Thursday, April 30, 2015

Meet Mr. No. 1

The picks are all in, and the Green Bay Packers have selected Arizona State S Damarious Randall as the newest member of the team’s roster. Here is a bit about Mr. Randall: “By the end of the 2015 season, Arizona State safety Damarious Randall appeared to be headed for first-round selection in the NFL Draft, which seemed plausible after leading the Sun Devils in tackles and interceptions. Though his stock appeared strong after his early-March Pro Day at ASU, the pro-Randall momentum apparently is gaining steam.

“NFL.com analyst Mike Mayock leapfrogged Randall on his position-by-position board, ranking him atop his list of the class' best safeties. "Randall is by far the best cover safety in the draft," Mayock told the Daily News. "Because of the way Arizona State plays defense, you can see him play a ton of man-to-man, which is so helpful (in evaluating him). He's a guy that there's been a lot of buzz about for the last month or so. He reminds me of Jimmy Ward, who was drafted in the first round last year by San Francisco. But he's not as physical or as good a tackler as Ward.’

“FOXSports.com's Peter Schrager listed Randall as the 27th player off the board, saying: "Randall's my guy rising fast up draft boards and that's because of his versatility. He played corner at Arizona State and had a lot of success. He is built like a safety. He also had a great workout in Arizona for many pro scouts back during the NFL's Owners meetings. Buzz has been high on this guy for a while.’

“With the NFL going pass-heavy these days, Randall's cover skills are coveted. Though the safety talent in this draft class is considered poor, CBS Sports' Dane Brugler notes that at least one team views the Sun Devil as a better prospect than Ward. As they say, one is all it takes.’

“Randall's versatility as a nickel or safety has propelled his cause, and perhaps the only slight against him is his size. At a hair taller than 5-10, Randall has made up for those concerns by bulking up to nearly 200 pounds, more than 15 pounds of added weight since ASU's season ended.”



Randall at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. 

The Packers picked 30th overall, due to their missing the Super Bowl by a few minutes. 

The NFL Network experts announce that Green Bay’s selection has been submitted. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces Randall’s selection. 

Two Packers’ fans in downtown Chicago show their approval of the pick. 

Randall was at home with his family instead of being in Chicago. 

A couple of screens with Randall’s statistics and information. 


Randall’s first Tweets as a Green Bay Packer. 

Randall’s page on NFL.com. Friday brings us Rounds 2 & 3.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The Draft Is Upon Us

The 2015 NFL Draft is nearly here, and then we can really get down to the nuts and bolts of who will comprise our Green Bay Packers this season. All of the pre-Draft speculation can be really tiring, and completely meaningless. As a reminder, we have listed below the NFL Draft television broadcast schedule for Thursday through Saturday:

All times are Central time zone

THURSDAY
What: Round 1
When: 7:00 p.m. until end of first round (there's a 10 minute time limit on picks), approximately 10:30 p.m.
TV info: NFL Network and ESPN
Other coverage:
ESPN
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — NFL Insiders
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. —  NFL Live
5:00 p.m. — SportsCenter Special: Draft Countdown
NFL Network
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. — Path to the Draft
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. — NFL Draft Kickoff
4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. — NFL Draft Gold Carpet
5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  — NFL Draft Kickoff

FRIDAY
What: Rounds 2 (7-minute time limit) and 3 (5-minute time limit)
When: 6:00 p.m. until end of third round (approximately) 10:30 p.m.
TV info: NFL Network and ESPN2
Other coverage:
ESPN2
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. — NFL Insiders
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. —  NFL Live
NFL Network
8:00 a.m. to 12 noon — Path to the Draft
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. — NFL Draft Kickoff

SATURDAY
What: Rounds 4-7
(Rds. 4-6: 5-minute time limit, Rd. 7: 4-minute limit)
When: 11:00 a.m. to (approximately) 7:00 p.m.
TV info: NFL Network and ESPN
Other coverage:
NFL Network
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. — Path to the Draft

Thursday, April 23, 2015

2005 Draft — Ten Years On...

Ten years ago today, QB Aaron Rodgers was drafted with the 24th pick of the 2005 First Round. Above, he meets the media a day later at Lambeau Field. We thought we’d go back and take a look at the teams who passed up the opportunity to draft a player who would win a Super Bowl (following the 2010 season), be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice (2011 and 2014), be a four-time Pro Bowl selection (2009, 2011, 2012, and 2014), and a First Team All-Pro twice (2011 and 2014). Plus, he’s always referred to as one of the top QB’s in the league, and a future Hall of Famer. Now, here are the teams that didn’t think he was worth drafting:

   1 San Francisco 49ers — (QB Alex Smith)
   2 Miami Dolphins — (RB Ronnie Brown)
   3 Cleveland Browns — (WR Braylon Edwards)
   4 Chicago Bears — (RB Cedric Benson) 
   5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers — (RB Carnell "Cadillac" Williams)
   6 Tennessee Titans — (CB Adam "Pac-Man" Jones)
   7 Minnesota Vikings — (WR Troy Williamson) 
   8 Arizona Cardinals — (CB Antrel Rolle)
   9 Washington Redskins — (CB Carlos Rogers)
 10 Detroit Lions — (WR Mike Williams) 
 11 Dallas Cowboys — (LB DeMarcus Ware)
 12 San Diego Chargers — (LB Shawne Merriman)
 13 New Orleans Saints  — (OT Jammal Brown)
 14 Carolina Panthers — (LB Thomas Davis)
 15 Kansas City Chiefs — (LB Derrick Johnson)
 16 Houston Texans — (DT Travis Johnson)
 17 Cincinnati Bengals — (LB David Pollack)
 18 Minnesota Vikings — (DE Erasmus James) 
 19 St. Louis Rams — (OT Alex Barron)
 20 Dallas Cowboys — (DE Marcus Spears)
 21 Jacksonville Jaguars — (WR Matt Jones)
 22 Baltimore Ravens — (WR Mark Clayton)
 23 Oakland Raiders — (CB Fabian Washington)
 24 Green Bay Packers — (QB Aaron Rodgers) 

What a fun list, eh? This is what happens when you draft for perceived need rather than taking the Best Available Player (BAP), as the Packers do under the leadership of Ted Thompson. Look at our three division-mates... they picked some long-term successful players, didn’t they? Cedric Benson last played — ironically — for the Packers in 2012; Troy Williamson last played in 2009; Mike Williams last played in Canada in 2013; and Erasmus James disappeared to indoor football in 2011. Now, let’s win some more championships!



Thursday, April 16, 2015

Lee Remmel Passes Away

Lee Remmel, longtime Green Bay Press-Gazette reporter and former Packers’ public relations director and historian has passed away at the age of 90. Take the time to read the tributes to him, and some of his writings here, here, and here.

Thursday, April 02, 2015

Panorama!

We were in Green Bay last weekend, and took some photos of the area that will soon be bustling with development. Above, this is a 180-degree view of the area between Marlee Lane (on the far left), and Lambeau Field (on the far right). We are excited to see just what the Packers' plans are for this real estate.