GREEN BAY Greg Jennings didnt get a vote.
The Eagles use their star wide receiver DeSean Jackson, on punt returns because of Jacksons playmaking abilities, and now the Packers are taking a page out of the Eagles playbook and plan on using Jennings and starting cornerback Tramon Williams on punt returns following the injury settlement with return specialist Will Blackmon.
Itll be situational, based on how the games going, where we are, what we need, what were doing offensively and defensively. That all plays into it, special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said of how Jennings will be used. (Jennings is) very natural catching the ball and hes an excellent runner with the ball. This is an organizational decision that Mike and (GM) Ted (Thompson) and myself have discussed, and its something that we keep in mind, the number of plays and where we are offensive and defensively with two starters as a returner. That decision can be highly impactful in the ballgame. We want to be all-in with our units.
A more cautious soul might not want to use the teams leading receiver or a starting cornerback given the young, unproven backups at the position as a returner, but McCarthy made it clear that he believes its worth the risk.
Safe is (a matter of opinion if) you have a returner thats not a starter, McCarthy said Friday. We feel strongly that were putting our best players out there for the return game Jordy Nelson and Brandon Jackson in the kickoff, and Tramon and Greg Jennings on the punts. I understand fully just like you do because you asked the question their responsibilities as starters. But we made a commitment to special teams. I felt in the past I probably didnt spend enough time, as far as meeting time. Practice time, weve increased that. We increased the competition throughout training camp, which maybe held us back a little bit getting continuity in certain phases, but weve put a lot of effort into getting the best players on our football team that can contribute on special teams, and thats no different at the returner position.
Of course, truth be told, Jennings would rather beg off the job if he could.
Its team first. How do I feel about it? Ive done it in college. Its been awhile since Ive done it, Jennings said. Am I comfortable doing it? Yeah, Im comfortable doing it. If I had a vote, would I put Greg back there right now? Eh, probably not. But Im not opposed to doing it at all.