Railbird Central : Brady Poppinga

Packers Daily Links 11.13.09

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:37:46 GMT

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I definitely noticed the Minnesota Vikings taking away the short slant from the Packers. But does that mean it's not going to work anymore? "(Aaron) Rodgers says opposing defensive backs now are playing closer to the line of scrimmage with inside leverage, shading the receiver toward the middle of the field," writes Chris Jenkins of the Associated Press. "When executed properly, that makes it tough for an offense to complete a short slant pattern." I tend to agree with Donald's Designated Driver who's not totally buying it. And moreso, the Packers have to plain and simple make teams pay for taking away the slant by burning them deep or along the sidelines.

It's looking more and more like T.J. Lang will be starting at right tackle on Sunday against the Cowboys. But should he have been playing there all along? "Asked if the coaches made a mistake and should’ve given Lang a chance to compete for the starting right tackle job from the start of camp, offensive coordinator Joe Philbin defended the staff’s decision to bring the Eastern Michigan fourth-round draft pick along the way they did," reports Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. I personally think that Lang might be better off ahead of Daryn Colledge at left guard.

Brady Poppinga may not be able to play at all on Sunday. "Poppinga has 'unusual swelling' in his injured leg, leaving his status unclear for Sunday's game against Dallas," writes Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. That's significant for the fact that Poppinga probably would have been the top choice to replace Aaron Kampman who's been out with a concussion.

As it stands, rookie linebacker Brad Jones looks like he's going to get the start. "Jones was not a prolific sack man at Colorado, totaling just two his senior year," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But the position Jones will be playing requires covering running backs, receivers and tight ends on passing plays and that's where his speed and agility should benefit him." Considering the lack of a pass rush by Poppinga (and even Kampman), it can't hurt to see what Jones has got.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com revisits whether Aaron Rodgers hangs onto the ball too long. Basing four seconds as time a quarterback should generally get rid of the ball, Seifert found out Rodgers was sacked before four seconds on 28 of 37 times. "Even if you adjust for subjective timing and the intent of each particular play call, I think this study gives us an important baseline: It's roughly 3-1," writes Seifert. "We can fairly blame Rodgers for one of every four sacks he's taken." He goes onto conclude that the majority of the blame lies elsewhere. While he's right, Rodgers should not be absolved entirely.

"Receiver Jordy Nelson was a full participant at practice for the first time since suffering a knee sprain while fielding his muffed punt against Detroit on Oct. 18," reports Bill Huber of Packer Report. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough to return kicks because the Packers don't have much of a threat back there without him.

"Coach Mike McCarthy put the Green Bay Packers on a winter schedule for practices and meetings this week, but strength and conditioning coordinator Dave Redding is keeping things the same in the weight room," writes Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Neil Reynolds of the BBC is going to be part of the first British team to cover a live NFL regular season game in the United States on Sunday in Green Bay. This is a good read from a Brit who seems truly excited to be heading into Lambeau Field.

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Packers Daily Links 8.25.09

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:37:28 GMT

Links. Get it?

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An abbreviated links today. The Packers settled on a starting offensive line. Jason Spitz, Josh Sitton and Allen Barbre will form the right side of the offensive line. "Calling it 'a very tough decision,' McCarthy said he decided the interior competition based in part on Sitton’s improvement and the physicality he brings to the right side of the line," according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "So, even though Wells graded out highly in the first two preseason games, McCarthy said, he’s now a backup for the first time since his rookie season in 2004." It shook out how most people thought it would.

It appears as if Desmond Bishop and Brandon Chillar will form the linebacking duo on nickel situation this season, at least to begin with. "Bishop has been perhaps the most active linebacker, coming up with big hits and creating turnovers, while Chillar has continued his ultra-consistent performance from last season," writes Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "He’s better in coverage than Hawk, so it makes sense to use him in the nickel, which is designed for obvious passing situations." Now if they just start playing those two in the base defense more often, we'll be all set.

Jeremy Thompson returned to practice last night for the first time in weeks. And while he's been out, it appears as if he's lost the starting job on the right side to Brady Poppinga. "I was playing primarily the right, but when I went out, Brady stepped in and did a really good job," Thompson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "So, I think they're going to play Brady on the right side and (Aaron) Kampman and myself on the left. I'm going to look at it like there's always an opportunity, and I'm going to go out and play hard. What happens, happens." Poppinga has earned the starting job through hard work. It's probably for the best that Thompson learns to backup Kampman anyway should anything happen over on the left side.

There was good news last night in that the injuries to Nick Collins and Matt Flynn aren't too serious. A new injury came to light when Will Blackmon sat out yesterday, though. "CB/return man Will Blackmon, who was absent, has a bruised quadriceps and is questionable for Friday's preseason game at Arizona," reports Tom Pelissero of the Press-Gazette. Pelissero also reports that Clay Matthews will likely sit out this week but should return next week in time for the final preseason game.

Pete Dougherty of the Press-Gazette breaks down the roster with only two preseason games left.

Corey Behnke of Cheesehead TV reminds us that two preseason games mean nothing.

USA Today has more information on Aaron Rodgers' record label.

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Blue, red & cow chips in Packers preseason victory over Bills

Brian Carriveau — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:06:00 GMT

Designating blue chips, red chips and cow chips is our way of analyzing each game's winners and losers for the Packers. And here we go...

Aaron Rodgers -- The statistics speak for themselves: 8 of 9 for 98 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions for a 151.6 passer rating. Rodgers' receiving corps deserves almost as much credit for making him look so good. With the efficiency Rodgers is running the Packer offense, this team is going to be hard to stop. He's not making bad throws, and he just keeps the machine chugging along, churning out first downs and touchdowns.
Desmond Bishop -- For the second week in a row Bishop absolutely dominated the competition. He needs to be on the field every down. If Mike McCarthy doesn't make that move by the regular season, then he's holding the team back. For the second consecutive game, Bishop took part in creating two turnovers with an interception and a fumble recovery. But he also had a quarterback hurry in which he hit the QB, and did you see that smack down the laid on the Bills? That one tackle took off part of the "G" decal on his helmet.

Brady Poppinga -- Poppinga might have been at the right place at the right time when he took part in two turnovers with an interception and a fumble recovery. But he showed a nose for the football. Good thing happen when you're around the football, and that's what he did. He also had a quarterback hurry and two tackles in limited playing time. Nice job for a guy trying to find playing time.
Jermichael Finley -- Finley not only led the team with three reception, he also had the highest average yards per reception on the team as well. When a tight end has a higher average yards per reception than a wide receiver, that's impressive. It's possible that Finley could be one of the NFL's better receiving tight ends this season.

Brian Brohm -- Brohm's completion percentage wasn't terrible going 12 for 19, but he did have an interception and zero touchdowns. Plus he's showing a tendency to have his balls batted down. But another factor that's he's also dealing with, look at his average yards per completion. Aaron Rodgers threw 15 more yards on four less completions. Brohm averaged rougly seven yards per completion, not good.
Second half front seven - Did you see the Packers' leading tacklers. The first three in order were Joe Porter with seven and then Tramon Williams and Jarrett Bush tied with six. The Bills scored all 21 of their points in the second half when the Packers' second and third string defense was in the game. It goes to show that beyond the starting lineup, the Packers have some issues with depth among the front seven when the secondary is making that many tackles.

Packers Daily Links 8.21.09

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:10:18 GMT

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The biggest news from Thursday night's practice was the hamstring injury sustained by safety Aaron Rouse. In reality, the injury just may have saved Rouse's chances of being cut. Instead he could spend the season on injured reserve. It was becoming more and more apparent that Rouse may not have made the team. "The Packers like Rouse's size, strength and play-making ability, but at 6-4 he is unusually tall for a safety, and his biggest problems have been when he has played too upright," writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "They were stressing to him to play lower."

Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette was impressed by A.J. Hawk and Brady Poppinga dropping into coverage last evening. "Covering receivers and tight ends was one of the biggest question marks about this linebacking corps in the switch to the 3-4 defense under Capers but for one night at least, it wasn’t a problem," writes Demovsky. This is especially nice to hear about two guys who have been burned their fair share of times in the past. A guy like Brandon Chillar I'm not so worried about.

Running back Ryan Grant has proclaimed his hamstring injury of a year ago a "non-issue." "Though Grant weighs the same 225 pounds he was last year, he looks a little more chiseled as he nears the end of the third week of camp," writes Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "He’s made it through almost three full weeks without any obvious physical problems and hasn’t missed a practice." There's no doubt that Grant has looked solid all through training camp. He's gotten rave reviews and may be poised for another big season.

With Justin Harrell sidelined with his back injury, the door has been opened for Jarius Wynn to win a roster spot on the defensive line. "Wynn, in the meantime, has come on of late and played better than undrafted rookie Ronald Talley, another end," writes Pete Dougherty of the Press-Gazette. "Though Wynn had a difficult time rushing the passer in one-on-one drills for the first 1½ weeks of camp, he’s been better in team drills and made the kind of big play in last week’s exhibition opener against Cleveland that catches coaches’ eyes." After Wynn's performance in the first preseason game, he appears worthy of making the team. He might actually be a better option than Michael Montgomery in the nickel if it comes down to that.

Tundra Vision lists the top five players the Packers can least afford to lose to injury, and I take exception with one of their choices. C.D. Angeli pegs Ryan Pickett along with Cullen Jenkins at no. 2. "The Packers simply don't have a lot of developed talent along the defensive line," writes Angeli. My only discrepancy is that the Packers could afford an injury to Pickett as long as they still have the services of B.J. Raji.

It looks like we'll be seeing more of Durant Brooks than Jeremy Kapinos on Saturday night. "The game situations will dictate exactly how many times the Packers punt against Buffalo, but however many kicks there are, Durant Brooks will be given the majority of those reps on Saturday night," writes Tom Fanning of the Packers official website. I can't say I disagree. The Packers know what they have in Kapinos. Give Kapinos a punt or two and give Brooks the rest.

Sticking with special teams, kicker Mason Crosby has picked up his performance during training camp as of late. "Mason Crosby stayed red-hot on field goals, making six in a row," reports the Journal Sentinel. This needs to happen on a regular basis.

"Scout.com NFL insider Adam Caplan says the Packers reached an injury settlement with tight end Tory Humphrey, who broke a forearm on Aug. 6. Also, according to Caplan, an injury settlement was reached with receiver Patrick Williams, who had a hamstring injury," writes Bill Huber of Packer Report. "Both were on injured reserve." I believe that the Packers can sign a player after six weeks if they've been placed on injured reserve and were subsequently cut. This leaves the door open that the Packers could sign Humphrey in the event of an injury if he's healthy.

Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel has profiled undrafted rookie outside linebacker Cyril Obiozor. "The reason (linebackers coach Kevin) Greene has taken to Obiozor is that the rookie has flashed ability the scouting staff thought he might have if he could slim down from the 270 pounds he weighed as a defensive end at Texas A&M," writes Silverstein. "Extremely athletic for a man 6 feet 4, Obiozor came to the Packers weighing 267 and in just a matter of months was down more than 20 pounds." He may be a candidate for the practice squad.

Greg C. at Packers Lounge makes a good point. "Ted Thompson has finally done what many of us were hoping he would do last year—he has allowed the roster to begin to mature," writes Greg C. "The Packers will still be a relatively young team, but they now have a good number of experienced players."

"You won’t be able to catch Brett Favre at the helm of the Minnesota Vikings on any Green Bay TV station during the preseason, but eight regular-season Vikings games will be carried on local stations," writes Warren Gerds of the Press-Gazette.

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Tough decisions for Packers to make at linebacker

Brian Carriveau — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:52:34 GMT

When it comes time to whittle down the roster to 53 players, the Green Bay Packers will have a tough time deciding which linebackers to keep.

With the switch the 3-4 defense, they'll be keeping more linebackers than in years past. One has to assume they'll keep at least nine this season, 10 if two-way player Spencer Havner is included in the count.

But who else do the Packers keep?

"It's always a numbers game, we know that," said head coach Mike McCarthy after Thursday's morning practice. "We're weeks away from making those calls. We've got to get ready to play this game, see how they respond, and then have a short week and go out to Arizona. That's why we play the games. I'm not ready to pick the team."

Even though the Packers have three more preseason games to see all their players in action, that isn't going to make the decisions any easier.

Inside linebacker is currently one of the deepest positions on the team.

"I think the inside guys that definitely have been working, Brandon Chillar, A.J. (Hawk), Desmond Bishop, and Danny Lansanah has done some really good things here the last week," said McCarthy. "I thought he started off camp a little slow. I think we definitely have depth there."

Nick Barnett, Hawk, Chillar and Bishop are all but assured of roster spots, however, it's been thought that Hawk might be a candidate for a trade considering the team's depth at the position.

Lansanah is "on the fence" regarding his fate on the team, but after a good game on Saturday, he's making a case to stick around.

On the outside, Aaron Kampman, Brady Poppinga, Clay Matthews and Jeremy Thompson are all good bets to make the team if they're all healthy.

But like Hawk, it's possible that Poppinga is another candidate for a trade. He seems to fit the 3-4 defense the least of any player on the roster and has a big contract as well.

Barring a trade, nine linebackers have been mentioned so far. That leaves seventh round draft choice Brad Jones out in the cold. Even though Jones missed the first two weeks of practice with an injury, he's back practicing now.

"It's good to have Jones back here," said McCarthy. "You can see he has a live body, has some pass-rush ability."

Undrafted rookie Cyril Obiozor and free agent pick-up Stryker Sulak are also on the outside looking in. For any of the rookies to make the team, it would take an unforeseen cut or trade in order to make room for them on the team.

In any case, the Packers face some tough choices to make when it comes down to choosing the the linebackers for the 53-man roster.