James Jones rocks in first game back

By CHRIS HAVEL

The Packers relied on a couple of trusted difference-makers Sunday afternoon at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
First, there was James Jones snaring two touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers in the Packers’ 31-23 victory over the Bears. It was as if the pitcher-catcher duo had never been separated for a year.
And then there was Jay Cutler, the Bears’ self-destructive quarterback, crumbling at the most inopportune moment. Cutler’s fourth-quarter interception on a pass intended for tight end Martellus Bennett at the Green Bay 20, and Clay Matthews’ subsequent 48-yard return, effectively sealed the Bears’ fate.
It was Bears head coach John Fox’s first foray into the Packers-Bears rivalry and it merely confirmed what he suspected.
“Green Bay is a pretty good football team,” he told reporters. “We were going to have to be near flawless to beat them and we didn’t quite reach that. I think there were a lot of positive things that we’ll be able to build on as a football team moving forward as we get ready for Arizona.”
The Bears (0-1) proved themselves to be a dangerous team, especially when Matt Forte (141 yards rushing, including 105 yards in the first half) is on top of his game.
Clearly, though, Chicago is in rebuilding mode. The Packers, on the other hand, are in “full speed ahead” mode.
Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy implored his team to get off to a fast start this season.
“This is our starting point,” McCarthy said Sunday. “This is who we are as a team today. A lot of good things to go off of, a lot of things we can learn from.”
Here are several key “learning points”:
The Packers’ front seven was a little softer than hoped for against the run. Forte is an excellent ball carrier, but the Packers’ defense needs to step it up with Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch and Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles coming to Lambeau Field.
Run defense is like an accordion. It expands or contracts (sideline to sideline) depending on what the offense does. Maintaining gap integrity means the defenders slide in unison leaving the ball carrier only a minimal gap to run through. In turn, the linebackers and/or safeties are supposed to meet the ball carrier in the gap and strike a blow. If the gap gets too wide, or in some cases too narrow (defenders bunched up), a great running back will split the defenders and be off to the races.
It happened too frequently with Forte, but bear in mind the Pack was without four defensive starters for all of most of the game.  Morgan Burnett, rated as one of the best run-stopping safeties in the NFL, was a game day scratch and Sam Barrington went out early with an ankle injury.  Couple that with two DL out on suspensions, and you can see why the D was not hitting on all cylinders.
Datone Jones’ return from a one-game suspension will help shore up the defensive line, as will Letroy Guion’s return when his three-game suspension is up.
The Packers’ inside linebackers did a credible job in pass coverage, highlighted by Matthews’ mammoth interception. However, they need to step up their effort against the run, by reacting quicker and becoming more impactful.
The Packers’ offense proved it can function at a high level without Jordy Nelson. Jones’ return was critical for Green Bay. He is a reliable receiver who shares great chemistry with the quarterback.  And the icing is that he is playing like a man with something to prove.  The Raiders and Giants gave the Pack an early holiday gift by cutting him loose for Green Bay to scoop up at a most opportune time.
Randall Cobb showed once again why pound-for-pound he’s one of the toughest men in the NFL. He fought through a painful shoulder injury and still managed to be very effective.
Davante Adams was strong and Ty Montgomery showed his mettle on special teams with a terrific kick return.
*Speaking of special teams, the Packers’ units were better than last year’s disappointing outfit. The ball-control Bears only punted once and the Packers only punted twice, so punt return/coverage wasn’t a factor. Perhaps McCarthy’s interest and influence on special teams will be the glue that leads to consistency and respectability.
Aaron Rodgers is amazing. Rodgers threw for three touchdowns to raise his win-loss record to 13-3 versus the Bears. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 189 yards and was in control throughout. Rodgers also picked up a few first downs by rushing for another 38 yards.
Mr. Rodgers spread the ball around nicely, finding Jones four times for 51 yards and two TD’s and allowing Cobb, Adams and Montgomery to stay in their pre-Nelson injury roles.
“Like many other guys that have gone elsewhere and come back, there is a comfort in this offense for guys who have flourished in it at times,” Rodgers said. “And I think James is one of those guys that really feels comfortable in this offense.”
Julius Peppers remains a big-game player. He rose up to get 1 ½ sacks and looked frisky throughout.  He seems to get a little more juiced fir the Bears.
Eddie Lacy rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown with a familiar combination of power and niftiness.  And throw in a circus catch and run for a first down in quarter one.
Richard Rodgers was solid at tight end. He caught everything that was thrown his way and he blocked fine. He’ll keep getting better.
Now, the Packers must prepare in earnest for the Seahawks, a 34-31 overtime loser at St. Louis in their season opener.  Beat Seattle and the Pack have a great advantage over them in the NFC early, two games up plus the tie-breaker for playoff seeding (the thing they didn’t have last year sending them to the west coast rather than playing at Lambeau in the Championship game).  Lose and we may be headed there again this January.
As Week 2 matchups go in the NFL, Sunday night’s Seahawks-Packers game is about as good as it gets.  Let’s get the win!
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.

Green Bay adds veteran to shore up experience at receiver; Defense still something of an unknown going in

By CHRIS HAVEL

The good news is another weapon has been added.
The unknown is what we will see from the D and special teams, as they are works still in progress going into the regular season.
The Packers re-acquired the veteran receiver after Jones was released by the New York Giants during Labor Day weekend. The 31-year-old played his first seven seasons in Green Bay.
Last year, Jones exited in March so he could sign in free agency with the Oakland Raiders, where he led the Raiders with 73 passes from a QB trio that included Derek Carr, Matt McGloin and Matt Schaub. None of them will be confused with Aaron Rodgers, so his production was remarkable and it’s likely that it will continue now that he is back home in Green Bay.
For the Packers, Jones caught amassed 784 yards and an NFL-best 14 touchdown catches in 2012. He followed that with a respectable 59 catches for 817 yards and three touchdowns in 2013 on a talent-laden Packers’ receiver traffic-jam roster. Jones (6-1, 210) should be the Packers’ No. 3 receiver behind Randall Cobb and Davante Adams going into the regular season opener against the Bears noon Sunday at Soldier Field.
It leaves rookie Ty Montgomery and second-year pro Jeff Janis as the Nos. 4 and 5 receivers. The Packers released Myles White to make room for Jones. For his part Jones is glad to be home.
“It feels like I’ve been gone for 10 years and I’ve only been gone for a year,” Jones told reporters Monday. “A lot of hugs I’ve been giving out here … like I rose from the dead a little bit. But I appreciate it. It’s good to see these guys. They were family to me for seven years so it’s good to be (back) home.”
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is pleased to have Jones.
“There will be new concepts (for Jones to learn); there are every year,” he said. “There will be variations of concepts that existed when (Jones) was here. I don’t think he will have any major learning curve or anything like that. He’ll pretty much focus on the (weekly) game plans. We don’t really have the time to go back and go through all the installs and things like that.”
Jones is confident he can contribute immediately and that begins this Sunday at Chicago.
“Ninety-nine percent of (the offense) is the same,” Jones said. “Aaron has switched a couple of the signals and stuff like that, and me and him will get together and go over some signals for some of the things that are going to happen in the game.”
Jones is realistic in terms of skeptical Packers’ fans who believe his better days are behind him.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to give,” he said. “I feel like I’m still playing at a high level. I had the most catches of my career last year. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m falling off. But I’ve got a lot of people to prove wrong. If there’s any time to do it, it’s right now with the best quarterback in the league.”
With Jones in the fold, the attention turns away from the NFL’s No. 1 offensive attack and toward defense and special teams.
Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Mike Daniels and others played sparingly in the preseason. All are expected to be ready to go in the season-opener at Chicago.
So the Packers’ No. 1 unit hasn’t really lined up together extensively this preseason. The situation to start the season is further muddled by suspensions to Datone Jones (one game) and Letroy Guion (three games). B.J. Raji, Josh Boyd and Daniels are going to be expected to stop the run on early downs with Matthews and Sam Barrington lining up at inside linebacker and Julius Peppers and Perry on the outside.
In the secondary, Casey Hayward takes over for Tramon Williams at corner opposite Sam Shields while Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix return at safety.
Montgomery, the rookie from Stanford, added a boost the special teams’ return units but is now working through a pulled hamstring. Also, punter Tim Masthay struggled a bit throughout camp and the preseason, but finished strong. Mason Crosby looks solid.
Hoping we’ll get to see how McCarthy’s altered role might help special teams and the defense take steps forward.
Ultimately, Jones fills the void at least in part created by Jordy Nelson’s season-ending injury. That should help keep the offense clicking and things should only improve as the younger guys get more experience game-by-game. This is still a big talent offense, top to bottom.
Let the games begin!
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.

Packers like ex-Badgers receiver; Look for Green Bay to go with Hundley (third QB) on final roster

By CHRIS HAVEL

The Packers must reach the league-mandated 53-man roster limit on Saturday. Here is my position-by-position roster breakdown:

Quarterbacks (3):

Aaron Rodgers looks like he’s in peak condition mentally and physically. Scott Tolzien has shown steady progress in the No. 2 role. UCLA rookie Brett Hundley has been the top rookie throughout the preseason. Hundley played his way on the 53-man roster by completing 45 of 65 passes for seven touchdowns and one interception. Hundley’s passer rating was an eye-popping 129.7.

Running backs (3):

Eddie Lacy’s potential for a monster season is considerable. The Packers are going to have to spread the ball around, and expect Lacy to get his in healthy doses. James Starks is an effective counterpart, while Rajion Neal provides a much-needed burst and special teams competence.

Fullbacks (2):

Head coach Mike McCarthy’s big-picture approach to his job enables him to see the value of keeping John Kuhn and Aaron Ripkowski on the roster. Kuhn is too important to the special teams and as a situational No. 3 back, while Ripkowski is a big, strong young man who can help immediately on special teams while he learns at fullback.

Tight ends (3):

Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless and Mitchell Henry. Rodgers has an opportunity to become a key weapon in the Packers’ attack. My hunch is that Rodgers answers the call in a big way. Henry wins out over rookie Kennard Backman because of special teams play.

Receivers (5):

The loss of Jordy Nelson makes it incumbent on each receiver to elevate his game. Randall Cobb (bruised shoulder) may have averted disaster in the Eagles’ preseason game by avoiding a major injury. The Packers should beat the Bears in the Sept. 13 opener with or without Cobb, but it would be a lot easier with him. Ty Montgomery (hamstring) also is dealing with an injury. A healthy Montgomery is an exciting option, while Davante Adams is going to be a strong No. 2.
The Nos. 4 and 5 are going to be Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis. Janis has a chance to be pretty good, while the Packers seem to really trust Abbrederis despite scant playing time.

Offensive line (9):

The starters are (left to right) – David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, Corey Linsley, T.J. Lang and Bryan Bulaga. The backups will be Don Barclay, J.C. Tretter, Lane Taylor and Josh Walker. Barclay has been shaky while coming off an ACL injury. Walker probably makes the 53-man because of his potential (he’s a powerful 6-4, 330) and his attitude (he’s got a little nasty in him.)

Defensive line (5):

Datone Jones (one game) and Letroy Guion (three games) don’t count against the opening-day roster. So that leaves Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji and Josh Boyd as the starting trio in the 3-4 base alignment. Mike Pennel has shown promise during camp, and Bruce Gaston is a brawler. This could be the end of the line for second-year pro Khyri Thornton, who has shown next to nothing in two pre-seasons. Expect rookie sixth-round pick Christian Ringo to make the practice squad.

Linebacker (10):

Nick Perry, Julius Peppers, Clay Matthews and Sam Barrington likely will open in the 3-4 base defensive alignment. That leaves Mike Neal, Jay Elliott and Andy Mulumba as the top outside-linebacker reserves. At inside linebacker, rookie Jake Ryan, Carl Bradford and Joe Thomas are the top backups.

Defensive backs (10):

The starters are solid with Sam Shields, Casey Hayward, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Morgan Burnett. It appears rookies Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and Ladarius Gunter will play in the nickel (Rollins/Randall) and dime. Backup safeties Micah Hyde, Sean Richardson and Chris Banjo will be key members on special teams.

Specialists (3):

Mason Crosby continues to rank among the league’s top place-kickers. The Packers are fortunate to have stayed with him when he struggled a couple seasons ago. Now, I suspect the Packers will give Tim Masthay every chance to work through his recent struggles at punter. Masthay rebounded from a weak camp to punt well against the Saints. I suspect Masthay will be OK going forward. The long snapper remains Brett Goode.
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.

By CHRIS HAVEL

While Green Bay’s pre-season game against Philadelphia on Saturday night at Lambeau Field was a little frustrating at times, it showed again how the Packers continue to mine new talent.
Yes, for the second straight week, the Packers’ offense lost its top receiver to injury in the first series, but this time the injury appears not significant. Randall Cobb went down, but initial fears and false reports of a season ending-injury proved unfounded. And a collective sigh of relief echoes from Packers Nation.
Initially, Cobb and the Packers feared a broken collarbone. But after the game both suggested it was a “bruised shoulder” and that Cobb would be listed as “day-to-day.”
If that’s the case the Packers sidestepped what would’ve been a very unfortunate injury in the wake of Jordy Nelson’s season-ender suffered the week before.
“We thought it could’ve been a collarbone or something … it’s not,” Cobb said. “So, fortunately enough, there’s a silver lining in it.”
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy needs to keep his focus on improving the special teams’ units, those having much room for improvement, but he also has to figure out how to maintain the offense’s potency without Nelson for the season, and perhaps Cobb for a game or two.
Defensively, the Packers seem to not yet have the football car in first gear. It’s hard to get excited about pre-season games, but a little better effort would have been nice. Here’s predicting that the talent-ladened “D” will show a lot more against the Bears in the season opener a few weeks from now.
With Clay Matthews, Mike Daniels and the rest of the No. 1 unit shaking off the rust, the D struggled. The allure of Bears on the menu should remedy that, however.
Clearly, the Eagles are going to be pesky in the NFC, but the Pack still is amongst the favorites to reach the Super Bowl, regardless of Saturday night. And let’s not forget, the Packers destroyed the potent Eagles last season, when things mattered.
One sports book has the Packers second in terms of a team’s percent chance to make the postseason.
The Colts have an 87% chance to make the playoffs, followed by Green Bay (83%), Seattle (81%), Denver (74%) and New England (65%).
And here’s the silver lining to Saturday’s contest: With Scott Tolzien missing practice due to injury, rookie Brett Hundley started and played extremely well. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie from UCLA has progressed greatly, as he appeared considerably more comfortable against the Eagles than he did during the early days of training camp.
Hundley’s performance at least partially opens the door to the possibility of keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The Packers must be down to 75 players by tomorrow, and then 53 one day after their Thursday night preseason finale at home against the Saints.
And it is likely that Packers’ fans will get to see plenty of Tolzien and Hundley in the preseason finale. Tolzien could allay any concerns about the backup quarterback position, although he’s may already have done that. And Hundley looks to have a bright future.
With both Nelson and Cobb out and a rookie QB at the helm, the young receivers stepped up. And now it seems that both Myles White (9 catches versus the Eagles) and Jeff Janis may stake claims to a roster spot.
In the running game, Raijon Neal played big. He appears to all but have locked up the No. 3 job behind Eddy Lacy and James Starks.
The Packers between now and the September 13 opener at Chicago need to:

• Determine the 53-man roster;
• Decide whether to keep two or three quarterbacks on the active roster. Hundley’s performance just made it a bit riskier to believe no team would sign him off your practice squad.
• Find a way to motivate their defense to get it up to speed out of the gate. The Packers will see three top-tier NFL backs in the first three weeks: Matt Forte, Marshawn Lynch and Jamaal Charles.

Let’s Go Green Bay.
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.

By CHRIS HAVEL

The final score was inconsequential, but its aftermath was the greater concern.
If Jordy Nelson has indeed suffered a season-ending knee injury (no official word had been given as of Monday) the Packers have been dealt a minor setback.
Nelson was injured on the Packers’ first offensive series on what appeared to be a harmless play. Nelson caught a 10-yard hitch, landed awkwardly and crumpled to the Heinz Field turf. There was no contact on the play.
Then, with a bit of help from trainers, he got up and gingerly jogged off to the sideline. Shortly thereafter, he walked to the visitor’s locker room and didn’t return.
Packers’ fans hoped for the best but feared the worst. If he sprained his ankle it’s no big deal. If he tore his ACL (which sources have confirmed) it would mean he’s done for 2015. The Packers’ 24-19 loss to the Steelers in the team’s second preseason game was meaningless compared with the possible aftermath of Nelson’s injury.
While we await official word, R-E-L-A-X Packers fans. Here are a couple of observations:

1) Nelson’s injury had nothing to do with this being a preseason game.

His non-contact injury could have happened during any training camp practice at Nitschke Field. This isn’t about shortening the preseason, or ending it altogether. It’s about a great player incurring a freak injury, and what his team does to carry on without him.

2) Shortening the preseason to two games, for example, wouldn’t have made a difference.

This was the Packers’ second game.

3) While I understand Aaron Rodgers’ frustration, I disagreed with his decision to vent on the merits of preseason games.

Earlier in the week, Rodgers talked of the need to get an offensive rhythm in the preseason. When Nelson went down, his tone shifted to the preseason being meaningless.
Which is it? Why is it OK to have four preseason games– so long as no one in a Packers uniform is injured – but not once a player such as Nelson goes down.

4) The notion that the Packers’ Super Bowl 50 odds have taken a serious hit is overstated.

At last check (Monday morning) the Packers were slight favorites over Seattle. So long as Rodgers is at quarterback and Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy is running the show Green Bay is a contender, period. And don’t forget, they have LOTS of weapons, more than they can reasonably get on the field at one time.

5) For whatever reason the Packers’ other weapons don’t get much respect.

In fact, Nelson was vastly underrated until he was injured. Now, it’s the end of the Packers’ season in some people’s minds? Again, you can’t have it both ways.
Mike Foss, a writer with USA Today, wrote an article Monday that stands as an example of how underrated the Packers’ other weapons are among the national media. Foss misspelled Davante Adams’ name (DeVante) and Andrew Quarless’ name (Quarles). Really, USA Today, is that the best you’ve got?

6) The news that Fox Sports football analyst Randy Moss was “flirting” with an NFL comeback came down soon after Nelson went down.

Moss talked of keeping himself in shape and still having the desire – and the skills – to play.
It didn’t take an NFL genius to see the possible connection. Seriously, though, I doubt Moss would merit a look. He hasn’t played since 2013, and then on a limited basis.

7) The Patriots signed free agent receiver Reggie Wayne within an hour of Nelson’s injury.

Did Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick have a hunch the Packers might come calling on Wayne? It would be interesting to know.

8) Wes Welker and Santonio Holmes are free agents.

After that it’s pretty sparse until teams cut their rosters.I believe the Packers’ response to Nelson’s injury will be to focus on expanding roles for players currently on the roster. McCarthy’s next news conference is Tuesday at 10:40 a.m.
I suspect he’ll talk about Eddie Lacy and the running game, as well as tight end Richard Rodgers stepping up and contributing in a larger role. Furthermore, McCarthy’s likely to talk about the importance of re-signing Randall Cobb and the development of second-year receiver Davante Adams and rookie Ty Montgomery.

Losing Nelson would be a shame, but that hardly means that the Packers’ goal for 2015 changes.

Green Bay remains one of the favorites to win Super Bowl 50. Now, it’s up to McCarthy and Nelson’s teammates to devise a way to get there, without Jordy if necessary. Injuries have not prevented them from winning championship….witness 1996 and 2010.
Maybe it got more difficult, but whoever said it was going to be easy?
Chris Havel is a national best-selling author and his latest book is Lombardi: An Illustrated Life. Havel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4-6 p.m. CDT on WDUZ FM 107.5 The Fan, or on AM-1400, as well as Fan Internet Radio (www.thefan1075.com). Havel also hosts Event USA’s MVP Parties the evening before home games.