Jennings

[mmmdk]

If Driver and Jennings both were to have 1000 yard season then the Packers would win the NFC North. Sweet, I just don't see it happening. I predicted Greg Jennings would catch 60 passes for 720 yards and 6 TDs. That would be awesome for a rookie. Yet I do remember Michael Clayton from Tampa get 1100 yards as a rookie just 2 years ago. Too many rookies and first year players plus rookie HC, DC + OC. Has a NFL team ever done that? Go .500 with such a novice ballclub???

[pbmax]

Favre had two 100 yard receivers 3 times in his career:

Brooks - Freeman
Freeman - Schroeder
Driver - Walker

It shouldn't be that hard for Jennings/Driver to get 1000 each. i Expect Driver to havethe same season he had in 2004 as he won't be doubled/tripled team like he was last year. Jennings will be one on one and some double which will give him more yards. GB will be better on offense than people expect, it just has to avoid the stupid TO such as the ones in the Bengals game.

Favre, even if he did nothing else, should be in the Hall of Fame for making Bill Schroeder and 1,000 yd. receiver.

[MJZiggy]

If Driver and Jennings both were to have 1000 yard season then the Packers would win the NFC North. Sweet, I just don't see it happening. I predicted Greg Jennings would catch 60 passes for 720 yards and 6 TDs. That would be awesome for a rookie. Yet I do remember Michael Clayton from Tampa get 1100 yards as a rookie just 2 years ago. Too many rookies and first year players plus rookie HC, DC + OC. Has a NFL team ever done that? Go .500 with such a novice ballclub???

It's driving me nuts that everyone keeps acting like if they haven't done something before they can't do it. Remember Cleditus Hunt is a vet. So what if Jennings is a rookie. Nobody prepares for him it seems and he's perfectly capable of getting good yards. M3 is a novice head coach, but his playcalling so far has been good. He's been good at knowing when to challenge something and has not backed off going for it when we needed a big play. All we need right now is for the line to get their timing down and start working as a unit which we all know they will and for everyone on defense to get on the same page and they can underestimate us all they want. I just hate it when our own fans do it just because they haven't SEEN these guys do it before. I'll take our starters over Hunt, Klemm, O'Dwyer and most of the "experienced" vets that other teams have dumped for their lack of production on the field any day of the week. I don't care how young they are.

[mmmdk]

If Driver and Jennings both were to have 1000 yard season then the Packers would win the NFC North. Sweet, I just don't see it happening. I predicted Greg Jennings would catch 60 passes for 720 yards and 6 TDs. That would be awesome for a rookie. Yet I do remember Michael Clayton from Tampa get 1100 yards as a rookie just 2 years ago. Too many rookies and first year players plus rookie HC, DC + OC. Has a NFL team ever done that? Go .500 with such a novice ballclub???

It's driving me nuts that everyone keeps acting like if they haven't done something before they can't do it. Remember Cleditus Hunt is a vet. So what if Jennings is a rookie. Nobody prepares for him it seems and he's perfectly capable of getting good yards. M3 is a novice head coach, but his playcalling so far has been good. He's been good at knowing when to challenge something and has not backed off going for it when we needed a big play. All we need right now is for the line to get their timing down and start working as a unit which we all know they will and for everyone on defense to get on the same page and they can underestimate us all they want. I just hate it when our own fans do it just because they haven't SEEN these guys do it before. I'll take our starters over Hunt, Klemm, O'Dwyer and most of the "experienced" vets that other teams have dumped for their lack of production on the field any day of the week. I don't care how young they are.

I hear you but nothing beats winning - especially for young players! You can play young guys but if they're no good and hence not winning, you've got a decade of losing on the menu. Winning is the pedigree for winning. I don't think Packers are headed for a decade of losing but a even a.500 season seems like a hard climb this season. A repeat or worse season in 2006 would devastating to a young team. 6-10, 7-9 with a few upsets (Bears, Vikes) and the youngsters will grow. In 2007 I'd expect a .500 or better record.

[ahaha]

After last season I'd pretty much given up on Robert Ferguson. But, he wasn't too bad in the preseason. With the emergence of Jennings, maybe Ferguson can be productive again in his role as third receiver. Hopefully he's gotton over the "Alligator Arms" syndrome he seemed to suffer from since the Donovan Darius injury.

[Pacopete4]

im sick of fergy like every packer fan is right now, but this guy at least showed some class in his interview. He is best suited for being the 3rd WR and dont be surprised if he's not in on running downs anyways because he is our best WR blocker by far. He had an average pre season, his stats were not huge but thats only because the ball did not fly his way very often and why would it with Rodgers (Vick wannabe) in the game. I'll wait til I see a few real games from him first to determine if its just going to be abother let down year out of him.

[Homer Jay]

There is no reason a #3 receiver can't put up decent numbers in this offense. I was hoping someone else would take the job, but he is here now. Hopefully he can have a good enough year to take a little pressure off DD and Jennings. A #3 receiver doesn't have to be great, just dependable. I hope this is the year for Fergy.

[RashanGary]

Fergy is hard to hate IMHO. Sure he sucks and it would be nice to get rid of him from a football standpoint, but he's a really good team-mate and a hard worker. The guy sets an example with his pride, team orientation and effort.

He just doesn't have what it takes to play WR in the NFL. Now, with Rodgers he might be better. Favre doesn't throw the most catchable ball. Either way, he's been bad. Still, it's hard as a coach to replace a guy who busts his balls every day and also has a great football body. I can understand why Sherman couldnt' bench him but I'm also glad to see McCarthy puts football first and has the objectivity to sit down the bad player even if he's one of your hardest working vets.

[RashanGary]

I hope Robert Ferguson stays on as the #3 or 4 wideout and plays the best damn special teams we've ever witnessed. There is more than one way to make a difference in a game and just because Ferg has no ball skills doesn't mean he can't be a playmaker for 6 or 7 plays per game.

Also, his salary seems big, but with the new increase in cap space, it's not nearly as bad as it may seem. He can earn his salary on every ST unit or at least most of them and double as an emergency WR.

[BF4MVP]

Rodgers (Vick wannabe)

Ummmmmmmm.....What?

[Chubbyhubby]

Rodgers (Vick wannabe)

Ummmmmmmm.....What?

Are you refering to the fact the Rodgers ran with football when he was in the game. Mainly he did that when the Oline fell apart. He had to scramble.

[SD GB fan]

yeah i agree that its hard to dislike ferguson. he works hard but it just never clicked for him. hopefully he can step up this season.

[vince]

Here's the latest on our Mr. Jennings... I love the quote by Al Harris...

FRI., SEP 8, 2006 - 12:35 AM
Packers: Jennings remains modestly confident
JASON WILDE 608-252-6176
jwilde@madison.com
GREEN BAY - Coach Mike McCarthy's never seen anything like it. Jimmy Robinson's as surprised as anyone. And Al Harris, never one to praise a wide receiver, even one of his own teammates, can't say enough about the kid.

Yes, people are talking about Green Bay Packers rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings, and every word of it is positively glowing.

Which is why Jennings, a super-confident but ultra-humble second-round draft pick from Western Michigan, is doing his best not to let it get to him as he prepares to start Sunday's regular-season opener against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field - making him the first Packers rookie receiver to start the opener since Sterling Sharpe in 1988.

"Don't get me wrong. It's great to hear. But at the same time, some things you need to hear-but-not-hear," Jennings said Thursday, leaning against a laundry bin in the Packers' locker room after meetings. "I really don't get caught up in all the accolades, all the publicity. It's great, but to me, it's always better to be under the radar."

That's going to be hard after what Jennings did this preseason, as he caught 12 passes for an NFL-leading 328 yards (a 27.3-yard average). After the preseason finale against Tennessee last Friday afternoon, McCarthy named him the starter opposite No. 1 receiver Donald Driver, giving him the nod over sixth-year veteran Robert Ferguson.

"I've clearly never seen a rookie that productive that fast," McCarthy said.

And while Jennings was the fourth receiver taken in April's draft - after Ohio State's Santonio Holmes (Pittsburgh, 25th overall), Florida's Chad Jackson (New England, 36th) and Miami (Fla.)'s Sinorice Moss (New York Giants, 44th) - he's the only rookie receiver in the NFL expected to start this weekend.

So sorry, Greg, the under-the-radar thing ain't happening. Not now.

"And I understand that. But at the same time, I have to carry myself as though I'm still under the radar," Jennings replied. "Because once you start worrying about being noticed, you start playing with that thought in your mind. And you start thinking about how you have to play a certain way to keep getting the praise you feel you should be getting. You have to be humble and stay grounded."

He's succeeding at that, but don't take that to mean Jennings lacks self-confidence. While outsiders didn't expect him to emerge so quickly, he's not at all surprised.

"I can't say I've been surprised by anything I've done. I expect what I'm doing out here. I expect more than what I'm doing out here," said Jennings, who had an 89-yard catch against the Titans, an 85-yard touchdown against Atlanta Aug. 19 and a 47-yard catch against San Diego Aug. 12. "It's just my nature, I guess. I expect to make an impact. I'm not going to have a ridiculous, great game every Sunday, but I plan on having a lot of 'em."

Harris, the Packers' top cornerback, is expecting that.

"I think Jennings will emerge as a No. 1 receiver if not this year, next year," Harris said after practice. "The dude is real smooth. Real smooth. Sometimes I have a hard time getting my hands on him. Seriously, that's saying something."

Rookie rarity Still, history suggests it won't be easy for the 5-foot-11, 198-pound Jennings to have a major impact as a rookie. Only five of the 546 wide receivers drafted from 1990 through 2005 have had 1,000-yard seasons as rookies: Joey Galloway (1995), Terry Glenn (1996), Randy Moss (1998), Anquan Boldin (2003) and Michael Clayton (2004).

But if anyone can do it, Robinson said, it's Jennings, whose football IQ is so high he's learned all three receiver positions - X (flanker), Z (split end) and zebra (slot receiver) - already.

"His maturity, his poise - it doesn't seem like anything really fazes him," said Robinson, a 17-year NFL coaching veteran who tutored Indianapolis' six-time Pro Bowl receiver Marvin Harrison as a rookie in 1996, when Harrison started 15 games and had 836 yards and eight TDs.

"I think he's certainly capable of (1,000 yards). In my mind, he seems to be capable of doing just about anything given the opportunity. He's a unique guy."

Indeed, Jennings, who turns 23 in two weeks, is more mature than your average rookie. But, as he puts it, "I'm a different little human being."

He and his wife, Nicole, have been married since June 2005, although she went back to Kalamazoo Tuesday to finish her nursing degree at Western Michigan, where she has one 10-credit class to go. Jennings' parents, Greg Sr. and Gwen, are active in the church, with Greg Sr. working as a pastor at Deliverance Ministries in Kalamazoo, while Gwen is a church missionary.

Meanwhile, the folks at Jennings' high school, Kalamazoo Central, have been bugging him for some pictures and memorabilia to put in a display case at the school. They've already produced several famous sporting alumni - New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter most notably - but Jennings has yet to send them anything of his.

And even when he does, perhaps after he catches 1,000 yards worth of passes and scores 10 touchdowns this season, he vows he'll be the same guy he is today.

"Even though I may think I'm doing well now, I haven't even played a regular-season game. So nothing I've done to this point means anything. I mean nothing," Jennings said. "Because come Sunday, if I have a horrible game, everyone's going to ask, 'Well, you had a great preseason, you had a great training camp, what happened?'"

"I can't be arrogant, I can't be cocky and conceited, I can't put up a facade. I guarantee you I won't change. It's not in me to be anything different."

[MadtownPacker]

Can I be the West coast booster for the Jennings fan club?

Only thing about Jennings that pisses me off is that he wont play with Murphy. They could have been the starting WRs for the next 5 years. After DD retired of course.

[Bretsky]

I think I deserve to be president of the Greg Jennings fan club. I was talking about how great he was at OTA's before the media got on his band wagon. I watched him the recievers every day for 4 or 5 2 hour OTA's. That's about 10 hours of practice. He looked fantastic then and the media didn't notice untill TC.

I was the pioneer of the Greg Jennings fan club. Nobody can take that away from me.

YES YOU EARN THAT ONE IMO.