2015 Preseason Game 3: Packers Lose To Eagles 39-26, Down 25-0 After 1st Quarter

The 1st quarter against the Eagles was as bad as it gets for the Green Bay Packers. It was a complete team meltdown, but mostly it was the defense just not defending:

#Packers starting defense has allowed 242 yards, 17 first downs, 19-22 completions, 25 points (not counting INT TD)

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) August 30, 2015

The special teams started off the game by allowing a 67 yard kickoff return. P Tim Masthay looked terrible early (but better later) and the Eagles had fantastic field position on almost every possession. QB Brett Hundley looked great overall but his first pass attempt led to a shoulder injury for WR Randall Cobb (it might be minor) and his second one turned into a pick-six when TE Richard Rodgers slipped and fell while running his route. And all the penalties, penalties, and more penalties.

And unfortunately this just happens sometimes. Especially early in the season. Last season, the Packers were bad in Week 1 at Seattle, then at home in Week 2 against the Jets, and lastly in Week 3 in Detroit, before Aaron Rodgers told everyone to R-E-L-A-X and they won 13 of their last 16 games.

There was a lot of bad on defense. LB Sam Barrington was abused in coverage, and while he's not my favorite player, he was about average against the pass last season. There was little pass rush and QB Sam Bradford was barely touched in the pocket. The running lanes for the Eagles' running backs were enormous. But the Packers weren't doing anything special in their scheme either; they seemed to be in their standard nickel package the entire time. The Packers' D isn't the best in the NFL and once in a while they're going to have a bad quarter or two. And it was very nice to see LB Clay Matthews, healthy and back on the field.

Injuries, injuries, injuries. Cobb was the worst news, and it didn't look good for CB Micah Hyde either, who was taken off on a cart. RT Bryan Bulaga twisted his ankle, but later in the game, after getting some ice on it, he was sitting on the bench and putting his shoe back on. He didn't look seriously injured. I'm expecting the entire starting offensive line will be ready to play by Week 1, and that'll be a big help.

Hundley played with the first team offense but he only had RB Eddie Lacy for 4 carries, and he only played with two starting offensive lineman. So his performance with much less than the 1st string offense against the Eagles 1st string defense looks even better. I hope he's never needed in 2015 but after the 2013 collarbone debacle, the Packers need a reliable backup, when necessary.

WRs Jeff Janis, Ty Montgomery, and Myles White. They bring different talents to the field, though Montgomery and Janis are similar type deep threats, down the sidelines and in the middle of the field, while White is more of a short yardage menace. I could see the coaches mixing and matching during the season, depending on the match-up and maybe just seeing who has the hot hand.

TE Kennard Backman. He's playing at a thin position, and he finally showed something as a pass receiver. He made a difficult catch behind his body while getting hit, and then turned a short pass into a lunging touchdown reception. He also drew a holding flag, so he's still a rookie and not going to take any serious playing time away from either Quarless or Rodgers, but he's also looking like he'll make the 53-man roster.

RB Rajion Neal. He's had a great camp and starred against the Eagles with a long TD reception, and some hard running behind an offensive line that wasn't giving him much help. I'm not sure they'll keep a fourth running back but he could be back on the practice squad.

So I wouldn't worry too much about the defense but the special teams need a lot of work. Some of that will work itself out after the 53-man roster is set, but some of their problems might not be so easy, such as what to do with Tim Masthay. And the most important thing will be to get everyone healthy.

Packers Don't Add Anyone From Outside, Keep Their Own, and Watch As Greg Jennings Is Released

Unlike last year when the Packers made a big splash by signing LB Julius Peppers, it looks unlikely that they'll add player from another team, making them one of three teams with no new additions. Things could change over the next few weeks, but usually there are rumors by now that the Packers are talking to a player outside the organization, so I'm guessing that it won't happen.

Players should get the best offer for their services that they can, they don't have to give up millions of dollars and be loyal to the Packers when the Packers might just as well release them in a couple years, but there are some non-monetary factors that goes into their decision. RT Bryan Bulaga received an offer for more money from the Bills but decided to remain with the Packers. I don't know which teams might have been talking to WR Randall Cobb's agent last week, but Cobb got paid significantly less the Chiefs paid to WR Jeremy Maclin ($22.5 million guaranteed for Maclin, $17 million for Cobb).

The Vikings have released WR Greg Jennings. 2 seasons in MIN 2013: 68 rec, 804 yds, 4 TD 2014: 59 rec, 742 yds, 6 TD pic.twitter.com/vU6YtRooSh
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) March 14, 2015

Would WR Greg Jennings have been released now if he had re-signed with the Packers in 2013? I really have no idea, but it's a fair question. His stats were good over two seasons with multiple below average QBs, and he might have reached 1000 yards in each of the last two seasons with QB Aaron Rodgers (Jennings has only missed one game over the past two seasons in Minnesota). If he had stayed, then he would have presented the Packers with a decision between to make between him and Cobb.

As for the current situation, I can't see Jennings returning to the Packers. He was still useful last season, but he wasn't worth the cap charge (the Vikings are still taking a $6 million cap hit in 2015 for his release). He wouldn't start with the Packers, but he could start somewhere else. He won't receive a huge contract, maybe a Brian Hartline like two-years, $6 million contract, but he should be able to find a starting role somewhere.

A Tale of Two NFC Teams: Packers Sign Cobb, Lions Lose Suh

Throughout the 2014 season, I wasn't concerned about WR Randall Cobb's impending free agency. He's a Ted guy (great player, great locker room guy) and Ted keeps those players after their rookie contracts. But as it got closer, and closer, to the start of free agency with no deal in place, and a massive amount of free agent dollars looming in the coming week, pessimism set in and I was worried he'd leave. It's looking like the dollars might be too much to keep RT Bryan Bulaga, but they did keep Randall Cobb.

BREAKING (he said, facetiously): Cobb returns to #Packers. Blog: http://t.co/3568PkV5lZ pic.twitter.com/HSzu5Mlpku
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) March 8, 2015

The Packers probably got Cobb to stay for millions less than he would have received had he waited a week and talked to other teams. Making $10 million a year is a lot, but making $12 million (that's $2 extra million per year!) is still a massive chunk of change, if he could have gotten it. He should be set for life anyway, but he's really giving up something that might never come around again for him in his lifetime.

I guess I shouldn't ignore the new contract for QB Scott Tolzien, so here it is! He's not very good, but he's OK which is really all that can be expected from a backup. And at $1.35 million he's cheap relative to a lot of backups. I don't see why it means the end for Matt Flynn, who could be brought back on a similar one-year deal without causing any problems with their salary cap. He's essentially the 53rd man on the roster, which is usually someone the Packers pay the minimum, but after watching the backup disaster of 2013, they do need to pay some type of premium just to make sure they have a competent backup (or two) in place.

On the other hand, the Lions bungled their salary cap and are expected to lose Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins. While keeping Cobb is a bigger deal, it's still notable that the 2nd best team in the NFC North is losing one of the best players in their franchise's history while he's in the prime of his career. The Lions were offering a serious contract ($17 million per season, $58 million guaranteed) but the Dolphins apparently can and will offer more. The Lions defense last season was their strength, and it's a major blow to lose their best defensive player. Even worse, their other top defensive tackles (Nick Fairley and C.J. Mosley) are also free agents, who might now be overpaid to stay. It's hard to imagine the Lions will be better in 2015 without Suh, while the Packers got better during the 2014 season (Rodgers's calf injury excepted) and could enter 2015 in great shape for a title run.

It's hard enough to win in the NFL, but it's great to see the Packers are well run, unlike some of the other teams (Lions!) in the NFL. They could have survived without Cobb, but I'm a big fan of wide receiver depth and it's very important for their offense.

It Looks Like The Packers Won't Re-Sign Randall Cobb

I believe the Green Bay Packers want to bring WR Randall Cobb back next season, but he's coming off a Pro Bowl season, not injury prone, and still young (age 25 next season). There aren't a lot of players available who have those three things going for them at any position, and he isn't a player the Packers absolutely have to re-sign at any price (though I'd like to see him back next season).

Not that McGinn is always right, but if he says "it appears as if Cobb will be playing elsewhere next season," well, that's not a good sign.
— Ol' Bag of Donuts (@olbagofdonuts) March 4, 2015

That tweet is reference to this article. This is almost feeling like a re-play of the Greg Jennings free agency experience of 2013. The Packers were willing to pay him, but another team was willing to pay him even more. Cobb's agent seems to believe there will be another team willing to pay Cobb more when free agency begins.

Cobb's a great free agent target under any circumstances because of what I wrote about above, but he's also clearly the top wide receiver available. Philadelphia's Jeremy Maclin is another good option. But after those two, you're left wondering if down years from Torrey Smith and Michael Crabtree were flukes or whether they will bounce back next season.

There are also a lot of teams with a lot of cap room available. Oakland's been mentioned because they have needs everywhere and former Packer executive Reggie McKenzie is their GM, but Jacksonville has almost $70 million available and they need everything too. Cleveland has $54 million available and a major need at wide receiver. Would a cap strap team like the Chiefs open up room to make a big offer to Cobb? Another former Packer, John Dorsey, is their GM and they desperately could use help at wide receiver. All it takes is for one of those teams to prioritize Cobb and blow the Packers's previous contract offers out of the water.

I've been pessimistic about re-signing Cobb for a couple weeks now, and I've seen nothing in the last couple days to make me feel better about it.

Franchise Tag: Packers Let Randall Cobb and Bryan Bulaga Test The Free Agent Market

The NFL announced the 2015 salary-cap at $143.28 million and the Green Bay Packers have $33 million available, but they decided not to use the franchise tag ($12+ million for a wide receiver) on Randall Cobb or Bryan Bulaga.

#Packers opt not to use franchise tag on @rcobb18, who inches closer to open market. Blog: http://t.co/CXdxDkI1bj pic.twitter.com/cNxe6K7TJB
— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) March 2, 2015

Usually I expect a free agent will walk if GM Ted Thompson hasn't re-signed a free agent by early March. That's what he did with offensive lineman like Daryn Colledge and Scott Wells, and WR Greg Jennings in 2013. But he did sign CB Sam Shields at the start of free agency last year, so I'm not sure what he'll do this time around.

Not paying Cobb $12 million annually makes sense. WR Jordy Nelson's cap charge will be a third of that in 2015 and he won't go over $12 million annually until 2018. The Packers would want to re-sign Cobb to a contract with a smaller cap charge. But a long-term deal might put a lot of strain on their salary cap and they could have as many as six players with a cap charge of more than $10 million by 2017 (depending on if they re-sign Bryan Bulaga). Having a salary cap that's dominated by a few players isn't how GM Ted Thompson has operated in the past.

The good news here is that if they really didn't think they could afford Cobb in a couple years then they probably would have used the franchise tag. Nelson has a bargain cap charge in 2015 ($4.6 million) and they could afford to pay a premium price for Cobb in 2015. Then they wouldn't have to worry about their 2017 cap because Cobb would be gone in a year or two. They aren't going to need $33 million in cap space for their rookie class, and there's no other current free agent that appears to be a target for them. I don't think LB Nick Perry or CB Casey Hayward should expect a big extension from the Packers, but they might be thinking about extending DT Mike Daniels this offseason to use up some of that 2015 cap room.

I don't have a good feeling about them re-signing Bulaga. He would add another big offensive line contract at the top of their salary cap (along with T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton) and his injury history is a concern. He might have been a perfect candidate for the cap to keep him for one more year, but the tag also brings a lot of bad feelings with it.

So I think it's a good thing that they didn't use the franchise tag on Cobb because it means they want to re-sign him long-term. However some bad teams have so much salary cap room available that they might want to consider overpaying for him since he's one of the best free agents on the market. Maybe they'll have wait and see if he receives a crazy offer that they wouldn't think of matching. That danger is real but I expect they're still the favorite to sign him for 2015.

It Looks Like It's Going To Be Hard For The Packers To Re-Sign Either Cobb or Bulaga

I wrote last month about how it seems unlikely that the Green Bay Packers will be able to re-sign RT Bryan Bulaga (they're already committing a lot of salary cap room to Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang, and Bulaga is arguably the best tackle available on either the left or right side), and they might be in a similar situation with WR Randall Cobb.

#ESPNInsider3: 2) #NFLFrontOffice: Can Green Bay keep Cobb and Bulaga? -- http://t.co/5esWIivjMx pic.twitter.com/ZjQ9wv1Wmd
— ESPN Insider (@ESPNInsider) February 25, 2015

Outside of Cobb and Bulaga, the only other free agent who deserves a significant, new contract is CB Tramon Williams, who's not in the same situation as those two because he's over 30 (he'll turn 32 before the start of next season) and he's looking for his second post-rookie contract (always a danger zone for NFL free agents). The Packers and other teams will be wary of Williams in ways they won't be for Cobb or Bulaga.

While Bulaga is probably a fit for any team that needs a tackle, a lot of teams are (and should be) concerned about how much success should go to the receiver and how much should go to the quarterback. A perfect example is WR Eric Decker, who was the No. 1 free agent wide receiver last year. The Jets did give him a five-year, $36.25 million contract with $15 million in guarantees, but he didn't even come close to turning Geno Smith into Peyton Manning. A Decker type deal for Cobb might be seen as fair, but his agent might be looking for a Percy Harvin deal (six-years, $67 million with $25.5 million guaranteed). WR Jordy Nelson recently re-signed for five-years, $43 million and was paid an additional $13.5 million in 2014. I doubt the Packers want to pay Cobb more than Nelson, however, the market might be changing because the salary cap is going to jump up soon.

In the case of either Bulaga or Cobb, it's likely that they both command new contracts with a cap figure of over $10 million each in 2016 or 2017. The Packers only have three such players in 2015 (Rodgers, Matthews, Peppers) and by 2017 that number will rise to four (Rodgers, Matthews, Shields, Nelson). The salary cap could be as high as $160 million in 2017 but that would make the roster quite top heavy if nearly 50% of it goes to six guys (Rodgers will $20 million by himself in 2017). There aren't a lot of other players likely to join that group (Casey Hayward and Eddie Lacy probably won't be paid that much in a couple years) but these six players alone can put a major strain on the cap.

Can they get Bulaga to agree to a back loaded contract so that his cap number doesn't rise substantially until 2017 (when Sitton and Lang are off the books)? Can they afford two wide receivers with $10 million plus cap charges (Cobb in addition to Nelson)? Maybe they're trying to win now and they'll deal with a potential salary cap mess in the future, which is a legitimate strategy, but that's now how GM Ted Thompson has operated over the past few years. Based on the fact that they haven't re-signed either of these players yet, and the stress their new contracts would put on their salary cap over the next three years, I'm not sure about their chances of re-signing either player.

Rodgers to sit Pro Bowl, be replaced by Bengals' Dalton on roster

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has decided to sit out this year's Pro Bowl, according to Bleacher Report.

Rodgers will be replaced by the Bengals' Andy Dalton on the roster. Rodgers has been nursing a calf injury for the last month, and must not have found further injury worth risking for the essentially-worthless exhibtion.

Besides him, it was also reported today that Randall Cobb and Sam Shields will head to Hawaii after two more elected guys chose to stay home.

The Packers will now have six representatives in next weekend's game, with Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton, John Kuhn and Clay Matthews being the other four.

Packers Name 2014 Playoff Captains, Three Weeks Before Postseason Even Starts

It's January in Green Bay, before it's even Christmas.

That's the message the Packers appear to be sending with today's announcement of their 2014 playoff captains, in spite of the fact they are yet to clinch a Wild Card Berth and the postseason won't start for another three weeks. 

According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, their captains on offense will be Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson, while the defense is set to be represented by Julius Peppers and Morgan Burnett and the special teams Randall Cobb and Jarret Bush. 

Sort of a strange story here, but since Nelson apparently thinks it's already playoff time, I guess it's understandable. Not to mention, it'll take a lot for the Packers to miss at this point, seeing as they are currently 10-4.

Reaction: Packers Hang on Versus Patriots for Fourth Straight Win

It wasn't as pretty as I thought it would be, but I'll take it. Here are my takeways from yesterday's win:

1. The Packers Are Actually Stoppable At Home:

At least kind of. They still emerged victorious, but it wasn't like they did it easily. Say goodbye to games like the ones against the Bears and Eagles, I guess.

2. McCarthy Almost Blew it Again:

Seriously, he's gotta work on getting the last first down late. For the second week in a row, he almost found a way to go three and out with Green Bay up by less than a touchdown in the final minutes, but again, he was bailed out by a nice play. Last week it was Eddie Lacy who made it, this week it was Randall Cobb. Thank you for that.

3. We Can Expect This Winning Streak To Continue:

The Falcons won't beat the Packers on Monday Night Football next week. Enough said (?).

Leave your thoughts below.

Cobb: Packers and I May Negotiate New Contract During Season

While it's been the popular opinion all year that the Packers and Randall Cobb won't negotiate an extention until the season ends, the latter has come out and said otherwise.

"I think that [the Packers and my agent] could have conversations right now," Cobb recently told Cheesehead TV. "That's on them. That's the business side. He can handle all that. I've told him, hopefully things work out for the best, and I would love to stay here next year and be a part of this organization. But it's a business, and I understand that, and it works both ways. At the end of the day, (I) just have to make the decision that I feel is best for me, and the team is going make the decision that they feel is best for the team."

Cobb is scheduled to be a free agent this offseason, but considering the way the Packers have treated Aaron Rodgers, Clay Mattews, and Jordy Nelson recently, it seems unlikely he'll leave them. 

Let's hope that observation is right.

Jordy Nelson Is Number One, But Spreading The Ball Around Has Made The Packers Offense Better

Sam Monson has written the definitive post about the Green Bay Packers first game with Clay Matthews at inside linebacker (don't call him an inside linebacker!) and should be read by anyone interested in his new position/role on defense.

Another interesting point raised this week was that QB Aaron Rodgers threw two of his six touchdown passes against the Bears to tight ends, which doubled the number of touchdown passes thrown to tight ends this season. He has been throwing more passes in general to TEs Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers in recent weeks and he's been spreading the ball around to the benefit of the offense.

Below are the number of targets to their top receivers so far this season, pro-rated out to 16 games in the next column, and compared to the number of times each player was targeted in 2013.

Receiver	2014 Targets	2014 Projected	2013 Targets
Nelson	84	149	126
Cobb	60	107	46
Lacy	30	53	44
Adams	37	66	0
Quarless	27	48	54
Richard Rodgers	14	25	0
Jones	0	0	93
Boykin	8	14	82
Finley	0	0	34

One interesting note is that overall the Packers haven't run as many offensive plays this season. So when you combine the projected number of targets to Quarless and Rodgers (73) and compare that to the total targets in 2013 to Quarless and Jermichael Finley (88), it's down but overall the number of plays are down anyway.

The number of pass attempts to Eddie Lacy is up slightly, and passes that last year went to James Jones and Jarrett Boykin (so much for his breakout season) have gone to a healthy Randall Cobb and rookie Davante Adams, though not as many. However, the one player that jumps out is Jordy Nelson.

Watch all the big plays from last night's win, including this impressive Jordy Nelson TD: http://t.co/NUr8sZxDhj pic.twitter.com/c8iaJEkRG4
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 10, 2014

29% of all pass attempts have been targeted at Nelson, which leads the team by a wide margin. Early in the season, Nelson was targeted 40% of the time, so he's actually been less featured in recent weeks. He's also had to play against two teams (Lions and Saints) who were very determined to shut him down with double coverage.

Whatever they're doing this season its working in the passing game, Aaron Rodgers moved ahead of Peyton Manning in ESPN's QBR this week, so this is not a complaint. I'm just tracking how the passing game is being used as the season goes on.

Cobb: Offensive Effort Sunday Was "Embarrassing"

Packers Wide Receiver Randall Cobb called the team's offensive performance Sunday "embarrassing."

Cobb, who caught just three passes for 29 yards in the loss, also gave the defense credit when talking to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel yesterday, but blamed himself and the rest of his side of the ball for doing "nothing."

"Our defense played their butts off tonight," Cobb said. "We did nothing for them. It was kind of embarrassing as an offense, embarrassing myself the way I played."

Yes it was. Nonetheless, since Green Bay's next contest is a winnable one at Soldier Field now appears to be a time for patience if you're a supporter of the Green and Gold, who have started off their schedule 1-2 for the second consecutive season.

Packers to Use Cobb on Punt Returns This Season

The Packers will use star Wide Receiver Randall Cobb on punt returns this season, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports.

Sharing the duties of the role with Cobb, excitedly, will be speedy RB DaJuan Harris, who was hurt all of last year but has excelled during the last month.

Cobb, 24, struggled on returns in 2013, often muffing high kicks in a recurring annoyance.

Still, since he is pretty quick on his feet that risk definitely seems to be one worth taking, even if doing so could (again, could; we don't know how much he's improved) occasionally result in turnovers.

Cobb Doesn't Think He's Done Enough to Earn New Deal

Packers Wide Receiver Randall Cobb doesn't think he's done enough to deserve a new deal.

In a recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tyler Dunne, Cobb said that exact line, probably surprising many who consider him an elite player.

Still, it's not like this new opinion will change anything in the near future, as #18's clearly too valuable to the team for them to let him walk. 

Remember, Cobb's set to be a free agent for the first time in his career after the upcoming season, something Green Bay likely can't afford screwing up even if Jordy Nelson's under contract. 

Packers Hoping to Sign Nelson to an Extension Soon

The Packers are hoping to sign Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson to an extension soon, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports.

Currently, the 29 year old Nelson is set to become a free agent after 2014, something the Pack obviously don't want due to their unknown future.

Also, it's likely the team's looking to lock up the good-when-healthy Randall Cobb, an endeavor that could be difficult if the ex-Kansas State star's still unsigned. 

Nelson, who has been with Green Bay since he was drafted in 2008, had a career year during last season's 8-7-1 campaign, catching 85 passes for 1,314 yards.

Packers 2014: Realistic Projections for Receivers

In the past few years, the Packers have parted ways with four of their top receivers (Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, Jermichael Finley). Despite all those changes, QB Aaron Rodgers consistently targets the same positions in the passing game no matter who's on the field alongside him.

A lot of different receivers will be involved, but the top three wide receivers will be targeted between 90-125 times with about 100 targets to tight ends. The number four wide receiver should be targeted about 50 times and the top running back will see another 50 (44 to Lacy in 2013). The total pass attempts should be around 550, so that leaves the final 50 for a collection of occasional targets like John Kuhn and Ryan Taylor.

Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. Nelson led the team with 126 targets last season, but assuming Cobb stays healthy in 2014, Nelson won't repeat that high mark. 100 to 110 targets is more realistic, and using a slightly high 70% catch rate (Cobb was over 80% in his rookie season but under 70% last season), that's 70 to 80 receptions. That's not going to lead the league in receptions for either of them (the 2013 league leader, Pierre Garcon, was targeted 184 times in 2013). It could lead to another 1000 yard and double digit touchdown season for Nelson (Cobb's never reached either mark in a single season). They could be the two most efficient receivers in the NFL next season, but neither one should be considered as a 1st round fantasy draft option.

Jarrett Boykin. He seems to be a shoe-in for the James Jones role of trying to sneak into single coverage along the sidelines, which should be good for 90-100 targets in 2014. His 59% catch rate in 2013 is a concern, but hopefully it has to do with the fact that he was most active while Rodgers was hurt last season (Boykin barely played on offense until the Packers released Jeremy Ross in late September). The coaches love him, but I'm not completely sold on him yet.

Davante Adams showing his catching ability with pass from Matt Flynn across middle. I think he can make an impact as rookie. #Packers
— Mike Vandermause (@MikeVandermause) June 10, 2014

I'm really intrigued by the battle among the group of receivers at the bottom of the depth chart, but those guys are going to have no impact on the offense once the regular season roles around (barring injury). And all of them are going to be hard pressed to beat out Davante Adams after the Packers just used a 2nd round pick to acquire him. Cobb only had 31 targets during his 2011 rookie season, but the receiving corps was deeper that year, and I'd expect Adams should expect closer to 50 targets in 2014. The only thing holding him back is that the Packers don't spend the entire game lining up with four wide outs. When he does get on the field, he's always going to see single coverage, which is what Rodgers wants to see. He's going to be a very tempting target.

Insert name of a tight end here. I guess Colt Lyerla and Richard Rodgers both have chances to earn playing time, but they're both going to have a tough time getting past Andrew Quarless because they still have a lot to learn. In the meantime, Quarless doesn't have much of a ceiling, but he was targeted 54 times despite only starting for half the season and being pretty useless as a weapon. He'll get 70 targets if he starts 16 games, and he'll earn more if he can show some of the promise he had before he injured his knee in 2011.

Packers' 2014 Expectations for Cobb May Be too High

While the Packers' Randall Cobb is definitely a good Wide Receiver, it's very aguable that he isn't one of the league's best.

Cobb, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, has never been one to let his team down, although he isn't necessarily a superstar either.

Despite that, Pro Football Talk reports, the Pack have high expectations for #18 in the upcoming year, even going as far as to say that Cobb may lead the league in receptions.

Again, the youngster is good, but saying that he'd pull something like that off seems to be a little misguided, as Cobb is somebody who often gets hurt. 

Boykin Wants to Become a Household Name in 2014

Packers WR Jarrett Boykin wants to become a household name in 2014, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tyler Dunne reports.

Boykin, who burst onto the NFL scene last season after Randall Cobb got hurt, is apparently planning to be more aggressive this year, or, as he put it, "be a dog."

In 2013, Boykin was overall solid for the Pack, something that'd probably be good enough come September, as Cobb will no longer be hurt.

Still, a little improvement on his behalf wouldn't hurt anything, especially since Green Bay's upcoming schedule (which includes matchups with the Patriots, Panthers, Seahawks, and Saints) is pretty hard.

Nelson Confident He'll Get New Contract

Despite the recent news that the team is yet to make any offers to Randall Cobb, Packers Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson is confident he'll get a new deal soon, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky reports. 

Nelson, who dominated for the Pack in last year's NFC North title campaign, recently told Demosky that "everyone knows deals get done closer to training camp," implying that the club's lack of activity lately doesn't concern him.

In his six season NFL career, spent entirely in Green Bay, Nelson has been pretty impressive, catching 302 passes (36 TD) for a solid total of 4,590 yards. 

Packers, Cobb Still Not Close To Contract Extention

Considering that he's been an offensive force ever since his NFL debut in 2011, Packers WR Randall Cobb deserves a contract extension. 

Cobb, who will be a free agent after the 2014 season, will make just over $1 million this year, a salary simply too low to make him wanna stay.

Still, according to FoxSports.com, the youngster and the team are nowhere near a new deal, something possibly worthy of a panic.

Last year, Cobb did play in just six games due to a knee injury, but in the end, this news is still a little worrisome. In recent years, #18 has been Mr. Reliable for Green Bay, so the thought of him leaving is definitely not comforting.