With a year of experience under his belt and an off-season to grow and mature, Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley will see more playing time compared to his rookie season.

His emergence as a pass catching, red zone-type threat creates an opportunity to play more often in 2009, especially in passing situations.

To that end, expect Finley to play on typical passing downs while Donald Lee plays on usual running downs as predicated by down and distance.

For example, Lee should be the typical starting tight end playing on most first downs, second-and-short, and third-and-short situations. Meanwhile, Finley will hit the field moreso on second-and-long and third-and-long scenarios.

Of course, the Packers won't hold hard and fast to those types of down and distance circumstances. Mike McCarthy won't want to fit the mold of predictability. Plus, there will certainly be situations calling for two tight end sets or no tight end at all.

But it's conceivable that Lee will play more on running downs and Finley more on passing downs.

Despite landing in the doghouse midway through the season, the coaching staff showed their confidence in Finley's pass catching ability by going to him in the end zone and on third downs late last year.

Being a year older and wiser should help him become even more of a threat combined with what seems to be more maturity. Throughout the off-season including OTAs and training camps, Finley has told the media that he plans to let his play do the talking this season.

Finley is also offering to offer money to charity according to the young tight end's Twitter posts. And he's raised a couple eyebrows on the practice field according to beat writer reports.

Lee, on the other hand, has been his steady self ever since coming to the Packers. He's given no indication that he doesn't deserve to hold onto the starting job.

He put up near Pro Bowl numbers in 2007, and while he didn't have the same production in 2008, he never played poorly. And he's the best blocking tight end on the Packers' roster.

The duo should help the Packers even more this season if the team plays to each one of their strengths.