Category — Green Bay Packers

The Packers are reportedly interested in acquiring Pacman Jones from the Tennessee Titans, who Jones has all but vowed he will never play for again. There are, of course, a few things wrong with this rumor. First and foremost, the Packers have two of the better corners in the AFC, Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Second, and just as important, general manager Ted Thompson rarely makes a significant free agent signing, nor does he make a controversial one. Of course, signing Pacman would fall under both categories.

The rumor does have a few things going for it, though. Both Harris and Woodson are in their 30s and the Packers may want to sign the uber-athletic Pacman Jones to be the team’s future. Harris also showed serious signs of decay last season, getting burned by good wide receivers and frustrating Packers fans.

We’re not even through the 2007 season and we’re already beginning to discuss his plans for 2008. At least one AP reporter isn’t afraid to speculate about what’s going on in Favre’s head:

Favre at least hinted that the Packers’ successful season makes him more likely to return next year.

“If last season gave me hope, if I felt optimistic after our Chicago game last year at 8-8 and not making the playoffs, sure, I obviously have to feel a little bit better — especially individually,” Favre said.

In a bit of an odd investigation, the NFL is set to prove that Green Bay’s defensive backs offered their linemen teammates $500 each if they could hold Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson under 100 yard and another $500 if they could hold Carolina’s team total to under 60 yards on the ground.

Personally, I think it’s funny that Green Bay’s players recognized the vast difference in talent between Carolina’s ball carriers and Adrian Peterson.

It’s a rule I wasn’t aware of, though I can’t say for certain Green Bay’s defensive backs can say the same thing. But who knew teammates couldn’t offer bonuses to each other for good play? It doesn’t seem much different from buying a round of beers after a team victory, though according to NFL rules it is punishable. This, from ESPN.com, spews out the league lingo:

A lot of MVP hype is going to Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and, to some extent, Peyton Manning. All three are leading their respective teams to the postseason and all three are putting up spectacular numbers, with an emphasis on the first two.

But is any one of them the league’s MVP?

Think about this: if Randy Moss didn’t play for New England, Tom Brady wouldn’t be putting up these stratospheric numbers. I don’t think there’s any debate there. But the Patriots would still be a darn good team with a near spotless record (one or two losses, probably).

If you were wondering how good the Packers are, your questions were probably answered this Sunday when the team dismantled a hapless Minnesota Vikings defense. Adrian Peterson? Contained. Minnesota’s 3rd ranked rush defense? Trampled.

This game wasn’t close. It was a blowout. Green Bay had possession of the ball for more than 40 minutes of play. The Vikings didn’t convert a 3rd down until late in the second half; in fact, the team didn’t even amass 100 yards of offense until the second half was well underway.

It’s becoming more and more obvious that the Vikings style of play isn’t going to earn the team wins anytime soon. Modeled after the classic smashmouth style of play that dominated the 1980s and prior, Brian Baldinger noted late during the game that the Vikings were on the receiving end of a “good old-fashioned butt-kicking.”

Every season we expect some things. The Colts will be good. So will the Patriots. The AFC West will be a tight race and LaDainian Tomlinson is going to have a great season.

Those predictions are easy to make. But there are other teams who emerge each season, seemingly from nowhere, and force fans — and opponents — to take notice. They might not dominate like the Patriots and they might not get that kind of media attention, but they get victories. And it isn’t until about halfway through the season that we care.

We’ve all come to accept that, although the NFL has more parity than any other major orcollegiate sports venue, the AFC is more dominant than the NFC. They’ve won 6 the past 7 Super Bowls and the AFC typically has a winning record in the regular season, as well.

But 2007 and beyond may see a shift in the dominance. Take a look at the NFC’s top 3 teams right now, in terms of talent and production: Dallas, Green Bay, and even Carolina. The first has one of the NFL’s best offenses, Green Bay has one of the league’s best yound defenses, and Carolina has a healthy blend of each. Point being, all three are strong enough to contend for a Super Bowl and all three are composed of young rosters.

The third week of NFL action kicks off tomorrow, and now might be a good time to quickly preview some of the most intriguing games to watch Sunday and Monday night. And don’t forget that you can check how 5 football minds expect the games to play out at NFL Experts Pick ‘em.

Arizona @ Baltimore — Both teams enter tomorrow’s matchup with a 1-1 record and an eye on their respective division crowns. Neither is a sure-thing to win Sunday, though the Vegas spread (Baltimore by 8 ) might make you believe Baltimore will coast to a victory.

The NFL has a few surprise teams this year, teams we never expected to begin the season 2-0. But perhaps the most impressive of these is the Green Bay Packers.

Kicking off the season against the Eagles is no picnic, nor is traveling to New York the next week to play the Giants. But that’s how the chips fell for Green Bay when computers and analysts put together schedules last winter, and it seemed unfair. Now it looks like the NFC East got the raw end of the deal.

Green Bay was one of the most underrated teams in the NFL going into the season. No one — well almost no one — predicted a victorious season for the Packers. And you can hardly blame those pundits. By most measures the Packers are an average team on paper: aging quarterback, inexperienced offense, and still-young head coach.

While Donald Driver continues to nurse his ankle and deal with the inevitable effects of growing older, fantasy-heads are curious as to whether he’ll open the season with the starting offense. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess.

Mike McCarthy is optimistic, at least: “Donald is doing well. He went through the rehab part of it. He’ll be limited probably the remainder of the week, and we’ll make a decision on him at the end of the week.”

At this point, you’ll just need to wait it out until practices conclude at the end of the week. McCarthy doesn’t want to make a decision before that time because Driver still isn’t 100%.