July 3
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Left with nine fingers and no words, Brett Favre didn't look at all like a man who had just won a football game Sunday. Worse yet, he didn't look like one who's going to win one next Sunday, which may have explained his fragile frame of mind. He just looked exhausted for a few minutes, and then you couldn't see him at all. Half an hour after Favre devastated the Oakland Raiders, somebody asked him how he felt, and he treated it as a multiple choice question. "Which part?" he wanted to know. The part that was swaddled in tape and hanging uselessly at his right side was on most people's minds until X-rays taken later were negative. There was a thumb under there somewhere. Any other damage ..."
July 3
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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If the Green Bay Packers had lost their season opener to the Oakland Raiders, it wouldn't have been because of the three rookies who played in the secondary. In fact, a big reason they were able to forge a come-from-behind victory Sunday over the Raiders despite giving up 363 yards was the play of rookie cornerback Mike McKenzie. Though there were big plays all-around, none was made on McKenzie, who spent most of the day covering veteran receiver Tim Brown. Perhaps the biggest play on defense occurred when McKenzie recovered from a bad read and intercepted quarterback Rich Gannon's pass in the end zone, snuffing out a sure scoring opportunity midway through the second quarter. "I think ..."
June 27
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Receiver Greg Jennings had a good reason to smile the way he did this week when it was announced he had reached agreement on a three-year contract extension. The Packers handed over $26.35 million in new money to the fourth-year receiver, an average of almost $9 million per year, according to an NFL source with knowledge of the contract numbers. The deal makes Jennings one of the highest-paid receivers in the league and undoubtedly will be used as a measuring stick for the next batch of receivers whose contracts are up. As part of the extension, Jennings was given $16.25 million in guaranteed money, including an $11.25 million signing bonus, which he received immediately. In addition, his ..."
June 25
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Contract negotiator Russ Ball very likely won't have time to catch his breath after getting receiver Greg Jennings officially in the Green Bay Packers' fold through 2012. There's much work to be done on the contract front. The Packers still have 10 players - seven starters - that are scheduled to be play under the final year of their contract in 2009. There also is the issue of the five remaining draft picks, including two first-round picks in B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews. But the first priority, the biggest piece of the puzzle, was finished Wednesday, when the Packers announced they signed Jennings to a contract extension. "I'm grateful and I understand that I'm blessed," Jennings said. ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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With minicamp concluding Wednesday for the Green Bay Packers, there is a certain last-day-of school feeling around the organization, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers won't be taking much time off before reporting for training camp July 31. He will begin working out at home in San Diego, especially because he said he'd like to shed a few pounds in the coming weeks. Rodgers is listed at 220 but coach Mike McCarthy has been on him to maintain a certain weight and apparently Rodgers is up a little. After his personal workouts, the real work for Rodgers will take place July 1 in San Diego for "about 3½ weeks of pretty intense training." Rodgers said he would work out with fellow National Football ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Between 1988-2007, the Green Bay Packers selected 22 players in the first round of the NFL draft. Of those, only Vinnie Clark and John Michels lasted two seasons or less. Could Justin Harrell soon join them? Harrell, a defensive lineman taken with the 16th overall pick in the 2007 draft, has had his first two years in the league largely ruined by injury. Today, Harrell says he's healthy, which means he could face a make-or-break summer. No longer does Harrell have excuses of inexperience or injury to fall back on. That means it might be time to play well or move on. "Maybe. I guess that could be a possibility," Harrell said recently. "I can't worry about that, though. "If that happens, it ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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One day after Greg Jennings said he and the Green Bay Packers were close to an agreement on a new contract, the two sides were nearly finished with the deal. A National Football League source confirmed Tuesday evening that Jennings and the Packers had agreed in principle on a contract that will keep him with the Packers through 2012 and place him among the highest-paid wide receivers in the league. Jennings, according to the source, would be paid nearly $9 million annually under the contract. That would place Jennings near the top of receivers with recent multi-year contracts. Jennings would be behind Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals ($10 million) and Buffalo's Lee Evans ($9.3 ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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In the best of times, Lionel Aldridge was a defensive standout for the Green Bay Packers. An articulate and well-spoken man. A loving husband, father and family man. An athletic 6-foot-4, 250-pound end, Aldridge used his size and strength to do something no other player had in the Vince Lombardi dynasty of the 1960s: earn a permanent starting position as a rookie. Aldridge, a fourth-round draft choice from Utah State in 1963, remained a Green Bay starter through the 1971 season, playing in 123 regular-season games. He was part of three NFL championship and two Super Bowl-winning teams. In the worst of times, Aldridge, suffering from severe depression and mental illness, lost his family and ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Players don't win NFL jobs during voluntary, noncontact practices in June. But it certainly doesn't hurt Anthony Smith's case that he was practicing during organized team activities with the Packer first-team defense while both of last year's starting safeties, Nick Collins and Atari Bigby, were out. And having signed with the Packers in March after three seasons in Pittsburgh, Smith has a leg up on learning the 3-4 defensive alignment new defensive coordinator Dom Capers is installing. "He was the furthest ahead of anybody when we started this process," Packer coach Mike McCarthy said. "He looks very natural out there. He's an athletic safety. I can see why people were as high on him as ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Green Bay Packer safety Nick Collins showed up for the team's mandatory minicamp, though he clearly doesn't consider his contract situation resolved. Collins said Monday that he was happy to be back after skipping all but one of the team's voluntary workouts and was committed to the team. He didn't want to talk about his contract, which runs through the end of this season. Asked if he would show up for training camp if the team didn't redo his deal, Collins said simply: "We'll see." Coach Mike McCarthy said Collins was in good physical shape and mentally ready to play. Collins has not participated in many voluntary sessions this offseason as he seeks a contract extension heading into the ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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If fans of the Green Bay Packers thought the switch from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 was drastic, just wait until the team goes into its nickel and dime packages. One thing that has become apparent from watching the team practices during the recent organized team activities is that when the Packers go into their packages on passing downs, there will only be two down linemen. In most cases with the No. 1 defense, those two are rookie B.J. Raji and Johnny Jolly, with Ryan Pickett coming off the field and being replaced by a defensive back. In effect, it becomes a 2-4-5 defense, with two of the four linebackers - and maybe a third linebacker or a defensive back - also likely to rush. The question ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
columnist Bud Lea
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The last thing Green Bay Packers fans want to see is their all-time hero end up in a purple and white uniform. Playing in a dome with the Minnesota Vikings? The hated Vikings? Have we all gone mad? This is a bad dream. A terrible nightmare. You wake up screaming. You try to get back to sleep, counting the days, the hours, the minutes before he officially becomes a member of the enemy. You don't want to see Brett Favre going anywhere - except to Canton, dipped in bronze. All of us have read ad infinitum about Favre. If you've picked up a newspaper, checked the Internet, listened to the radio or watched TV, you know all about the desire of this 39-year-old quarterback to keep on playing. ..."
June 24
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Donald Driver never thought he'd see the day. But he could have a "sleeping with the enemy" type moment next month. Driver, a standout wideout receiver for the Green Bay Packers, expects to visit Brett Favre in Hattiesburg, Miss., in July. Only this trip will be unlike any other, as the longtime teammates are likely to be playing for rival NFC North franchises. Favre, who led the Packers back to prominence during his 16 seasons in Green Bay, is expected to sign with the Minnesota Vikings. In fact, one Web site was reporting early this week that a deal had already been struck, although Favre's agent James "Bus" Cook disputed that report. Either way, the Favre-Vikings marriage appears ..."
June 23
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The Green Bay Packers are in contract negotiations with Greg Jennings and are close to agreeing to a new deal, the veteran wide receiver said Monday after minicamp practice. Jennings warned that a breakdown was still possible. Nevertheless, this was the first time he had publicly been so optimistic about a potential new contract with the team since he began seeking a new deal at the conclusion of the 2008 season. "We've been working on some things. We're coming pretty close, as far as my understanding is, to some type of a deal," Jennings said. "But when I say close, we could still be far . . . if that makes sense. But I think we're coming close. You just never know how long 'close' can ..."
June 21
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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In his first season as starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers was merely asked to replace a legend. No pressure. For an encore this year, Rodgers likely will have to stare down the resuscitated gunslinger, Brett Favre, in the flesh and in the house he helped build. Oh, and Jay Cutler, who bears a striking resemblance to a young Favre in talent and mentality, has taken up residence in the NFC North with the Chicago Bears. Talk about seeing ghosts. With Cutler and potentially Favre on teams making up a quarter of the schedule, Rodgers will bump into them if he's not looking straight ahead. If Rodgers is going to have any jitters - which he exhibited on the practice ..."
June 20
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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It's a little clearer now why Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was vague about safety Nick Collins' appearance at practice on Wednesday. It was the only day Collins showed this week, according to two sources. Collins has not participated in many voluntary sessions this offseason as he seeks a contract extension heading into the final year of his deal, which will pay him $3.045 million next season. But he was there Wednesday to watch the first 20 minutes of practice, left with the players who were rehabilitating injuries and was not seen again. "He went through the jog-through, and then went with the rehab (group)," McCarthy said Wednesday. "He obviously hasn't been here, so we'll see ..."
June 18
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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For the sake of the Green Bay Packers, they should hope safety Anthony Smith has matured - on the field. But if they expect him to hold his tongue, say, if they face an undefeated team late this season, the Packers shouldn't hold their breath. That episode in which Smith "guaranteed" a Pittsburgh Steelers victory over the unbeaten New England Patriots in 2007? Yeah, even after the 34-13 drubbing and Tom Brady throwing bombs over, around and by Smith, he would do it again. "I really didn't learn anything, to be honest," Smith, one of two free agents the Packers signed in the off-season, said. "I'm going to say the same thing if anybody asks me if I think my team can win. "If you don't want ..."
June 17
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The Green Bay Packers signed linebacker Brad Jones, cornerback Brandon Underwood and defensive end Jarius Wynn to contracts on Tuesday. They are the first of the Packers' eight draft picks to be signed. Jones was a seventh-round pick. Underwood and Wynn were sixth-round picks. Terms were not disclosed. The Packers also signed tight end Devin Frischknecht, an undrafted rookie out of Washington State. The 6-foot-3, 251-pounder caught 17 passes for 221 yards as a senior. He was a transfer from Snow College. The Packers also released cornerback Joshua Abrams. Minicamp schedule set: The Packers announced that all five of their mandatory minicamp practices will be open to the public starting at ..."
June 16
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Daryn Colledge can certainly relate to what Allen Barbre faces this offseason. A few years ago, Colledge assumed the burden of great expectations after replacing highly regarded Mike Wahle at left guard. Likewise, now that the Green Bay Packers will be without Mark Tauscher starting at right tackle on opening day for the first time in 10 years, Barbre is expected to take over. Not only that, but right tackle is a position he's playing for the first time in his life. "He's got a lot of work ahead of him," Colledge said. "It's a transition going from playing guard to a new side, and sadly enough there's a lot expected out of him. Tauscher's done a lot for this team for a long time." If the ..."
June 16
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre broke his silence Monday evening and revealed three key points in regards to his future and his past: 1. He is considering only the Minnesota Vikings for a return in 2009 because he knows the offense so well; 2. His return hinges entirely on the health of his arm; and 3. His legacy in Green Bay should be defined by the 16 years he played there and not for his desire to play for one of the Packers' greatest rivals. Favre flew to New York on Monday to be the guest for the debut of "Joe Buck Live" on HBO and confirmed to the Fox sportscaster that he wanted to play for Vikings. "It makes perfect sense because it's an offense that I've ran for 16 ..."
June 11
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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Week 3 of the Green Bay Packers' organized team activities, and the installation of the new 3-4 defense is rolling along. Well, at times it's rolling along. "I like what I see," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I like what I see in the meeting environment, from the players. That feels very important. "I've always felt that way as a position coach and even as a coordinator, that the communication can't just be the one coach at the front of the room. So there's a lot of communication and a lot of interaction." At other times . . . things hit a snag or two. "I talked to the team about this today," McCarthy said. "When we talk about mental errors, I think you can put them into two types of ..."
June 11
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The first thing Jeremy Thompson worked on wasn't found on the field or in the film room or even in the Green Bay Packers' new playbook. The starting place for the hybrid defensive lineman was on the sideline, stretching. This offseason, Thompson changed his workout regimen to make himself into a pseudo linebacker for the new 3-4 defense. That included changing the pace at which he lifted weights and adding hip work between lifts. He lifted the same amount of weight for the same repetitions but instead of resting between lifts, he did more situps and abdominal work or active stretching. "A lot of the stretches I was doing worked on my hip flexibility, swiveling my hips back and forth for ..."