The Packer Pundit: 12/14/2006

« Home | 12/13/2006 »

12/14/2006

Former GM Ron Wolf's Name
Added To Lambeau Facade
wolf Packers fans attending Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions will notice a new name on the stadium facade inside Lambeau Field: Ron Wolf, the Green Bay Packers' General Manager from 1991 to 2001. Packers Chairman/CEO Bob Harlan oversaw the name's installation Tuesday in the northeast corner of the stadium between the upper and lower indoor club seats. Wolf has joined prominent company inside the hallowed stadium. While the former G.M. is not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and thus not listed alongside the other former Packers as a member in Canton, Ohio, Harlan wanted to recognize him in a way that is befitting of his enormous legacy with the organization. "Ron Wolf is a person that is vitally important in the history of this franchise, a select few that includes Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi," said Harlan. "We wanted to honor him in such a way that allows all our fans to know we appreciate the contributions he made to the organization. His name forever will be included with the all-time greats. It's a new tradition for Lambeau Field and he deserves it." Wolf, understandably, was surprised when informed of the honor. "I was tremendously shocked when I heard," said the New Freedom, Pa., native. "To have this honor bestowed upon me is simply awesome. It's an incredible feeling for me to be placed in such company with outstanding people that made the game what it is today. When you're with those people, you're with tall cotton. It's an incredible feeling."

Packers Looking For Success To Carry Over
carry The Green Bay Packers have shown the ability to overcome adversity this season. From 1-4, the Packers won two straight to get to 3-4. Then after three straight losses dropped them to 4-8, they snapped the losing streak Sunday at San Francisco. Now it's time to keep charging ahead, and hopefully there's no more "bouncing back" to worry about. "I think the most important thing is what we do with the San Francisco game," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Wednesday. "How does it carry over to Detroit? How does it carry over to these next two home games? That's the part of stacking success that we're looking for." McCarthy said in preparing for Detroit this week, he has looked at the film of the first Detroit game on Sept. 24, and he sees how much the team has improved over the last 10 games. But that improvement won't mean much if it doesn't translate into more tallied in the win column over the final three weeks. "It still comes down to performing," McCarthy said. "We just have to continue to keep working, and our preparation needs to equate to a good performance, and that's what our goal is this week. "I really want to see how we take this into Detroit, and with success in Detroit take it into the next one. So it's part of the growth that we're looking for."

Long trip back
Wide receiver Ruvell Martin, who was held overnight in a San Francisco hospital for observation of a chest bruise as a precautionary measure after Sunday's game, ended up spending all of Tuesday to get back to Green Bay. He flew from San Francisco to Minneapolis, where he got on a connecting flight that flew across Wisconsin but wasn't allowed to land because of the fog. The plane circled back to Iowa, landed to re-fuel, and then went back to Minneapolis, where Martin waited a few more hours to get another flight back to Green Bay. "I got in about nine o'clock at night," Martin said. Martin explained that he fell on the ball while getting tackled in the fourth quarter, which produced the chest bruise and some difficulty breathing. He was held out of practice on Wednesday, but he said he feels fine.

Ready to fill in if needed
Both Martin and Donald Driver are questionable on this week's injury report, though McCarthy said Driver's shoulder injury should be fine. But should either one not be able to play on Sunday, that could mean extensive playing time for newcomer Carlyle Holiday. Picked up on waivers last week from Arizona, Holiday was forced into duty right away on Sunday because of the injury situation at receiver. He played a few snaps at split end and made one catch for 3 yards in the fourth quarter. McCarthy said he now is learning all the receiver positions in the offense, and he'd picked things up very quickly. Holiday said he's getting help from Driver, Martin and the rest of the receiving corps as he gets adjusted. "Those guys are all helpful -- Ruvell, Driver -- if you need anything answered, they'll answer it right away," Holiday said. "Everybody's been nothing but help for me."

Injury report
Defensive end Mike Montgomery (knee) is listed as out for the second straight week and offensive tackle Mark Tauscher (groin) is still doubtful. McCarthy said it's possible Montgomery could miss the rest of the season, but there's a chance Tauscher could get some practice work in by the end of the week. In addition to Driver and Martin, three other players are listed as questionable. Safety Atari Bigby (hamstring) missed practice, while tight end David Martin (ribs) and linebacker Ben Taylor (hamstring) did practice. Running back Ahman Green (knee) and cornerback Charles Woodson (shoulder) are both probable and missed practice Wednesday, as is their schedule. Center Scott Wells missed practice because of an illness but is probable for the game.

McCarthy:
'We need to get over' home woes
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
lambeau For the Green Bay Packers, home cooking seems to cause food poisoning. At Lambeau Field, long considered one of the toughest places for opponents to play, the Packers are an abysmal 1-5, with their only victory over the Arizona Cardinals. It's the worst home record in the NFL this season. "How can I explain it?" Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I wish I could do something about it. Like anything, you make too big of a deal out of it, like I am right now, speaking about it at a press conference, it takes on a life of its own. But it's there. We're 1-5. And it needs to change." It's difficult to explain because the Packers have been competitive in six of seven road games, going 4-3. "It's good that we've been playing well on the road, but I don't understand why we haven't been able to do well at home," receiver Donald Driver said. "It should be different when you have your home crowd in front of you. That's something we have to build off of. We have to feed off our home crowd. Losing at Lambeau should never happen and it's happened way too much lately." Under coach Mike Holmgren from 1992 to 1998, the Packers never finished worse than 6-2 at home. In 1996 and 1997, they were unbeaten at Lambeau Field. Mike Sherman's teams were 7-1 in 2001 and 8-0 in 2002. But the Packers seemed to lose their grip on the home-field advantage during his last two seasons, going 4-4 during the 2004 season and 3-5 last season. McCarthy said he had a few theories about why the Packers have struggled so much at home this season. "The anxiety of a young team, knowing the history of Lambeau Field, to maybe being a little spoiled," he said. "You think you can almost go out there and just play and OK, still win the games. I think it's probably a combination of everything." That said, the Packers have faced much tougher teams at home than on the road. The six opponents the Packers have played at Lambeau are a combined 45-33. Their seven road opponents are 40-51. "That's not an excuse," linebacker A.J. Hawk said. "You have to win at home in this league, period." -- More

Pockets remain deep
Team will have plenty of salary cap room
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 13, 2006
favre097463 It's hard to fathom the Green Bay Packers having the $30.5 million in salary cap room they had at the start of 2006 ever again, but the fact is they will have about that much available when 2007 rolls around. Current projections have the Packers sitting at $29.5 million under the spending limit once the '07 salary cap of an estimated $109 million goes into effect. The Packers are about $3 million under the 2006 cap of $102 million and will be able to carry over a portion of that through some contractual maneuvering at the end of this season. There are nearly a dozen teams with more cap room than the Packers looking ahead to 2007, but most have many more high-priced unrestricted free agents they need to re-sign before March. The Packers have eight players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents and one a restricted free agent, and the only ones who might command a contract of any significance are running back Ahman Green and tight end David Martin.
-- More

Harris or Woodson for the Pro Bowl?
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
probowl456 Al Harris has covered the opponent's best receiver every game since Week 4, yet fellow cornerback Charles Woodson is tied for second in the NFC with five interceptions. Both play for a Green Bay Packers team with a 5-8 record going into Sunday's game against Detroit, and players and coaches are filling out their Pro Bowl ballots this week. So it's not hard to envision this: Many players, just like fans, look at statistics and name recognition when voting for the Pro Bowl, and even though many might know Harris is having a solid season, they might be inclined to vote for Woodson because of the interceptions and name recognition. Even if they know about Harris' assignment of facing the opponent's top receiver each week, they might be unwilling to vote for two cornerbacks from a team that ranks 28th in the NFL in passing yards allowed. So Harris, who has coveted a Pro Bowl berth for the last three years, could lose out for one of the three cornerback spots on the NFC team to his teammate, even though the Packers' coaches consider him their top pass defender. "I would be so happy for Charles, because I really do think he deserves to go," Harris said Wednesday. "I really do. Picks are what count, that's what gets you in." Pro Bowl voting for fans ends Friday evening, and the coaches and players vote today and Friday. The Pro Bowl teams will be announced on the NFL Network at 3 p.m. Tuesday. Each group's votes count for one-third in determining the teams. -- More

Williams vs. Harris Is Marquee Match-Up
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 12/13/2006
matchup It will be the game within the game Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Detroit Lions' biggest offensive threat is receiver Roy Williams, who couldn't heap enough praise on Green Bay Packers' cornerback Al Harris in a conference call with local media on Wednesday. "Everybody asks me who I think the best corner is in the NFL, and Al Harris is the best corner in the NFL," Williams said. Harris took the compliment in stride. He didn't dismiss it as strictly gamesmanship, but in his mind there's really no response for it other than to show your foe he's right ... on the field. "Words don't go out and perform on Sunday," Harris said. "So a guy can say, 'Hey, I think this guy is the best thing since sliced bread,' but if on Sunday he gives up 400 yards, 500 yards, with seven, eight touchdowns ..." Williams and Harris are likely to be sick of each other by game's end on Sunday, but they're both aware their match-up will factor heavily into the outcome. The first time the Packers and Lions met this season, a 31-24 Green Bay win back on Sept. 24 at Ford Field, Williams and Harris weren't one-on-one the entire game. Harris matched up against him only in certain situations, and Williams had his way with the Green Bay secondary, catching seven passes for 138 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown. That marks the highest single-game output by an opposing receiver against the Packers this season. It also was the first of five 100-yard performances in 2006 by Williams, who has flourished in offensive coordinator Mike Martz's aggressive system. Williams ranks third in the NFL in receiving yardage with 1,116 yards, already 300 yards more than his career high as a rookie two seasons ago. Four of his 69 catches this year have gone for touchdowns. -- More

match2 Talking laud:
Lions WR Williams says
Harris is best cornerback
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 13, 2006
They've only played against one another four times, but Green Bay Packers cornerback Al Harris and Detroit Lions receiver Roy Williams have a nice little rivalry going. Emphasis on nice. The two don't play nice when they're on the field, but when it comes to complimenting each other, they aren't shy about it. Especially Williams, who last year called Harris the best cornerback in the NFL and continues to consider him that. "Everybody asks me who I think the best corner in the NFL is and Al Harris is the best corner in the NFL," Williams said on a conference call with state reporters. "I love to play against him twice a year and it's always a matchup. He's going to win plays, I'm going to win plays. We're just out there competing." There are few cornerbacks who can handle the 6-3, 220-pound Williams physically. It's one of the reasons why he ranks third in the NFL in receptions and receiving yards with 69 catches for 1,116 yards and four touchdowns, despite playing for the 2-11 Lions. On Sunday, the two will match up at Lambeau Field, nearly three months after their last meeting in Detroit.
-- More

Injury Report

Packers
Out: DE Michael Montgomery (knee).
Doubtful: RT Mark Tauscher (groin).
Questionable: WR Donald Driver (shoulder), TE David Martin (ribs), WR Ruvell Martin (chest), LB Ben Taylor (hamstring).
Probable: RB Ahman Green (knee), C Scott Wells (illness), CB Charles Woodson (shoulder).
All but David Martin and Taylor missed practice.

Lions
Out: G Blaine Saipaia (chest)
Doubtful: DT Marcus Bell (hand), CB Fernando Bryant (concussion), G Ross Verba (groin)
Questionable: LB Teddy Lehman (hamstring).
Probable: T Jeff Backus (foot), WR Eddie Drummond (hip).
All missed practice.

Meet Stephanie
Philadelphia Eagles
Cheerleader