Gameday 12/16/2007
Barnett, Pickett Know Plenty About Jackson
As Green Bay prepares to face St. Louis and running back Steven Jackson this week, two members of the Packers' defense don't need to watch a whole lot of film to know how good the Rams' backfield star is. Middle linebacker Nick Barnett and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett have been on Jackson's team before - Barnett in college at Oregon State and Pickett with the Rams prior to joining the Packers in 2006 - and they witnessed many of the 6-foot-2, 231-pound Jackson's talents perhaps before most of the rest of the pro football world did. "We were always on opposite teams in the spring game," Barnett said, recalling their days together in Corvallis, Ore. "I remember one time he made a play on me on the goal-line with a stiff arm, so ever since then, we just went down and chopped his legs out." [More]
A matter of trust:
Favre has demonstrated his faith
in 'Fab Five' receiving corps
By his own estimation, it took Packers wide receiver Donald Driver three full seasons to completely gain the trust of quarterback Brett Favre. The numbers support Driver's claim. During his first three seasons in the NFL, from 1999-2001, Driver caught a total of 37 passes for 520 yards and three touchdowns. In 2002, Driver's first season as a full-time starter, he more than doubled his career yardage total (1,064), nearly doubled his receptions (70) and tripled his touchdowns (nine). "We finally started having that kind of chemistry," Driver said, "and it made it easier to go out there and just play." If it took three seasons for Favre to develop chemistry with each of his receivers, the Packers certainly wouldn't be where they are today: sitting with an 11-2 record heading into Sunday's game at St. Louis, a division title already resting in their back pocket as they make their final push to clinch the No. 2 seed -- or better -- in the NFC playoffs. Several factors have played a role in the Packers' rise to the NFL's elite class, but two of them go hand in hand: The improved play of Favre, who threw as many touchdowns as he did interceptions last season and once again pondered retirement, and his faith in a receiving corps that was a giant question mark entering the season and had some -- Favre included -- complaining that general manager Ted Thompson should have pulled the trigger on a trade for Randy Moss during the offseason. [More] Special impact
When the 1996 Green Bay Packers made their run to the Super Bowl XXXI title, Ted Thompson was in his fourth year in general manager Ron Wolf's personnel department, Mike Stock was working for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Will Blackmon was a 12-year-old kid playing in his backyard. But they all remember this much very clearly: The Packers won that NFL title in no small part because of their special teams. "Our special teams were extraordinary," Thompson recalled last week, as the Packers (11-2) prepared for Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams (3-10) at the Edward Jones Dome. "We had the No. 1 (scoring) offense and the No. 1 (scoring and total) defense, but our special teams were unbelievable. Certainly we had a star player in Desmond Howard, but we had outstanding coverage units as well. In fact, we won the Super Bowl in large part because of the special teams." [More]
Published by PackerPundit On Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 6:48 AM.
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