Packers Have Skill Position Logjam

One of the things I really enjoy about the summer is the immense amount of information and speculation out there ahead of football season.

With hockey on hiatus, I actually have time to consume a ton of the available information.

The Packers stunk defensively last season.

Such is probably an understatement, since Green Bay had the worst defense in the NFL, despite a 15-1 regular season.

The Giants exposed that already-exposed weakness in the playoffs, running over, under, around, and through the Packers at Lambeau Field.

(Note: The Giants have more playoff wins at Lambeau Field (two) than the Packers do (one) in the time since Mike McCarthy took over as head coach in Green Bay.)

While there will be a ton of talk about the work being done to improve the defense during training camp, the Packers have an embarrassment of riches on the other side of the ball.

In fact, it stands to reason the Packers could keep seven wide receivers on the main roster once training camp finishes up. Yes, I said seven receivers.

To do so, other positions may have to sacrifice their depth. There is a piece by Zach Kruse on the excellent Cheesehead TV site discussing the decision McCarthy and GM Ted Thompson will have to make once camp breaks.

There are five locks at receiver already. Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson have Pro Bowl ability. Randall Cobb had a very good rookie season, and certainly deserves more playing time in his sophomore season. James Jones is a well-established player who -- I thought -- was more reliable last season than he had been previously. Veteran Donald Driver brings his mirror ball trophy back to Wisconsin, and a restructured contract virtually guarantees his presence on the final roster.

As Kruse points out, there are two players from last year's practice squad who will each get a long look this summer. Diondre Borel was a quarterback at Utah State, but he has developed into a strong candidate to make the Packers as a receiver.

The other guy to watch is Tori Gurley. He's bigger than Borel, and he's a more polished receiver. Both players turned down chances to leave the Packers while on the practice squad last year, and one has to assume their loyalty is going to pay off, probably sooner rather than later.

But as Kruse says, numbers at other positions have to be sacrificed to keep these two. The Packers kept five receivers -- the five aforementioned incumbents -- last season. To add two more -- duh -- means two other players have to go. Kruse does a good job going over the list, and the first obvious cut is at tight end, where the Packers kept five last season.

Andrew Quarless blew his knee out covering a kickoff in the regular season game against the Giants last season -- a play that, by the way, never should have happened* -- and could miss the entire 2012 season. Best case, he starts the season on the PUP list, and that opens up a spot on the roster for at least the first six weeks.

(* - Sorry. I'm still bitter that Quarless blew out his knee on a play where the Giants kick returner signaled for a fair catch and then starting running. When I hear about the NFL locking out its officials and going with replacements, plays like this make me wonder how bad it could be. Is a basic understanding of the rules too much to ask?)

The other option would probably be on defense, but it's hard to justify an additional cut on a side of the ball where competition for playing time and spots needs to be at its highest. With how bad this unit was last season, the team can't afford to have anyone resting and assuming anything.

Thompson's reputation is to keep the best players available to him. He doesn't like setting caps -- he took some heat for keeping two quarterbacks more than once, and he did keep five tight ends last season, which was a bit out of the ordinary -- and he will keep the players he feels have earned spots on the roster. There's no reason to think that he will keep seven receivers because he thinks he has to show Gurley and Borel some loyalty. He may only keep one of the two, depending on their performance during camp.

But I'm certain that he will not keep five receivers because he doesn't think his team can have more than that. If seven deserve it, Thompson will keep them.

(Can't rule out a trade, either. Especially if it involves Jones, who I think is the best candidate to be moved. That would open up a spot.)

Since the Packers were 15-1 last season and had a well-oiled offensive machine for most of the season, you'd assume there aren't a lot of interesting talkers going into camp. But there are, with the receiver logjam joined by the running back situation and the entire defense.

McCarthy doesn't get a lot of full-contact workouts, but they should be interesting when they happen. How many tackling fundamentals can be crammed into that limited time?

But I'll also be watching the receivers. Gurley and Borel are intriguing talents. Can they force their way on the team somehow? We'll see.

Why Brett Favre Gets Away With It

As the Minnesota Vikings prepare to launch training camp in the bustling metropolis of Mankato this weekend, they still don't have their starting quarterback.

While Brett Favre takes spins around his property on his trusty tractor, Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels will see increased practice reps.

(That's why Brett's staying away. He's trying to help the Vikings prepare for what will happen in 11 years when he retires.)

Favre's absence is a talked-about topic. It was last year, and then it was again when he showed up on his white horse in mid-August. While we wait for what is almost certainly going to be another late arrival, people are discussing Favre's ability to stay away.

As I wrote after minicamp, the Vikings are certainly treating Favre differently than they are Adrian Peterson. While it may have put head coach Brad Childress in a bit of a pickle after his public rebuke of Peterson for his decision to skip minicamp, it makes sense on many levels.

Jared Allen did an interview with Ed Werder of ESPN, and after some of the standard Jared Allen fare, Werder asked him about the Favre/Peterson stuff.

Allen was quick to say Favre has put in 21 years, and his situation is a lot different than Peterson's. While Allen admitted Peterson is a superstar, it's clear he feels Favre deserves a little more rope because of his age, experience, and contributions to the game.

He also brought up a really good point. He told Werder that, as a defensive player, it doesn't matter to him who is taking the quarterback reps during camp.

"I can't him anyway," Allen said.

Well, duh. I suppose they all look the same from a distance in those stupid red jerseys, eh?

Allen added that he was cool with whatever, as long as the quarterback showed up for games.

It's an interesting point. Allen has always struck as a bit of an odd duck, but if his stance is similar to his teammates, you can easily see why Favre is feeling no pressure to show up for camp.

As for the offensive players, well they made it work last year, when no one allegedly knew what was going to happen until it happened. Even if they knew, it wasn't like any of them had spent extensive time playing with Favre before. Brett showed up, and everything went amazingly well from the start.

This time, the team -- outside of a couple minor new faces -- has a full season of playing with Favre, and it's hard to believe they would have any struggles making this work, no matter when he shows up.

I'm still betting on Aug. 16-18 or so. That puts him on track to play in two preseason games before the Vikings open the regular season in New Orleans Sept. 9.

Theories Behind Brett Favre's Famous, Neverending 'Indecision'

I've been unwavering for some time in my criticism of Brett Favre. There is no denying his talent, pedigree, Hall of Fame credentials, or overall greatness on the football field. He may have left a sour taste in Packer fans' mouths with the way he departed after 17 years, but no one can question the fact Brett can still play.

He proved that by having possibly his best statistical season as he crossed age 40.

His conduct off the field, however, has left a lot to be desired. He orchestrated his departure from Green Bay with some rather nefarious and manipulative behavior, then did even worse to the New York Jets, paving the way for his arrival in Minnesota.

Instead of deciding to play football and talk the Vikings into letting him skip the portion of training camp that takes place in Mankato, he has lied to the world about his intentions the last two summers.

In Monday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vikings writer Judd Zulgad threw out a few ideas as to why Brett seems to insist on taking this route, rather than just being upfront about what he wants to do.

Favre's wavering has become part of his legend and marketability. The Packers eventually tired of this dance and moved on with Aaron Rodgers, but the Vikings are willing to wait and bank on the belief that Favre isn't going to pull the plug on his career.

... Yes, Favre seems to have concerns about his surgically repaired left ankle, but this wasn't a major procedure, it was essentially a clean-up job. Last year, Favre went through the same thing as he vacillated after having surgery on his throwing shoulder to repair a torn biceps.

The real question is whether Favre even believes what he's trying to sell to the public -- and his employer. Some will say that he truly is filled with doubt. The cynic will call this all part of his offseason act: an attempt to stay away from camp as long as possible and ride in on his white horse at a more convenient time.

So which is it?

In a lengthy story in Men's Journal on Favre that hit newsstands Friday, the quarterback admits that recapturing the success of 2009 won't be easy.

The Vikings' schedule appears far more difficult, and there are no guarantees the breaks again will go the team's way. The last-second touchdown pass on which Greg Lewis made a remarkable catch against San Francisco and the missed field goal by Baltimore with 2 seconds left come to mind as examples of games that could have gone the other way.

"What are the odds that I have another season like that, even if I play well?" Favre asked.

These are all valid points. People have sometimes mistaken Brett for a bit of a hayseed -- kind of part of his image, in a weird way -- over the years, but he's far from it.

Favre is a shrewd, intelligent man who understands football and understands his place among the legends in the game. He also loves the attention his annual dance with retirement has brought him. He enjoys the cameras buzzing around the high school where he has spent time the last two summers getting his arm into shape. He likes hearing reporters talking about him on television, and he likes it when people probe him for information.

He knows he's playing in 2010, and the Vikings know he's playing in 2010. By playing up the indecision, he's able to justify skipping the team's offseason workouts and the portion of training camp that takes place in Mankato. The Vikings' training camp home is a city about an hour southwest of the Twin Cities that swells when camp comes along, but would burst with throngs of fans and media if they knew Favre was going to be there.

The circus you saw last August when he showed up at Winter Park was bad enough, but the Twin Cities are more than big enough to handle it. Mankato is probably better off without it, in a way.

More than anything, Favre doesn't have to worry about his teammates holding against him the fact that he gets to skip camp. After all, he hasn't made up his mind, and no one is supposed to know any different.

Oh, and he threw for over 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns to just seven picks last year. That came after he skipped training camp. Good luck telling him he shouldn't walk the same path again, even if there's plenty of evidence that it's not the best idea.