McCarthy On Driver: Then And Now

[Scott Campbell]

DD and Packers (sentences) will NOT contain any word as 'loyalty' beyond this day.

Sure they will. You don't get to dictate what people think and write.

[smuggler]

You guys hate each other.

[Scott Campbell]

You guys hate each other.

I hate you. Sorta.

[swede]

I know I appreciate the Brewers' loyalty to Geoff Jenkins and Bill Hall. Having a couple of .170 hitters in the sweet spot of the batting order for months on end made us a much classier loser than those other losers.

We can only hope that TT learns to exhibit the sort of loyalty that is required to field a really nice group of young men for years and years...and years... and some more years, despite signs of decline weighed against the opportunity cost of their cap number.

[/sarcasm]

TT's extension of Donald Driver was business, not goopy loyalty.

TT's will handle the retention/dismissal of Donald Driver as a business decision, with the good of the team being his first and only loyalty.

[smuggler]

I hate you. Sorta.

That's a waste of a perfectly good feeling. Sorta.

[King Friday]

The Packers have been more than fair to Driver. The NFL is a business, not a charity. The business of winning means you have to think about your future...not cling relentlessly to the past. Clinging to the past is what deep sixed this franchise in the 70s and 80s...wanna go back to that?

I'm glad Thompson kicked Favre's can to the curb, because it let Rodgers become the elite player who now leads the franchise. In this case, I hate to see Driver go...but at some point, the end WILL come. Why wait until he looks like a completely broken down relic and is actually hurting the team?

[OS PA]

Is it really that easy for you guys to forget how under used Driver was last year. Also, how well he played when the opportunity was there for him. It's not like he was dropping passes like our other receivers. He just wasn't getting anywhere close to the looks that he had gotten in previous years. He caught 6 TDS in the regular season and 1 in the playoffs. He's caught 9 in a season twice, 7 in a season once, and 6 in a season only one other time. So it's not like 6 was particularly low for him. The only stat for him that dropped off majorly was his yards, but the six consecutive seasons that Driver went over 1000 yards he was either the #1 or #2 guy in the progression. If forced into a 2nd or 3rd receiver role last year, Driver would have been a 700+ yard receiver, but given his opportunities, he was delegated to a sub 500 yard season. Nothing wrong with that. As a 6th or 7th option, I'd say keep him on the team over an unproven youngster. If injuries happen, you can still bring up one of the youngsters. You can't stash Driver on a practice squad like you can Gurley or Borel.

[Bretsky]

Do you guys have selective amnesia, am I insane, or are you failing to acknowledge that Driver played through injuries for a good portion of last year ?

Driver can still be very effective. By very effective, I still think he'd probably be our 4th best WR (remember I think Jones is grossly overrated by the Rats). I think if given the shot Cobb can move into our #3. If he does not take that step then I'd still value Driver as a good #3.

[pbmax]

I know DD was injured in 2010, don't remember the nagging injuries in 11.

OS PA has a point. Driver does possess a certain skill set at this stage of his career well suited to the slot and short routes. But he was a zone buster mainly, he wasn't running and cutting his way open, or leaping beyond the DB or LB covering him. The bigger question though is, would Cobb, with a year of experience, do it better?

Then does Donald want to be #5? If his targets are going to be near Cobb's levels from last year, he may not.

As for his hands, Donald has had trouble with grip in the past. I wouldn't expect his performance this year to again be exceptional among WR/TE.

[MadtownPacker]

OS PA has a point. Driver does possess a certain skill set at this stage of his career well suited to the slot and short routes..

As for his hands, Donald has had trouble with grip in the past. I wouldn't expect his performance this year to again be exceptional among WR/TE.

The feet look great and his grip appears to be plenty strong!

Bring back DD!!!

[MJZiggy]

The feet look great and his grip appears to be plenty strong!

Bring back DD!!!

Can't bring back DD. He hasn't gone anywhere.

[Rutnstrut]

If they are going to release DD maybe he can teach Finley how to catch the ball before he goes.

[Bretsky]

I know DD was injured in 2010, don't remember the nagging injuries in 11.

OS PA has a point. Driver does possess a certain skill set at this stage of his career well suited to the slot and short routes. But he was a zone buster mainly, he wasn't running and cutting his way open, or leaping beyond the DB or LB covering him. The bigger question though is, would Cobb, with a year of experience, do it better?

Then does Donald want to be #5? If his targets are going to be near Cobb's levels from last year, he may not.

As for his hands, Donald has had trouble with grip in the past. I wouldn't expect his performance this year to again be exceptional among WR/TE.

Wasn't last year the year where he played a couple games without a catch ? If you watched him run he was hobbling around everywhere

[OS PA]

Numbers
Driver was
76th in yards
67th in receptions
74th in 1st downs
26th in touchdowns

He had the 4th best numbers for a WR on our team. Here are the numbers for all of the other 4th ranked wide receivers on their teams.

ARI - Chansi Stuckey - 4 rec, 39 yards, 0 tds
ATL - Eric Weems - 11 rec, 90 yards, 0 tds
BAL - Lee Evans - 4 rec, 74 yards, 0 tds
BUF - Donald Jones - 23 rec, 231 yards, 1 td
CAR - Seyi Ajirotutu - 1 rec, 4 yards, 0 tds
CHI - Devin Hester - 26 rec, 369 yards, 1td
CIN - Andrew Hawkins - 23 rec, 263 yards, 0 tds
CLE - Jordan Norwood - 23 rec, 268 yards, 1 td
DAL - Kevin Ogletree - 15 rec, 164 yards, 0 tds
DEN - Eddie Royal - 19 rec, 155 yards, 1 td
DET - Rashied Davis - 4 rec, 63 yards, 0 tds
GB - Donald Driver - 37 rec, 445 yards, 6 tds
HOU - Bryant Johnson - 6 rec, 90 yards, 1 td
IND - Anthony Gonzalez - 0 rec, 0 yards, 0 tds
JAC - Chastin West - 13 rec, 163 yards, 2 tds
KC - Keary Colbert - 9 rec, 89 yards, 0 tds
MIA - Clyde Gates - 2 rec, 19 yards, 0 tds
MIN - Greg Camarillo - 9 rec, 121 yards, 0 tds
NE - Julian Edelman - 4 rec, 34 yards, 0 tds
NO - Devery Henderson - 32 rec, 503 yards, 2 tds
NYG - Ramses Barden - 9 rec, 94 yards, 0 tds
NYJ - Patrick Turner - 8 rec, 96 yards, 1 td
OAK - Jacoby Ford - 19 rec, 279 yards, 1 td
PHI - Riley cooper - 16 rec, 315 yards, 1 td
PIT - Emmanuel Sanders - 22 rec, 288 yards, 2 tds
SD - Vincent Brown - 19 rec, 329 yards, 2 tds
SF - Braylon Edwards - 15 rec, 181 yards, 0 tds
SEA - Sidney Rice - 32 rec, 484 yards, 2 tds
STL - Austin Pettis - 27 rec, 256 yards, 0 tds
TB - Arrelious Benn - 30 rec, 441 yards, 3 tds
TEN - Kenny Britt - 17 rec, 289 yards, 3 tds
WAS - Leonard Hankerson - 13 rec, 163 yards, 0 tds

To say that Driver was unproductive, uneffective, too old, too slow, and or not good is just flat out wrong. He was by and large the most effective fourth wide receiver on any team. He's insurance at this point in his career. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less. Let the numbers speak for themselves.

[King Friday]

His stats have been in free fall since 2009. At 37 years of age, he isn't suddenly going to get better...and in all likelihood he's going to get considerably worse. I love the guy, but his time has come and gone.

Comparing him to other 4th WRs on other teams is meaningless. The issue is whether or not he's worth keeping as the 5th WR on our roster...who won't play special teams...and has zero upside...over a young kid with potential and hunger to make a name for himself like Driver once did.