The Packer Pundit

Monday will be big night for Hawk
As homecomings go, this one should be pretty easy for rookie linebacker A.J. Hawk. The Green Bay Packers' first-round draft choice grew up in Centerville, Ohio, less than an hour from Cincinnati, where the Packers will play the Bengals in a preseason game on Monday night. Hawk is expected to have dozens of family members and friends in the stands, but he didn't have to work hard to get tickets. "A lot of them are Bengals fans," Hawk said, "so they already had tickets."

A full 'Running Back' backfield
Coach Mike McCarthy should have plenty of choices at running back against the Bengals. Ahman Green will start, McCarthy said Saturday. It will be his first game action since he tore a quadriceps tendon at Minnesota on Oct. 23. Also expected to be available are Najeh Davenport and Arliss Beach, both of whom have been banged up and limited in practice this week. Davenport (hip) made it through practice for a second straight day. Beach (shoulder) practiced all week with a red jersey, meaning he could not have contact. Samkon Gado and Noah Herron also are expected to play. Green is expected to play 18 to 20 snaps, but the No. 1 offense will play more than that. McCarthy didn't say which running back would follow Green. Herron could get a few snaps at fullback because starter William Henderson is out with a knee injury.

In or out?
Cornerback Mike Hawkins, who returned to practice on Monday after missing almost three weeks with a sore knee, made it through Saturday's practice and should be available for the Bengals game. Cornerback Patrick Dendy also returned Monday after missing three weeks with an ankle sprain, but McCarthy said his status was less certain than that of Hawkins. Game-time decisions are expected for defensive lineman Kenny Peterson (ankle), offensive lineman Mookie Moore (shoulder), fullback Ben Brown (tailbone) and Dendy.

Extra points
McCarthy said he hopes to give cornerback Charles Woodson a couple of opportunities to return punts against the Bengals. Woodson has been bothered by a sore left thumb but will play with it wrapped. McCarthy said he hopes to have most of his special teams assignments set after Monday's game.

This is an Excellent Article by Jason Wilde. Jason breaks down the Packers... position by position and gives his take on who he thinks will make the team... who will be cut... and who is on the bubble. He makes some good points and... may surprise you with some of his choices!

Roster bubble set to burst for some
By JASON WILDE / madison.com

Ted Thompson was either confident or clueless, but other than his rookie year, the Green Bay Packers' general manager didn't fret too much about being on the bubble entering the final cuts during his 10 years as an NFL player.

"To hear people tell it, all 10. But I think I was a much better player than that," Thompson replied when asked last week how many times he was on the bubble as the final roster reduction approached. "I'm sure maybe there were a few times that I was on the bubble but didn't know any better. The first year, I knew that I was in for a fight, but after that, I felt like I was a bona fide pro football player."

But that doesn't mean Thompson isn't sensitive to what 31 of the 84 players on the roster will go through as the Packers work to reach the league's roster limits in the next six days.

"It's difficult to talk to these kids, just because most of them will have done everything we've asked them to do and we opt to go in a different direction. And it's not their fault, that's just the way the ball bounced this time around," Thompson said. "We try to treat them like men and be honest, and critique if we think maybe they need work on certain areas, but at the same time, they've done their best." MORE>>


Related Article --


The Green Mile:
Some will take long road to NFL
By Dylan B. Tomlinson / Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

In this back room at Lambeau Field, the mood typically is somber. The players sit quietly at their lockers like they are waiting for an invitation to a party they can't wait to attend. In the end, some will be invited, but most won't.

Welcome to the social hierarchy of the NFL. The starters, the Pro Bowlers and the draft picks are in one room. The undrafted free agents, the players who were claimed off waivers and the players who were signed off the street are in the other. The Packers' main locker room houses 65 players. There are 84 players on the Packers' roster, with two on injured reserve and two on the physically unable to perform list. Rosters will be trimmed to 75 on Tuesday and 53 by Sept. 2. Until then, the Packers send their overflow into the back room. Some will make it out, but most won't.

Officially, it's called the auxiliary locker room. None of the players call it that. "They call it The Green Mile," Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said. "It's like death row. You're back there waiting to die, or in the case here, you're waiting to get cut." MORE>>







Interception Correction:
Will Favre throw it away again?
By Josh Hansen

Remember that MasterCard commercial with Brett Favre wandering around Green Bay as a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks yap at him for what he should have done? Well for the last eight months and counting, Favre has had to relive that scene over and over in real life. His disastrous 2005 season has drawn major questions about what led to Favre`s worst season of his Hall of Fame career when tossed up a league-high 29 picks. But the biggest critic has been Mike McCarthy, the current head coach of the Packers, and Favre`s quarterback coach seven years ago when the Green Bay signal-caller threw for over 4,000 yards. If Favre isn’t performing up to par, McCarthy lets him know – like he did when Favre threw five interceptions during a practice four days into training camp. McCarthy reviewed each interception with all four Green Bay quarterbacks in a meeting to explain Favre’s mistakes. He even went as far as rebuking Favre’s decisions publicly, even if mildly so.

"A big part of coaching is emphasizing," McCarthy told the Green Bay Press Gazette. "When something goes wrong, you have to emphasize it, and if it doesn`t get corrected, you have to find a different way to emphasize it until you correct it." MORE>>

Manuel like a coach, but he'd rather play
Safety hopes to join action
By ROB REISCHEL / Special to Packer Plus

They call him coach. But to be honest, Marquand Manuel is getting a little tired of being more coach than player. Manuel suffered a calf injury shortly before training camp and sat out of practice until last week. The Packers have been extremely cautious with their projected starter at strong safety, though, and Manuel has yet to play in an exhibition game. Barring any setbacks, though, he's likely to debut Monday night at Cincinnati.

"I think the biggest thing, man, is I wanted to ask myself why?" said Manuel, who signed a five-year, $10-million free agent contract this off-season that included a $2 million signing bonus. "But God does things for different reasons. I've just had to be patient." MORE>>







Here are two Puff Pieces (as I Like to call them) where the sports beat writer has nothing better to do but try to convice us that the latest late round draft pic or Free agent is the next Brett Favre or Reggie White. For you new comers... I grade them with marshmallows.


Special opportunity for Brewster
JASON WILDE / madison.com

When Carlton Brewster got word last week the Cleveland Browns had traded him to the Green Bay Packers for cornerback Therrian Fontenot, the undrafted rookie wide receiver from Ferris State was less than thrilled. The Packers had scouted him extensively before the April draft, but after picking Greg Jennings in the second round and Cory Rodgers in the fourth, they made little effort to recruit Brewster as a free agent. Brewster, too, had done his homework and knew about Jennings and Rodgers, both wide receivers with return experience. So why would the Packers want him, he wondered.

"At first, I didn't know what to think," Brewster said. "The (Cleveland) coaches had told me they liked me, this and that. But we had three of our corners hurt, so they were like, 'We had to do what's best for the team right now.' "

Translation: The Browns needed a camp body to play corner, and Brewster figured the Packers were low on receivers and needed the same. MORE>>









Looks like Moll made the right choice
Position switch has worked out
By ROB REISCHEL / Special to Packer Plus

Tony Moll mulled the move annually. The first four times, he refused to budge.Fortunately for Moll - and perhaps the Green Bay Packers - he was a bit more flexible the fifth time around. Moll, who played his college football at Nevada, was asked by his coaches there to switch from tight end to the offensive line each of his first four years in the program. On every occasion, Moll took a pass. Finally, before his senior year, Moll decided a change might indeed do him good.

"I always felt I had to touch the ball and score touchdowns to be happy," said Moll, a fifth-round draft choice in April. "I thought if I didn't have that in football, I wouldn't like it anymore. But we only had one (offensive) tackle and we had a deep tight end corps. So I made the transition and it worked out great." MORE>>