Upcoming Game
Searching For Rhythm On The Run
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 09/21/2007
Offensive linemen take the most pride in being able to do two things - protect their quarterback, and pound defenses with the running game. The Green Bay Packers' linemen improved dramatically in the first of those two aspects from Week 1 to Week 2. After giving up four sacks and 11 quarterback hits on Brett Favre in the season opener against the Eagles, the numbers were cut down to one sack and two quarterback hits last week against the Giants. So now, it's time to get that running game going. Taking away three Favre kneel-downs in the two games, the Packers have rushed for 133 yards on 43 carries in the first two weeks, a 3.1-yard average. The fact that it took DeShawn Wynn's 38-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter last week to top 100 yards on the season only highlighted how much of a struggle it has been to run the ball. Of those 43 carries by running backs, 26 have gained 2 or fewer yards, and 13 have been for zero or negative yardage. But Wynn's big play also provides some validity to the linemen's comments this week, which have emphasized that they feel they're not as far away as the statistics might indicate from finding meaningful production on the ground. More >>
3-4 defense hasn't been friendly to Packers
McCarthy's offense has struggled
Against similar defenses in previous meetings
By Pete Dougherty / greenbaypressgazette.com
Last year, Mike McCarthy's West Coast and zone-blocking offense ran into nothing but tough times against the two 3-4 defensive schemes the Green Bay Packers faced in his first season as coach. The New England Patriots shut out the Packers and held them to 120 yards in total offense and five first downs. The New York Jets gave up only 97 yards in total offense while taking a 31-0 halftime lead on the way to a 38-10 blowout win over the Packers. This year, the Packers have two games against 3-4 defenses — this week against San Diego and Nov. 29 at Dallas. The Chargers not only are in the small club of teams (seven) that use the 3-4 alignment as their base defense, they also have impressive defensive personnel and finished seventh in the NFL in points allowed in 2006. So there's reason to wonder whether the Packers can keep up a scoring pace with San Diego, based on the Packers' performance last year against 3-4 schemes, plus their early-season problems in the run game this year. More >>
More Wynn will mean more wins
By Mike Vandermause / gbpressgazette
There's something magical about the Green Bay Packers and seventh-round draft picks. Since 1999, three Round 7 selections have emerged as solid starters, including receiver Donald Driver, tackle Mark Tauscher and center Scott Wells. The way things are going, seventh-rounder DeShawn Wynn, a rookie running back, will join that unique group in the near future. Most seventh-round picks aren't supposed to make the team. Even when it happens, they're usually buried near the bottom of the roster and play out obscure NFL careers. Driver was taken in 1999 out of Alcorn State, not exactly a college football factory. Tauscher was a second-day draft afterthought out of the University of Wisconsin in 2000. Wells was cut as a rookie in 2004 and placed on the practice squad before being promoted. Their rise to starting roles — and, in Driver's case, Pro Bowl status — is amazing considering how lightly regarded they were on draft day. Wynn's story still is being written, but that he is in the running for a starting role is nothing short of remarkable. He had no business even making the team. Most NFL scouts labeled Wynn an underachiever and questioned his durability and work ethic. That's why he was available to the Packers with the 228th overall draft pick last April. That's so far down the totem pole it's a wonder he was drafted at all. More>>
Published by PackerPundit On Saturday, September 22, 2007 at 6:03 AM.
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