packers.com, getting better or worse?

[Patler]

The Packers had more hits on their website than any other NFL team, it was announced a couple weeks ago. It's a good site, for sure. It looks better and better as they make changes. BUT, it has made some changes that I think are for the worse:

1. I do not like the addition of an identifiable editor who has "taken over" the site. It's Vic Ketchman this, Vic Ketchman that. "Ask Vic", Vic's rankings of past players, Vic's opinion articles, etc. It's beginning to feel more like Vic Ketchman's website about the Packers rather than the Packers website about themselves. I preferred it when it was more anonymous and team based. There is just too much "Vic" in my opinion.

2. Each time they revise the website, it becomes more difficult to find historical information. Up to a couple revisions ago, their team history area was very simple but with a wealth of information that was easy to access. It looks better and better, but intricate information that I could easily access in the past has either been deleted or so obscured that I can't find it. Yearly lists of trades back to the '60s, free agent signings since they started, including the old "Plan A" and "Plan B" free agents were easy to find. Some of that information is still there, but some appears to have been removed.

3. They keep dinking around with the front page. As would be expected, today it features the scrimmage. But, the standard page links to their player page, stats page, gameday, history, etc. are no where to be found as of the time I am typing this. It's not the first time this has happened.

4. Their statistics area has gone very much down hill, and now links to NFL.com for much of it. In the past the Packers had fantastic summaries, updated through the season. At the end of the season they put out about a 20-25 page summary that was fantastic, with charts of player participation by games, starts by game, statistical summaries for every game, player stats by game, year end list of all player's penalties divided by offense, defense and special teams. It even included a list of all Packers player transactions for the entire league year. I could go on and on. It was great. That ended about two seasons ago.


The site looks better and better, but in my opinion the content gets worse and worse.

[MJZiggy]

Maybe you could "Ask Vic" why.

[Patler]

Maybe you could "Ask Vic" why.

I could write his fluff answer before I ask him the question.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Having a guy pretend to be a journalist or analyst when he is working on the team's official website is silly.

[CaptainD]

Getting Worse. They will no longer post press conference transcripts on the site. No one I know cares for "Vic' and the content is getting harder to find.
I know the media guys on twitter were having a cow because the rosters etc are not being updated in a timely way.

I think the packers have made a mistake with these changes. Just my opinion.

[Old School]

I don't get into stats as much as some of you. As such, the Packer site is one of the last places I go. I'm mostly interested in breaking news and objective writing. Everyone from PFT, to online nespaper blogs, to this site have news before it breaks on the Packer site. The fluff articles and answers on the Packer site are what I call the company line; who needs it?

I do enjoy live streaming of press conferences, and the draft coverage.

[swede]

Great topic!

I had zero luck getting any updates on anything on the site during the free agent frenzy following the end-game of the CBA stuff. I did notice the "Hi, I'm Vic" "Read Vic's blog" stuff, and I snorted when the first article was something like "Are the NFC North quarterbacks getting better?"

I expect roster updates as immediate as they can be made, scooped only by Twitter rumors and other unauthorized leaks.

I expect accurate and complete details on player contracts. Whatever is public and accessible to reporters should be available on the website.

I expect some nice rah rah stuff on public relations, player profiles, etc.

I do not want NFL talk from the person who should be a behind-the-scenes genius with a passion for Green Bay football and the wisdom to know how to promote the team's public profile.

I saw the guy during the Family Night rainout and I thought the guy was inarticulate and unfocussed and unclear as to the mission of Packers.com.

[Patler]

They will no longer post press conference transcripts on the site.

No transcripts? Are you kidding? Why not? Was there an announcement about that?

That was a feature I went to quite often to get context around quotes the papers use. Reading the questions before and after, or just the statements before and after often give a different interpretation to short quotes in the paper.

[Old School]

I too thought Vic did himself no good on the Family Night interview. It was a feeble attempt at self promotion.

The Packer site seems to be more and more a subsidiary of the NFL. The Chicago Cub website turned into garbage when MLB took over all the baseball sites. They look alike, say alike, and clutter the Cub site with other MLB info and promotions I care little to nothing about. So I go there only rarely when I'm looking for info on their minor league teams.

[Patler]

The lack of roster updates got to me, too. (See my thread about Josh Bell.) They had been very prompt until this off-season. I wonder if that falls under Ketchman's supervision or not?

[Harlan Huckleby]

The lack of roster updates indicates they don't give a scheiss. This is essential factual info they have at their disposal. Lord knows when they will update the depth charts. Hopefully for the first preseason game, but one wonders.

[pbmax]

Getting Worse. They will no longer post press conference transcripts on the site. No one I know cares for "Vic' and the content is getting harder to find.
I know the media guys on twitter were having a cow because the rosters etc are not being updated in a timely way.

I think the packers have made a mistake with these changes. Just my opinion.

Was that announced? Or is it missing? I was looking for that when trying to figure out how the CBA would affect McCarthy's training camp schedule. I ended up doing my own transcript. A job I stink at, which took far longer than I anticipated.

[CaptainD]

No transcripts? Are you kidding? Why not? Was there an announcement about that?

That was a feature I went to quite often to get context around quotes the papers use. Reading the questions before and after, or just the statements before and after often give a different interpretation to short quotes in the paper.

Several questions about it on twitter and Pat Mayo from the local TV station answered saying they would no longer transcribe press conferences etc.

Hoping that enough people scream about it they bring that back at the very least.

[KYPack]

Several questions about it on twitter and Pat Mayo from the local TV station answered saying they would no longer transcribe press conferences etc.

Hoping that enough people scream about it they bring that back at the very least.

Packers.com has indeed stripped away some things that should be vital to a team that is an institution like the GBP. The history section is now woefully undernourished and this should be restored. I, too, wonder if this was done bc all the sites are now lumped together. Most teams lack anything like the Packer tradition. So if you are the Texans, you look like a shrimp when the two team histories are compared. That's tough shit. The NFL should pride itself on it's teams that have legacies like the Pack. Bring back the history section on that site, dammit.

For you Packer history freaks, do check out Aaron Kramers site http://www.packershistory.net/.
Aaron is a mere Packer fan and his families' site is a treasure.

Vic Ketchman is a very good writer with a sound understanding of the NFL and an appreciation for the Packer tradiion. The "Cult of Ketchman" stuff that is going on is promotion of a new addition to the site. It is a positive addition and I really like the guy. Keep the Ketch or catch the keep or whatever, he's a good one.

[King Friday]

Honestly, I hadn't looked there for much of the lockout...and when I returned to start getting info on free agency the site seemed to be underwhelming. The lack of press transcripts is ridiculous. I'm not a fan of Vic...I really don't care what his "rankings" are of stadiums or the press corp food buffets or anything else.

I agree with the take of most here...the site is a downgrade that likely will draw a lot of negative feedback once the season gets into full gear.

[gbgary]

i was hoping i wasn't the only one who thought the site was getting lame. never thought to post about it though. good on you patler. the vic crap is just that. i think they're dummying it down for the instant gratification crowd.

[vince]

I'm with KY. I like Vic. I think he brings a lot of dynamic content to the site and he knows his stuff. Sure he's a mouthpiece for the team. It's packers.com for chrissakes. The whole purpose is to promote the Packers. Seeing how they now have the highest traffic in the NFL, I'd say it's working. Not every fan is as rabid as some of us, so of course he has to operate on varying levels in his writing.

Although I watch most of the press conferences that are stored on the site, I also would like to see the transcripts and not lose some of the reference material, but other than that, I think the site is much less stale and far more interactive than it's been in past years. Both of those changes are good things IMO.

[Patler]

Ketchman is a good enough writer, although I don’t read a lot of his articles. To be honest, I never read a lot of articles on packers.com before he came, other than to get background on new players. I absolutely do not expect him to be impartial, it’s a Packer website after all. My biggest problem with the new situation is that the site now seems to be “VicKetchman.com” more than “Packers.com”. I go to Packers.com for information, not for Vic Ketchman’s opinions.

But…all of that is secondary for me. The loss of their in-depth historical and statistical content aggravates the heck out of me. It was like an on-line museum. For the Packers to have surrendered that, to be replaced by the shallow content available through the league, is a complete tragedy.

[3irty1]

Is this true what I hear about losing the transcripts? That's 90% of the page in my eyes. The other 10% are the pdf boxscores they give after each game and the photos.

[Patler]

Packers.com has indeed stripped away some things that should be vital to a team that is an institution like the GBP. The history section is now woefully undernourished and this should be restored. I, too, wonder if this was done bc all the sites are now lumped together. Most teams lack anything like the Packer tradition. So if you are the Texans, you look like a shrimp when the two team histories are compared. That's tough shit. The NFL should pride itself on it's teams that have legacies like the Pack. Bring back the history section on that site, dammit.

For you Packer history freaks, do check out Aaron Kramers site http://www.packershistory.net/.
Aaron is a mere Packer fan and his families' site is a treasure.

Thanks for the link, KYP. It looks like a decent site. I will have to spend some time poking around in it.

[vince]

They're harder to find, but GBPG now provides transcripts to all Packer press conferences. They're entered in the Insiders Blog section. Here's the latest one.

http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.com/blogs/gpg/insider/2011/08/05/mike-mccarthy-press-conference-transcript-2/

[Patler]

Thanks Vince! I'll have to remember to check there for the transcripts.

[pbmax]

They're harder to find, but GBPG now provides transcripts to all Packer press conferences. They're entered in the Insiders Blog section. Here's the latest one.

http://blogs.greenbaypressgazette.com/blogs/gpg/insider/2011/08/05/mike-mccarthy-press-conference-transcript-2/


Thanks Vince! I'll have to remember to check there for the transcripts.

The existence of this page could also explain the lack at packers.com. Why spend the money to do it when someone else is? Unless, you wanted to edit the grammar and sentence format to lend credence to official company line.

[Patler]

The existence of this page could also explain the lack at packers.com. Why spend the money to do it when someone else is? Unless, you wanted to edit the grammar and sentence format to lend credence to official company line.

But which came first, GBPG posting the transcripts or Packers.com not having the transcript? :lol:

[Patler]

3. They keep dinking around with the front page. As would be expected, today it features the scrimmage. But, the standard page links to their player page, stats page, gameday, history, etc. are no where to be found as of the time I am typing this. It's not the first time this has happened.

Just an update on this pet peeve of mine, late this am/early this pm the "special" front page was modified with a very large side window having the standard links. Packerrats complain, and people jump!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[pbmax]

But which came first, GBPG posting the transcripts or Packers.com not having the transcript? :lol:

Maybe we can get JSO to investigate.

[Patler]

Maybe we can get JSO to investigate.

Their top notch sports investigative crew will jump right on it, I'm sure!!!