The Packer Pundit

Framing a Foundation
By Jason Wilde / wsj.com

"I think they did OK. They competed and played hard and like we said on draft day, 'They're tough guys, they're smart, and they love to play football.' I think those are qualities you absolutely have to have as an offensive lineman to be successful in the NFL." -- Ted Thompson

The Green Bay Packers' season had been over for less than 12 hours, and Jeff Jagodzinski was caught between worlds. Technically, he was still the Packers' offensive coordinator - at least for two more days, anyway - but he was also preparing to take over at Boston College, which had hired him Dec. 20 as its head coach. Then his three rookie offensive linemen - Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll - showed up at his office door. It was perfectly symbolic: Three guys barely removed from being the college kids Jagodzinski will soon be coaching had stopped by to say goodbye and thank him for the year he'd spent turning them into professionals. And, to get free stuff. "I was like, 'You guys want hats?' And they were like vultures. 'Something free?' Especially Spitz," Jagodzinski said. After the abuse they'd taken from him, hats were the least he could do. "I know I was real hard on them. Real hard," Jagodzinski said. "But the offense goes as that group goes." Indeed, no area on the Packers' roster was scrutinized more than the offensive line in 2006. And while the rookie trio experienced the kind of difficult growing pains that were to be expected, each of them started at least 10 games - Colledge 15 (14 at left guard, one at left tackle), Spitz 14 (12 at right guard, two at left guard) and Moll 10 (five at right guard, five at right tackle) - and steadily improved throughout the season. -- More



Starting QB Or Not,
Rodgers Looks To Return
In Tip-Top Shape
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 01/06/2007
Aaron Rodgers is tired of hearing about it. No, not the question of whether or not Brett Favre is going to retire. Obviously, Rodgers would like to know just as much as the rest of us, but he knows Favre will decide in due time. And Rodgers plans on approaching the off-season the same whether he's going to be Favre's backup for another year or the new starting quarterback. Actually, Rodgers is tired of hearing about his body fat. Now, at 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, the 23-year-old Rodgers keeps himself in good shape. He moves in the pocket well and can make things happen on the run. Heck, he even proved to Head Coach Mike McCarthy in his first season working with him that he's a better athlete than McCarthy thought when scouting him for the 2004 NFL Draft out of California. But McCarthy, who has helped develop several young quarterbacks in the NFL, likes his pupils to be around 8 percent body fat. Rodgers says he's around 10 percent, and he'd like to get to the point where it doesn't need to be discussed every time he has a chat with his head coach. "Mike always hounds me about my weight, not really my weight but my body fat," Rodgers said. "I want to get down to 8 percent, and get a little stronger upper-body wise and obviously get healthy, and just be ready to maybe go through a 16-game schedule, a grind." Rodgers would welcome that opportunity, though it depends on Favre and that's out of his hands. What is under his control is his conditioning, so he's making that a top priority this off-season, along with continuing to recover and rehabilitate the broken foot he suffered on Nov. 19 against New England that ended his 2006 season. -- More




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