Railbird Central : Tramon Williams

Special teams player of the week vs. Cowboys '09

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:49:00 GMT

While the performance wasn't exactly spectacular, the Packers put an improved effort into special teams against the Dallas Cowboys. Particularly, they held solid return man Patrick Crayton in check, which helped in the field position battle. Here's the candidates for tonight's special teams player of the week vote to be held during Packer Transplants this evening:

Desmond Bishop: Made two solo tackles and assisted on two more and earned a game ball from the Packers for his performance on special teams.
Spencer Havner: Made a team leading four solo tackles on special teams and also earned a game ball from the coaching staff.
Derrick Martin: Made two special teams tackles in his first action since coming back from injury. Also replaced John Kuhn as the punter's personal protector.
Tramon Williams: Averaged 12.5 yards on two punt returns, a marked improvement from the nearly four yard average the team had previously been setting. Also had one 24-yard kickoff return.

The Cheesehead Nation special teams players of the week:

Week 1 - Brett Swain

Week 2 - Tramon Williams

Week 3 - Johnny Jolly

Week 4 - Korey Hall

Week 5 - Mason Crosby

Week 6 - Spencer Havner

Week 7 - A.J. Hawk

Week 8 - Ahman Green

Blue, red & cow chips in Packers '09 win at Browns

Brian Carriveau — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:32:00 GMT

Designating blue chips, red chips and cow chips is our way of analyzing each game's winners and losers for the Packers. So without further ado...

Spencer Havner -- Sunday's performance was just what the Packers were hoping they would get out of Havner as a triple threat, offense, defense and special teams player. When Jermichael Finley went down with an injury, Havner was there to pick up the slack. He'll never be the receiving threat that Finley is, but he helped fill the void at least for a day. He had two receptions for 59 yards including one that went 45 yards for a touchdown. He also had two special teams tackles to boot, one of them directly followed his touchdown in which he fought through a double team of blockers.
Aaron Kampman -- Two things happening at once are leading to an increased level of production from Kampman over the past two weeks. For starters, he's becoming increasingly more and more comfortable with the 3-4 defensive scheme instituted by Dom Capers. But Capers, likewise, is utilizing Kampman to his strength as a down rusher in both nickel and dime situations in three and four man fronts. Kampman had five tackles including two for a loss, a sack and three quarterback hurries against the Browns.

A.J. Hawk -- After seeing his role on the team decrease and receiving criticism in the media, Hawk responded in stunning fashion on Sunday. He led the team in tackles with eight, but three of them went for losses. More than anything, he seemed to be in the right spot at the right time. In the past, when he would get swallowed up by would be blockers, he was shedding those blocks and getting to the ball carrier. Hawk is always at his best in short yardage situations, and he continued that trend versus the Browns.
Ryan Grant -- A Browns rush defense ranked 30th out of 32 teams will help just about any NFL running back, but Grant deserves an "A" for his performance yesterday. Coming into the game averaging less than 4.0 yards per carry, Grant had 27 carries for 148 yards, good for 5.5 yards per carry. He also had a touchdown. Grant was aided by an improved performance by the offensive line, but he also showed good burst off tackle. Case in point was his 37-yard scamper up the right sideline in the fourth quarter, his longest rush of the day.

Tramon Williams -- Williams showed a penchant for returning punts in previous years, so a better performance was expected from him in the return game. He returned three punts for a total of six yards. Worst of all, he looked to be dancing his way around tacklers instead of heading north and south. It's only a small sample size, but Williams needs to have better production in future weeks.
Penalties -- Eight penalties was an improvement over the 13 the Packers had the previous week against the Detroit Lions, but it was still too many. Considering the pass protection was improved at least for one game, penalties are the biggest problem hurting the Packers this moment. The personal foul on Atari Bigby hitting an opposing player out of bounds was particularly egregious. Yes, the hit wasn't very hard, but there was no reason for such a move when the Packers had the game in the bag.

Three tweets 10.21.09

Brian Carriveau — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:41:47 GMT

I'll be providing at least three thoughts about the Green Bay Packers per day on Twitter. Here what I'm tweeting about:

1. Tyrell Sutton's biggest supporter doesn't think he would have had 1500 yards this season, but I also think he'd be better than Ahman Green.

2. Remember when Tramon Williams returned a pooch punt for an touchdown in '07? Hoping for a repeat performance now that he's the return man.

3. I'm impressed that Ryan Pickett plays on the field goal unit. That's great that the big guy is active on special teams on top of defense.

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Three tweets Oct. 12, 2009

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:53:10 GMT

I'll be providing at least three thoughts about the Green Bay Packers per day on Twitter. Here what I'm tweeting about:

1. If Breno Giacomini couldn't crack the 45 man active gameday roster before Mark Tauscher, how's he ever going to do it now? #Packers #NFL

2. I'm surprised that Jordy Nelson will be the punt returner. I'd have thought they'd give Tramon Williams a chance if he had some preparation.

3. The #Packers should be buoyed by the potential returns of both Brandon Jackson and Atari Bigby. They could use them. #NFL

Join the craze. Click here to follow Railbird Central or Brian Carriveau on Twitter.

Best & worst case scenarios for Packers cornerbacks

Brian Carriveau — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:48:47 GMT

We continue our third annual best and worst case scenarios for every player on the Green Bay Packers roster. Today we take a look at the cornerbacks. Make sure to come back tomorrow when analyze the inside linebackers.

Charles Woodson

Best case scenario: Woodson shows no signs of aging. He's been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL ever since he came to the Packers, and he continues that trend in 2009. Woodson has more than five interceptions, and just like every year, he creates at least one turnover that seems to swing the entire momentum of the game over to the Packers. He is a first team All-Pro, which is even more impressive than the Pro Bowl.
Worst case scenario: Woodson begins his downhill slide. He'll start every game he's healthy enough to play, but his performance has the Packers wondering if it's time for change of the guard next season. His decline in play also makes Mike McCarthy consider playing him at safety once again.

Al Harris

Best case scenario: Harris picks up where he left off last season when he seemed to play better without his spleen. He also erases any doubts that he'll struggle in Dom Capers' 3-4 zone coverage schemes. Never known for a high amount of interceptions, Harris gets more INTs than expected when he's able to read quarterbacks more with his eyes now facing the backfield.
Worst case scenario: The combination of advancing age and struggles in zone coverage creep up on Harris like the Grim Reaper. He starts all season long, but he is out of the Packers' plans for 2010 in favor of Tramon Williams.

Tramon Williams

Best case scenario: Williams takes the title of most improved player of the off-season and runs with it. Even as the team's nickel cornerback, he plays a pivotal role in the success of the new 3-4 defense. He racks up just as many interceptions as last season and cements himself as a starter in the NFL next season, he simply won't be denied no matter who's in front of him.
Worst case scenario: Williams is continually picked on by opposing quarterbacks as the lesser of three evils. He allows too many completions to the players he's covering. And even though it's not entirely his fault, fans are clamoring to audition new nickel back by the end of the season.

Will Blackmon

Best case scenario: Blackmon hold off Pat Lee as fourth cornerback in the pecking order. He's still more valuable as a kick returner, but at least when he's forced to play on the defensive side of the football, he's not a disappointment.
Worst case scenario: Being a halfway decent return man is the only thing keeping Blackmon as a part of the team. He's fallen behind Pat Lee and Jarrett Bush and just flat out gets beaten more often than not on defense. He rarely sees the field on defense during the regular season as a result.

Pat Lee

Best case scenario: The second year pro is light years ahead of where he was as a rookie. He still finds playing time tough to come by in a crowded defensive backfield, but his play in the pre-season screams, "I deserve to be on the field." He makes one play during the regular season that all of a sudden makes Cheesehead Nation take notice.
Worst case scenario: The Packers made a mistake. They never should have drafted him. Rookie Brandon Underwood plays his butt off, and Lee rides the pine all year long. He's lucky if he ever is part of the 45-man gameday active roster.

Brandon Underwood

Best case scenario: The sixth round draft choice out of Cincinnati makes the team and even plays a little bit of special teams. He has a hard time seeing playing time outside of the pre-season, but just making the roster was an achievement. Underwood makes it known that he could be a potential starting-caliber cornerback in the NFL.
Worst case scenario: His back strain from lifting weights lingers. He struggles to even find the playing field let alone play well. He's put on either the practice squad or injured reserve, getting another chance to prove himself next year.

Joe Porter

Best case scenario: Porter got off to a good start in training camp with a couple of eye-catching plays and he continues it with a couple more interceptions while covering the team's best wide receivers. Somehow, someway, Porter is the 53rd man kept on the team forcing a guy like Underwood to practice squad status.
Worst case scenario: Porter is cut in a numbers game. He performs well for a player without expectations, but he just can't surpass the players ahead of him on the depth chart. He still has practice squad eligibility and that could be an option.

Trevor Ford

Best case scenario: The undrafted rookie from Troy makes it past the first round of cuts. The most he can hope for is getting a little extra time in an NFL training camp in hopes of catching the eye of maybe another team and gaining a little more experience.
Worst case scenario: Trevor, meet the UFL. UFL, meet Trevor.

Jarrett Bush

Best case scenario: Even though Bush is now considered more of a safety, he shows he can still play cornerback in a pinch. He makes the team by providing depth in the defensive backfield and playing much better special teams than he did a year ago.
Worst case scenario: The Packers decided to match Bush's contract offered to him by the Titans as a restricted free agent, but maybe they shouldn't have. They end up cutting him anyway.