The Green Bay Packers are one of the NFL's most storied franchises, and PackersLocker.com is the blog that allows you access to everything you could possibly need to follow the team. That includes up-to-date breaking news, enough stats to make you drool, profiles on many of the Packer players and opponents, rankings on all the players for your fantasy needs, and the inevitable commentary that comes from the world's greatest football fans. Need some tickets for the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field? That's a tough one, but we might be able to help you. Need Packers merchandise or clothing apparel? We'll point you in the right direction. Want some great information you can use to bet on Packer games? There we can DEFINITELY help you. Just getting the score suffices no more. You need that little something extra, and PackersLocker.com is here to deliver that to you. Don't even think "Green Bay" without coming here first!
The Packers have signed 24-year old linebacker K.C. Asiodu. He played in 1 game for the Saints last year and he had 1 tackle. He has now played in 11 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 9 tackles. Asiodu was the first player the Packers have signed that didn’t play with them last year. That is sure showing a lot of confidence in the current roster because Asiodu is going to have a hard time making the team.
The Packers have re-signed 27-year old WR James Jones to a 3-year deal. Jones played in all 16 games for the Packers last year and he caught 50 passes for 679 yards (13.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs. He has now played in 58 games in his first four years with the Packers and he has caught 149 passes for 2,069 yards (13.9 avg) with 13 TD grabs. It was smart of the Packers to bring back Jones as he is one of the best #3 or #4 WRs in the entire NFL.
The Packers have re-signed FB John Kuhn to a 3-year deal. Kuhn played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Packers last year and he carried the ball 84 times for 281 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs. He also caught 15 passes for 97 yards (6.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season. Kuhn has now played in 62 games (12 starts) in his first four years with the Packers and he has carried the ball 100 times for 309 yards (3.1 ypc) with 6 TD runs. Kuhn has also caught 28 passes for 172 yards (6.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs. Kuhn is a tough guy and a good lead blocker. This was an essential move for the Packers.
The Packers have released 34-year old OT Mark Tauscher. Tauscher played in 4 games (all starts) for the Packers last year. He played in 134 games (132 starts) in his 11 years with the Packers. Tauscher’s injury last season led to the Packers using younger linemen and it cost him his job.
The Packers have released 30-year old linebacker Nick Barnett. Barnett played in 4 games for the Packers last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss. Barnett played in 107 games in his 8 years with the Packers and he had 787 tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 15.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 37 passes defensed and 9 interceptions (1 returned for a TD). Barnett didn’t want to restructure his contract will led to his release. If he’s healthy in 2011, he might make the Packers regret this move.
The Green Bay Packers have released 28-year old linebacker Brandon Chillar. Chillar played in 8 games for the Packers last year and he had 16 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and he defensed 1 pass. Chillar played in 34 games in his three years with the Packers and he had 104 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and he defensed 10 passes. Chillar will be replaced by the younger linebackers who stepped up for the Packers last year.
The Packers have released 31-year old linebacker Brady Poppinga. Poppinga played in 6 games for the Packers last year and he had 14 tackles and 1 sack. He played in 81 games in his six years with the Packers and he had 244 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and he defensed 7 passes. Poppinga will lose out to the younger linebacker that stepped up while he was injured last year.
The Packers have released 27-year old DT Justin Harrell. Harrell played in 1 game for the Packers last year and he didn’t make any tackles. Harrell played in 14 games in his four years with the Packers and he had 28 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss. Harrell was a first round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, proving that even a GM as good as Ted Thompson makes mistakes.
The Green Bay Packers took 21-year old DT Lawrence Guy out of Arizona State with the 233rd overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft. Guy is 6’5″, 300 pounds. Guy will need to toughen up if he’s going to make it in the NFL as he got pushed around a lot by double teams in college. He played in 12 games (all starts) last year at Arizona State and he had 41 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and he batted down two balls. Guy played in 35 games (31 starts) in his three years with the Sun Devils and he had 122 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, batted down 2 balls, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles. Guy was projected to get drafted much higher than where the Packers got him, so maybe they have found a diamond in the rough.
UPDATE: (9/4/2011) – The Packers have placed Lawrence Guy on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion.
The Green Bay Packers have selected TE Ryan Taylor out of North Carolina with the 218th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft. Taylor is 6’3″, 254 pounds. He caught 36 passes for 330 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs for the Tar Heels last year. That was the only season Taylor caught any passes. He also had 37 tackles in his four years at North Carolina. The Packers might use him as more of an H-Back than a TE going forward. Taylor might also be able to help the Packers on special teams. Not many draft “experts” had Taylor getting drafted.
