Saw the following article and laughed to hear that Rogers is using the contact prescription excuse for his brick hands in the OTA's
Packers: Searching for that special someone
JASON WILDE
608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - They don't know who their kicker will be.
Or their punter.
Or their kickoff returner.
Or their punt returner.
Or their holder (though, with Ryan Longwell gone, that won't get quite as much attention).
Yes, the Green Bay Packers enter training camp with only one special teams spot set - long snapper, where veteran Rob Davis is entrenched.
Otherwise, things are great.
"Does it bother me? No. Is it an area of concern? Yes, because it's not answered yet," said new coach Mike McCarthy, who'll preside over his first training camp practice Friday night.
"But I think that's healthy. Some of the greatest careers in the history of our game have started because of situations like this. You create an environment where there's competition, and to me, that's when good things happen. The best thing we did was create competition in those areas. And I feel very confident that whoever comes out of them - whoever's kicking, whoever's punting, whoever's returning against Chicago (in the season opener Sept.•10) - we'll be fine."
But for a team that lost an NFL-high five games by three points or fewer last season, so much uncertainty seems like a big deal. Especially when you consider the franchise's all-time leading scorer, kicker Ryan Longwell, bolted for NFC North division rival Minnesota and took his 10 career winning kicks with him.
So why isn't new special teams coordinator Mike Stock worried?
"Because we've got good candidates there, good competition there," Stock said.
"I think any one of those guys, if you're looking for two - kicker, punter - any one of those guys could be effective in the league and help us win. As far as the return game, there's a bunch of candidates."
Surprisingly, Stock said he plans to use starting cornerback Charles Woodson as his primary punt returner, ahead of rookie fourth-round pick Corey Rodgers, who struggled catching punts in the minicamps and organized team activity practices. Woodson caught some punts in the post-draft minicamp but skipped the second camp and all 14 OTAs.
"I think the punt return thing will be solved when No.•21 (Woodson) shows up," Stock said.
"He's a Heisman Trophy winner - where else would he get to pose? He wants to do it. In fact, he's the one that suggested it. He's going to be the guy, as far as I know right now. Unless something changes. And then we have good young kids behind him if he needs a break."
Stock said Rodgers went to an eye doctor on the second-to-last day of OTAs and caught the ball better at the final practice because he had his contact lens prescription changed. Rodgers is among a handful of kickoff return candidates.
The training camp focus will be on the battles at kicker (Billy Cundiff vs. Dave Rayner) and at punter (B.J. Sander vs. Jon Ryan). Cundiff and Ryan go into camp looking like the leaders at each spot, but Stock insisted the jobs are wide open.
In fact, they'll compete head-to-head almost daily in practice and share the job in the preseason games. The duels could go all the way to the final cutdown Sept.•2.
"You'd like to use that third game as a target for knowing who the guy is (at punter and kicker), but that might not be the case," McCarthy said. "It may take the whole preseason."
Stock said in games the punters and kickers could alternate kick-by-kick or quarter-by-quarter. Either way, all four will get their in-game opportunities.
"The thing about preseason games is, it's a little iffy. You don't know how many times (they'll get to kick). Do you get to kick off? Do you get a lot of punts? You have to see," Stock said.
"Some people have the philosophy to lop the one guy off to let the team know that this guy is going to be your guy - your kicker or punter. That's how some people do it. But we're going to see. The games will take them to a new level, hopefully, competition-wise."
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Originally Posted by GBMichele
