Packers.com

Hall Of Fame Hosts Black History Month Discussion

Duke Bobber, Packers.com — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:01:02 CST

To commemorate Black History Month, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame held a panel discussion Thursday night broaching issues surrounding African-American players and their contributions to the league, the community and beyond.

Director of player development Rob Davis, former defensive end Willie Davis, defensive end Cullen Jenkins, former linebacker Dave Robinson, and assistant director of pro personnel Tim Terry participated in the discussion, which included an open dialogue of personal experiences and life lessons.

Throughout the discussion, panelists recalled stories from their formative years to show how they've been so successful. If the panel had one thing in common, it's the belief that perseverance pays off in the end.

"I saw a lot," Willie Davis said. "Sometimes you'd kind of grit your teeth and say, 'One day. One day this thing will probably be different.'"

In 1964, in the middle of Davis' playing career, Congress passed the Civil Righ..

'Favorite Fives' of 2008: Top Special Teams Plays

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:09:16 CST

Continuing a series begun a year ago, Packers.com has again compiled a series of "Favorite Fives," various Top 5 lists of big plays from this past regular season.

Each list will be accompanied by a brief description of the context, plus video clips of the plays. The Packers Fan Poll on the left side of the page will allow fans to vote for their favorite. A new "Favorite Five" has appeared each week for the last several weeks, with a new corresponding poll.

After all the lists have appeared, votes will be tabulated to compile a final "Favorite Five," and Packers.com visitors can then vote for their favorite play of the year for 2008.

The sixth installment is the Top 5 special teams plays. In chronological order, they are:

Will Blackmon, 76-yard punt return TD vs. Minnesota (Sept. 8)
The Packers were clinging to a 10-6 lead midway through the third quarter when the season opener tilted in their favor for good. Blackmon fielded Chris Kluw..

Jenkins Properly Pacing His Rehab

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:19:00 CST

Like many players coming back from injuries, Cullen Jenkins is balancing short-term desires with a long-term focus.

Part of him wants to rehab like a madman to get his torn pectoral muscle back into playing shape as soon as possible, so he'll miss as little of the upcoming offseason workouts as necessary.

But another part of him knows there's no point in haste making waste, because the ultimate objective isn't to have 100 percent attendance from March through June, as valuable as that might be. It's more important to be at 100 percent for the start of training camp in late July and through the ensuing 16-game regular season.

"You want to do more, you feel like you can do more, but obviously you don't want to mess it up," said Jenkins, who has been rehabbing his torn pectoral since having surgery in early October. "There's a lot of times I wanted to progress faster, but I have to listen to the doctors and be smart and not try to do too much.

"It's t..

Ticket Prices Holding Steady For '09

By Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:40:18 CST

The Green Bay Packers are holding their ticket prices steady in 2009, breaking a recent trend of raising prices every other year.
Citing the current state of the economy and the impact it has had both locally and nationally as one of the main factors, President and CEO Mark Murphy said ticket prices for the coming year would remain at the same levels as the '07 and '08 seasons.

"We felt this was appropriate for our ticket holders," Murphy said. "We're sensitive to the situation many of our fans may be in, and hopefully holding prices is helpful to them. We're all going through this together and everyone is taking measures to deal with the situation they find themselves in, both at an individual and business level."

To reduce expenses in the near-term, the team announced last fall it would be holding off on an Atrium expansion project. Continued scrutiny of expenses will be key moving forward, as will keeping Lambeau Field the viable, revenue-producing asset it h..

Notebook: O-Line Looks To Settle In

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:58:29 CST

All the shuffling the Packers have done on the offensive line over the past couple of seasons has been born out of necessity, namely youth and injuries.

But for 2009, Head Coach Mike McCarthy sounds like he'd rather start locking players into certain positions and create a more stable depth chart up front, so that when an injury comes along it's simply 'Next man in' at that spot, not, 'One guy moves over here, another slides into there, and this guy steps in off the bench.'

"It's something we've talked about internally that we need to try to migrate away from, and that's the musical chairs that we've had with our offensive line," McCarthy said amongst his various media interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

"I know injuries have played part of that and you can't avoid that, but we've had a number of, particularly our younger players, that are moving around and playing different positions."

While the flexibility of young linemen lik..

Preliminary Depth Chart Taking Shape

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:36:32 CST

Speaking to the media in various settings on Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Head Coach Mike McCarthy and General Manager Ted Thompson started to drop some hints about what the base front seven will look like in the Packers' new 3-4 defense.

McCarthy and Thompson each spoke with the team's beat reporters, held a formal press conference, and also did interviews with Sirius NFL radio on Friday before heading into a weekend of player evaluations and interviews in preparation for the April draft.

In short, if the Packers were to line up for their first practice tomorrow on the 3-4 scheme, the starting defensive linemen would likely be Ryan Pickett at nose tackle and Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly at the two defensive ends. Behind them would be Nick Barnett and A.J. Hawk as the two inside linebackers, and Aaron Kampman as one of the outside linebackers.

"You have a base defense depth chart, but you also have players that play multiple positi..

Packers Draftees Dorsey, Bennett Revisit Combine Days

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:16:49 CST

It was 17 years ago that Edgar Bennett, then a running back prospect from Florida State, attended the NFL Scouting Combine. But now that he returns to Indianapolis on an annual basis as the running backs coach of the Green Bay Packers, it's impossible for Bennett not to be reminded of his pre-draft days there back in 1992.

He bumps into coaches and scouts all the time at the Combine, evaluators who remember him as a player when they were scouting him. Bennett remembers them, too, at least some of them.

"It makes it fun, because they remind you of when you were going through the process and how it was," Bennett said. "Some of them remember a lot about you."

'How it was' for Bennett at the Combine isn't much different than how it is in 2009, except that the event was without the extensive media coverage and scrutiny that accompany it now as the No. 2 NFL offseason event, behind the draft itself.

As the '09 Combine begins this week in Indianapolis at ..

Nick Collins Pro Bowl Diary

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 09:11:33 CST

In his fourth season, Nick Collins earned Pro Bowl recognition to become the first Packers safety to receive that honor since Darren Sharper in 2002.

Collins and teammate Charles Woodson (also a Pro Bowl selection) tied for the NFC lead with seven interceptions, which was a career high for Collins. Collins was the only player in the league to return three interceptions for touchdowns this season, and led the league with 295 interception return yards, the sixth-most in a single season in NFL history.

Collins started at free safety for the NFC as they topped the AFC, 30-21. He was credited with one tackle and led the NFC with two special teams stops.

Collins spoke with Packers.com about his Pro Bowl experience when he returned from Hawaii last week.

I was overwhelmed by the whole experience. It was a great experience for me, my family and all of the first-time players in the Pro Bowl. I think we had quite a few first-time players over there, ..

'Favorite Fives' of 2008: Top Defensive Plays

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:24:58 CST

Continuing a series begun a year ago, Packers.com has again compiled a series of "Favorite Fives," various Top 5 lists of big plays from this past regular season.

Each list will be accompanied by a brief description of the context, plus video clips of the plays. The Packers Fan Poll on the left side of the page will allow fans to vote for their favorite. A new "Favorite Five" will appear each week for the next several weeks, with a new corresponding poll.

After all the lists have appeared, votes will be tabulated to compile a final "Favorite Five," and Packers.com visitors can then vote for their favorite play of the year for 2008.

The fifth installment is the Top 5 defensive plays. In chronological order, they are:

Charles Woodson, 41-yard INT return TD at Detroit (Sept. 14)
Woodson had picked off a pass on the previous series intended for Calvin Johnson, setting up a touchdown to put the Packers ahead 34-25. This time he stepped in ..

Redding Relishes Joining Packers

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:24:21 CST

(Concluding the profiles of some of the new members of the team's coaching staff, today's Packers.com feature is on strength and conditioning coordinator Dave Redding.)

After a second multi-year hiatus from an NFL coaching career in strength and conditioning that spanned 23 seasons, Dave Redding wasn't necessarily angling to get back into the game again.

But the opportunity to join the Green Bay Packers was too appealing to pass up.

Raised in Nebraska, Redding was a fan of two teams as a kid - the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Green Bay Packers. He fulfilled a lifelong dream by playing for the Cornhuskers in college, and at age 56 he's realizing another one by joining the Packers as their new strength and conditioning coordinator.

"If Nebraska lost on Saturday and Green Bay lost on Sunday, I was in therapy Monday morning," Redding said of his childhood. "I couldn't go to school. I was just a kid who was obsessed with those two teams. Now if t..

Slocum Preparing New Approaches

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:18:13 CST

(Continuing the profiles of some of the new members of the team's coaching staff, today's Packers.com feature is on special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum.)

The Green Bay special teams players who have worked under Shawn Slocum over the past three years probably think they know their new special teams coordinator pretty well.

But now that he'll be in charge of all of the Packers' return and coverage units after three seasons as the assistant, Slocum isn't guaranteeing those players have seen all facets of his coaching style.

"I heard a long time ago a quote from Bill Walsh that made a lot of sense to me, and that's one of a coach's greatest assets is the ability to be predictably unpredictable," Slocum said. "I think it keeps players on their toes.

"I think it's important as a teacher to do what's necessary to impress upon the pupil, the player, the point (you're trying to make), and there are a number of ways to do that. You can jump up and..

Rodgers Drawing Wins National Contest For Local Teen Artist

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:59:40 CST

Jessie McDonald has several drawings of football players hanging up around her bedroom that she admits "aren't the greatest."

This one, though, is a different story.

Jessie is a 13-year-old artist from Sobieski, Wis., a small community just 20 minutes north of Green Bay. This past football season, she decided to enter an online sports art contest sponsored by SIKids.com, and after perusing various photos on Packers.com, settled on a shot of quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the 2008 season opener against Minnesota as her subject.

"The Packers are my favorite sports team, so I thought I'd just draw them," Jessie said. "I don't really remember why I picked Aaron Rodgers, but I do know I liked that picture better than all the other ones, because it zoomed up on his face and there was only one football player in the picture. I didn't want to have to draw two."

That turned out to be a prudent choice, allowing her to focus on every last detail of Rodgers, f..

Trgovac Excited About Return To Green Bay

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:07:04 CST

(Continuing the profiles of some of the new members of the team's coaching staff, today's Packers.com feature is on defensive line coach Mike Trgovac.)

When Mike Trgovac decided he wanted to coach a position after running the Carolina Panthers' defense for the last six seasons, he had a couple of options for his next job, but two aspects of the defensive line coach opening with the Packers made it the most appealing.

One was the opportunity to coach again with Head Coach Mike McCarthy, after the pair had worked together on Green Bay's staff in 1999 under Ray Rhodes -- Trgovac as defensive line coach and McCarthy as quarterbacks coach.

The other was the chance to work with longtime NFL coach Dom Capers, who was hired in mid-January to run Green Bay's defense.

"I knew Mike, and when I decided to make that decision he called me up and wanted to know if I was interested," Trgovac said. "I had talked to some other people, and I knew Mike from wo..

AP Story: NFC Rallies To Defeat AFC, 30-21, In 2009 Pro Bowl

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:10:13 CST

HONOLULU -- With a huge red lei around his neck and a wide grin that could have stretched across Oahu, Larry Fitzgerald held up the gleaming, silver MVP trophy. It sparkled in the sunshine as much as his game.

The only problem: It wasn't the Lombardi Trophy.

Fitzgerald caught five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, 44-year-old John Carney kicked two fourth-quarter field goals, and the NFC rallied to a 30-21 victory over the AFC. The Arizona Cardinals' All-Pro receiver, coming off a record-breaking postseason and a spectacular Super Bowl in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, earned MVP honors.

But he said the victory over the AFC, which featured three members of the Steelers' defense, didn't ease the pain from the Super Bowl.

"No, not one bit," he said.

Fitzgerald also took home keys to a new Cadillac.

"I'm just glad we won, that's the most important thing," he said.

On a sweltering day, with 60 percent humidity, Kur..

'Favorite Fives' of 2008: Top Pass Plays On The Road

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:36:40 CST

Continuing a series begun a year ago, Packers.com has again compiled a series of "Favorite Fives," various Top 5 lists of big plays from this past regular season.

Each list will be accompanied by a brief description of the context, plus video clips of the plays. The Packers Fan Poll on the left side of the page will allow fans to vote for their favorite. A new "Favorite Five" will appear each week for the next several weeks, with a new corresponding poll.

After all the lists have appeared, votes will be tabulated to compile a final "Favorite Five," and Packers.com visitors can then vote for their favorite play of the year for 2008.

The fourth installment is the Top 5 pass plays in road games. In chronological order, they are:

Jordy Nelson, 29-yard TD at Detroit (Sept. 14)
The rookie second-round draft choice wasted no time making an impact, scoring his first NFL touchdown in Week 2. With the Packers already leading 14-0 in the second q..

Whitt Earns Another Opportunity

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:23:51 CST

(Continuing the profiles of some of the new members of the team's coaching staff, today's Packers.com feature is on secondary - cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr.)

If it took a step back in order to take two steps forward, Joe Whitt Jr. is OK with that.

The Packers new secondary - cornerbacks coach, Whitt was in a similar position two years ago as assistant defensive backs coach with the Atlanta Falcons. It was a tumultuous 2007 for the Falcons, beginning with the Mike Vick dogfighting scandal and the abrupt in-season departure of head coach Bobby Petrino.

Following that year, when Mike Smith was brought in as Atlanta's new head coach, Whitt thought he had a good chance to stick around on the staff. But when Smith brought in Alvin Reynolds - who had been Jacksonville's secondary coach for the five years Smith was the Jaguars' defensive coordinator - to coach the Atlanta defensive backs, Whitt was disappointed but understood. Having a father who was a lo..

Perry Familiar With Surroundings

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:56:10 CST

(Continuing the profiles of some of the new members of the team's coaching staff, today's Packers.com feature is on secondary - safeties coach Darren Perry.)

To say Darren Perry's football career has come full circle might be overstating things a bit, but it's no accident that the 23-year-old rookie playing safety for Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dom Capers back in 1992 is now a coach for that position under Capers in Green Bay.

With the Packers needing to learn Capers' 3-4 defensive scheme as quickly and efficiently as possible in 2009, and with the safety known as the "quarterback" of this defense required to communicate all the calls to his teammates, it makes sense that the man charged with teaching the safeties their responsibilities is Perry. He's not only an experienced coach but one who played that spot in this very scheme for this very coordinator.

That's what Perry brings to the table for the Packers and Capers. He played the f..

Greene Ready For New Challenge

Tom Fanning, Packers.com — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:46:54 CST

(Over the next several days, Packers.com will profile some of the new members of the team's coaching staff. Today's feature is on outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene.)

Newly hired outside linebackers coach Kevin Greene said he always felt that coaching would bring him back into the NFL some day, and when he heard of an opening on the Packers' staff that would enable him to tutor players at a position he played at a high level for 15 years in the pros, it sounded like a perfect match.

"I was just looking for the right opportunity I think, and then this presented itself with (defensive coordinator) Coach Dom (Capers)," Greene said. "I love Coach Dom and they were looking for somebody to do this outside backer (job). I'm like, 'Yeah, that may have my name on it. I'm going to give them a call and see if I can at least get an interview.' I'm blessed that it all worked out."

Although this will be Greene's first full-time position as a coach at any level..

With Staff In Place, McCarthy and Capers Begin Defensive Transition

Mike Spofford, Packers.com — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:48:24 CST

The transition to the Packers' new 3-4 defensive scheme officially began on Tuesday, and it truly is a new beginning.

Tuesday was the first day Head Coach Mike McCarthy and new defensive coordinator Dom Capers had their entire defensive coaching staff together, and before those new coaches met with the media over the lunch hour, they met as a group to get going on 2009.

It's a process that Capers, who has led previous transitions from a 4-3 to 3-4 alignment up front, characterized as "starting from scratch," and one McCarthy likened to when he first arrived as head coach three years ago, except that it's only one side of the ball beginning anew.

"We went through defensive terminology, defensive philosophy, talked at length about our personnel, how they fit, different packages that we would possibly create and so forth," McCarthy said. "It's starting Day 1, and we'll just build that playbook day by day."

The defensive staff - which also includes new..