The Packer Pundit

Another WR May Be Needed
The Packers may have to sign one of their wide receivers from the practice squad if Ruvell Martin is unable to play on Sunday. Head Coach Mike McCarthy said on Friday that Martin is still being held out for precautionary reasons related to the chest bruise he sustained last Sunday in San Francisco. If he's unable to play, Chris Francies is a likely candidate for the the No. 4 receiver spot, with newcomer Carlyle Holiday moving into Martin's role at No. 3. Francies was on the active roster for seven games before being released and re-signed to the practice squad prior to last week's game. Martin remains questionable on the injury report, and he's done some pool workouts and some running this week, but the fact that he didn't practice at all doesn't bode well for his chances of playing. "He wants to go," McCarthy said. "But it's more a medical issue and how much time you have to let that thing heal. It's more precautionary than anything, but if you talk to him, he's ready to go." Martin said the doctors have told him the injury is internal, which is why they're being so cautious. "It's one of those deals -- it's weird because I feel great, but the doctors say there's still stuff going on and I can't play," Martin said. "The only way they can tell is to take a scan, which hasn't been done, so we're just kind of waiting around." Martin was especially looking forward to this week's game against Detroit for two reasons. He's coming off his first NFL touchdown pass last week at San Francisco, and as a Michigan native he wants to play against his home-state team. The first time the Packers and Lions met this year, Martin was de-activated on game day. "I want to be out there, I want to play," he said. "Hopefully I'll get the green light soon."

Tauscher could be backup
McCarthy said that if offensive tackle Mark Tauscher is healthy enough to be active on Sunday, it will most likely be as a backup, but he still appears on track to return to the starting lineup on Thursday against Minnesota. Tauscher practiced on Friday but took most of his reps with the scout team rather than the starters, so it's likely that Tony Moll will start his fifth straight game at right tackle. Tauscher remains questionable on the injury report with his groin injury. "He wasn't sore this morning, and I think that's obviously a positive sign," McCarthy said. "He just felt a little sluggish, knocking the rust off. "I'm hopeful that he'll go Sunday but I don't know if he's going to make it." Also on the offensive line, center Scott Wells was removed from the injury report. Wells was sick earlier in the week but has fully recovered.

Curved club
Linebacker Nick Barnett has practiced this week with a slightly modified club cast on his broken right hand. The club has been narrowed down and given a slight curve to more naturally fit the positioning of Barnett's hand. Barnett said he believes the new cast will be OK with the officials, but he won't know until he gets into live game action whether it will function any better than the larger, round club he has played with the past two games.

Pro Bowl hopefuls
Players and coaches cast their votes for the Pro Bowl this week, and the members of the NFC squad will be announced next week. Receiver Donald Driver is a potential candidate, ranking second in the NFC in receiving yards to Detroit's Roy Williams. With 73 catches for 1,103 yards and seven touchdowns, Driver is just 13 catches and 118 yards from matching his career highs in those categories, set last year, and two TDs from his career high of nine in 2004 and 2002. Driver was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002 but felt jaded when he didn't make it either of the last two seasons despite putting up more than 1,200 yards each year. In 2004, then-teammate Javon Walker went to the Pro Bowl with five catches, 174 yards and two TDs more than Driver. "I don't know why I don't get it," Driver said. "Does it bother me? I have a grudge, and that's just me proving week in and week out that I'm one of the best." Driver feels he's been proving himself ever since joining the Packers as a seventh-round draft pick 7 1/2 years ago. "I'm going to play with a chip on my shoulder every year," he said. "When I came here in 1999, I was mad because every team left me sit on the table besides the Packers and I went seven rounds. That's been a chip as well. I'll have chips until I'm retired." On defense, the Packers with the best chance are likely defensive end Aaron Kampman, who's tied for second in the NFC with 101/2 sacks, and cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson.

Rookie guards hold the line
Colledge, Spitz have steadily improved
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 15, 2006
Many factors will influence Brett Favre's decision whether to play in 2007 but fears of being crushed behind a lousy offensive line probably won't be one of them. The 37-year-old quarterback acknowledged Friday that he had no problem with the performance of rookie guards Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz and expects them to get nothing but better. "Are they there yet? No," Favre said. "There's still a ways to go, but every week they've gotten better and more confident. I think they have all the potential, all the good characteristics you look for. Now it's just a matter of time." One of the most pleasant developments from the standpoint of personnel in Green Bay this season has been finding a pair of suitable guards. A year ago, the Packers tried and failed at left guard with Adrian Klemm and Scott Wells and at right guard with Will Whitticker, Grey Ruegamer and Matt O'Dwyer. Disdaining another go at guard in free agency, general manager Ted Thompson pinned his hopes on the draft by using a second-round choice on Colledge, a third-round selection on Spitz and a fifth-round pick on Tony Moll. Colledge has started 12 games, including 11 at left guard. Spitz has started 10 games, including eight at right guard and two at left guard. And Moll has started nine games, including five at right guard and four at right tackle. Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said the coaches made the guards' jobs easier by reducing their exposure to one-on-one matchups through use of more seven-man protections than in recent seasons in Green Bay. That's one reason, coupled with Favre's razor-sharp instincts and reluctance to take a sack, why Green Bay has allowed just 20 sacks to rank No. 4 in percentage of sacks allowed. -- More



Home Struggles Must End Sunday
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 12/15/2006
Head Coach Mike McCarthy has said it repeatedly this week. He doesn't know the specific reasons for the Packers' 1-5 record at Lambeau Field this season, and he doesn't care. What he does care about is simply getting another home win this week against the Detroit Lions. And he's not into trying some off-the-wall pre-game routine, because that will have nothing to do with what goes on between noon and 3 p.m. on Sunday. "We've talked about all the potential distractions, reasons, but frankly we need to play better," McCarthy said. The potential reasons for the home struggles are numerous. Maybe the players have taken home-field advantage, an undeniable trait when the Packers won 61 of 70 games at Lambeau from 1995 through 2002, for granted. Or they're trying too hard to live up to that lofty home record, and the pressure to play at that level at home has worked against them. Certainly the competition at home has had something to do with the struggles. Green Bay's five home losses have come to three division leaders (the 11-2 Bears, 9-4 Saints and 9-4 Patriots), one wild-card contender in the loaded AFC (the 7-6 Jets), and one team that was hot when it came to town (the Rams, who were 4-1 after beating Green Bay before their season went south). But no one wants to hear that, either, particularly the veteran players who have lost 12 of their last 16 games at Lambeau. "There are many excuses you can try to make, but we're not about excuses," linebacker Nick Barnett said. "There really is no excuse. We're playing at home, we have to win games here." -- More







Driver gets carried away
on his big day
Receiver, Favre connect again
as Packers roll
By RICK BRAUN
Packer Plus writer
Posted: Dec. 13, 2006
When Donald Driver gets picked up, there's a good chance the Green Bay Packers are feeling a pretty good pick-me-up, too. That certainly was the case during the Packers' 30-19 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Driver's 9-catch, 160-yard performance was capped by a 68-yard bomb he caught in the third quarter from quarterback Brett Favre. And as has become a new custom, Favre raced down to the end zone and hoisted Driver up on his shoulder in celebration, just as he did after Driver's 82-yard catch and run for a touchdown at Minnesota on Nov. 12 and after the duo hooked up for a 34-yard score at Miami on Oct. 22. "It's exciting because my biggest thing is that I just want to be a part of his legacy," Driver said. "He has that and I'm trying to establish that now. I've got three pick-ups and that's an exciting thing." -- More

Injury, 'wall' slow Jennings
Wide receivers' hot pace has cooled down a bit
By ROB REISCHEL / Special to Packer Plus
Posted: Dec. 14, 2006
Rookie wall or ankle injury. Greg Jennings weighed the question as to why his production has slipped in recent weeks. Then the Packers stand-up wide receiver was as honest as he could be. "It's probably a combination of both of those things," said Jennings, a second-round draft pick last April. "You've got to take care of your body. I'm learning that and that's what I'm trying to do right now. But as to why my production has slipped a little bit, it's probably both of those things." During the first month of the season, Jennings was one of the brightest stars of the 2006 draft. In Jennings' first five games, he averaged 4.0 receptions, 72.8 yards per game and 18.2 yards per catch. Jennings also scored three touchdowns and had a pair of 100-yard receiving games. But Jennings went down with an ankle injury Oct. 22 at Miami. And he hasn't been the same player since. Jennings was inactive for the following week's game vs. Arizona. And since returning against Buffalo on Nov. 5, Jennings has been no better than ordinary. Jennings is averaging 3.7 receptions over the past six games, which isn't far off his early-season pace. But he's averaging just 41.2 receiving yards per game, 11.2 yards per catch and hasn't scored a touchdown or had a 100-yard receiving day. "I think he's still trying to get his body back," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of Jennings. "If you want to call it lingering, but at this point of the year, mostly every player has something that's bothering him. So, I think it's just a part of going through his first NFL season and fighting through the number of practices and games and the expectations of being a starter in this league." -- More






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