SB Nation - Durant Brooks

Monday Practice; Flynn is Back, Jackson is Hurt, and Who Will Start

Brandon — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:16 -0000

by Ross D. Franklin - AP

It was suspected on Sunday, and confirmed on Monday. "The Green Bay Packers have released P Durant Brooks, WR JaRon Harris and LB Stryker Sulak."

How to turn a great preseason awful: trade WR Donald Driver and TE Donald Lee for WR Brandon Marshall. Feel free to explain in the comments, either here or at the original FanPost, how dumb this is. Does this even count as a rumor?

QB Matt Flynn was back at practice and back at holder, but he doesn't appear to be throwing yet.

I'm not sure how bad RB Brandon Jackson is hurt. It was reported to be a shin injury, but it seems more serious if there's talk about keeping four running backs.

I don't believe that S Atari Bigby is being pushed by S Anthony Smith. Bigby has always played with the 1st team defense and Smith only did on Friday night after Bigby got hurt. Bigby hasn't had a flashy preseason, but I haven't seen him get burned either, while I have seen some dumb penalties from Smith.

The team may love LB A.J. Hawk, but I'm not a fan anymore. The 2008 season was too disappointing. LB Desmond Bishop is better against the run, and LB Brandon Chillar is better in pass coverage, so Hawk should start because...?

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

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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.

Tuesday Practice: Poppinga, Wells, and Lumpkin

Brandon — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

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Can we start a new nickname for LB Brady Poppinga? The Cockroach? From Greg Bedard:

"Oh, and expect Brady Poppinga to be the opening-day starter at ROLB. He's like a cockroach. He survives anything."

After RG Josh Sitton beat out C Scott Wells for the starting job on Monday, Bob McGinn speculated that the Green Bay Packers might trade Wells because they have C Duke Preston available as a backup. On Tuesday, they released Preston, so I guess that means Wells isn't going anywhere. He's signed to a reasonable 5 year, $15 million contract, so the team can certainly afford him, and Mike McCarthy admitted he's played great. On one hand, his trade value is never going to be higher since he's only 28 and signed to a reasonable contract. On the other hand, he's under their control for the next three seasons and the team could always use quality depth.

Of course Wells is not happy about any of this. And I don't blame him. From Rob Demovsky:

"You think I'm happy?" Wells said after today's practice...

"They told me I played well," Wells said. "That's all I can say. If you want further explanation, you need to talk to somebody other than me."

As for the practice itself, it looks like the rest of training camp will be quite dull. From Greg Bedard:

"Think we could be done with truly competitive training drills for the rest of camp."

He also told fans of RB Kregg Lumpkin to brace yourself for his release:

"Lumpkin fumbles again. That is going to get him cut."

I noticed this in the box score against Buffalo, but I couldn't figure out why WR Ruvell Martin was the holder on extra points. Apparently they're down to their 3rd string holder. From Mike McCarthy:

Q: Is Ruvell likely to be the holder with [QB] Matt [Flynn] injured?
A: We'll see. We'll see where Matt's at. He's the third holder obviously with Durant Brooks and Matt having injuries. We're getting him ready.

Packer News: Punters, Rodgers vs. Cassel, and T-Jack

Brandon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:00:12 -0000

Wake me up when the battle for the starting punting job is over. I don't like either P Jeremy Kapinos or P Durant Brooks and expect the "winner" of the competition will wind up 2009 as one of the worst in the NFL.
What was interesting about the 6 year deal the Chiefs just gave to QB Matt Cassel is that he's guaranteed around $28 million. When the Packers gave QB Aaron Rodgers a 6 year extension, he received about $20 million guaranteed. And Rodgers is much better than Cassel. Rodgers' extension is just another solid contract put together by GM Ted Thompson's staff.
There is no way that the Packers will trade for QB Tarvaris Jackson when he demands a trade. Don't laugh; he might really demand one.

Thursday Packer Hits: Graessle, FAVRE!!!, and John Clayton

Brandon — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

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The biggest free agent signing this offseason was P Adam Graessle. Seriously. He's a long shot to beat out the other two punters, Jeremy Kapinos and Durant Brooks, but I don't have any faith in either of them. I hope they found something in Graessle.
Team President Mark Murphy says the team isn't quite ready to retire Brett Favre's number if he plans on playing in Minnesota next season.
After our respectful article about ESPN's John Clayton, m'kay, Clayton goes ahead anyway and says that he expects the Packers will rebound next season. Basically, the 2009 schedule looks a lot more favorable than the rough 2008 schedule, which should translate to at least two more wins on its own.
Funny; agent Drew Rosenhaus is on Twitter and all the players he represents are awesome. For example, don't count out his client, QB Drew Stanton, in the Lions QB derby.
Nice move by Miami. Last season, they trade DE Jason Taylor to Washington for a 2nd round pick, and resign him one season later. Quite the premium rental price Washington paid.
If you have been wondering why Philadelphia didn't pull the trigger on a trade for Arizona WR Anquan Boldin, a rumor that agent Drew Rosenhaus won't let die, it turns out that he probably was never available in the first place.

Early Look at Position Battles

Mitchell_M — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:29:40 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

Pass rusher of the future? Or the next 2008-version of A.J. Hawk?

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The months between February and August always seem the longest, don't they? Sure, the NBA Playoffs are a welcome respite, and I suppose some people out there still like baseball, but c'mon. Football is where it's at.

The draft is done, and the first rookie minicamp is in the books as well. OTA's are coming up, and training camp is far off in the distance. This offseason will be interesting because of the number of rookies and other young players that figure into key personnel moves. Let's take a look at where the focus is going to be in regards to position battles.

Backup QB: Matt Flynn vs. Brian Brohm

Last preseason, Flynn and Brohm were complete opposites: Brohm played great in practice, while Flynn played great in games. Flynn managed to get the nod for his in-game performance, a surprising move considering he was a 7th rounder and Brohm was a 2nd. But after a year has passed, these two get another shot at holding Aaron Rodgers' clipboard for the upcoming season.

Fullback: Korey Hall vs. John Kuhn vs. Quinn Johnson

The fullback position is a dying one in the NFL, but Green Bay is still holding on to the hope of finding someone to fill the void left by William Henderson. Hall and Kuhn battled injuries last year, but played relatively well. Johnson's arrival will either push one of the incumbents to be better, or will bump one of them off the roster entirely.

Center: Jason Spitz vs. Scott Wells

Spitz is good enough to start at any of the three interior line positions. Wells was a very good young center until injuries derailed him last season. Can Wells return to form, or is he destined for a role on the bench?

Right Tackle: T.J. Lang vs. Breno Giacomini vs. Tony Moll

Mark Taushcer still recovering from an ACL injury and remaining unsigned, one of the bookends on the offensive line is open. Moll has the edge on experience, but Giacomini has superior physical tools. Lang might be the best balance between athleticism and technique.

Tight End: Donald Lee vs. Jermichael Finley

Lee has been solid, if unspectacular, as the starter. Finley is a dynamic athlete who adds a new dimension to the passing game, but he has to improve his run blocking to merit time on the field. Additionally, he needs to refrain from blaming Rodgers for throwing a pass that he could and should have reached out to grab.

No. 3 WR: Jordy Nelson vs. James Jones

Nelson played extremely well for a rookie last year, especially in the non-pass-catching role of WR. His run blocking on the edge ranged from above average to superb, something that is a commodity at WR. Jones' season was cut short by injury, but he has the tools to regain the dynamic form of his rookie season. An important footnote for this battle is that the winner will likely have the inside track at Donald Driver's job when DD retires.

The entire defensive line:

Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji are probably the only two that are good enough by themselves to earn a starting spot somewhere on the line. Ryan Pickett is still solid, but aging. Johnny Jolly is inconsistent, Justin Harrell is talented but fragile, Michael Montgomery is undersized, as is newcomer Jarius Wynn.

OLB pass rusher: Aaron Kampman vs. Clay Matthews vs. Brady Poppinga vs. Jeremy Thompson vs. Jason Hunter

Talk about a whole lot of potential and a lack of definition. Kampman tore it up as a DE for most of his career, but makes a switch that many players find do not suit them. Matthews is young and certainly has a lot of upside, but expecting him to fill this role immediately is unreasonable. Poppinga was allegedly a pass rusher in college, but hasn't shown any ability in the pros. Thompson has the tools to fit well at 3-4 OLB, which is good considering he was an undersized 4-3 DE. Hunter actually played this role in college, and was fairly successful at it.

Dime corner: Will Blackmon vs. Pat Lee vs. Brandon Underwood

Harris, Woodson, and Williams have the top three corner spots locked up, leaving the fabled no. 4 spot somewhat open. Blackmon performed inconsistently last season and might be better used as a kick returner/no. 5 corner. Pat Lee was a 2nd round pick last year and is the early heir to Al Harris' throne. Underwood is an athletic prospect who could have played at tOSU were it not for some poor decisions and bad luck.

Strong Safety: Atari Bigby vs. Anthony Smith vs. Aaron Rouse

Bigby was a terror when he was on the field. The key there is "on the field", as he found himself in the trainer's room all too often. Anthony Smith was Thompson's biggest free agent signing, and played well at Pittsburgh before getting shown up by the 2008 Patriots, who purposefully targeted him after he shot his mouth off to the media. He's never been the same, but perhaps a change of scenery can do that. Rouse has the tools, but can't put it all together. This year is a do-or-die year for Rouse; if he can't contribute this season, there's no reason to expect him to stick around for the next.

Punter: Jeremy Kapinos vs. Durant Brooks.

Blech.

Did I miss anything?

Another Undrafted Free Agent Signs

Brandon — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:01:36 -0000

More photos » by Ed Betz - AP

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Tom Silverstein has the roundup at JSOnline.com. In addition to the signing of one undrafted free agent, nine players have been invited to tryout. One player really caught my eye:

P Chris Keagle.

Unfortunately his career college stats of just under 40 yards/punt, and 2008 stats of just over 40 yards/punt, are pretty unimpressive. And he's on a tryout, so the chances that he makes it past the May rookie minicamp is just about zero.

The punting was a disaster last season as P Derrick Frost flopped. His replacement, P Jeremy Kapinos wasn't much better. P Durant Brooks is also under contract, but he was let go by two teams in 2008. I was really hoping GM Ted Thompson would make a move and acquire a quality punter somewhere, but the three guys currently in line for the job are a pretty mediocre bunch.

Another notable player invited to tryout is Maryland RT Dane Randolph, who was profiled by the Washington Post. Virginia Tech C Ryan Shuman is 6'3", 300 lbs., he was the starting left guard in 2006, and the starting center in 2007 and 2008. The only player today that was signed, not just invited to tryout, Texas A&M DE Cyril Obiozor, but he'll have to make the difficult transition from college DE to outside LB.

Really no one else on the list stands out. Randolph has a good chance to earn a contract since he's 6'5", 305 lbs., and played at a major college program. Shuman has a chance too. Everyone else is undersized, usually too short such as Virginia LB Jon Copper who at 6'0" is too short for an NFL linebacker, or a small school player who usually had to play at a small school for a good reason.

But as I said yesterday, these aren't players the Packers are counting on to make the team. They need them to fill out all the spots in training camp, and maybe one of them turns out to be the next DE Cullen Jenkins.

Poll

Which player invited to tryout has the best chance at earning a contract?

P Chris Keagle

80 votes

RT Dane Randolph

139 votes

C Ryan Shuman

75 votes

294 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

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.

Redskins: Scouting Punters for the 2009 Draft

KevinE — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:02:00 -0000

Now that the Redskins are looking forward to the 2009 draft, Hogs Haven thought it would be beneficial to help out the Redskins' Front Office in scouting this year's punters. Since punters qualify for 6th round picks, it only makes sense we do our homework. Cerrato publicly stated there is a 0% chance we draft a Punter this year, which I believe, but I also believed the front office when they originally said we had 'no interest in Cutler.' Moving on, here is this year's top class ranked in order:

#1: T.J. Conley - Senior (Idaho Vandals):
2008 ALL-WAC FIRST TEAM. Excellent distance and hang-time.

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	NET
2005	28	40.0	65	1121	40.0
2006	67	39.4	66	2640	39.4
2007	68	40.3	67	2741	40.3
2008	58	47.4	74	2751	47.7

#2: Ross Thevenot - Junior (Tulane)

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG
2008	45	45.80

Thevenot, a Punter/Kicker from Lake Charles, in one game, averaged 56 yards per punt on three attempts for 168 yards, placing one inside the 20. He also connected on field goals of 32 and 43 yards while converting all four PATs. His 43-yard field goal with 4:01 to play was a season-long and his 71-yard punt was the longest by a Green Wave player since 2003.

#3: Justin Brantly - Senior (Texas A&M)

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	NET
2005	46	43.2	80	1989	43.2
2006	50	44.3	62	2215	44.3
2007	56	44.2	67	2475	44.2
2008	51	45.7	63	2331	45.7

Learning from the Past (in all seriousness):
There is an amazing truth I discovered about last year's NFL draft, which is rather frustrating. Like the Redskins, the Broncos had their eye pre-draft on landing a solid Punter.

There were 4 punters that finished with a higher average than Durant Brooks (45.06 avg on 65 punts) coming out of college...the winner being Kevin Huber of CIN (46.88 on 57). The #2 overall punter of the NCAA in the 2008 draft was Brett Kern of Toledo. One of the reasons the Broncos liked Brett Kern was that he kicked in the MAC, your basic cold-weather conference. He thrived under those circumstances, leading the nation at one point in average yardage as a Senior. Playing patient, the Broncos got their guy. Guess what round the Broncos drafted him? FREE AGENT. They never had to use a pick. For all kickers that had 25 or more punts last year inthe NFL, Brett ranked the 5th best punter in average kick (46.7 avg) and 5th in fewest touchbacks (13).

Kern's stats for DENVER this year:

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	In20
2008	46	46.7	64	2150	13

To me, that is pretty embarrassing for the Skins. Durant didn't have consistency even when the weather was still warm, but I can't imagine his average yardage would have been impressive in the December games either. I sense that Durant Brooks was one of those "impulse buys" the Redskins love so much. Only two and half more weeks until shopping season resumes!