Pack/Queens II Lead Up

[Ayt]

Jennings is 4th in catches, 6th in yards and 2nd in receiving TDs.

The only WR with more grabs is Welkah, and two guys ahead of him in yards have played an extra game.

Jennings also finished last season 4th in yards and 2nd in TDs.

[El Duderino]

Since you brought up Jennings, i'll be very interested to see what Ted does in regards to giving Jennings another contract or not?

His contract will be up after next year and Jennings will deserve to get a very nice sized contract. He will be 30 by then though and i wonder if Ted will be willing to give a very big contract to a guy who will be on that side of age 30 for all the years on the new contract, especially if Finley gets a long term deal after this year?

One thing in Jennings favor though is that he rarely ever misses games. Obviously the biggest factor sould end up being the kind of money Jennings asks for.

[humanrefutation]

Since you brought up Jennings, i'll be very interested to see what Ted does in regards to giving Jennings another contract or not?

His contract will be up after next year and Jennings will deserve to get a very nice sized contract. He will be 30 by then though and i wonder if Ted will be willing to give a very big contract to a guy who will be on that side of age 30 for all the years on the new contract, especially if Finley gets a long term deal after this year?

One thing in Jennings favor though is that he rarely ever misses games. Obviously the biggest factor sould end up being the kind of money Jennings asks for.

I don't know, looking at DD's production, I'd say that it would be the right move to give Jennings a 5 year extension. DD's best years were at ages 29-34. His biggest drops didn't come until he was 35, but that was partially due to the fact that Rodgers had more weapons develop at that point. I'm not saying that Jennings will follow the same career path as DD, but I don't think his age becomes a serious factor until he's in his mid 30s.

[MickeyDavis]

I see the concerns with Jennings but I think TT knows how important it is to surround AR with the best possible weapons. A 4-5 year extension sounds right. Resign Finley. Develop Cobb has DD's replacement. I have a feeling this is DD's last year but I also have a feeling TT will let him stay another year if he wishes. I don't know if he has any interest in coaching but I think he'd be great to have on the staff.

[Turk Nowitzki]

It will be interested to see what the market is for Jennings, assuming he stays healthy and productive. Fitzgerald's contract has everything up in the air.

[MickeyDavis]

From King:

How much should you be worried about that defense, Packer fans?

Let's ask the guru, Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers, heading into the Monday-nighter against the Vikings.

"I don't like the way we're playing,'' Capers told me the other day. "I like the way we're taking it away, but I don't like all the big plays we're giving up, and we need to communicate a lot better going forward if we're going to fix this. But the one thing I remember about last year was it was just about this time when we started playing well on defense. We went to New York and shut out the Jets, we held the Cowboys to seven points and the Vikings to three. Then we won our last six [including postseason] and played pretty well on defense using a lot of people. We found our niche. Now we've got to do that this season.''

So it's been done. But not since mid-2009 have the Packers given up this many points (65) in consecutive games. According to ProFootballFocus, the trio of corners who helped the Packers win the Super Bowl last year (Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Sam Shields) allowed nine touchdown passes all of last season; they've allowed eight this year through eight games.

I watched the tape of the Packers-Chargers game, and two or three times one defensive back would turn around after a play and yap to another. Williams, on one play, lit into a couple of his mates, presumably for not providing the safety help he thought should have been there. From talking to Capers, that's what he meant by the communication problems. I saw a defense bothering the quarterback enough but breaking down badly in the back end. "Not up to our standards, but that's sort of been the pattern this season,'' Capers said. "Their long run of the game was nine yards, which is good. But they had seven pass plays of 20 yards or more. That we can't allow.''

Capers, in piloting two expansion teams, said the plan for great NFL teams hasn't changed. Build a defense, find a quarterback. In Carolina, he did it with Kerry Collins and a stingy defense built through the draft and free agency. In Houston, he tried to do it with David Carr and defense, but both weren't up to NFL averages. He looks at the Packers now and sees a team with a great quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, and what should be a good defense. And he knows it's foolish to expect Rodgers to put up 40 points every week, because sometimes great offenses (see: New England, Super Bowl, 2008) have an off day. He understands the impression fans have: If the Packers are going to stay unbeaten, they're going to have to have Rodgers win shootouts.

"I understand why people would think that,'' Capers said. "We just have to stress communication with the guys, everybody being where they're supposed to be, because when they are, we definitely should make the plays. But we've done it before. Last year, Tramon and Sam covered as well as any two corners in the league. We can get back to that level. I've seen it.''

You'll get an excellent indicator tonight, with rookie Christian Ponder coming to Lambeau Field with all the distractions and noise attendant to that experience for a visiting quarterback. If the Packers struggle holding the Vikings down, you'll know it's going to be pretty tough to keep this undefeated streak alive in the coming weeks.

[Newz]

Keys to the game:

Do not let them score more than 35 points.
Do not let Allen kill Godgers.

Then we will win.

Hopefully our defense starts to show some signs of life. Holding the Vikings under 20 wouldn't exactly be the greatest accomplishment ever, but it would be a step in the right direction.

[emunney]

Dougherty over at GBP-G has a column up today urging Capers to give So'oto a shot. I am certain they have a protocol for certain competencies players have to achieve before they can get on the field, but I'd be tempted to throw in So'oto on passing downs to see if he can get something going off that edge. Always double-teamed Clay has more than twice as many pressures as Walden on the season.

[Newz]

Dougherty over at GBP-G has a column up today urging Capers to give TRAIN OF DEATH a shot. I am certain they have a protocol for certain competencies players have to achieve before they can get on the field, but I'd be tempted to throw in TRAIN OF DEATH on passing downs to see if he can get something going off that edge. Always double-teamed Clay has more than twice as many pressures as Walden on the season.

Fixed.

[BUCKnation]

at this point, why the F not? If we get a decent lead, i see nothing wrong with throwing him in there to see what he does

[chuckleslove]

Me wearing a Super Ring yesterday that belongs to a woman who works in the front office, her fingers are quite a bit smaller than mine

[crkone]

Maybe they should move Clay around more and rush from the middle or right side.

[emunney]

I feel like if there are a set of competencies you have to demonstrate in practice before they'll put you in a game, it probably wouldn't be worth it to violate that in hopes of generating a little more pass rush. That's the kind of thing that can sow resentment. It's good for guys to know where they stand and thus for one standard to apply to all players.

[dbrodz7]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFm3FiVzhhk[/youtube]