It was announced that the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame will induct two former players next July: DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and K Chris Jacke.
Gbaja-Biamila was a one-dimensional player but he was really good at that dimension; rushing the passer off the edge. To his credit, he did improve as a run defender, even if he wasn't ever very good at it. From 2000 through 2007, he was the team's best or second best pass rusher. What led to his release was knee surgery in early 2008. The surgery left him without any speed to the outside. But he's not the player I wanted to talk about.
I'm a little surprised that Jacke is getting into the hall of fame. With 820 points scored, he's third all-time in points scored, so maybe it was inevitable. But it was a bit surprising he lasted until 1997 in the first place. Maybe he's being selected for his longevity instead of his talent.
The story about Jacke with Mike Holmgren's daughter sounds like a myth, but I never thought he had a lot of faith in him. Sometimes the criticism of Jacke's inconsistency was obvious. He left on sour terms when the team low-balled his contract offer, drafted a kicker to replace him, and then he felt snubbed after he wasn't invited to travel with the team to meet the President.
It's ironic that the kicker they drafted to replace him, Brett Conway, was a bust who never kicked in a regular season game for the Packers, but the replacement to the replacement (Ryan Longwell) had a long career with them and was much better than Jacke.
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