Packers 31, Indianapolis 45. This would have been a big win for the Packers, so its not surprising that they lost. It would have been an upset victory under any circumstances, but to win after all the injuries at nose tackle and cornerback would have been a big upset. Fortunately, the self-destruction occured in the first half and the Packers spent the second half proving they made the proper adjustments at halftime.


First Half: How did the run defense play? Who knows. Indianapolis didn't bother to run the ball in the first half. Defensive coordinator Bob Slovik had good reason to worry about Indianapolis's run offense, because the Packers were without any nose tackles (DT Cleditus Hunt filled in at NT), but Indianapolis's offensive coordinator Tom Moore was apparently much more interested in attacking the banged up secondary. The pass rush was good considering that QB Peyton Manning is one of the hardest QBs to sack in the NFL. They got some pressure on Manning, but it wasn't nearly enough. Troy Aikman even commented on it that Indianapolis was playing 3 WR (that is their base/opening snap offense) but the Packers only played 4 defensive backs and the Packers were getting shredded. WR Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison abused CB Al Harris and Michael Hawthorne, and when the Packers blitzed it left the middle of the field open for WR Brandon Stokley. The Packers offense almost kept up with Indianapolis. Favre had two long TD passes to WR Javon Walker to answer each of Indianapolis first TDs. The Packers third drive was halted by a drop by WR Donald Driver, who had two big dropped passes in the first half. The Packers had three scoring drives and one missed field goal in the first half, which would have been enough in other games. Packers 17, Indianapolis 28.

Second half: The Packers opened the half as well as it could have went. The Packers scored a TD on the opening drive and the defense actually stopped Indianapolis. Two turning points for the defense; switching to the dime and bringing in CB Jason Horton. Horton didn't play well, but he moved Hawthorne over to cover the slot receiver, where Hawthorne plays much better. Indianapolis recognized the extra defensive backs (Horton and CB Bhawoh Jue) and ran RB Edgerin James, but James never really got on track (no runs over 10 yards). James had a TD run, but that was after a few previous attempts to pound the ball in at the goal line. WR Antonio Chatman and WR Robert Ferguson had two great kick returns, probably the best two kick returns in at least the last two seasons. Hopefully the special teams continue to block that well on kicks. The Packers were stopped on three offensive drives in the second half; the first two were stopped on 3rd and long after penalties and the other was the fumble by Walker. It was the only turnover of the game, but it was huge. Its hard to blame Walker; Walker was protecting the ball, but CB Jason David perfectly ripped out the ball. Favre took a knee to the back of the leg on his last drive of the game, and hopefully that is not a lasting injury. Packers 31, Indianapolis 45.

Now the Packers are down to zero nose tackles. NT James Lee tore a ligament in his knee early in Sunday's game and proceeded to play the entire game with the injury, jsonline.com reported. Unbelievable! If you are keeping score, that's the third nose tackle lost with an injury. NT Donnell Washington is on injured reserve and done for the season. NT Grady Jackson and Lee both might come back in November. Now the Packers are reduced to playing DT Cletidus Hunt at nose tackle, and Hunt was struggling with what appeared to be a rib injury during Sunday's game. DT Kenny Peterson could be another nose tackle candidate, but he is still struggling with an ankle injury. Everyone should get used to poor run defense from the Packers for at least the next month.

C Mike Flanagan needs knee surgery, according to ESPN.com. This injury has been bothering Flanagan all preseason too, so its not a big surprise. C Grey Ruegamer can play in place of Flanagan and maybe if he is given an opportunity he can play just as well. Ruegamer hasn't been an obvious weakness in any of the games he played in so far this season.

Jsonline.com reported that CB Mike McKenzie might still be traded before the deadline in three weeks. What a side show. He played well on Sunday, but now that the Packers only have three defensive tackles left on their roster (Hunt, DT Cullen Jenkins, and DE Corey Williams-although Williams has been playing exclusively at end so far this season, jsonline.com reported that defensive coordinator Bob Slowik would move Williams inside this week) no team should spend too much time bothering to pass against a suspect run defense, and the Packers might as well trade McKenzie. Maybe they can acquire a healthy nose tackle in return.

RB Ahman Green has fumbled twice in two games. Is this a problem? Yes, fumbles are bad, but Green had no fumbles in the last 9 games in 2003. Does he just have a problem only early in the season?

Packers 17, Chicago 14. That could have been the score, but it was Packers 10, Chicago 21. If RB Ahman Green hadn't been stripped of the ball at Chicago's 5 yard line and S Mike Green hadn't ran it back 95 yards for a touchdown, then the Packers would have won. Overall it was a very close game; both teams struggled throwing the ball but each piled up big rushing numbers. The biggest problem was a poor run defense. This game is similar to the loss at Arizona early in 2003; a game that looked like a win on the schedule became a loss. Hopefully this game was just a bump in the road to another NFC North championship, just as in 2003.

Offense: QB Brett Favre did not have a good game. He had a rhythm early in the game which was disrupted by a long interception on a pass attempt to WR Donald Driver. After the first quarter, he never got going for an entire drive, although he had a great second half TD pass to WR Robert Ferguson. Green looked good, except for the above mentioned fumble, although it was created on a great play by LB Brian Urlacher. The offense line played well early, but seemed less effective as the game went on. Usually it works the other way around; the o-line tires out the d-line. The pass protection was solid all game long. Once again C Mike Flanagan was replaced in the 4th quarter; was he ineffective or still trying to get back to 100%?

Defense: Solid pass defense, although the Packers had trouble covering the tight end during the first quarter. Lots of problems with RB Thomas Jones, but the Packers had problems with RB Anthony Thomas vs. Chicago last year too. Maybe the Packers run defense has a let down against Chicago. LB Na'il Diggs had a great 1st quarter but then quieted down. LB Nick Barnett was named NFC defensive player of the week in week 1, so of course he struggled. Jones usually had a big run when he squeeked past the defensive line and Barnett and/or FS Darren Sharper were caught overpursuing. CB Mike McKenzie played some and almost had an interception in his first week back from his holdout, although he did not start. CB Bhawoh Jue followed up a solid week 1 game with two penalties, although his illegal contact penalty on defense was almost a phantom call. NT James Lee, and DT Cleditus Hunt and DT Cullen Jenkins held their ground on run plays, but generated little pass rush. The defensive ends generated little pass rush and had trouble keeping their gaps on running plays. Chicago took advantage on a couple plays by reversing the play when the Packers were overpursuing, but it eventually caught up to them when WR David Terrell fumbled a reverse in the 4th quarter (unfortunately Favre threw an interception a couple plays later).

Overall, it was a very even game but the Packers had more turnovers (plus the huge fumble recovery for a TD against them) and more penalties than Chicago. Sometimes you win the games you should lose (at Carolina in week 1) and lose the games you should win (any game against Chicago). Hopefully the Packers learn from mistakes made against Chicago and win a game they are expected to lose next week in Indianapolis.

With the first week of the season done and no word from CB Mike McKenzie, I had finally accepted that McKenzie was serious about sitting out for the entire season, but then Len Pasquarelli on espn.com reports that McKenzie will be back with the team by Wednesday. McKenzie's the best cornerback in the NFC North, but he might be eased back into the lineup. Overall its a good problem to have too many cornerbacks. McKenzie's return means the release of either S James Whitley or CB Jason Horton. Unfortunately McKenzie still wants to be traded which could lead to some clubhouse problems.

NT Grady Jackson has a dislocated knee cap, jsonline.com reported, which is probably as good as can be expected because the injury looked season ending on the replay. Hopefully Jackson can return for the second half of the season, because no one on the roster can replace what Jackson can do for the team.

RB Najeh Davenport injured his hamstring on a kickoff return, he just froze in midstep and fell untouched on his last play in Carolina. Hamstrings can linger and sure enough jsonline.com reported that Davenport has been strugling with hamstring problems all preseason, so this is a problem that won't go away anytime soon. Davenport is the best kick returner on the Packers and won't be easily replaced on special teams, but RB Tony Fisher can back up RB Ahman Green with the offense adequately in Davenport's absence.

Packers 24, Carolina 14. No turnovers and 38:04 time of possession. The Packers offense got the ball early, often, and they kept it for big chunks of time. Not glamourous, but dominant. Carolina actually outgained the Packers in yardage (300 to 279) but they didn't overtake the Packers in yardage until their last drive.

First Quarter: The Packers were able to run right from the start of the game. The yardage per carry was not impressive, but the Packers controlled the line of scrimmage and usually gave the Packers running back an opening. QB Brett Favre looked off in the first quarter, but no interceptions. If any Packers fans haven't regressed the memory of Favre's stinker 3 interception performance in the first half versus Minnesota last season in week 1, then we can appreciate no interceptions. DT Grady Jackson was injured on the third play on defense, and he could be done for the season with a torn knee. Jackson's loss could be huge (rim shot) because the Packers are already without NT Donnell Washington (out for the year with a foot injury) and DT Kenny Peterson is recovering from a leg injury. This created a lot of playing time for NT James Lee and DT Cullen Jenkins. TE David Martin played a lot in the first half, but steadly was phased out as the game went along. P Bryan Barker was the primary punter for the Packers and he didn't look too good. The Packers offense controlled most of the quarter by running the football and keeping Carolina's offense on the bench. Packers 3, Carolina 0.

Second Quarter: The Packers defensive line was not too effective and the Packers could only generate pressure by blitzing. Carolina had their one good drive this quarter, which dominated most of the quarter. The Packers had some sloppy tackling, two big 15 yard face mask penalties (one on LB Nick Barnett brought Carolina's drive back to life), and the secondary looked confused when it tried to drop back in a zone coverage. The offense answered immediately back, Favre threw his big pass of the night (24 yard sideline pass to WR Javon Walker), and RB Ahman Green ran for his first TD. The Packers started blitzing on nearly every play on the previous drive, with mixed success because Carolina did score a TD, but after the Packers took the lead on the Green's first TD, the blitz really started to bother QB Jake Delhomme. This was also the time at which Carolina stopped running the ball. Carolina's offensive coordinator Dan Henning seemed to get the best of the Packers defensive coordinator Bob Slovik for the first quarter and a half, but Slovik outcoached Henning the rest of the game. Packers 10, Carolina 7.

Third Quarter: Fumble! DE Aaron Kampman fell on a fumbled handoff when Delhomme tried to handoff to FB Brad Hoover right in front of two other Packers who had blitzed. Lee had a great preseason, but he didn't make any plays in place of the injured Jackson (minus Lee had one of the 15 yard facemask penalties in the 2nd quarter). Favre warmed up in the 2nd quarter and found a groove in the 3rd quarter. He actually threw two TD passes on the same drive (one was called back after WR Robert Ferguson pushed off). Carolina had a good drive going, including a 34 yard pass to WR Ricky Proehl when FS Darren Sharper let Proehl get behind him on a zone coverage, but a tipped pass to WR Steve Smith bounced into Barnett's hands. This was the only interception, but CB Michael Hawthorne might have dropped two interceptions in the game. Hawthorne struggled in the preseason, he got beat once early in the 1st quarter, but became more effective as the game went on. Rookie CB Ahmad Carroll played a great game if it had ended in the middle of third quarter. Carroll had one penalty on a punt return in this quarter. Packers 24, Carolina 7.

Fourth quarter: A whole lot of Packer running. 13 run and 5 pass plays for the Packers on offense in the quarter. The big one was a 13 yard pass to Walker that ate up a couple of minutes late in the game. Carroll had another penalty on special teams and then got mixed up on coverage and gave up a 30 yard TD pass to a wide open WR Muhsin Muhammad. Carroll played like a talented rookie; made some plays but made some mistakes. Whipping boy CB Bhawoh Jue played a lot in the dime and had two great pass defenses in the 4th quarter, hopefully a sign of good things to come. SS Mark Roman was hurt early in the game but wasn't out long and played a solid overall game. All the Packers' starting linebackers were very active in the game. C Mike Flanagan sat out part of the 4th quarter, his last play might have been a sack on Favre when DT Kris Jenkins bull rushed Flanagan back into Favre. Hopefully Flanagan isn't hurt and was just tired from playing a lot tonight after missing most of the preseason with a leg injury. Carolina ends the game with an ineffective two minute drill (less than two minutes to go, down by 10, no timeouts, and their first play was a handoff). Packers 24, Carolina 14.

ESPN.com reported that CB Michael Hawthorne will start at cornerback ahead of CB Ahmad Carroll in Carolina. Carroll looked really good in the last preseason game and he should start ahead of Hawthorne, but starting the first game of your NFL career on the road, on national TV, and against the defending NFC champs is probably not for the best. Hawthorne and Carroll should both expect a lot of passes to be thrown their way, because neither of them is named Al Harris.

Speaking of CB Al Harris, jsonline.com reported that Harris signed a contract extension. This extension makes a lot of sense because Harris is the best cornerback on the Packers roster that has reported for the season, he was a free agent after this season and his departure would have left a big hole in the Packers secondary, and the Packers can put some of the contract burden on this season's salary cap. Harris received $7 million in guaranteed bonuses, which is reasonable/market value for a veteran cornerback of Harris's ability. Despite the good reasons to resign Harris and the reasonable contract expense, this was not a good signing. Harris is 29 years old, he does not have great speed, and it is unlikely Harris will remain productive for the entire length of his 5 year contract. Hopefully Harris remains a productive cornerback into his 30s, he has three or four more quality seasons left in his career, and I am proven wrong about him.

More roster moves. Jsonline.com reported that the Packers picked up LB Nick Rogers and TE Sean McHugh, while releasing LB Tyreo Harrison and FB Vonta Leach. It looked possible that Rogers would start at linebacker this season in Minnesota, but Minnesota has drafted a linebacker in the second round in each of the last two drafts. Rogers has started over 20 games in his first two NFL seasons, Packers personnel analyst John Schneider was impressed with Rogers' special teams play last season against the Packers, and he appears to be an upgrade over Harrison. The Packers search for another tight end has now led them to McHugh. Will the Packers keep four tight ends? McHugh is a converted college fullback, but do the Packers need a fourth tight end/third fullback? Maybe the Packers had a good opportunity to see McHugh in Tennessee on Friday and liked what they saw of him. Leach was a surprising release because jsonline.com reported last week how high the Packers were on him.

The Packers made the first moves for their practice squad. Jsonline.com reported that C Scott Wells, QB Scott McBrien, WR Kelvin Kight, S Julius Curry and OT Atlas Herrion were all signed. Kight was a surprise addition over WR Carl Ford or WR Scottie Vines, but the Packers probably like his kick return abilities. Curry is a mild surprise because the Packers only had him in camp for a week. The addition of Herrion over OT Jason Jimenez was unexpected. The only player added to the practice squad from outside of the Packers training camp roster was TE Ben Steele from Minnesota. If Steele can show the Packers some catching ability in practice, he could have a shot at knocking TE David Martin off the roster.

Roster Moves. Jsonline.com reported on Saturday that the Packers waived OL Joseph Hayes, Atlas Herrion, and Jason Jimenez, RB Walter Williams, WR Wilson Thomas and LB Jermaine Taylor. Williams played fine on Friday, but he did not look better than RB Tony Fisher or RB Najah Davenport for either backup position. Thomas looked promising on Friday, but he was caught up in a numbers game too. Early in the week, it looked liked Jimenez had a backup position secured, but he would have been the 9th offensive lineman, which is too many.

The Packers traded SS Marques Anderson to Oakland for a 5th and a 6th round pick in 2005. Anderson was a big hitter in the secondary, but his coverage skills were lacking. In the end, the Packers chose a strong safety (SS Mark Roman) with better coverage skills. Its too bad that Anderson did not work out after a promising rookie season in 2002, but its good that the Packers got some draft choices in exchange for Anderson instead of releasing him for nothing.

The biggest news was the release of QB Tim Couch. He did not look good in the preseason, but it seemed likely that the Packers would keep him as the 3rd QB so he could learn the offense. Jsonline.com reported a number of other roster moves. It was news that P B.J. Sander was not released. Mike Sherman would hear "I told you so" about Sander all over the league if he gave up on Sander so early, although Sander had a couple of good punts in the 2nd half in Tennessee which probably saved his job. The Packers were high on S Curtis Fuller when they picked him up in before the start of the 2003 season, but he did not show much this preseason. DE Kenny Holmes seemed guaranteed a spot when the Packers signed him last month, but he did not produce any big plays against Tennessee. DE Tyrone Rogers had a good preseason game against New Orleans, but he was caught up in a numbers game. DT Larry Smith was pushed off the roster by the solid preseason of DT James Lee. CB Chris Watson did not have too many opportunities, but he was a longshot after coming back from a lost 2003 season in Detroit. Releasing WR Carl Ford, Kelvin Kight and Scottie Vines was a surprise, because it seemed likely Vines or Ford would remain as the number five wide receiver, but instead the Packers only kept four wide receivers. S Julius Curry did not have much of a chance, only signing with the Packers last week. TE Tony Donald had a great season in NFL Europe, but did not make many plays in the preseason. LB Steve Josue was a surprise release, because he had a strong training camp and looked good on Friday. QB Scott McBrien looked too small to play in the NFL. C Scott Wells was a minor surprise, although he started out strong, he missed several practices due to injury and ended the preseason poorly. DE Chukie Nwokorie had some success in 2003, but he was injured all preseason, so his release was not a surprise.

The Packers made two trades, as reported by jsonline.com. DE R-Kal Truluck has an odd name and was essentially traded for Anderson because the Packers gave up the 5th and the 6th round draft pick in 2005 acquired from Oakland to obtain Truluck from Kansas City. The website for UW-River Falls revealed that Truluck's real name is "R-Kal K-Quan Truluck" which translates to "Ruler of the Lake" in Swahili, but do the Packers really want the backup defensive end behind DE Vonnie Holliday? Wesley Pinkham wrote an article for allsports.com last July and said "It is beyond me why Truluck didn’t get more playing time last year. When this guy was in the game, he made plays, simple as that" and he mentioned that Truluck was second on Kansas City last season with 5 sacks in limited playing time. Truluck is a smaller defensive end (6'4" 260 lbs.) and almost the same size as DE KGB, which makes him an unlikely starter opposite KGB on 1st and 2nd down, although it looks like Truluck has potential and will be rushing the quarterback on 3rd downs opposite KGB, however, the article published by jsonline.com was not nearly as complementary of Truluck as allsports.com. The Packers also traded for OL Brad Bedell, however, the draft pick he was traded for was a conditional 6th round pick in 2006, which means the Packers might end up flying Bedell to Green Bay to see him in person, decide he does not fit the Packers current needs, and then release him. It is most likely that the Packers end up cutting Bedell before the first game of the season.

Packers 7, Tennessee 27. The score was more lopsided than the actual game. The Packers actually looked better than Tennessee except on four big plays: the interception returned by LB Keith Bulluck for a touchdown, the interception by CB Samari Rolle and subsequent TD pass to WR Derrick Mason, and the 73 yard run by RB Chris Brown. In the regular season, the big play can make or break a season, but QB Brett Favre and RB Ahman Green were not given a full (or any) game of opportunities to make up the big plays. Overall, the Packers made few penalties and other mental mistakes, and many backup players were given the opportunity to prove they belong on the roster.

First Half: The Packers offense moved the ball pretty well against a very tough Tennessee defense. Two seasons ago the Packers went down to Tennessee for a regular season game and Green ended up with 10 yards rushing, so rushing for over 100 yards without Green against essentially the same defense was a big improvement. The Packers had success running the ball against the best run defense in 2003. Favre moved the team well down the field, until he threw an interception. On the first interception, Favre's pass was off slightly and Rolle was in a perfect position to jump the route and tip the ball to Bulluck, who ran it back for a touchdown. The second interception was another great play by Rolle. Hopefully the subsequent TD pass by QB Steve McNair to Mason was not a sign of things to come; CB Al Harris blitzed from the corner and SS Mark Roman rotated up to cover Mason, but he was late and missed an open field tackle which allowed Mason to run into the end zone. The Packers ran the same blitz and coverage rotation later in the half and it led to a tipped pass and an incompletion. Sometimes the blitz is an asset and sometimes it kills you. Favre made up one of the touchdowns with a beautiful pass to WR Robert Ferguson on a blown coverage by Tennessee's secondary. Last season, the Packers run defense looked susceptible early in games but then clamped down as the games went on, and the Packers followed that same pattern in the first half of this game. The Packers offensive line looked solid in pass protection during the first half. CB Ahmad Carroll got to start the game, was picked on all half by McNair, but played a great half. Carroll looks noticeable better from the first to the last preseason games and he should be the starting cornerback for the start of the season. P B.J. Sander had a 5 yard punt...

Second half: The offense looked inept without Favre, just as it had all preseason, but QB Craig Nall played in the 4th quarter and probably saved his NFL career. He should have had a long TD bomb to WR Kelvin Kight but Kight dropped the pass, probably could have had some more success with some help from his receivers, and played very well with a lot of confidence. Although Nall threw an interception in the end zone to essentially end the game, the offense looked competant without Favre in the game for the first time all preseason. Unfortunately for WR Scottie Vines, he made a big catch on a pass from Nall but fumbled the ball when he was hit and probably fumbled away his NFL career. Sander probably saved his NFL career with some good punts in the second half. QB Tim Couch did not kill his NFL career with his one poor outing on Friday night, but it is probably on life support. Tennessee had a lot of success running the football against the Packer backups in the second half, which probably lost many players their roster spots. On the other hand, the pass defense excelled in the second half, especially rookie CB Joey Thomas. How CB/S Bhawoh Jue has kept his roster spot is unexplainable. LB Tyreo Harrison played well on special teams and as the backup at middle linebacker, and probably has made the team. DT Kenny Peterson had his knee rolled up on by DT Cullen Jenkins and its likely Peterson is done for the season. Although the pass defense looked good in the second half, the pass rush vanished.

Packers 7, Jacksonville 9. Once again, I missed the game, so I have to read the recaps again. The Packers are lucky that RB Ahman Green did not suffer a major injury on Friday, although it sounds like something that might linger for a couple of weeks. Hopefully Green sits out the last preseason game because he has nothing to prove. Overall, the game resembled the first two preseason games for the Packers: not much offense without QB Brett Favre playing, good defense, and a lot of penalties.

QB Brett Favre. The 2nd Quarter was typical Favre. Two interceptions, the first when Favre tried to zip it into WR Donald Driver and franchise SS Donovan Darius jumped the route, and the other on a fluke bounce off TE Bubba Franks. Although both interceptions led to field goals, the quarter was a net gain when Favre threw a perfect deep pass to WR Robert Ferguson. It was the typical high risk-high reward you expect as a Packer fan while watching Favre play.

Backup quarterbacks. Does anybody really expect the Packers to play well without Favre? QB Craig Nall and QB Scott McBrien did not look good, but that is not really surprising. Hopefully QB Tim Couch continues to heal and learn the offense, and he can be expected to perform well if needed.

Penalties. They do not mean anything, yet. It is hard to tell if it is a problem with so many players on the field who will not remain on the roster for the start of the season or rookie players receiving so much additional playing time.

Injuries. The injuries to Green and LB Na'il Diggs do not sound serious, but this is the danger of the preseason. So far, knock on wood, the Packers have not any signifcant injuries.
CB Michael Hawthorne. Although offenses do not show their regular offense during the preseason, all three opponents the Packers have faced this preseason have shown one thing in common; attack Hawthorne. He does not have the speed to start at cornerback in the NFL, he is likely to be attacked in the passing game by every opponent this season, and he does not have the speed to win every battle with every wide receiver in the NFL. Hopefully CB Mike McKenzie returns and Hawthorne can settle in as the 3rd or 4th cornerback, otherwise Hawthorne will start and be abused by starting wide receivers until the Packers feel CB Ahmad Carroll can start.

Special Teams. It did not read like either P B.J. Sander or P Bryan Barker looked very good. It is a concern and a problem that needs to be resolved and corrected by the start of the season. Jsonline.com had an article that the Packers were reluctantly awarding the starting punt return job to WR Antonio Chatman. Chatman looked ok last season as the punt returner. If Chatman is good enough to win the 4th wide receiver spot on the roster, then he should be given another chance this season at punt returning.

Wide receivers. It looks like WR Scottie Vines and Chatman will be the 4th and 5th wide receivers this season. This can be important for the Packers. Last season, the Packers depth at wide receiver was tested early with injuries to Ferguson and Driver. Some seasons, the Packers 5th wide receiver never saw the playing field, except on special teams. In 2003, the Packers promoted a former 5th wide receiver, Driver, to the starting lineup and he turned in a 1000 yard season. These players might be very important or an afterthought to a great season.

There are many things I would like to address, such as how the offensive and defensive lines are playing, how many of the backups are playing, but those things don't show up well on a game recap. Hopefully I can watch the last preseason game.

The Packers released 15 players on Monday. None of them are a surprise, although it is likely that RB Dahrran Diedrick finds himself back on the practice squad. All the players were undrafted free agents.

Jsonline.com and packersnews.com each had stories about QB Scott McBrien, who has outplayed QB Tim Couch and QB Craig Nall in training camp. McBrien is almost 6'0" tall and weighes 188, which is very small for the NFL. The only QBs playing in the NFL who are of similar physical stature as McBrien are QB Jeff Garcia, QB Ty Detmer, and QB Doug Flutie. Not an elite company, but each one has had some success while Garcia has had a solid NFL and CFL career. What this really says is that quarterbacks of McBrien's height and weight don't play and/or survive in the NFL, as a general rule. While there are plenty of QBs in the NFL of similar height and weight as Couch and Nall, there are no other unproven small QBs in the NFL. Although Detmer played with the Packers, that was before Mike Sherman's time with the team and he has never shown a preference for smaller QBs. It is unlikely that McBrien would beat out Nall and Couch for a roster spot, but he remains a very likely candidate for the practice squad, because it remains unlikely that any other NFL team would give him an active roster spot.

Jsonline.com posted a "Keep or cut?" column. A few decisions caught my attention.

Quarterback: The Packers will cut QB Craig Nall and QB Scott McBride, although it is likely that one of them would end up on the practice squad. QB Tim Couch's past performance in Cleveland was better than any past performance by Nall or McBride. Pederson will probably remain the number two QB until Couch gets healthy. If Couch's arm injury doesn't linger and Couch can learn the offense, he signed late and did miss the first two minicamps, then Couch could be good enough to start by midseason.

Wide Receiver: WR Carl Ford will lose to WR Scottie Vines for the 5th WR spot, which is a surprise since Ford had a shot as the number 4 WR but has lost camp battles to Vines and WR Antonio Chatman.

Offensive Line: OL Jason Jimenez will make the roster, but he didn't look impressive in the game versus Seattle and he will probably be inactive for the early season games.

Defensive Line: DE Kenny Holmes, DE Larry Smith and DE Corey Williams will knock DE Cullen Jenkins, DE Tyrone Rogers, and DE Chukie Nwokorie off the roster, although this is the toughest decision since of each of these defensive ends have something to offer. Williams is a surprise since he was a low draft choice from a small school, but the Packers have been impressed with him.

Defensive Backs: Keep CB Jason Horton and Bhawoh Jue over SS Marques Anderson. CB Chris Watson seemed a good candidate to make the team when he was signed this summer, but he has apparently didn't show enough this preseason. Anderson has his flaws, but he is the biggest hitter in the secondary. Horton has been burned at times this preseason, during the games and the scrimmage, but defensive coordinator Bob Slovik was said on jsonline.com that Horton has been a real find by the Packers scouting department. The team should cut their losses with Jue, who looked awful last season and in the Seattle preseason game, although he might be the best athlete in the secondary.

Special Teams: The Packers will cut P B.J. Sander. Sander seemed like a bad decision during the April draft, but it is surprising that Sander didn't have any chance during the regular season. This cut seems the most unlikely because Mike Sherman wants to prove others wrong and prove that Sander was worth a high draft choice.

Multiple sources reported that the Packers signed DE Kenny Holmes. He came cheap, reportedly for $660,000 with a $25,000 signing bonus, and he could help the Packers in 2004. Last week, it sounded like Holmes was done because he turned 30 and he has a history of knee problems, however, Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com reported that his latest knee surgery was an arthroscopic procedure, which is common and easily recoved from these days. In his three seasons with the Giants, Holmes averaged 2 sacks every 5 starts, which would lead to 6 or 7 sacks if he starts 16 games and that would have been the 2nd most sacks by a player on the Packers in 2003. In comparison to other free agents, DE Grant Wistrom, 28, who signed with Seattle for a $14 million signing bonus, has averaged 7.5 sacks for every 16 games he has started over the last three seasons. Wistrom has a slight age and production advantage over Holmes, both have injury problems (Wistrom has an injured foot, Holmes has a history of knee problems), and Holmes is substantially cheaper. with the injury to DE Chukie Nwokorie, Holmes could find himself playing 30 snaps per game, averaging 6 or 7 sacks for the season, and become an important contributor in 2004.

Jsonline.com reported a rash of boils in training camp this summer. Mike Sherman said he didn't "think it's a major issue" but it has kept NT James Lee out of the last preseason game and out of daily practices. Lee looked outstanding against Seattle in the first preseason game. With Lee and rookie NT Donnell Washington sidelined, DT Larry Smith not looking good as the backup nose tackle against Seattle, and no one else apparently playing behind NT Grady Jackson, the nose tackle depth has become a concern. The Packers run defense takes a major step back without a quality nose tackle.

Jsonline.com had a story about the Packers increased use of the blitz in 2004. It is irrelevant how much the Packers blitz. The blitz can be very effective and create a big play, and it is just as likely that the blitz can create a big play for the opposing offense if it doesn't work. It really is a matter of performance. The Packers should blitz, because it adds a different look to the defense and can confuse or frustrate the other team's offense, but if the blitz isn't well executed, then the Packers shouldn't blitz. In the end, it doesn't matter what percentage of plays the Packers blitz on. If the Packers out coach and out play their opponents, whether they blitz every play or never, then the Packers will have a great defense.

Jsonline.com reported that backup OL Brennan Curtin is done for the season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee. Its a horrible injury, but Curtin was likely to play the same role in 2004 as in 2003. He was likely to be inactive for most games, and would be the third or fourth tackle. This comes after the injury to reserve C Scott Wells, while starting LG Mike Wahle and C Mike Flanagan continue to sit out with leg injuries. Jsonline.com was concerned about the various injuries, but Wahle and Flanagan have said they would play if this was the regular season, while Curtin and Wells are at the end of the bench. The primary backup linemen, OL Steve Morley, OL Grey Ruegamer, and OL Kevin Barry, are playing as it was expected of them, so the top 8 offensive linemen are set. Although it would be better if Wahle and Flanagan were completely healthy, which in Flanagan's case is never going to happen, these players are likely to follow RG Marco Rivera's lead and play through injuries (Rivera has played through a torn MCL in two recent seasons).

Oops. Packersnews.com reported that the Packers signed 40 year old P Bryan Barker. Barker has 15 seasons of experience in the NFL and the Packers are looking to see if they made a mistake drafting P B.J. Sander in the 3rd round (Yep). Ironically, Barker lost his punting job in Jacksonville after the 2000 season to P Chris Hanson, who the Packers signed after P Josh Bidwell was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, but Hanson was soon released by the Packers in favor of P Louie Aguiar. Hanson made the Pro Bowl after the 2002 season, but missed most of the 2003 season with an injury. Too bad the Packers hadn't kept Hanson back in 1999.

On the other hand, it is obvious that Sander isn't really as bad as he played in the first two preseason games. Sander is either pressing too hard or he's hurt. Len Pasquarelli on espn.com pointed out that Sander averaged in the two preseason games 36 Gross/31 Net while last season at Ohio State he averaged 42.2 Gross/39.8 Net. That is a big difference. Hopefully Sander proves he is good enough to kick in the NFL in the last two preseason games.

Preseason: Packers 19, New Orleans 14. I did not watch the game, so I don't have much to say. This is essentially a review from reading the game recap on jsonline.com and ESPN highlights.

First; the Packers are playing like a team in the preseason. Sloppy offensive line blocking and multiple defensive offsides, along with miscommunication between new and young players which should be expected by all. Hopefully the sloppy play is out of their system by week 1, unlike last season when the Packers played a poor first half and lost to Minnesota at Lambeau.

Second; the secondary is a work in process. This was expected, especially since the Packers have two rookie cornerbacks, CB Ahmad Carroll and CB Joey Thomas, who still have a lot to learn. It is unlikely that they will contribute much in their first seasons, although they might contribute later in the season in the dime and nickel packages. SS Mark Roman appears to be playing the same role as SS Antuan Edwards played last season; a safety with above average cover skills but not a big hitter, to complement SS Marques Anderson's big hitting but lesser coverage skills. It is unclear who can win the starting battle between them, because they are different players who bring different skills to the position. It will probably end up that the two rotate depending on the defensive scheme and opponent all season long. CB Michael Hawthorne is a good third cornerback, but when he has to start, he is beaten by starting wide receivers like WR Darrell Jackson of Seattle and WR Joe Horn of New Orleans. This is not a surprise; Hawthorne drew faint interest as a free agent this spring due to his lack of speed and it is why the Packers have been unwilling to trade CB Mike McKenzie. Jsonline.com had some McKenzie-is-preparing-to-report speculation, but it was all unconfirmed. Hawthorne is good as the third or fourth cornerback going against the slower third or fourth wide receivers, but he will be exposed all season long as a starter. The big 70 yard touchdown pass by New Orleans in the 4th quarter was not a big disappointment. Thomas, who still has a lot to learn, was beaten, and safety Kevin Curtis, who was just signed last week, missed the play in the open field. It was a lot to ask of them to play well together so soon with the Packers when they are not expected to be contributing in the starting secondary this season. The entire secondary is much better when ballhawking FS Darren Sharper is on the field.

Before the game, Chicago traded starting WR Marty Booker for Miami DE Adewale Ogunleye, who led the AFC last season with 15 sacks. Ogunleye fills a big need for Chicago, a proven pass rusher to ignite a morbid pass rush. The knock on Oguleye is that he is a product of a good team, and he was made better by rushing the QB opposite Pro Bowl DE Jason Taylor. Ogunleye had double digit sacks in 2002 and 2003, so he is not a fluke. This trade is a major improvement for an average defense's weakest attribute. Unfortunately, this trade makes a weak offense even weaker. Chicago is trying to ease QB Rex Grossman into starting in the NFL, but he is playing with two average running backs (RB Thomas Jones and RB Anthony Thomas), a rebuilt offensive line, and now he is playing without the two leading receivers from 2003 (WR Booker and WR Dez White). Booker and White did not play very well in 2003, but their likely replacements, WR David Terrell and WR Justin Gage, are not well regarded and Terrell was almost released this spring. At least Booker would deserve attention in coverage, but now opposing defenses can really attack Grossman and force him to make plays. Ogunleye is still a superior individual player to Booker, but this trade could really hurt Grossman plus Miami received a little kicker for the deal (a 2005 3rd round draft pick) that could make this trade a bad trade for Chicago. Overall, the trade is a mixed bag of bad and good, and it is unclear that it has improved Chicago.

The Packers signed safety Kevin Curtis. Curtis was drafted by San Francisco in 2002 in the 4th round and thehuddlereport.com rated him as the 85th best player in the 2002 draft so he was a value pick (although what does San Francisco know because they drafted bust K Jeff Chandler in the same round). Unfortunately he has never played in the regular season because he had two seperate knee injuries in each of the past two preseasons, as packers.theinsiders.com reported. His signing does not sound like any risk at all, but it is unlikely he contribute or make the team at this point. On the other hand, Curtis had been available since he reached an injury settlement with San Francisco back in August 2003 according to packers.theinsiders.com. why sign him right now? Is he finally healthy or is this just a desperate move to bring in more bodies into a backup secondary that underperformed in the first preseason game?

There was no previous mention about the Packers claim of WR Kelvin Kight off waivers from St. Louis last week, because there is little online about Kight. He was an undrafted free agent signed by St. Louis in April and played college ball last season at Florida, but that's about it. He was standing on the sidelines for most of the preseason game, and he might have had one pass attempt thrown at him. Unless injuries attack the wide receivers or Kight is a demon on special teams, especially as a punt or kick returner, he has little chance of staying with the team, although maybe he can stick on the practice squad.

What is going through the mind of CB Mike McKenzie? Jsonline.com reported that New Orleans is still interested in McKenzie but apparently will not trade a 1st round pick for him. Nonetheless, the recent story made me reexamine why McKenzie will not report to the Packers.

Enough has been reported about McKenzie to give the impression that he is someone who frustrates other people. He averages about one agent per season, and his last agent quit once McKenzie's current disagreement with the Packers was made public. On the other hand, not one Packer has said anything negative about McKenzie, other than that he should honor his contract. FS Darren Sharper appears to be the closest friend McKenzie has on the team, although Sharper appears to be an outgoing man who makes friends with almost everyone on the team. Sharper has been willing to talk to the media about McKenzie, but all he can say is that this disagreement is not about money.

It is reasonable to assume that their disagreement is about money. McKenzie's current contract is less than he would be paid if he had been a free agent this past offseason. If this is a holdout for more money, then it is unlikely that the Packers will rework the contract (other than to guaranty some money that is currently unguaranteed) and McKenzie is likely to report once he starts missing game checks. It is easy to assume that this is a contract disagreement, because most holdouts are about money, unfortunately, this disagreement seems to be about something other than money. Assuming money is not the issue, as McKenzie has told people (including Sharper), then only three other issues have been suggested.

The first possibility is that he is engaged in a battle of pride and ego with Mike Sherman. Sherman had problems effectively communicating with some players in the past, such as the time last offseason when he created a misunderstanding that led to LB Na'il Diggs signing an offer sheet with Detroit, before the Packers matched it and Sherman worked it out with Diggs. Would someone risk their career because of pride and ego? It has happened many times in many different situations outside the NFL, but it would seem ridiculous to people who are not personally involved in such a dispute. This possibility seems the least likely scenario, because Sherman has a history of working out misunderstandings with his players and McKenzie has never showed much ego or been very outspoken in the press.

The second possibility is that he was upset with the 4th and 26 meltdown in the Philadelphia playoff game and how the season ended. It wasn't the first blown coverage in NFL history and these mistakes are correctable through better practice and coaching, unless this was somehow the final straw for McKenzie in a pattern of poor play and coaching. Did McKenzie tell the team "I told you so" regarding the bad defensive scheme and then in the offseason the Packers failed to acknowledge that he was correct?

The third possibility is that he was upset with the defensive coaching changes. It has been mentioned that McKenzie wanted assistant secondary coach Lionel Washington promoted to either defensive coordinator or secondary coach, although McKenzie has not made any such demand public himself. Maybe he was disappointed in the firing of Ed Donatell? Maybe he thinks former secondary coach and new defensive coordinator Bob Slovak was responsible for the 4th and 26 blunder, and the fact that he got promoted despite his blunder is ridiculous. Maybe he thinks poorly of new secondary coach Kurt Schottenheimer, who he probably knows to some extent because Schottenheimer coached Detroit last season.

The third possibility seems the most likely situation at this point. If McKenzie thinks Slovak is part of the problem, Schottenheimer is not likely to help situation, and the Packers seemed headed in the wrong direction, then it is reasonably for someone to want to leave and start over with a new team. Such a situation would also make the problem impossible to correct. No amount of talking and listening can change the fact that the wrong men are in charge of the defense. This is not an attack on Slovak or Schottenheimer, because there is no way to know at this point whether they will coach the defense better than the Packers were coached in 2003 and McKenzie could be completely wrong in his assessment of both men, if McKenzie does in fact think they are the problem.

Another question is why has McKenzie drawn so little interest from teams around the NFL. Why isn't there a bidding war for him in trade? He's proven he can play at a high level, he's in his prime, and he's cheap. None of the cornerbacks drafted this past season are guaranteed to ever play as well as McKenzie has played in the past, and teams are just as likely to draft a bust with their first round pick as draft a talented contributor. If a situation like this occured in MLB, McKenzie would be traded within a week (see the meltdown between the Cleveland Indians and CF Milton Bradley for a comparable situation - and it wasn't just a salary dump because Cleveland acquired a legitimate and talented prospect in return for Bradley). Maybe it is because that there are so few trades in the NFL, few teams would ever consider trading for an established player under any circumstances.

This is all just speculation, because all the parties involved are keeping the whole story underwraps, which is probably the professional way to handle the situation. The Packers can have a good secondary in 2004 without McKenzie, but the secondary is probably better with McKenzie than without him. This situation cannot be compared with any player/coach dispute in recent history; it is not about money, contract, or playing time. It will be interesting to hear McKenzie's side of the story some day. Hopefully he and the Packers come to an understanding and McKenzie will play for the Packers in 2004.

It is no help to lose backup WR Shockmain Davis to a broken leg, as jsonline.com reported happened to Davis during practice. Davis actually has some NFL experience, and none of the wide receivers projected behind WR Donald Driver, WR Robert Ferguson, or WR Javon Walker have more than one year of NFL experience.

Theinsiders.com reported that P Nathan Chapman will get a chance this weekend. Why not? He is a longshot in the NFL, a 29 year old rookie with previous experience in Australian rules football, but rookie P B.J. Sander was dismal in the first preseason game. Chapman would have to resemble fellow Australian NFL punter P Darren Bennett to have any chance of playing in the regular season.

Last season, the Packers signed free agent FB Nick Luchey, and it appeared that FB William Henderson's days with the Packers were numbered. The Packers wouldn't pay for two starting fullbacks in the modern NFL which devalues the fullback position. Instead, Henderson kept his starting job last season, appears in no danger of losing it this season, and Luchey seems likely to remain on the roster as the backup fullback and special teams player. It is just surprising how this situation turned out.

Jsonline.com reported that the Packers cut LB Marcus Wilkins. Wilkins showed good speed off the corner on Monday night, but the Packers apparently did not like what they saw when he attempted to drop back in coverage. It is not surprising that Wilkins was cut as a linebacker, the Packers have a number of backup linebackers that are playing well in training camp, but Wilkins was one of the few situational pass rusher candidates in training camp.

Jsonline.com reported that the Packers are kicking the tires of free agent defensive ends Kenny Holmes and Chad Bratzke. Both players are over 30 and had major injuries in recent seasons. Holmes seems more likely at this point, because he visited the Packers and appears likely to take less than money than Bratzke. Holmes has played very well at times in his career while at other times seemed ineffective, unfortunately, he is coming off November knee surgery. Both players appear to have more reputation than ability at this point in their careers. Overall, the Packers do not appear satisfied with their depth at defensive end, especially with the severe hamstring injury to DE Chukie Nwokorie. The article did mention that DE Cullen Jenkins had some success against Seattle, but defensive ends Tyrone Rogers and Corey Williams didn't make much of an impression in the 2nd half. After the first preseason game, the only backup defensive lineman that played well were Jenkins, DT Kenny Peterson, and NT James Lee.