PackerFreaks: Green Bay Packers News & Opinion

Football Outsiders: Remaining needs

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:35:46 +0000

Football Outsiders, a statistics-based analysis service, has been producing division-by-division Insider files on remaining team needs. You’ll need a subscription to read the entire NFC North post , but below I’ve taken a few excerpts and written a few things about them.

Chicago Bears
Football Outsiders’ issue: Receiver
Football Outsiders comment: “When we pointed to wide receiver as a major flaw for the current Bears early in the offseason, it was to the consternation of a lot of Bears fans who saw the offensive line as the larger issue.
ESPN.com – NFC North Blog

Lance Easley Still Living Out His 15 Minutes of Infamy

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:36:11 +0000

Why will Lance Easley not go away once and for all? The ref that cost the Green Bay Packers a win over the Seattle Seahawks is umping Richard Sherman’s charity softball game. We are overjoyed.

The post Lance Easley Still Living Out His 15 Minutes of Infamy appeared first on Total Packers.

Total Packers

Dec. 22, 2003: Packers receivers haul in everything in sight

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:35:41 +0000

Oakland, Calif. – The only thing that could have prevented quarterback Brett Favre from paying special tribute to his late father would have been if his teammates didn’t match his spirited play Monday night.
JSOnline.com Packers

TBS Will Be Making Packers Fans Look Stupid

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:36:57 +0000

TBS will be airing a new reality show called “Cheeseheads” based on Green Bay Packers fans. The show will surely make all of us look stupid. Here’s why.

The post TBS Will Be Making Packers Fans Look Stupid appeared first on Total Packers.

Total Packers

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Dec. 22, 2003: One for the books – and dad

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:38:08 +0000

Oakland, Calif. – In 188 consecutive regular-season starts in the National Football League, Brett Favre has played through assorted knee injuries, hip ailments and elbow pain. In college, 30 inches of his intestines were removed 24 days after he was seriously hurt in a car accident. At the moment his thumb is broken.
JSOnline.com Packers

Dwayne Bowe Should Just Focus on Helping Chiefs Win, Not Lead NFL in Receiving (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:37:02 +0000

COMMENTARY | Dwayne Bowe began this offseason much like last year’s: without a long-term contract in place and virtually unknowing of what team he would be lining for up at wide receiver.
Yahoo! Sports – NFL – Green Bay Packers News

Go Bet on Titletown Five in the Preakness

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:38:00 +0000

Green Bay Packers legends Paul Hornung and Willie Davis have a horse running in The Preakness this weekend — Titletown Five. It’s a long shot, but what the hell?

The post Go Bet on Titletown Five in the Preakness appeared first on Total Packers.

Total Packers

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NFL roundup: Gronkowski may need back surgery too (The SportsXchange)

packfreak_admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:36:47 +0000

The health status of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski seems to be getting more complicated by the day.
Yahoo! Sports – NFL – Green Bay Packers News

Dec. 28, 2003: Green Bay wins NFC North with a late present from Arizona

packfreak_admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:36:06 +0000

Perhaps it was a higher spirit that won the NFC North Division title for the Packers in the final regular-season game of 2003. Certainly, there was nothing in this realm to suggest that the Vikings would squander an 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter half a continent away against the lowly Cardinals in Tempe.
JSOnline.com Packers

Packers Offseason Player Preview: M.D Jennings Looks to Start

packfreak_admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:40:06 +0000

We at Acme Packing Company have strung together a couple of articles in the past week breaking down players that will be playing for a roster spot in 2013. We have covered tight end Andrew Quarless and defensive end C.J. Wilson — next in the series is M.D Jennings.

Unlike Quarless and Wilson, I don’t believe Jennings is fighting for a roster spot this offseason so to speak, but instead for the starting strong safety position. In the mix at strong safety for the Packers is the afore mentioned Jennings, second-year man Jerron McMillian and Sean Richardson.

In 2012 McMillian and Jennings split time at safety doing a solid job for the NFL’s No. 11 ranked defense (No. 11 against the pass). Their playing time was almost exactly even with Jennings playing a total of 617 snaps and McMillian playing 614 snaps. Richardson, on the other hand, missed the majority of the season with a neck injury in a primary special teams role when healthy.

According to Pro Football Focus McMillian slightly had the better year. McMillian earned an overall rating of + 1.9, while Jennings had a – 1.3 ratting. Jennings was below average against the run earning a – 3.1 rating, while McMillian was solid with a 0.0 rating. Both were solid in pass coverage with Jennings earning a + 1.9 and McMillian earning a + 2.5. However, in the playoffs it appeared the Packers were more comfortable playing Jennings as opposed to McMillian. In the two playoffs games the Packers played Jennings 44 out of a possible 143 snaps — McMillian played a total of just five snaps in those two games combined.

To the naked eye it was tough to distinguish between the performances of Jennings and McMillian, but as you can see McMillian graded out slightly better than Jennings. However, when crunch time came it was Jennings earning the playing time.

There is a dark horse in this race, however. I mentioned before that Richardson played only five games last year in a limited role before being injured. All signs point to him being fully recovered for the start of the offseason. Richardson has the perfect safety frame at 6’2″ 220 pounds. He was an undrafted free agent in 2012 out of Vanderbilt University and he started 31 consecutive games to end his collegiate carrer and racked up over 200 career tackles.

The Packers gave the group a vote of confidence by not selecting a safety in the draft. Green Bay decided to pass on safeties like FIU’s Jonathan Cyprien, Florida’s Matt Elam and Georgia Southern’s J.J. Wilcox. By passing on these players it appears that the organization is confident in Jennings, McMillian, and possibly Richardson.

With that said, don’t count out the Packers making a dip into free agency and signing a veteran safety to bring to training camp. The strong safety position will be one of those position battles to watch for this offseason, and “The Doctor” can take some serious steps toward earning that job with a good performance in OTAs and minicamp.

Other players who need a big performance this offseason: C.J. Wilson | Andrew Quarless

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