Packerholic

With the MVP results announced today (I didn’t even know the voting ended today), Brett Favre no longer holds the record for most MVP awards. He now shares that distinction with one Payton Manning who won his third MVP this morning. In a year with no real for sure MVP cannidates I can’t say I am disappointed with the selection. Manning did really come on strong at the end of the season. We all also know that you pretty much have no chance at winning the award if your team ends up missing the playoffs (sorry Drew Brees).

With this years vote though, I am thinking that there should be a change with how the MVP voting is done. Personally I wish an offensive lineman or a defensive player would win the award for once. That will never happen though since I think QBs and RBs are the only position that can actually win the award. I think as Packers fans can confirm after this season though is that offensive line and defense (especially defensive line) are just as important as QBs and RBs. The award is afterall called the Most Valuable Player. Many years there are just as valuable offensive lineman and defensive linemen as the QB or RB chosen that year as the MVP.

After the vote it was revealed that Peyton Manning received 36 of the MVP votes. The other 14 votes went to Chad Pennington (I bet the Jets are regretting that decision now), Michael Turner, Phillip Rivers, Chris Johnson and Kurt Warner. Obviously no Packers received a vote. Maybe with some additions to the roster, Aaron Rodgers or possibly Charles Woodson could make a run. I guess we’ll find out next year.

Donald Lee: One thing I have always wondered is why some Packer fans seem to not like Donald Lee. He obviously isn’t a perenial pro bowl, but I think he is a pretty good TE. He does what he is asked to do and that is honestly all I expect out of him. We can’t have pro bowlers at every position. We need good role players as well, which Donald Lee is. Donald Lee had a down year (at least if you look at receiving yards) but what do you expect. As the receiver position gets stronger and stronger obviously some passes need to be taken from Donald Lee since there are only so many passes. While we could have a better TE, I think it is far from one of our concerns this offseason after this past season.

Tory Humphrey: Tory Humphrey is always one of those players that seem to keep clinging onto the team even though the production has never been there. While Tory Humphrey made a couple plays this year, I don’t think he contributed enough to make the roster next season. Combine that with the fact that he can never stay healthy and I think his time is limited in Green Bay.

Jermichael Finley: Jermichael Finley hasn’t made a lot of friends or fans after his struggles in his first season. While I wish he would have developed more during the season, I still hold the belief that Jermichael Finley could be a great TE in this league. When we drafted him, everyone should have known he was going to be a project. Being a project I think Jermichael Finley just needs some time to develop. He needs to mature and get some more time to develop his skill and I think he could be a very good TE. I hold so much hope for Finley because I believe we could see a lot more of what we saw in the last game if we just gave him some more time.

Greg Jennings: While some people might disagree with me, I believe Greg Jennings is currently the best player on the Packers roster. While Jennings had a couple down games at the end of the season, there is no denying that he is one of the best receivers in the league. Also unlike most star receivers, he doesn’t have an attitude. Greg Jennings will continue to be a great receiver, hopefully the Packers are able to resign him. The good news is that even though he will come at a hefty price tag, it appears that Greg Jennings wants to resign with the Packers. Unless the Packers don’t resign him or something happens to him (injuries), I think Greg Jennings has the possibility of eventually becoming the best Packers receiver of all time.

Donald Driver: While Driver is getting older, he is still remaining productive. While I have no idea how long Driver is going to play yet, I am hoping for several more productive seasons. Donald Driver will go down as one of the best Packers receivers of all time. While his skills aren’t as great as they once were, he still provides veteran leadership and is still productive. While there are rumors that are going around that Driver’s days in Green Bay are limited, I think the idea is propesterous. People hate Thompson and would like to believe that he would get rid of Driver, I just don’t see it. We seriously lack leadership at this time so I don’t know why we would get rid of our only leader. Driver is also the type of player Thompson likes and he still remains productive. So I wonder why would he get rid of Driver? I think Driver will play 2-3 more seasons and then call it quits. Hopefully he will be able to get the 1,600 yards he needs in order to have the most receiving yards of any Packer player of all time.

James Jones: After a surprising rookie season, James Jones has had a disappointing season. He has been injured on and off all season long. It’s too bad that he was injured since in the games he was able to play he showed that he could be a great receiver in this league. All we can hope for is that he stays healthy next season and continues to develop. I believe Greg Jennings and James Jones will become a dominant wide receiver tandem.

Jordy Nelson: While most Packer fans weren’t happy with Nelson’s selection, he actually had a pretty good season this year. Most people weren’t upset with the selection of Nelson, they were upset with Thompson picking another receiver. While I admit that receiver really wasn’t a need, you really can’t be disappointed with Nelson’s play this season. I wasn’t expecting him to do much this season. While he wasn’t a game changer this season, I was impressed with his season. I think he will also become a good receiver in the near future.

Ruvell Martin: Ruvell Martin had a pretty disappointing season. Martin battled injuries throughout the season along with Jones. I think there was also just not enough balls to go around. Nelson quickly pass Martin on the depth chart and there was eventually just not enough passes for everyone. I believe Ruvell Martin could do better next season with some improved protection so Rodgers is able to get through more of his progressions.

The wide receiver is easily the Packers strongest position. With that said I hope that no moves are made in the offseason. I don’t see the point wasting money or a draft pick on a player that has next to no chance of making the roster in the first place.

So with today’s press conference it appears that Sanders’ and Stocks’ jobs are safe for the time being. That doesn’t mean they won’t end up losing their jobs though. While some people might take the press conference to mean that neither will be replaced, you can also see it as there is a very realistic chance that they are going to lose their jobs soon. Every regular reader already knows my opinion on both coaches (they should be fired) but here are two interpretations of the press conference that lead you toward McCarthy firing some coaches and not firing some coaches.

We’ll begin with reasons why McCarthy might fire coaches. While no coaches have been fired yet, it seemed like McCarthy wasn’t really happy with his coaching. He is also going to start evaluating his coaches (starting tomorrow) so we might see some firings later in the week or early next week. McCarthy also didn’t rule out changing schemes which leads towards Bob Sanders’ scheme being on the hot seat. He also seemed to sneak around questions regarding the staff so I think if changes weren’t going to be made he would have just said that. There are also many rumors out there that the Packers will be making some big changes to the defense this offseason and that leads me to the Packers having a new defensive coordinator. Finally McCarthy might be waiting to fire either coach because he is looking at replacements. I actually don’t think this is a bad idea. I obviously think there are better coaches than Sanders and Stock but I think it is wise to evaluate replacements before firing each coach. So there are the facts from today’s interview that lead me towards some coaches being fired.

On the other hand though, there are quite a few things leading towards McCarthy keeping his coaching staff in tact. First of all McCarthy has shown way too much loyalty to players and coaches in the past. There is a pretty good chance that he won’t break that trend this season. Second and most obvious is that no coaches were fired today even though many people believed if any were going to be fired they would have been today.

So at this point I really don’t know if the Packers will end up firing Sanders, Stock, or anyone else. I personally would like to see Sanders and Stock leave but at this point who knows what is going to happen. In just my educated guess, I have a feeling that at least Sanders or Stock will be fired. I think McCarthy needs to realize that they are both hodling the team back. I think the team could benefit immediately from a change in some coaches and schemes.

So if Sanders and Stock are fired, who are likely replacements? I know nothing about special teams coordinators so I am not even going to touch that topic. As far as a defensive coordinator there are actually quite a few names popping out. We’ll begin with current Packer coaches. At this point Winston Moss has the best chance. Kurt Schottenheimer also has a chance even though I personally would fire him. Finally I think Lionel Washington should be given a chance since I think he is an up and coming coach. If we promote any of our coaches though I would hope for at least some changes in scheme. I don’t mean anything radical (like switching to a 3-4) but I would like a more aggressive defense that isn’t afraid to take chances. I would also like to get more pressure on the QB.

Looking outside the organization there are quite a few options. Recently fired coaches like Mike Nolan, Romeo Crennel, Jim Hastlett, and even Eric Mangini are options. Mike Nolan and Jim Hastlett are the most likely since they have worked with McCarthy in San Francisco and New Orleans respectively. The Packers could also look at some current assistant coaches. I personally would look at the Ravens, Steelers, and Titans coaches since they are some of the best defeneses in the league for a reason.

I don’t know what will end up happenening but I think the next week could be pretty interesting for the Packers.

Korey Hall: This year was a pretty disappointing season for Korey Hall. Not that he had a bad season, but that he was hurt most of the season. Two years after being converted from a linebacker, Korey Hall is progressing nicely towards being a pretty good fullback. If you take a close look at games where Korey Hall has started, the running game has been more successful than when he hasn’t started. Korey Hall is not a great fullback, but I think he is a pretty good fullback and I think he will only get better once he gets healthy and has more time playing the fullback position.

John Kuhn: John Kuhn is a pretty average fullback in my opinion. He really doesn’t hurt the team but he also doesn’t add a whole lot to the team. The Packers could improve the position but the Packers have many more pressing needs than the #2 fullback. John Kuhn is decent catching the football out of the backfield but I think he could improve his running and his blocking. John Kuhn’s job might be in a little trouble next season if both Wynn and Lumpkin do well in training camp. Thompson might also bring a fullback in during the offseason. I don’t know what will happen with the #2 FB but I think we need to keep the 2 FB set since I have always liked the formation.