rationale now.  Read more... (1499 words + 1 image, estimated 6:0 mins reading time)

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Before a way-less than capacity crown in Cleveland, the Green BayPackers saw their first real action of the 2011 season against Mike Holmgren’s Cleveland Browns:

Rodgers calls tails and wins the toss. Randall Cobb is back to return the kick and does a nice job extending the return for another 5-8 yds when it looked like nothing was there.

On the Brown’s first drive, Cleveland showed they knew exactly who to attack, going after Jarret Bush and Pat Lee. Lee with his man all the way but never turns to see the ball. It was Ahmad Carroll-like.

Packers kickoff team lines up in a three point stance to start. Intended to give them more explosion (quicker start with only a 5 yd run-up) and less chance of anyone cheating and going offsides.

Marshall Newhouse gets totally abused at right tackle. But what is he doing there? I don’t remember one report of his lining up there in practice, and he was a 3 year starter at LT in college. I guess they’re throwing him in there like they did with Bulaga?

Seems like when Matt Flynn is in trouble, he either doesn’t see or is afraid to throw downfield. Always goes to the closest guy.

Spencer Havner is a touchdown magnet. Footballs in the end zone are just drawn to him.

The Packers are doing a lot of juggling on the O-line in the first half. Lang and Sherrod aleternate at LG, then Lang goes to LT with Sherrod at LG. Then they swap.  All the while Newhouse is over at RT.  Read more... (496 words + 3 images, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)

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It probably goes without saying that the 2011 Green Bay Packers should have a deep, talented roster.

That was likely the case before the last season begun, too, and it was proven time and time again during the course of the season when 15 players went to IR. Because of that talent and depth in the roster, the Packers were able to overcome the injuries and win the Super Bowl.

Heading into this season, the Packers only lost a handful of players from that run. The list of players from 2010 playing elsewhere this year: Cullen Jenkins (Eagles), Nick Barnett (Bills), Brandon Jackson (Browns), Daryn Colledge (Cardinals), Jason Spitz (Jaguars), Korey Hall (Saints) and Brady Poppinga (Rams). Brandon Chillar, Mark Tauscher, Anthony Smith, Atari Bigby, Matt Wilhelm, Justin Harrell and Derrick Martin are currently free agents without a team.

From those names, only Jenkins, Jackson, Colledge, Spitz and Hall were with the team the entire season. All the others were either mid-season pickups or went on IR at some point during the year. The point here is that the Packers found adequate replacements for the rest of the players listed, somewhat nullifying their impact on this year’s roster.

It’s a testament to GM Ted Thompson and his team of scouts, as they have done a terrific job of identifying talent, regardless of which avenue they’ve taken to acquire it.  Read more... (1185 words + 2 images, estimated 4:44 mins reading time)

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