The Packer Pundit: 9/24/2006

« Home | 9/23/2006 »

9/24/2006

Verba faces Packers in return to NFL
Ross Verba will make his first regular-season appearance since 2004 when he lines up at left guard for Detroit on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Verba was the Packers' first-round draft pick in 1997, and played with them through 2000 before exiting in free agency for the Cleveland Browns. He said he was retiring before last season when, at 31, no team offered him the lucrative contract he was seeking in the 2005 offseason. After the year off, though, he decided to get back into the NFL, and this summer he worked out for several teams, including the Packers. They tried to sign him, but he landed with Detroit for $4 million plus a team option bonus worth $2.5 million that turns the contract into a five-year deal.

Colledge Starting
Rookie Daryn Colledge again will start at left guard in place of injured Jason Spitz, and will face one of the NFL's best defensive tackles in two-time Pro Bowler Shaun Rogers. Spitz hasn't practiced the last two weeks because of a bruised thigh. Colledge, a second-round draft pick, made his first start last week against New Orleans. "I'm more confident (this week), I'm less nervous about the start (and) I'm excited to get in there," Colledge said. "I know it's going to be a good challenge. "

Packers injuries
Aside from Spitz, only backup offensive lineman Junius Coston and backup cornerback Will Blackmon appear unlikely to play for the Packers. Neither Coston (knee), who's listed as doubtful, nor Blackmon (foot), who's listed as questionable, practiced all week. Halfback Ahman Green (hamstring) practiced Wednesday and Thursday but not Friday. Cornerback Al Harris (shoulder) and backup tight end David Martin (knee) are questionable but practiced Friday and are expected to play.

Lions injuries
Three Lions are listed as out: receiver Shaun Bodiford (knee), linebacker Alex Lewis (knee) and safety Kenoy Kennedy (foot). Kennedy is a starter and will be replaced by Jon McGraw or rookie Daniel Bullocks. Stokes and starting right tackle Rex Tucker (knee) are listed as questionable and didn't practice all week. Verba is questionable but practiced Friday.

Secondary has been the primary concern
Porous pass defense in need of repair

By ROB REISCHEL / Special to Packer Plus

"Do we miss Bates? I don't know? We're running the same defense. I think Bob's doing a good job. We got new guys. That's what it boils down to." -- Al Harris

New guys or not, Green Bay's secondary should not be having the meltdowns it's had. They've been torched, scalded and burnt. They've been whipped, thrashed and embarrassed. Now, Green Bay's secondary is simply dazed and confused. The Packers' defensive backs were supposed to constitute one of the few strengths of the 2006 team. Instead, the unit has failed miserably through the first two weeks. Green Bay has allowed 292 passing yards per game, the third worst total in the NFL behind only Houston (350.5) and the New York Giants 308). Chicago's Rex Grossman and New Orleans' Drew Brees have combined to complete 44 of 67 passes against the Packers, throw three touchdowns and each post quarterback ratings in the high-90s. Looking for a big reason the Packers are off to an 0-2 start. The secondary is as good a place as any. -- More

Packers hope to follow path of '92 team
But 2006 squad has less veteran presence
By Tom Silverstein / journalsentinel.com

"That was a fun year," said Pack GM Ted Thompson, who served as assistant director of pro personnel under Wolf in '92. "I remember talking to someone after one of our wins and he said, 'You guys have to stop winning these games because you're setting the bar too high for this team.' I was like, 'What do you want us to do?' "

Mike Holmgren's 1992 team: 0-2.
Mike McCarthy's 2006 team: 0-2.

Given 1992 was the beginning of a new era of winning in Green Bay, it's logical to wonder if there are similarities between the rebuilding project then-general manager Ron Wolf embarked on and the one current general manager Ted Thompson is engaged in. Both general managers were coming off 4-12 seasons and in the process of clearing the decks so they could build the team their way. The difference is that Wolf delivered his new coach veteran players to complement the young ones who weren't quite ready to play, while Thompson has gone young with only a dash of veteran talent around. It was in the third game that Holmgren, in his first season as a head coach, found the quarterback who eventually would take him to the Super Bowl and saw the possibilities ahead for the coming season. A week after the Packers were drubbed, 31-3, in Tampa, Brett Favre came off the bench and led the Packers to a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Cincinnati with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds left. -- More

Gunslinger Favre leaves his mark on NFL
By Dylan B. Tomlinson / postcrescent.com

"I don't regret the way I play or the way I approach it. I'm not going to sit there and throw 3-yard checkdowns and let the clock run out. I'm going to take chances. There will be people that agree with that and people who don't agree with that. I really don't care." -- Brett Favre

It's the record Brett Favre does not want. It's also the record Favre seems most destined to get. Most of the NFL records Favre wants to break belong to Dan Marino. The one Favre appears the most likely to break belongs to George Blanda. In the remaining 14 games this season, Favre has a chance to break one of the most glorious and one of the most dubious NFL passing records. With 399 career touchdown passes, Favre is 22 away from breaking Marino's touchdown record. With 258 interceptions, Favre is 20 away from surpassing Blanda's interception record. It's possible Favre, who has thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions this season, could take over both marks. "When you're expected to make plays, sometimes they're touchdowns and sometimes they're interceptions," Marino said. "I know (Favre) has a lot more touchdowns than he has interceptions. Throwing a lot of interceptions does not make someone a bad quarterback." -- More

Safety on
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Close your eyes, and picture Brett Favre in your mind. Maybe you see him running full speed downfield at the Superdome after his touchdown pass to Andre Rison in Super Bowl XXXI. Or leaping into Wesley Walls' arms during that magical night in Oakland in 2003. Or wearing that I-can't-believe-what-I-just-did grin after hitting Kitrick Taylor with that game-winning laser in 1992. Now, think about the first word or phrase that comes to mind when you think about him. MVP. Gunslinger. Future Hall of Famer. Riverboat gambler. Legend.

But try this image, and this word, on for size:
Brett Favre, game manager? OK, so it would take the mother of all Extreme Makeovers to turn the Green Bay Packers quarterback into that. Ty Pennington would've had a better chance renovating Lambeau Field single-handedly than Packers coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski have of turning Favre into a no-mistake, play-it-safe milquetoast. But that's not what McCarthy and Jagodzinski are trying to do. What they want from Favre, what they need from Favre, is better decisions and fewer risks. They don't want to turn him into Brad Johnson, they just want him to take more calculated risks and not do what he did last year, which was wing the ball all over the field en route to an NFL-high and career-worst 29 interceptions. -- More

Once-'bitter' Rayner
Awaits Homecoming
Former Michigan State player
Passed Packers' psychological test
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com

Dave Rayner looked like a underdog when the Green Bay Packers claimed him off waivers last spring to go head-to-head with five-year veteran Billy Cundiff for the team's place-kicking job. While Cundiff dressed in the Packers' main locker room, Rayner was in the adjacent auxiliary locker room with the team's street free agents. Cundiff was first on the depth chart, and usually took the first kick in drills and sometimes got an extra rep at the end. But Rayner won the job early in camp, and on Sunday the former Michigan State kicker and metro-Detroit native will have about 30 family members and friends at Detroit's Ford Field when the Packers play the Lions. "You didn't hear much about (Rayner)," said Rob Davis, the Packers' long-snapper. "He was a kickoff man in Indy last year. I think everybody thought that because Billy had the game experience, he'd be the guy. To Dave's credit, he hung in there and kept competing." -- More

Prospect Hot List
By Scott Wright
As anyone who follows the NFL Draft knows positive or negative momentum can play a big role in determining where a player is ultimately drafted. The following is a look at which players have that buzz at the moment as well as some who do not. Please keep in mind that this is just a weekly snapshot of football's hottest prospects and is not a replacement or an update to the positional rankings or mock draft. For example, a player could be #1 on this list but that might only mean he has gone from a 7th round pick to a 5th round pick. Here's the guys with helium. -- More