The Packer Pundit

It's Like Deja Vu all over again!!!
Ahman Green misses the beginning of the season due to injury. We get Ahman back and his back up, Vernand Morency gets hurt and will now miss a huge chunk of playing time. Ditto 'stand out blocker' Brandon Miree (though hopefully he wont miss too many games). Just like last season when Ahman went out... then Najah Davenport... then Tony Fisher. Oh... and our number two and three receivers BOTH get injured. Number three, Robert Ferguson, is out for the season... just like last year. It's like Groundhog 'Year'... I thought they always saved the reruns for the summer.

Upon Further Review
As they say in Congress... I want to revise and amend my statement about Al Harris. I think I came down kinda hard on Al because I was miffed over him dropping a sure interception against the Rams and then again on Sunday versus Arizona. Then that 'iffy' holding call he got jobbed on that turned a 3rd and 18 into a first down. (They went on to score a touch). After thinking about it and realizing... he held Anquan Boldon to 47 yards on 4 catches and no touchdowns. That's pretty good... so just like the politicians... my position on this is evolving.







Packers Sign RB P.J. Pope
The Green Bay Packers Tuesday signed running back P.J. Pope from the Chicago Bears' practice squad and released center Chris White. Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations Ted Thompson made the announcement. Pope, a 5-foot-9, 218-pound rookie from Bowling Green, had signed with the Bears as a non-drafted free agent this past spring. Chicago's leading 2006 rusher during the preseason, he gained 153 yards on 40 carries (3.8 avg.) with one touchdown. He also had four catches for 43 yards (10.8 avg.) in non-league action. A four-year letterman at Bowling Green (2002-05), Pope finished his career as the school's only player to rush for more than 3,000 yards and accumulate more than 1,000 receiving yards. White, a second-year player, dressed but did not play in each of the Packers' first seven games.



Ahman Green Nominated
For FedEx NFL Player Of The Week
Running backs AHMAN GREEN of the Green Bay Packers, LARRY JOHNSON of the Kansas City Chiefs and LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON of the San Diego Chargers are the finalists for FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week honors for games played on October 29-30, while quarterbacks TOM BRADY of the New England Patriots, PEYTON MANNING of the Indianapolis Colts and MICHAEL VICK of the Atlanta Falcons are the finalists for FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week honors, the NFL announced Tuesday. Fans can vote for one player in each category on NFL.com from 9am EST on Tuesday through 6pm EST on Thursday to determine the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week. The winners will be announced Thursday evening on NFL.com.

Click Here to Vote




New deal stays on Harris' mind
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com

"Al might not be optimistic right now where something may happen where he gets the extension — and that's what he's looking for, a one- or two-year extension, but he knows his play will dictate the decision-making process, and we have faith in the (Packers') front office. Whatever comes of this will be a win-win for both sides." -- Al Harris's Agent Jack Bechta

Sometime early this offseason, starting cornerback Al Harris' agent will have a serious talk with the Green Bay Packers about his client's future with the team. Harris and agent Jack Bechta have been talking since last offseason about a contract extension next year, and after the Packers' win over Arizona on Sunday, Harris again expressed his dissatisfaction with his current deal. Bechta, who has had a long and cordial relationship with the Packers and talks regularly with team Vice President Andrew Brandt, repeated Monday that Harris' contract is not an issue this season. However, Harris remains adamant that the Packers improve his deal this offseason even though he'll have three years left on the five-year extension he signed in 2004. If the Packers refuse, he will push for a trade. Bechta suggested Harris might have vented frustration on Sunday because of the uncertainty he feels. The sides have agreed to wait until the offseason to discuss the issue. -- More



Miree, Morency will miss Bills game with injuries
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
A pair of injuries could take some of the new-found life out of the Green Bay Packers' running game for Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. Backup halfback Vernand Morency probably will miss at least two games because of a lower-back injury. As his 101-yard performance against Arizona suggests, the Packers will miss his ability to rest starter Ahman Green as a change-of-pace quickness back. But in a subtler way, the likely loss of fullback Brandon Miree because of a hyperextended left elbow could be a more significant blow. While with Denver for the last two seasons plus this year's training camp, Miree worked in the same zone-blocking system the Packers run. It requires the fullback to make quick blocking reads on the move. Miree's promotion over William Henderson into the starting lineup in Week 4 at Philadelphia is one of several factors that has helped the Packers' new zone-scheme make major strides in recent weeks. "The fullback plays a big role in what we do," said Jeff Jagodzinski, the Packers' offensive coordinator. "(Miree's) reads were better, and how he inserted into the line of scrimmage were a lot better. That was one of the reasons we had a lot more success." -- More







Defense Clamping Down On Explosive Plays
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 10/31/2006
Every week, defensive coordinator Bob Sanders would say that his defense's goal is to limit the opponent's explosive plays to five or less. That seemed unrealistic when the defense was struggling earlier in the season, particularly when the Packers surrendered a total of 24 explosive plays (defined as a run of 12 yards or more, or a pass of 16 yards or more) in a span of just two games, against Detroit and Philadelphia. But the mission was finally accomplished. Sanders' unit gave up just two explosive gains last Sunday against Arizona, by far a season-low and a big reason the defense also surrendered a season-low 218 total yards. The Cardinals' two explosive plays both came on their third-quarter scoring drive -- a 22-yard pass to tight end Leonard Pope and a 17-yard TD pass to Troy Walters. That was it, on a total of 64 offensive plays for Arizona. "We've been aiming to knock those down," Sanders said. "The guys have worked extremely hard and did a nice job doing that. Certainly two will help us win games. That was a move forward right there." -- More






TE Martin finally fitting in
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
When the crowd of cameras and microphones around David Martin finally dispersed Sunday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers veteran tight end sat down in his locker and let out a long, deep sigh. Unaccustomed to such attention, the soft-spoken Martin wasn't sure what to make of it all. Then, with the throng off in search of sound bites elsewhere, Martin leaned back and smiled. For the second straight week, he'd caught a touchdown pass from Brett Favre to help the Packers win, and after all he'd been through during his first five NFL seasons, after all the disappointments, he finally was making something of himself. And, enjoying it. "You know," Martin said, in just above a whisper, "it feels like it's coming together a little bit. That it is. Entering Sunday's game at Buffalo, where he figures to take on an even more prominent role as the Packers' jack-of-all-trades because of fullback Brandon Miree's elbow injury and the still-thin wide receiver corps, Martin has caught 15 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, putting him on pace for 34 catches for 309 yards and four touchdowns, all of which would be career highs.
-- More



Colledge bounces back from slow start
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
During training camp, the great expectations the Green Bay Packers had for Daryn Colledge were met with great disappointment. After the Packers took Colledge in the second round of April's NFL draft, he immediately was placed in the starting lineup at left guard. But after one preseason game, Colledge found himself benched in favor of another rookie, Tony Moll. Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said he became most impressed with Colledge when he saw how he responded to being benched. "That's when you see what a guy is made of," Jagodzinski said. "He stepped up and he kept competing. Eventually, you're going to get your chance again, and that's what happened. Since that first (preseason) game in San Diego, he's made a lot of strides. He's light years from there." Packers offensive line coach Joe Philbin said he never saw Colledge get down about briefly losing his starting job. "To his credit, he just kept working and kept plugging away," Philbin said. "He showed his maturity by keeping his attitude positive, and it all has paid great dividends." -- More



Ryan's ailing dad makes surprise visit to Lambeau
By Rob Demovsky
greenbaypressgazette.com
When Jon Ryan returned to the Green Bay Packers following the bye week earlier this month, he wondered whether he'd see his father again. Imagine, then, the look on the face of the Packers' punter when he learned his dying father was at Lambeau Field for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. With Bob Ryan seemingly too sick to travel, Jon Ryan figured the only way he'd see his father was if he lived through the NFL season. "I don't think he could handle the travel because his bones are so brittle," Ryan said upon his return to the Packers two weeks ago. Bob Ryan was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer this summer and may have only months to live. Packers coach Mike McCarthy let Ryan skip three days of practice during the bye week to return to Canada to be with his father. Ryan' agent, Gil Scott, secured a private jet from a businessman in the Ryans' hometown of Regina, Saskatchewan, to bring Bob Ryan and his family to Green Bay in time for Sunday's game. They watched the game from a private box. It all was a surprise to Jon Ryan, who found out about it when Packers equipment manager Red Batty told him shortly before game time. "He was just sitting in the corner in the tunnel with my family," Ryan told his hometown newspaper, the Regina Leader-Post. "That was about as memorable a moment as I'll ever have in my life, to be able to go over there after warmups and be able to hug my dad and hug my family. Everyone was in tears. I was bawling my eyes out, for sure. To see him down there was unbelievable. The rest of the players came out and they all lined up and gave my dad a (handshake) or a high five, and he wished them all good luck, one at a time, as they took the field. It was about as magical a day as you could possibly imagine."
-- More



True Grit
Youth spent on family farm molded Tauscher
By LORI NICKEL / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 31, 2006



Offensive line coaches Joe Philbin and James Campen said Mark Tauscher couldn't stop grinning in the fourth quarter against Arizona. Tauscher was unstoppable in the back-side blocking as Green Bay's offensive line helped both Ahman Green and Vernand Morency surpass the 100-yard mark in the victory over the Cardinals.

Tauscher, the seven-year veteran right tackle, has endured a coaching change, a system change and the loss of close friends and teammates on the line in the last year and a half. But it isn't like him to back down from this latest challenge of zone blocking with rookies all around him - not after a childhood that taught him about teamwork and competition. Tauscher believes his competitive nature has always been his strength. "And I would not have that without my two brothers and pretty much everybody we grew up with," he said. That's because the Tauscher brothers, Craig, Mark and Pat, made winning the goal in everything they did. Growing up on a farm in Milladore in central Wisconsin, they kicked field goals between silos, marching back five yards until someone missed and a winner was declared. They played Wiffle ball, matching hits to the road that was the home run line. Their father, Dennis, turned a hayfield into a baseball diamond and the neighboring Schmitt family had several of their nine kids over to play (the outs didn't count for the youngest kids). First base was a corner of the barn and Dennis offered $100 to anyone who could hit a ball to the pond. -- More



Deck the Hall with Butler and Wolf
By Steve Lawrence
PackerReport.com
LeRoy Butler's biography was called "From Wheelchair to the Lambeau Leap." An updated version might need to be titled "From Wheelchair to Canton, Ohio." Butler, the standout safety from the Green Bay Packers' 1990s Super Bowl teams, is among the 111 players on the preliminary list for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Joining Butler on the list is Ron Wolf, the architect of those Super Bowl teams, and Lee Remmel, who has covered the Packers for 61 years and a couple years ago was appointed the team's historian. As they say at the Academy Awards, just being nominated is an honor, and in Butler's and Wolf's cases, the honor is richly deserved. Butler revolutionized the way safeties could impact a game. No longer confined to merely being a last line of defense or a lightweight linebacker used in run support or to cover a plodding tight end, Butler finished his career with 38 interceptions and 20.5 sacks. Drafted as a cornerback, Butler had the coverage skills to match up against receivers, yet was a sturdy tackler to thwart the running game. In today's NFL, Butler's versatility would have been even more important, and he might have piled up even gaudier stats. Wolf's contribution barely needs to be recounted. He fired Lindy Infante, hired Mike Holmgren, traded for Brett Favre and signed Reggie White, the latter move starting a cavalcade of other important signings such as Sean Jones, Santana Dotson and Keith Jackson. Throw in a bunch of brilliant draft picks, and the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI and should have won Super Bowl XXXII. -- More







This guy reminds me of my grandpap Miller... well... in that my grandpap Miller has been dead for 25 years. (Okay... that was juuuust wrong) Anyway... it's a cute add featuring a long time Packer fan... enjoy!
(30 seconds)

Meet Tiffany
Oakland Raiders Cheerleaders

Tiffany is joining the Raiderettes for her third season. Currently a freelance make-up artist, Tiffany is also attending Diablo Valley College, where she is working to obtain her Associate of Arts degree. Her future goals are to become a real estate agent, attend culinary school and travel throughout Europe, Asia and the Caribbean.

Before becoming a Raiderette, Tiffany performed in the production Smokey Joe's Café at Diablo Valley College, and was encouraged to audition for the Raiderettes. She speaks Tagalog and some Spanish and has traveled with the Raiderettes to Japan and Korea to support Armed Forces Entertainment, a program which works with the U.S. military's Morale, Welfare and Entertainment programs. This busy lady also likes to participate in Latin and Salsa dancing, and is learning to expand her ability to speak Spanish.