The Packer Pundit

Ted Thompson's Press Conference,
LIVE on Packers.com!
Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson will address the media following the team's final roster reductions, Saturday at approx. 5:30 p.m. CT Be sure to join Packers.com as we provide streaming video coverage of this press conference in its entirety and free of charge, live from the Lambeau Field media auditorium. Additionally, Packers.com will broadcast Packers press conferences weekly and immediately following each home game throughout the 2006 season, typically featuring head coach Mike McCarthy, QB Brett Favre and other selected players.

Cory Rodgers' poor outing could prove costly
With the deadline for roster cut-downs less than 24 hours away, the fourth-round pick out of Texas Christian might have played himself out of a job by turning in his worst game of the exhibition season in the Green Bay Packers' 35-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Friday afternoon at Lambeau Field. Rodgers fumbled his first punt return, nearly botched the second and failed to catch the lone football thrown in his direction - although it would have been a tough play - leaving him to ponder his fate with the Packers afterward. "I can only control so much," he said. "Whatever happens is going to happen anyway. I did have a bad game, especially in the first half."

Room for improvement
McCarthy was asked what most concerned him as the Packers head into their regular-season opener with the Chicago Bears on Sept. 10. "Offense, I would say the consistency running the football," he said. "Defense, just off the top of my head probably third-down production, getting off the field. "Special teams, we're playing so many different guys. That's not an excuse but just the penalties, the coordination of that. But as far as the players who were on special teams, my one concern is kickoff return." Green Bay averaged 3.3 yards per carry in four games, with a long of 23 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those scores came against the Titans. The Packers also allowed their opponents to convert 54.8% of their third-down opportunities (34 for 62), and averaged just 19.4 yards on 19 kickoff returns.

Stating their cases
Defensive ends Dave Tollefson and Jason Hunter - a pair of long shots to make the team entering training camp - both flashed the type of pass-rush ability on the edge against the Titans that the Packers want. It appears there's room for only one on the final 53-man roster, however. Tollefson, a seventh-round pick out of Northwest Missouri State, finished with six tackles, two quarterback hurries and 1½ sacks. Hunter, a rookie free agent out of Appalachian State, registered three tackles, one hurry and a half-sack. The Packers gave Tollefson a $35,000 signing bonus but might ultimately stick with Hunter, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound speed rusher who was in the backfield on a number of occasions and appears to have a higher ceiling. "I hope my performance was enough to make a statement to get me on this team," he said. "In my opinion, I feel like I (earned a spot). We'll see how things go."

Strong-side switch
After starting the first three exhibition games at strong-side linebacker, Ben Taylor was replaced against Tennessee by Brady Poppinga. Taylor and Poppinga both said they were notified of the move Thursday. "They said they wanted to get him in there and work with the 'ones' throughout the first quarter and I was going to play with the 'twos,' " said Taylor, a free-agent signee from the Cleveland Browns in the off-season. "I played basically one series and I was out. He was here last year and it's his second year in the system. Brady's a good player. They just want to know what everybody can do." Taylor didn't make a tackle but did recover Rodgers' fumble early in the second quarter. Poppinga, meanwhile, registered two tackles. Poppinga wouldn't say whether he thinks he holds the inside track on the starting job. "That's a great question. I'm sorry to tell you, that's not for me to answer," he said. "My opinion really doesn't matter. I made plays. If that's what their criteria is, making plays, then sure. But it's not my decision."

Lots o' laundry
The Packers were penalized 11 times for 95 yards. Eight of those came in the second half and two were 15-yarders on consecutive plays early in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Chris Francies incurred the first one with a personal-foul facemask on a Titans kickoff return. On the next play, defensive tackle Johnny Jolly was flagged for taunting the Tennessee sideline. "That's not what you're looking for," McCarthy said. "You want your players to be aggressive, you want them to fire away and play aggressive. But . . . don't cross the line."


'Real positive day' eludes QB
If this was Aaron Rodgers' last significant game action for a while - and given Brett Favre's record-setting durability streak, there isn't any reason to think it wouldn't be - the Green Bay Packers' backup quarterback would liked to have built a better lasting memory. "I wanted to end this on a good note - a better note - because going into the season, obviously Brett is going to be the guy as long as he can go," Rodgers said. "And that usually means 16 games." So, barring an injury to Favre or an unforeseen circumstance, Rodgers will be left to remember an 8-for-15 passing performance in which he threw for 81 yards and led the Packers to points in just one of 10 possessions at the helm during Friday afternoon's 35-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans and Lambeau Field.

Ryan in launch mode
Punter Jon Ryan, who entered the game with a 45.1 yard average, was again exceptional. Ryan registered punts of 53, 51, 60 and 69 yards in the first half, and added kicks of 51, 48, 47, 49 in the second half to finish the game with a gross average of 53.6 yards per kick. "Distance has never really been my problem," Ryan said. "The average will probably get in the paper, but I really want to work on better hang time. . . . and try to reduce those returns."

Returns were a problem.
Ryan's net average shrunk to 33 yards per punt after the Titans returned them for a total of 165 yards (20.6 per return). The coverage team allowed a 41-yard return by Cortland Finnegan and a 27-yard return to Pacman Jones. Ryan took some of the blame, saying he didn't get enough hang time on several of his kicks to allow the coverage team enough time to get downfield. "That's another group that needs some work," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "You have a strong-legged punter, but we just need more work. We haven't really punted the ball a whole lot in the preseason. "I feel good about the punter, and the coverage team will get coordinated."

Poppinga gets start
Second-year linebacker Brady Poppinga started in place of Ben Taylor at sam linebacker, finishing with two tackles in limited action. "(The coaches) just told me I was going to start the game today and that was it," said Poppinga, who missed most of last year with a knee injury. "They said they'd put me out there to see how I'd handle it and see if I looked like a starter. "I don't know if I did. I felt like I did well."

Extra points
Starting cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson were inactive for the game. ... Despite the addition of E.J. Cochrane off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this week, Dave Rayner handled all the kicking duties. ... Kenderick Allen started in place of Colin Cole at one defensive tackle spot. ... Defensive end Kenny Peterson, who had been sidelined for the previous preseason games with an ankle injury, suffered an ankle injury and was forced to leave the game.

Titans Top Packers, 35-21
Associated Press / Posted 9-1-06

The Packers originally wanted to play Friday's game on Thursday night, but the league wouldn't allow them to play two games within three days. They opted to play Thursday afternoon to not distract from local high school football games. Playing only four days after an embarrassing 48-17 loss at Cincinnati on Monday night -- and without starting cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson -- the Green Bay defense looked soft again Friday. And once Favre and several other offensive starters left the game after the two-play opening drive, Rodgers struggled to get much going. "We have to protect better,'' Favre said in quotes distributed by the Packers' media relations staff. "We have to run the football better. You can't win if you can't run the ball.'' Rodgers was 8-for-15 for 81 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked three times and lost a fumble. The Packers also struggled on punt returns and had 11 penalties for 95 yards. "When you are doing things that are not very smart, that's counterproductive,'' Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. MORE>>







Eye of the beholder
By Jesse Osborne / madison.com / Posted 9-2-06

The No. 1 offense regained its mojo in fast fashion, and there was at least one new starter introduced, but the Green Bay Packers' preseason finale wasn't truly about those things. It was, rather, all about evaluation. "The last one was to give the rest of the young guys a chance to compete and (to) get as much information on film so we can finalize the roster," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said after Friday afternoon's 35-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans in front of a crowd of 69,132 at Lambeau Field. With teams needing to be at the NFL-mandated 53-player limit by 3 p.m. today, it served as the last opportunity for the 20-plus players on the fringe of the roster to enhance their chances of suiting up for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears. "You hope you did well enough at the end of the day to accomplish what you want to accomplish," said rookie defensive end Jason Hunter, who is trying to make the team as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State. "I feel overall, my performance was all right. We'll just see how it goes. I played hard, and I did all I felt I could do."

If nothing else, the preseason has shown the Green Bay Packers that rookie receiver Greg Jennings should be in the starting lineup. The Packers' second-round draft pick has been one of the few players to stand out consistently during training camp, and he did so again Friday afternoon at Lambeau Field when given the chance to join Donald Driver in the starting lineup against Tennessee in the preseason finale. Coach Mike McCarthy used this game almost exclusively to evaluate the bottom half of his roster by playing his starters on both sides of the ball only one series. But on the Packers' first offensive play, Jennings took advantage of a broken coverage for an 89-yard reception from quarterback Brett Favre that set up a touchdown. The Packers' backups eventually lost this game to Tennessee, 35-21, but Jennings showed there was no reason to keep him behind sixth-year pro Robert Ferguson.

"He plays beyond what a rookie looks like. The guy makes plays," said Jeff Jagodzinski, the Packers' offensive coordinator. "We're excited about him. The thing is, believe what you see. He's made a believer in me; he's making some plays for us." MORE>>


Related Article --


Youth movement
Jennings earns promotion to first team
By Bob McGinn / journalsentinel.com / Posted 9-1-06

The Green Bay Packers might not be going anywhere this season but one thing's for sure: Mike McCarthy isn't afraid to play rookies and he isn't playing favorites. Wide receiver Robert Ferguson, one of the best locker-room guys on the roster, has lost his job to a rookie, Greg Jennings. It came to light Friday after the Packers' 35-21 exhibition loss to the Tennessee Titans when Jennings matter-of-factly mentioned that he had been informed of his promotion by wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson before practice Wednesday.

"It is exciting," said Jennings, the second-round draft choice from Western Michigan. "At the same time, there's a lot that comes with it. I'm taking it in stride and will just try to keep making the strides I've been making." Jennings will become the team's first wide receiver to become a full-fledged starter as a rookie since Sterling Sharpe in 1988. A decade earlier, James Lofton did the same thing. MORE>>







Kickers don't lose footing
Rayner, Ryan continue to hold off the competition
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com

With a trade, a waiver claim or a free-agent signing, the Packers could be presented with an opportunity to pull the plug on their kicking kiddie corps and go into the regular season with a completely different duo than Dave Rayner and Jon Ryan. But don't count on it. Though a few punting and kicking duels around the National Football League will be settled later today when final cuts are made and an intriguing prospect could fall into the Packers' laps, neither Rayner nor Ryan did anything to hurt his cause over the past week. After the exhibition finale Friday afternoon, a 35-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans at Lambeau Field, the two tenderfoots appeared to be standing on pretty solid ground, even though their performances looked on the surface to be nothing to write home about. "In terms of what we competed with, we have the best guys," special teams coach Mike Stock said. "We have the best guys who came out of camp." MORE>>


Related Article Link --
Ryan, Rayner only help chances as punter, kicker









INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Tennessee - Henry 9-41, C.Brown 11-25, White 9-21, Young 2-14, Payton 8-8, Mauck 2-3. Green Bay - Herron 12-65, Gado 14-36, Davenport 4-9, Rodgers 2-5, Green 1-3.

PASSING: Tennessee - Young 8-17-0-80, Collins 7-13-0-96, Volek 1-1-0-54, Mauck 1-4-0-7. Green Bay - Favre 1-1-0-89, Rodgers 8-15-0-81, I.Martin 5-8-1-45.

RECEIVING: Tennessee - B.Jones 4-93, Wade 4-38, Scaife 2-39, Troupe 2-25, Hall 2-20, R.Williams 2-18, Roby 1-4. Green Bay - R.Martin 3-26, Lee 3-15, Brewster 2-52, Herron 2-23, Jennings 1-89, Ferguson 1-5, B.Brown 1-4, Gado 1-1.

MISSED FIELD GOAL: Tennessee - Bironas 47 (WR).

A - 69,132.

HOW THEY SCORED
FIRST QUARTER
GREEN BAY: Ahman Green, 3-yard run (Dave Rayner kick), 11 minutes 10 seconds left. How they scored: Greg Jennings lined up in the left slot and Donald Driver lined up outside him. Driver cleared out the middle of the field and the Titans blew the coverage, leading Jennings wide open on the left sideline. Brett Favre threw the ball to him and the gain turned out to be 89 yards. On the next play, Green surged through left tackle for the score. The drive: Two plays, 92 yards, 0:20 time of possession. Packers 7, Titans 0.

TENNESSEE: Bobby Wade, 16-yard pass from Vince Young (Rob Bironas kick), 4:32 left. How they scored: The Packers forced the Titans to punt but Ahmad Carroll lined up offside to give Tennessee the first down. S Tyrone Culver bit badly on a play fake but Young overthrew WR Drew Bennett inside the GB 20. On the next play, Young found TE Ben Troupe for 16 on a screen. Young hit Wade for 13 on a curl route. On third and 9, Young threw a bullet to Wade in the right corner of the end zone with Jason Horton in coverage. The Packers challenged that Wade didn't have both feet down but replay sustained the call. The drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 6:38. Packers 7, Titans 7.

SECOND QUARTER
TENNESSEE: Travis Henry, 2-yard run (Bironas kick), 11:24 left. How they scored: DT Randy Starks beat RG Tony Moll and sacked Aaron Rodgers. The ball came loose and DE Bo Schobel recovered, returning 6 yards to the GB 11. Kerry Collins dumped to TE Bob Scaife for 9 before Henry slipped off right tackle for the score. The drive: Two plays, 11 yards, 0:43. Titans 14, Packers 7.

THIRD QUARTER
TENNESSEE: Brandon Jones, 54-yard pass from Billy Volek (Rob Bironas kick), 12:32 left. How they scored: On third and 5, Jones ran a shallow crossing route and made the catch about 6 yards downfield. When CB Jason Horton and LB Tracy White blew the coverage, Jones turned up the field and scored easily down the sideline. The drive: Three plays, 59 yards, 1:10. Titans 21, Packers 7.

TENNESSEE: LenDale White, 4-yard run (Bironas kick), 0:50 left. How they scored: Carlton Brewster tried to make a fair catch, fumbled and LB Marcus Randall recovered at the GB 17. Young threw a 17-yard pass to Tyrone Calico that was ruled a touchdown but overturned by replay because Calico's right foot wasn't down. On third and 10, DE Jason Hunter beat RT David Stewart but blew the sack. Then Young hit FB Ahmard Hall for 13. On the next play, White pounded around the right side for the score. The drive: Four plays, 17 yards, 1:39. Titans 28, Packers 7.

FOURTH QUARTER
GREEN BAY: Ruvell Martin, 2-yard pass from Rodgers (Rayner kick), 14:19 left. How they scored: Rodgers hit Martin for 12. On the next play, Brewster ran a deep over route and when the Titans' safety slipped, Rodgers found Brewster for 46. One play later, Rodgers lofted the ball to a wide-open Martin in the back of the end zone. The drive: Five plays, 65 yards, 1:31. Titans 28, Packers 14.

TENNESSEE: Jarrett Payton, 7-yard run (Bironas kick), 2:33 left. How they scored: Ingle Martin lobbed a pass high over the head of Noah Herron and into the arms of S Vincent Fuller, who returned 46 yards to the GB 22. QB Matt Mauck gained 2 on fourth and 1. When Hunter and SLB Tracy White were hooked, Payton swept right end and outran CB Patrick Dendy and MLB Tim Goodwell to the end-zone pylon. The drive: Five plays, 18 yards, 2:47. Titans 35, Packers 14.

GREEN BAY: Noah Herron, 13-yard run (Rayner kick), 0:31 left. How they scored: Ingle Martin hit Herron for 14. Ingle Martin hit Ruvell Martin for 12. Herron blew off left tackle, broke a tackle and scored. The drive: Eight plays, 77 yards, 2:02. Titans 35, Packers 21.





Another gory year on horizon before
Packers can turn the corner
By Brad Zimanek / GB Press gazette.com


Ready for another season revisiting Green Bay's gory years of the '70s and '80s? This season certainly won't remind Packers fans of the '60s or '90s. Next weekend's 10th anniversary celebration of the Super Bowl XXXI champions at Lambeau Field will be the closest this year's team gets to greatness. The last time the Packers began a season with such under whelming expectations must date back to 1987 or 1988. It shows how fast an NFL team can plummet because of injuries, poor draft choices/free agent decisions and disappointing leadership. The Packers actually headed into the 2005 season eyeing a fourth-straight NFC North Division title and it soon fell apart with losses in seven of the first eight games. There were plenty of question marks heading into last year, but even the most cynical green and gold followers wouldn't have considered it too big of a stretch, especially in this parity-driven league, for the Packers to at least be in contention for a playoff spot. Now, with Green Bay welcoming the Bears in the season opener Sept. 10, the word playoffs rolls off your tongue in classic Jim Mora-like refrain: "Playoffs?!" MORE>>







Packers might scour other teams'
trash for treasures
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com / Posted 9-2-06

Mining the discard pile isn't the preferred way of roster-building in the National Football League but it looks as if the Green Bay Packers won't have much choice. Exceedingly light at a whole host of positions, the Packers might make more news with whom they add rather than whom they subtract today and in the week leading up to the Chicago opener on Sept. 10. Last year, general manager Ted Thompson traded for a linebacker, Robert Thomas, on cut-down day and, a few days later, signed free-agent tight end Donald Lee and promoted injured fullback Vonta Leach from the practice squad. On Friday, Thompson was asked if he would consider it distasteful to enter the regular season with as many as five players on the 53-man roster who weren't with the team during training camp. "If they were better players, no," Thompson replied. "It's not like those guys have been off sun-bathing." MORE>>

Green Bay Packers players give high-fives to members of the East River youth football team as they walk into the lockerroom at halftime during Friday's preseason game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Photo by Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette