The Packer Pundit

Bodiford gets a shot
Receiver Shaun Bodiford, acquired last week on waivers from the Detroit Lions, got a shot at the punt return job after Charles Woodson injured his knee in the first quarter. Bodiford, who played only a handful of snaps at receiver, was productive on his only punt return. He gained 16 yards but could have had even more had he not stumbled while trying to cut it back toward a hole. "I made a couple of guys miss, and I thought I was about to take this to the house," Bodiford said. "But I stumbled just enough to slow me down."

Driver's lost play
Receiver Donald Driver was celebrating another long gain when he realized the play was coming back. Driver, who caught five passes for 48 yards, would have doubled his yardage output if not for a holding call on left tackle Chad Clifton. It wiped out a 48-yard reception that would have given the Packers first-and-goal at the Cardinals' 9 early in the third quarter. "That hurts," Driver said. "I told Chad he owes me for that one. I knew that would be a big play. I was already dancing and celebrating and (Cardinals safety) Robert Griffith said, 'Let's bring it back.'"

Note cards
Offensive linemen Junius Coston and Tony Palmer, both of whom were inactive, spent the afternoon carrying oversized note cards to help the offense identify the Cardinals' defensive personnel. One card read "B 5-2," which stood for the Cardinals' unusual base personnel with five defensive linemen and two linebackers. The other card read "N 3-3," which stood for their nickel package with three linemen and three linebackers. "That was a big alert for us," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said. "Other defenses did it against us to get our personnel, so we used the same thing this week."

Key blocking statistic
Nearly every day in practice, the offensive line works on cut-blocking, a technique used to take the legs out from under a back-side defensive player and get him on the ground. That way, the running back has a cut-back lane without pursuit from back-side defenders when the front side of the play gets bottled up. The Packers aim for at least 40 successful cut blocks per game, and on Sunday they set a season-high with 45. That the Packers had their best rushing game of the season Sunday was no mere coincidence. "The technical part is improving," McCarthy said.

Unusual first
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Brett Favre became the first player in the history of the Packers to have a 1-yard touchdown run and a 1-yard touchdown pass in the same game on Sunday. Only three other active quarterbacks have done that in the same game: Jake Plummer for Arizona (on Dec. 21, 1997, vs. Atlanta), Steve McNair for Tennessee (on Oct. 14, 2001, vs. Tampa Bay) and Donovan McNabb for Philadelphia (on Sept. 26, 2004, vs. Detroit).




Hoping to stay on solid ground
Injuries in backfield could slow running game
By Tom Silverstein / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 30, 2006
Just as the Green Bay Packers' running game pulled out of the station and finally got a head of steam, it has encountered a couple of obstacles that could slow down the whole operation. If the Packers' offensive line blocks the way it did Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, then the loss of backup halfback Vernand Morency to a lower back injury and starting fullback Brandon Miree to an elbow strain won't be felt as much. But it's not a sure thing that everything will go according to plan again this week against Buffalo the way it did in a 31-14 victory over the Cardinals. And without question, the loss of Miree, the lead blocker in the Packers' first 200-yard rushing day since Nov. 24, 2004, could be felt the most. During his 30-minute news conference Monday, Packers coach Mike McCarthy referred numerous times to the importance of Miree in the running attack. Since being signed off the practice squad and replacing veteran William Henderson in the starting lineup before the Philadelphia game Oct. 2, Miree has established himself as a perfect fit for the zone-blocking scheme. "He played excellent," McCarthy said. "He's a big part of the success in our run scheme. I thought his decisions were very good; he played with good pad level, good finish. He was really rolling there."
-- More



Related Articles --

Run game absorbs hit
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
The Green Bay Packers' dynamic duo of halfbacks Ahman Green and Vernand Morency lasted for all of one game. One day after the tandem became the first Packers halfback pairing in 21 years to rush for 100 yards in the same game during Green Bay's 31-14 victory over Arizona, coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that Morency will miss "a couple weeks" because of a lower back injury he suffered late in Sunday's game. Morency (11 carries for 101 yards) and Green (21 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns) became Green Bay's first running back tandem to crack 100 yards since Eddie Lee Ivery (109) and Gerry Ellis (101) did it Dec. 1, 1985 in the famous "Snow Bowl" game against Tampa Bay at Lambeau Field. As is his way, McCarthy refused to divulge the specifics of Morency's injury. All he would say was the problem "will be with one of his disks." Asked if the injury could possibly be season-ending, McCarthy said, "I don't think so. They're telling me a couple weeks right now is the initial diagnosis." -- More



Miree's status in doubt
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
As much as it hurts to lose halfback Vernand Morency to a lower back injury, the costliest injury - and the one that might affect the Green Bay Packers' running game the most on Sunday at Buffalo - might be the hyperextended left elbow suffered by starting fullback Brandon Miree. Miree, who was promoted from the practice squad and took over for veteran William Henderson before the Oct. 2 game at Philadelphia, will be listed as doubtful for this week's game, coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. Having learned the zone-blocking scheme during his two years with Denver, Miree has been much more natural than Henderson as a lead blocker in the scheme. McCarthy said he had an "excellent" game Sunday, when the Packers rushed for a season-high 203 yards as both Morency (101) and Ahman Green (106) had big days. "He's a big part of the success in our run scheme," McCarthy said. "I thought his decisions were very good, he played with good pad level, good finish. He was really rolling there." -- More






Sunday's Rushing Attack One To Remember
By Nathan Hager / Packers.com / Posted 10/29/2006

"The guys executed and they did what they were coached to do. It's all about execution. And we practiced the five-man line all week. We knew when they were coming in. We told them to make sure they're paying attention because it may be checked (at the line)." -- Coach Jeff Jagodzinski

Jeff Jagodzinski doesn't remember the "Snow Bowl" game the Packers played on Dec. 1, 1985 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which before Sunday was the last time Green Bay had two running backs go over the 100-yard mark. But you can be certain that the Packers offensive coordinator won't forget Sunday's rushing effort anytime soon. Considering the fact that Ahman Green had 21 carries for 106 yards and Vernand Morency finished with 101 yards on just 11 attempts, it would also be surprising if anyone on the team didn't keep Sunday's 31-14 win over the Cardinals in the memory banks for quite some time. Jagodzinski, the Packers offensive coordinator, was in his first season of coaching football as a running backs coach at UW-Whitewater while Green was 8 years old and Morency was only 5 when Gerry Ellis (101) and Eddie Lee Ivery (109) accomplished the feat 21 years ago. According to Jagodzinski, Sunday's performance was one both the coaching staff and players have been focusing on since the mini-camps in May. He knew it was just a matter of time before the zone-blocking scheme would yield the results they were looking for. -- More



Green, Morency top 100 yards
to highlight budding running game
By Rob Demovsky
greenbaypressgazette.com
It's one thing to rip off a 70-yard touchdown run. It's another to dominate in the running game play after play. A week after the Green Bay Packers offered a glimpse at what their zone-blocking scheme was supposed to look like when running back Ahman Green had the long scoring run against the Miami Dolphins, their young offensive line put together their most complete performance under first-year coach Mike McCarthy. For the first time since the memorable Snow Bowl game at Lambeau Field against Tampa Bay on Dec. 1, 1985, when Eddie Lee Ivery rushed for 109 yards and teammate Gerry Ellis ran for 101, the Packers featured two running backs with 100-yard games on the same day — the ultimate sign their zone scheme is growing legs. Green had perhaps his best game — 106 yards on 21 carries, a 5.0-yard average, and two touchdowns — since his quadriceps tendon injury last October. He didn't have a run longer than 14 yards, but had seven carries that went for at least 6 yards. His backup, Vernand Morency, provided the big hits with runs of 23 and 36 yards on the way to an 11-carry, 101-yard game. -- More




Defense grabbing plenty of sacks
By Tom Silverstein / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 30, 2006
The Green Bay Packers might rank dead last in the National Football League in passing defense, but it's not because they don't sack the quarterback. The Packers have 22 sacks and are on pace to finish with 50, which would tie for the second most in club history, two behind the all-time mark set by the 2001 team. Only two teams have more sacks than the Packers this season - San Diego and Philadelphia (26 each) - and one, the Eagles, has played eight games. Defensive end Aaron Kampman has led the charge, ranking tied for first in the NFL with Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman with 8 1/2 sacks. Six Packers starters have at least one sack this season and of the five who don't, three play in the secondary and don't get many blitz opportunities. In a 31-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Packers had four sacks, including two by Kampman and one by linebacker Nick Barnett. The other sack was shared by nose tackle Colin Cole and end KabeerGbaja-Biamila. -- More






Momentum building as Packers
Run past underachieving Cards
By Jeremy Reeves
Special to The Capital Times
Their offensive line continues to create generous holes, Ahman Green appears to have fully regained his trademark burst and power, and Brett Favre isn't throwing the ball to the wrong shirts anymore. If the calendar didn't say otherwise, you'd swear this was late 2004 all over again for the Green Bay Packers. That would also be the last season Green Bay won two consecutive games, a feat it matched Sunday with a commanding 31-14 victory - coach Mike McCarthy's first in four attempts at Lambeau Field - over Dennis Green's inept Arizona Cardinals. With a 3-4 record, as much as it pains their fans to admit it, the Packers don't possess anywhere near the talent level of the 7-0 Chicago Bears. Two weeks ago, the Bears rallied from a 23-3 deficit vs. the Cards on a Monday night in the desert, prompting Dennis Green's now infamous tirade, "The Bears are who we thought they were. That's why we took the damn field. If you want to crown them, just crown their (butt). We let them off the hook." The opposite of that is what made Green Bay's victory Sunday all the more impressive. While the argument can certainly be made that no matter how verboten the term "rebuilding" is around Titletown these days, the Packers should never - under any circumstances - lose at home to the Cardinals, they were never in danger of that happening Sunday. -- More



Cohesive Packers need not apologize
By Chris Havel
The Green Bay Packers' improvement — like the Arizona Cardinals' ineptitude — is apparent. Based upon the Packers' 31-14 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday at Lambeau Field, I suspect Green Bay has at least as good a shot at winning the NFC North as Arizona might the Pac-10 Conference. The Cardinals' woes are coach Dennis Green's nightmare until further notice, and the sub-.500 Packers are in no position to apologize for any victory. Still, it is a sign of progress when a portion of the Packers' postgame news conference is spent justifying a win rather than defending a loss. Arizona (1-7) is awful, and it has the record to prove it. The Packers (3-4) are ascending, and they have a modest two-game winning streak as evidence. The Packers' positives, beginning with coach Mike McCarthy's first victory at Lambeau Field, were obvious and impressive: Running backs Ahman Green and Vernand Morency — the former a has-been and the latter a never was (at least according to some) — achieved a feat Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens never did in the mid-1990s. They each rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game. Green banged away 21 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Morency slashed away 11 times for 101 yards. The one-two punch was impressive. They handled their substitution pattern, and their business, with equal aplomb. Brett Favre managed the game as if it were his life savings. He parlayed one smart move into another while keeping the Packers' offense on course and the Cardinals' defense off kilter. "Brett did an excellent job of handling the overload defensive fronts and the pressure fronts," McCarthy said. "I don't think we had a bad play all day." Bob Sanders, the Packers' defensive coordinator, deployed his best personnel at the most opportune moments. He did his job, and his unit responded by doing its job. Sanders told Al Harris to "go sic 'em," and the cornerback shadowed Anquan Boldin (four catches, 47 yards) from the first play to the final gun. He told Nick Barnett, A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga: "I'll keep you on the field as often as possible," and the linebackers responded by earning their keep. Most impressive was the way the Packers worked in concert: Player to player, position group to position group, offense to defense to special teams. That is the way a team is supposed to look. -- More



Big game for the Packers? Believe it
By Mike Woods
Let's be honest. You didn't see this one coming. Couldn't have. This is black ice surprising. Seven chapters into this novel, your Green Bay Packers are about to play in an honest-to-goodness meaningful game. It's a game that could prove to have a significant impact on their season. This will be big, or as big as it can possibly be for a team looking to emerge from the neighborhood of NFL have-nots. Thanks to Sunday's 31-14 spanking of the Arizona Cardinals, who, yes, are who we thought they were, the Packers are in position to climb back to that magical .500 plateau. Yeah, in the greater universe, it isn't much. But for a team that won just four games last season and began 1-4 this year, this was a position no level-headed person thought this team would find itself in. But a win next week at Buffalo would put this team at 4-4, with a trip to Minnesota to follow that could put the Packers above .500, at which point leaves would return to trees, all political ads would be banned from television and Packers Nation would start printing playoff, no, Super Bowl tickets. I mean, what do we rally have here? Is this a team truly turning the corner, or one that is just running over aluminum cans at every corner? -- More






Meet Leigh
Tennessee Titans
Cheerleader

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Birthdate: March 15

Relationship status: Married

Children: 2

Pets: Two malti-poos “Chloe” and “Bailey”

Years as a Titans Cheerleader: 2

Occupation: Homemaker

Hobbies/Interests: Fitness, water sports and dance

Favorite Movie: As Good as It Gets

Favorite Musician: Sting

Favorite Food: Peanut Butter

Place you would most like to travel:
New Zealand

Biggest fear: Heights

Biggest personal goal:
I climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan. 14,000 feet.

Unique Fact about yourself:
I speak conversational Japanese.