Ghost in the playbook
Jennings feels invisible in second year role
Tom Silverstein
Just a year ago, Greg Jennings captured the fancy of the Oneida St. faithful like few other Green Bay Packers rookies have in recent years, vaulting up the depth chart with every catch and run until the coaches had no choice but to start him in the season opener.
Once the golden child in the Packers' offense, the former second-round pick lines up with the No. 1 offense opposite Donald Driver, but often looks like just another guy trying to make the roster. You don't need more than one hand to count the number of memorable plays Jennings has made in practice and the first exhibition game.
Has he slipped that far in just 12 months?
"I think part of it is, with so many guys to evaluate and so many guys to get a feel for where they're at and what kind of contribution they're going to make to the ballclub, we haven't isolated Greg," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "We have information on Greg. I think we know what he's about."
Not being isolated is not exactly how Jennings would describe it. He would call it being ignored. Almost since the first day of camp, Jennings has been the split end in three-receiver sets, which in the West Coast offense is the playground equivalent of being told over and over again to just go deep and get out of the way.
The coaches have replaced Jennings on the front side of those formations with promising rookie James Jones, who is being given a crash course on the offense so he can be ready for the season opener. The split end, or "X" position, is far easier to learn, but the Packers want to make sure Jones knows the most difficult spot first so he can be a bigger part of the offense.
Jennings was that guy last year, although he was so far ahead of a typical rookie that he was able to learn all three positions. Even though he understands what's going on, he isn't exactly thrilled with it.
"You can't be bitter," Jennings said. "You try to make the best out of it. At the same time, I'm a perfectionist. I'm one of those guys, I want the ball. I don't want to make it a big ordeal because it's not just about that. But it sits in the back of your mind because that's how players fall through those cracks."
Jennings started to lose his footing last year when a sprained ankle, suffered against Miami in Week 6, robbed him of his elusiveness. He caught 20 passes for 364 yards (18.2 average) and three touchdowns in the first five games, but couldn't get back to full health until the final weeks of the season.
Coming back this year, Jennings wanted to pick up where he left off heading into the Miami game and work on some of the timing aspects of being one of Brett Favre's receivers. He has had opportunities to be a playmaker when lined up in two-receiver sets with Driver, but a lot of what the Packers do in the passing game is with three receivers.
Jennings has fallen into the lost world that Robert Ferguson used to complain about when he was the starting split end.
"I told him, 'I see how you didn't progress (as a receiver) at the X position,' " Jennings said. "It's tough. If you don't have a slot receiver on your inside, you're last in the progression 90% of the time. There's a tight end, slot and flanker on the other side. You have three different options over there and just one back here."
Jennings pointed to a Thursday morning practice as a typical day at split end: He said he ran about 10 plays at that position and not a single ball was thrown his way. He lined up as the flanker once and the ball was thrown to him
Against Pittsburgh last Saturday night, Jennings did not catch a pass. The lone ball thrown his way actually came when he was lined up as the split end on a second-and-16 play midway through the first quarter. He ran a slant route and was open enough to probably get the first down and more, but Favre badly overthrew him.
"It's easier to joke about it than complain about it," said Jennings, who recently talked to receivers coach Jimmy Robinson about his role. "Driver was in at the X the other day in 2-minute and he's, like, 'I'm not going back to X.' It's tough, man. It's like you're almost just out there."
The most frustrating part for Jennings is that he wants to improve on his rookie season totals of 45 catches for 632 yards and three touchdowns, but he thinks he needs to be used at the other receiver positions. When he played out of two-receiver sets in the intrasquad scrimmage at Lambeau Field, he caught three passes for 25 yards on his first series and one for 7 on his other series.
If there's a developing chemistry between Jennings and Favre, it's not evident in practice. Driver will he his first option no matter what, but part of what got Favre in trouble last year was relying on Driver too much.
To that end, the Packers want Jennings to be savvier with his route-running and less mechanical. He knows all the plays and can run the routes just as they're drawn up, but he needs more work setting up cornerbacks and finding holes in zone defenses.
Whether all the work at split end is stunting his growth as a receiver or Jennings just isn't performing up to the level he did last year is up for debate. He would like to settle things on the field, if they would let him.
"I look at it like if I do my job, it'll come back," Jennings said. "I don't want to focus on it. You have to get your work done and make the best of it."
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Originally Posted by gbpackfan
