The Packer Pundit

Ground Game Needed To Finish
For all the angst over the Packers' 32nd-ranked running game, it's worth pointing out that the rushing struggles haven't been all that damaging with the team off to a 5-1 start. And with one-third of the league's top nine ground games belonging to teams with records of .500 or worse (Minnesota, Oakland and this week's opponent, Denver), there's no magic to be expected if and when the running game gets going. But that said, one area in which the Packers' unreliable running game has nearly proved costly, and in which the Packers would benefit greatly from more rushing production, is at the end of games. In each of the Packers' last two victories, at Minnesota and vs. Washington, the offense has been on the field with the lead in the closing minutes, with a chance to pound the ball on the ground for a first down to kill the clock and seal the game. But that hasn't been accomplished, and in both games it gave the opponent a chance it probably shouldn't have had to come back and perhaps tie or win the game. For all the times this season the offense and quarterback Brett Favre have substituted short passes and quick-hitters for running plays, closing out a victory has to be the responsibility of the running game, and the Packers need to find a way to make that work. [More]


Defense bringing
turnovers to table
Green Bay - Just fall on the ball. Don't do anything wild or weird. On the rare occasion a loose ball graces the trenches, just pounce on it and hand it over. Leave the end zone dances to the offense. That was the way football was once. This is the way it is now: Green Bay assistant coach Robert Nunn stands 15 yards from the defensive linemen in practice. One by one, he fires the ball at them at point-blank range and they have to catch it. The linemen then line up 10 yards from him and Nunn throws grounders. The linemen practice scooping up the ball with two hands (not one) and bending at the knees (not at the waist). Ball tucked safely away, they are supposed to aim for the end zone. "Hey, you never know when a turnover like that is going to happen," said right defensive end Cullen Jenkins, who has tipped 17 passes at the line of scrimmage in his career. "It's happened a couple of times in my career." [More]


Crosby's return to the Rockies
GREEN BAY — The old joke about Wisconsin weather, of course, is that if you don't like it, wait around 5 minutes and it'll change. Having played his college football at Colorado, Green Bay Packers rookie kicker Mason Crosby will be the first to tell you that until you've experienced the volatility of the weather in the Mile High City, you don't know the meaning of unpredictable. "Going to school there for four years, my parents would be coming to visit and be like, 'What's the weather going to be like?' And I'd be like, 'Well, I can tell you what it is now, and you can look on weather.com, but it's most likely going to change,' " Crosby said as the Packers prepared for Monday night's game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field. "The 10-day forecast will change three or four times." [More]


Robinson's return adds dimension for Favre, offense
No one in the Green Bay Packers organization was happier about the NFL reinstating Koren Robinson last week than Brett Favre. The Packers' running game has been in neutral since the season opened, but Robinson's reinstatement after a year's suspension for violating the NFL's drug and alcohol policy at least gives the team's quarterback another weapon in a passing game that's carried the offense this season. Favre has had just enough experience with the 27-year-old receiver — four games early last season — to think that as Robinson gets football sharp over the next few weeks, he brings a combination of size, speed and instincts that adds a new dimension to an already strong receiving corps featuring starters Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and James Jones.

"I'm not sure what year he was drafted," said Favre of Robinson, who was the No. 9 pick overall by Seattle in 2001, "but I can see why he was drafted high. He has not only the physical ability and tools, he has the awareness, which either you have it or you don't have it — this knack for beating guys and adjusting. I haven't been with him long, (but) in the small amount of time I was with him last year, you can tell he has playmaking ability, and he has size to go along with it. He can be a great player for a long time if he stays on the right path, and physically speaking if he avoids major injury." [More]


By any name, Clifton's a gamer
GREEN BAY — During his eight years as the Green Bay Packers' veteran left tackle, Chad Clifton has gone by a number of different nicknames. There's the unimaginative "Cliffy," which seems more appropriate for a postman who frequents a bar where everyone knows his name. There's "The Big Clip," which his not-so-sensitive offensive linemates coined after Clifton was blindsided by Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp in 2002 and suffered serious hip injuries. [More]