It’s been a minute since we’ve given our thoughts on any actual, real news surrounding the Green Bay Packers. That’s mainly because, well, there hadn’t been much.
I mean, I know they signed a receiver from the CFL recently. But I’m not going to talk about it.
Lately, though, there’s been a slight flurry of activity. And with it being Friday and all, we figured it’d be a good time to check back in.
(Side note: We’ve been having waaaay too much fun with our Twitter and newly created Facebook pages. We’ve added some new stuff to the Facebook page – some photos of us – and we’d love it if you checked it out.)
- Cushing re-wins DROY award…Matthews re-finishes third
Wednesday, the Associated Press held its unprecedented re-vote for the 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing re-won the award, despite being suspended the first four games of next season for failing a test for PEDs. Green Bay’s Clay Matthews, a good friend and collegiate teammate of Cushing’s, finished third again.
I have a few thoughts on this whole saga. First, I’m not going to lie; Cushing’s failed test does raise some significant questions, at least in my mind, about Matthews. This might be a “guilt by association” situation, yes, but facts are facts: Matthews and Cushing are close friends who spent a lot of time working out together (at least while in college). You have to think they shared secrets about their respective regimens, from time-to-time, and there were questions about both before the ‘09 draft.
I’m not saying we should expect Matthews to suffer a similar fate as Cushing or anything. And, believe me, I hope he doesn’t. But if it does happen to Matthews at any point, I am saying none of us should be surprised.
Secondly, I think Cushing’s an idiot for essentially giving us the, “I don’t know how the hCG got into my system” defense. Seriously, does that work after you turn 10 years old? Didn’t think it did. Just fess up and admit to what you did, Brian. It’ll work to your favor in the longterm. We as a society hate people who lie. We hate cheaters, too, but we ultimately forgive them if they are honest.
Finally, I think the AP is stupid for what it did. That organization has now set a dangerous precedent going forward. They’ll now have to do this every single time a player tests positive for something. Slippery slope, fellas.
- Lang out until training camp
Right tackle T.J. Lang, coming off a promising rookie season, will be out until training camp as he recovers from recent surgery on his left wrist.
This is a fairly serious setback for a player like Lang. It’s good that he won’t miss any time in camp, barring any setbacks in recovery, but he’ll miss a ton of weight room time. For a young player like Lang, that’s crucial. It’s been said over-and-over that players make the most significant leap in strength from year one to year two and I believe it.
Lang can likely still work on lower body stuff, which will help. But I doubt he can do much in terms of upper body strength now and it could take him a bit longer to fully get into game shape. Just another reason why I’m glad Mark Tauscher was re-signed.
- Packers bringing in another Harrell?
Green Bay will reportedly bring in quarterback Graham Harrell for a workout next week. Harrell was a standout at Texas Tech – what QB isn’t in that system, though – but went undrafted in ‘09.
He spent last season playing in the CFL (dammit, I was hoping to avoid any CFL talk in this post), but was released by the Saskatchewan Roughriders recently.
The Packers already have a couple of young, developmental quarterbacks on the roster, as of now. But head coach Mike McCarthy apparently has interest in adding more. I have no problem with that, really, because as I’ve said repeatedly, I truly believe the team is hoping for one more good preseason out of Matt Flynn before attempting to trade him after next season. That being the case, Green Bay needs to find its next Flynn.
Maybe it’s Harrell. Hey, he couldn’t be any worse than Justin…could he??
(Oh, and for those out there who have raised the idea of bringing in JaMarcus Russell, I think it’s a fine idea. You can never have enough depth on the offensive line.)
- Finding chinks in Jared Allen’s armor
Okay, so this last one isn’t really news or anything. But, living in Minneapolis, I’m constantly reminded of how much the people here love Jared Allen. That, of course, only serves to constantly remind me of how much I hate him.
This week, I set out to find a few chinks in his armor. I think I did:
- Did you know that, last season, Allen only had five sacks against left tackles not named Daryn Colledge, T.J. Lang or…well…whoever plays that spot for the Chicago Bears?
- Did you know that Allen, in 2008, only had four sacks against teams not named Detroit, Chicago, Green Bay and Houston?
- Did you know that Allen’s a disgusting redneck – make that “pretend redneck” – with a mullet? Okay, that’s not really a chink, I just wanted to say it.
Finally, if the Packers are looking to rattle Allen this season, I think this guy just showed them a way to do it.
Have a good Friday, everyone.
-Chris Lempesis
Recent Comments