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The Green Bay Packers have cut Ingle Martin as they will likely only go with two QBs this season. Martin completed 3 of 5 passes (60%) for 14 yards with 1 interception (25.0 QB Rating). He also carried the football 1 time for 5 yards. The Packers must feel much more confident in Aaron Rodgers after his great pre-season performance plus Brett Favre never misses any playing time making a third QB a luxury the Packers don’t need on their roster.
The Packers could be without their top two running backs for week #1 of the regular season. Vernand Morency’s knee has been bothering him and he hasn’t played yet in the pre-season. He’s highly unlikely to be ready for the Packers’ opener. Brandon Jackson has been somewhat impressive in the pre-season as he has carried the ball 40 times for 131 yards (3.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 6 passes for 35 yards (5.8 avg). But, Jackson has suffered a mild concussion that could also keep him out of the home opener. If neither Jackson or Morency is ready to play on September 9th against the Eagles the Packers will likely go with Corey White, Noah Herron and rookie DeShawn Wynn. Corey White has played decent in the pre-season as he has carried the ball 32 times for 107 yards (3.3 ypc) but he has no NFL experience. Noah Herron has carried the football 7 times for 24 yards (3.4 ypc) and he has also caught 2 passes for 24 yards in the pre-season. DeShawn Wynn has not even carried the ball in the pre-season. It also is possible that the Packers would scour the waiver wire in the week leading up to the regular season to see if they could find some help.
The Packers have lost 2nd year linebacker Abdul Hodge for the season as he will undergo season-ending knee surgery soon and he will be placed on Injured Reserve. This is a shame as Hodge was playing his butt off this pre-season as he has made 10 tackles and had a sack already. Rookie Desmond Bishop will replace Hodge as the top backup at inside linebacker. Bishop has made 10 tackles and he also had the hit of the pre-season for the Packers when he drilled Jags’ receiver Reggie Williams taking off his helmet with the impact of the hit.
The Packers looked good for the most part last night despite the loss. Brett Favre looked sharp completing 14 of 20 passes for 130 yards. Aaron Rodgers also was sharp completing 6 of 9 passes for 82 yards. Third stringer Ingle Martin has his troubles as he completed 2 of 3 passes for 6 yards but he threw an interception in the 4th quarter that Jaguars’ linebacker Brian Iwuh returned 24 yards for a TD. Corey White ran the football real well as he continues to make a bid to make the opening day roster of the Packers. He carried the ball 11 times for 60 yards (5.5 ypc). Rookie halfback Brandon Jackson found the yards tough to get against the Jaguars’ starting defenders as he carried the football 11 times for 20 yards (1.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg). Rookie James Jones continued his fine pre-season with 6 more catches for 80 yards (13.3 avg). Donald Driver pitched in with 3 catches for 27 yards (9.0 avg) but he left the field on a cart due to a ankle injury. The Packers finished the game rushing for 84 yards on 25 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 22 of 32 passes for 177 yards.
The defense was physical as evidenced by the vicious hit that rookie linebacker Desmond Bishop leveled WR Reggie Williams with that took his helmet off. The Jaguars rushed for 104 yards on 26 carries (4.0 ypc) and they completed 15 of 28 passes for 208 yards.
The Packers will be without WR Shaun Bodiford for 4-6 weeks with a MCL sprain. He could land on IR which would end his season if the Packers aren’t willing to wait for him. This is a shame for Bodiford as he was closing in on making the Packers opening day roster. He finished the pre-season with 2 grabs for 26 yards (13.0 avg).
The Packers have lost reserve defensive tackle Michael Montgomery for a few weeks with a sprained MCL. This will hurt the depth along the defensive line until Montgomery is ready to return. He played in 11 games last season for the Packers and he made 18 tackles, had 1.5 sacks and defensed 2 passes.
The Green Bay Packers totally dominated the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday Night! The Packers cruised out to a 38-10 lead in the first half and cruised to a very, very easy victory over Mike Holmgren’s football team. Brett Favre was very efficient as he completed 7 of 12 passes for 74 yards and a TD. Aaron Rodgers continued his fine pre-season by completing 10 of 16 passes for 97 yards with 2 TDs. Undrafted rookie Paul Thompson finished up the game and he didn’t look good as he completed 5 of 10 passes for 49 yards with 2 interceptions. Rookie running back continued to look pretty good on Saturday with 13 carries for 54 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run. Corey White finished up the game with 13 carries for only 25 yards (1.9 ypc). Rookie James Jones was outstanding again as he seems to have wrapped up the #3 WR job on the Packers. He caught 4 passes for 58 yards (14.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs. Bubba Franks added 4 catches for 30 yards (7.5 avg). The Packers finished up with 79 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) and they completed 22 of 38 passes for 197 yards.
The Packers defense was really awesome Saturday Night. True, Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbecl weren’t on the field but that doesn’t take away from how good the defense played. The Seahawks wound up rushing for 127 yards on 34 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 32 passes for 112 yards. The Packers had a lot of big plays in the game on defense as they returned two Seneca Wallace fumbles for TDs. Linebacker Nick Barnett had a 62 yard return and linebacker Tracy White had a 34 yard return. Cornerback Jarrett Bush also had an outstanding game with 2 interceptions that he returned for 41 yards.
The Packers have released Robert Ferguson. He will likely wind up in Houston where all Packers go when they leave Green Bay as Mike Sherman keeps snapping them up like there is no tomorrow. This solidifies James Jones role as the #3 WR and Ruvell Martin’s as the #4 WR for the Packers in 2007.
With Bubba Franks starting to slow down and David Martin now on the Dolphins the Packers hope that Donald Lee will step up and seize the starting tight end job.  He played in 15 games (2 starts) last season for the Packers and he caught 10 passes for 150 yards (15.0 avg). Lee has now played in 64 games (23 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 63 passes for 664 yards (10.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs.
Bubba Franks is starting to slow down. He will likely be the #2 TE for the Packers this season but he will still probably get thrown to in the red zone. He played in 16 games (14 starts) last season for the Packers and he caught 25 passes for 232 yards (9.3 avg) with 0 TDs. He has now played in 106 games (93 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 238 passes for 2,168 yards (9.1 avg) with 29 TD grabs.
Rookie 7th round pick Clark Harris will be the #3 TE on the Packers this season. He is a good special teams player so he will get some playing time as a rookie.
The Packers have added a couple of rookie WRs to an already improving cast of characters. Donald Driver remains Brett Favre’s go-to man and that honor is well deserved. Driver played in 16 games (all starts) last season and he caught 92 passes for 1,295 yards (14.1 avg) with 8 TD grabs and he also carried the ball 7 times for 16 yards (2.3 ypc). Driver is fast and fearless and that’s why he will have another Pro-Bowl type season in 2007. He has now played in 114 games (78 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 421 passes for 5,929 yards (14.1 avg) with 36 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 29 times for 196 yards (6.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.
Greg Jennings had a good rookie season despite fighting through a bad ankle. He played in 14 games (11 starts) for the Packers and he caught 45 passes for 632 yards (14.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also returned 5 punts for 29 yards (5.8 avg). Look for Jennings to improve on those numbers in his 2nd season.
Third round pick James Jones will probably be the #3 WR on the Packers but he could surprise and battle Greg Jennings for the starting job opposite Donald Driver. Still, he will have to continue playing like he did in the first pre-season game to have any hope of passing Jennings on the depth chart as a rookie.
Ruvell Martin surprised a little bit last season as a rookie. He played in 13 games (3 starts) and he caught 21 passes for 358 yards (17.0 avg) with 1 TD grab. Look for him to be the #4 WR if Robert Ferguson continues having problems staying healthy.
Robert Ferguson is still struggling with neck problems which could cause his career to end way too early. He played in only 4 games (1 start) last season for the Packers and he caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab. He also returned 5 kickoffs for 110 yards (22.0 avg). Ferguson has now played in 60 games (26 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 116 passes for 1,577 yards (13.6 avg) with 12 TD grabs. He also has returned 43 kickoffs for 973 yards (22.6 avg).
Rookie David Clowney played at Virginia Tech and their passing game has always been pretty rigid. He has all of the measureables scouts look for in a WR but he’s pretty raw and he might have to earn a job on special teams until he can fix some of his flaws on the field.
