Aaron Rodgers Rumors

Photo from Packers.com

So the rumors are flying that Aaron Rodgers is gay.  They've gotten to the point where the star QB has addressed them directly.  He said on his radio show “I really, really like women. That’s all I can say about that.”  

So, the question is this:  "Is Aaron Rodgers gay?"  I happen to have the answer to that question.  The answer is an emphatic "who cares!"

The man has never made his personal life part of his public persona.  He's never made it anything that we've seen interfere with how he does his job.  More to the point, he's really good at his job.  I mean really good at his job of being the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers.  That should be all that matters. 

It's Time...

It is my distinct displeasure to inform Packer Nation that it is time... Time for the team to just officially declare that Aaron Rodgers will not play again this season.

While the Packers still have a slim playoff shot, it is abundantly clear that this team is not built for a deep playoff run.  The recent win over the Falcons, though a refreshing change of pace was not exactly a win over a quality team.  The Falcons may have started the year with Super Bowl aspirations, but they are not a good team this year.  For the first time in a long time, the defense did pretty much what it was supposed to, but wasn't overly impressive against an offense that is still missing its best player and hasn't found its pace all  year.

Bluntly put, the Lions may be poorly coached, but they're talented and potent.  The Bears look like they at least haven't missed a beat without Jay Cutler, and are doing well enough that there's talk that Cutler may not be back in Chicago.  With the wildcard out of any realistic reach, Green Bay will need to hop over both teams in the final three games in order to win the division and make the playoffs.  

By all rights, the Packers should have been eliminated weeks ago.  Luckily, the Lions and Bears have allowed the Packers to stay in the race, but that hope is false.  The weekly questions about Rodgers and his status is only stringing people along and it needs to stop.  The reports of Rodgers' playing status for Sunday is not encouraging.  If Rodgers is 100% ready to go this week, it's time to call it a season and focus on seeing what players are worth keeping around for next year.  

Rodgers is worth too much to risk when there isn't a legitimate chance at a championship.  The fact that that there were reports over the past couple fo weeks that the team hasn't even discussed the idea of shutting Rodgers down means that they're either not facing reality or, more likely, there's no discussion needed and the only debate internally is when to consider the season lost.  The last gasp may come this weekend.  Though, if Monday was any indication, a trip to Dallas may be just the thing to get the Packer's offense going.

Now that I think about it, there's a distinct possibility that this debate will start over again next week. 

Should Aaron Rodgers Call it a Season?

The reports are coming that Aaron Rodgers may have played his last game this year.  This should not surprise anybody.

The Packers haven't won a game since he got hurt and have seen the division slip away from them, despite the Bears and Lions doing their best to keep the Packers alive until Rodgers could come back.  The Thanksgiving visit to the woodshed courtesy of those same Lions went a long way to destroying any hopes Packers fans should have had of the team making a deep playoff run this year.  

Aaron Rodgers is too valuable to put at risk in meaningless games, and we're quickly reaching the point where the Packers will be playing for pride alone.  It's time for players and coaches, especially on defense, to start showing why they should have jobs next year.  As talented as the secondary is, they've looked awful at times.  Tramon Williams especially has regressed tremendously, picking up stupid penalties in multiple games including one for shoving an official on Thanksgiving.  

Missed tackles and blown assignments abound.  The tackles are a bit of a recent phenomenon this year, but the blown assignments have been a year-long thing.  We now live in a world where AJ Hawk is the most consistent player on defense.  I've never disliked him like many folks have, but the fact that he's the most consistent player on the defense at the moment shocks even me.  Clay Matthews wasn't even on the field for several critical third down plays against the Lions.

Dom Capers should be fighting for his job.  Joe Whitt (cornerbacks) and Darren Perry (safeties) should be out of jobs already.  Their players are giving games away with physical and mental errors.  With the possible exception of Williams, I don't think the problem is the players.  They're not ready to play and they're not held accountable for screwing up.  

Changes are on the horizon for the Packers, especially on defense.  This defense wasn't terribly bad at the beginning of the year, but recent events have shown us just how fragile the balance of a team can be.  Most teams can't withstand the loss of their franchise quarterback for a quarter of the season, but there's no excuse for a team imploding like the 2013 Green Bay Packers.  In short, the Packers have nothing to gain by letting Aaron Rodgers play again this season.

Matt Flynn is Back!

There were people calling for this prior to Aaron Rodgers getting injured.  There were people calling for this prior to Seneca Wallace being injured.  Now, with the only two quarterbacks that the Packers have had on the roster for the majority of the season injured, Ted Thompson has opted to bring back the Packers co-record-holder in touchdown passes in a single game back to Titletown.

Truth be told, Matt Flynn's career high water mark was that game against the Lions where he tossed six touchdown passes in week 17, a feat only later matched by Aaron Rodgers.  Since leaving the Packers for big money in Seattle, things haven't gone well.  To those of us who watched him play at Wisconsin, it's not a big shock that Russell Wilson turned into a quality professional quarterback,  Wilson's breakout came at the expense of Matt Flynn, who was quickly relegated back to backup status. 

After one season with Seattle, Flynn was traded to perpetually quarterback desperate Oakland, where he was once again beat out for the starting job.  Flynn was cut by Oakland earlier this year and there were some who wanted the Packers to bring Flynn in at that point.  Instead, he spent a short stint with injury plagued Buffalo before being released just prior to the Rodgers injury.  Some expected the Packers to claim Flynn on waivers, or another team to claim him to prevent the Packers from claiming him.  Flynn cleared waivers.

The concerns over Flynn's apparently bad elbow have now been overcome by the dire situation the Packers find themselves in.  The 2013 season is shaping up to give the Packers and their fans a taste of  something that they haven't tasted in 20 years and something that the Vikings, Bears, Lions and the rest of the NFL have had all too much experience with over that time: quarterback uncertainty.  Fortunately for the Packers, there's light at the end of the tunnel, and though it may not be enough to save this season, the Packers still have the best signal caller in the league.  The problem is finding the right understudy.

Richie Incognito Isn't a Racist...

...He's just an asshole.

A bunch of of the talk about the Incognito/Martin saga going on down in Miami has centered around Incognito's use of the N-word to refer to his Martin, his teammate.  Many of the meatheads running to Incognito's defense, especially fellow Dolphins, center around their contention that Incognito is not a racist.  My response is that they may be right, but who cares?

Icognito is a bully.  Bullies bully using the tools they have available to him and racial slurs are easy for someone of Incognito's level of sophistication.  The evidence doesn't suggest that Incognito bullied Martin because Martin is black.  The evidence suggests that Richie Icognito is an asshole, regardless of who his unfortunate target is.  It doesn't matter if he's targeting a teammate, or some woman who had the unfortunate luck to encounter him at a charity golf outing in 2012.  Truth be told, it doesn't take an especially talented google searcher to find accounts of Incognito's misdeeds going back to his college days. 

In short, those focusing on the use of the N-word and whether or not that means Richie Incognito is a racist are clouding he issue.  The fact remains that he is a bully and an asshole.  Some of his bullying involved the use of racist language that may or may not have been condoned by other teammates.  While that's an issue worth considering, it's not the primary issue that Joe Philbin and the rest of the Dolphins' leadership has to worry about.

Racist or not, the Dolphins allowed this type of bullying behavior to go on.  By some accounts, it may have been with the knowledge or even direction of the coaching staff.  Racist or not, this type of behavior should not be tolerated in any workplace, even one as aggressive and testosterone fueled as professional football.  Incognito is a horrible bully.  The question that remains open is whether Philbin and the coaching staff knew about the situation, was willfully ignorant of the situation, or, worse yet, ordered the "code red" on Martin.  That will go a long way to decide how this situation ends up playing out, but it seems pretty clear that things are not going well in the Dolphin's locker room.

Quick Takeaways From Week One

Speaking of takeaways, where were they?  The presence of Charles Woodson was missed. The Packers needed a big play out of the defense to turn the momentum, and that's exactly what we came to expect from Charles Woodson. That's not to say that he would still be that guy if he were on the team, but somebody needs to fill that role. 

I know that a lot of folks are upset about the blown call on the Clay Matthews hit play. It's easy to forget that they would not have been in that situation had Mike McCarthy declined the penalty that gave the 49ers a second chance at 3rd down. Maybe the 49ers would have gone for it on 4th... I don't know. That's a chance they should have taken.  Apart from the touchdown, the entire sequence gave  Jim Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick a chance to play the martyrs that they want to be. It's a shame that two men with such talent have to muck it up whenever they open their mouths. 

On the plus side, the defensive front held up relatively well.  Kaepernick still did his thing, but it was a far cry from the thrashing from the playoffs last year. We didn't see much of the read option, so it's you to say if the Packers fixed that particular issue.  Still, it's an encouraging development. 

Less encouraging is the performance of the secondary. Vernon Davis and Anquan Boldin had their way with the defense. The Packers were didn't have Morgan Burnett at safety, which probably didn't help. Still, the frequency with which those two were running free speaks to a real problem with assignments yesterday.  Maybe it will take some time for the secondary to gel, and they better. Performances like yesterday would probably be papered over against inferior teams. The front seven was good enough,  it not good enough for a deep playoff run unless the secondary improves. 

For the most part, the Packers played pretty well yesterday. They lost to a good team. As annoying as they are, the 49ers are a good team. They aren't the defending NFC champions for no reason. The Packers have work to do if they're going to make it to and win a rematch this season, but yesterday's loss represents progress. When was the last time we could say that a out the Packers?

Are You Ready for Some Nausea?

I've got to admit... I've got no particular plans to watch tonight's Packers preseason game against the Seahawks.  To make a long story short, I've got no desire to sit through the three hour long broadcast whose primary story will be last year's Monday night debacle known infamously as the Fail Mary.

Yeah, it happened.  Yes, I'm bitter about it.  No, it's not a big deal, but no, I don't want to sit and listen to people talk about it for an entire meaningless football game.  Why would anybody want to go through that? The Seahawks won that game.  They were arguably the better team on the night, but I don't want to listen to those delusional folks in Seattle, even ones I like as much as Russel Wilson, talk about how the call that ended the game was right.

It wasn't.  If they'd admit it, this wouldn't be a big deal.  They could still legitimately argue that they deserved to win the game.  But if they won't admit the truth, I'm not going to listen to them.

That's why I don't watch Fox News.

Antonio Smith is an Idiot, and Thinks You're a Bigger Idiot

By now, most NFL fans will have seen the video of Texans defensive lineman Antonio Smith attempting to bash Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito's head in with Incognito's own helmet.  Smith has effectively asked the NFL one of the oldest questions in the arsenal of the defense attorney:  "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?'

According to Profootballtalk.com, Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston is reporting that Smith said he wasn't trying to hit Incognito with the helmet and that he was "disappointed" that he let Incognito "get to (him) in the way that he did.  Any idiot who looks at the video knows what kind of a crap explanation that is.  Smith ripped off Incognito's helmet and then swung it right at his face.  If Incognito hadn't ducked out of the way at the last second, this may have been a potential criminal matter and Incognito's career (if not life) would have been seriously altered or threatened.

Well, this isn't the first time they've gotten into it either.  During the 2012 season, Smith was fined for kicking Incognito.  

Needless to say, Smith is appealing the slap on the wrist he got from the NFL because he didn't mean to almost give Incognito brain damage.  Maybe he should have thought of that before he nearly caved a man's face in.

So, how is this relevant to the Packers?  It's not directly.  I bring it up to note that maybe the dirtiest player in the NFL isn't in the NFC North anymore.  Ndamukong Suh has got to be thankful for that.  We also heard Suh give a similar lame excuse for his stomp of Evan Dietrich-Smith.  If Antonio Smith's crappy defense has any impact on the NFL's ruling, all it would do is empower dirty players like Smith and Suh to keep pulling the same crap and giving the same crappy explanations with non-apology apologies.

The fact is, we all saw what they did.  They should be ashamed.  Their team organizations should be ashamed.  Their fans should be ashamed.  The NFL should be lighting this guys up.  Truly, how much less could the NFL have done to Smith.  Two glorified practices and one game... that's all he has to sit.  I wonder what tune he'd be singing if that helmet had gone where he wanted it to.

Compare that to the 6 regular season game suspension that Von Miller got for violating the league's substance abuse policy (which apparently was negotiated down and will not be appealed), I think the handling of the Smith matter says horrible things about the NFL's priorities.  I'm okay with Miller getting a lengthy suspension, as I am with any cheater, but you can't tell me that a drug offense is worse than Smith's actions this weekend.

Maybe it's not just Antonio Smith that thinks we're all idiots.

Preseason Week 1: Arizona

Week one of the preseason is in the books.  After a few days to digest, here are some of the emerging story lines that are worth following:

• The secondary looks bad.  It's tough to say how much of this is a product of the coaching staff messing with schemes to better evaluate the talent on the roster and how much of it is an actual talent deficit.  Either way, Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton had no problem making them look foolish, almost at will.  It didn't help that there was no consistent pass rush to harass the Cardinals' quarterbacks either. 
• Harrell did not look good.  Two turnovers on his first two drives should send warning flags flying up at this point.  On the interception, he simply stared Jeremy Ross down and telegraphed that throw.  On the fumble, Marshall Newhouse got beat, badly, and Harrell didn't feel the pressure like he should have.  Granted, it was quick pressure thanks to Newhouse getting beat as badly as he did, but he still should have protected the ball in some way.  Harrell also seems to look as though he's always heaving the ball, regardless of how hard he's actually throwing it.  I don't know if that's a product of having a weaker arm, or if I'm just imagining things.
• Mike McCarthy's game plan to start the second half was "win the damn game."  The most positive thing I take from the coaching on Friday night was that McCarthy was clearly as upset as Packer fans were about the team's performance.
• James Starks showed some good cutting ability.  He cannot be the favorite to be the starter, but he's not going to let go of his spot without a fight.
• Tyrone Walker looks like a legit find for Ted Thompson.  On his long catch in the first half, Walker caught a ball that was thrown slightly behind him, secured it and turned up-field, showing some good ability to run after the catch and make a man or two miss.
• Johnny Jolly is back, and he looks like he's having fun.  Jolly got some good push up the middle, nearly made a couple of great plays, and contributed to several good plays both against the run and the pass.  If he can continue to get into football shape and get some quality reps against opposing starters, he will have great opportunity to be part of a much improved defensive line rotation.
• The only action either one of the place kickers saw was Mason Crosby taking the opening kickoff, so no additional clarity was lent to that particular situation.
• Jermichael Finley knows he's in a contract year.  His sideline interview was as boilerplate as you can get, and did acknowledge some of his past propensity for putting his foot in his mouth.  Most don't like platitudes from athlete interviews (myself included), but for Finley, it probably shows an improved mindset.  For the record, his "dropped" touchdown was just good defense.  I've seen nothing from him yet to call into question the quiet improvement he began making over the second half of last season.  I have high hopes for him this season, even if his success is statistically astounding.

I know it's only the first preseason game in a long training camp, but right now it's the most telling sample we have to work with.  We'll know a lot more in the coming weeks, but these are some of the things I'm going to be keeping a close eye on.

More Family Night Fallout

So it looks like Mason Crosby didn't have the worst Saturday on the team.  

Tackle Brian Bulaga appears to have torn an ACL, according to several reports. If true, Bulaga's season would be over, which would represent a significant blow to a unit in desperate need of stability and improvement. Protecting Rodgers and establishing a more balanced offensive attack was a priority during the off-season.   Hopefully someone will be able to step up if the reports are true. At this point, there is too much smoke for me to think there isn't a fire here. 

In other Family Night related news, the team was apparently unimpressed enough with the play of the backup quarterbacks to bring in none other than Vince Young for a look. At his worst, Young has been a walking maturity problem who has shown little ability to handle adversity and criticism. At his best, Young has been a dynamic playmaker and a 2 -time Pro Bowl selection.  It's not confirmed at this point, but there are reports that the team has signed Young to a one year contract

At this point, its not clear if Young would compete for the 2nd or 3rd spot behind Rodgers. I can't imagine they would bring in the 30 year old quarterback only to compete for the 3rd spot, which is often occupied by a developmental prospect. On the other hand, Young did not have a team during the regular season last year, so one has to wonder what he could bring to the table if the unthinkable were to happen and Rodgers went down. Two years ago, Young backed up Michael Vick in Philadelphia and it did not go well for Young or the Eagles. On the other hand, Rodgers might have more to teach Young than Vick ever could. If you still have to learn, why not learn from the best. 

Family Night Observations

It's only a scrimmage, and it's only a week into camp, but there are some early observations from Packers Family Night that are worth noting and keeping tabs on throughout camp:

• Eddie Lacy looked good.  I don't know if he's at his playing weight, but I don't care.  Lacy looked decisive.  He looked powerful.  He looked quick enough to get the job done.  Franklin may be the better back, but Lacy brings something to the table that the Packers didn't have last year.  He can get the tough yardage from up close.  Maybe 3rd and one won't be such a scary prospect this year.
• Speaking of running backs, James Starks looked like a man on a mission to prove himself, as did Alex Green.  Angelo Pease even turned some heads with a fantastic catch and run out of the backfield.  Franklin didn't get a very good opportunity to show himself, and nobody should expect that to continue.  Franklin may be the most explosive back the Packers have, which would certainly be a perfect compliment the the bruising, hard running Lacy.  Barring significant injuries (which would be the norm for the running backs over the past few years), any running back who makes the roster, let alone gets the starting spot, is going to have to earn it.  Running back may have become a position of legitimate depth for the Packers.
• Mason Crosby looks done.  Last season is in his head and his woes continued last night.  Newcomer Giorgio Tavecchio looks to be more reliable early on.  Crosby may get things figured out, but it may take a change of scenery for that to happen.  There's probably too much mental baggage in Green Bay for Crosby to get his head clear.  Tavecchio may not be able to handle kickoffs, but I expect him to be kicking field goals and extra points for the Packers this season.
• Jermichael Finley dropped the first pass thrown to him.  Not a good start for a guy who I thought quietly had a fantastic second half of last year (even if his fantasy owners didn't realize any benefits from it).
• Randall Cobb looks as dynamic as ever.  The loss of (newly discovered loudmouth) Greg Jennings was nothing to sneeze at, but Randall Cobb looks poised to cement himself as one of Ted Thompson's best draft picks.  Vikings fans who want to see what Percy Harvin was supposed to be should look no further than Cobb.

These are some early observations.  There's a long way to go before the season starts.  4 "games" and dozens of cuts await the Packers and their loyal fans.  Questions have to be answered before the team can look to bring the Lombardi Trophy back home.  

Stupidity Runs in the Pouncey Family

Offensive linemen rightfully have a reputation as being some of the smartest guys on the football field, especially centers.  There a certain amount of brain power required to be able to make the pre-snap reads that centers have to and call out the protections to keep their quarterback on his feet.  One could make the argument that the center's job is second to only the quarterback in terms of how smart you have to be to successful.

Apparently, the Pouncey brothers have been able to overcome a startling lack of intelligence to make it to the NFL.  The two twins were seen out at their birthday party wearing hats calling for the freeing of their former Florida teammates, Aaron Hernandez.

Their loyalty to Hernandez is both admirable and sad.  Hernandez's undisputed actions are such that even his friends and family should be skeptical about his innocence.  The criminal justice system has yet to have its say, but the court of public opinion has probably rendered it's decision and it is not favorable for Hernandez, and that's something the NFL is very aware of.  

The NFL and Patriots are going out of their way to eliminate the shadow of Aaron Hernandez from their respective organizations.  An intelligent employee of the NFL or an NFL team should know what kind of toxic association Aaron Hernandez is.  That's something that the Pounceys don't seem to get.  If I'm Ryan Tannehill or Ben Rothlisburger, I may want someone who has a little bit more going on between the ears in charge of my protection, because the University of Florida clearly did not impart any critical thinking skills onto the Pounceys.

Then again, if I'm Big Ben, I may want someone as blindly loyal as the Pounceys to protect me.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who believe in Hernandez to some degree or another within the NFL.  The difference is that most of them are smart enough to keep that opinion to themselves.

Pre-Draft Thoughts

I'm not sure if this is conventional wisdom at this point, but I think that this week's draft is going to be a pivotal moment in a turning point season. After a Superbowl championship and a 15-1 season, it's pretty tough not to back-slide. When you're back-sliding consists of winning your division, challenging for the number 2 seed in the playoffs, and winning your first round game against a division rival and their historically amazing, MVP running back, you're sitting in a pretty good spot.

On the other hand, there's nothing about the way the Packers finished the last season that could lead fans to be as confident as they were going into the last two seasons. The running game is a mess. The offensive line is a mess, which impacts the running game as well the ability of Aaron Rodgers to be effective. There were legitimate calls for Dom Capers to be fired after how lackluster the defense performed, especially in the playoff game against the 49ers. The pass rush disappeared for significant portions of the season and the safety play still hasn't recovered from the loss of Nick Collins.

The Packers are at a crossroads. To be sure, with Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers on the team, it will not be difficult for the team to win games. What remains to be seen is whether the team has truly been passed by the likes of the 49ers and the Seahawks. As usual, the Packers have been quiet this offseason, and that has led to a higher than usual amount of criticism of Ted Thompson. I'm not yet sure if i think that criticism is fair, but I do know that if the problem areas aren't addressed, that criticism will continue to grow.

If the Packers aren't going to improve via free-agency, then the draft has to be the mechanism for improvement. Well, the draft is here. It's time to see what the next class will bring to the table. Can the line be improved? Will the running game be revived? Can the defense regain its form? It's tough to tell. I don't think that they will need to fix all of these problems to regain championship form. Plugging one or two of the holes could allow the team to reach its destination, especially when Aaron Rodgers is at the helm.

Move Along... Nothing to See Here...

It's that time again: the time when Packer fans complain about how the team is doing nothing to improve itself and how Ted Thompson is not willing to spend money.  To them I say "calm down."  This isn't new and it isn't a problem.

Ted Thompson has made exactly one big, splashy move since taking over as Packers GM (unless you count trading Brett Favre, which I suppose  you could).  That move is the signing of Charles Woodson.  True enough, that was a huge deal and worked out wonderfully for both sides.  The truth of the matter is that Woodson largely fell into the Packers' lap because of doubts about Woodson stemming from his time in Oakland.  Had any significant market existed for him at the time, he would not have been the bargain that Thompson shops for.

Other than Woodson, Ryan Picket is the biggest acquisition that Thomspon has made.  While a quality acquisition, it wasn't exactly flashy.  Most of the players Thompson adds are role players, backups and special teams contributors.  So far, that seems to have been working pretty well.

What that allows him to do is maintain the core of players that the team has drafted.  Players like Rodgers and Matthews would likely be on their way out if Thompson were prone to splashy moves (think Redskins, Cowboys and Al Davis' Raiders).  Instead, they're in line for extensions that should keep them with the team for a long time.  Sure, the team parted ways with Greg Jennings, but the team has sufficient depth to step up because of the focus on the draft.  Ted Thompson is not going to over-pay for players.

Cullen Jenkins and Marco Rivera are all guys that Packer fans wanted to keep, but other teams over-paid for them and they did not pan out at all for their new teams.  That's the truth of the matter.  Big names free agents don't tend to lead to team success.  Just ask Cullen Jenkins how the Eagles "Dream Team" did.

The apparently dirty secret is that long-term success is built by building from the inside.  It is beyond me why some Packer fans continue to struggle with this idea.  Would you really rather have Jerry Jones out there making moves and headlines as opposed to Ted Thompson sitting up in his tower, plotting, planning and winning?  We have a recent championship, the best quarterback in the game, stacked wide receivers, and one of the scariest defensive players in the league.  I'd rather have that than Jerry's headlines any day of the week.

Harvin to Seattle?

Today, it became official that Percy Harvin has been traded from the Minnesota Vikings to the Seattle Seahawks for a first round pick, a seventh round pick and possibly another selection depending on how things shake out. At the moment, both teams likely think they made out like bandits in the deal. Both teams certainly have the the potential to reap huge rewards from this move, but this loses sight of the most important question: How does this impact the Packers?

The fact that he's out of the division is both a positive and negative for the Packers. On the one hand, Harvin is a dangerous threat and one of the most versatile players in the NFL. Not facing him twice a year is a good thing for the Packers. On the other hand, he is a volatile head-case who has as much potential to destroy a team as he does to help them win games. Harvin's departure leave room for the Vikings to go after a consistent and non-destructive threat at the receiver position. I can't express how depressing it would be to see Greg Jennings wearing purple. It wouldn't be as bad as seeing Brett Favre in purple, but it would still be pretty bad.

On the other hand, if Minnesota is not able to successfully replace Harvin, they would be down to one weapon on offense. Granted, Adrian Peterson is one hell of a weapon, but he wasn't enough for the Vikings last year and I don't expect that to change.

There is one other aspect of the trade that makes me nervous as a Packers fan. The Vikings actually got a good deal for Harvin. First round picks don't get traded all that often these days. The fact that they got that plus one or two more draft picks is amazing, especially considering Harvin is a perpetual malcontent. Could this mean that the team has finally gotten some level of competence making player decisions for them? Let's hope not.

What about the situation that Harvin was traded into? It's pretty clear that he is in a better situation that he was in. That disappoints me because I dislike seeing head-case, ego-driven players get what they want, but that's beside the point. If the trade works out for Seattle, Packer fans could expect the Seahawks and the 49ers to beat up on each other even more over the next couple of years.

Then, of course, there's the value proposition. The Seahawks overpaid. Maybe they had to in order to get the elite receiver that they needed, but they overpaid. I don't know if Seattle just thinks that they are limited to getting people off of Minnesota's scrap-heap, but they would have done well to expand their horizons in this case. They overpaid for a receiver who is as likely to destroy their locker room as he is to win them games. With as good and as young as Seattle's team is, I don't think they were wise to take that risk.

On the other hand, it could work, and then nobody would fault them for the risk or the high price. Time will tell.

Time to Invest in a Running Back?

Modern Conventional wisdom is that running backs are not worth first round draft picks.  Generally, I'm on board with that conventional wisdom.  The Packers are in an unusual situation, however.  During the last couple of seasons, no combination of words scared me more as a Packers fan than "3rd and short."  The Packers were not good at stopping opposing offenses in short yardage situations, and the offense certainly did not have a reliable running back for most of the season.

That said, the Packers would do well to take a long hard look at Alabama running back Eddie Lacy if he's still available in the first round.  At least, that's what a number of mock drafts are saying.  The Packers have not had an reliable every down back since Ryan Grant was taking hand-offs from Brett Favre, and we've seen what a revolving door that position has been in the past couple of years.  Frankly, the position is a mess and it is in desperate need of players with defined roles.

Lacy could be the every down back the Packers have been lacking.  He could actually turn "3rd and short" into a strength, or at least not something that makes Packer fans cringe and Aaron Rodgers throw.  I don't know that anybody else on the roster currently has the durability and skill set to be an every down back.  Sure, there are some potential guys, but nobody that really gets you excited.

The other issue is that the offensive line was a mess last year as well.  It's difficult to say how much of the problem was the running backs and how much was from the line.  Certainly, the line needs to be addressed, but I think that it's time that the Packers invest in the running back position.  I don't know if Ted Thompson got lucky when he stole Ryan Grant from the Giants, or if he really knew something, but clearly the ensemble cast approach hasn't been working these past couple of years.

Running back by committee is the trend in the NFL these days.  It works well and it keeps guys fresh.  It seems to work best, however, when there is one guy who takes the lead.  Nobody on the current roster has shown the ability to carry the load over the course of a season.  DuJuan Harris certainly looks like he could be a fantastic compliment, but I don't know if he can be a lead guy.  Lacy could be that lead guy.  If the Packers take a shot on him late in the first round, even I couldn't complain about Ted Thompson not giving Montee Ball a second thought.

Admittedly, most of the mocks I've seen out there have the Packers taking a linebacker or an offensive lineman, which would not be bad moves by any stretch of the imagination, but it's been long enough since the Packers have had a consistently reliable ground game that you would have to give Lacy some strong consideration.

James Jones thinks the Packers Could have Three 1,000 Yard Receivers... and He's Right!

James Jones was able to focus his efforts into his best season as a pro last year by, in part, talking to himself.  Well, it appears he's got some things he wants to say to the rest of us.  From NFL.com:

"I think a 100-catch receiver is gone out of our offense just because Aaron (Rodgers) spreads the ball around so much. If anybody had a shot to get 100 catches, I'd probably say Randall because he's in the slot and he'll probably get a lot more targets.  I can see me, Jordy and Randall getting about 80 catches a piece. I can see us all having over 1,000 yards."  -James Jones

That's right, Mr. Jones sees the departure of veterans Donald Driver and Greg Jennings as opportunities for Nelson, Cobb and himself.  He thinks there will be enough opportunities for all three to be productive.  What he's really saying is that defenses can pick their poison.

If this is the type of thinking that propelled James Jones to the season he had last year, then I hope it's contagious.  Replacing the production of Greg Jennings and the leadership of Donald Driver won't be easy, but the new and matured James Jones seems like a guy at least capable of making an effort.

Is Ted Thompson "Anti-Badger?"

Indulge me for a moment.

American soccer fans, specifically fans of the US Men's National team are probably aware of Coach Jurgen Klinsmann advisory that players who want to break into the national team would do well to leave MLS and play in Europe.  This says that he doesn't have much respect for the players that the league produces.  One could argue that that Ted Thompson takes a similar viewpoint of the state's other football team.  Of course, this is pure speculation, conjecture and dot connecting, but let's have some fun with it.

According to the University of Wisconsin, there are 25 Badgers in the NFL as of the end of the 2012 season.  All but one of them, safety Jim Leonard (one of my personal favorite Badgers) entered the NFL during Ted Thompson's tenure as the GM in Green Bay.  There are a couple of players who were practically no-brainer top picks.  Joe Thomas and JJ Watt had no chance of falling to a position where Thompson would have drafted them.  They were dominant college players and have proven to be stand-out if not All-Pro professionals.  Had Thompson passed on these guys, I would be truly worried.  I want to talk about 5 guys who were in positions that the Packers needed and that they passed on or would not have had to move much to be able to draft.

It has been a couple of years since the Packers have had a solid offensive line.  The team has not truly replaced Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher (yes, a Badger, but he was a hold-over from before TT), and their interior line has been better but lacking the ability to handle any injuries.  In 2011, Thompson was clearly taking Derek Sherrod.  Gabe Carimi (T) went of the board to the Bears just a few picks before, but we know Thompson is not big on trading up for anybody, Badger or no, unless they're really special (like Clay Matthews). Given how Carimi has panned out for the Bears, it looks like Thomspon made the right call so far.

John Moffit (G) went in the third round, so Thompson could have drafted him in the first or second rounds.  It would be tough to argue for Moffitt going in the first round, but at the end of the second round would not have been a stretch.  However, Thompson turned that pick into Randall Cobb, so once again it is tough to argue that Thomspon was wrong there.

So, the 2011 draft doesn't point to an anti-Badger bias.  What about the 2012 draft?  The first round saw Kevin Zeitler (G) go off the board one pick before the Packers had their turn to select in the first round.  It would have been curious to see what Thompson would have done had Zeitler been on the board, but as good as Zeitler was in college and as well as he acquitted himself in his rookie season, he's not the special type of player that makes TT want to move in the draft.

Peter Konz (G/C) could have been had in round two.  With the Packers parting ways with Scott Wells, it would have been a logical place for Thomspon to draft the UW stand-out.  Instead, he passed and went with DT Jerel Worthy.  Admittedly, the defensive line was also in need of replenishment.  Maybe Thompson looked at the game tapes of the two going head-to-head in college and thought Worthy had the better showing.  Either way, it's tough to say that Thompson clearly made the wrong choice.  Good arguments could be made either way.  I would have gone with Konz, but that may be my pro-Badger bias talking.

The last player I want to bring up is one that I was kicking and screaming about at the time:  Russell Wilson.  "He's too short to play in the NFL" was the conventional wisdom.  Anybody who was part of that special season in Madison could tell you that Russell Wilson had what it takes.  The man played behind an NFL size offensive line.  If he could handle that and thrive, I had no doubt that he could handle the NFL if given a chance.  His size alone knocked him into the third round.  The Packers had just lost Matt Flynn and were in the market for a backup.  Maybe the second round was too soon for taking a backup quarterback, but the Packers had a need and he would have been a steal and then flipped later on for another player or pick.  The Packers Quarterback Factory would be back up and running.  Until then, Rodgers would have had the kind of backup that that the Packers need him to have if they're going to be able to weather an injury.  I think Thomspon missed an opportunity on that call, but given that the player he selected instead, Casey Heyward, nearly won defensive rookie of the year, Thompson's pick was definitely a good one.  I just think a Wilson selection would have been better.

Is there an anti-Badger bias?  Probably not.  So, what about this year?  The big Badger name out there is none other than NCAA touchdown king Montee Ball.  What do you know... the Packers need a running back.  Ball isn't projected to be a particularly high draft pick, likely somewhere in the second or third rounds.  With the Packers drafting near the end of of the first round, they could have anywhere from one to three shots at him.  If Ball is sitting on the board with the Packers on the clock in the second round, you can bet I'll crossing my fingers for Thompson to give him a shot.  If he's still there in the third, I'll probably be screaming at my TV.  If Thompson passes on him again any later than that, I will be at a loss for words.

The times... They are a'changin'

It's the off-season and it's already been an eventful one for the Green Bay Packers.  Donald Driver, the team's all-time leading receiver has decided to walk away from football rather than play for another team.  This comes after a year where the Packer great saw very little playing time.

Charles Woodson, the team's defensive leader was cut to clear salary cap room.  One of the best free agent signings of all time, Woodson's abilities have begun to decline.  Though he most certainly can still play, it is tough to justify his high price tag given the young talent that the Packers have in the secondary.

Decisions remain to be made on Jermichael Finnley and AJ Hawk, two players who have had their ups and downs while playing for the Green and Gold.  Both have shown they can be productive in the right circumstances, but there's a good possibility that one or both of them will not be back, at least not under their current contracts.

The running back position is in flux.  Cedric Benson is a free agent.  Alex Green was inconsistent.  James Starks can't stay healthy.  DuJuan Harris showed some flashes, but can he hold up through an entire season? That remains to be seen.

Both lines have been decimated by injuries, along with the linebacking corps on defense.  All three of those units should have some players coming back to compete, but it remains to be seen how Nick Perry, Desmond Bishop, Derek Sherrod and Jerel Worthy will come back from their injuries.

Greg Jennings has likely played his last down for the Packers.  As good of a player as he is, the Packers cannot afford to bring him back, given the contracts that they will need to do in the next 12 months.  That significant loss notwithstanding, the receiver position is poised to be a continued strength for the team.  If any team can afford to lose a great player like Greg Jennings (and I'm not saying anybody wants to), the Packers can handle it.

Some things aren't changing though.  Aaron Rodgers is one of, if not the best quarterback in the NFL.  With any protection, the man can pick nearly any defense apart, especially with the receivers he has.  But, the man needs to be paid.  He is paid significantly under his market value on the extension he signed shortly after he assumed the starter's role.  It was a good deal for the Packers, but  it's time to pay the man.  Priority two is extending Clay Matthews.  They are the rocks to build around.

One other thing that's not changing is that random fans are going to have plenty to say about the teams that they love.  Random fans like me are going to start blogs devoted to the teams they love.  I love the Green Bay Packers.  I take pride in that.  I also take pride in trying to be as objective in my analysis and recognizing my own biases and stepping out of my homer shoes.  That's what I want to bring to the conversation.  Maybe that's a change too.