Jennings calls for the ball
Green Bay He couched it in the nicest way possible.
Made sure he flashed that mega-watt smile.
But what Greg Jennings said Monday about his lack of production couldn't have been more clear unless he conducted his interview with Keyshawn Johnson's book, "Just Give Me the Damn Ball!" propped up in his locker.
"They know how I feel," Jennings said of the coaching staff. "As a competitor, I would hope they know that I want the ball. When I'm in the meeting and I'm looking at myself running wide open and I'm not getting the opportunity, yes, I am pissed - get me the doggone ball . . . no (just kidding).
"I feel like that when I get the ball in my hands, good things happen. Period. I mean, it's not an arrogant statement. It's not an 'I better get the ball' type deal. It's fact. And we always talk about being a real team, and what are the facts? Those are the facts. When we get the ball in our hands, we make plays."
Imagine for a second if Terrell Owens of the Buffalo Bills made any of those statements. ESPN couldn't have sent Ed Werder to Orchard Park, N.Y., quick enough.
Jennings made sure to slip the "we" in there, but there's only one receiver on the Packers who received a contract in the off-season that places him eighth among all National Football League receivers by making $8.8 million per season.
But his production so far is way off the elite company he keeps monetarily.
Jennings has 11 catches, which is tied for 71st in the league and the lowest four-game total to start the season in his four-year career. Jennings' 240 yards are his second-lowest total and puts him 30th in the league.
To put it another way, Dallas Cowboys receiver Miles Austin nearly exceeded Jennings' season totals with his 10-catch, 250-yard performance on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
At this time last season, Jennings was seventh in catches (25) and he led all receivers with 482 yards.
What's the problem?
Well, it's not that Jennings is drawing constant double-teams. "We're not seeing anything we haven't seen in the past," he said.
Jennings said, first of all, none of the Packers can complain about anything since they lead the league with 14 drops - 10 from the receivers alone.
"That's too many, a season-ending number," Jennings said. "We are too good of a receiving group to have that many opportunities that we didn't take advantage of."
And the other thing, of course, is that Aaron Rodgers has not had enough time to seek out Jennings, who is often running deep routes.
"We've got to protect better or we're going to continue to have struggles," Jennings said. "We're going to continue to have our quarterback on the ground and who knows. I'm praying that he stays healthy. Again, this isn't to bash on the (offensive line), because it's a culmination of everything. We need to do our job better. We need to protect better and Aaron can do some better thing. I'm kind of in a bind because he's getting hit so much. It's like, what can he do?"
If the protection doesn't get markedly better, Jennings thinks the offensive strategy needs to be adjusted.
"If it is we can't protect, if that is the case, then let's take some of the stress off the offensive line. Period. Or off the protection," Jennings said. "That's typically how it works. Will we do that? I don't know. If it's raining, I'm going to pull out an umbrella if I have one. If I don't have one, then I'm just going to get wet. If I have an option to make a correction, to make an adjustment, then why not make the adjustment?"
Jennings said in any event, he's not planning on pulling a Keyshawn or T.O.
"You have to go about it in a respectful way, and it's not who I am to get outside of that. Do I get frustrated? Yes. Do I get highly upset? Yes. (But) we kind of stay away from complaining to everybody else."