News Round Up: Monday, 7.13.09
It’s Monday, and we’ve got a case of it. There are a lot a ton of things that popped up today and over the weekend, so here we go.
How Will Rodgers Stack Up in the North?
Pretty well.. or not. Depends on how you look at it, I guess. Kevin Seifert shares a bit of the Football Outsiders’ Almanac over at his NFC North Blog. He says that they say, that among NFC North QBs Favre, Culpepper and Cutler, Rodgers will have the lowest completion percentage but the highest number of yards. More strangely, Rodgers will post the second-highest number of TDs, to Favre; and the lowest number of interceptions. How much sense does that make? A lot? A little? You decide.
Do Jennings a Faver, Let Favre Be
As Packer fans know, Greg Jennings has spent some time in Minneapolis training with Larry Fitzgerald and Jerry Rice. And despite having caught some of Favre’s most important balls, he’d rather not talk about the man. Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune asked Jennings what he thought about Favre’s return, and this was his response:
“I don’t care,” [Jennings] said Wednesday after working out with a group of NFL players at the Bierman complex on the University of Minnesota campus. “I’m like, ‘Let him go.’ To each his own. We’re focused on what we’re doing in Green Bay and if he shows up in that purple jersey then he’s the enemy now.“
Well said, GJ. Well said. Read the rest here.
Jolly’s Future Uncertain, But Something is Fishy
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal has the low down on what’s up with Johnny Holly. He will be the first Packers player to stand trial on a felony charge in 22 years. It seems like Jolly will be going with the Michael Irvin defense, and that it just might work.
“In his first comments that even remotely touched on the case, Jolly said his future – both personally and with the team – was not weighing on him.
“Nah,” the 26-year-old said during the team’s minicamp. “I’m innocent.“
This article also presents some of the known facts in the case, among which the following are included:
• One passenger was cited for carrying a gun, but the charges were later dropped.
• Another passenger was found to have marijuana on him, and pleaded guilty to possession.
• Jolly allegedly had a bottle of Dr. Pepper in his cup holder that smelled like codeine and was charged with felony possession on the level that could net him 20 years in prison.
Does this not make sense to anyone else? Apparently Jolly is accused of being in possession of enough codeine to last someone with chronic pain two or three years. Now, I don’t use drugs, but I’m guessing that if you use codeine recreationally, you don’t drop 200mgs unless you’re an addict, which I suppose is possible for an NFL player suffering chronic pain. But Jolly is only 26 and hasn’t seen significant playing time, so I’m going to say that he’s not in that category.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out, but it seems fishy to me, that a cop can ascertain the amount of codeine in a bottle of Dr. Pepper by how it smells.
Make up your own mind by reading the rest, here.
A Jolly Follow-Up: The Codeine Problem in Houston
Jolly got popped in Houston, and apparently, codeine is a huge problem there. We turn again to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal for the backstory on codeine in Houston.
“Some time ago, Houston was dubbed “The City of Syrup.”
It has nothing to do with the maple variety.
Thanks to low prices, relatively easy accessibility and the social approval of a burgeoning hip-hop scene, Houston found itself in the midst of a rapid rise of codeine abuse among its youths in the 1990s.“
Thompson Haters Brace Yourselves; Pack’s GM is One of the Best
According to Greg Tripiedi at the sports blog netowrk, MVN.com, the Packers’ Ted Thompson is one of the ten best front office men in the NFL. Thompson checks in at number seven:
“Thompson’s tenure might be defined by: 1) having the cajones to tell Brett Favre that he wasn’t entitled to be the Packers starting quarterback following a retirement bout, and 2) fearing that Favre might end up in his own division one day. Thompson is a good decision maker and historically top drafter who has taken the Packers from an older team built around Brett Favre, to the youngest, arguably most exciting offense in the league. His decision to hire Dom Capers and switch to a 3-4 defense might be his boldest move yet, but there’s little reason to think he will loose this gamble in the long run.“
Note that Packers alum Mike Reinfelt is rounds out the list at number 10. Some one should go a Holmgren-Wolf coaching-GM tree. Actually, I’m sure someone has, and I should try to find it.
Read the rest here. And don’t worry, you’ll still able to complain that Thompson is no Bills Belichick or Parcells; they’re numbers three and four, respectively.
Crosby, Wide Left… Right…
Mike Vandermaus of the Green Bay Press Gazette has called out Mason Crosby for a poor 2008 season. Finally! This man has seemed to escape all criticism despite losing two games for the Packers, single-footedly. Sure, 52 yards is no gimme, but in the Metrodumb? With the seconds ticking away, and the game on the line? Every Packers kicker must make that kick.
“If Mason Crosby had converted a 52-yard game-winner against Minnesota, not had a 38-yard game-winner against Chicago blocked and made a 53-yarder in the first half against Atlanta in a game the Packers eventually lost by three points, the pain of a bitterly disappointing 2008 season could have been avoided.“
But maybe Vandermaus and I are being too harsh on the guy. A look at his situational stats over at NFL.com reveals that Crosby converted on field goals nearly 86% of the time when the Packers were behind, and 83% of the time when they were tied. That’s pretty good. But still, Crosby missed when it counted most. So it’s tough to let him off the hook, even with those stats in his corner.
Read Vandermaus’ column here, and decide for yourself.
T.J. Lang as Hometown Hero
Hometownlife.com’s Dan O’Meara has a story on the Packers’ T.J. Lang that give the man a backstory. Not a big news story here, but I’m high on T.J. Lang, and mark my words: Lang will start at some point this year and will give Allen Barbre a run for his money in training camp.
“The 6-foot-4, 316-pound Lang is expected to challenge for a starting job at offensive right tackle when training camp starts later this month.
The Packers are in need of tackles since 10-year veteran Chad Clifton is getting on in his career at left tackle and Mark Tauscher is recovering from knee surgery on the right side.“
The question is: Will Lang see reps at left tackle in training camp? I think he might as unfortunately, I think Cliffy’s days are extremely numbered. Read the rest of the story on Lang, here.
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