11/2/2006
Packers back,
Or is recent success merely a mirage?
Associated Press
Brett Favre was chuckling after his graceless attempt at a celebratory Lambeau Leap on Sunday. More important, he's no longer serving as the NFL's Midwest distribution center for interceptions. Wide receiver Donald Driver is even talking (cue squeaky Jim Mora voice) playoffs? Perhaps no team in the NFL has shown as much improvement from Week 1 to midseason as the Green Bay Packers, who lost four of their first five games, but now have won two straight. And with a very winnable game at Buffalo on Sunday, the Packers (3-4) could equal their victory total from last season before the Lambeau grass becomes tundra, and - gasp! - reach the .500 mark. This is a big deal in Green Bay, only because so little was expected out of a young team with a relatively unknown rookie head coach. But is the Packers' momentum swing an indication Mike McCarthy is engineering a turnaround, or simply a function of a schedule that's as squishy-soft as the foam they use to make cheeseheads? -- More
Jennings Closer To Returning
Wide receiver Greg Jennings is making progress in his recovery from an ankle injury, Head Coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday, and he could be healthy enough to get through a full practice by week's end. Jennings is still listed as questionable on this week's injury report, but he did participate in the opening jog-through and individual drills at practice on Wednesday. He then was pulled out of practice to continue his rehab, and McCarthy said he's hopeful Jennings will be able to get through all of Thursday's practice. "Sunday he was close," McCarthy said. "He's kind of working his way back. He made a lot of progress last week, and we're just trying to get over the last hurdle."
Other injuries
Cornerback Charles Woodson, who hyper-extended his knee early in last Sunday's game but returned to finish it, is listed as doubtful on the injury report, and McCarthy said if he practices at all this week, it would be on Friday at the earliest. Even if Woodson doesn't practice, though, that doesn't necessarily mean he won't play. After injuring a knee against St. Louis on Oct. 8, Woodson didn't practice during the bye week or the week leading up to the Miami game, but he played against the Dolphins and had probably his best game as a Packer, making five solo tackles and returning an interception for a touchdown. But this new knee injury could be slightly more problematic. He was listed as questionable before the Miami game but is doubtful this week.
Among other injured players, linebacker Abdul Hodge returned to practice for the first time in a month. Hodge badly bruised his knee against Philadelphia on Oct. 2 and has missed the last three games, but he confirmed on Wednesday that even though the injury has taken a long time to heal, it was not knee ligament damage, only a bruise. Hodge is listed as questionable, as is defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, who hasn't played since injuring his ankle in the St. Louis game. Jenkins did some early work in practice but did not participate in any team drills, though he feels light years ahead of where he's been the past couple of weeks.
New kid on the block
Running back P.J. Pope, signed off the Chicago Bears' practice squad on Tuesday, practiced with the Packers for the first time and is getting what he called a "crash course" in the playbook. Pope said it wasn't easy to leave Chicago because he had grown somewhat comfortable there, but he believes he has a chance to move up the depth chart much faster here than with the Bears. "It was a tough decision," Pope said. "I got used to coaching staff and everybody in the program. But when the opportunity presents itself, you have to run with the chance."
Crash course
In the two days he has been a Packer, running back P.J. Pope has put in overtime to get ready for this weekend.The 5-9, 218-pound Pope was signed off the Chicago Bears practice squad Tuesday to help fill the void left by Morency's injury. The Packers only have Green and backup Noah Herron available for the Bills game and would like to have another back available in case they suffer another injury. "He's an explosive young man," McCarthy said. "I like his run style. He puts his foot down, he has a one-cut mentality, which is what we're looking for in our run game. (He was) pretty stout in the pass protection today in our blitz drills. I was impressed with him for his first day of practice."
Sack Attack
Linebacker Nick Barnett has been credited with a full sack for his fourth-quarterback tackle of Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart. Originally, he shared it with nose tackle Colin Cole. Barnett now has 1 ½ sacks for the year. . . . The Packers brought in linebacker Mondoe Davis, guard Adam O'Connor and receiver Mark Simmons for workouts Tuesday.
Packers DE Aaron Kampman Named
NFC Defensive Player Of The Week
Defensive end AARON KAMPMAN of the Green Bay Packers, quarterback MICHAEL VICK of the Atlanta Falcons and rookie wide receiver SAM HURD of the Dallas Cowboys are the NFC Defensive, Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week for games played the eighth week of the 2006 season (October 29-30), the NFL announced Wednesday.
DEFENSE: DE AARON KAMPMAN, GREEN BAY PACKERSPlaying in front of the home fans at Lambeau Field, Kampman posted eight tackles, 2.0 sacks and three quarterback pressures in the Packers' 31-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The former Iowa standout, who recorded the third multiple-sack game of his career, was part of a defensive unit that allowed a season-low 218 total net yards and just 3.4 yards per play. The Packers allowed only 86 total rushing yards and 132 net yards passing. Kampman, who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft (No. 156 overall), sacked Arizona rookie quarterback MATT LEINART twice for a loss of 11 yards and his total of three quarterback pressures was the most by a Packer on the day. Kampman's eight tackles tied rookie linebacker A.J. HAWK for the team lead. This season, Kampman has a career-best 8.5 sacks, which leads the NFC and ties for the most in the NFL. In his fifth year from Iowa, this is Kampman's first career Player of the Week Award. (See More on Aaron Kampman in Feature Stories below)
Kampman hitting his stride
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
"I've always kind of flown under the radar, but we're only halfway through, and it'd be really great if that can continue all the way through (the season). Right now, it's kind of like a racehorse - you keep the blinders on a little bit, keep your eyes focused on what's ahead of you and not let the other stuff distract you." -- Aaron Kampman
With 8 sacks through seven games - tied for the NFL lead with suspended San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman - Aaron Kampman goes into the Green Bay Packers' final nine games with a target number in mind for his season-ending total. But as the Packers' defensive end stood at his locker Wednesday afternoon, he wasn't sharing that statistical goal with anyone. There's only one person he's shared that number with. "My wife," he said. But while Linde Kampman keeps that number a secret, the secret's out about her husband, who could wind up in his first Pro Bowl if he keeps up his pace. He enters Sunday's game at Buffalo on track for 19 sacks on the year, which would tie Tim Harris' official team record set in 1989. Ezra Johnson had 20 sacks in 1978, four years before the NFL officially began recognizing the sack stat. Kampman should have a chance to increase his numbers on Sunday against the Bills, who rejiggered their offensive line during the bye week. By moving Jason Peters from right to left tackle and Mike Gandy from left tackle to left guard, they'll start rookie seventh- round pick Terrance Pennington at right tackle, opposite Kampman. -- More Kampman's bag full of sacks
He transforms himself from an effort guy into an outside pass rusher
By Tom Silverstein / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 1, 2006
The Green Bay Packers don't exactly have a history of making smart financial decisions where defensive linemen are concerned. Just bring up Joe Johnson, Cletidus Hunt and Jamal Reynolds and you are reminded of the wasted $26 million. Throw in $13.25 million in guaranteed money the Packers probably didn't have to pay to keep Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and you have a litany of squandered investments. So when decision time came this past off-season with defensive end Aaron Kampman, the Packers were faced with the prospect of compounding their recent failures. Kampman was asking for a whopping $11 million in guaranteed money despite having just 13 ½ sacks in four years and not even a whiff of a Pro Bowl. The Packers had to figure out whether he was worth it. As one NFL defensive line coach said at the time, "He's the type of guy you hate to stick money into because it's not like he has a tremendous upside. He's not going to turn around and get 10, 11, 12 sacks. There's just no way." Think again. Seven games into the season, Kampman is tied with San Diego's Shawne Merriman for the NFL lead in sacks with 8 ½. He has had at least a half-sack in every game but one this season and multiple sacks in two. If he continues on this pace, he'll finish with 19 1/2, which would tie Tim Harris for the club record. -- More With Games Close And Favre Comfortable,
Interceptions Are Down
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 11/01/2006
With five interceptions through seven games, including none in his last three contests, quarterback Brett Favre is on pace to throw barely more than 10 interceptions this season. That's a far cry from the 29 he threw a year ago, and while the veteran quarterback believes several factors have contributed to cutting that down in 2006, the overriding one is that the Packers have been competitive in most of their games and not desperately playing from behind. "We've been in all of our games except the second half of Philly and Chicago, and that's as big a factor as any," Favre said during his bi-weekly Wednesday news conference. "When you fall behind to a certain point, you know you have to take some chances, and it's a little bit tougher to play within the system, at least for me it is. When we're in the game, leading, or with each play there's a chance we can win this game, I feel like I play the game differently. I don't want to say I play the game cautious, but maybe a little reluctant to take certain chances." Favre's riskier throws appear to have come when the offense was in dire need of making something happen to change the course of the game. Four of his five interceptions came in the Chicago and Philadelphia games. The two against the Bears occurred in the fourth quarter with the Packers trailing 26-0. The two against the Eagles came in the second half with the Packers behind 17-9 and 24-9, respectively, after leading 9-7 at the half. -- More Rayner gains his footing
By Tom Silverstein / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 1, 2006
It will be awhile before the Green Bay Packers know for sure whether they have adequately replaced the clutch field-goal kicker they relied on for nine seasons. What they do know is that Ryan Longwell's replacement, second-year pro Dave Rayner, has had a considerable impact on their ability to limit long kickoff returns and win the field-position battle. The strong-legged Rayner has kicked well enough this season to put himself among the leaders in touchbacks and fewest kickoff return yards allowed. "Kickoff-wise, I think this off-season I got stronger, honed my skills and worked on some things," the 24-year-old Rayner said Wednesday. "I'm really comfortable. I'm just hitting the ball really well." The result has been a dramatic drop in the starting field position Packers opponents have had compared to last season. Opponents' average starting field position after kickoffs is the 23.6-yard line, which is far better than the 29-yard line opponents averaged last year under Longwell. With Rayner kicking off, Green Bay ranks fourth in the National Football League in average starting field position and first in average kickoff return yardage allowed (19.3). Only 11 of the 25 kickoffs opponents have returned have gone more than 20 yards and none has gone more than 44. -- More
Packers / Cardinals game high-lites
Meet Brandi
Miami Dolphins
Cheerleader
(Sorry... no bio on Brandi... you'll all just have to deal with extra swim suit pictures instead... you'll get over it)
Published by PackerPundit On Thursday, November 02, 2006 at 5:43 AM.
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