The Packers give up their Bid for the Super Bowl
The pre playoff preparation work was done. The Green Bay Packers had a game plan and fine-tuned their plan by practicing the plays over, and over, and over…
They studied videotape, met with their respective position coordinators to go over the myriad possibilities of any given snap-play. They even tried to account for just about everything but that which no one could ever expect to prepare: the unpredictable bounce of a cold, oblong ball… and fate!
The Packers believed they were ready, physically and mentally, for their NFC divisional playoff game against the Giants at Lambeau Field, but after two weeks of structure and go, go, go, the final moments were tough as they watched their bid for the Super Bowl disappear.
Game day is here and over. And even though the season started with the NFL Lockout, these Green Bay Packers were set to host their first playoff game since 2007 when the New York Giants beat them in the NFC Championship Game. Well, the Giants did it again against the 15-1 Green Bay Packers again at Lambeau Field. The Packers’ offense was plagued with fumbles, dropped passes, and overthrows as the Giants eliminated them touchdown after touchdown. Eli Manning who was 21 of 33, with 330 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, was sharper than Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and they simply could not overcome their three fumbles. Maybe rust was a factor, and Rodgers’ three week stay from playing was a very bad idea? After all, this wasn’t no Packers vs. Bears rivalry game, this was the playoffs!
Nevertheless, both the offense and defense were lethargic and the rest is history now. Although the Packers were driving to tie at the start of the fourth quarter, Rodgers simply couldn’t connect with tight end Jermichael Finley on third and 5 at the Giants’ 39. The next play Rodgers was sacked, and the Giants took over to put together a 10-play field goal drive to take a 23-13 lead. Not to mention playing against a Giants defense dead set on covering as many receivers as possible, Rodgers had a little running room and finished with 66 yards on seven scrambles.
Safety Morgan Burnett had an interception to thwart one drive, and Brad Jones blocked a field goal. And let’s not forget that veteran Donald Driver set the franchise record for postseason receptions. But despite these highlights, this was not the same Packers offense that drove the Packers to a 15-1 record. Rodgers missed throws, numerous receivers dropped passes, and the line was shaky with Green Bay using both Chad Clifton and Marshall Newhouse at left tackle.
The Giants covered very well and refused to give up the big play. The Packers had one pass play of 20 yards or more. All year, Dom Capers hasn’t been able to fluster quarterbacks without blitzing, and a comfortable Manning made plays all game. With 15 seconds left, the back-breaker came at the end of the first half when Ahmad Bradshaw – running diagonally across the field – scampered for 23 and managed to get out of bounds to set up Nicks’ 37-yard touchdown. That play was the impending blow that sent the Giants into halftime with all the momentum necessary to carry them to a victory.
Former Packer Johnny Jolly Sentenced to Six Years Prison
AP — Suspended Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for violating the terms of his probation for a conviction of being possession of a compound containing codeine.
State District Judge Denise Bradley imposed the sentence despite tearful pleas from Jolly and his mother, Phyllis Jolly, to allow the 6-foot-3, 325-pound lineman to be treated for his addiction to codeine instead of going to prison. Jolly’s aunt, agent and drug counselor also testified on his behalf.
“I want to go to rehab to get help,” Jolly told the judge as he wiped away tears with a tissue.
After a traffic stop in Houston in October Jolly, 28, was charged with possession of a compound containing codeine, a controlled substance. He also was charged with tampering with evidence for attempting to conceal the substance from the investigating officers.
Jolly’s truck was pulled over after he was seen throwing a bag out of the window. The bag wasn’t recovered, but Jolly was seen dumping a cup believed to contain codeine on the floor of his vehicle. Two bottles believed to contain codeine were recovered from the vehicle.
The arrest put Jolly in jeopardy of receiving prison time because in April he had pleaded guilty to a codeine possession charge in a deal that wiped out an earlier charge and spared him from prison unless he stumbled again.
After the hearing, Jolly’s attorney, Letitia Quinones, told The Associated Press that the player spent eight weeks in court-ordered rehab after his second arrest, but has only recently faced up to his codeine addiction. “I don’t look at Johnny as a criminal,” Quinones said. “I look at him as an addict.”
Jolly, who grew up in Houston, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Packers in 2006 after playing at Texas A&M. He was a starter for the Packers in 2008 and 2009. However, he sat out the 2010 season after being suspended by the NFL indefinitely the previous July.
Top 5 Trade Predictions for the Green Bay Packers
In the NFL, the majority of trades that take place are during the NFL draft. These trades can either bring excitement or disappointment to a team. Here is a look at five likely players whom the Green Bay Packers might trade during the NFL draft.
Matt Flynn The revelation that Matt Flynn might have what it takes to be a starting quarterback came during the Packers game against New England. No one thought the Packers stood a chance against one of the best teams in the NFL, but Flynn’s play was exceptional. He almost lead the Packers to a victory, but he did put himself on some team’s radar.
Matt Flynn has a good arm and the size you want from a quarterback. Teams will have to go back to his college tape to get a good look at him, but he played well in college against top competition. He is a true pocket passer who appears to finally be putting the game together. The best thing he has going for him is his age, as he will only be 26 during the upcoming season.
There are eight teams in need of a starting quarterback and only three or four elite quarterbacks in this year’s draft. A second-round pick wouldn’t be out of the question for Matt Flynn and Ted Thompson might jump at the chance to boost his defense or offensive line with that high of a pick.
Ryan Grant Ryan Grant. He came out of nowhere and was quietly becoming one of the better running backs in the league. He was hit by the injury bug, and during the regular season it appeared that Grant was the most missed player.
Then came the playoffs and the revelation of James Starks. Starks exploded during the postseason and gave the Packers the running game they so missed from Ryan Grant. When healthy, Grant proved to be a running back that could carry the entire load. He has good speed and great vision. He holds onto the ball and can makes plays in the passing game. He has Pro Bowl–caliber talent. With Mark Ingram being the only “elite” running back in the draft, teams in need of a running back might take a hard look at Grant.
Atari Bigby Atari Bigby has been hampered by injuries throughout his short career. In five seasons, he has only played in 45 games, an average of nine games a season. In the lone season where he played all 16 games, he had 86 tackles, five interceptions and three forced fumbles.
He has starting caliber talent at safety and has been successful when on the field. Due to his injury, Charlie Peprah filled in very well for Bigby and is a few years younger, making Bigby expendable for the Packers.
There are plenty of teams that could use Bigby’s obvious talents, but they will need to decide if they truly believe he can stay healthy. If the Packers can find a suitor, Bigby could be worth a middle-round draft pick.
Nick Barnett Another player who spent the majority of the season injured, Barnett has been the leader of the Packers defense since he was drafted. He has been one of the most underrated middle linebackers in the NFL in recent years. He isn’t great in coverage, but he has good sideline-to-sideline speed and knows how to chase down a player. He is the type of player who is always around the ball and making plays. He is a great team leader.
Due to the play of Desmond Bishop, Barnett is very tradeable. He is still young, so a team looking to add a quality middle linebacker who could lead a defense might be willing to trade an early- to middle-round pick for Barnett.
Desmond Bishop Desmond Bishop had a breakout season for the Packers. Nick Barnett was injured early during the season and Bishop stepped in and filled in nicely. However, Nick Barnett is back from injury and looking to regain his starting role with the Packers. Bishop is still rather young and could be an upgrade at linebacker for many teams playing a 3-4 defense. He is a smart player who won’t be the best player on a defense, but will make plays and impact games.
It is highly unlikely that Bishop will get traded, but if the Packers see that Barnett is the more valuable player, look for Green Bay to try to get a draft pick for Bishop.
Why Aaron Rodgers Loses Because of The NFL Lockout
The NFL lockout could end next month or next year. No matter when it concludes, however, the Green Bay Packers have already canceled one of their most successful off-season events, “quarterback school”.
Mike McCarthy’s renowned “quarterback school,” an intensive and top-secret program designed to give his most important players a head start on the season, has come and gone with the NFL lockout. Although it is possible that a truncated version could be revived if the lockout ends soon, McCarthy already lamented its demise last week at the NFL owners meeting.
“To me, March is the most important time of year for a young quarterback,” McCarthy said. “March and April, I’ve always felt, is when you get your individual improvement. That opportunity has obviously gone by the wayside.”
When asked what happens at his quarterback school, McCarthy smiled and said, “That’s top-secret stuff, man” before emphasizing that he follows all of the NFL’s offseason rules for offseason player participation. The concept began when he started as an NFL assistant in the early 1990′s, McCarthy said.
“Particularly in the old days, you draft a young quarterback and he goes and sits in a corner and he takes all the notes,” he said. “Then all of a sudden you get to [the next] March, and they say, ‘You know, I didn’t want to ask a question in front of the other guys but I never knew what the hell you were talking about.’ So and you’re like, ‘I just spent a year with this guy and he doesn’t know the base protections.’ That was a big moment for me personally when I was a position coach.”
So on the first day of quarterback school, the Packers “go back to page one,” McCarthy said. That means reviewing how to call for a huddle and moving from there. In recent years, McCarthy asked Rodgers to present some of the information as a way to mix it up and keep things interesting for a veteran group.
“Each year, as he goes through it, you try to eliminate some of the redundancies,” McCarthy said, “but it’s to give those young quarterbacks that chance to go back to square one every year. You learn the base protections, all the adjustments, I’ve been in the same offense since 1989, and I still learn something new each year. You’re never too experienced or been in it long enough to not find a better way this year.
“Because today’s game, it’s just a big circle. The NFL is just a circle of adjustments, whether it’s the 3-4, or whether it’s the 4-3, whether you’re spreading them out or running the ball. You really don’t run new plays. There are so many great coaches and players that have come before us and you’re just reinventing the stuff that have been done over history. You try to stay one step ahead of your opponents.”
In McCarthy’s world, the quickest way to that point is to have multiple quarterbacks who know what they’re doing. The Packers should have that this year with or without a quarterback school. But as with the case of the Minnesota Vikings’ pre-draft minicamp, the lockout has already eliminated an opportunity for further progress.
Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Packers earned the right to visit Atlanta with a wild-card round victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. The Packers jumped out to a 14-3 lead in that game, relying on its always-stout defense and a new-found running game to grind the Eagles to a halt.
Atlanta earned a first-round bye by virtue of its NFC-best 13-3 record in the regular season — a mark that included a win over Green Bay in Atlanta. The Falcons are hoping to use the same rowdy home-field edge their division rival, the Saints, did last season en route to the Super Bowl.
OFFENSE Offensively, Atlanta’s game plan will be very similar to last weeks game. They will challenge the Packers’ manhood and try to stuff the football down their throats. They like RG Harvey Dahl climbing to the second level to maul A.J. Hawk and they like FB Ovie Mughelli on Zombo or Walden if they can get Cullen Jenkins sealed with Sam Baker and a tight end. They will have to mix some things up in order to get Roddy White free in the passing game. They’ll likely throw on some running downs and try to free him out of some run formations. Look for the Falcons to move him around in order to get a match-up they like.
DEFENSE On defense, look for the Falcons to get physical with the Packer receivers and try to force them outside and away from the slant routes. They are not too impressed with James Starks because he’s a North-South runner with little wiggle. They like Curtis Lofton stuffing him in the hole if their tackles, Corey Peters and Jonathan Babineaux can get some penetration. They felt they didn’t tackle well against the receivers last time and know they must play tighter coverage. If Rodgers has some time, the double move routes could be open.
What did New Orleans do in the last game that gave the Falcons trouble?
Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was able to successfully stop the Falcons by bracketing both Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. Malcolm Jenkins, a converted safety, was the key. They basically dared Michael Jenkins to beat one on one coverage and that rarely happened. They used an assortment of rolling zones to keep the receivers in check once they controlled the threat of the run game. It was a quite complicated scheme.
PREDICTIONS The Falcons have stressed tackling all week, which could mean they are coming after Aaron Rodgers. He is going to have to make quick throws to his wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings on slants to get the ball out because there is going to be some pressure. The Falcons have to tackle quickly and not let quick throws turn into long runs.
Corners Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes are going to play at times inside the shoulders of Driver and Jennings and take away the slants with leverage. We’ll know pretty early how the Falcons are going to deal with Rodgers, and he is going to get some unscouted looks from the Falcons; a blitz of the Day that has been cooked up for a week!
The Falcons are going to mix it up. Safety blitz, linebacker blitz, corners pressing, corners back. The Packers’ pass game, just from the statistics, should blow up Atlanta, but there are plays to be made.
RED ZONE The Packers have been the better team in the red zone this season because Rodgers can make plays with his feet. He is more mobile than Ryan, which is why the Packers have the edge at this position (even if Ryan wins a lot of games at home). If the Packers get inside the 20 four times, Atlanta has to force a couple of field goals. That’s going to be a big deal in this game.
OVERALL The Packers have the better quarterback.
They have better wide receivers.
When they throw the ball their completions are longer.
But it is all about turnovers and penalties. This is why the Falcons have the edge over the Packers. Granted, Green Bay plays in Minnesota every year, which is inside and buttoned up for noise. The Packers can handle a little racket, but the season suggests Atlanta makes fewer mistakes than the Packers…
The Packers get the win against Philadelphia
For the first game of the season the Green Bay Packers appeared to show a little bit of hope against Philadelphia in the first three quarters of the game. Green Bay held on for a 27-20 season-opening victory at Lincoln Financial Field when the defense stopped Eagles backup quarterback Michael Vick on fourth-and-1 from the Green Bay 42-yard line with under two minutes left! The Packers not only erased 48 years of bad history – nine straight losses in Philly since 1962, including that infamous 2003 playoff game with the fourth-and-26 conversion – but proved at least for now they have what it takes to pull a game out when things start to go a little haywire.
Aaron Rogers?
But in the fourth quarter something happened when Aaron Rogers threw the fatal interception… Nevertheless, Rodgers led the Green Bay Packers to a 27-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that became affected by wet and unfavorable weather in the second half. After only throwing seven interceptions in 2009, Rodgers started 2010 with 2 interceptions. He finished the day 19/31 for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions, averaging a QB rating of 73.1.
Ryan Grant Injured
The Green Bay Packers may have picked up a win yesterday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but running back Ryan Grant managed to pick up an injury in the process.
Coach Mike McCarthy is calling it a “pretty good” sprain, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and that it will be “a challenge” for Ryan to play next week.
Congratulations Pack!
Brett Favre – Boos Outnumber The Cheers at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field, November 01, 2009:
Perhaps the die-hard Brett Favre fans expected all Packers fans to share their same sentiment in cheering for their favorite quarterback as he stepped out onto Lambeau field for Sunday’s game? But that was not the case as Boos from Packers fans widely outnumbered the cheers for the former quarterback…
Wisconsinites’ bond with the Green Bay Packers is unprecedented in the world of professional football, and Favre was once beloved by practically the entire state when he sported the green and gold. After all, he earned credit for bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Title-town after the team wallowed through two decades of mediocrity; not to mention ferociously battling many demons while simultaneously serving his team. And even though that is a part of history now, the player inside Brett Favre is no different than that when he was a dedicated Green Bay Packer player.
Other than a change in uniform and teammates, Favre’s passion for the game is still driven by that vein of sportsmanship and drive which still runs deep through his heart. This was clearly displayed, not only in his triumphant return to Lambeau Field as he took the Vikings to their 38 to 26 victory over the Packers, but in his post game statement to the press:
“I want to lead this Vikings team to a Super Bowl, believe me, I do. And I will do everything in my power.”
The rest of it was typical Brett Favre. Just like in the first game against his old team last month at the Metrodome, Favre was barely touched. When he needed time to look down-field, his protection was nearly perfect. When he took short drops, he fired the ball out quickly. The Packers failed to sack him again.
And despite all the emotions and feelings that filled the air at Lambeau Field, in the end Brett Favre offered respect for the game…
BUY THIS MEMORIAL PLAQUE
Brett Favre Saga
Today is a day of reckoning for Brett Favre… What will his reception be at Lambeau Field when disgruntled fans get to spew their thoughts and feelings of his status of being a Minnesota Vikings player — the rivalry team of the Green Bay Packers? What will the continuing saga of The Packers vs Vikings Rivalry turn out to be when ole’ Favre hits the turf?
I’m sure that for some Brett Favre fans the welcome will be warm, while others who feel betrayed of his choice to retire from the Packers — only to ultimately join an adversarial team will echo through Wisconsin with a resounding BOO! What a striking irony the day after Halloween…
I simply cannot wait to see the outcome of this controversial game at the Home of the Cheeseheads! As such, I’m only left with one thing to say:
GO PACKERS!
The Packers vs. Vikings Rivalry!
When it comes to sports rivalry in Wisconsin, there is probably none greater in intensity than a football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings — especially when its at Lambeau Field! And what exacerbates this Packers vs. Viking rivalry is the fact that Brett Favre will be treading the turf of Lambeau Field as an adversary, rather than the icon that packers fans used to coo… It’s the highly hyped rematch at Lambeau Field, where betrayed fans will be waiting with what could be a cold welcome as the Packers eagerly prepare to avenge their recent defeat at the Metrodome on October 5th. This may be a unique experience for Favre, but he is likely more concerned about the NFC North race between the Vikings (6-1) and Packers (4-2).
Meanwhile, Wisconsinite’s are preparing for this weekends game in a number of ways akin to atypical former Packers seasons, and video streams such as the following are pouring into media pool.
Needless to say, the Packers’ fan base is famously dedicated; regardless of the team’s performance. And despite having by far the smallest local TV market, the Packers have developed one of the largest fan bases in the NFL. Each year the Packers consistently rank as one of the top teams in terms of popularity. The Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets, with about 74,000 people as of May 3, 2007. In 2008 the list grew by more than 4,000 names; making the waiting list number larger than there are seats at Lambeau Field. It should be no surprise that with such a dedicated fan base ESPN.com ranked the Packers as having the second-best fans in the NFL in August 2008?
GO PACKERS!