2011 Tackling: The Cornerbacks | ProFootballFocus.com. It's not too surprising to find out that part of the reason why the Green Bay Packers led the NFL in yards allowed is that they missed a lot of tackles. From Pro Football Focus:

Charles Woodson (15), Jabari Greer (17) and Woodson's Green Bay teammate Tramon Williams (16) all found themselves down at the wrong end, with the Green Bay duo helping to explain why the Packers' defense was hemorrhaging yardage at an alarming rate all the way through the season.

Also, Sam Shields missed 10 tackles for the season. It was a disappointing sophomore season for the undrafted player, and he'll need to bounce back next season. Or start looking over his shoulder to see how Davon House is developing.

Woodson is a little bit more complicated to evaluate. He certainly missed some tackles last season, but my recollection is that a few of them were on seemingly blown coverage assignments. He was trying to tackle someone who wasn't his man. It wasn't always clear what his role was on any given play.

Williams deserves a pass for last season because his injured shoulder was bothering him. There were times that he did seem to favor it, and he tried to avoid leading with it. However, he can't have the same problems again next season.

NFL.com news: Vikings: 'No point' in filing notice to relocate. This isn't really a surprise. It hasn't been announced whether the NFL would even approve a move to Los Angeles.

It's still unclear which stadium they'll play in next season. Their lease has expired, and Kevin Seifert points out that this might be a good time to insist that the Vikings sign a multi-year lease to play in the Metrodome. That way there would be no relocation drama next year.

The Green Bay Packers won't find out until April when they'll be playing the Vikings next season. I hope they don't have to travel to Minnesota in December and find themselves playing in an outdoor stadium that isn't intended for winter football.

Bucs make Albert Haynesworth walk the plank | National Football Post.

I never even thought for a minute that the Green Bay Packers should pursue him. But I was wondering whether he was the least desirable free agent available?

There's no doubt Haynesworth is a bad one, but he's got some serious competition. The wide receiver formerly known as Chad Ochocinco, his former teammate and current Indoor Football League star Terrell Owens, and the recently unretired Randy Moss are all awful in their own rights.

Which one is the worst? Or am I missing someone?

Every NFL team's path to success in the offseason - Jeff Diamond - SI.com. I'm not sure why Jeff Diamond thinks left tackle is a priority for the Green Bay Packers. They just used their last two first round draft choices on offensive tackles, and there's no way they'll do it again this April. Chad Clifton might be nearing the end of the line, but the future should belong to Derek Sherrod, with Marshall Newhouse holding down the fort until Sherrod's healthy and more experienced. Plus, they could move Bryan Bulaga to left tackle if it's really a problem.

However, he's right on about the next position. First he said defensive end was the priority, but then he changed the topic point to pass rusher. Either one sounds good to me.

He then mentions that Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson "need to play better." Williams had an off year, but Woodson was just as good as he's been over the past few seasons. Either way, I'm not expecting the Packers to give either of them any serious competition for their jobs next season. Sam Shields might be in more danger because he gave up a lot of receiving yards last season, and his poor tackling forced the coaches to split his time in the NFC Divisional playoff game with Jarrett Bush. Still, I expect the Packers will give Shields another chance in 2012 before using a high draft choice to replace him.

I would like to see them draft a safety who would be a better starter than Charlie Peprah, if Nick Collins isn't cleared next month to play in 2012.

Franchise focus: Jermichael Finley - NFC North Blog - ESPN. One thing that's really important, and why I expect it's a no-brainer to apply the franchise tag on him, is that the only position with a cheaper tag price is a kicker. Here are the projected 2012 franchise tag amounts. $5.4 million for a tight end is a lot of money in the real world, but it's $4 million less than a wide receiver.

While TE Jermichael Finley's stats weren't the best for a Green Bay Packers receiver in 2012, his age (soon to turn 25) and the extra emphasis placed on tight ends last season (see: Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham) would earn him a bigger contract as an unrestricted free agent than he might otherwise be worth.

I really want them to keep C Scott Wells, but there's no way they can place the franchise tag on him at $9.4 million. They'll have to try and negotiate a long-term deal that can make his salary cap figure for about half of that amount. But $5.4 million might be a lower amount than what it would cost to re-sign Finley for a long-term contract.

Murphy named to NFL Competition Committee. The new members of the NFL competition committee were named today, and one of them was Green Bay Packers team President Mark Murphy. He's the first member to represent the Packers since Mike Holmgren did so in the 1990s.

The competition committee is influential because it gets to decide things like where the umpire should stand, and where the ball should be kicked off from and when a play can be challenged. It also deserves to be mocked by the Onion from time-to-time for putting the "no fun" in the No Fun League.

This is probably a nice perk for Murphy, who had to run point for the league during the worst of the NFL lockout. He'll be joining it this year along with Cardinals head coach Ken Weisenhunt, and former co-chair Jeff Fisher. Fisher had to settle for an advisory role last year with the committee while he was out of football.

PFF's Top 50 Free Agents | ProFootballFocus.com. It seems like most unrestricted free agents who leave for another team turn out to be a high priced flop, so I'm glad that there aren't even a lot of tempting options out there for the Green Bay Packers. Matt Flynn will be playing elsewhere in 2012, but otherwise the best course of action might be to just re-sign their own free agents anyway.

The Packers could really use a pass rusher, but the best ones are defensive ends like Mario Williams, Robert Mathis, John Abraham, and Cliff Avril. And they're all better suited for a 4-3 defense rather than the Packers 3-4 scheme that relies heavily on their linebackers. Maybe Williams is the exception, he played well as a 3-4 LB for the Texans before a torn pectoral muscle, but the Packers don't have the cap space to make a serious run for him.

I don't exactly know how they did it, but some teams have an insane amount of cap space. The Chiefs and the Buccaneers are $60 million under the salary cap. I don't know why they wouldn't each target one of the top available free agents and make an immediate upgrade. Though the Chiefs might spend a lot of money if they just re-sign their top two free agents: CB Brandon Carr and WR Dwayne Bowe.

Adjusting salary cap for rollover totals - NFC North Blog - ESPN. I'm just getting familiar with the new reality of cap rollovers. I used to like it when the Green Bay Packers extended a contract during the season because they used up some of their remaining salary cap room. But now that left over space can be rolled into the next year.

According to ESPN, the Packers have about $10 to $11 million in cap space. That's not great and I would expect they'll need more room than that to re-sign players and sign draft picks. But that's before they make some tough decisions on the future of long-time players like Chad Clifton and Donald Driver, who may have priced themselves off the roster.

But they can't hamstring their future salary cap space now. Their big 2013 free agents will be LG T.J. Lang and WR Greg Jennings, and I'd expect they'll want to re-sign both players. Plus, Aaron Rodgers might look underpaid depending on the contract Drew Brees signs this offseason, and it might become something he wants them to address sooner rather than later.

Rams Hire Chuck Cecil To Coach Defensive Backs - Turf Show Times. This is a story about the Rams hiring a position coach who used to be a defensive coordinator. But it also involves former Green Bay Packers DB Chuck Cecil.

Cecil was a drafted before former GM Ron Wolf was hired in 1991. He was a big hitting safety who was named to the Pro Bowl in 1992. Now this was before the Packers signed DE Reggie White, so Cecil was playing on a defense without a lot of big name talent. And I couldn't believe it when the Packers let him leave in free agency in 1993.

In hindsight, it was another example of how Ron Wolf is a whole lot smarter about football than I am. Cecil was a big hitter, and like some big hitting safeties, he was as much of a danger to himself as he was to his opponents. At the bottom of this post is a link to a huge hit he put on Bears RB Neal Anderson with current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh at quarterback. His style made for dramatic plays, but it also left him battered and bruised. He only played in 29 more games over three years after leaving the Packers.

And this is also another example of why I'm not really high on the Rams decision to hire Jeff Fisher. The Titans had some pretty good reasons why they fired Fisher and Cecil last year.

Outside the Lines: Dorsey Levens - NFC North Blog - ESPN. I hadn't known about former Green Bay Packers RB Dorsey Levens's involvement with concussion-related issues until I saw watched this Outside the Lines segment.

I can understand why the NFL isn't keen on discussing concussions, it can't be spun as a selling point under any circumstances, but the current and former players are doing a good job of making this subject better known. While concussions have been part of the NFL forever, and I was first made aware of them years ago when former Badger great and Jets WR Al Toon was forced to retire, I never realized the seriousness of the problem.

The NFL has taken steps recently to improve the evaluation process. But then a team makes a serious mistake, like the one the Chargers made, when they allowed Kris Dielman to get onto a plane after he was concussed during a game, which led to an in-flight seizure.

The Bears as a microcosm of Moss' problem - NFC North Blog - ESPN. Randy Moss to the Chicago Bears.

We could only be so lucky. Teaming Moss with Roy Williams would be a sight to see and mock. Unfortunately, Kevin Seifert explains at ESPN why the Bears won't be interested in Moss, and it's expected that Williams won't re-sign with the Bears either.

Of course, there still is the question of who exactly is going to play wide receiver for the Bears next season. With Williams expected to leave, and Johnny Knox's 2012 season in doubt, their top receivers are Earl Bennett and Devin Hester.

Cross-training highlights staff re-structuring. I guess what Mike McCarthy is trying to prove with the Green Bay Packers is that it's all about bringing in the best coaches possible. And the hierarchy for position coaches isn't necessarily about their past experience. With the departure of Joe Philbin to Miami, and the promotion of Tom Clements to offensive coordinator, the rest of the coaching staff seems to be based on seniority more than anything else.

The news today is that they've hired former NFL QB Alex Van Pelt to join their coaching staff. According to the Press-Gazette, he was the QB coach for the Buccaneers in 2009 and 2010, and previously he was the offensive coordinator for the Bills. Recently Aaron Rodgers suggested that he'd like a new quarterbacks coach with NFL playing experience, so he fills that requirement. But he's been hired to coach the running backs, not the quarterbacks. He said his expertise would help the running backs as part of the passing game.

Instead Ben McAdoo is the new quarterbacks coach. I'm sure he's a very good coach, but it seems to be as much about giving him a promotion because they denied him the opportunity to interview for an offensive coordinator's job. And the quarterbacks coach seems to be the stepping stone towards bigger and better things, so it's good for his career too.

Former NFL offensive lineman Jerry Fontenot had been coaching the running backs, and now he'll be coaching the tight ends.

John Rushing will now be the offensive assistant/special teams coach, and Joel Hilgenberg will be the assistant offensive line coach, which may more of a change in title than duties.

The only two coaches with the same titles will be Edgar Bennett as receivers coach, which seemed like an odd choice last year but you can't argue with the results, and James Campen as offensive line coach.

After all the shuffling is done, the Packers have replaced Joe Philbin with Alex Van Pelt, which seems to be a strong replacement since Van Pelt is a former NFL quarterback and offensive coordinator. Their titles do matter, Rodgers should be working more with McAdoo than Van Pelt, but they aren't coaching in a bubble either. I'm sure they'll all be working together next season.

I wanted to point out this great video by Amy K. Nelson and that it's the first video on SB Nation's You Tube channel. It's not up and running yet (coming soon, subscribe now) but it's also something that I'll be involved with. More to come.

Mel Kiper Jr.: Replacing aging stars - NFC North Blog - ESPN. Over the weekend, Mel Kiper Jr. looked at a few NFC North veterans. He concluded that the current teams for these veterans should select their eventual replacements in this April's draft. For the Green Bay Packers, he discussed CB Charles Woodson.

Woodson is really old for a cornerback, he'll turn 36 during the 2012 season, so this is somewhat of an obvious choice. Even if he did look good enough in 2011 that he should have at least a couple more seasons left in him.

GM Ted Thompson hasn't used a lot of picks on cornerbacks, but he might have drafted CB Davon House last April as a future replacement. Based on playing time, it wasn't clear whether someone on the current roster could really step into Woodson's shoes in the future. When he didn't play last season, CB Jarrett Bush often filled in for him, but he can hardly be considered a long-term replacement himself.

Thompson doesn't seem to have a big school or small school preference for his defensive backs. While Morgan Burnett and Pat Lee came from big schools and conferences, he's also drafted House and selected Nick Collins from Bethune-Cookman.

While cornerback shouldn't be their top priority, maybe the Packers would be interested in someone like Chase Minnifield in the second round. He had a good eye for the ball in college (13 interceptions), and tackling is considered "one of his better traits." They might prefer a player who already has good fundamentals.

Green Bay Packers news | Driver willing to take pay cut to stay with team | Green Bay Press Gazette. WR James Jones might be the problem here if the Green Bay Packers want Donald Driver to take a pay cut. Would Driver agree to be paid less than Jones?

While it might seem like Jones should be paid more than Driver based on current potential, Driver can make a case that he's just as good now. Jones is more of a deep threat and had a lot more receiving yards last season (635 to 445). But Jones and Driver were very similar in a few other categories including receptions (38 to 37), targets (55 to 56), and touchdowns (7 to 6). If Jones is to be paid about $2.5 million in 2012, how much should Driver be paid?

According to the Press-Gazette, Driver is scheduled to be paid a $2.2 million roster bonus in March and a $2.6 million salary for 2012. The Packers could reduce his base salary to the veteran's minimum of $700,000, but that would still be nearly $3 million in total. It's possible he could receive a one-year contract worth around $3 million if he we're a free agent.

Packersnews.com | Green Bay Packers | Insiders Blog " Alford interviews with Packers. It probably helps Tony Alford's career to be interviewed by the Green Bay Packers, even if he was set on remaining a college coach.

Kareem Copeland assumed Alford was interviewing for the vacant tight ends coach, but Jason Wilde thought Joel Hilgenberg was the likely replacement. It might seem odd to have an ex-offensive lineman like Hilgenberg coaching tight ends, but the Packers have been drafting tight ends known for their receiving in college (Jermichael Finley, Andrew Quarless, etc.) and teaching them how to block. It might actually be a big benefit to Finley to spend more time with a former NFL lineman.

On the other hand, the real value in these players are their ability to catch a pass. And based on the 2011 season, receiving skills are something Finley needs to work on. I don't think they're going to do his development wrong no matter the background of his new tight end coach, the key being that they've got to find a good one.

Green Bay Packers news | Walden takes plea agreement in misdemeanor case | Green Bay Press Gazette. I don't know if this helps Erik Walden's chances of sticking with the Green Bay Packers, he can't avoid the fact that he faded down the stretch, but his November arrest shouldn't interfere with his NFL career. Even if he doesn't return to the Packers, I expect he'll be playing somewhere in the NFL next season.

If he stays out of trouble for the next twelve months, the entire incident will be "erased from the records" in Brown County.

Seahawks Re-Sign OT Breno Giacomini - Field Gulls. After hiring a new head coach, former Packers executive and current Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie is starting to purge the bad contracts of Al Davis. If the Raiders stop handing out bad contracts like the unforgettable Javon Walker deal, some other team is going to take over the NFL lead in this category.

The Seahawks have gotten off to a questionable start by agreeing to pay ex-Packer practice squad player, T Breno Giacomini, an average annual salary of $3 million ($6 million total) over the next two years. He does appear to have improved over the past couple seasons in Seattle, but he's still regarded as a backup. And $3 million per season is pretty high for a backup.

At least they have a good reason for it. The Seahawks do need some depth they can count on because their projected starters, LT Russell Okung and RT James Carpenter, have had trouble with injuries so far in the NFL careers.

The Seahawks aren't close to becoming the next Raiders, but I'd have spit out my Spotted Cow if I'd read about the Green Bay Packers paying $3 million per season for a backup lineman.

Vikings stadium: Season ticket question* - NFC North Blog - ESPN. Nice catch by one of Kevin Seifert's readers. While many teams, including the Green Bay Packers, announced ticket prices last week, the Vikings have been quiet because their lease is up at the Metrodome. Are they going to play at TCF Bank Stadium or the Metrodome?

I expect it'll be the Metrodome. They don't have plans finalized for a new stadium, which is most likely to be built on or near the existing Metrodome site, so the wrecking ball shouldn't hit in 2012. I want to see the Vikings work this out, and I don't know who exactly deserves the blame, but their stadium plans continue to be poorly run.

I wouldn't expect the Green Bay Packers to attend either of their pro day workouts, but they should be in the market for a new quarterback to replace Matt Flynn. They'll certainly be taking a look at some quarterbacks during the scouting process.

Maybe Andrew Luck feels obligated to hold a workout for scouts, but I don't see what the point is. Are the Colts not going to draft him? Might they be willing to trade down? If Luck has a poor workout, would the Colts consider drafting someone else? I can't imagine anything happening other than Luck to the Colts.

Robert Griffin III will certainly be a high draft choice, maybe No. 2 overall if the Rams find a trade to their liking. I like Justin Blackmon but a package of three or four high draft choices for Griffin might be too good to pass up. He actually could use a strong pro day to his advantage and find himself right behind Luck in the draft.

As for a quarterback the Packers might draft, since they had success with Flynn as a 7th round pick, maybe they should take another one at the end of the draft. CBS Sports mentions a couple guys who might be worth a 7th round pick: Boise State's Kellen Moore and Houston's Case Keenum. Obviously they aren't great prospects, but we're talking about a 7th round pick. They also graded Yale's QB Patrick Witt as a 7th rounder, but that guy comes with some major baggage.

There is only one unrestricted free agent for the Green Bay Packers that I haven't written about yet. In the 2008 draft, GM Ted Thompson traded out of the first round and back into the second. With their own pick still in hand, and an additional one from the Browns acquired in the Corey Williams trade, the Packers now had three second round choices. The first one was a great success (Jordy Nelson). The second one was a colossal bust (Brian Brohm). And the third hasn't been a great success, but he's been on the roster ever since: CB Pat Lee.

That was a pretty modest haul for three second round picks, but at least they did manage to find Jermichael Finley in the third round.

The scouts saw something in Lee, and it looked like he could play man coverage in the NFL. He played a little in his rookie season before a knee injured landed him on I.R. A preseason knee injury ended the 2009 campaign before it could even begin. He didn't play much upon his return in 2010, but he replaced Sam Shields for a while during the Super Bowl and he wasn't a liability.

It probably says a lot about him that while the secondary was falling apart last season he was still never able to crack the rotation. He played in all 16 games on special teams, and only recorded 10 tackles for the season. He barely held onto his roster spot entering the 2011 season, but I can't imagine they'll be asking him to return in 2012.

BBAO: Recalling the Andy Reid model - NFC North Blog - ESPN. It's been mentioned in the comments that Ben McAdoo is following a similar path as Andy Reid did in the 1990s. From the NFC North Blog:

Andy Reid was an offensive lineman during his playing career and coached the Green Bay Packers' tight ends and offensive linemen for five years until then-coach Mike Holmgren switched him to quarterbacks. The move worked for the Packers, Reid and quarterback Brett Favre alike, and it's a model -- coincidental or otherwise -- that current Packers coach Mike McCarthy followed this winter.

I don't exactly know what makes a good coach. Great players don't often make great coaches. And forgettable players sometimes make great ones.

Another good example is Mike McCarthy's career path. After he played tight end in college at Baker University, he worked his way up through the coaching ranks to become a quarterbacks coach with the Chiefs and Packers. Then he became an offensive coordinator, and eventually a head coach. I don't expect the Chiefs thought after they hired him in 1993 to be their offensive quality control assistant that he'd one day become a top offensive mind and a Super Bowl winning head coach.

Top 50 free agents: Former top pick Williams is top player on open market - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice. Following up on an earlier article on free agency and the Green Bay Packers, I came across Pete Prisco's list of the Top 50 free agents. He narrows the list by excluding obvious franchise tag candidates (Wes Welker, Drew Brees, etc.) and pushes down free agents if they're over 27.

While SB Nation had Matt Flynn at No. 1, here he's listed as the 35th best free agent and ranked below 49ers QB Alex Smith. Prisco seems to feel that Smith's awful pre-2011 track record (56 career starts!) gives him an edge. At least you know what you're getting! Not to pick on him too much, but I get the feeling that there's a lot of differing opinion on Flynn. Are those two great starts by Flynn fool's gold or a sign of better things to come?

The Packers could (should?) re-sign Jermichael Finley and Scott Wells, two players listed on this Top 50 list, but every other player on it is probably too expensive for GM Ted Thompson. However, there were a couple players who got my attention.

Seahawks DL Red Bryant. He's been a very good over the past two seasons and Prisco calls him "a perfect 3-4 end." He would be a great addition for the Packers, but the Seahawks "will make it a priority to re-sign" him.

49ers S Dashon Goldson. The 49ers only re-signed him in 2011 for depth. He ended up starting 14 games and grabbing 6 INTs. It looks like the 49ers have learned from their mistake and they'll let the guy who was supposed to start (Reggie Smith) leave in free agency and keep Goldson instead. The Packers might not need an upgrade at safety if Nick Collins can return next season.

There's a price point that most NFL teams can't go past without risking a fan rebellion, and I doubt the Green Bay Packers are anywhere close to it. This is basically a 5% price hike. What would it take for Packer fans to complain? 10%? 20%?

It's really expensive to go to an NFL game, but I doubt a $3 to $5 ticket price increase will be the tipping point for most people who travel to Lambeau. If you want a game ticket that costs next to nothing, there's always the NBA.

NFL Free Agency 2012: Matt Flynn, Mario Williams Among Marquee Names Hitting The Market - SBNation.com. Other than their own players, which of these free agents would be of the most interest to the Green Bay Packers?

I ask this question hypothetically. In reality, I don't expect the Packers to be a major player in the free agent market, except to re-sign their own players. For me, I'm looking at two particular defensive lineman.

Mario Williams. He's such a great athlete that he actually played well at outside linebacker in the Texans 3-4 defense, until he was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. He should probably move back to DE in a 4-3 scheme. If he were a Packer, he might not be a good fit in their base 3-4 (not really an OLB, too small for a 3-4 DE) but he'd play a lot in their nickel package as the other defensive lineman alongside B.J. Raji. In reality, I could see him playing for the Titans, and I could see him on the Dolphins (if their salary cap permits).

Paul Soliai. He's a nose tackle, a run stopper, and was just named as a replacement to his first Pro Bowl. And he's not at all what the Packers need on the defensive line (i.e. pass rusher). But he'd be an upgrade, a very expensive upgrade based on his expected free agent payday, and at this point the Packers could use an infusion of talent on the defensive line in any form. In reality, any team playing in a 3-4 defensive scheme without an anchor at nose tackle could use him.

The big (really big) man for the Green Bay Packers was the 2010 Erik Walden of the defensive line; a player brought in mid-season who gave their defense a boost. In the case of Howard Green, he was claimed after being released in October 2010 by the Jets. He came in when Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett were both hurting, and depth was at a premium. He showed surprising hustle for a man of his size (6-2, 340 lbs).

He's not a pass rusher, but his best play was during the Super Bowl, when he got a strong push up the middle and hit Ben Roethlisberger's arm as he was throwing deep. The pass ended up hanging in the air, it was intercepted by S Nick Collins, and he returned it for a touchdown.

I was expecting more of the same from him in 2011, but he wasn't the same player that he was in 2010. He didn't show the same hustle as he did before, and, by the end of the season, he was usually inactive on Sunday. I don't expect the Packers will even offer him a contract.

Green Bay Packers news | Report: McAdoo named QB coach | Green Bay Press Gazette. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers suggested earlier this week that he wouldn't mind a new quarterbacks coach with experience playing the position. Instead the Packers promoted from within, naming TE coach Ben McAdoo to the position.

This always seemed like the obvious choice. McAdoo is a young coach on the rise, and the Packers recently denied a request by the Buccaneers to interview him for their offensive coordinator's position. While they had every right to deny the interview request, to deny him an internal promotion might have caused some friction.

While Rodgers expressed a preference for someone with experience at QB, he's worked with McAdoo since 2006 and they're all familiar with each other. It should be a smooth transition.

So who will be the next TE coach? How about Bubba Franks! Just kidding, I expect the Packers will promote once again from within, maybe they'll promote Joel Hilgenberg from quality control assistant, and then promote an intern or a new face into the role of quality control assistant. Next man up.

NFL Free Agency 2012: Matt Flynn, Mario Williams Among Marquee Names Hitting The Market - SBNation.com. Green Bay Packers QB Matt Flynn is the top free agent according to this list at SB Nation, but he's the only one of the Packers free agents that has zero chance of returning. The only question is whether he'll be tagged-and-traded (unlikely due to salary cap limitations) or allowed to leave without receiving a draft pick in return. The Packers might receive a compensatory pick in 2013 depending on how those secretive NFL rules work.

Is there a team that he should not sign with? Maybe the Redskins because that franchise is such a mess, but he'd still put up good numbers. He'd be a disgustingly good fit with Joe Philbin and the Dolphins, but he'd transition easily with the Browns or Seahawks (the two other teams mentioned at the above link).

Looking back it's amazing he's come even this far as a former 7th round draft choice. I almost wish he wasn't this good so the Packers would've had a chance to re-sign him as a backup.

Vick, Burress, Suh, T.O. among most disliked athletes | ProFootballTalk. It's not too surprising that Lions DT Ndamukong Suh has landed near the top of this list after his disastrous season of late quarterback hits and foot stomping. He's still the most recognizable player on the Lions but for all the wrong reasons now.

Only two players from the NFC North are on the list for being recognizable for the right reasons (i.e. marketable) according to Sports Business Daily. Aaron Rodgers is number one, while Clay Matthews and his long locks are one of the few non-quarterbacks to make the Top 10. I was somewhat surprised that there were no running backs on it, which is just another sign of how the NFL has grown into a passing league over the last 30 years.