General manager Ted Thompson has been prudent when it comes to spending money. Long gone are the days of handing lucrative long-term extensions to broken-down veterans and lavishing millions of dollars on other team’s castoffs. Instead, Thompson has rewarded players on his own roster – usually with contracts that ultimately proved to be fair for both sides. The deals given to Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Nick Barnett, Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins are perfect examples of this. But Thompson hasn’t been infallible. He’s pulled a few “Shermans” of his own. Here are the six worst (in alphabetical order): Jarrett Bush – Thompson didn’t actually pay the backup corner $4.5 million over three years. The Titans did (in the form of an offer sheet), but he chose to match it on Mar. 16, 2009. To be fair, quite a few teams were interested in Bush when he hit the restricted free agent market. Then again, none of those GMs had the opportunity to watch him up close and personal for three years. Brandon Chillar – Since his four-year,...
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Fans and members of the media were shocked when Green Bay decided to keep three fullbacks on the active roster last season. At a time when many teams have only one player at the position, holding on to John Kuhn, Korey Hall and rookie Quinn Johnson seemed excessive. But there proved to be a logical reason behind the move – Johnson simply wasn’t ready to play and GM Ted Thompson didn’t want to risk placing him on the practice squad. Ironically, this exact scenario could unfold again this summer – albeit at a different position. Don’t be surprised to see Green Bay keep four tight ends on the 53-man roster in 2010. Barring something unforeseen like an injury or a trade, it’s hard to imagine Donald Lee, Spencer Havner and rookie Andrew Quarless not making the team. Lee is vastly overpaid at $2 million, but he’s long been one of coach Mike McCarthy’s favorite players. And while the 29-year-old clearly regressed as a receiver last season, he does provide capable blocking and a willingness to throw his...
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If you listen to the national media, the Packers defense should be the second-coming of the ‘86 Bears this season. NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan recently proclaimed the secondary to be the best in the league, and just the other day, Yahoo Sports’ Jason Cole ranked the linebackers at No. 3. “Someday in the near future, NFL people will talk about how the Packers linebacking corps is like some four-headed nightmare,” wrote Cole. “With Nick Barnett, Clay Matthews, Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk (who is almost an afterthought in this group), the Packers have the best combination of great tacklers against the run and potential pass-rush stars.” Talk about hyperbole. Yes, this is a good quartet, but it’s neither No. 3 in the league nor is it the “best combination of great tacklers against the run and potential pass-rush stars.” While Cole correctly placed Pittsburgh and Dallas ahead of Green Bay, he should’ve added – at the very minimum – Baltimore and the Jets to the list as well. Cole called Jarret Johnson of the Ravens “just another guy.”...
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With Johnny Jolly suspended for the season, converted nose tackle Ryan Pickett will likely move into the starting lineup at left defensive end. As far as depth is concerned, the Packers have four intriguing young players on the roster, but only one of them has started a game in the NFL. Here’s a brief look at the contenders for the backup jobs at end: Justin Harrell – Chosen 16th overall in the 2007 draft, the former Tennessee star has missed 35 games in three seasons, including all 16 a year ago. He isn’t as big or as athletic as Jolly, but he’s every bit as strong. If – and it’s a gigantic if – his balky back holds up, he should be a more than adequate backup with the potential to eventually supplant Pickett in the starting lineup. Mike Neal – Drafted 56th overall in April, Neal arrived in Green Bay with no experience playing outside – either in a 3-4 or a 4-3. And while he worked exclusively at end in the mini-camps and OTAs, he...
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Johnny Jolly’s suspension will hurt the Packers, but it won’t hurt Justin Harrell. In fact, the former No. 1 pick is now – provided he can stay healthy – almost a lock to make the final roster. That’s because of all the young defensive linemen who’ll be fighting for backup jobs this summer, he’s the only one who can play both end and nose tackle. Why’s versatility so important? Because without Jolly, backup nose tackle Ryan Pickett is going to be counted on to help fill the void at left end. And without another player capable of handling the nose, the defense would be extremely vulnerable should starter B.J. Raji go down. That’s where Harrell would prove invaluable. He could replace Pickett at left end or Raji at nose tackle or he could simply move up one spot on the depth chart at both positions. It remains to be seen whether Harrell’s body will allow him to finally make a contribution to the team. He practiced fairly consistently this spring and didn’t appear to have any problems...
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The regular season doesn’t start for another two months, but the Packers have already suffered a significant loss. The NFL on Friday suspended Johnny Jolly indefinitely for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The veteran defensive end will not play in 2010. The exact cause of the lengthy suspension is not yet known. What is known, however, is that stopping opposing offenses has just gotten more difficult. Jolly wasn’t always the most disciplined player in the world, but his unique blend of size, strength and athleticism made him extremely difficult to handle at the point of attack. And while the former Texas A&M star offered little as a pass rusher, he was as good as anyone at batting balls down at the line of scrimmage. He also brought a tremendous amount of unbridled enthusiasm to the huddle – something that shouldn’t be overlooked. Ryan Pickett will likely open the season as Jolly’s replacement, but you can bet the coaches are keeping their fingers crossed that either oft-injured veteran Justin Harrell or one of the rookies emerge during...
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Since round the clock coverage from ESPN obviously isn’t enough to feed his giant ego, Brett Favre has taken an additional step to ensure that he’ll be THE story when training camps open for all 32 teams at the end of the month. The veteran quarterback sat down recently for an interview with Men’s Journal – a story that will conveniently hit the newsstands this weekend. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran excerpts from the wide-ranging interview on Wednesday. Favre talks to writer Stephen Rodrick about many things, including his decision to retire, his messy breakup with the Packers and his recent ankle surgery. But what we found most interesting – and most telling – were his comments about the interception at the end of regulation against New Orleans in the NFC title game. Here’s what the 19-year veteran said: “The previous week against the Cowboys, we did the same exact play to Rice. We were up about 25 at the time, so it was different. He came back to me on a broken play, and we got 20...
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Coach Mike McCarthy continues to leave the door open to the possibility of acquiring an outside linebacker before the start of the regular season – and for good reason. As of today, the Packers look to be extremely thin at arguably the most important position in a 3-4 defense. Even if one assumes that second-year man Brad Jones will blossom into a quality player – and that’s far from a given – the backups are dubious at best. Brady Poppinga is the only reserve with starting experience, but that was mostly in a 4-3. And truth be told, the former BYU star wasn’t particularly effective even while performing in a scheme that was better suited to his skill set. The coaches are hopeful that one of the undrafted free agents will step up in the summer, but none of the youngsters did a thing in the offseason to suggest they’ll be ready to contribute in 2010. And while the always creative Dom Capers gave inside linebacker Brandon Chillar and even defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins some work outside...
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OK, so Dan Gilbert’s open letter to Cavalier fans probably wasn’t befitting of an NBA owner. He called LeBron James everything from a quitter to a traitor to a coward. Did he go overboard? Of course he did, but as a Cheesehead, doesn’t some small part of you wish that Gilbert was running the Packers back in August of 2008? Remember how diplomatic Mark Murphy was about Brett Favre’s return in his famous “Crossing the Rubicon” statement? Something tells us Gilbert wouldn’t have been so quick to take the high road. Something tells us his statement may have read more like this: Statement by Packers President/CEO Dan Gilbert Sixteen years after we rescued a pill-popping alcoholic from the Atlanta Falcons, Brett Favre has unfortunately decided to return for a seventeenth season with the Packers. He has had a great career with our organization and although we built this year around the assumption that Brett meant what he said about retiring, the lying scumbag is coming back. We will welcome him back because the Commissioner is forcing us...
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The Packers drafted Mike Neal in the second round because he was the highest-rated player on their board and not because of the situation surrounding Johnny Jolly. In fact, up until about six weeks ago, the team was fairly confident that the troubled defensive end would be available for most if not all of the upcoming season….. Scot McCloughan chose to work for the Seahawks because he wanted to be closer to his kids. All things being equal, the ex-49ers GM would’ve preferred coming to Green Bay. He would’ve had far more input under Ted Thompson than he’ll have under GM Pete Carroll John Schneider in Seattle….. We continue to hear that Charles Woodson did in fact approach the Packers about his contract a few months ago. The All-Pro cornerback didn’t make any threats and the two sides apparently agreed to continue talking at a later date….. Third-string quarterback Graham Harrell looked OK at the recent mini-camp, but we’ve yet to find a single scout who thinks the former Texas Tech star has a future in the...
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When asked recently about who’ll be returning kicks in the upcoming season, both coach Mike McCarthy and special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum mentioned the name Tramon Williams. Let’s hope they were just kidding. Is it really a good idea to expose one of your best corners – and an undersized one at that – to perhaps the most dangerous job in all of professional sports? The list of players who have been injured doing that job for the Packers in recent years is quite lengthy (Allen Rossum, Najeh Davenport, Will Blackmon and Jordy Nelson come to mind immediately). So if a legitimate kick returner isn’t on the current roster, GM Ted Thompson needs to go out and find one before the regular-season opener at Philadelphia on Sept. 12. As far as punts are concerned, based on early returns (pun intended), none of the undrafted free agents look like the answer. Quinn Porter (Stillman College), Sam Shields (Miami) and Chastin West (Fresno State) spent the past few months trading bobbles and drops. Their struggles came as no real...
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