Jersey Al's Packers Blog

Jordy Nelson will have a longer and better career as an NFL wide receiver than James Jones. There – let’s just get that out of the way. I have nothing against James Jones, and his hard-luck personal story makes me want to root for him, but I just don’t think he will ever be more than a good NFL receiver. I believe Jordy Nelson, however, has the extras that could propel him to be a quasi-star in the NFL.

Back in early June, I decided I would tell the world why I feel this way. Before I could put fingers to keyboard, however, a host of articles about Jones and Nelson hit the internet. The Green Bay Press Gazette, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Packers.com, TotalPackers.com, bleacherreport.com and probably many more that I just don’t remember, all wrote on the topic.  Read more... (1609 words + 6 images, estimated 6:26 mins reading time)

By Guest Author, Pigskin Paul

Our friend Pigskin Paul comments on some  Green Bay Packers players in the news and looks at some 2009 stats.

Given TED THOMPSON’s penchant for building his team through the DRAFT, and retention of his own young players who have shown progress in their development as Pros, this time of year is generally pretty quiet in PACKERS Country.

But primarily thanks to some unsettling off-field activity, things have been a little more active within the PACKERS organization this June. Let’s take a look at some situations drawing attention right now.

Unfortunately, BRANDON UNDERWOOD has put himself in some minor legal trouble, and perhaps a bit more trouble within the team’s infrastructure, by letting the little head think for the big head. All this while spending time in the Wisconsin Dells area, ostensibly to help in a golf-outing, fund raising event.  Read more... (1083 words + 5 images, estimated 4:20 mins reading time)

In this fourth installment of “Studying the Stats”, I’ll be taking a look at the Green Bay Packers’ penalty woes and how they may have affected results.

First, the cold hard stats:
Packers Penalties:

2009    118 (1)        1057yds.(2)
2008    110 (2)         984yds. (1)
2007    113 (4)        1006yds. (2)

Penalty Rankings for Super Bowl teams:

2009 NO (20)      Indpls (31)
2008 Pitt (12)      Arizona (5)
2007 NE (25)     NYG (26)
2006 Chi (5)    Indpls (26)
2005 Pitt (25)    Seat (30)

The numbers in parehtheses are team rankings in penalties with respect to the rest of the NFL teams. As you can see, the Packers have been top shelf producers in the dubious category of most-penalized NFL teams. Looking at the last five Super Bowl contestants, you can see that 80% of the time, the teams were not heavily penalized teams.  Read more... (709 words + 6 images, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

In this third installment of “Studying the Stats”, I’ll be taking a look at how the Green Bay Packers average starting offensive field position came about and how it affected results.

Click here for…

Part 1 – Interceptions

Part 2 – Fast Starts

On average, the Packers starting offensive field position in 2009 was their own 32 yard line. That sounds pretty decent if you’re just thinking possessions off of kickoffs. But included in the mix is offensive possessions off of punts, defensive interceptions and fumble recoveries, missed field goals, blocked kicks and 4-down defensive stops.

In 2009, the Packers’ defense finished second in the league in average yards per game given up. So we can’t point the field position finger at the defensive unit.  Other than how much yardage your defense relinquishes, the next biggest factor in determining your average offensive starting field position is your specials teams return game. Jordy Nelson did an average job with kickoff returns, finishing 17th in the NFL among kickoff returners with at least 10 chances (an average of 25.4 yards per return).  Read more... (747 words + 6 images, estimated 2:59 mins reading time)

In this second installment of “Studying the Stats”, I’ll be taking a look at how the Green Bay Packers offense did in 2009 coming out of the locker room. In other words, how they started out in each half.

If you remember the 2008 season, there was much consternation about the Packers’ slow starts (here’s just one example).    There were also many Mike McCarthy comments about ‘fixing our slow starts” and promises to “work on” getting out of the box faster.

During the 2009 preseason, McCarthy kept his word. Along with working on the red zone offense, getting out to faster starts was a point of emphasis for the Packers during the 2009 training camp.

Well, I’m here to give credit where credit is due. Mike McCarthy’s offense made definitive progress in this area in 2009. The Packers had the first score of the game 11 times in 2009. Their record over those games was 9-2. Even more impressive, if they continued playing well and took a lead into halftime, the 2009 Packers were 11-1 in those situations.  Read more... (669 words + 6 images, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)

Looking back at the Green Bay Packers stat sheet for the 2009 season, a few items just jump off the page. In some cases  they are negative stats the Packers DO NOT want to see again. In other cases, they are positive stats the Packers would LOVE to repeat.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at a few of these eye-openers and discussing what they could mean for the Packers in 2010.

Stat #1 – Interceptions: The Packers led the entire NFL in 2009 with 30 interceptions. In addition, they gained 477 yards and scored three touchdowns on interception returns, with NFL Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson notching all three.

After the 2009 preseason, I wrote that the Packers’ defense would be one that would live and die by the turnover. It seemed to me at the time that opposing teams would be able to move the ball against the Packers’ defense, so they would need the big plays to counter that. Either that or their red zone defense would have to be of the shutdown type, which as I recently wrote about, did not happen in 2009.  Read more... (606 words + 6 images, estimated 2:25 mins reading time)