Packers Daily Links 10.14.09

 

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There has been a change in time for the Packers' Nov. 1 game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. "The league said the kickoff times for that day's New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles game and the Vikings-Packers game were flipped due to logistical issues in the city of Philadelphia should the Philadelphia Phillies be in the World Series," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. "Giants-Eagles will now be played at noon CT and Vikings-Packers will begin at 3:15 PM CT." Even though the change was made in deference to Major League Baseball, the NFL certainly isn't losing any sleep over having the Brett Favre vs. Packers match-up in the late time slot.

Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes that the Packers' yards after catch (YAC) hasn't quite been what it's been in years past. "Sometimes playing the up-tempo dink and dunk game - in part to ease the burden on the young offensive line and in part to preserve an aging quarterback - the receivers caught the ball anywhere from 7 to 20 yards out, juked some cornerback and raced for the end zone," writes Nickel. She's right. Anything done to help the offensive line can only be a positive.

The Packers worked out two free agent running backs on Tuesday. "The Packers brought in two running backs for workouts Tuesday, former Denver Broncos draft pick Ryan Torain and former Tennessee backup Quinton Ganther, according to a source with access to the NFL transaction wire," reports Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Something tells me they wouldn't have to work out any running backs had they kept Tyrell Sutton.

Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details on Mark Tauscher's contract. "The one-year, $1,191,667 contract signed by tackle Mark Tauscher on Monday included a signing bonus of $200,000," reports McGinn.

Tom Freeman of West Coast Offensive thinks there are things that can be done to help the performance of the offense. "Given a shaky line, it would be nice to see more roll-out plays and screen passes to take some of the pressure off," writes Freeman. "The Packers tried some of these, without a lot of success, but they should do this more." If I heard correctly, I believe I heard some analyst say Aaron Rodgers was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at throwing on the run.

Chris Lempesis of Ol' Bag of Donuts thinks that Will Blackmon's days in Green Bay could be numbered. "Blackmon is scheduled for free agency at the end of the season," writes Lempesis. "It’s hard to imagine the team re-signing a player who can’t stay healthy. Maybe Green Bay could bring him back at the minimum rate, but with his game-breaking skills, someone will likely pay him more."

Rory Lee of Packer Chatters like Atari Bigby better than the team's other options at safety. "The Packers desperately need Bigby back at safety," writes Lee. "He has his fair share of both advocates and antagonists, but I think we can all agree that this Packer secondary is a better unit with Bigby than with the Rouse / Chillar / Martin experiment we’ve witnessed the prior three games."

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October 14, 2009 7:38 AM
 

Mike said:

More Sutton chatter, huh? Sutton is so awesome he hasn't even been active for a game and is at least 4th on the Carolina depth chart if not further down than that. Yes, Sutton was certainly the answer.
October 14, 2009 8:12 AM
 

Terry Ott said:

I see you joined the club, MIke, along with Ohio State and Mssrs Thompson & McCarthy. A little history checking tells us he's always been smaller, slower and quite simply --- better. Way better than one would expect of him. Ohio is a pretty good football state, right? At Archbishop Hoban HS in Akron, Sutton rushed for 9,426 yards, an Ohio record. Also, his career high of 505 yards is the third most in Ohio history. Furthermore, Sutton broke the school rushing record three times. Named "Mr. Ohio Football" senior year. Ohio State: "Too small, too slow, for the Big Ten; we'll pass." Sutton became the second all-time leading rusher at Northwestern with 3,886 yards, and 5,138 all-purpose yards. Sutton is also the second player in Wildcat's history to achieve 1,000 receiving and rushing yards. Furthermore, his 149 receptions for 1,244 yards is the most for any back. During his college career, led the nation in pass receiving out of the backfield. Not just the Big Ten... the nation. Did all of the above despite missing the equivalent of a season with two injuries, one requiring surgery --- from which he returned for the Alamo Bowl to outgain everyone at 114 yards. As a freshman, Sutton rushed for 1,474 yards and 16 touchdowns. He fell one game short of joining Emmit Smith, Marshall Faulk, and Adrian Peterson as the only NCAA freshman players to achieve 1,000 yards in 7 games. Caught 44 passes for 396 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sporting News' Offensive Freshman of the Year and First-Team Freshman All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Packers Brain Trust: "He's an instinctive runner that opened a lot of eyes as leading rusher and kick returner in preseason, but we are so DEEP at RB.... Besides, who needs a guy that's spent years running screens and outlet passes for first downs, and never fumbles." In most of his games for 4 years, he ran behind a line that resembled the Packers' current less than stellar crew; i.e. "find a crack and make the most of it; or else take it to the outside, but move the chains please." Some don't understand what happens when you rely on a Sutton-type to just get it done, series after series, week after week. No one quite KNOWS how a guy like Sutton does it --- but he always has. There was this small, slow, then injured guy named Bleier. Four Super Bowl rings. Some things are hard to explain. Hard-nosed overachievers are harder to find than speed merchants, and more valuable because of their effect on the team chemistry/attitude. And are you telling me you can't teach a hungry, smart, football-to-the-core and hard-nosed kid how to block in pass protection if that's what you want from him some of the time? Ridiculous. Guys who can't block are guys who don't have the attitude for it, period. I wonder how well Paul Hornung blocked when he came out of ND as a quarterback? I've been watching the Packers for about 50 years. Wherever he is on Carolina's depth chart, it's because they already HAVE better running backs than the Packers do, and because T-Sutton didn't have a training camp and preseason with them. Will Sutton become a super-star? Pro Bowler? Probably not even though Rich Gannon said Sutton has what it takes to be a special pro. I'm not sure the Packers even KNOW how to evaluate running backs; goodness knows we haven't exactly scooped up a bunch of really good ones in recent years. If you worry about his being injured, I can't argue with that. He doesn't go down easily at the end of runs, so he takes a beating when going for the last two yards. He's all heart and attitude, and sometimes that takes its toll. So, take a seat next to the Ohio State geniuses and the Packers' geniuses my friend, and keep an eye out for Tyrell. You will probably say, one day, "hmmmm, how did I miss on that one?" It won't be because of the measurables, it will be because of intangibles, like character, savvy, and determination.
October 15, 2009 11:24 AM

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This is the place for those of you who can't get enough Green Bay Packers news! Updates will be provided frequently from the view of a "railbird." We go to the practices and scan the local media so you don't have to.

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