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Finally. I did want Pelissero though.
Ready for action on the Packers beat
Greg A. Bedard
I'm not sure who's on edge more this week: me or the 20-odd Green Bay Packers players who will be handed a pink slip by the end of this weekend.
As some of you have already figured out, this is my first week as a member of the Journal Sentinel's Packers beat team after four years at the Palm Beach Post on the Dolphins beat. And this is my first of many columns in the Insider section of JSOnline.
You don't need to be a veteran to know this section of the Web site means business. You guys are the diehards, Cheesehead-ed beasts who crave any and all information on the Packers. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
I think I'm a lot like most of you. I'm a fan of the game at heart. But I'm one of the lucky few who gets on the inside to find out what's really going on. And that's the information I'm aiming to bring you in this space. Give me about a week to get the lay of the land and I'll deliver for all of you not only in this column, but in chats and other features we have in the works for you.
And believe me when I tell you this: I will not cheat you. The things I will relate to you in this section will be based in fact. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by trying to fake it. Nope. I know that doesn't fly around these parts. I need to be on point or you guys and gals, especially, will see through me immediately.
So, for this column, let me share with you some of the things I know about this Packers team through my work covering the Dolphins.
Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders basically runs the same defense that Jimmy Johnson brought to the Dolphins from the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson taught it to Jim Bates, who taught Sanders.
While the defense certainly can be very effective with the right personnel, I can tell you that Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas quickly became bored with the scheme. There isn't much blitzing. There isn't any disguising of anything. And it puts a lot of pressure on certain positions, especially middle linebacker.
When Nick Saban arrived with the 3-4 after Dave Wannstedt resigned, Thomas couldn't have been happier. It was like he was freed from jail. He could finally put his vast football intelligence to some real use.
That being said, the Packers have most of the personnel that is essential to this 4-3 scheme: big, fast guys up front who can stuff run lanes and get to the quarterback. An active middle linebacker in Nick Barnett (although I think he'd be better on the weak side). And two very good press corners in Al Harris and Charles Woodson.
But a lot of pressure is also put on the safeties, and the Packers have a lot of work to do there. They need to hold the whole scheme together.
To be fair, safety Atari Bigby didn't get much of a shot with the Dolphins before getting cut. While he didn't make it to training camp, he had plenty of opportunities to show what he could do in minicamps and OTA days but failed to do so.
I enjoyed covering tight end Donald Lee when he was with the Dolphins, but he couldn't have frustrated the coaching staff more. If he wasn't jumping offsides, he was dropping passes and missing blocks. He's much improved here but the Packers need him to do much more.
Speaking of tight ends, David Martin told me to say hello to the fans up here before I left for Wisconsin. He admitted that he viewed his tenure with the Packers as pretty much a failure. Injuries had a lot to do with that. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good.
And, finally, I'm surprised wide receiver David Clowney hasn't had the opportunity to do more in training camp. He's a player I covered at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Fla. I don't know that I've ever seen a more polished passing attack on the prep level. Clowney and quarterback Omar Jacobs, a former pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Bowling Green, often filled the humid Friday night air with jaw-dropping bombs. Jacobs would throw them and Clowney would go run under them.
The funny thing about Clowney is he went from basically having no scholarship offers to a full ride to Virginia Tech in just about the last day before the signing period began. Luckily for Clowney, the Hokies lost out on one of their commitments, which opened the door for Clowney.
That worked out for him. And I'm hoping his time in Green Bay will end up the same way, even if he has to go to the practice squad for a year.
This transplanted South Floridian doesn't have any such safety net. It's sink or swim time for me now that I've plunged into the beat and Insider. Considering my audience, there's a lot of water out there to negotiate.
And I wouldn't want it any other way.
Greg A. Bedard
I'm not sure who's on edge more this week: me or the 20-odd Green Bay Packers players who will be handed a pink slip by the end of this weekend.
As some of you have already figured out, this is my first week as a member of the Journal Sentinel's Packers beat team after four years at the Palm Beach Post on the Dolphins beat. And this is my first of many columns in the Insider section of JSOnline.
You don't need to be a veteran to know this section of the Web site means business. You guys are the diehards, Cheesehead-ed beasts who crave any and all information on the Packers. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
I think I'm a lot like most of you. I'm a fan of the game at heart. But I'm one of the lucky few who gets on the inside to find out what's really going on. And that's the information I'm aiming to bring you in this space. Give me about a week to get the lay of the land and I'll deliver for all of you not only in this column, but in chats and other features we have in the works for you.
And believe me when I tell you this: I will not cheat you. The things I will relate to you in this section will be based in fact. I'm not going to insult your intelligence by trying to fake it. Nope. I know that doesn't fly around these parts. I need to be on point or you guys and gals, especially, will see through me immediately.
So, for this column, let me share with you some of the things I know about this Packers team through my work covering the Dolphins.
Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders basically runs the same defense that Jimmy Johnson brought to the Dolphins from the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson taught it to Jim Bates, who taught Sanders.
While the defense certainly can be very effective with the right personnel, I can tell you that Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas quickly became bored with the scheme. There isn't much blitzing. There isn't any disguising of anything. And it puts a lot of pressure on certain positions, especially middle linebacker.
When Nick Saban arrived with the 3-4 after Dave Wannstedt resigned, Thomas couldn't have been happier. It was like he was freed from jail. He could finally put his vast football intelligence to some real use.
That being said, the Packers have most of the personnel that is essential to this 4-3 scheme: big, fast guys up front who can stuff run lanes and get to the quarterback. An active middle linebacker in Nick Barnett (although I think he'd be better on the weak side). And two very good press corners in Al Harris and Charles Woodson.
But a lot of pressure is also put on the safeties, and the Packers have a lot of work to do there. They need to hold the whole scheme together.
To be fair, safety Atari Bigby didn't get much of a shot with the Dolphins before getting cut. While he didn't make it to training camp, he had plenty of opportunities to show what he could do in minicamps and OTA days but failed to do so.
I enjoyed covering tight end Donald Lee when he was with the Dolphins, but he couldn't have frustrated the coaching staff more. If he wasn't jumping offsides, he was dropping passes and missing blocks. He's much improved here but the Packers need him to do much more.
Speaking of tight ends, David Martin told me to say hello to the fans up here before I left for Wisconsin. He admitted that he viewed his tenure with the Packers as pretty much a failure. Injuries had a lot to do with that. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good.
And, finally, I'm surprised wide receiver David Clowney hasn't had the opportunity to do more in training camp. He's a player I covered at Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, Fla. I don't know that I've ever seen a more polished passing attack on the prep level. Clowney and quarterback Omar Jacobs, a former pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Bowling Green, often filled the humid Friday night air with jaw-dropping bombs. Jacobs would throw them and Clowney would go run under them.
The funny thing about Clowney is he went from basically having no scholarship offers to a full ride to Virginia Tech in just about the last day before the signing period began. Luckily for Clowney, the Hokies lost out on one of their commitments, which opened the door for Clowney.
That worked out for him. And I'm hoping his time in Green Bay will end up the same way, even if he has to go to the practice squad for a year.
This transplanted South Floridian doesn't have any such safety net. It's sink or swim time for me now that I've plunged into the beat and Insider. Considering my audience, there's a lot of water out there to negotiate.
And I wouldn't want it any other way.
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