Donald Driver Has A Final Farewell At Lambeau

I didn't watch the ceremony and instead browsed through the pictures available online. It wasn't a gigantic crowd but over 1,000 people filled the atrium at Lambeau Field for WR Donald Driver's official retirement announcement.

Driver-12 years ago, I signed my first big contract with Packers, and promised I'd never play in another uniform. Today we make it official
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) February 6, 2013

He's had a great career but it's time. Actually I'm really impressed on how well he's timed it. Though he was only a bit player in 2011, he still had a good season and his career didn't seem over. Obviously the Packers thought the same because they brought him back for 2012. But Driver himself knew it couldn't last forever, telling reporters in May 2012 that he would only play for one or two more seasons.

And he vanished by the end of the 2012 season. The fact that he couldn't play ahead of WR Jarrett Boykin and WR Jeremy Ross was an obvious sign of decline. Part of him might think he can still play and start in the NFL, but the odds are that he can't. Instead, he's leaving on a high note, having won a Super Bowl ring in 2011 and play for two more full seasons. If he hadn't retired, he would have gone through the process of trying to stay when the Packers most likely did want him to return.

A Lambeau Field hosted retirement announcement, with all the Packers' past and present team leaders (plus the Governor) was an appropriate send-off for one of their best all-time players.

Donald Driver Makes His Retirement Official

I wrote a long article last week about the career of WR Donald Driver here, but he announced his retirement this morning on ESPN radio:
It's been an amazing career from an unlikely 7th round pick, but I have to agree that it's time.

Looking Back At The Career of Donald Driver

While it was clear that 2012 would be the final season for WR Donald Driver as a member of the Green Bay Packers, it wasn't know what his future plans were. It looks like he's decided on retirement.

New Insiders blog:Report: Driver likely to retire dlvr.it/2rKFqn #Packers
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) January 24, 2013

The report is a little vague, but I don't think anyone expected him to return to the Packers, so his retirement isn't a surprise. I was glad to see him return after the 2011 season, though he was no better than their No. 4 receiver, because he was still productive (see chart below). However, in 2012, he fell even further and finished behind WR Jarrett Boykin and WR Jeremy Ross on the depth chart.

Here are his career stats and rankings from Football Outsiders:

Year/Season	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns	DVOA	Rank
2012	8	77	2	-1.4%	n/a
2011	37	445	6	17.1%	16
2010	51	565	4	-7.8%	68
2009	70	1061	6	13.3%	19
2008	74	1012	5	8.5%	25
2007	82	1048	2	9.3%	27
2006	92	1295	8	-4.4%	55
2005	86	1221	5	25.6%	3
2004	84	1208	9	12.0%	28
2003	52	621	2	5.6%	35
2002	70	1064	9	21.9%	8
2001	13	167	1	18.0%	n/a
2000	21	322	1	-4.3%	47
1999	3	31	1	n/a	n/a

There are a couple seasons when he wasn't targeted enough to merit a ranking by Football Outsiders, including his first and likely last seasons.

The Packers were reluctant to start Driver at first. He couldn't get ahead of WR Antonio Freeman and WR Bill Schroeder, which became especially frustrating in 2001 when Freeman and Schroeder showed how limited they were while Driver languished on the bench. Finally, Schroeder left in free agency (one of Matt Millen's genius moves), and Driver became the starter in 2002.

Looking back, he only had two exceptional seasons (2002 and 2005) despite the fact he was always a lock for 1000 yards. Part of the problem was that he was thrown the ball so often and drew so much coverage. His 2006 season, in particular, is noteworthy because he set his career high with 92 receptions and recorded one of his lowest grades from Football Outsiders. The Packers had no other receivers who could get open. While WR Greg Jennings showed promise as a rookie, a hamstring injury left him nearly useless by the end of 2006.

He's had an amazing and long career after beginning as a lowly 7th round draft choice out of Alcorn State. I hope his departure from football is amicable and he's looking forward to the next chapter in his life.

Packer Injuries: Matthews, Sherrod, and the D-Line

The bad news is that LB Clay Matthews may still not be available next Sunday, but the bigger concern might be on the defensive line.

DNP for the #Packers: Woodson, White, Shields, Matthews, Driver, Pickett, Wilson.
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) November 28, 2012

They've survived so far without CB Charles Woodson and CB Sam Shields. WR Donald Driver hasn't played much this season. DE C.J. Wilson is not a surprise, neither is backup RB Johnny White, since they both were hurt during the loss to the Giants. I'm not sure why DT Ryan Pickett has been held out because the injury report hasn't been released yet, but Mike McCarthy said Pickett will return to practice no later than Friday.

While shutting down the Vikings' passing attack is probably the key to the game, I still expect the Packers to frequently line up with three defensive lineman when they face RB Adrian Peterson. That could be hard to do if two starters (Pickett and Wilson) are out. However, DE Jerel Worthy has returned from his concussion, so he'll provide depth alongside DE Mike Neal and DE Mike Daniels. But that would with only be five healthy lineman, and any setback by Pickett could leave them with a very tight four man rotation.

I doubt it's a surprise to anyone reading this but it's finally official: OL Derek Sherrod is not playing this season. His leg injury was severe, and it happened late last season, so it's not surprising he needs more time to recover. I'm not sure how much could have helped anyway, but the offensive line's problems aren't going away so he can become part of the solution in 2013.

Greg Jennings Will Probably Miss The Bears Game

The fact that WR Greg Jennings was unable to practice on the eve of their game against the Bears is probably a sign that he's not going to play. Mike McCarthy didn't rule him out, he's technically listed as doubtful, but usually players don't play if they miss the final practice of the week.

It's been a rough season so far for Jennings. He missed time during the preseason with a concussion, and now he's suffered a groin injury. In wondering whether the Packers will miss Jennings on Thursday night, I came across something odd from the season opener.

Jennings was targeted on 9 passes against the 49ers, which is about average for him, but Aaron Rodgers only attempted passes to five different receivers (Jennings, Jones, Nelson, Finley, and Cobb). That's really strange. Usually the other tight ends and running backs have a few passes thrown their way, but there were zero passes thrown to running or full backs against the 49ers (unless you consider Cobb a running back because he lined up in the backfield on several plays).

Just as an example, here's the box score from their playoff loss to the Giants, and Rodgers attempted passes to 11 different receivers. It's an advantage to have so many different receivers involved in the passing game, and attempting passes to only 5 different players doesn't seem the way to go. The Packers won't have more than 5 eligible receivers on the field at any given time, but mixing up the personnel and the look of the formation (some plays with multiple tight ends and fewer wide receivers) gives opposing defenses more to prepare for.

So if the Packers are reluctant (for some reason) to have more players involved as receivers, it puts more pressure on the other four receivers to get open because Jennings was targeted on over 20% of Rodgers's passes last Sunday. It's almost guaranteed that WR Donald Driver will have more than three snaps against the Bears, but with this apparently new strategy of involving fewer receivers, I would think Jennings's loss would hurt more than I expected.

The Packers Drop A Lot of Passes

Kevin Seifert breaks down the good and the bad receivers in the NFC North, the ones who do and don't drop passes, and it's not a surprise that three Green Bay Packers made the bad list. 

TE Jermichael Finley. Despite all the potential he's shown over the past four seasons, 2011 was his career year because he finally played in every game. But there's still room for improvement. He's inconsistent, which is surprising because the Packers should be able to find a mismatch for him to attack each week. But he's also got to stop dropping so many passes. I'm not sure this is an area he'll actually show improvement next season.

WR James Jones. Seifert mentions his troubles in 2009, but he might have been thinking about 2010, when a thumb injury was revealed late in the season by Mike McCarthy. Jones has been inconsistent throughout his career, but once his thumb was healed, he rebounded with a very good 69% catch rate in 2011. While Finley has to improve his catch rate, only 60% in 2011, Jones just has to maintain his improvement from last season.


WR Donald Driver. Over the past couple of seasons, there have been some frustrating moments when he's dropped passes in the middle of the field on a slant route that it seemed like he should have caught. However, his 2011 catch rate of 66% is actually higher than other seasons. His current job to catch fastballs from Aaron Rodgers in-between multiple defenders is probably a lot harder than it looks.