10/27/2007
Mental Block
Zone blocking troubles tackles Packers
Green Bay - Pass protection is and probably always will be the most important part of the job for an offensive tackle in the National Football League. Left tackle Chad Clifton and right tackle Mark Tauscher have protected and still do protect Brett Favre very well since they moved into the Green Bay Packers' lineup as rookies in 2000. Coach Mike McCarthy, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and line coach James Campen know that, value that and factor that into any evaluation of their two veteran tackles. But when a team's running game ranks dead last in the NFL and every day brings more questions, it gets harder and harder for coaches to remember what Clifton and Tauscher do in protection and ignore their shortcomings as run blockers. [More]
D-line has fun on, off the field
Group is known for locker room laughs
A vortex of volume draws ears to the west end of the Green Bay Packers' locker room nearly every time more than three of its larger occupants are present. This is where the defensive line lives, laughs and lampoons when it's not providing the foundation for the Packers' emerging defense. "I've never heard so many guys cut each other down in 10 minutes between meetings and practice," said punter Jon Ryan, one of two non-linemen who dress along the same wall of lockers in the bowels of Lambeau Field. "I hear 20 to 30 jokes of cutting each other down before practice every day. Usually, they tend to repeat themselves after about a month, but it's pretty entertaining." The rapport can't be overlooked when considering how a team can juggle 11 defensive linemen, nine of whom usually are active on game day, without disturbing the group's productivity. [More]
Harrell could've ended up in Denver
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Had the Green Bay Packers not drafted Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick in last spring's NFL draft, the Denver Broncos would have been happy to take him instead. When the Packers took Harrell, the Broncos settled for Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss. Asked if he was going to draft Harrell had he been there at No. 17, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said, "Yeah. We were trying to decide which direction we'd go. We had Harrell and we had Jarvis, and we couldn't decide. We were kind of split, going defensive tackle or defensive end, but we liked Harrell a lot." [More]
Williams just keeps working
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Someone figures to make Corey Williams a very rich man this offseason. It might be the Green Bay Packers, his present employer, or it might be one of the NFL's other 31 teams, since versatile, playmaking defensive linemen are always in too short of supply. No one would blame Williams for occasionally considering the possibilities of his impending unrestricted free agency, but having grown up poor in Arkansas, Williams said that while the money will be nice, it's not all that important to him. [More]
Zone blocking troubles tackles Packers
Green Bay - Pass protection is and probably always will be the most important part of the job for an offensive tackle in the National Football League. Left tackle Chad Clifton and right tackle Mark Tauscher have protected and still do protect Brett Favre very well since they moved into the Green Bay Packers' lineup as rookies in 2000. Coach Mike McCarthy, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and line coach James Campen know that, value that and factor that into any evaluation of their two veteran tackles. But when a team's running game ranks dead last in the NFL and every day brings more questions, it gets harder and harder for coaches to remember what Clifton and Tauscher do in protection and ignore their shortcomings as run blockers. [More] D-line has fun on, off the field
Group is known for locker room laughs
A vortex of volume draws ears to the west end of the Green Bay Packers' locker room nearly every time more than three of its larger occupants are present. This is where the defensive line lives, laughs and lampoons when it's not providing the foundation for the Packers' emerging defense. "I've never heard so many guys cut each other down in 10 minutes between meetings and practice," said punter Jon Ryan, one of two non-linemen who dress along the same wall of lockers in the bowels of Lambeau Field. "I hear 20 to 30 jokes of cutting each other down before practice every day. Usually, they tend to repeat themselves after about a month, but it's pretty entertaining." The rapport can't be overlooked when considering how a team can juggle 11 defensive linemen, nine of whom usually are active on game day, without disturbing the group's productivity. [More] Harrell could've ended up in Denver
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Had the Green Bay Packers not drafted Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick in last spring's NFL draft, the Denver Broncos would have been happy to take him instead. When the Packers took Harrell, the Broncos settled for Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss. Asked if he was going to draft Harrell had he been there at No. 17, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said, "Yeah. We were trying to decide which direction we'd go. We had Harrell and we had Jarvis, and we couldn't decide. We were kind of split, going defensive tackle or defensive end, but we liked Harrell a lot." [More]
Williams just keeps working
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Someone figures to make Corey Williams a very rich man this offseason. It might be the Green Bay Packers, his present employer, or it might be one of the NFL's other 31 teams, since versatile, playmaking defensive linemen are always in too short of supply. No one would blame Williams for occasionally considering the possibilities of his impending unrestricted free agency, but having grown up poor in Arkansas, Williams said that while the money will be nice, it's not all that important to him. [More]
Published by PackerPundit On Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 7:06 AM.
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