The Packer Pundit

Packers cut fullback Leach
The Packers made room for receiver Koren Robinson by cutting fullback Vonta Leach on Tuesday, an NFL source said. Leach started Sunday’s season opener against the Chicago Bears because starter William Henderson was inactive because of a knee injury, but the Packers lined up tight end David Martin as a fullback on several plays. The move leaves Henderson as the only true fullback on the Packers’ 53-man roster, but they continue to carry four tight ends. Leach was in his third season with the Packers.

Offensive line takes a beating
Coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that pass protection and short-yardage blocking were sore points in the 26-0 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. With rookie guards Jason Spitz and Tony Moll in the starting lineup, everyone expected growing pains and that's what the Packers experienced. "The pass protection is something that the whole offensive line, the whole protection unit needs to improve on," McCarthy said. "That's where the biggest improvement is needed."

Youthful club
The Packers officially have the youngest team in the National Football League. The average age of the 53 players on Green Bay's roster is 25.57 years. Tennessee was second at 25.77. The NFL personnel department, which analyzed each team's 53-man rosters for its first game, also said the Packers led the league with 19 rookies and first-year players. Next was Atlanta with 14.

Deal with it
Both McCarthy and Jagodzinski said Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris' complaints that the Packers used cut blocks against him weren't anything they were worrying about. Harris was particularly upset about a block he said tackle Mark Tauscher made during an interception return. The Packers block defensive linemen at the knees on many of their running plays.

Taking a look
The Packers brought in eight players for workouts Monday. They were: receivers Ed Hinkel, Jermaine Jamison, Kevin McMahan, Dan Sheldon and Harry Williams, defensive backs Kevin Hobbs and Tramon Williams and quarterback Marcus Randall.

Extra points
**Spitz has a thigh bruise but McCarthy was unsure of its severity.

**The Packers only watched film on Monday and did not take part in a walk-through, as was the routine under Mike Sherman.

**McCarthy said kicker Dave Rayner would be expected to make 53-yard field goals like the one he attempted against the Bears. "He needs to make that kick," McCarthy said.







Red-Zone Defense, Running Game
Provide Building Blocks
By Mike Spofford
Packers.com

"Once we got through the first quarter, the defense played some good, sound football. I think they converted their first three third downs, and after that they were 1 for 11. I think that speaks volumes about the way they played." -- Mike McCarthy

Head Coach Mike McCarthy wasn't about to sugarcoat his team's 26-0 loss to the Chicago Bears, but there were two legitimate positives that the Packers can build from as the 2006 season continues. One was the team's red-zone defense, which kept the Bears out of the end zone in four trips inside the Green Bay 20-yard line. -- More



Little Errors Have Large Consequences
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
The Packers' failures in short-yardage situations early in Sunday's game against Chicago were the one glaring weakness in an otherwise solid performance on the ground. After taking a look at those crucial plays on film, players and coaches noted the mistakes were not wholesale breakdowns by the offensive line, but relatively simple mis-steps that made the results all the more frustrating. But when all that's needed is a yard, or even less, to get a first down, even the smallest mistake can prove costly, and several of them occurring in succession in the first half had a profound effect on the Bears' 26-0 shutout at Lambeau Field. -- More



Line breakdown a group issue
By Jason Wilde / madison.com

"Start with the run game. We almost took turns having a breakdown in there. (And) the passing protection is something that the whole offensive line, the whole protection unit needs to improve on. That's where the biggest improvement is needed." -- Mike McCarthy

With rookies starting at both guard spots - Jason Spitz on the left and Tony Moll on the right - it's hardly surprising that coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski cited the line's poor play in short-yardage situations and pass protection as the root of the offensive problems. McCarthy called short-yardage "our biggest failure" and the pass blocking a "losing performance." -- More







Robinson Will Try
To Put Past Behind Him
In Green Bay
By Mike Spofford
Packers.com

"I'm just going to be me. I feel like I'm very personable, a good person to get along with. I hope everybody accepts me, and I know they will. I know this organization is family-oriented, and I feel like that's what I need. I feel like everybody is here to help me out and support me, anything and everything I need, me and my family."

Koren Robinson has every intention of straightening out his life, and he's going to try to do so as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Robinson, a receiver and Pro Bowl kick returner, has agreed to terms with the Packers and will be joining the team this week.
-- More



In hot water,
Packers take risk on a receiver who swims in it
By Tom Oates / madison.com
Importing known character risks has not been the Packers' M.O. since the 1980s, when the actions of Mossy Cade, James Lofton, Charles Martin and others turned the franchise into a statewide punch line. Of course, Robinson hasn't done anything wrong in Green Bay yet. However, his history suggests it is just a matter of time. Since he entered the NFL as Seattle's first-round draft pick in 2001, Robinson has been disciplined for missing practices and meetings, convicted of drunken driving and suspended by the league for marijuana use. -- More



Poppinga will stay in pass coverage
2nd-year linebacker struggled vs. Bears
By Rob Demovsky / greenbaypressgazette.com
New Orleans' tight ends didn't catch a single pass in their 19-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but you can be sure Saints coach Sean Payton saw and noted how the Chicago Bears used their tight end to exploit Green Bay Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga. Desmond Clark caught five passes for 77 yards in Sunday's 26-0 win over the Packers. Most of them came at Poppinga's expense. -- More







Branch signs 6 year deal with Seahawks
Cowher holding off on Big Ben decision
Lions sign free agent WR Hakim
Washington safety out for season
Raiders' Porter seen laughing at loss
First time in 15 years with three shutouts
Patriots file tampering charge against Jets


Meet Lindsay

Hometown: Ralston, NE
High School: Ralston High School
College: Missouri Western State University
Major: Bachelor of Science in Recreation Administration
Occupation: Administrative Support
Years with the
Chiefs: 4