Scouts name Rodgers second best QB in division

[pbmax]

Wynn was not credited with a sack he had in the Az game, instead Lansanah got a TFL (the QB has the ball in his hands and it is a TFL, mmk), add that in and he tied with Everette Brown for #2 amongst all rookie's for sacks. Not to mention he had an int causing QB hit, and got a lot of pressure. That shit ain't normal. Especially for a 3-4 DE. He looked better in preseason than Tyson Jackson and Evander Hood. And Ted dug him up in the 6th round.

Seriously funny and a good read, Waldo, congrats. I look forward to the Jarius Wynn era even more after a paragraph like that.

However, the Packer press does create positive hype. Recent examples are AJ Hawk, Tyrell Sutton and Atari Bigby/Anthony Smith. The Hawk hype was largely from his draft status and rookie year, but it was real. When his big plays declined (even if they declined due to injury and position/scheme change) the hype reverted to its more insidious form, the prophecy of doom.

Same with Sutton. Preseason of all positive yardage and a natural at one cut running. Even a brief stint with the 1s and 2s and everyone is excited. He gets a tryout as a returner and is WAY to slow to make it. That makes him a special teams liability because he can't be a gunner and he isn't going to block somebody. He isn't good enough to unseat Grant or Jackson. Even though every article states he cannot be trusted to block on third down passing, he gets cut and people are surprised. This is the downside of hype, unfulfilled expectations.

Bigby was hyped as the big hitter who has now been injured. The press cannot tell if he is still slowed or if he has had trouble with the scheme change. But Smith knows the defense and has been knocking heads against 2s and 3s. He also had a INT. He clearly was the heir apparent to Bigby if Atari failed to regain his status. But your backup needs to play special teams and Smith was not as good at that as another guy who came available.

The Packer press knows the Packers have struggled with special teams for several years (except 07). But they don't know what would fix that beside firing the coach.

In some ways, if the Packer press spent more time hyping and fluffing starters, they would be disappointed less. But I don't think they do this more or less than Minneapolis or Dallas. I will give you this, each of those cities is likely big enough that there is one outlet that is primarily the team mouthpiece. The Packers may not have that beside Larivee and McCarren.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Waldo,

i fundamentally disagree that the press are the packers. Sorry, not buying that logic at all.

What i do get, mostly, from your post, is that you blame the media for stupid, idiotic fans or that they contribute to that. Maybe, maybe not.

Blaming the media for fans is kinda simplistic and well...it is easy to blame them. Perhaps instead of blaming them, your mission should be to educate each fan. LOL

As for liking the media liking the pack: I don't care if they do or don't. Personally, i don't want to know what they feel about the team. I would prefer that they are neutral and as objective as they can be. If they care to discuss their fandom, do it in a chat or blog. I think that most are fans of the sport and the NFL.

You and i are fundamentally opposite on how we view the press. I happen to think you are 100% wrong on that. But, it is a prevailing parochial view in wisco.

What is funny is that you want that, but decry that the writers were in favre's corner. Hard to be a fan and be a professional writer. Hard to be detached if you are a fan.

As for correcting mistaken view vs. stories. Look, this is your passion and have untold amount of time to go over film. The writers don't have that luxury. They have to file a story and produce more content. I guarantee more people are going to want the 3 hours it would take to review a preseason game to credit wynn be spent writing new stories, finding new information, or creating a story like Rising QBs.

Fans are voracious and the must be fed. Whether you think mcginn is working hard, you cannot possibly deny the appetite of the fans and the increased demand that the internet has wrought.

If Mcginn spent time on details and missed a story....fans would be in an uproar.

You are way in the minority. What is scary to me is how unaware you are of this.

What i also get is that you need to relax and take a breath...and chill out. Seriously, relax. If stupid fans and their inane theories are getting to you...might be time to lose this hobby or stay at home.

What is even funnier to me is how you feel this way...yet somehow can't see how covering the pack and dealing with idiot fans year after year could have affected McGinn or Cliff. Nothing in their schooling or job description ever said they had to be nice...and continued interaction thru blogs and chats...well, square pegs round holes.

[Waldo]

Blaming the media for fans is kinda simplistic and well...it is easy to blame them. Perhaps instead of blaming them, your mission should be to educate each fan. LOL

I try....

But there is only so much that I can do.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Here's a former scout (scouted 15 years in the NFL) who picks Rodgers. Does that mean it's 3 to 3 in this vote by scouts (with a VERY small sample size)?

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/25773

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Blaming the media for fans is kinda simplistic and well...it is easy to blame them. Perhaps instead of blaming them, your mission should be to educate each fan. LOL

I try....

But there is only so much that I can do.

Sounds like an excuse to me. I'll give you a heads up, i tried reading your blog...and for someone who knows football is complicated and most don't understand it...your blog doesn't reflect that.


Hope you'd be as generous to mcginn as you are to yourself.

[Waldo]

Blaming the media for fans is kinda simplistic and well...it is easy to blame them. Perhaps instead of blaming them, your mission should be to educate each fan. LOL

I try....

But there is only so much that I can do.

Sounds like an excuse to me. I'll give you a heads up, i tried reading your blog...and for someone who knows football is complicated and most don't understand it...your blog doesn't reflect that.


Hope you'd be as generous to mcginn as you are to yourself.

Its the place to write stuff down that I think that are too involved for a simple forum post.

And I don't understand shit. Then again, neither does anybody else. Except for a few people that get paid boatloads of money by teams.

It is easy to criticize....but at least I am trying, and put forth the effort.

[Waldo]

Wynn was not credited with a sack he had in the Az game, instead Lansanah got a TFL (the QB has the ball in his hands and it is a TFL, mmk), add that in and he tied with Everette Brown for #2 amongst all rookie's for sacks. Not to mention he had an int causing QB hit, and got a lot of pressure. That shit ain't normal. Especially for a 3-4 DE. He looked better in preseason than Tyson Jackson and Evander Hood. And Ted dug him up in the 6th round.

Seriously funny and a good read, Waldo, congrats. I look forward to the Jarius Wynn era even more after a paragraph like that.

NOBODY is acknowledging the scarcity of what Ted found. 3-4 DE's that can rush the passer are extremely rare. That is why Tyson went #3 overall. If he was only good at stopping the run, he would have been a 3rd-4th round pick. There are only a handful of 3-4 DE's that can rush the passer in the league.

Wynn wasn't just lucking into it either. That kid has an advanced pass rush for a first rounder. He has a primary and at least two good counters off of it. That is as much as any of our DL. He outplayed Jenkins agaisnt Az's starting LG. And he is a rookie.

While not terrible, he isn't strong against the run. He definitely needs to hit the weights. But right now, if I was coach,.....on 3rd and long and 2nd and very long, and 2 minute, Raji would be on the bench, and Wynn would be next to Jenkins, without question. And I would have no hesitation putting him in if there was an injury or somebody needed a breather.

Packer Update says the coaches think that he'll be a starter next year, I think that he'll start at least 1 game this season.

IMO he is the 2nd most significant player break out this offseason, Finley being #1. Finley is acknowledged. Ted found a 3-4 DE that excels at rushing the passer, and nobody is talking about it. What the hell is going on.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Waldo,

I hope you are right. I'm just a little hesitant. Somebody on here similarly touted Mike "Neon" Hawkins when he was a rookie.

[RashanGary]

Sounds to me like it's close. Remember, a lot of 'scouts' passed on Rodgers in 2005. They didn't believe in him then. It's harder to change someones opinion than it is to confirm it.


To even be on somewhat equal ground as Cutler is surprising. Rodgers had a great season.


I think Rodgers is better and after this season I think the scouts opinions will be lopsided toward Rodgers.

[pbmax]

Wynn was not credited with a sack he had in the Az game, instead Lansanah got a TFL (the QB has the ball in his hands and it is a TFL, mmk), add that in and he tied with Everette Brown for #2 amongst all rookie's for sacks. Not to mention he had an int causing QB hit, and got a lot of pressure. That shit ain't normal. Especially for a 3-4 DE. He looked better in preseason than Tyson Jackson and Evander Hood. And Ted dug him up in the 6th round.

Seriously funny and a good read, Waldo, congrats. I look forward to the Jarius Wynn era even more after a paragraph like that.

NOBODY is acknowledging the scarcity of what Ted found. 3-4 DE's that can rush the passer are extremely rare. That is why Tyson went #3 overall. If he was only good at stopping the run, he would have been a 3rd-4th round pick. There are only a handful of 3-4 DE's that can rush the passer in the league.

I think the pass rush (and bargain basement draft position) have been noticed by the press. But the org hasn't been hyping him and he is not slated to start. I grant you that even the fact that he made the roster is a big deal, given that we had 9 or 10 D lineman last year, more in camp and cut down to 6. So clearly they see at least some of what you see.

But until there is production in a game, the hype is not going to self-ignite. Sutton got hype because at times he seemed to be marching the team down the field himself. Wynn, despite QB sacks being a big draw, was succeeding more subtly.

If he does get into the actual games and produces QB pressure, I guarantee you your wish will be fulfilled by the press.

[RashanGary]

I've been impressed with Jarius Wynn's pass rush too, Waldo. He's shown he can beat NFL OL. If he can round out his game he'll be a starter. If not, he'll be a good situational pass rusher in the NFL. I think he's shown he can do that.

[RashanGary]

If Raji is healthy, there is ZERO chance Wynn plays pass rushing downs in front of him. Raji destroys single blockers.

There is a chance, even if everyone is healthy, that Wynn starts playing nickle WITH Jenkins and Raji if he proves he's harder to block than one of the linebackers is to game plan against. No way Raji comes out for Wynn as a pass rusher though. That is Raji's strength and I think Raji is one of the hardest to block, most unique DL in the NFL in that situation.

[Fritz]

What is slightly mysterious to me is the venom that so many people have for Thompson - even before the Favracle of last year. One of the ways that venom is expressed is through this derision of Thompson for trading down and "liking" late round picks. Yet Thompson's late-round picks (heck, even many of his mid-round picks - look at the right side of the offensive line) seem to often turn to gold.

Where exactly this severe bitterness comes from, I don't quite know. I have seen a couple (though only a couple) of interviews in which the Wisconsin press asks questions that seem imbedded with criticism (there have been threads on this before). But I'm not sure if the press has a full-out "angle" against Thompson.

I've seen good points on both sides of the debate in this thread. I agree with Waldo that a "team" is more than just a conglomeration of players, coaches, and employees. It is a concept, a story - it's a cultural myth, or can be, at least. To create and feed that myth - the purpose of which is to, of course, make money for the people who own the team or have some potential earnings from the team - the press often writes stories that are not neutral or objective, but try to create hope or twist events so they can be read in a way that is helpful to the myth.

There is no such thing as a neutral, objective story so far as I can tell. Sports sections of newspapers and, increasingly, television football announcers, are interested in narratives. While I'm watching a pre-season game against Cincinnati and want to know if Will Whitticker looks good enough as a rookie to start - crucial to the team's chances - the announces are harping over and over about Carson Palmer vs. Brett Favre, old guard and new guard. They're creating storylines, to sell the product. Neutral, objective observations don't sell stadium tickets and they don't sell newspapers. So these narratives create myths. In many places, the newspapers have to sell a certain kind of myth because it's not strong enough to stand alone. I don't agree with Waldo that it's positive spin all the time - if there's no conflict there's no story - but writers have to set up a team and its season as part of the overarching history of the team. Will Minny ever win a Super Bowl? That question - the "ever" part - is completely irrelevant to the current team. They weren't in Minnesota back then, hell, they weren't even born, probably. But it's part of the myth. In Detroit, every year, players are furious about being asked about whether this sorry franchise can be turned around. The players and coaches always, always, say the same thing: we weren't part of that past, that's irrelevant to us. This is now and we're starting out 0 - 0 like everyone else. Which is true but does not feed the cultural mythology of that team, which is created by fans, reporters, briefly by the players present and often stoked by players of the past (ex-Packers do this well). But a negative cultural myth can affect ticket sales and revenues, so reporters often do repeat that "is this the year they begin turning it around?" theme, and write stories about how the new coach is different, the new players, etc.

In certain places, and this is uncommon, the cultural myth becomes so strong that the press does not need to prop it up quite so much. The Packers are one such organization. The Chicago Cubs are another, market-size difference notwithstanding. So Packer beat reporters have more leeway to construct stories that contain more conflict - because the stadium's always sold out and people watch and watch and watch the Packers. The added conflict in the papers adds interest and thus the papers hope more of the product is sold.

So I agree with Waldo, but only to a point. I don't go quite so far in thinking that a reporter should be positive, which is what I'm sensing he is saying. He lauds organizations whose reporters seem more positive, I think. However, I do think that there can be some standards of fairness applied, and I also think that at times Packer reporters overstep those bounds. I find Detroit reporters stay withing those bounds of fairness, and sometimes even are meek. The one guy who wasn't has been fired/quit (Rob Parker) after what was deemed an unfair question to Marinelli last year.

On this board, I have found to several posters to be astute observers of the media covering the Packers, most notably in my mind Vince, Patler, and PB Max, though many others have chops, too, as Waldo and Tyrone have shown on this thread.

[packrat]

One guy on Denver talk radio is a prime example of how knocking local heroes is a sure fire attention getter. Callers responded rabidly when he knocked people from Elway to Cutler and didn't seem to "get it" that they were just being baited to get people to listen to the cat fight. Heck, it amused me enough to keep me listening even though I pretty much ignore the Broncos.