Weekly Green Bay Packers News from Twitter and other Sources by Al Bracco and John Rehor (As heard on Cheesehead Radio – 12/21/11 ). Interview with Kevin Seifert of ESPN NFC North Blog at the 76 minute mark.
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Cheesehead Radio News 1-5-12
Al: The lead story of the week has to be Matt Flynn. No matter how much of a Matt Flynn fan you were, you never could have anticipated the game that Flynn had. Flynn set two Packers all-time franchise records, passing for 480 yards and throwing an amazing six touchdown passes. For his effort, Flynn was named the Air NFL Player of the week, an honor won six times this year by Aaron Rodgers and three times by Drew Brees. Not bad company for a backup quarterback.
John: Not at all, and as you might expect, it unleashed a firestorm of speculation and pondering among fans as to what the Packers will do with Flynn, who is an unrestricted free agent after this season. Will or should the Packers get max value for Flynn by franchising him and then trading him? Would they risk losing Jermichael Finley or Scott Wells by doing that? Or do they let Flynn walk and take the compensatory draft pick for him, which would probably be a third-rounder at best? If you find yourself flummoxed, don’t worry, we’ll hash it all out right here a little bit later in the show.
Al: One thing that can’t be questioned is the definite power shift among the Packers’ NFC North rivals. The Lions are in the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Vikings, only two years removed from a 12-4 record and one Brett Favre interception away from going to the Super Bowl, finished with an embarrassing 3-13 record. The Bears, last year’s NFC North Division champions, quickly showed their lack of depth and had their season tank upon losing their few offensive playmakers. As a result of poor performance and some bad personnel decisions and drafting, both the Vikings and the Bears have new GMs. In addition, Mike Martz, a poor fit in Chicago from day one, has also left the team.
John: And that brings us to the Packers. In light of the Packers’ recent success, the inevitable raiding of the organization is in full force. With the bye week allowing ample time for interviews, QB coach Tom Clements is going to Penn State for his second interview, Reggie McKenzie will be interviewing for the Raiders’ GM job and Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin will be talking to the Chiefs about their coaching vacancy. There is one guy who won’t be leaving, however, and that is Director of College Scouting John Dorsey, who turned down an offer to interview for the newly vacant Colts’ GM job.
Al: The other thing the bye week brings is a chance for Mike McCarthy and Dom Capers to turn the magnifying glass around and point it at themselves. The Packers have historically spent a lot of time during bye weeks on self-scouting and making corrections to some of the problems they’ve been having. It’s an approach that has worked very well for McCarthy. His Packers are 7-1 after having a bye week or an open date.
John: And finally, the bye week will allow some of the Packers walking wounded to rest up and be stronger when their first playoff game rolls around. In his press conference yesterday, McCarthy called it the most important benefit of having a bye week and he’s very pleased with the progess his injured players have made. Greg Jennings, James Starks, Bryan Bulaga and Chad Clifton are all expected to be ready for the first playoff game.
Those were your top news stories for the week. Cheesehead Radio now brings you:
“Gems from the Packers Twitterverse…”
John: Jason Wilde came up with a great idea on twitter last night: he started asking media members with a vote in the MVP race who they voted for. 14 were willing to share their vote and all 14 voted for Rodgers. Today, a fan asked when the MVP Award would be announced, to which Aaron Nagler quickly responded, “Sometime in the next 24 hours on @jasonjwilde‘s timeline.
Al: Our own Kyle Cousineau commented on twitter that he couldn’t wrap his head around why John Dorsey would turn down a chance to interview for the Colts’ GM job. Eliot Wolf, the packers’ Assistant Director of Player personnel shot back, “i can’t wrap my head around why people think we all want to leave”
John: After what turned out to be an amazing and record-setting performance by backup QB Matt Flynn in the Lions game, our old fave, the Packer Ranter tweeted, “Matt Flynn is going to be a great #Packers trivia question in about 15-20 years.”
Al: And Alicia Kramer, daughter of Jerry Kramer, was once again tirelessly following her dream of getting Jerry elected into the NFL Hall of Fame. After starting an on-line petition and urging packer fans to vote, an animated Alicia implored to the voters, “Don’t ‘Ron Santos’ my dad. Give it to him while he is alive and can enjoy the achievement!!!!!! “
(comment from AL) Jerry Kramer was chosen to the NFL’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team in 1969. He was the only guard chosen. And he was chosen by the Hall of Fame Committee. Yet, he is not in that same Hall of Fame. It’s a gross injustice and I know I can speak for everyone here at CheeseheadRadio when I say, IT. IS. TIME.
Alicia, your tweet was the…
Cheesehead Radio Tweet of the Week
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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Good stuff guys! To add to the kramer injustice…the NFL channel showed an episode of the top 10 Green Bay Packers of all time. Jerry Kramer was named. This just goes to show how other NFL analysts perceive Kramer. The Pack has what, 23 Hall of Famers? And countless other great players in thier history, but yet Kramer is listed in the top 10 Packers by the NFLs owner tv network.
Typo…The NFLs “own” tv network