Railbird Central : Brett Favre

Packers Daily Links 11.2.09

Brian Carriveau — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:49:16 GMT

Thanks to those of you who showed up for our Cheesehead Nation LIVE blog yesterday hosted by SportsBubbler.com and CheeseheadTV.com. With over 7500 viewers, we more than doubled our largest viewership for a game ever. Make sure to join us again Tuesday night for another episode of Packer Transplants.

So we finally found out how Lambeau Field would react to Brett Favre. "Despite the many pro-Favre signs fans either held up or hung on the railing around the field, the Packers legend was not received warmly upon his return to the stadium he called home for 16 years," writes Dennis Dillon of the Sporting News. "The fans booed when Favre came onto the field for pregame warm-ups. They booed even louder when Favre and the Vikings ran out during pregame introductions." And unfortunately for Packers fans, Brett Favre played magnificently in his Green Bay rendezvous. In two games against Minnesota, the Packers could neither sack nor intercept Brett Favre a single time.

Drew Olson of OnMilwaukee.com doesn't blame Favre's counterpart in Green Bay for the loss. "Rodgers wasn't on the kickoff team that allowed Harvin to run wild," writes Olson. "He didn't take a butt-headed head-butt penalty that extended a drive and led to points. He didn't miss tackles, make foolish gambles in open space or miss a critical field goal in nearly perfect conditions." I'm of the opinion that maybe Rodgers wasn't at fault for the loss, but he was part of the reason the Packers didn't win. A below average first half in which Rodgers took two too many sacks and failed to get the ball out quickly was partially the reason for the loss.

Speaking of kickoff coverage, the Packers have a lot of work to do in that area. "Field position was tipped greatly in Minnesota's favor and a lot of that had to do with Harvin's five kickoff returns for 175 yards, a whopping 35-yard average," reports Lori Nickel for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. After doing a good job against Chicago's good return game, I thought the Packers were headed in the right direction in this area. Now, not so much.

Johnny Jolly didn't seem very remorseful for his personal foul penalty after a key third down stop, which gave the Vikings a first down and swung momentum in their favor for the rest of the first half. “I play like that every game," Jolly told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "It ain’t going to change from here. The next game I’m going to be out there playing hard. It is what it is. That didn’t (cost us) the game. That’s it.” This is the atmosphere in which head coach Mike McCarthy created. If he makes it acceptable for his players to commit penalties, they'll react as such.

Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says inconsistency was part of the problem for the Packers' struggles. "All told, the Packers had 47 yards of offense in the first half as Rodgers was 5 of 11 for 38 yards and he was sacked four times," writes Bedard. "The Packers trailed, 17-3, at that point." Had the Packers not looked so bad in the first half, the outcome at the end of the second half could have been different.

The fact that the Packers gave up six sacks compared to zero for the Vikings was a big reason for the difference on the scoreboard. "The lack of pressure on Favre compared to the pressure on Rodgers was laughable," writes C.D. Angeli of Tundra Vision. "Some of it was due to the differences in the offensive lines, and Lang/Barbre did nothing to alleviate the concerns that Thompson did not have a very good plan in place to replace Clifton/Tauscher. But the harshest lesson has to be watching Favre's most underrated skill set: his ability to sense pressure in the pocket and move it around with slight adjustments, helping his linemen keep in front of the rushers."

This can't be a good sign. "For the second time in four weeks, Favre frustrated the Green Bay Packers defense so much that one of its members spoke in less than glowing terms about the way players are being used in first-year defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 system," writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Today it was Cullen Jenkins questioning the defense saying he felt "handcuffed." This comes after the previous loss to the Vikings in which Charles Woodson spoke out about the defense.

"Brandon Chillar broke a hand in the second quarter, according to coach Mike McCarthy, who offered no further prognosis for his nickel linebacker," reports Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Safety and special teams player Derrick Martin was the only other player not to return to the game after getting hit in the head. Pelissero also reports that while left tackle Chad Clifton was available, he was only going to play in an emergency.

Sorry for the lack of updates at the Railbird over the weekend. I was on vacation from Thursday late afternoon until returning just in time for the game on Sunday. I was actually checking out some ACC football on Saturday, which was fun.

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Favre likely to become Stenerud redux

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:58:00 GMT

Like other Green Bay Packers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, kicker Jan Stenerud will be watching Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field on Sunday with great interest.

However, there’s one thing that separates him from the rest of his Packers brethren. Stenerud is the only member of the Hall of Fame that has played for both Green Bay and the Minnesota Vikings.

So when Brett Favre is announced to the Lambeau Field congregation in two days, will Stenerud cheer for the NFL’s lightning rod?

“Yes I will,” said Stenerud. “I am for Brett Favre as a professional football player. I am proud of him for what he’s accomplished.”

Stenerud’s allegiance doesn’t necessarily lie with either the Packers or the Vikings, however. He began his career with the Kansas City Chiefs and was a member of their Super Bowl IV winning team, which had a profound impact upon him and his young career at the time. He’s enshrined in Canton, Ohio as a member of the Chiefs.

Even so, he has fond memories from his time spent in both Green Bay and Minneapolis. As a native of Norway, the large Scandinavian population in Minnesota immediately took to the kicker and the fact that he was a “Viking.” Yet Stenerud also has nothing but good things to say about the fans of the green and gold as well.

“I tell people if they played in the NFL for a long time, and they haven’t played in Green Bay, they missed out on quite an experience,” said Stenerud. “When you hear the term ‘die hard Packer fan,’ you’ve just got to experience it.”

Favre could be next in line to join Stenerud in the Hall of Fame as athletes that have played for both the Packers and the Vikings, but the situation in which they jumped to Minnesota was vastly different.

“I don’t know if I jumped,” explains Stenerud. “I was traded.”

Both players went from playing with the Packers first to suiting up for the Vikings second. But the term “traitor” doesn’t seem to apply to Stenerud in the same way as some might say it aptly describes his quarterbacking counterpart.

Whereas Favre willingly signed with the Vikings, Stenerud had no choice in the matter. Once head coach Bart Starr was fired and Forrest Gregg was hired, the Packers traded the native Norwegian sight unseen by the new coach.

In any case, the mixed reaction Favre is sure to get on Sunday surely won’t compare with the experience Stenerud received his inaugural time playing against the Packers while wearing purple, at least in terms of magnitude.

“The first time I played the Packers (as a member of the Vikings), we played in Milwaukee,” describes Stenerud. “It wasn’t the same as playing in Lambeau. People were nice to me, but the situation was quite different.”

Stenerud will be reuniting with his former coach, Bart Starr, and ex-Vikings safety Paul Krause on Sunday to before the game to serve on a panel discussing the class of 2010 prospects as part of “The Van Heusen Pro Fotball Fall of Fame Fan’s choice Tour” to give fans a voice on the potential inductees.
But once the panel discussion is over and the game begins, Stenerud will stand up and clap his hands for Favre, not necessarily as a member of the Packers or the Vikings, but as a fan of an NFL player that has accomplished so much.

Packers Daily Links 10.14.09

Brian Carriveau — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:37:08 GMT

Links? Get it?

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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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Packers Daily Links 10.6.09

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:54:42 GMT

Railbird photo of the day:

Photo credit: Jim Mone // Associated Press

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It's impossible not to acknowledge it. Brett Favre finally got his "revenge" last evening. "Favre was very good tonight, very good," writes Andy Hayes of packergeeks. "Again, even if it’s hard to admit, I think to be fair, you have to say the guy played a great game under lots of pressure. And he looked comfortable doing it." One big difference between Favre and Aaron Rodgers is how quickly Favre gets rid of the ball. Even if the Packers had gotten a better pass rush than they did, a lot of times they still wouldn't have gotten to Favre because of how quick he releases it.

While sticking with that topic, Aaron Rodgers was as guility as the offensive line for the eight sacks he endured last evening. "Rodgers couldn't time up with his receivers, missed some that were open and held the ball a long time looking for someone to get open, ultimately unable to lead the Packers to any points in six consecutive series starting in the second quarter," writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This isn't making excuses for the offensive line. They played poorly too.

The offensive line has gave up eight sacks last night, which amounts to 20 on the season. I think that's still on pace for the NFL record. "There is an awfully large onus on Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy right now for the acquisition and development of the talent we have on this line," writes C.D. Angeli of Tundra Vision. "Thompson has drafted no less than ten offensive linemen in his five years, and McCarthy and James Campen have had four years to develop them. Either the talent stinks, or the coaching stinks. Either way, eight sacks is inexcusable." Jared Allen is the third opponent with at least four sacks in a game this season.

Cornerback Charles Woodson was critical of Dom Capers and the defensive scheme last evening. "Well, I think we've got a lot of tools in our bag that we're not using," Woodson told Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "For whatever that reason is, I don't know." The Packers weren't able to get any pressure on Favre with the five players on the line of scrimmage. And when that failed, Capers called very few creative blitzes to get extra pressure.

Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette looked at the big picture following the game. "This defeat raised serious questions about why the Vikings are superior to the Packers in other key areas, particularly in the trenches," writes Vandermause. "And for that, Thompson must be held up to scrutiny."

Safety Derrick Martin played poorly enough to be benched in the second half. "The Packers benched safety Derrick Martin in the third quarter after he was late with the help on Favre’s 31-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian," writes Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Cornerback Al Harris was in coverage but was relying on deep help from Martin. After the play, Harris yelled at Martin, sought out safeties coach Darren Perry on the sideline and then picked up the phone to talk to one of the defensive coaches in the press box, where coordinator Dom Capers sits." That's pretty scathing stuff with Harris seeking out both Perry and the press box. Atari Bigby can't get healthy soon enough. But I'm also worried that Bigby might not be that much better coming off of an injury.

Just how bad was the Packers pass rush? This bad: "I wish I had timed how long Favre had to throw before he found Dugan, the Vikings’ third-string tight end, running deep across the middle," writes Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. "It was at least three times as much as he should have. It seemed Favre could have stayed in the pocket all day. UPDATE: ESPN timed it at 7.34 seconds."

On the positive side, Jermichael Finley finally showed the big play ability fans have been waiting for for two seasons. "Finley broke through in a big way on Monday night, finishing with career-highs in receptions (six) and yards (128)," writes Tom Fanning of the Packers' official website. "In addition to the long touchdown, he also picked up 37 yards on a reception over the middle late in the fourth quarter, giving him the two longest receptions of his career." Hopefully that becomes a theme and not just a one time deal.

The Packers sustained a couple of injuries last evening. "Kick returner Will Blackmon and right tackle Daryn Colledge had to be helped off the field with knee injuries in a 30-23 loss to Minnesota on Monday night," reports the Associated Press. In addition, Matt Giordano, Cullen Jenkins, DeShawn Wynn and Desmond Bishop also suffered injuried to varying degrees. Further reports of their health will probably be released today.

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Packers need offensive point production

Brian Carriveau — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:35:01 GMT

C.D. Angeli of Tundra Vision isn't a prophet, but he know what he's talking about.

"Face it," writes Angeli. "(Adrian) Peterson is perhaps the greatest back in football and is going to get his 100 yards. And he's probably going to break one long one during this game for a score."

As the saying goes, you can't stop Adrian Peterson. You can only hope to contain him.

More importantly, if the Packers aren't going to stop Peterson tonight, Aaron Rodgers and company better be ready to go toe-to-toe with the Vikings offense tonight. Led by Peterson on the ground and Brett Favre through the air, the Vikings are likely to put up points in the bunches.

Via either touchdown or field goal, the Vikings have scored at least five times each so far this scores ranging from 27 to 34 points.

The Packers had a decent offensive output last week at St. Louis when they were able to score 36 points. But the offense the first two games of the season has been underwhelming with 21 and 24 points in the first and second games respectively. And included in those scores is a Charles Woodson interception return for a touchdown.

During the preseason, the Packers led fans to believe that they could score at will while dropping 31 points on the Buffalo Bills and 44 points at the Arizona Cardinals. It might take point production like that to win tonight's battle.

In order to do so, the Packers are going to have to be equally adept at both the run and the pass. With the wide receiver corps the Packers have, there's always a chance they're going to have a decent passing attack. But having a run game to complement the passing game is a must.

And it will have to get in gear tonight if the Packers are going to keep pace with the Vikings.