motife
06-07-2006, 06:17 PM
It's June and Green Bay just can't lose
Posted: June 7, 2006
Richard Pufall
Forget dairy products, June is Optimism Month here in the land of milk, cheese and Packers.
And if you can work up a positive lather about those incredible smackers - the Green Bay Packers - after that dismal 4-12 season of 2005, then you are indeed a full-fledged, loyal, somewhat blind but charming follower of all things Green and Gold.
The Packers are hoping that losing seasons are gone with the same wind that blew Mike Sherman out of town and down to Houston.
Mike McCarthy, Sherman's replacement as head coach, seems to have his sights set on a winning season, not just five victories to upstage Sherman's four.
No matter how bad a team seems on paper, everyone in the NFL is undefeated in June. In fact, it will be a full three months before anyone has a chance to lose a game that matters.
The Packers, on that paper, right now look a lot better than a 4-12 team.
And several factors indicate that they will, indeed, be better.
1. Brett Favre is back: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong. Favre is coming back for reasons beyond his $10 million annual salary, although he's still smart enough to cash those checks. He is a winner, not a 4-12 quarterback. He is coming back to win and erase the taste of 2005.
McCarthy will help Favre in that quest. Returning to Green Bay is Mike Holmgren's old version of the West Coast offense, which McCarthy has reinstalled. Favre's bullets, for the most part, will be traveling shorter distances to wide receivers and tight ends, with more dump-offs to running backs.
Favre will not throw 29 interceptions in 2006. The offense will shift into drive, not reverse.
He will turn 37 on Oct. 10, but Favre still gives Green Bay its best chance to win.
2. Javon Walker is gone: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong.
It's time for reasonable folks to stop thinking of Walker as the second coming of Don Hutson or James Lofton. He's not. He's a one-season wonder who has not produced anything of consequence since 2004. Walker missed 15 games in 2005 and his gimpy, surgically repaired knee makes him look very good in a Denver Broncos uniform.
But even if Walker returns to All-Pro form, the Packers are better off without him. An unhappy player, who wants to be somewhere else, does your team no good. Walker would have been more distraction than distinction had he returned to Green Bay, or pouted and sat out the entire season as he had threatened.
Donald Driver is the No. 1 wide receiver. He does not have Walker's pre-injury physical tools but while Walker sat out, Driver put up big numbers on a consistent basis.
Favre has always made wide receivers look better than they are. Walker will find this out in Denver now that Jake Plummer is on the other end of the passes.
To be sure, Green Bay missed Walker last season, but what hurt the Packers offense the most were season-ending injuries to running backs Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport and the mess that was the interior line.
3. The offensive line: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong.
Enough about Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera. Those guards are long gone. General manager Ted Thompson knows he failed when he let Wahle go and didn't find quality replacements at guard.
But Thompson has been working on the problem. A partial solution came in the draft when Thompson picked Daryn Colledge from Boise State in the second round. Colledge looks like he could step in and be a solid starter at left guard.
And Thompson drafted guard Jason Spitz from Louisville in Round 3. Then there's Junius Coston, who appears ready to start at right guard.
OK, we're not talking Jerry Kramer/Fuzzy Thurston here, but the prospects at guard look much better than they did a year ago.
At center, Scott Wells has to be the answer for aging, oft-injured Mike Flanagan, who has followed Sherman to Houston.
McCarthy has installed a zone-blocking scheme which should better fit Green Bay's personnel and rekindle the fire in the team's running game.
It's a work in progress, and Thompson isn't done addressing the problem.
4. The defense: Some people think this is a good thing. And, of course, some people are right.
Signing Charles Woodson to play cornerback and putting Ahmad Carroll on the bench is a very good thing. Woodson, with Al Harris, should give Green Bay one of the better cornerback tandems in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Carroll can stand on the sideline and hold his own jersey.
Signing free agent Marquand Manuel gives Green Bay a solid starter opposite Nick Collins at safety and should light the fire of competition under Mark Roman. If Roman embraces the challenge, the safety position will be one of strength for the Packers.
But the greatest excitement and improvement should come at linebacker. No. 1 draft choice A.J. Hawk from Ohio State and third-rounder Abdul Hodge of Iowa are a couple of hitting machines who will fly to the football as does veteran Nick Barnett.
There is no reason new coordinator Bob Sanders shouldn't improve a defense that was revived a year ago by the brilliant work of Jim Bates.
Sanders will employ the same defensive scheme that was installed by Bates. Logically, better players should make for a better defense.
5. Greg Jennings: This wide receiver is only a rookie. He's only 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds. But the second-round draft pick from Western Michigan has caught the ball and piled up yardage wherever he's played. The NFL should be no different.
Jennings has talent, and Favre knows how to use his wide receivers. This could get interesting.
Walker is out. Jennings is in. Wide receiver will not be a weakness for this team.
Clearly, the Packers find themselves in a can't-lose situation. It's called June.
Send e-mail to dpufall@journalsentinel
Posted: June 7, 2006
Richard Pufall
Forget dairy products, June is Optimism Month here in the land of milk, cheese and Packers.
And if you can work up a positive lather about those incredible smackers - the Green Bay Packers - after that dismal 4-12 season of 2005, then you are indeed a full-fledged, loyal, somewhat blind but charming follower of all things Green and Gold.
The Packers are hoping that losing seasons are gone with the same wind that blew Mike Sherman out of town and down to Houston.
Mike McCarthy, Sherman's replacement as head coach, seems to have his sights set on a winning season, not just five victories to upstage Sherman's four.
No matter how bad a team seems on paper, everyone in the NFL is undefeated in June. In fact, it will be a full three months before anyone has a chance to lose a game that matters.
The Packers, on that paper, right now look a lot better than a 4-12 team.
And several factors indicate that they will, indeed, be better.
1. Brett Favre is back: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong. Favre is coming back for reasons beyond his $10 million annual salary, although he's still smart enough to cash those checks. He is a winner, not a 4-12 quarterback. He is coming back to win and erase the taste of 2005.
McCarthy will help Favre in that quest. Returning to Green Bay is Mike Holmgren's old version of the West Coast offense, which McCarthy has reinstalled. Favre's bullets, for the most part, will be traveling shorter distances to wide receivers and tight ends, with more dump-offs to running backs.
Favre will not throw 29 interceptions in 2006. The offense will shift into drive, not reverse.
He will turn 37 on Oct. 10, but Favre still gives Green Bay its best chance to win.
2. Javon Walker is gone: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong.
It's time for reasonable folks to stop thinking of Walker as the second coming of Don Hutson or James Lofton. He's not. He's a one-season wonder who has not produced anything of consequence since 2004. Walker missed 15 games in 2005 and his gimpy, surgically repaired knee makes him look very good in a Denver Broncos uniform.
But even if Walker returns to All-Pro form, the Packers are better off without him. An unhappy player, who wants to be somewhere else, does your team no good. Walker would have been more distraction than distinction had he returned to Green Bay, or pouted and sat out the entire season as he had threatened.
Donald Driver is the No. 1 wide receiver. He does not have Walker's pre-injury physical tools but while Walker sat out, Driver put up big numbers on a consistent basis.
Favre has always made wide receivers look better than they are. Walker will find this out in Denver now that Jake Plummer is on the other end of the passes.
To be sure, Green Bay missed Walker last season, but what hurt the Packers offense the most were season-ending injuries to running backs Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport and the mess that was the interior line.
3. The offensive line: Some people think this is a bad thing. And, of course, some people are wrong.
Enough about Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera. Those guards are long gone. General manager Ted Thompson knows he failed when he let Wahle go and didn't find quality replacements at guard.
But Thompson has been working on the problem. A partial solution came in the draft when Thompson picked Daryn Colledge from Boise State in the second round. Colledge looks like he could step in and be a solid starter at left guard.
And Thompson drafted guard Jason Spitz from Louisville in Round 3. Then there's Junius Coston, who appears ready to start at right guard.
OK, we're not talking Jerry Kramer/Fuzzy Thurston here, but the prospects at guard look much better than they did a year ago.
At center, Scott Wells has to be the answer for aging, oft-injured Mike Flanagan, who has followed Sherman to Houston.
McCarthy has installed a zone-blocking scheme which should better fit Green Bay's personnel and rekindle the fire in the team's running game.
It's a work in progress, and Thompson isn't done addressing the problem.
4. The defense: Some people think this is a good thing. And, of course, some people are right.
Signing Charles Woodson to play cornerback and putting Ahmad Carroll on the bench is a very good thing. Woodson, with Al Harris, should give Green Bay one of the better cornerback tandems in the NFL.
Meanwhile, Carroll can stand on the sideline and hold his own jersey.
Signing free agent Marquand Manuel gives Green Bay a solid starter opposite Nick Collins at safety and should light the fire of competition under Mark Roman. If Roman embraces the challenge, the safety position will be one of strength for the Packers.
But the greatest excitement and improvement should come at linebacker. No. 1 draft choice A.J. Hawk from Ohio State and third-rounder Abdul Hodge of Iowa are a couple of hitting machines who will fly to the football as does veteran Nick Barnett.
There is no reason new coordinator Bob Sanders shouldn't improve a defense that was revived a year ago by the brilliant work of Jim Bates.
Sanders will employ the same defensive scheme that was installed by Bates. Logically, better players should make for a better defense.
5. Greg Jennings: This wide receiver is only a rookie. He's only 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds. But the second-round draft pick from Western Michigan has caught the ball and piled up yardage wherever he's played. The NFL should be no different.
Jennings has talent, and Favre knows how to use his wide receivers. This could get interesting.
Walker is out. Jennings is in. Wide receiver will not be a weakness for this team.
Clearly, the Packers find themselves in a can't-lose situation. It's called June.
Send e-mail to dpufall@journalsentinel