Railbird Central : Joey Haynos

Q&A with Joey Haynos

Brian Carriveau — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:13:47 GMT

At Railbird Central we'll be doing a brief, weekly Q&A session with Green Bay Packers rookie tight end Joey Haynos. We'll learn what it's life is like on the practice squad, while keeping alive those dreams of playing in the NFL.

RC: How did you feel when you were told you wouldn't be part of the Packers' 53 man roster?

JH: I was upset at first but then I realized I have a good opportunity - it's a start.

RC: Did your feelings change once you were asked to be on the practice squad?

JH: It certainly makes me feel like they want to work with me and they like what I have to offer.

RC: Were any other NFL teams interested in having you on their practice squad, or haven't you had time to explore any other options?

JH: My agent and I discussed some other offers, but I wanted to remain with Green Bay.

RC: You practiced some at linebacker last week, which is obviously a result of rosters being cut from 80 to 53 players. Were you ready to practice at a position you're not used to?

JH: Sure, I'm willing to help out however I can.

RC: Now that training camp is over, what are your living conditions in Green Bay? Are you going the hotel, apartment, or house route?

JH: I'm still in the hotel but just found a house that I'll be renting with another teammate.

If you'd like to ask Joey Haynos a question, please send it to carriveau@uwalumni.com.

And the cuts start rolling in...

Dan Haddinger — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:01:46 GMT

According to ESPN, here are the Packers cuts so far:

Wide receivers Jake Allen, Johnny Quinn, Taj Smith and Brett Swain, cornerbacks Scorpio Babers and Joe Porter, defensive tackles Conrad Bolston, Alfred Malone and Daniel Muir, center Brennen Carvalho, safety Tyrone Culver, linebackers Spencer Havner and Danny Lansanah, tight end Joey Haynos, running backs Noah Herron and Vernand Morency, guard Ryan Keenan, tackle Orrin Thompson and fullback Corey White.

They also placed defensive tackle Rodney Allen, center Junius Coston and long snapper J.J. Jansen on injured reserve.

Some of the cuts are a little surpising, in my opinion. Getting rid of both Herron and Morency? That gives us a VERY young backfield. Combine that with the age of all of our QB's and we've got a group of kids who have no idea who the ThunderCats are.

We'll just see if Ted is looking to pick anyone up from wire. Looks like there's been a few bigger names let go.

My choice (and yes I know I sound like a homer) but let's bring in Nick Hayden. Panthers cut him today too and we could use someone with a good motor on the D line.

Blue chips, red chips & cow chips from Packers preseason finale

Brian Carriveau — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:33:00 GMT

Take a look at who played well and who played crappy in the final preseason game for 2008:

The blue chip, great performances:

The linebackers -- If head coach Mike McCarthy is really going to keep the 53 best players on the roster, is there any doubt he'll keep 7 linebackers? Come to think of it, the trio of Desmond Bishop, Abdul Hodge and Tracy White would make a good starting trio on a lot of NFL teams based upon the way they played on Thursday. Both Hodge and White tied for the team lead in tackles with nine. Two of Hodge's nine tackles went for a loss. Not far behind those two was Bishop who was next with seven tackles. And none of them appeared to be out of position. Also playing well was Brandon Chillar who had two tackles in very limited playing time. The top seven players appear headed for a roster spot unless the Packers find a trading partner for one of them. Even Spencer Havner had his best showing of the preseason, but appears destined for waivers.
The first string offense -- Maybe it's unfair to put the first string offense in this spot seeing as they really only played one play, but they made the most of their one play. Why risk further injury to the starters? They got the job done. Aaron Rodgers left the game with a 158.3 passer rating and Greg Jennings had one catch for 68 yards and a touchdown. And unlike the second string, the first string offensive line gave up zero sacks. These comments are made in jest, but it was an encouraging sign.

The red chip, solid performances:

Joey Haynos -- The undrafted rookie tight end is on the fence regarding a roster spot, but he did everything in his power to put on a good performance in his final audition. Haynos had three receptions for 35 yards with a long of 20. But more impressive was the way he broke tackles and fought for extra yards while falling forward when being tackled. Having a big frame helps in that regard. Haynos could be fighting Tory Humphrey for the final tight end spot, but he also could be a practice squad candidate if nothing else.
Noah Herron -- In limited opportunities, Herron had 79 yards on 14 carriers for a solid 5.6 yard average coming into Thursday night's game. He continued to up the ante last night when he added 25 yards on only 4 carries for a 6.3 yard average. And that's not counting the 19 yard run he had that was cut down to seven on a holding penalty. It's hard to see the Packers keeping both Herron and Vernand Morency. At least Herron has helped to make their choice a tough one.

The cow chip, crappy performances:

Brian Brohm -- Aside from the statstics, Brohm has really put the Packers in a quandry. If the Packers decide to add a veteran quarterback after the rest of the NFL teams decide to trim their rosters, they'll have to cut Matt Flynn and risk losing him to make room for a veteran QB, because you know they're not going to release the second rounder. So even though Flynn has outperformed Brohm, Flynn could end up lost due to Brohm's ineptitude. Thursday didn't help when Brohm had three fumbles (lost only one) and was sacked four times (at least one of which he could have avoided). He completed over fifty percent of his passes, but hasn't shown that he can consistently lead scoring drives like Flynn can.
The pass rush -- It's only the preseason, but have you noticed that the Packers only had two sacks the entire preseason. The Packers certainly weren't going to expose any new blitz packages and played pretty vanilla defense most of the time. But the defensive line didn't exactly wow anyone with pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Of course, that could change in the regular season. You just know Aaron Kampman will be his usual self, while seeing KGB could go a long way towards improved sack numbers.

Best/worst case scenarios for Packer tight ends

Brian Carriveau — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:01:00 GMT

In a continuing series, we begin on the offensive side of the ball by presenting you the best and worst case scenarios for the Green Bay Packer tight ends for the 2008 season:

Donald Lee -- One of the more underrated tight ends in the NFL, the Packers really showed how much they valued Lee last season when in the regular season finale, they put Lee on the inactive list after they had already clinched a first round bye. Joining Lee on the inactive list: Pro Bowl players Aaron Kampman, Donald Driver, Charles Woodson and Al Harris. Other inactives included crucial players like Greg Jennings and Ryan Pickett. That's some good company. Best case scenario, Lee gets to join the players he sat out with last season as Pro Bowlers. He's not a Pro Bowl starter yet, but he could be a reserve. Worst case, Lee starts but shows it might be time to hand the reigns over to Jermichael Finley in a year's time.
Jermichael Finley -- The Packers made Finley a third round draft choice because they value his potential. He won't be a starter just yet, but he could be eventually with some work. For a person jumping to the pro game after only two years in college, it was thought he might show some immaturity. So far, Finley has shown maturity enough to work hard at blocking during training camp, one of the weaker aspects of his game. Best case, Finley grabs ahold of the top backup job and becomes a receiving threat by scoring multiple touchdowns in his rookie year. Worst case, he proves he's not yet ready for primetime when he's consistently the third tight end and may even become a gameday inactive.
Tory Humphrey -- After spending two seasons mostly injured, Humphrey is at a crossroads. Either he makes the team or he's on his way out. Best case, Humphrey shows reliability enough to become the Packers' top backup to Lee. In such a case, Humphrey becomes a reliable receiver that can stretch the seam. Worst case, Humphrey continues to have nagging injuries like the one that kept him out of yesterday's practice. Or he makes mental mistakes that helped lead to a Brian Brohm interception in the preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Such costly incidents make Humphrey expendable.
Joey Haynos -- The former Maryland Terrapin has intriguing size that makes him both a threat to catch balls high above defenders in the redzone and as a blocker in the running game. But is he talented enough to stick around? Best case, Haynos impresses the Packers enough to keep around as the No. 3 tight end when they realize the big guy has more blocking value than the other tight ends on the roster. Worst case, Haynos loses the battle to Evan Moore either on the 53 man roster or on the practice squad.
Evan Moore -- As a former college wide receiver, Moore has showed some fluidity in his route running which has made him a receiving threat. But he's in the same boat as Haynos. Is he talented enough to stick around? Or can the Packers find better options on the waiver wire when other teams across the NFL cut down to 53 players. Best case, the Packers keep Moore as their No. 3 man. Worst case, Moore is cut when the Packers think either Haynos or some other team's outcast is more valuable.

Photo credit: Tom Lynn

Packers make correct move releasing Peterson

Green Bay Railbird Central — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:59:10 GMT

When the Green Bay Packers had to trim down their roster to the maximum 80 players under contract, they had some tough moves to make. Among them was releasing tight end Michael Peterson, one of six tight ends on the roster. The Packers certainly could get by with five tight ends during training camp, but they had to outbid several teams for Peterson's services and give him a signing bonus, which is gone for good. But they seem to have found some viable options at the position in the other undrafted rookies they've brought into camp, namely Evan Moore and Joey Haynos. "Rookie TE Evan...(read more)