Green Bay Packers

Jerel Worthy says he's playing this year despite suffering a torn ACL in the 2012 season finale. We have our doubts, but we're guessing he feels the pressure.The post Jerel Worthy Says He’s Playing This Season appeared first on Total Packers.

We’re pretty sure Aaron Rodgers won’t be disappointed when he doesn’t have to face this situation.Raymond T. Rivard photograph Brian Urlacher retired this week – yes, with the Chicago Bears – and the NFC North may be less another of its aging defensive stars within the year if the Minnesota Vikings don’t find a way to sign defensive end Jared Allen. Scheduled to make $14.3 million in the final year of his contract, Allen told Dan Wiederer of The Star Tribune recently that he has had no talks with Vikings brass and isn’t interested in talking in public about his “business.” Just ask Aaron Rodgers about Urlacher – he will tell you he respected the hell out of him, but is smiling behind those words knowing he won’t have to look into his eyes anymore from across the line of scrimmage. We’re sure Rodgers would feel the same of Allen, the defensive end who has caused all sorts of problems over the years for the Green Bay Packers – and the teams in the rest of the league. So, when Allen said this week that he and the Vikings hadn’t talked, that’s one step in the direction of Allen leaving Minnesota. Would Allen consider restructuring a deal or signing a cap-friendly contract that would keep him in the land of 10,000 Lakes? That remains to be seen, but we’ve also witnessed how defensive players older than 30 have been treated by teams considering their services. Just ask Urlacher. Just ask Charles Woodson. Just ask John Abraham. Jared Allen likes to talk, but if someone mentions the word “restructure” to him he said he would be the first one out the door.Raymond T. Rivard photograph Here’s what Allen had to say about the future prospects: “You use the word ‘restructure,’ and that — to me — makes it feel like they’d want me to take a pay cut. And if anybody asked me to take a pay cut, I’d be through the first door out of there. So, no. We haven’t talked one iota. It is what it is.” “We’re going to go about our business and play good ball and try to win a Super Bowl. And … the business stuff? We take care of that in the offseason. I have people to do that. That’s why I don’t get into it. You’re not going to hear it from me. I won’t complain. I go about my business.” Sounds to me that Allen is positioning himself for his final professional football contract … one that most likely won’t be signed in Minnesota.

We're Black and Blue All Over: Thursday, we broached the topic of whether the Chicago Bears would retire the number of middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. As it turns out, the team is dealing with a backlog on that issue. Almost a half-century after playing his final game with the team, Mike Ditka will have his No. 89 retired this season, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. (The Bears have since confirmed the report.) As Biggs explains, Ditka has had his ups and downs with the franchise after both his playing career and coaching tenure the latter of which brought the Bears a Super Bowl championship in 1985.

Packers CB Tramon Williams Coming off a memorable postseason in 2010, Packers cornerback Tramon Williams suffered a serious shoulder injury in the first game of 2011 that still hasn’t fully healed. A year earlier, in the Packers’ run to Super Bowl XLV, Williams emerged as one of the top cover corners in football. That season, Williams started all 16 games for the first time in his career. He intercepted a career-high six passes in the regular season and picked off another three balls in the playoffs. At that point, ProFootballFocus ranked Williams No. 7 among the 69 cornerbacks that played at least 50 percent of their team’s snaps. This past season, Williams came in at No. 43 among 71 players at the position. The shoulder injury has certainly played a part in Williams’ performance the past two seasons. “I had some tears in my shoulder and I had nerve damage in my shoulder, and it was tough,” Williams told 107.5 The Fan in March. “I only missed one game because of it, but it should have been one of those things to where I should have sat down for quite a few games. But at the same time, I haven’t been hurt at any point in my career … Everyone goes through adversity at some point in their career — that was one of my points, and I got through it.” Williams didn’t appear on the injury report in 2012 because he never considered missing any game action, according to ProFootballTalk. But the lingering shoulder issue has prevented Williams from being the physical impact corner he was before the injury. “It was kind of hard to sit back, because when you’re off, you’re kind of giving away some throws,” Williams said. “You don’t want to give up anything. So you have to kind of compensate your game for the injury, but like I said, I got through it and just continue to progress. I had nerve damage, so that’s one thing that takes time. It could be a year, it could be two years to come back. And it’s made progress, but it’s still coming. So it’s one of those deals to where my shoulder’s still getting better at this point. I’m still working on it and hopefully it comes all the way back this year.” If Williams can get his shoulder back to 100 percent, the Packers’ pass defense will likely improve as a whole. But healthy or not, Williams will be pushed by a deep group of young cornerbacks this offseason. Casey Hayward, a second-round pick in 2012, led the team with six interceptions last year, while Sam Shields bounced back from a tough sophomore campaign in 2011 and had a terrific third season. Davon House never became an every-week for the Packers in 2012, but he was among the most impressive players on the roster throughout training camp. A shoulder injury in the preseason opener prevented House from hitting his stride until midseason. But from Week 8 to Week 12, House played 83.8 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. Shields, House and Hayward are all capable of locking down receivers on the perimeter, but Hayward is the best of the bunch in the slot. Of the top four players at the position, Williams is likely still the most well-rounded player, but at 30 years old, one has to wonder if he’s entering the twilight of his career. In this week’s AllGBP podcast on Packers Talk Radio Network, which will be posted soon, Jason Perone, Kris Burke and I spoke about the Packers’ depth at cornerback. And if Williams wants to remain an integral part of the defense, he’s going to have to earn his playing time with a trio of up-and-comers behind him. Williams certainly wasn’t dominant in 2012, but he showed some flashes of his 2010 form. In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, Williams and safety Morgan Burnett worked together to hold Bears receiver Brandon Marshall to just two receptions for 24 yards. Williams, himself, caught two Jay Cutler passes–his only two interceptions of the season. On the other hand, Williams didn’t show much improveme

Coming off a memorable postseason in 2010, Packers cornerback Tramon Williams suffered a serious shoulder injury in the first game of 2011 that still hasn’t fully healed. A year earlier, in the Packers’ run to Super Bowl XLV, Williams emerged as one of the top cover corners in football. That season, Williams started all 16 games [...]

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said he believes WR Randall Cobb can be a receiver that catches at least 100 catches every season. Wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett said Cobb improved last season but still has things to work on to become more productive. Huddle Up: With Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson hurting last season, Cobb took full advantage, making the quantum statistical leap from 25 catches for 375 yards and a TD in his rookie season to 80-954-8 last year. Even a slight improvement again this year should indeed put Cobb close to 100 catches, 1,200 yards and 10-14 TDs.

Bob Harlan stepped down as Packers president in January 2008. He’s been plenty busy since.

Photo courtesy of sportspickle.com You may have heard … or maybe you didn’t … but if you didn’t … you should have heard that Brian Urlacher retired … as a member of the Green Bay Packers. What is that you say? Did I read that right? Yes, you did. And if you believe it, you might just want to read more from the Sports Pickle. Their post yesterday that outlines in great detail Urlacher signing a one-day contract with the Packers so he could “go out a winner” – is a winner. You will smile, you will laugh – heck, you might laugh out loud – and rightfully so. Of course, none of it is true, but does raise an interesting question about the frustrations a great player who didn’t always play on a good team might face at the end of their career. Would they even consider switching allegiances – well, no – but maybe they should. Being a Bears fans has been hard enough for those folks south of the Wisconsin border (and for those poor souls who follow the team and live north of the border). This piece only rubs salt into the wounds. They’ve already got to live with the fact that Urlacher’s teams, no matter how great of a career he had – were just kinda crappy. I could certainly understand just how easily Urlacher could come over from the dark side. And for one fleeting moment, that happens with this piece. What’s even better is how this piece concludes and brings Jay Cutler into the equation. Reading from beginning to end is well worth the two minutes. Click on over and like it.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a leader in his field – not only of his team, but of the entire NFL. His actions of the past two days has made that very clear. Yesterday Rodgers appeared on the “Jim Rome Show” and made it known in no uncertain terms that he wanted Brett Favre accepted back into the Green Bay Packers family for good. He showed once again, like any good man would, that he holds no ill will toward Favre. That is despite having the longtime Packers quarterback attempt to get his job back after he retired for the first time. When the Packers stood behind Rodgers and told Favre that they were moving on, Rodgers took the high road. He was blunt at the time, but understood that he, too, had to make it clear he was the guy who would lead the Packers from that day on out. We all know how it turned out. Favre was traded to the Jets, played a season, retired, and unretired once more to join the Vikings in 2009. His revenge against the team that sent him packing was severe – he beat the Packers twice that year and nearly led the Vikings to the Super Bowl. The tables turned in 2010 when Favre was talked into playing one more year with the Vikings. His demise was significant as the Packers beat the Vikings twice en route to a Super Bowl win. Through it all, Rodgers tended to business and didn’t show animosity toward his former teammate. Packers President Mark Murphy came out again Tuesday saying the Packers want Brett Favre back in the “family.”Raymond T. Rivard photograph Taking the high road once again, Rodgers took us another step toward peace and acceptance with Favre. Packers President Mark Murphy told fans on the Packers Tailgate Tour that he wanted Favre back and Rodgers followed that up yesterday by saying this: “It’s been too long. I think our country and the state of Wisconsin, these people are people of second, third and fourth chances, and I think it’s time to let the healing process begin for those who are still upset about what went down. “I was totally OK with being out front of that, and I’m very secure of the things I’ve been able to accomplish with the team and individually here in Green Bay, and excited about the chance to see him again and get his number retired here before he goes into Canton,” Rodgers said. If that doesn’t give us a clear picture of how he feels, nothing will. But that’s not all. Rodgers again showed us that when he talks, people listen – and for good reason. Longtime Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher retired yesterday after 13 years of blowing up running backs and destroying offensive schemes. Though his success against the Green Bay Packers wasn’t the greatest, he had some of his best games against he and his team’s arch-rival. Rodgers saw many of those games, and understood what the guy meant to the game. Here’s what he had to say about Urlacher: Brian Urlacher was a Packer killer for 13 seasons. We’re happy he had such a great career and yes, we will miss him – especially all those wins the Packers had over him and his Chicago Bears teams.Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports photograph “I want to congratulate Brian on a tremendous career. We have had our share of battles amid what is in my opinion the league’s greatest rivalry, but I’ll always have the utmost respect for his professionalism and the way he played the game. He was a complete player on the field and a really good guy off of it. And while I won’t miss him making plays against us, I will miss the interaction with him during games and the challenges he presented to us in our preparation that forced us to raise our level of play. You think about the lineage of players who have played that position for that team: Butkus, Singletary, Urlacher. It’s an incredible list and is truly beyond any comparison. Brian was the ultimate competitor, leader, and a no-doubt Hall of Famer,

Nick Perry's rookie season wasn't a total injury washout, but the Green Bay Packers still can't say he's successfully made the transition from a college defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL.