SB Nation - Derrick Frost

The Day After Dallas: Injuries, Challenges, Punting, and Brad Jones

Brandon — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:15:17 -0000

Injuries, Injuries, injuires...from Mike McCarthy:

Cullen Jenkins had some ankle swelling. He'll probably miss some practice time this week. Desmond Bishop also had an ankle sprain. He'll probably miss some practice time. Greg Jennings had a knee contusion. He'll miss some practice time. And John Kuhn had a broken hand, and we'll see what he'll be able to do this week. With that, I'll take your questions.

The only injury he mentioned in his post-game press conference was LG Daryn Colledge's ankle bruise, but Colledge returned to the game at few plays later. The three guys who missed the Dallas game, RT Mark Tauscher, TE Jermichael Finley, and LB Aaron Kampman, are all expected back at practice this week. A lot of guys are banged up, and there's still 7 regular season games to go.

According to Rob Demovsky, the Packers should have been assessed a 15 yard penalty after McCarthy tried a 3rd challenge. I admit I hadn't noticed. The Cowboys got down to the 1 yard line anyway, and were stopped when QB Tony Romo threw a INT to CB Charles Woodson, so I'm not sure it would have mattered.

P Jeremy Kapinos is a great punter, in practice, says special teams coach Shawn Slocum. Slocum better be careful, praising P Derrick Frost's practice skills didn't help Mike Stock keep his job after last season. I haven't been a big critic of Kapinos because he's not as bad as Frost and I doubt they'd find anyone better at this point. Still, he's one of the worst punters in the NFL and the Packers will have to bring in some serious competition next season. For the remainder of this season, Greg Bedard suggested P Sam Paulescu, but he was bad last season in Dallas with a 41.8 yard average, compared to a 44.2 yard average for Kapinos. His net average is even worse, but the punt coverage deserves a lot of blame for it.

In his 1st NFL start, LB Brad Jones had 7 tackles and 1 for a loss. I'm a big fan of his, but I was disappointed he couldn't bring more of a pass rush against the Cowboys' backup RT. A good game, but those are LB A.J. Hawk type numbers. So I'm surprised that the comments are praising Jones, McCarthy has been asked whether Kampman remains the starter, and Tom Silverstein writes about Jones's emergence.

Final Week of Training Camp; Rosters Cut Down To 75 On Tuesday

Brandon — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:17 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Browse more photos »

Greg Bedard pointed out to me that, despite what I said in my recap, the Green Bay Packers did some game planning to prepare for the game at Arizona, while the Cardinals did none. I had read last week that QB Brian Brohm ran the scout team in practice, but I assumed he was playing as QB Jay Cutler to prepare for the season opener. But instead they used it as practice for the real game planning in two weeks.

The rosters have to be cut down to 75 players by Tuesday. By my count of the current roster, that means three players have to be released. They've already cut down from 80 when they released C Duke Preston and placed TE Devin Frischknecht on I.R. last week.

It looks like the three players will be P Durant Brooks, LB Stryker Sulak, and WR JaRon Harris. From Mike McCarthy:

Q:Brooks, Sulak, and Harris were not out there. Where were they?
A:They were excused from today's practice.

Brooks hasn't been able to play or practice over the last two weeks. He's handed the starting job to P Jeremy Kapinos by default, but the team can't afford to wait on him. Although Kapinos will still have to sweat out the final cuts; the Packers went out and signed P Derrick Frost after the final preseason game last season.

I thought Sulak had a chance at playing time, but he didn't make it on the field during any of the preseason games, as far as I noticed.

It's possible they were discussing CB Al Harris, but they were probably talking about players on the bubble. JaRon Harris hasn't been awful, but he did have a bad deflection against Cleveland. There are a bunch of good receivers in camp, so one mistake might be one too many.

It's probably the end of preseason play for CB Al Harris, CB Charles Woodson, and definitely over for WR Greg Jennings. But the game against Tennessee will be the first game for LB Clay Matthews and LB Nick Barnett. From Mike McCarthy:

Q:Will all of the healthy guys play on Thursday?
A:Yes. Well, starters? We may have some coach's decisions like I have done in the past. We'll look at Al and Charles Woodson and obviously Greg Jennings is not going to play. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Tomorrow's practice is our heavy lifting day, so we'll have that conversation after tomorrow's practice.

Q:Is Clay Matthews on track to play?
A:Yes, I anticipate Clay to definitely play. Him and Nick Barnett, I anticipate that both will play this week.

As far as the rest of the week goes, there will be a practice on Monday and Tuesday morning before a closed practice on Wednesday. And then the final preseason game at Tennessee on Thursday night.

The Washington Redskins Ten Most Irreplaceable Players In 2009

Ken Meringolo — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:20 -0000

Everyone loves a good list. But all too often, these kinds of lists turn into a ranking of the team's best players. In today's Top Ten list, the criteria is simple: Who can we simply not afford to lose to injury this season? Better put, who are the top ten players that are central to the success of THIS YEAR'S team--taking into account depth at each position and potential contributions from each player? I have taken some creative liberties with the presentation of the list, and I have made a few judgement calls that I expect some of you will disagree with--I expect you all will not hold back in the comments section.

#10 - Hunter Smith - When I heard the news that Hunter Smith had been signed, I was just slightly less happy than when I heard the news Jessica Biel was doing a nude scene in an upcoming movie. Our punting situation has been a nightmare for a while now. Derrick Frost may have been a Hall of Famer during the week in practice, but he stunk out loud too many times on Sundays when it counted. Ryan Plackemeier was not the huge upgrade that blew up everyone's skirts either. Word on the street was that he was a liability as a holder. However, I heard his personal hygiene was beyond reproach (no need to bury the guy.) Hunter Smith is a pro's pro. While he has enjoyed the dome-life in Indy, his abilities are sure to be an upgrade in D.C. And with our team expected to be led by our defense, the field position battle will have to feature the skills of Hunter the Punter. He is known in the league to be a steady and rock-solid holder, having paired with Mike Vanderjagt to form one of the most accurate kicking batteries in NFL history (and again with Adam Vinatieri when they won the Super Bowl.) Finally, he brought down Deion Sanders in the following video that always brings a smile to my face.

#9 - Derrick Dockery - We are all aware of the less than stellar year the Redskins had on the offensive line last year. Pete Kendall was a band-aid the year before and performed well enough, but last year that band-aid fell off and got lost in the chicken salad, and Jason Campbell ended up eating that band-aid in his sandwich. Let's not mix words here--we brought in Dockery to be an upgrade, not to hold down the position until someone better comes along. He has to perform well, and he has to perform well right away. Early last season we ran left on some pretty important plays. With Right Tackle being up-for-grabs, and with Randy Thomas healing yet again from injuries, the left side is going to be relied upon heavily. Behind Dockery is Chad Rinehart, who we still know very little about. Samuels and Dockery are comfortable and confident playing next to each other. Losing Dockery would hurt us from a depth perspective and would disrupt the chemistry of the left side of the line.

#8 - Fred Davis - I kind of snuck this one in. I won't pretend to be an expert talent evaluator but when I watched him practice this off season at Redskins Park in Ashburn, he really got to me. Like Cammie from the 80's flick The Great Outdoors, played by Lucy Deakins. At first you're kind of like, "OK...I like this girl, but so far she's not central to the plot," and then as the movie goes on, every other storyline becomes meaningless to you and all you can think about is Cammie and how is Buck going to pull this off?!? That is my prediction for Fred Davis this season. At first it will be all about CP, JC, Cooley, the defense, Santana Clause. But by Week 6 (against Kansas City, where Sleepy's stat line will be 6 catches, 78 yards and 2 TDs), Davis will have asserted himself as a legitimate threat for us on offense. And I predict it will be him that becomes the key to our red zone attack.

#7 - Brian Orakpo - Well, I pretty much had to change my shorts when we drafted this guy. I spent all winter clamoring for an OLB/DE player to fill the Merriman/Ware hole in our roster. As a rookie, he will be expected to play like a vet. He will be expected to show up in the stats, and he will be expected to straight-up dominate. So it goes with high first round picks I suppose. Is it fair? Dan Snyder's $20 million bones say it is more than fair. There was an offensive lineman on the board when we picked Orakpo--Michael Oher--so this selection has all the makings of being second-guessed all season long. If he fails to be a force on our defense, it will be hard to hear anything above the fans shouting the f-word: failure. Further, for us to enjoy the kind of success we are hoping for, we need nothing less than a dominant performance from his position.

#6 - Santana Moss - One could argue we have lost Santana Moss during the season every year for the last 3 years. Either by injury or by opposing defenses denying him the ball, Moss has been silenced late in the season. Still, he is one of those "magic" players that has the ability to make a play when he gets the ball in his hands. Whenever he touches the ball, there is a chance the play can end with him scoring a touchdown. We'd all like to think that with Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly in the fold, Moss might be somewhat replaceable. Not so fast. The dude is an elite NFL player and on our team, his value is as much about the comfort and confidence he gives both fans and teammates when he is on the field as it is about his skill set. Here is a highlight video of him ( a little grainy, but you get the idea.)

#5 - Jason Campbell - I fear I will be scolded for either putting him too high or for putting him on this list at all. Truth be told, I am shocked that I am not making him #1. Todd Collins has proven to be more than serviceable, with not only a stellar performance in relief of JC, but also a late-season playoff push under his belt. Colt Brennan is the apple of a lot of eyes, and Jason Campbell has yet to become the "franchise quarterback" you want from a 1st rounder. But he is absolutely central to our success this year. Despite the off season rumors and activity, the investment in JC has only grown greater. Both he and the coaching staff have put in a lot of hours in the months leading up to training camp. Jason has worked extensively with Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, and he has quietly continued to act the part of "Starting Redskins QB" which as we all know is a position of high honor and visibility. He has the confidence of his teammates and coaching staff (currently), and let's face facts--you pretty much always have most of your eggs in the starting QB basket. If you think like me, and you think JC will in fact be second to the defense among the reasons we make the playoffs, you have to put him on this list, and you probably should put him higher.

#4 - Mike Sellers - This year might be the first year that I fully appreciate Sellers for exactly what he means to this team. I have both underestimated and overestimated his importance and role on this team in the last handful of years. There was a series in the pre-season a couple years back where Gibbs called for like 4 straight hand-offs to Sellers. He busted each carry for 7-8 yards a pop. I thought we were seeing the emergence of a Brandon Jacobs-type of role for Sellers. Then last season, the disappointment of him being (allegedly) unable to punch the ball in against Cincinnati on the goal line tempered that expectation. In 2005, he had 8 TDs (7 through the air, 1 on the ground), but last year just managed 1 score. So how does he land at #4 on this list? Special teams notwithstanding, he has become an invaluable lead blocker. Clinton Portis loves to get in behind Sellers and every time they both make it to the edge, you know a 1st down is a gimme. Players like Sellers seem to get marginalized by their organizations over time (see Lorenzo Neal from the San Diego Chargers a few years back.) Here's hoping the team figures out a responsible way to keep him with the team beyond this year. Sellers has become a destructive force in what has been at times an unstoppable running game. We can ill afford to lose him this year if we hope to keep Clinton Portis from taking on the first and second tacklers at the point of attack. And anything Sellers is able to add in the way of short-yardage situations for us is gravy.

via farm3.static.flickr.com

#3 - Clinton Portis - Thanks to fantasy football, I have finally learned the lesson that eludes so many fans and even league personnel men: running backs really do grow on trees. So what is CP doing this high on the list? Because there are exceptions to every rule. Like for example, to those that say "No means No", I say, "Sometimes No means Maybe." ("Reservation for 1 in hell please? Yes, I'll hold.") CP is a stud...a freak of nature athletically that has enjoyed a great deal of success at running back for 7 seasons. That is twice the average career for running backs (somebody call me out on this if I am wrong, but I think the average career of a running back is roughly 3 years.) From an odds perspective there is a better chance Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the Growing Pains movie than a running back becoming highly productive in his 8th year. Yet that is what we are banking on this season. Clinton is the man yet again this year, and without him, the ship loses a lot of direction and purpose. More than anything, the ship loses a lot of identity. For better or worse, the identity of this team and specifically the offense is tied to Clinton Portis.

#2 - Chris Samuels - We spoke to a retired former Redskin a few months ago (who shall remain nameless for now) and he said that there was only ONE player on the whole roster he would label "untouchable"--only one player on the entire roster that he would start all over with tomorrow: Chris Samuels. Whether you agree with it or not, it kind of takes your breath away...wait for it...like Nicole Eggert in Charles in Charge. She was only 15 when she started out as Jamie Powell but I was only 10, so the things I was thinking about doing to her were totally legal (as a 10-year old, this consisted mostly of picturing her in a bathing suit, but by the time she was 18, I was 13, so my dream date of me, her and Samantha Micelli (Alyssa Milano) from Who's The Boss was ON.) As we discussed above, the offensive line was a debacle last year. Samuels is the class of our line. If he goes down, our team's playoff chances disappear faster than a bag of blow left alone in a room with Corey Haim. (It's not fair to beat up on Corey Haim you say? Go back and watch Lucas again. All these years later, and both Charlie Sheen and Jeremy Piven are killing it. Corey Haim has only Corey Haim to blame.)

via p1.hotornot.com

#1 - Albert Haynesworth - If you go to a nice restaurant and order the most expensive thing on the menu, like the Filet Mignon plate, it ain't going to work for you if the steak is undercooked and gives you parasites. A good bowl of mashed potatoes or creamed spinach is not going to save the dish. We paid for the best cut of meat on the market. It had damn well better taste good and be cooked right. Haynesworth has to absolutely dominate this season for the Redskins to both save face and make some noise in the NFC. Is saving face really that important? I think so, because he represents yet another in a long line of high-priced talent brought in by Snyder to win now. This has yet to really pan out for Snyder and has left us coming up with some pretty lame one-liners over the years.

"Mark Carrier could really be the difference this season."

"Brandon Lloyd is poised to break out this season."

"Adam Archuleta should really solidify our secondary."

"Bruce Smith attacking the QB is going to get us to the next level this season."

"Chad Morton is the answer in the return game."

"Jeff George is the right guy for this offense."

OK, you get the idea. Redemption is absolutely chief among the goals for Haynesworth this year in my humble opinion. And the truth is it will come hand-in-hand with domination at the point of attack. If Blache can move him up and down the line of scrimmage effectively and keep the opposing offense guessing, Haynesworth is capable of providing the same kind of impact that Reggie White gave the Packers when he signed there and subsequently led them to a Super Bowl. Without Haynesworth, we lose twice really. We continue to get berated by everyone for trying and failing to "buy a championship" and we would be on the outside looking in yet again come December.

As I review the list, LaRon Landry jumps off the page as the one I wish I would have found a spot for, but I will have to live with leaving him off, despite my constant proclamations that Landry is an elite player. I guess I dig our safety group right now, and am hopeful that a Chris Horton/ Kareem Moore backfield would hold up (if you can't lie to yourself, who can you lie to?)

Other Honorable Mentions: Ladell Betts, London Fletcher, Carlos Rogers, and Ethan "The Red Snapper" Albright.

I expect that London will be the one I get the most grief for excluding, so let me seed my excuse for leaving him out: I love Alfred Fincher, and think that if it came down to it, he would be the feel-good story of the league stepping in and up to replace London. Think Mike Seaver-gets-Chelsea Noble...yeah, that kind of feel good.

What's Left On The Free Agent Market

Brandon — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:00:10 -0000

Short answer: Not a lot.

For those that don't have ESPN Insider, don't try this link, it will just frustrate you that you can't see the rankings, but it's the list of remaining free agents. Two of the best free agents, DE Julius Peppers and LB/DE Terrell Suggs are unsigned, but Suggs isn't going anywhere and Peppers wouldn't be worth the price (money and a bunch of picks back to Carolina).

ESPN ranks anybody above 70 as a good starter, and over 80 as an outstanding player. Only one unrestricted and unfranchised free agent is above 80, and fewer than a dozen are over 70. Everyone below that level, I'll assume, isn't good enough to start for the Packers. So who's left?

Grade 80, WR Marvin Harrison. At this point in his career, he's unlikely to have more to offer than any of the Packers' top 4 WRs. That's a knock on Harrison, and it's also a compliment to the Packers' receivers.
Grade 79, LT Orlando Pace. Another ex-star veteran looking for work. The Packers already have two veteran tackles, neither as injury prone as Pace. It wouldn't hurt to find a left tackle of the future, but the 13 year veteran's future is now. If he can even stay healthy anymore.
Grade 75, CB Chris McAlister. Again, recently released ex-star. Again, injury prone. He'll be a lot more help to some team other than the Packers because they already have two healthy veteran CBs in the starting lineup.
Grade 72, K John Carney. Yes, a 44 year old kicker is the 4th best remaining unrestricted free agent. That should be a giant sign that I've reached the end of it, but I'll keep going anyway.
Grade 71, WR D.J. Hackett. Another frequently injured veteran who was released recently. At least he was never a star. Some team with no depth at receiver might be well rewarded to take a chance on him, but he makes no sense considering the Packers' deep receiving core.
Grade 70, LB Angelo Crowell. Finally, a free agent the Packers could consider signing. He's not going back to Buffalo because their coaches put him on I.R. in early September, although he was participating in practice, apparently because they wanted to get rid of him. He's only Plan B in Buffalo. But he's a young, experienced outside linebacker, who may or may not be coming off a season ending injury. He would play at the other outside linebacker spot, and although I'm no fan of LB Brady Poppinga, GM Ted Thompson just gave him a 5 year extension so I doubt he's ready to give up on him. Also, I'm not sure Crowell offers anything more than Poppinga. I'd rather have a better pass rusher at outside linebacker too.
Grade 70, QB Jeff Garcia, RT Jon Runyan, TE L.J. Smith. No, no, no. Garcia and Runyan should retire, although neither probably will, and both the tight ends currently on the Packers' roster are better than Smith.
Grade 69, LB Derrick Brooks and LB Freddy Keiaho. I'll mention them because they're outside linebackers, and the Packers could use a better outside LB than Poppinga, but neither fit with the Packers. Both have spent their entire careers in a 4-3, Tampa cover-2 defense which is completely different than the 3-4, press coverage defense you'll be seeing next season in Green Bay.
Grade 69, P Hunter Smith. Sign him! There's a lot to dislike about an 11 year veteran punter who's spent his entire career kicking in a dome. His previous employer isn't too sad to see him go. But the punting combo of P Derrick Frost and P Jeremy Kapinos was so awful last season, that upgrading to an average punter would be huge upgrade. Now I'm depressed that he's the best the Packers could do possibly do in free agency.

It's not glamourous, I'm not even sure it's a better idea then just trying out a dozen recent college grads to see if they could do better. But returning compentency to the punting game is as good as it could get for the Packers with what's left in free agency.

Free Agent Friday

Brandon — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:00:11 -0000

Veteran free agents can sign with other teams beginning on Friday. The Packers have $36 million of cap room to work with, so they could pursue one of the top free agents available. But with 14 potential free agents receiving the franchise tag over the last week, there aren't many names remaining from the top of the free agent list.

I've looked around the web and come up with zero rumors involving the Packers. If they are considering a fast strike at a big name free agent, they've been keeping it pretty quiet. This might be a good thing since the list of remaining free agents isn't very exciting. The list is from ESPN Insider so you can't read the Scouts Inc. grades, but scrolling through the alphabetical list looking for an unsigned or unfranchised player who might fill a need on the roster, and is actually worth big money, is a hard task. I'll point out four names on the list:

DT Albert Haynesworth. Any publication you take a look at probably has him at the top of the free agent wish list. No doubt he's a great player, and he's going to want a $100 million contract. I can't imagine GM Ted Thompson getting involved in that bidding war. DT Ryan Pickett and DT Johnny Jolly will return next season to split time at nose tackle.
DE/OLB Terrell Suggs. He's the guy I wanted the Packers to pursue, but Baltimore placed the franchise tag on him for the 2nd year in a row. It's expected that DE Aaron Kampman will move to left OLB, while Suggs has primarily played on the right side and could have been a good fit. LB Brady Poppinga, with his 3 career sacks in 4 seasons, is penciled in at right OLB, but I hope they find a better player who can provide more outside pass rush than that. Unfortunately, no player of Suggs caliber as a pass rusher is available in free agency. The Packers might have to use their 9th overall selection in the April draft to fill this position.
DE Igor Olshansky. I'm not excited about a free agent who was benched late last season on a bad San Diego defense. But he's 309 lbs. and played in a 3-4 defense his entire NFL career. He could slide right in as the starting left defensive end, while a (hopefully) healthy DE Cullen Jenkins returns to his customary right side. But maybe the left defensive end spot is where Thompson hopes former 1st round pick DT Justin Harrell can play. I don't expect them to sign a free agent defensive end. I think they'll go with the players they've already got and add another end or two in the April draft.
P Sam Koch. In this free agent market the best thing the Packers might do is try and sign a quality free agent punter. I'm totally serious. Anyone who watched the P Derrick Frost disaster last season should know what I'm talking about. They ended last season with P Jeremy Kapinos, who's still on the roster, but wasn't much better than Frost. This position was a black hole of suck last season. They could pick up 40 yards/game in field position by just upgrading to an above average punter. Koch is a restricted free agent, but Baltimore has a number of high profile unrestricted free agents to resign and they might let him get away. Scouts Inc. has him rated as the top unsigned free agent punter and one of the top 40 free agents overall.

Poll

Which free agent should the Packers pursue?

Albert Haynesworth

38 votes

Igor Olshansky

38 votes

Sam Koch

74 votes

None of the above

64 votes

214 votes | Poll has closed

Sign a Free Agent Punter!

Brandon — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:00:10 -0000

While researching free agent LBs Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, I came across this quote about Baltimore's restricted free agent P Sam Koch:

Too be honest, I think one of the biggest MUST signs is Sam Koch. A lot of people do not realize how important that man is in winning games for us by making offenses drive 90+ on our defense. Plus, he is only 27 years old and WILL one day be a pro bowler.

Looking at the stats, Koch was 7th best last season with a net average of 39.9 yards and he was 2nd best at pinning their opponents inside the 20 yard line. He did that 34 times last season. In comparison, the Packers disaster combo of P Derrick Frost and Jeremy Kapinos only pinned opponents inside the 20 only 15 times and their net average was around 35-36 yards.

This isn't a post just targeting Koch. There are a couple other good free agent punters, including Indianapolis' P Hunter Smith, Oakland's P Shane Lechler, and ex-Packer P Craig Hentrich. It's sad that the Packers have never found a punter anywhere near as good as Hentrich since he left after the 1997 season. Lechler is the best of that bunch, but he's likely to draw the most interest in free agency too.

Teams rarely spend big on a punter, well, because it's a punter. You can bring a few guys in on a tryout, sign the best one, and it will probably work out fine. Unfortunately, that route has not gone well for the Packers during GM Ted Thompson's era. Former P Jon Ryan was ok, but he was and is a below average punter. It might be time to get serious and pursue a free agent punter.

If they do, Koch might be the best choice. Lechler is great, but he will cost more money. Whether Koch will cost more, since he's a restricted free agent he might cost a draft pick, will depend on the contract Baltimore will offer him. Baltimore has $19 million of cap space, but they also have a lot of big name free agents. They might not feel they can afford to squander any of it on a punter. Smith is not great and Hentrich will turn 38 in 2009, so neither is a great choice.

As it stands on the current roster, Kapinos is scheduled to battle P Durant Brooks, and he was a major bust last season in Washington. Whether it's through the draft, signing undrafted free agents, or signing a restricted/unrestricted free agent, the Packers have to do something to find a better punter in 2009.

Poll

Should the Packers make a free agent punter a top priority?

Yes

50 votes

No

44 votes

94 votes | Poll has closed

Recap: Weeks 13-17 in 2008

Brandon — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:37:37 -0000

So I do a recap of the 2008 season, but I break it up over a three week period and accidentially cover the Tennessee game twice; here first and then here. So it's time to plow ahead and recap the final five games.

	vs. Carolina	vs. Houston	at Jacksonville	at Chicago	vs. Detroit
Rushing Yards Gained	145	108	84	65	211
Rushing Yards Allowed	128	141	94	74	96

Passing Yards Gained	293	279	254	260	273
Passing Yards Allowed	170	408	229	136	220

Turnovers by Opponent	1	4	0	2	2
Turnovers by Packers	2	1	1	2	1

Points by Packers	31	21	16	17	31
Points by Opponent	35	24	20	20	21

How did the Packers lose to Carolina? RB DeAngelo Williams had FOUR!!! rushing TDs, but didn't run wild with only 72 yards rushing. QB Jake Delhomme was quiet, although he had two big pass plays to WR Steve Smith, for 36 and 54 yards, that set up the last two Carolina TDs. Maybe call this the P Derrick Frost game. It was his last as a Packer, luckily. Carolina's TD drives started anywhere between their own 45 yard line to the Packers 17 yard line. Lousy field position, and the defense didn't make them settle for FGs.

The Houston game was a lot worse than it looked. Houston had six fumbles in the game, but they lost three of them including two deep in Packer territory. They nearly fumbled away a giant 400+ yard game by QB Matt Schuab. Houston's defense didn't stop the Packers offense either. If Houston can find a defense, they might have a playoff team with Schuab, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Steve Slaton.

The Jacksonville game was ugly. The Packers offense settled for a lot of FGs, three by K Mason Crosby, and never had a good rhythm. Meanwhile, when Jacksonville got something going, they went in for a TD. This was third game in a row when the defense just couldn't get tough in the red zone. In the three games (Carolina, Houston, Jacksonville), the defense allowed 11 TDs and only 1 FG.

This was almost a repeat of the Carolina game, except the defense managed to hold Chicago's awful offense to 2 FGs and 2 TDs. But bad special teams and a bad turnover gave Chicago good field position and a short field to score. Then the blocked FG at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime. The defense also failed down the stretch. After only giving up 87 yards in the first 3 quarters, they gave up 98 yards on the last two drives that tied it, and then won it, for Chicago.

At least they got to finish the season against a subdivision team. Detroit managed to score 3 TDs and got within three points during the 4th quarter. It might have seemed embarrassing to let them get that close, that late in the game, but they clearly looked better than the 0-16 Lions, which is something since the Packers entered the game on a 5 game losing streak.

Special Teams Coach Mike Stock Retires

Brandon — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:21:32 -0000

If you look back at my old Packers blog, I was very critical of the hiring of Mike McCarthy. My thinking was; how could they fire Mike Sherman after only one losing season, and replace him with an offensive coordinator who had just led one of the worst offenses of all time (the 2005 49ers). I was wrong about McCarthy; he's a great head coach.

Back then, I was really pissed off at the hiring of special teams coach Mike Stock:

Another quality hire by Mike McCarthy. At least the Packers have never fired Mike Stock before. Stock has been around forever and got his first coaching job with the legendary Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame back in the 1960s. He was special teams coach of the year in 1987 and apparently he has been coasting off that past success plus his relationship with Marty Schottenheimer ever since.

In hindsight, Stock did more good then I expected. CB Will Blackmon and Tramon Williams both became dangerous return men (although Williams didn't have many opportunities in 2008). K Mason Crosby is very good. And the kick coverage and blocking has generally been good.

His Waterloo was P Derrick Frost. On the release of Frost:

"Is it disappointing for you...
It's disappointing for me because I'm responsible for coaching the kid, obviously. He kicked really well Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, just have to carry it over to Sunday too. That's the problem."

I think he was telling McCarthy and Thompson what a great job Frost was doing every week, only to have the awful Frost we saw every Sunday show up at game time.

Although McCarthy's known him for many years, going back to their days in Kansas City in the 1990s, Stock has retired. From JSOnline.com:

"Mike Stock didn't sound like someone who was ready to retire from the Green Bay Packers...

It's unclear what changed in the last week - whether he was encouraged to retire or just decided he had enough - but the 69-year-old Stock called it quits."

I think he was given the choice; retire or your fired. Although my original opinion of him was very poor, I don't know whether he deserved to get fired. The special teams units were very good, at times, under Stock. But the whole situation with Frost probably ended his coaching career.

Packers Sign Another Punter

Brandon — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:36:21 -0000

GM Ted Thompson has a fetish for ex-Washington Redskin punters this season. First P Derrick Frost, now P Durant Brooks has been signed to the practice squad.

I haven't ever seen Brooks punt, so I have no idea if this is a good move. I don't think P Jeremy Kapinos is the answer either.

But I wasn't enamored with P Jon Ryan either. In 2007, he ranked 14th in net punt average and was 2nd with 11 touchbacks. The touchbacks were awful when you consider the guy ahead of him in 2007, San Francisco's P Andy Lee with 13 touchbacks, did that in 105 attempts compared to only 60 for Ryan. He's doing it again this season in Seattle, tied with Minnesota's awful P Chris Kluwe with 12.

Thompson has to bring in more than just Kapinos and Brooks next season. They've gotta find a decent punter. I can't remember the last time they had one.

Week 14 Postgame Musings

Mitchell_M — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:53:47 -0000

We all have to face it: The Packers are not a playoff-caliber team.

-Kevin Seifert, ESPN.com

There's already been enough discusion over the bad things that happened yesterday. The Packers sufferred a loss that dropped them to 5-8, and both the Bears and Vikings won (although the Vikings just barely made it past the woeful Detroit Lions). In giving up 400+ yards to Matt Schaub and 120+ to Steve Slaton, the Packers also gave up the little remaining hope at snagging the NFC North title.

(Yes, I know it's still mathematically possible. Trust me, I'm trying to convince myself that Green Bay can run the table and that both Chicago and Minnesota will fall off the face of the planet or get violent diarrhea or something, thus opening the door to yet another Green and Gold division championship.)

But you know what? I don't want to talk about the dismal run defense...or the offense's 1-for-10 3rd down conversion rate...or the suddenly staggering pass defense...or the positively putrid pass rush...or the fact that a fourth major defensive starter is probably going to be limited by an injury (Nick Collins)...or how Bob Sanders might lose his job...or Mark Tauscher's season-ending knee injury...or Aaron Rodgers' startling inconsistencies (including a boneheaded interception at the end of the first half)...and I certainly don't want to talk about the offensive drive in the 4th quarter that first managed to get to the Houston 22-yard line with 3:02 left and, with a holding penalty and a sack, ended up as a punt from the Houston 38-yard line with 2:00 left.

I don't wanna talk about any of that. Why? Because I'm positively delusional. I can't handle the negatives anymore. I need some positives, just like I did way back in October after the Tampa Bay loss. Let's get happy, people!

Ryan Grant looks like Ryan Grant again. Yes, he's been sub-par this season and yes, he's been generally outplayed by Brandon Jackson whenever Jackson gets touches (a point made by Jarlsberg in the game thread). And yes, Houston is not a good defense. But it's encouraging to see Ryan Grant put up one of his old stat lines: 19 carries for 104 yards, a 5.5 ypc average, and a TD. Did you know he actually has 980 yards on the season? Neither did I, considering he's only got three 100-yard games this year. He just looks like he's running hard and finally seems in sync with the offensive line. Watch the game tape, and note how many times Korey Hall, John Kuhn, or an offensive lineman makes a great block to open a running lane. We have not seen nearly enough of this in 2008. Thanks to all this...
Aaron Rodgers is killing off of playaction and rollouts. Seriously, check out the video. Almost half of his big completions were off playaction or rollouts. He's executing the ball fake as well as anyone can do it and more importantly, he's getting into his progressions as soon as he turns his field of vision back to the line of scrimmage. For those of you who are not quarterbacks, you have no idea how hard this is. Moving backwards and facing the opposite direction, faking a handoff, then turning around and trying to hit a moving target that's over 30 feet downrange within 3 seconds? No easy task, but Rodgers seems to have mastered it.
The Rodgers-Jennings pass at the end of the third was sick. The Professor ran a great route where he managed to turn the defender to the sideline before breaking back to the middle. He didn't create a ton of seperation but managed to use his body as a shield so that neither the corner or safety could get an angle on the ball, which was perfectly thrown, by the way. This was one of the few big pass plays by either team that wasn't made by uncalled offensive pass interference. Great throw, great catch.
The defense and special teams actually created some turnovers. Despite giving up more yards than was thought humanly possible, the defense and special teams came up with four turnovers. First, Desmond Bishop stripped Owen Daniels at the 3-yard line, and Tramon Williams was in great position to recover the fumble. Then, Tramon Williams continued his bid for a starting spot next season with a great jump on an out route and came up with an interception. Then Johnny Jolly got into the mix with a fumble recovery of his own. And finally, the special teams managed to come up with a muffed punt in the fourth quarter. All in all, a +3 turnover ratio is a great performance...if you can forget about all the other miscues.
The new punter hasn't been shoved into a locker yet. And with a performance like this, Jeremy Kapinos should remain free from such hazing. The Pride of Penn State certainly got a workout yesterday, registering 8 punts for a net average of 34.5 yards. He had one kick out of bounds at the Houston 25, one touchback, kicks fielded at the 7 and 10 yard lines, and the 4th quarter punt downed at the Houston 3, a kick that made it what-should-have-been impossible for Houston to maintain a drive from. And oh yeah, Houston only had 20 yards off of 5 punt returns. All in all, he didn't mess up, which after the Derrick Frost experience, is a major plus.
Tramon Williams is a budding star at corner. While he's still prone to blowing coverage (aided by a timely push in the back, courtesy of Kevin Walter), he is quite simply a playmaker in the defensive backfield. He has 48 tackles, 12 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 5 interceptions. He also had the fumble recovery I talked about earlier. But the most interesting thing I found is that 4 of his picks came when the Packers were behind. Compare this to Nick Collins and Charles Woodson, who each has five interceptions as well, but only 4 between them came when the Packers trailed. That's a sign of a clutch player, and it's something that helps Tramon in his bid for a starting gig.

There. I feel better already. And you should too, because if I managed to find five positive points about yesterday's loss, that means anything is possible. Did you hear me? Anything is possible! Care to add anything, Kevin Garnett?

Maybe the Packers should work out a trade with the Celtics. At least Kevin Garnett knows how to play defense.

Poll

How is the rest of the Packers' season gonna play out?

3-0, and an NFC North title!

14 votes

2-1, ending up just under .500

26 votes

1-2, and at 6-10, right where this team belongs.

27 votes

0-3, wake me up when it gets to be draft time.

23 votes

90 votes | Poll has closed