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Brett Favre goes off on Packers over 2020 draft (AUDIO)

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Aaron Rodgers & Brett Favre. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Clemens)

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre thinks Aaron Rodgers will end up finishing his career elsewhere, just like he did.

Favre appeared as a guest on the Rich Eisen Show on the NBC Sports Network on Wednesday.

Favre said he talked with Rodgers since the Packers traded up four spots to pick Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick in the draft last Thursday.  Favre said he was surprised the Packers went in the direction that they did.

The Packers have been criticized for not only taking a quarterback in the first round, but not doing more offensively to help the Packers out offensively.

Rodgers has four years left on the $134 million extension that he signed in 2018.  From a salary cap standpoint, it would be next to impossible for the Packers to part with Rodgers for at least the first two years.  But after that, who knows.

“I think he’ll play somewhere else,” Favre told Rich Eisen.  “My gut tells me now.  I don’t know this for certain, but I guarantee you, it’s got the wheels turning in Aaron’s mind.  If that’s the case, then that means there’s a chip on his [Read more…]

Packers release QB Manny Wilkins

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After drafting quarterback Jordan Love in the opening round of the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers reduced their quarterback stable by one, releasing Manny Wilkins on Monday.

Wilkins signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent last year and was in the mix to be Aaron Rodgers’ backup before being released after training camp.

Wilkins later returned and spent the season on the Packers practice squad.

Lazard, Sullivan sign tenders

Wide receiver Allen Lazard and cornerback Chandon Sullivan are back for 2020.  They each signed their exclusive rights tender, guaranteeing their return for the season.  It allows both to take part in the Packers virtual offseason program, which started on Monday.

Lazard had 35 catches for 477 yards and three touchdowns last year, while Sullivan had 30 tackles and an interception.

 

Packers 2020 draft class ranks among the NFL’s worst

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Packers GM Brian Gutekunst

After the dust has settled, the Green Bay Packers 2020 NFL Draft class ranks among the worst in the league and still has Packers Nation shaking their heads at what transpired over the weekend.

A record 37 receivers were selected in a receiver rich draft, but none of those 36 went to the Packers, who entered the draft needing to add help on the outside to improve the arsenal with which Aaron Rodgers has to work with.

The Packers traded a 4th round pick to move up from 30th to 26th in the first round and selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.  General Manager Brian Gutekunst had given us some clues over the previous three weeks that he would at least consider such a move.  We all shook it off as a smoke screen, because the Packers have Aaron Rodgers under contract for the next four years.

The scenario was similar when the Packers used the 24th pick in the first round on Aaron Rodgers back in 2005, when Brett Favre was still going strong.  But that move turned out alright, so we move on. [Read more…]

Packers trade up, select QB Jordan Love

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Jordan Love – Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

Nobody really expected the Green Bay Packers to pick Aaron Rodgers back in 2005, but when he fell to them at #24, Ted Thompson made the move that would shape the team’s future for years to come.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is hoping to find lightning in a bottle again after trading up from number 30 to number 26 in a trade with Miami to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love.  The Packers traded their fourth-round pick to Miami to move up to select Love.

Love is 6’4, 224 lbs and has the ability to be the Packers quarterback of the future.  But he’ll have some time to watch and learn under Aaron Rodgers.

Love left Utah State a year early.  He threw for 3,567 yards and 32 touchdowns with just six interceptions in 2018.  Last year, his numbers dropped to 3,402 yards, 20 TD’s and 17 interceptions as Utah State struggled.

Gutekunst repeatedly said before the draft that if the right quarterback was available when they picked, he wouldn’t hesitate to make the move.  Obviously, it wasn’t lip service.

With the trade, the Packers now have eight picks left, including single picks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds on Friday night.

Total of five Badgers-Packers land on NFL 2010’s All-Decade Team

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J.J. Watt – Photo Courtesy of Mike Clemens

Two Badgers and three Packers landed spots on the NFL 2010’s All-Decade Team which was released on Monday by the NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Former Wisconsin Badger greats J.J. Watt and Joe Thomas were named unanimous selections to the 2010’s All-Decade Team.

Watt played in 112 games during the decade, recording 96 sacks and totaling five All-Pro honors.

Thomas played in 119 games, all starts, despite retiring after the 2017 season.  Thomas made six All-Pro teams in his career, five of them in the decade.

Green Bay Packers signal caller Aaron Rodgers is one of two quarterbacks on the team.  He joins Tom Brady with the [Read more…]

Packers add wide receiver help

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Aaron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers are hoping wide receiver Devin Funchess can bounce back after missing all but one game last season due to a clavical injury.

The NFL Network reported Tuesday that Funchess was expected to sign a free-agent deal with the Packers.

Funchess caught 44 passes for 549 yards and four touchdowns in 2018, then played in just one game last season after a week one injury.  Funchess was a second-round pick by Carolina in 2015.

During his career, Funchess has averaged 13.8 yards per catch and scored 21 touchdowns.

The Packers started the day Tuesday about $13 million under the cap and have ten picks in the upcoming NFL Draft.  They’re expected to use a couple of those picks on wide receiver help.

But the NFL’s offseason workouts won’t take place this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.  That is going to give those young receivers less time to prepare for the NFL game.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been hard on young receivers who aren’t ready for NFL action, but he may have to ease up on his expectations of young receivers and live with some of their struggles as the season moves along.

 

Former Badgers & Packers quarterback Tolzien joins Cowboys coaching staff

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Scott Tolzien File Photo – UPI/Robert Cornforth

Former Wisconsin Badger and Green Bay Packers quarterback Scott Tolzien has reportedly been hired by the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant coach.

Tolzien spent three seasons with the Packers under coach Mike McCarthy, who has now hired Tolzien in Dallas.

Tolzien made a pair of starts with the Packers during the 2013 season with Aaron Rodgers sidelined by injury.  He made two more starts during a stint with the Indianapolis Colts.  Tolzien spent seven-years in the NFL.

Tolzien spent the last season scouting upcoming opponents for the Wisconsin Badgers.

McCarthy has also added former Packer Al Harris as an assistant secondary coach and former Packers director of player development Rob Davis as an assistant coach.

Packers routed by 49ers for second time this season

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Davante Adams

The Green Bay Packers knew San Francisco wanted to run the football, but they offered little in terms of stopping or even slowing the 49ers down.  The result was another lopsided contest between the two teams this season.

In November, the Packers fell behind 23-0 at halftime and went on to lose 37-8 at Levi Stadium.  On Sunday, the Packers fell behind 27-0 at halftime and lost 37-20 in the NFC Championship game.

The 49ers ran just 50 total plays from scrimmage and 42 of the 50 were running plays.  When asked why he kept calling run plays, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said because it kept working.

The Niners racked up 285 yards on the ground.  Raheem Mostert finished with 29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns.  They only needed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to hand off.  He finished 6 of 8 through the air, for 77 yards.

The Packers struggled to get their offense going in the first half, totaling 51 yards rushing and 65 passing.  It wasn’t until the second half, that Aaron Rodgers would start to move the offense.  He finished [Read more…]

Packers hold off late charging Seahawks to advance to NFC Championship

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Aaron Rodgers File Photo UPI/Bill Greenblatt

Aaron Rodgers played one of his best games of the season, helping the Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-23 in the NFC Divisional playoffs and securing a rematch with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game.

Rodgers and Davante Adams put the Packers on their backs, connecting eight times for 160 yards and two touchdowns.  The 160 receiving yards for Adams is a Green Bay Packers playoff-franchise record.

When the Packers needed a big play, Rodgers was there to deliver a series of pinpoint accurate passes, helping his team to a season best 9-of-14 on third downs (69%).  That is the best third down accuracy rate for the Packers since the 2016 season.

Rodgers sealed the victory with a pair of third-down passes, a 32-yard pass to Adams on a third-and-8 [Read more…]

Packers rebound to beat Lions, secure number-2 seed in NFC Playoffs

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Mason Crosby

The Green Bay Packers had everything to play for with a first round playoff bye on the line, but it looked like the Detroit Lions were the team that had a sense of urgency.

The Lions jumped out to an early lead and took a 17-3 advantage at halftime before falling to the Packers 23-20 in the regular season finale at Ford Field.

The Packers (13-3) came out flat and managed just 136 total net yards in the first half.  Quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed just 6 of 18 for 90 yards and a passer rating of 50.7 in the half.

Rodgers struggled with overthrows, finishing with 16 overthrown balls for the game.  That is a career high and a NFL high for overthrows.

Rodgers finished 27 of 55 for 323 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.  He connected on less than half of his pass attempts for the second [Read more…]