Zero2Cool
14 years ago
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/99210304.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_term=packers 

Green Bay The division of footballs among the four crack wide receivers means a lot more to the players than the coaches at one of the Green Bay Packers' most outstanding positions.

"Obviously, Greg and Donald are the starters, but we're going to be good whoever's in there," said Jimmy Robinson, who is coaching the wide receivers for a fifth season. "I am so comfortable with the group. I don't care who's in the game."

Since being drafted in the second round in 2006, Greg Jennings has played 3,069 snaps alongside Donald Driver, who has played 3,420. Together, they join Boyd Dowler-Max McGee, Carroll Dale-Dowler, James Lofton-John Jefferson, Sterling Sharpe-Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman-Brooks and Javon Walker-Driver on the club's list of all-time receiving tandems.

After Jordy Nelson came along in the second round in 2008, he and James Jones essentially have split time as the No. 3 and No. 4 receivers. In the last two seasons, Jones has played 780 snaps compared with 718 for Nelson.

For two years, Aaron Rodgers has been throwing to a corps with fairly defined roles: Jennings at split end and Driver at flanker in base, Driver in the slot in three wide, Jennings often in the slot in four wide, and both Jones and Nelson usually playing outside.

As training camp opens, positions and playing time appear less locked in.

"Jordy and James are at that stage where the next step on the ladder is within their reach," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "Obviously, we have to see what happens with Driver's knee when he comes back. Wide receivers are like D-linemen. Those guys roll into the game. Those guys are going to play."

Driver underwent arthroscopic surgery on both knees during the off-season. In his absence, Jones and Nelson had the chance to play all over the formation and Robinson liked what he saw.

"Jordy and James had great off-seasons," said Robinson. "With Donald being out we've had an opportunity to mix and match and move guys around. I think it's been a great off-season."

Philbin is assuming Driver's knees will be fine; in a late June conversation, Driver assured him that they will be.

If Driver does return to his usual form, Jennings can elevate his game to the elite level and both Jones and Nelson really are improved, the Packers won't have to take a backseat to any other team. As it stands now, Green Bay's wide-outs are in a mix with 10 other teams, including Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Arizona from the NFC.

"That system, and I give (Mike) McCarthy credit for this, that system creates receivers," an NFC personnel director said. "They run the packages, do the horizontals, confuse people and it's tough to match up. I don't think they fall off a cliff if any receiver goes down. They're all kind of interchangeable parts."

No matter who's on the field, the corps has little reason to feel smug. Dropping 28 of 343 targeted passes in 17 games a year ago, the wide receivers posted their worst drop ratio (8.2%) of the decade.

Driver was the chief offender, dropping a career-high 11 passes for the highest total in Green Bay since Antonio Freeman dropped 12 in 1997. Driver also dropped seven in 2008 after having just two in '07.

The 35-year-old Driver hasn't missed a game since 2003 despite taking as many if not more stinging shots inside the numbers on the field than any receiver in the league. Still, he has never missed an entire off-season, either.

Driver often has said he plans to play until he's 40. His contract, which contains a $4 million base salary and roster bonuses totaling $2.8 million, expires after the season. Never one to need motivation, he will break Lofton's club yardage record with 507 more.

"I haven't seen him do anything since Jan. 10, but he's still got that desire," Philbin said. "Let's be honest. There's guys in the league that have similar talent that don't have near the production because they're not as tough mentally and don't have the passion for the game. That's what has made him the player that he is."

Driver's statistics outpace Jennings' over their four-year partnership, but Jennings has crept past Driver the past two seasons, counting playoffs: 156 receptions to 148, 16.3 average to 14.3, 14 touchdowns to 11, 266 targeted passes to 230 and 1,752 snaps to 1,729.

Jennings, who had 11 plays of 20 yards or more in the last six games compared with Driver's two, also cut back on his drops and was much better after the catch.

"You're impressed with his fundamentals and technique, getting in and out of breaks," said Philbin. "He does some things effortlessly. He's primed to have a good season."

Entering camp, there is little to separate Jones and Nelson, according to their coaches. Asked to identify his No. 3 man, Robinson replied, "Jones-Jordy."

Besides the rich investment in Nelson, the Packers have a third-round pick in Jones. They need one of them to grow into a legitimate starter, but so far they've been just good complementary types.

In their two seasons together, counting playoffs, Jones has more yards (764 to 697), touchdowns (seven to five) and average yards after the catch (4.87 to 3.01). Nelson has the edge in receptions (56 to 55) and fewer drops (four to 12). Jones has had 96 passes come his way compared to Nelson's 83.

Built like a brick outhouse, Jones isn't a physical runner or blocker. He tends to drift mentally, which has led to some sloppy routes and way too many drops (20 in three years).

"He has to avoid the fluctuations," said Philbin. "Some of it just came maybe from lack of concentration, sometimes the injury bug."

Nelson probably is a more dependable route runner, catcher and blocker than Jones but hasn't demonstrated the pizzazz after the catch that he has shown on returns. Neither player has more than adequate speed for a group that lacks a true burner.

The frontrunners for the No. 5 job seem to be Brett Swain, Chastin West and Patrick Williams. Swain is expected to practice sometime in August after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery Nov. 5.


UserPostedImage
dhazer
10 months ago
Interesting read and like I was saying at the end of last year the receiving group was reminding me of the 2010 club with so many weapons and you never knew who was going to be the man that day. I actually think this team might not have that star power at wr yet but we make up for it with better TE's and RB's I believe. We shall see if Love can follow suit and get the ring in his 3rd year before the gang is dismantled.
Just Imagine this for the next 6-9 years. What a ride it will be 🙂 (PS, Zero should charge for this)
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
dfosterf (6-Jun) : Semper fi !
Cheesey (6-Jun) : This is why I have so much respect for those that have gone through battles
Cheesey (6-Jun) : I can't even imagine what that would have been like
wpr (6-Jun) : "Come on, you sons of bitches. Do you want to live forever?"
wpr (6-Jun) : Facing a line of machine guns 2 time medal of Honor recipient, First Sergeant Dan Daly told his men,
wpr (6-Jun) : Another detachment went into the Belleau Wood.
wpr (6-Jun) : On the 6th the Marines took Hill 142 but suffered terrible losses.
wpr (6-Jun) : It’s time to remember dfoster’s Marine brothers in Belleau Wood. The battle went on from June 1-26. Nearly 10,000 casualties.
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : Nick Collins and Morgan Burnett have signed with the PACK
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : he won't be wearing #12, maybe he will wear number two
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : He will fail this season, should have retired
Mucky Tundra (5-Jun) : Thus the cycle of Hall of Fame Packer QBs going to the Jets and then the Vikings is broken
bboystyle (5-Jun) : Rodgers to steelers on 1 year contract
Zero2Cool (5-Jun) : It's the cycle of civilizations. Get lazier, lazier, softer, softer and vanish.
Martha Careful (5-Jun) : great point. every aspect of society, including art, culture and sports has degraded.
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Green Bay sweep meant something to society about stopping pure excellence. We have the tush push now
dfosterf (4-Jun) : We old Martha.
Martha Careful (4-Jun) : *front four
Martha Careful (4-Jun) : Re frout four, I wish we had some Green "People Eaters" or a fearsome foursome
dfosterf (4-Jun) : *directions*
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Just don't ask him for driving direct
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Jim Marshall was an all-time great DE for the Purple People Eaters. Didn't like him. That's a compliment. RIP
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : ooppppss
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : “Kenny Clark played all of last season hurt by the way and got surgery to fix it in January”
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : @ByRyanWood How much did the injury affect him last fall? “A lot.”
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : @ByRyanWood Kenny Clark said he had foot surgery in January. Injured his foot in opener against Eagles and played through it all year.
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : Golden is wearing guardian cap again. I bet he plays with it on too.
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : All the stuff I'm reading from Lions fans are pointing at his toe; he more or less has permanent turf toe in one of his big toes
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Kenny played through it, and a shame he gets little credit for that, imo
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Big men. I hope it's not the undoing of Kenny Clark
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Probably his toe. Pretty much a great center. Toe injuries are brutal to bigen
Mucky Tundra (2-Jun) : Lions All-Pro C Frank Ragnow retires
wpr (30-May) : It's all good.
beast (30-May) : Yeah, and I enjoyed your comments and just attempted to add to it. Sorry if I did it incorrectly.
wpr (30-May) : Beast I never said Henderson was the salt of the earth. Nor even that he was correct. Just quoting the guy.
Zero2Cool (29-May) : What did you do??
Zero2Cool (29-May) : Whoa
beast (29-May) : OMG the website is now all white, even some white on white text
beast (29-May) : Henderson, who admits to taking cocaine during the Super Bowl against the Steelers, might dislike Bradshaw as he lost two Superbowls to him
wpr (28-May) : Hollywood Henderson said Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and an A.”
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Cooper stock=BUY BUY BUY
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Also notes he’s playing with more confidence.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : @AndyHermanNFL MLF says there was a time last year where Cooper was at 220 pounds. Now he’s at 240 and still flying around.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : And don't even get me started on Frank Caliendos "impersonations"
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I got tired of them being circle jerks with them overlaughing at each others jokes.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : It used to be must watch TV for me. now it's "meh" maybe to hear injury update
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : I haven't watched the pregame shows in years and I don't feel like I've missed a thing
Zero2Cool (28-May) : Love says knee affected him all season, groin injury didn't help matters.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : I used to enjoy him on FOX Pregame. Now it's like a frat party of former Patriots.
Zero2Cool (28-May) : LaFleur on Watson: “Christian is doing outstanding. I would say he’s ahead of schedule.”
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
7-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

7-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

6-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

5-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

5-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

1-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

29-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

27-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

27-May / Random Babble / Martha Careful

24-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / earthquake

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / bboystyle

21-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.