Be Careful on the Defensive Accolades.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Re: Be Careful on the Defensive Accolades.

the Seattle offense played without their starting QB and their starting tackles.

ya, I was thinking about this too. Can you imagine if the Packers played the whole game with Orin Thompson and Julius Coston at tackle?

[b bulldog]

Looked like a whiff to me. he should have made the play!

[Partial]

Re: Be Careful on the Defensive Accolades.

the Seattle offense played without their starting QB and their starting tackles.

ya, I was thinking about this too. Can you imagine if the Packers played the whole game with Orin Thompson and Julius Coston at tackle?

You mean you want to turn lose the juice?

[HarveyWallbangers]

Re: Be Careful on the Defensive Accolades.

ya, I was thinking about this too. Can you imagine if the Packers played the whole game with Orin Thompson and Julius Coston at tackle?

It wasn't that bad. Locklear isn't even guaranteed to start for them--as his replacement, Ray Willis, is in a battle with him for a starting position. The guy that started at LT, Tom Ashworth, has been in the league for many years and has started many games for New England. They actually have good depth at OT. Wallace isn't a bad backup QB either. I'm thinking Hasselbeck might have gotten injured in this game with the pressure the Packers put on. That was impressive.

Seahawks Team Report from Sporting News.com last week:

The line remains a unit in transition, with third-year C Chris Spencer replacing the retired Robbie Tobeck and second-year G Rob Sims moving in on the left side. On the right side, G Chris Gray and T Sean Locklear continue to work with the No. 1 unit. But Ray Willis could push for playing time because neither Gray nor Locklear played as well in 2006 as they did in '05. On paper, the depth on this unit has improved.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Re: Be Careful on the Defensive Accolades.

It wasn't that bad.

I wonder what Seneca Wallace thinks.

[b bulldog]

Agree but Jones is a special player and he coukld block any of our players one on one and than somebody else could be doubled . That being said, the Dline still looked very,very good.

[Partial]

[superfan]

Good post in tempering expections with Jones and Locklear out. However, as HW said, Ashworth and Willis are serviceable, and should be considered below average starters. The dropoff isn't that huge - like going from Jones to our second string tackles.

But I think it is reasonable to expect this defense to be one of the better defenses in the NFL.

[Freak Out]

AJ Hawk made Mack Strong (I think he was the FB at the time) look like a little girl on that sack of Wallace. He is going to have a huge year.

[Partial]

AJ Hawk made Mack Strong (I think he was the FB at the time) look like a little girl on that sack of Wallace. He is going to have a huge year.

It was actually Leonard lastname. He is challenging for Strong's spot, though.

[b bulldog]

Hawk will be a superstar. I didn't think he would be this good but I am bery glad that I may be wrong.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Rookie Jennings Stands Out In Packers Camp

GREEN BAY - A.J. Hawk isn't the only Green Bay Packers rookie in a blissful mood early in training camp.

Like Hawk, the Packers' first-round pick in the April draft, Greg Jennings is married, owns a home in the Green Bay area and recently signed a lucrative first professional contract. What's more, Jennings and his wife of 13 months, Nicole, are expecting their first child in about six months.

"Life is good. It can't get any better," a smiling Jennings said this weekend.

All that's seemingly missing from Jennings' joyous life is joining linebacker Hawk and possibly rookie guards Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz in the starting lineup.

The last time the Packers started a rookie wide receiver on opening day was in 1992, when Robert Brooks got the call in a loss to Minnesota at Lambeau Field.

Jennings, one of two second-round draft choices by the Packers, has the potential to end the long drought.

"I trust that he's going to be a special wideout, he's going to have a great career in the National Football League. Right now, he's showing it," veteran Donald Driver said.

The Packers' search to fill a glaring need and complement Driver at the receiver position could start and stop with Jennings the next five weeks.

While training camp is only three days old, Jennings has been up to the challenge in a crowded competition.

Head coach Mike McCarthy said Saturday that Jennings has as good of a shot as veterans Robert Ferguson, Rod Gardner and Marc Boerigter to emerge as the No. 2 receiver.

"I think he's put together two solid practices, so I haven't seen a decline in his speed or quickness," McCarthy said.

Jennings hardly received any national exposure playing college football at Western Michigan. Yet, he led the country with an average of 8.91 receptions last year and set numerous school records.

After they traded disgruntled receiver Javon Walker to Denver 15 picks earlier on the first day of the draft, the Packers chose Jennings 52nd overall. Jennings was just the fourth receiver off the board.

Since arriving in Green Bay in early May for minicamps and organized team activities, Jennings has been a quick study. He credits his coaches at Western Michigan for introducing last year a version of the West Coast offense similar to that employed by the Packers.

Thus, Jennings has been more at ease on the practice field, and the results have been to his and the Packers' liking.

"It's pretty much a game of making plays and being prepared mentally. I think if you're prepared mentally, then the rest will come," Jennings said. "Your physical talents will showcase themselves as long as you have the mental aspect of the game."

Standing 5-foot-11, Jennings doesn't measure up to the prototypical tall receiver first-year coach McCarthy prefers to have in his offense.

Jennings, though, has compensated by being as sure with his route running as he is sure-handed.

"Not too many wideouts have great hands. That's what he's shown me more than anything," Driver said. "He's really focused on the ball. He can catch really well."

Hanging on to the football is no easy task when the quarterback is Brett Favre, who's still slinging passes at 36.

Almost without fail, Jennings, 22, is gradually establishing a passer-receiver rapport with the future Hall of Famer.

"I thought two or three times (Saturday), they had a nice connection (on passes) over the middle, and (Jennings) has a good feel for that," McCarthy said. "For a receiver that young, that's exciting to see. I'm very pleased with Greg to this point.

"That's what training camp is all about - the receivers getting on the same page with the timing of the passers."

Jennings won't allow himself to revel in the strong start to the preseason, however. He admits he's a work in progress and isn't consumed with winning the No. 2 receiver job.

"I definitely want to be a starter. But, at the same time, it's not my primary goal," said Jennings, who went to the same high school (Central) in Kalamazoo, Mich., as New York Yankees star Derek Jeter. "My primary goal is to progress every day, show progress every day -- that's important -- and just get better and just let the vets teach me into that starting role.

"It's possible. If not, then I just want to be ready when my name is called and when my number is called at all times and help my teammates."

[HarveyWallbangers]

Favre also singled out rookie receiver Greg Jennings for praise.

"Sometimes size and speed play such a big part in decisions of an NFL team and you overlook the most important thing, intangibles," Favre said. "Can he get open? Can he catch? Can he catch in traffic? And some of those things remain to be seen, but I feel like he's kind of a natural at what he does."

[HarveyWallbangers]

Receiver catching everyone's eye
Jennings impressing coaches, teammates
By BOB McGINN

Green Bay - If ability to assimilate rapidly a National Football League system is an indicator of future success, the Green Bay Packers have hit the jackpot with wide receiver Greg Jennings.

Brett Favre and rookie wide receiver Greg Jennings (left) could be two players mentioned in the same sentence a few times this season.

Jimmy Robinson has been coaching Jennings hard during four weeks of training camp. This is his 17th straight season tutoring wide receivers in the NFL, and he was an NFL wide receiver for six years before that.

The five teams for which Robinson has coached drafted 17 wide receivers, including eight in the first three rounds. Most of them struggled as rookies, typical for the position. The one who didn't was Marvin Harrison, and 10 years later that's the receiver Robinson can't get out of his mind when he watches Jennings.

"The only other guy I can remember that came in and pretty much knew what he was doing right away was Marvin Harrison," said Robinson, who coached him in 1996 and '97, his first two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

"Honestly, I don't remember if he burst on the scene kind of the way Greg has or not. But I know that Marvin was out there very natural at everything he was doing right from the start."

Harrison, 34, is destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is the only receiver in history to average better than 90 receptions per season, including a record 143 in 2002. He ranks third all time in receiving touchdowns with 110. He has been a Pro Bowl starter for the last seven years.

The Colts used the 19th pick in 1996 in take Harrison out of Syracuse. He started 15 of 16 games as a rookie, caught 64 passes for 836 yards with Jim Harbaugh and Paul Justin at quarterback and scored eight touchdowns

Indianapolis went 9-7 under coach Lindy Infante and made the playoffs as a wild card.

That year at the combine, Harrison measured 5 feet 11 7/8 inches, weighed 181 pounds and scored 12 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test. After declining to work out, he ran 40 yards that spring in 4.37 seconds.

Jennings was 5-11 7/8 and 197, scored 17 on the Wonderlic and ran 4.42 at the combine. Both his vertical jump (36½ inches) and broad jump (9-9) were common for the position.

"Marvin's definitely a lot thinner than Greg," Robinson said. "When he got to camp, Marvin was probably 176. He's a very thin-waisted guy. Small legs. He's not built like Greg."

At Syracuse, Harrison redshirted in 1991, backed up in '92 and then started for three years. At Western Michigan, Jennings redshirted in 2001, backed up in '02 and then essentially started for three years.

Harrison finished with 135 receptions, 2,718 yards, a 20.4-yard average and 20 touchdowns. Jennings had 238 catches, 3,539 yards, a 14.9 average and 39 touchdowns.

Also, Harrison returned 42 punts for a 12.9 average and two touchdowns. Jennings had 49 punt returns, an 11.0 average and two touchdowns.

The Orangemen were 32-13-1 during Harrison's four seasons; the Broncos were 17-29 in Jennings' four seasons.

"Both have excellent hands and catch the ball in their hands real naturally," Robinson said.

"I don’t know that Greg would have the top-end speed that Marvin had when he was a rookie but he certainly catches the ball like Marvin does."
Charles Woodson and Al Harris, the Packers' starting cornerbacks, agreed with Robinson that Jennings has a much different body type from Harrison.

Harris was adamant about not comparing the two, insisting that it was unfair to Jennings.

"I think Jennings is doing an exceptional job," Harris said. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not doubting his talent. But you never know what he will produce to."

Calling Harrison a "great" wide receiver and clearly one of the top three in the NFL, Woodson didn't see many similarities.

"(Jennings) has come in and looked like he's been here before," Woodson said. "If you're not on your technique, he can get you. He's pretty good off the ball. Shifty. Good quickness. Good coming in and out of his breaks. Very good hands."

Robinson still marvels at the high quality of player the Packers found with the 52nd selection.

"Marvin is a rare commodity, a special guy," he said. "If Greg even approximates what Marvin has done in this league, he will have done very well."

[HarveyWallbangers]

To be honest, I apparently wasn't THAT impressed with him after preseason game #1.


I think I changed my tune by the start of the regular season though.


From HW after preseason game #1:

I don't think he's that awesome looking. You don't watch him and think Terrell Owens or Javon Walker. To me, what he looks like is a rookie that is tremendously polished. I tend to think his upside is somewhat limited though. I could see him eventually developing into a Derrick Mason type receiver.

Although Derrick Mason was a heck of a receiver.