I'm posting this mostly as a question for readers and commenters on APC. Some have played college football, has anyone ever had a tryout with an NFL team?

One of the things that prompted me to write this was reading through the list of 29 young men 'try outs' at PackerNews. It was especially the DE, Luke Black of Fairmont State University in West Virginia that stood out to me. He was named 2nd team all-WVIAC (West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) at DE; and the other DE on the 2nd team all-WVIAC is my nephew. As far as I know, he hasn't received any invitations to try out for any teams.

Anyway, it made me curious about what it is like to be there. Does anyone have this experience and would you be willing to share it here?

What is meant when GMs and analysts talk of drafting the Best Player Available (BPA)? I've made a little equation that gives an idea into the factors that go into it. While it looks like a mathematical equation, it isn't meant to work in that way. The equation is as follows:

BPA =(PA)3+(PV)2+(PN)1

PA is Player Ability.

PV is Position Value.

PN is Player Need.

The 3, 2, and 1 (cubed, squared) indicate the importance of each factor. I preferred to use the exponential system, rather than multiplication to emphasize their relative importance to each other. Now let me explain in more football terms.

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While trading players in the NFL is not done as frequently as in other major sports, a few trades do happen every year. There are five players that the Packers could possibly trade without hurting the integrity of the team, and in the process getting three to four draft picks among the first forty, or so. Moving up and getting some early draft picks has become necessary to fix a porous defense. This is a strong draft for defensive linemen, linebackers and cornerbacks; all needs for the 2012 Packers.

First, let's look at the players who could possibly be traded.

If Thompson can arrange a deal for Matt Flynn, then of course, franchise-tagging him and making a trade is an obvious course of action. Trading Flynn and a pick in order to move into the top 10-15 would be a worthwhile trade.

James Jones signed a new deal last year, which makes him probably the highest paid 4th receiver in the league. Expect to see the more explosive Randall Cobb move past Jones this year. If Donald Driver restructures his contract, and if Gurley is as good as reports from coaches say he is, the Packers would still have a strong receiving corps, even with the departure of Jones. His departure would also open some salary cap space. Still James Jones would be a better #2 wideout than that of at least half of the teams in the league, making a trade a possibility. Again a trade of Jones and a later round pick for an early 2nd round pick could be possible.

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I have some family obligations coming up over the next few weeks that are going to force me to miss a couple of the Packer games. Yes, I'd like to get out of them, but it won't happen. What are some of the different ways that I can watch a repeat of a Packer game that I've missed? I'd especially like to do this over the internet, as we don't have a good cable/satellite set up for the TV right now. Any suggestions?

Would a sports bar be a good option? I don't go to them much at all, so I don't really now about them.

Sorry for the rather selfish FanPost, but I'm getting desperate for some good info on this.

Mike McCarthy recently complemented his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, saying that he is the best decision-maker at the position since Joe Montana. He then listed some of Rodgers' attributes as a passer: "He can throw to tight spots, and he has the anticipation, arm strength and accuracy to attack the seams. But he does a great job of staying disciplined and staying within the offense." McCarthy also added that Rodgers is "clearly in tune with taking what the defense gives you." Then came the clincher, "He does not get bored throwing the easy completion, and that’s a great attribute to have as a quarterback."

What quarterback might McCarthy have coached who did get bored with "the easy completion"?

Of course, I've never met Brett Favre. However, considering his difficulties with addiction problems, sexting in New York, making controversial comments in interviews and throwing for touchdowns or interceptions at crucial moments, one may wonder if Favre hasn't had a strong risk-taking personality, which affected his play. When McCarthy first became the head coach of the Packers, one of the first things he tried to do was convince Favre to check down to the easy completion rather than force a throw downfield. He was only moderately successful at this.

After Favre's recent comments about Aaron Rodgers, could McCarthy have been subtly taking a shot at Favre, defending his Super Bowl MVP quarterback?

With all of the talk of the super TE, Jermichael Finley, the breakout year of Jordy Nelson, the early disappearance of James Jones (only to reappear with a 70-yard TD catch) and the exciting rookie Randall Cobb - no one is talking about our biggest playmaker of all, Greg Jennings. I haven't seen any reference to the absolutely amazing run after the catch and dive into the endzone by Jennings in the Atlanta game on APC at all.

This has to be one of the most amazing runs after a catch that we've seen. Watch it again. Jennings catches the ball around the 16-yard line and runs toward the sideline making a 110 degree cut - at full speed -

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IF a player like Starks, Porter, Crabtree is placed on the IR, how much can they participate in team activities? Can they do any practicing? Can they train at team facilities? Can they attend team meetings, etc? If they can't do anything football related, then it seems like a real detriment to a young player's development.

Could a player like Giacomini, who has been around a couple years but has really not played be put on the practice squad? Do players get much chance to progress football-wise on the practice squad?

I'm thinking mostly of Starks. He can't make the 53-man roster at this stage. A year on IR would do him also no good. Could he do something like play in Europe for a year and the Packers would still have first rights to him next year?

Of course, there is always TOO much sports talk leading up to the Super Bowl. With Peyton Manning in the game, there is a lot of discussion about whether he might be the best QB of all time. As everyone knows, the argument against him is that he's only won one Super Bowl and doesn't have great record in the playoffs. So QBs like Brady, Montana, Aikman, Bradshaw, etc are mentioned.

But the QB who has won the most NFL championships in history is never mentioned: Green Bay QB, BART STARR. He also won 2 Super Bowl MVPs (one of only 4 multi-MVP winners), and had a 9-1 record in the playoffs.

If they are going to KEEP saying that it is the hardware that really determines greatness, then they should start mentioning Starr every time they talk about QB greats.

PACKER FANS! Start filling ESPN and CBS inboxes with messages telling them to add Starr to the conversation.

The Packers have around 6-8 players who are somewhat expendable, meaning that either they don't quite fit into what the Packers are doing now, or their place on the team has been superseded by younger players. Either in combination with another player or a draft pick, these men might enable the Packers to pick up some 2nd and 3rd round picks, or maybe even a Pro Bowl type player from another team, especially as there are a few 'disguntled' players around.

The Packers are deep at linebacker, but without enough real standouts. It makes some of the crowd at LB expendable, especially if an outstanding player can be found. Trading a LB would also make sense if an excellent player at another position could be picked up, and an adequate LB could be added to make up for the loss.

For example, let say we can send A.J. Hawk to Cleveland (this would delight Cleveland fans) and exchange 1st round draft positions, we could then draft Rolando McClain LB from Alabama. We benefit (We'd have the two best young OLBs in the NFL.) and so does Cleveland (They improve at LB and still get a 1st round pick.). Another example would be to send Hawk to Cleveland for Joshua Cribbs, who isn't happy there. We get the explosive kick returner we need, and picking up a part-time LB shouldn't be too hard.

After the jump is more about who the expendable players are, and what we might be able to get in return.

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Just want to give some thoughts on the Packers performance last week and what it might mean as they move forward.

First, Kurt Warner played a near perfect game, so panicking over the defense would be an overreaction. This isn't to say that there aren't problems, but he would have been tough to beat for anyone.

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We don't have the opportunity to see what a position coach does on a daily basis. As fans we have a limited vision in any attempt to evaluate a position coach. At the same time, there are some criteria that can be used to at least get some sort of idea.

One, the position coach needs to be evaluated by the performance of the entire group at the position. A phenomenal player is a phenomenal player, and certainly not necessarily the product of a good coach. A lousy performance by one player may also be just that, rather than a reflection of poor coaching. Therefore the performance of the entire unit should be considered the standard for a position coach.

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