The Packer Pundit

'07 NFL Draft: Weekend in Review
By TFY Draft Preview / Packer Report
The first full weekend of college football has already had a major impact on what may happen during the early selections of next April's NFL Draft. There's plenty of injury news, both good and bad. Louisville running back Michael Bush, a potential top 15 choice in next April's draft, broke his right leg in the third quarter of the Cardinals' 59-28 win over Kentucky on Sunday night and will be out for the remainder of the season. Bush totaled 124-yards and three touchdowns in the first half before breaking his right leg on the second play of the second half. He underwent successful surgery Monday morning, having a rod inserted into his right leg. Bush led the nation in scoring last season as a junior, averaging 14.4 points per game and scoring a school-record 23 rushing touchdowns. He considered leaving for last April's NFL Draft but decided to return for his senior year. He does have a red-shirt year left and could return for another season in Louisville next year. The bad luck suffered by Bush last night offers a window of opportunity for reserve Kolby Smith. (MORE)





Fence gets new slogan —
and it's not about Favre
Some disappointed; painter says #4's been on there a lot
By Paul Brinkmann / greenbaypressgazette.com

And the winner is … Nancy Hucke of Oconomowoc. Sorta. The famous Lombardi Avenue fence near Lambeau Field got a new slogan Monday: "Hear Poppinga pop on D Pickett Fence." The painter, Christopher Handler of Green Bay, said Hucke submitted the winning idea, but he modified her suggestion a little. There was a lot of honking and waving while Handler painted, but some people on Lombardi later expressed disappointment the slogan didn't mention quarterback Brett Favre. "I agree, but Favre has been on there a lot," Handler said. "I'm just a painter. I can't please everybody." (MORE)





Former greats to unveil new books
By Todd Korth / Packer Report
Former Vince Lombardi era guards Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston will team up again to host a pre-game event this Sunday, debuting their new books, at the Resch Center prior to Green Bay’s regular season opener Sunday against the Chicago Bears. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will include many of their Super Bowl I & II teammates who are featured in their books, including Willie Davis, Max McGee, Zeke Bratkowski, Dave Robinson, Bob Skoronski and Ron Kramer.


Thurston this month is unveiling “What A Wonderful World, The Fuzzy Thurston Story.” Kramer, in August, released a new edition of the classic “Instant Replay.”

The event will feature a presentation by the players about the Lombardi era, and include an autograph session, question and answer opportunities, and food and beverages. All tickets include autographed, first edition copies of both books. Tickets are available online at http://www.jerrykramer.com/, or by calling (800) 708-1078. Thurston and his wife, Sue, will also hold a sneak peek of their book for the media at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m. Thurston will be joined by Kramer and the entire Thurston family. The press event will be followed by a book signing, featuring the entire Thurston family. The press conference is open to the public and is free of charge. Fans are encouraged to attend. Information is available at http://www.fuzzybook.com/.

Thurston’s autobiography chronicles his amazing life journey. It is the inspirational true story of how one man's dedication, perseverance and "never-say-die" attitude propelled him from small-town Altoona, Wisconsin to the pinnacle of the NFL with Vince Lombardi's Packers. “Instant Replay” is in print for the first time in more than a decade, and hailed by the New York Times as “the best behind the scenes glimpse of pro-football ever produced.” It is a testament to the pure grit, heart, tears and sweat poured into the 1967 season of Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers.

Both books can be ordered online at either jerrykramer.com, fuzzybook.com or by calling (800) 708-1078. (STORY LINK)





Dorsey Named Panelist
For Harris College FB Poll
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
John Dorsey, the Green Bay Packers' Director of College Scouting, has been named a panelist for the 2006 Harris Interactive College Football Poll, one piece of the BCS standings formula. The appointment to the panel recognizes Dorsey's evaluation skills of college teams and players, and he'll be among 114 voters submitting their NCAA Top 25 each week beginning Sept. 24. The Harris poll is in its second year as a component in the BCS standings, which determine the two teams that play for the collegiate national championship as well as those that qualify for at-large BCS selection.

"One thing I've always done is tried to pride myself on following the teams and their strengths and weaknesses," Dorsey said. "That's what I do all fall. "You're not speaking specifically about individual players, but it allows you to rank the teams the way they should be ranked, 1 to 25." More than 300 nominations for panelists were made by the 11 Division I-A conferences as well as independent institutions. Dorsey said he didn't know who nominated him. Dorsey will have to turn in his ballot by noon (CT) each Sunday, but individual panelists' selections will not be made public until the season-ending poll. With the final rankings, on Dec. 3, the participants' individual rankings will be released. "I'm just one of 100-some guys, and I'll just cast my vote the way I see it," Dorsey said.
(STORY LINK)





Robinson in the neighborhood
For a 'little chat'
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
If Koren Robinson does get one last chance in the NFL, it could very well be with the Green Bay Packers because of his relationship with general manager Ted Thompson. The troubled wide receiver, who visited the Packers earlier this week, was cut by the Minnesota Vikings Aug. 26 after his arrest 11 days earlier on six counts of drunken driving and fleeing a police officer after a high-speed chase back to the team's training-camp headquarters in Mankato, Minn. Robinson, who'd had numerous alcohol-related problems in the past and was suspended for four games in 2004 for violating the league's substance abuse policy, appeared to have turned his life around. Now, he's facing a possible one-year NFL suspension in addition to his legal problems because this incident could constitute a third violation of the NFL policy. Nevertheless, Thompson, who picked Robinson ninth overall for the Seattle Seahawks in the 2001 NFL draft and pushed hard to sign him last fall after the Vikings released him before the regular-season opener, brought in Robinson to meet with coach Mike McCarthy, receivers coach Jimmy Robinson and personnel analyst John Schneider, who was in Seattle with Thompson when the team drafted him. "I just have a long history with Koren and wanted to bring him in, have a little chat, see how he's doing," Thompson said Tuesday. (MORE)






Development of Tauscher, Clifton
As Rookie Starters
Bodes Well for 2006 O-Line
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
With the Packers starting two rookies on the offensive line to open the 2006 season, there's understandable uncertainty as to just how well the line will function Sunday against the Chicago Bears. But judging by the Packers' own history, there's just as much optimism as to what the future might hold for this unit. The last time the Packers started two rookie offensive linemen was in 2000, when right tackle Mark Tauscher and left tackle Chad Clifton started the final 10 games together. No one knew it at the time, but their emergence was the beginning of an impressive run of productivity for Packer offensive lines that set franchise records for rushing yards and fewest sacks allowed a few short years later.

"Obviously, I think we grew a bunch during that season," Tauscher said of his and Clifton's rookie campaign of 2000. "Then those next three or four years we played together, we had a lot of success." That's history the Packers are hoping will repeat itself with rookie guards Jason Spitz and Tony Moll, who will make their first NFL start on Sunday. Spitz was a third-round draft choice out of Louisville, while Moll was a fifth-round pick out of Nevada and a converted tight end and tackle. (MORE)





No Experience Necessary
Secondary filled with rookies
After starting duo, defensive backfield has little experience
By Tom Silverstein / jsonline.com
The Green Bay Packers' starting secondary has 21 years of playing experience. The backups in the secondary have two. If that doesn't scare a head coach, what will? After the acquisition on waivers Sunday of cornerback Jarrett Bush and safety Charlie Peprah, both rookies, the Packers increased their total of players in the secondary with no NFL experience to four. Thus, half the unit is rookies, which means even without an injury occurring, at least one rookie is going to have to contribute this season. Normally, that wouldn't be that big of a deal, but of the four rookies - Bush, Peprah, safety Tyrone Culver and cornerback Will Blackmon - none were drafted higher than the fourth round. Bush, in fact, wasn't drafted at all, and Culver was a sixth-round pick. If ever there was proof that the Packers are in a rebuilding phase - a term general manager Ted Thompson refuses to use - it's the 17 rookies and first-year players on their roster. And when four of those rookies are in the secondary, where mistakes are felt the most, the proof is indisputable. "You can see it," Packers cornerback Al Harris said. "And that happens every so often, teams have to do it. I've seen it in Philadelphia, so it happens. It's got to." (MORE)





Long shots have only just begun
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
While it may seem like the hard part is over for Jason Hunter, Ruvell Martin and Dave Rayner, really, their work is just beginning. Sure, each of them overcame long odds to make the Green Bay Packers' 53-man roster. But now, they have to prove they can stay there, starting with Sunday's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. "It's great that you made it, but that's like this much of it," Rayner said, holding his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. "Now, you actually have to do it. Now, you actually have to be the guy. But that's what you work for, that's what you've been wanting to do since you were a little kid. So, it's pretty cool." All three are feel-good stories, although each took a different route to the roster. (MORE)





Pulling for Jennings
Packers rookie an exciting wideout
By Lori Nickel / journalsentinel.com
Robert Ferguson has been known to go off once in a while. Not in a derogatory way, or a Terrell Owens way, but if he doesn't like something, he can't hide it. If you can get him alone, however, you can usually get the real deal and something beyond the numb sports cliché. So when the news broke Friday that rookie Greg Jennings had leapfrogged the sixth-year veteran for a starting job at receiver, a reporter found Ferguson in the locker room and sought his reaction. This ought to be good. (MORE)

And Yet Another Jennings Story --

Jennings catches on quickly
By Dylan B. Tomlinson / Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
When the Green Bay Packers took Greg Jennings in the second round of the NFL draft, big things were expected from him. But nobody thought it would happen this soon. "I've clearly never seen a rookie be that productive that fast," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. McCarthy was an assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs when Joe Horn was a rookie. Horn caught two passes that season. As a Packers assistant in 1999, McCarthy got an up-close look at Donald Driver as a rookie. Driver caught three passes that season. "I barely even remember getting on the field," Driver said. "I didn't get the opportunity to do anything." (MORE)






I love this video!!!
Remember the old Whaaaaas'up Budweiser commercials?