Sporting News : Tom Silverstein 3/31
Packers Team Report
3/31/2006
By Tom Silverstein
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Regardless of who the quarterback is, coach Mike McCarthy wants to go back to a basic West Coast concept. Under Mike Sherman, the club had moved away from some of those principles and employed more vertical routes. McCarthy prefers a system that more resembles what Mike Holmgren runs in Seattle and will cut down the playbook so that the team focuses on running basic West Coast plays. McCarthy feels it will allow the team to react less to how defenses play and stick more with what it does best. The basic West Coast system should take some of the high-risk throws out of the equation. . . .
Offensively, general manager Ted Thompson has done next to nothing to help McCarthy. He has re-signed veterans such as Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, William Henderson and Kevin Barry, but the only outside free agent he has added is wide receiver Marc Boerigter, a backup in Kansas City who caught eight passes last season. Green and Davenport are coming off major injuries, Henderson is a part-time player and Barry has been a backup. There simply isn't any new blood on a team that fell apart last season on the weight of injury. Who's going to take pressure off receiver Donald Driver? Who's going to fortify the middle of the offensive line? The pressure is on Thompson to have a spectacular draft. . .
Receiver Javon Walker is serious about never playing again for the club and wants to be traded. But he has zero leverage. Coming off an ACL tear, he has to prove to people he's more than a one-year wonder, but he can't do that until he gets on the field. The club won't trade him right now because it would send a message to disgruntled players that they can force the team's hand. The club has already received several trade inquiries about Walker, but nobody is going to be interested in meeting the club's high demands. . .
The club is serious about signing free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson and probably would play him at both corner and safety. But it's probably going to wait him out and see if the price goes down. Woodson will be asking for a lot, but because he only has two clubs interested in him right now, the club could get him for close to its price. Woodson would fill a major void at left cornerback, where former first-round pick Ahmad Carroll has been a huge disappointment and backup Mike Hawkins is too raw to be considered a starter.
SCOUTING REPORT: The club wants to find out whether receiver Rod Gardner can regain the form he had early in his career. Gardner is a big, strong receiver with average speed. He will be utilized on slants and crosses and given an opportunity to use his size and strength to break tackles. Gardner has trouble releasing from the line, but if he's running short routes over the middle he'll have a better chance to use his strength to get open. Gardner has to get better at understanding offensive schemes and getting on the same page with the quarterback.
DRAFT BUZZ: Thompson has fielded inquiries from teams who are interested in obtaining the club's No. 5 pick and will probably consider options for moving back. He doesn't want to move too far and fall out of reach of the elite players, but he could drop two or three spots and still have a shot at Maryland tight end Vernon Davis, who would provide a shot in the arm for the offense. If he's determined to take defense, he'll probably have to stay put.
