How will the Packers replace Jolly?

July 18, 2010 ~ by Mark Strotman

~Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Johnny Jolly.

That’s about all Packers fans have to say regarding the defensive end after NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell suspended Jolly for the entire 2010 season Saturday. Jolly reportedly violated his substance abuse policy and prosectuors in the state of Texas are also looking into potential drug dealing, indicating Jolly “bought, sold, funded, transported and aided in the buying, selling, funding and transportation of illegal narcotics including cocaine and marijuana” from 2006 through May 2008.”

Full story here

Lombardi Speaks: How the Packers can Reach the Super Bowl

Jan 17, 2010 ~ By Michael Lombardi, National Football Post

~Here lies the problem for Ted Thompson: He has a very good team that’s one solid offseason from competing for a Super Bowl title, but all his needs will not be met in just the draft. He has to be more open-minded in his approach to free agency and try to fix some of the current concerns on the team before the draft. He should really give great thought to trying to add a player of the caliber of the Panthers’ Julius Peppers.

If Peppers is a free agent, he’ll command a huge pay day, but he would be a perfect fit coming off the edge to help Clay Matthews rush. One more blue-chip player would really make a difference to the Packers on defense.

Full story here

Capers Defense needs to step up against the Pass, disrupt QB’s rythym

Jan 17, 2010 ~ By Brian E Murphy, PackersInsider Senior Analyst

~Dom Capers did some magical work in 2009 with the Packers rushing defense. They lowered their average-per carry down a full yard, which is almost unprecidented from one year to the next.

His defense ranked #1 in the NFL in rushing yards per game, which believe it or not, is the first time the Packers have ever led in that category. You have often heard the experts say that to march thru the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl, you first need to be able to run the football and stop the run.

His team led the NFL in takeaways, and the team in turnover differential. However, as all Packer fans saw in the big spotlight games this year, this pass defense was actually horrible. Sure they padded their stats thanks to two games vs the Lions, the Bucs and their rookie QB making his first start, the Browns, the Rams, poor passing games of the Ravens, Bengals, and getting Cutler in his first ever start for the Bears. What this team is missing is two-fold.

First, they need to get some more pass rush other than just from the stud Clay Matthews on the right side. They need some consistent push from someone in the middle, either Cullen Jenkins or BJ Raji. The pocket has to be disrupted against the great QB’s to throw off their timing & rythym. You all know what happens to Favre when he’s getting hit and hurried. He donates gifts like Santa Claus on December 25th.

But you also all saw what he does when he has his nice little bubble back there. Warner showed you the same thing. Besides Matthews, Jenkins and Raji, Capers needs to time and mix in the ‘A’-gap blitzes better. He also needs to find someone who can get to the QB against one-on-one blocking over on the left side. Brad Jones did okay as a 7th round rookie. But he’ll need to step it up, or OLB Cyril Obiozor will have to be given a chance, because Jones got nowhere near Warner in that embarassing loss in the wildcard game. Aaron Kampman’s status is very much uncertain, both due to his ACL injury, and his contract status. He’s a free agent, and he can stay or leave for a 4-3 defense again if he feels mis-cast in the 3-4.

That’s just one end of it. The other end is the back end, the coverage side of things. You may have noticed in the Arizona game that it seems very few of Dom’s DB’s and LB’s actually elect to cover. It was a mess back there. Surely, missing Al Harris hurt, but in the NFL, missing one of your top three CB’s is not that uncommon. The key is to have backups that know what they’re supposed to do, and who can do it. With Jarrett Bush, you’ve all seen what happens when he’s out there. Besides him, rookie Brandon Underwood and street free agent Josh Bell didn’t provide any coverage either. This is a position that either needs miracles from Harris and Pat Lee, Will Blackmon with injury-recoveries, or else will need to instantly upgrade that position in the off-season, hopefully via free agency and not that draft. If you’re aware of the Packers last 20 years of drafting CB’s, you’ll realize that they don’t fare too well there.

There should be some natural improvement in the system in year two of Capers’ system, but he’s going to have to learn how to defend, attack QB’s like Favre and Warner. Capers has not had any success against Favre his whole coaching career, and I think that speaks volumes about who and what is to blame for those gigantic breakdowns against the Vikings, Steelers, and Cardinals offenses in 2009. The Cardinals knew what his defense was going to do. That cannot happen again in 2010. Capers needs to bring heat at those QB’s and let the CB’s man-up.

In record shootout, the Cardinals’ defense has the final say

Jan 11, 2010 ~ By Donald Banks, Sports Illustrated

Packers let it Slip from their Grasp

Jan 11, 2010 ~ By Tom Silverstein, Journal-Sentinel

~Glendale, Ariz. — Despite their remarkably long run of elite-level quarterback play, the Green Bay Packers finished another playoff season with the ball in their quarterback’s hands and a chance to pull off a stunning victory.

But just like Brett Favre had done twice before him, Aaron Rodgers made the last mistake.

Some will remember the 422 yards and four touchdowns he threw in rallying the Packers from a 31-10 deficit to a 45-45 tie as time expired in regulation.

But the play that will stand out – just like Favre’s interceptions against the New York Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship Game and the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2003 playoffs – is the one that ended the game.

Unwilling to get rid of the ball on the first possession of overtime in a wild-card game against the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers got sacked on third and 6 at the Packers’ 24-yard line, lost the ball and watched helplessly as linebacker Karlos Dansby returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.

Game over. Cardinals 51, Packers, 45.

It was one of the wildest playoff games the NFL has seen – there were more than 1,000 yards of offense and just two punts – and Rodgers, playing in the first postseason game of his career, appeared to have everything in control.

He led the Packers to touchdowns on all five of their possessions in the second half and seemed destined to finish it off with a victory.

But the dream ended when Rodgers allowed blitzing defensive back Michael Adams to hit him right in the face as he held the ball trying to make something happen.

“That (play) doesn’t define his legacy,” receiver Donald Driver said. “He has a long career. I think he tried to make a play and just didn’t make it. That’s something we just have to deal with. All of us. I take full credit for giving them seven points. If I don’t fumble, they don’t get seven.

“Take seven off the board and we win.”     Full story here

Rodgers, Packers hit their Stride

Jan 8, 2010 ~ By Jim Trotter, CNN-Sports Illustrated

~There is nothing in Aaron Rodgers‘ eyes or voice that leads you to believe he’ll be overwhelmed in his first career playoff start Sunday at Arizona. Why would there be? If he can hold his own in two showdowns against former Green Bay icon Brett Favre, continue to stand tall in the pocket after being sacked a league-leading 41 times through nine games, and rally his team from a dispiriting and seemingly back-breaking loss to then-winless Tampa Bay in November, what’s a little playoff game against an opponent he has torched for 55 points (including the preseason) in five quarters this season?

“He’s a gooooood quarterback,” said one defensive coordinator who game-planned for Rodgers this season. “He can do it all.”

In only his second season as a starter, the former Cal star threw for the second-most yards (4,434) in franchise history, posted the second-best passer rating (103.3) in Packers annals and had the second-lowest interception percentage (1.3) by a Green Bay regular. He also ranked fourth in the league with 30 touchdown passes.

The irony is that coach Mike McCarthy entered the season……   Full story here

Cardinals-Packers: Key matchup – Dansby vs. Grant

Jan 7, 2010 ~ By Bob McManaman, Arizona Republic

~Cardinals inside linebacker Karlos Dansby vs. Packers running back Ryan Grant.

Why it’s important
Grant is just the third back in Packers history to record consecutive seasons of at least 1,200 rushing yards, and since bursting on the scene midway through the 2007 season, his 3,385 yards are the second most in the league behind only Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson (3,814). Grant has had at least eight runs of 20 or more yards this season, and Dansby, the Cardinals’ leading tackler for three years in a row, will have to wrap him up every chance he gets.

 Dansby is in his contract year but even by his own estimation, he has yet to play his best game. He hasn’t had a truly dominating performance like he did last year in the playoffs. If Grant gets a healthy dose of carries, Dansby will have to rise to the occasion. When Grant gets 22 or more handoffs, the Packers are 10-1.

Full story here

Packers Primed for a Deep Playoff Run

Jan 6, 2010 ~ By Tommy Ziemer, Madison.com

Mike McCarthy was a man with few complaints Monday, a day after his Green Bay Packers finished up the regular season by thrashing the Arizona Cardinals 33-7.

And why would he have many gripes?

 His team enters the NFC playoffs having won seven of its past eight, with no major injury concerns and fresh off a blowout victory over the team it will open the postseason against Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

“I feel very good about our football team,” McCarthy told reporters in Green Bay during his day-after-game news conference. “It’s like anything you’re trying to build as far as the vision, the plan. I like the way our football team looks right now. I like the energy they’re playing with, I like the way they prepare, and I like the way they’re focused.”

They’re also the NFC’s best team – at least by record – over the second half of the season. Philadelphia has the second-best mark at 6-2 since the midpoint, but lost its regular-season finale to Dallas, which carries a three-game winning streak into the postseason.

Not many saw a 7-1 finish coming after an eye-opening 38-28 loss at Tampa Bay left the Packers at .500 and any thoughts of a playoff run seeming a bit far-fetched.    Full story here

Despite familiarity, Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals promise surprises

Jan 6, 2010 ~ By Rob Demovsky, Press-Gazette

~The Green Bay Packers have seen the Arizona Cardinals as often this season as their NFC North rivals from Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota — teams they know inside and out, backwards and forwards.

But how much do they really know about their wild-card playoff opponent?

Considering they saw Arizona play a vanilla preseason game back in August, and they walloped a stripped-down version of the Cardinals in this past Sunday’s regular-season finale, Packers coach Mike McCarthy and his staff will have to prepare for a bit of an unknown even though the teams are meeting this coming Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium for a third time in less than five months.

“We’ve watched them a good bit,” Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. “We prepared hard (for Sunday’s game), as we would for any team that we played. Do they have certain other calls in their playbook? I’m sure that they do.”  Full story here

Packers Set NFL Record

Jan 6, 2010 ~ By Lori Nickel, Journal-Sentinel

~

Sacks, dropped passes and penalties? As if they mattered one bit. Apparently nothing was going to stop the Green Bay Packers from rewriting the records this season because this offense went on a tear.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers became the first quarterback in the NFL to pass for more than 4,000 yards in his first two years as starter.

The Packers also had a 1,200-yard rusher in Ryan Grant and a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Donald Driver and Greg Jennings to go with Rodgers’ 4,000 for the second straight season. It’s the first time in NFL history any team has done that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

And they could have had one more record for Rodgers.

At Arizona, he was just 25 yards from breaking Lynn Dickey‘s Packers single-season passing record of 4,458 yards from 1983.

Rodgers had 4,434 yards before he was pulled late in the third quarter with the Packers leading, 33-0.

“I knew I was short by the time I came out,” Rodgers said after the game. “But I would definitely take a repeat of this season and the way we’ve played for the rest of my career – that would be great.”

Perhaps Rodgers will take some consolation in this because he cares so much about those interceptions: He threw just seven interceptions and 30 touchdowns. He did not throw an interception in 12 games this season, which jumped ahead of Bart Starr‘s franchise record of 11 games set in 1964 in a 14-game season.  Full Story Here

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