Saturday, August 31, 2013

Packers Make Final Cuts; Possible Trade for Back-up QB?


Green Bay - The Packers have released veteran QB Vince Young. The quarterback posted a message on Twitter thanking the Packers for the chance he received and I was able to confirm with a source that he had indeed been cut.

Young Tweeted: "Thanks to the @packers for the opportunity great organization great team wonderful fans good luck this season.”

If Young is not the Packers' backup, who is? There has been no word on whether B.J. Coleman has been released, but it's hard to imagine that he will be their backup. More than likely, the Packers are working out a trade for somebody who was about to be cut or they are going to roll the dice and wait and see who is available.

The list of quarterbacks on the street right now is not very good. Of course, the big name is New England's Tim Tebow. But since he has never shown an ability to run a precision offense, don't expect that to happen.

It's not exactly a murderer's row of QBs and none of them is probably any better than Young. Some of the QBs who have been cut so far: Matt Leinart (Bills), Trent Edwards and Jordan Palmer (Bears), Jimmy Clausen (Panthers), Caleb Hanie (Ravens), Matt Scott and Mike Kafka (Jaguars) and Dennis Dixon (Eagles).

The guys to look out for as possible trade acquisitions or waiver pick ups are prospecs like KC's Taylor Bray, Miami's Matt Moore, Cleveland's Bryan Hoyer, the Giants' Ryan Nassib, Washington's Rex Grossman, Arizona's Ryan Lindley, Seattle's Brady Quinn and St. Louis Kellen Clemens.

Another big name who was released was TE DJ Williams, who Tweeted: "We'll pack nation. It was fun. Thanks for all the support and good memories. There's no place like lambeau field. Wish all the best!"

That leaves Jermichael Finley, Matthew Mulligan, Andrew Quarless and Brandon Bostick as the tight ends right now.

Another notable cut was seventh-round WR Charles Johnson. Both he and Kevin Dorsey, the other 7th-rounder have been released. Both never had a chance because they were injured.

Also, undrafted free agent Tyrone Walker, who had a very strong camp, and Myles White were released. That leaves the WR corps as James Jones, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Jarrett Boykin and Jeremy Ross.

Other cuts we know of so far today are:

•CB Lloyce Means
•FB Jonathan Amosa
•S David Fulton
•S Chaz Powell
•OL Garth Gerhart
•WR Charles Johnson
•WR Tyrone Walker
•OLB Donte Savage
•OG/C Patrick Lewis
•WR Myles White
•OT Andrew Datko

Predicting who makes the Packers' 2013 roster

Article Written by Paul Imig
Fox Sports Wisconsin

After watching 21 training camp practices and four preseason games, it's time to predict the Green Bay Packers' 53-man roster for the 2013 season.

Quarterbacks (2)
In: Aaron Rodgers, Vince Young
Out: B.J. Coleman

Analysis: After Young's poor performance in the Packers' preseason finale, there's no guarantee that he'll be Rodgers' top backup this season. However, Coleman isn't ready yet to be No. 2 on the depth chart. Another year on the practice squad is likely in store for Coleman to continue to develop. With Graham Harrell released earlier in the week, Green Bay is still without a consistent, dependable quarterback behind Rodgers. If any quality quarterbacks are released at Saturday's deadline, perhaps the Packers look in that direction. The problem with that, though, is that puts another new QB in place -- Young has only been with the team for 24 days -- who has to learn a complex offensive system on the fly with no training camp time to get comfortable.

Running Backs (5)
In: Eddie Lacy, John Kuhn, Johnathan Franklin, James Starks, Alex Green
Out: Jonathan Amosa
IR: DuJuan Harris

Analysis: The season-ending knee injury to Harris made this a much easier decision for Green Bay's front office. If Harris was healthy, there was almost no scenario in which the Packers would have kept both Starks and Green. Now, they'll both likely be back for another year. Kuhn isn't going anywhere yet. Though Kuhn makes a relatively high salary ($1.8 million base in 2013), Green Bay doesn't seem ready to part with the soon-to-be 31-year-old. Amosa could be a practice-squad candidate, but there are eight others who are more deserving of those spots.

Wide Receivers (5)
In: Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Jarrett Boykin, Jeremy Ross
Out: Charles Johnson, Tyrone Walker, Myles White

Analysis: Before the preseason finale in Kansas City, I had Walker in and Ross out on my preliminary predictions chart. Ross had been so inconsistent as a wide receiver in training camp that it seemed unlikely for the Packers to give him a roster spot solely for his return abilities. Even in that department, Green Bay had been trying multiple players in the return game and still had Cobb to fall back on. Then, when he needed it most, Ross delivered as a wide receiver against the Chiefs, finishing with three receptions for 50 yards and looking crisp and confident in his routes. Walker's fumble in the fourth quarter Thursday night was one of a very small number of mistakes he's made over the past month. Even after putting the ball on the ground, Walker hustled and helped the Packers recover. If this was a 54-man roster, Walker would be on it. Walker is definitely a practice-squad player if he misses the cut. It's a risk to not put Johnson on the roster because his skills going into this year's draft were well known. However, Johnson missed so much time in training camp that he didn't get to show his talent. Johnson, too, will be on the practice squad if he doesn't make varsity.

Tight Ends (4)
In: Jermichael Finley, Matthew Mulligan, Brandon Bostick, Ryan Taylor
Out: Jake Stoneburner, D.J. Williams, Andrew Quarless

Analysis: As difficult as the cuts will be at the back end of the wide receivers position, they are even tougher with the tight ends. After Finley, there's not a surefire player who is a lock for the 53-man roster. Mulligan is such a good run-blocker that, especially after McCarthy's promise to have an improved rushing attack this season, he should make it. Taylor is a very good special teams player and an improving tight end, so Green Bay is likely to keep him on board for a third consecutive season. Bostick is a major wild card. There was a report recently that teams have been coveting Bostick in a trade from the Packers, so it's unlikely that Green Bay could sneak him onto the practice squad for the second year in a row. It wouldn't be just out of fear that Bostick would be on the Packers' 53-man roster in 2013. He's an improving player, a very good athlete and the type of talent who would be good to have around next year in the event that Finley departs in free agency. Williams hasn't yet become the NFL player that his John Mackey Award in college indicated he might turn into. Williams' multiple healthy scratches from the gameday lineup last season could have been an early sign of trouble if he isn't brought back. Quarless was becoming a good, well-rounded player before his gruesome knee injury in December 2011. With Quarless still only 24 years old, Green Bay doesn't want to lose him. But general manager Ted Thompson hasn't shown much patience recently with players that have an injury history (such as linebackers Desmond Bishop and D.J. Smith, among others). Stoneburner would be a nice player to continue developing on the practice squad, just as Bostick was last season.

Offensive Line (7)
In: David Bakhtiari, T.J. Lang, Evan Dietrich-Smith, Josh Sitton, Don Barclay, Marshall Newhouse, Greg Van Roten
Out: Lane Taylor, Patrick Lewis, Kevin Hughes, Andrew Datko, Garth Gerhart
PUP: Derek Sherrod, JC Tretter
IR: Bryan Bulaga

Analysis: The first six names above are easy. After that, it becomes much less certain. Van Roten has a slight edge on the seventh offensive line spot, as he is the No. 2 center and can rotate into other positions, as well. Taylor and Lewis could both stick around on the practice squad and give the Packers some in-house options if one of the seven active-roster offensive linemen suffer an injury. Green Bay would like to keep eight offensive linemen, but, after Bulaga's season-ending knee injury and Tretter's broken ankle, there isn't an eighth healthy player who's really done enough to warrant it. The Packers remain confident that Sherrod will be able to come back from his devastating broken leg injury (he's already missed 20 months), so he could return some time after Week 6. If Tretter returns midseason as the team hopes, there is suddenly plenty of offensive line depth. But Sherrod and Tretter aren't guaranteed to play in 2013, so Green Bay can't afford another injury on its offensive line.

Defensive Line (6)
In: B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, Datone Jones, C.J. Wilson, Mike Daniels, Johnny Jolly
Out: Josh Boyd, Jordan Miller
PUP: Jerel Worthy

Analysis: (Note: Mike Neal is being classified as an outside linebacker.) Jolly has done everything he could have to complete his improbable comeback. After missing the past three NFL seasons with a league suspension and serving six months in prison, Jolly is back to batting down passes at the line of scrimmage and being disruptive in the backfield. Jolly takes the spot that might have otherwise gone to Boyd, a fifth-round pick this year. If Boyd isn't part of the 53-man roster, he'd definitely be a qualified member of the practice squad if the Packers can get him there. Raji, Pickett, Jones, Wilson and Daniels give Green Bay the depth and talent on its defensive line that the team hasn't had to this extent in a while.

Inside Linebackers (6)
In: A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Robert Francois, Terrell Manning, Sam Barrington, Jamari Lattimore

Analysis: Barrington was a significant special teams contributor in the preseason, so he might make it even if it's unlikely that he plays much on defense. Hawk restructured his contract this offseason to stay with the Packers, Jones got a rich new deal as an unrestricted free agent to remain in Green Bay and Francois is a steady veteran and the top reserve. Manning's bout with colitis as a rookie last season didn't give him a chance to look like a fifth-round-pick type of player, but he's only 23 years old and has a lot of potential. Lattimore, an undrafted pickup in 2011, should be back for his third season with the Packers.

Outside Linebackers (5)
In: Mike Neal, Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Andy Mulumba, Nate Palmer
Out: Dezman Moses, Donte Savage

Analysis: Neal has been transformed from full-time defensive lineman into playing a hybrid position that mostly has him at outside linebacker. Neal's strength and natural pass-rushing ability could make him an ideal third-down player who benefits from not having his hands in the dirt. He just needs to stay healthy, which has been Neal's biggest problem in three NFL seasons. Mulumba is an undrafted rookie who was just too effective in training camp to keep off the 53-man roster. It could be close between Mulumba, Palmer and Moses, but it was Mulumba who had the best training camp and preseason among the three of them. Palmer started off slow, but the rookie sixth-round pick finished strong and should help right away as a pass rusher. Moses has not followed up well on his surprising rookie campaign in 2012. Moses' play hasn't improved a lot in Year 2, and he's likely been passed up on the depth chart by Mulumba and Palmer.

Cornerbacks (6)
In: Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, Davon House, Casey Hayward, Micah Hyde, Jarrett Bush
Out: Brandon Smith, Loyce Means, James Nixon

Analysis: This one is relatively easy to call. Williams, Shields, House, Hayward and Hyde are locks. Bush is such a hard worker and quality special-teams performer that he likely sticks around for another year, even if he doesn't play more than 50 snaps all season on defense. There's a case to be made that Smith was one of Green Bay's worst defensive players in the preseason. However, the Packers have been attempting to convert Smith from a wide receiver to a cornerback and they knew it wouldn't be easy. Athletic and 6-foot-1, he has the body to do it. The biggest issue in keeping Smith on the practice squad to develop is that he's already 26 years old.

Safeties (4)
In: Morgan Burnett, M.D. Jennings, Jerron McMillian, Chris Banjo
Out: Chaz Powell, David Fulton
PUP: Sean Richardson

Analysis: Banjo signed with Green Bay on July 29 after the Packers waived safety Ryan McMahon. Though Banjo is undersized at 5-foot-10, he is a tenacious defender and has the type of on-field attitude that Green Bay's coaching staff prefers to have in its safeties. Banjo has clearly outperformed Powell and Fulton. Safety is one of the Packers' thinnest positions, especially with the uncertain future of Richardson following his offseason neck surgery. And, to answer this question again for anyone still wondering, Green Bay has no plans at the moment to convert Hyde from cornerback to safety. It could happen at some point in the future, but the Packers are currently set on playing Hyde at cornerback.

Special Teams (3)
In: Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode

Analysis: Pending a last-minute change of plans or an unexpected release happening on another NFL team, Crosby will be Green Bay's kicker this season. The Packers brought in Giorgio Tavecchio for five months and Zach Ramirez for 24 hours, but Crosby was the last one standing. Crosby even agreed to restructure his contract for the 2013 season, dropping his base salary from $2.4 million to $800,000. After Crosby's NFL-worst field-goal accuracy rate last season (63.6 percent), Green Bay won't show the same unquestioned loyalty to him this year if his 2012 struggles carry over to 2013. The Packers know what Tavecchio can do. The young, Italian-born kicker made 56-of-64 field-goal attempts (87.5 percent) in training camp, and McCarthy acknowledged that there's a scenario in which Green Bay brings Tavecchio back at some point. But, at least for now, it's Crosby's job unless he kicks his way out of it with multiple misses.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Packers' Release of Harrell Paves Way for Young


The Graham Harrell era as the Green Bay Packers' backup quarterback is over. Less than 24 hours after Harrell entered the Packers' preseason game in relief of Aaron Rodgers and produced five scoreless drives, the team has decided to release him and go in a different direction, according to FOXSports.com NFL Insider Alex Marvez.

That different direction is likely to be Vince Young, who signed with Green Bay less than three weeks ago.

"I don't think about it," Harrell said Friday when asked about making the team. "I just try and make plays when my number is called and do my job, and that's our job all the time."

Friday night against the Seattle Seahawks, Harrell completed only 6 of 13 passes for 49 yards. Through three games Harrell went 23-for-42 for 169 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Monday's events leave Packers with unanswered questions

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- This was not the type of mundane Monday that the Green Bay Packers were hoping for.

Left tackle Bryan Bulaga was likely lost for the season with a torn ACL. Free-agent quarterback Vince Young was brought in for a workout and later signed a one-year contract to potentially give Aaron Rodgers a more experienced backup. Kicker Mason Crosby is under fire for making only 3 of 8 field-goal attempts in Saturday night's scrimmage after a season in which he finished with the NFL's lowest success rate.

It was enough stress for coach Mike McCarthy to decide it was time for a day off. Four hours before the Packers were scheduled to practice, the team cancelled it, along with all media availability. Instead of putting their pads and helmets on, players and coaches spent the day having a rare mid-training camp "team-building function."

Sunday was already an off day for Green Bay, so Monday's cancellation sure seems like a sign that things aren't going McCarthy's way on Day 11 of training camp.

Injuries have piled up, too. Including Bulaga, the Packers currently have 18 players unavailable to practice. Wide receivers Jordy Nelson, Charles Johnson and Kevin Dorsey, and cornerbacks Tramon Williams and Casey Hayward make up just a small number of the notable names who have not been able to practice.

The Packers have to regroup quickly before Tuesday morning's return to practice.

The top priority for McCarthy is figuring out what to do at left tackle now. McCarthy made the unprecedented move this offseason to completely swap the right side of the offensive line with the left side of the offensive line. Bulaga was the key component to that, becoming the new blind-side protector for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy justified the major switch as Bulaga and guard Josh Sitton being the team's two best offensive linemen and the coaching staff therefore wanting them to anchor the left side.

But now what? Green Bay can move Marshall Newhouse back to left tackle, a spot that had been his since Week 4 of the 2011 season. McCarthy's lack of comfort with Newhouse at left tackle was evident, though, when the Packers made the big change. Newhouse, a 33-game starter over the past two years, wasn't even guaranteed the right tackle job. He was put into a competition with several others.

Don Barclay was expected to be Newhouse's main challenger at right tackle, but Green Bay has instead been training Barclay at center and guard. The results with Barclay as an interior lineman have not been positive. He's botched at least four snaps at center, often rolling the ball back to the quarterback in shotgun. But, after an injury to fourth-round pick offensive lineman J.C. Tretter in May, the Packers decided that having Barclay be cross-trained and more versatile was more important than him vying for a starting spot against Newhouse.

Green Bay's other fourth-round pick in this year's draft, David Bakhtiari, has been one of the team's most impressive rookies. After being near the back of the depth chart early in training camp, Bakhtiari had already begun to emerge as a starting candidate before Bulaga's injury. If the Packers believe he can handle the responsibility of left tackle right away, Bakhtiari could step into that role. Otherwise, Newhouse could slide back to his old spot at left tackle and Bakhtiari could spend his first NFL season at right tackle.

Derek Sherrod remains a wild card. He's 20 months removed from breaking his leg, but the 2011 first-round pick has yet to be medically cleared. Still only 24 years old and obviously talented enough to be the 32nd overall pick only a couple years ago, Sherrod could become a possible replacement for Bulaga. But McCarthy will have to look at other options first, and if Sherrod is suddenly made available, it would just be a bonus for Green Bay's offensive line.

As if that decision won't be difficult enough for the Packers, the team is going in a new direction at backup quarterback. Green Bay's plans with Young -- the third-overall pick in 2006 by the Tennessee Titans -- remain unclear, but the one-year contract he signed Monday is an indication that the team isn't satisfied with Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman.

Harrell, 28, was the Packers' No. 2 quarterback last season, but his one meaningful regular-season snap was a goal-line fumble. He's been steady in training camp, but Harrell's ceiling as a quarterback is pretty well-defined.

Coleman, 24, was a seventh-round pick by Green Bay in 2012. He's had some strong throws in recent practices, but he threw two interceptions -- one of which was returned for a touchdown -- in the team's Saturday night scrimmage. McCarthy described the interceptions as the "black eye" for Coleman.

Young, 30, provides a wide-ranging and interesting set of possibilities for the Packers. Once considered an NFL prospect with huge upside, Young was out of the league last year, despite a 31-19 overall record as a starting quarterback. Young last played in a game for the Philadelphia Eagles in November 2011, which was a victory over the eventual-Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

That issue isn't the last for Green Bay to deal with. Crosby's struggles from last season -- in which he made only 21 of 33 attempts (including 2 of 9 from beyond 50 yards) -- are apparently not over. With three years and $7.85 million remaining on Crosby's contract, the seventh-year kicker is being outperformed by Giorgio Tavecchio, who the Packers signed off the street to a non-guaranteed deal in March.

Among Crosby's misses in Saturday night's scrimmage were kicks from 33 yards, 37 yards and 43 yards. Those misfires came in perfect early-August weather conditions at Lambeau Field, the home stadium that Crosby should be used to after six seasons. McCarthy publicly stood by Crosby throughout all of last season, often stating "Mason is our kicker" whenever asked what Green Bay's plan was at that position. But, after Crosby's outing on Saturday, McCarthy took a different route.

"He definitely didn't take a step in the right direction with his performance," McCarthy said of Crosby. "He's definitely got to do better than that because that's not going to cut it.  . . . I think there's, just from a fundamental standpoint, I mean, he's got to do better than that."

The Packers took an unexpected breather on Monday with no practice and no reporters inquiring as to the latest on the team. When McCarthy and his players are back at it on Tuesday, though, there will be plenty of questions to answer.


 

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Hall of Fame 2013

I had another great day at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Ceremonies. Dave Robinson represented the Packers very well and he still looks great in health. He mentioned that there are now 5 Packers from the left side of the Packer defense from the Lombardi era.

Wille Davis
Ray Nitschke
Herb Adderly
Willie Wood
Dave Robinson