The Packer Pundit

Spitz, Moll named starting guards
McCarthy made it official Monday afternoon, naming Spitz as his starting left guard and Moll as his starting right guard. Sherman first informed Klemm and Whitticker that they had won the jobs on Sept. 5 but didn't make it public until two days later.

"I thought it was important," McCarthy said. "I was not comfortable waiting until the end of training camp to name the starting five. So by going this direction it gives us a chance to get these five guys repped and ready for Chicago."

Spitz, a third-round draft choice from Louisville, and Moll, a fifth-round pick from Nevada, got the nod over Daryn Colledge, a second-round selection from Boise State. Colledge started at left guard throughout the off-season until he was benched two days after the exhibition opener. Spitz moved from right to left guard and Moll was inserted at right guard.

"I know there's going to be growing pains," Spitz said. "On the other hand, I still have to do my job, take the licks and keep on going. You've got to play and win games now. It's going to get to a point where being a rookie isn't an excuse. Obviously, we're starting for a reason."

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Grounded
The next time running back Arliss Beach decides to take flight into the end zone, he probably should consider not returning to the sideline afterward. It is not the Packers' desire to have their running backs jumping over the pile at the goal line, and when Beach did it Saturday and failed to score, he heard about it.

"This is not a beauty contest," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said. "I don't like that. Jam it up in there. I don't want it looking pretty. I want six points. He took off from the 3-yard line." Beach, who Jagodzinski said played a very good game, got high on his leap.

"He did. Not high enough," Jagodzinski said. "You go do that you better come back and score. There was a crease in there that he could have, but he took off from the 3-yard line. Is he Walter Payton? Marcus Allen? He's not quite there yet."

Line dance
After a rather mediocre game against San Diego, the Packers' defensive line played much better against the Falcons, according to McCarthy. The Packers sacked the quarterback five times, had eight quarterback hits and drew a holding penalty. "I thought there was more pressure this week than last week," McCarthy said. "I just think that we have a very good, healthy rotation there. I thought our younger guys played well there: (Jason) Hunter, John Jolly. Hunter made the play (a deflection) on the interception. That's a group with excellent depth and that's very healthy for us, and we're going to have some tough decisions there."

Fight game
One of the more aggressive fights of training camp occurred when wide receiver Rod Gardner objected to cornerback Ahmad Carroll holding him as he ran a route in an 11-on-11 drill. Gardner shoved Carroll and Carroll started swinging, eventually kicking Gardner as the two exchanged punches. They both fell to the ground and it took about a dozen players to break up the fight.

"It's a hot day, Monday," cornerback Al Harris said.

"I think they just wanted to be on NFL Network," cornerback Jason Horton said. "They've been showing all the fights this year. They just wanted a little air time." McCarthy didn't seem to object too much to the two defending their honor, but he wasn't thrilled with Carroll's actions

"The energy is fine; the kicking is not," McCarthy said.

Short Yardage
*Kicker Dave Rayner, who made his only field-goal attempt Saturday, missed a 39-yarder at the end of a 2-minute drill in practice. Kicking with the wind, Rayner hit it wide left.

*Peko played right guard with the No. 2 offense in the 2-minute drill, replacing Moore, who missed two audibles in the game Saturday night.

*McCarthy intends to play the starters well into the third quarter against Cincinnati Monday night, but Green will see only limited action in his return to full contact.

*Safety Marquand Manuel practiced with the No. 1 unit more than he has in recent practices, but he continues to work on his injured calf, stretching between almost every drill.

Packer Punter Post Mordem
Well we wont have BJ to kick around anymore! I had to laugh at al the puns they used in the headlines for the Sander story. Oh... and I did some checking last night... basically for Sherm to draft BJ he moved up 15 slots (gave up extra pics after but the key was the moving up). The most notable player taken in those 15 pics was QB Matt Schaub. Just thought I'd throw that in there --

Green Bay Punts on Sander
JASON WILDE / madison.com

Midway through practice one day late last week, B.J. Sander emerged from the Don Hutson Center, greeting a familiar face on the sideline with a smile and a friendly how's-it-going? salutation. When the same question was asked in kind, Sander said, "Well, I'm still here."

Not anymore.

Cutting ties with one of the most controversial draft picks in recent team history, the Green Bay Packers released the punter Monday in a move that even his competition had to admit was surprising in its timing.

In Saturday night's preseason victory over Atlanta, Sander took the first punt and boomed a picture-perfect 61-yarder with 5.1 seconds of hang time. When Jon Ryan's turn came, the CFL import dropped the snap in his end zone and had to scramble to get away a 42-yard desperation kick to avoid disaster.

But rather than the turn of events tightening up the competition between the two, general manager Ted Thompson decided to let Ryan prove himself, much like when Thompson cut veteran Billy Cundiff Thursday to give the kicking job to unproven Dave Rayner.

"I was just thinking, 'Let's put them out there and let's see what we've got,' rather than go through the last two preseason games where everybody's splitting kicks," Thompson said. "When you're the sole guy, you're in the glaring spotlight. MORE>>

Packers Pull Plug on Punter
By Todd Korth / Packer report

The Green Bay Packers, at least for now, awarded the punting job to Jon Ryan by releasing former third-round draft pick B.J. Sander. The Packers also released linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann, who has been sidelined with an injury. By releasing Sander, who has struggled in each of the past two seasons, Ryan will serve as Green Bay's only punter. Whether the Packers retain the Canadian or not likely depends on how well he punts in each of the final two preseason games. There is always a possibility that Ryan could be replaced by a punter released by another team as cutdowns are made in the next two weeks around the league, but for now, he's the main man. "We felt that this guy's got a tremendous upside, great potential and we're going to see if he can seize the moment, if you will," said special teams coordinator Mike Stock.

Sander, a 6-foot-4, 218-pound veteran from Ohio State, was the Packers’ third of three selections in the third round of the 2004 draft after winning the Ray Guy award as the nation’s top collegiate punter. Last season, he averaged 39.2 gross yards on 64 punts, with 11 inside the 20 and two touchbacks. He finished the season on injured reserve with a fracture in his kicking leg. MORE>>

Packers Give Sander the Boot
Punter never justified selection
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com

Punter B.J. Sander, the symbol of Mike Sherman's performance as the Packers' general manager from 2001-'04, has hit his last shank in Green Bay.

Still unsure about the merits of Canadian Jon Ryan but certain about Sander's deficiencies, general manager Ted Thompson released Sander on Monday morning to close the book on one of the most hotly debated draft-day decisions in club history.

"We've had a long time to look at B.J., he's worked hard and done all that," Thompson said. "We wanted to put the spotlight on Jon Ryan and see how he responds. I like what I've seen in terms of leg strength. We just need to see more of him. We don't have a clear enough picture."

The Packers signed Ryan on Feb. 1 as a free agent out of the Canadian Football League, where he averaged 43.2 yards per punt in 2004 and a league-record 50.6 last season. His signing bonus was $35,000. MORE>>

Packers give Sander the boot
By Pete Dougherty / greenbaypressgazette.com

The Green Bay Packers quietly ended the B.J. Sander saga Monday. About 2¼ years after former coach Mike Sherman made the unprecedented move of trading up to select the punter in the third round of the 2004 draft, the Packers' new management team of General Manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy cut Sander loose after only two preseason games this summer. It means Thompson and McCarthy think Canadian Football Leaguer Jon Ryan clearly has outperformed Sander in training camp, and he has the next two weeks to nail down the job working as the lone punter in camp.

The move seemed to come out of the blue because the Packers had suggested all along the two would battle for the job until the end of camp. But it's another indication Thompson and McCarthy are willing to place major responsibility in the hands of young and unproven players if they like their talent. They did the same thing last week with their release of veteran kicker Billy Cundiff because they wanted to give all the practice and game work to the stronger-legged Dave Rayner, who was a kickoff specialist as a rookie in Indianapolis. MORE>>

Sherman whiffed in 2004's 3rd round
By Chris Havel / GB Press gazette

Joey Thomas, Donnell Washington and B.J. Sander, also known as Strike One, Strike Two and Strike Three, share a dubious place in Packers history. The cornerback, nose tackle and punter — and I use those titles loosely — might represent the single-worst third round in the team's 70 years of drafts. Sander, the final (ugh!) leg of this hapless trio, was released on Monday.

It isn't Sander's fault that ex-Packers coach and General Manager Mike Sherman traded up to select him in the third round of the 2004 draft. What was he supposed to do? Hang up when the Packers called prematurely? Then again, Sander never realized his potential or capitalized on his opportunity, and for that, he has no one to blame but himself. MORE>>

Let's Change things up a bit now and look at some O-line articles --




Rookies Moll, Spitz To Open '06 Season As Starters
By Jeff Harding / Packers.com

With two preseason games in the books and two to play, Head Coach Mike McCarthy on Monday said he will not wait until the end of training camp to name his opening day starters along the offensive line. Joining veterans Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher and third-year center Scott Wells will be 2006 draft picks Tony Moll and Jason Spitz.

"This is the direction we'll go, with Tony at right guard and Jason on the left," McCarthy said. "I thought it was important and I think we've talked about it the last couple of weeks that I was not comfortable waiting until the end of training camp to name the starting five. So by going in this direction it gives us a chance to get these five guys prepped and ready for Chicago." MORE>>

Offensive line comes into focus
JASON WILDE / madison.com

Barring an injury in one of the final two preseason games, the Green Bay Packers' offensive line is set for the team's Sept. 10 regular-season opener against Chicago, just as coach Mike McCarthy had hoped. With rookie fifth-round pick Tony Moll holding his own at right guard and rookie third-round pick Jason Spitz being his solid self at left guard during Saturday night's exhibition victory over Atlanta, they are now officially the starters.

"This is the direction we'll go, with Tony at right and Jason at left," McCarthy said after practice Monday. "I thought it was important - and I think we talked about it the last couple of weeks - I was not comfortable with waiting until the end of training camp to name the starting five. So by going this direction, it gives us a chance to get these five guys ready for Chicago."

Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said Spitz and Moll "graded out good - not great, but good" on film but the coaches saw "things we can work with and things we can work on. There's some really encouraging things on film with those five guys."

For Moll, who said he hadn't been told he's a starter, the decision caps a surprising, meteoric rise. He's gone from being a tight end as a junior at Nevada, to a fifth-round draft pick, to being seen as a developmental project in the days after the draft to opening day starter. Moll said he'll use the next two preseason games, beginning Monday night at Cincinnati, to learn the nuances of playing between veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher and center Scott Wells. MORE>>

Revamped O-line passes test
By Rob Demovsky / greenbaypressgazette.com

Barring injury, the Green Bay Packers will open the regular season with the same starting offensive line they used in Saturday's preseason game against Atlanta — with rookies Tony Moll and Jason Spitz at the two guard spots. The rookie guards held up well enough that coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski decided to leave them where they are and work on continuity and chemistry between them and the other three offensive line starters. Moll, a fifth-round draft pick, had a couple of breakdowns in his first start at right guard, and Spitz, a third-rounder, performed better in his first start at left guard than he did in the preseason opener at right guard. That leaves second-round draft pick Daryn Colledge on the outside looking in.

"If we can get three weeks (of practice) with the same five guys working towards Chicago," Jagodzinski said, "that's what we're doing. We're working toward that first ballgame." MORE>>