GREEN
BAY
Dean Lowry
Jersey , Wis. ¡ª For most of his career, Aaron Rodgers has had plenty of
good options at receiver.Packers CoverageBucks¡¯ Wes Matthews loves Wisconsin, is
a Vikings fanPreview: Packers look to slow Vikings¡¯ revitalized run gameTop
Tweets: Yelich thanks fans for support after season-ending injuryAmos sparks
rebuilt Packers defense in debutPackers to be tested again by familiar foe in
Zimmer, VikingsPackers¡¯ new-look defense carries offense in season openerPackers
Snap Counts: New coach LaFleur gets TEs involvedUpon Further Review: Packers at
BearsPHOTOS: Packers at BearsDefense leads the way as Packers top Bears in
openerHowever, after going from Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones and
Jordy Nelson at the start of his tenure as the Green Bay Packers¡® starting
quarterback to Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in recent years, Rodgers
has only Adams and uncertainty as he gets ready for his 12th season as the
starter.Last season, following the release of Nelson and Cobb¡¯s injury issues,
Adams was targeted 169 times by Packers quarterbacks. That was 80 more targets
than any other Packers player and only one less than Julio Jones¡¯ league-leading
total with Atlanta.Rodgers didn¡¯t think that was an unhealthy way to run an
offense. Quite the opposite.¡°I¡¯d like to throw to Davante more. He¡¯s that open,¡±
Rodgers said after Tuesday¡¯s organized team activities, the eighth of 10 this
offseason.¡°We¡¯ve got to keep finding ways to get him the ball. There¡¯s nothing
wrong with having a go-to guy who¡¯s that dynamic and trying to find ways to get
him the ball.¡±Still, the Packers need more than two-time Pro Bowler Adams to
drive the passing game. That was supposed to be tight end Jimmy Graham¡®s role
last season. While Graham had a decent season with 55 catches, he scored only
two touchdowns.With Cobb missing seven games and Geronimo Allison missing the
final 11 games after a hot start, Rodgers was forced to lean on rookie
receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown. Their
inconsistencies mirrored those of the offense as a whole.Cobb signed with Dallas
in the
offseason
Kentrell
Brice Color Rush Jersey , but Allison and second-year receivers
Valdes-Scantling, St. Brown, J¡¯Mon Moore and Jake Kumerow are back and vying for
a spot in the lineup opposite Adams.¡°I think obviously we need complementary
pieces in place,¡± Rodgers said. ¡°I think Marquez has had a fantastic spring and
really stepped up as a guy who can be an every-down player, and then I expect a
big bounce-back year from Jimmy. He¡¯s healthy, he¡¯s feeling good. This offense,
I think fits him and his body type, but I¡¯m not going to shy away from throwing
the ball to Davante.¡±Graham had one of the big plays of the day, with a
fingertip catch of a deep seam pass from Rodgers. The Packers hoped to get those
potent plays from Graham last season, when they signed him to a three-year, $30
million contract. Instead, he had zero receptions of more than 25 yards over the
final 10 games.¡°It¡¯s important for both of us,¡± Rodgers said. ¡°Coming off last
season, it¡¯s important to get him going and feeling comfortable in this offense.
I think this offense sets up really good for him. It gives him opportunities to
win with his routes and, in situations like that, to win with his athletic
ability and speed. He has a tremendous catch
radius
https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Geronimo-Allison-Jersey ,
which you saw on that play, because the ball was pretty inside. He made a great
catch on that.¡±Notably, the big play came shortly after Graham dropped a pass in
a red zone drill. Mistakes happen, first-year coach Matt LaFleur said. Bouncing
back from those mistakes is the key.¡°I think Jimmy¡¯s a pro,¡± LaFleur said. ¡°He¡¯s
a perfectionist, too, and he gets down on himself when he doesn¡¯t do it the
right way. And that¡¯s one thing I challenged him (on). ¡®Hey, listen, you¡¯re out
here learning. Mistakes are going to happen. When they happen, everybody¡¯s
looking at you. You can¡¯t blink.¡¯¡°And I just want him to keep a positive
outlook, whether he¡¯s making a great play or he has to have a learning
experience from not doing something quite right. But I¡¯m really excited about
him. I think he brings a lot of that veteran presence, especially to that
room.¡±Notes: Coach Matt LaFleur spent most of practice riding around in a golf
cart after tearing the Achilles tendon in his left leg last week. ¡°I know I¡¯m
supposed to be off it for the next four weeks or so,¡± he said. ¡°Hopefully I¡¯ll
be back at least in a walking boot by training camp. And then it just depends.
Even in the boot prior to the surgery, you can¡¯t get around the field as well as
you¡¯d like to. But I¡¯m definitely not going to let it creep in and create
negative thoughts in my mind.¡± ¡ Kickers Mason Crosby and Sam Ficken each went 4
of 5 on field goals. ¡ WR Davante Adams and DT Mike Daniels were among six
players not practicing. GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) ¡ª The Green Bay Packers are winless
on the road and there are questions about coach Mike McCarthy¡¯s job
security.However they enter Sunday night¡¯s game at Minnesota trailing the
Vikings by just one game for the final NFC wild-card spot.¡°We fully understand
where we are. We understand what our record is,¡± McCarthy said on Monday. ¡°We
need to win on the road. That¡¯s something we haven¡¯t done.¡±The game against the
Vikings will be Green Bay¡¯s fourth road game in five games coming out of their
bye. They were tied or ahead in the fourth quarter at the Los Angeles
Rams
Oren Burks
Jersey , New England Patriots and again on Thursday against the Seattle
Seahawks, but lost all three games.The bad news for the Packers is that the
latest defeat left them at 4-5-1. The good news is the NFC playoff chase is
jumbled. While Chicago seized control of the NFC North race with its victory
over Minnesota on Sunday night, the Vikings (5-4-1) lead the Seattle Seahawks
(5-5), Dallas Cowboys (5-5) and Packers in the pursuit for the last playoff
spot.¡°We understand that there¡¯s still a lot of football left,¡± safety Tramon
Williams said. ¡°As long as there¡¯s a lot of football left, we know that we have
a chance to be where we want to be at. Will it be easy? No, but we¡¯re
optimistic.¡±Having played on Thursday, the Packers got a short break to get
ready for that game in Seattle. Four starters didn¡¯t travel to Seattle because
of injuries ¡ª receiver Randall Cobb, safety Kentrell Brice, cornerback Kevin
King and outside linebacker Nick Perry.Tight end Jimmy Graham suffered a broken
thumb during the first half and defensive tackle Mike Daniels sustained a foot
injury during the second half. McCarthy said Graham ¡°intends to try to play¡±
while Daniels will miss a couple of weeks.The return of Cobb and Graham could
bolster an inconsistent offense. Green Bay ranks eighth in yards, but only 13th
in points because of mediocre production on third down (19th) and in the red
zone (14th). Cobb had a huge game in a come-from-behind-victory over Chicago in
Week 1 with nine catches for 142 yards, including the game-winning, 75-yard
touchdown.Over the past nine games, however, he¡¯s been inactive five times and
caught 17 passes for 116 yards and no touchdowns. Graham is second on the team
with 34 receptions, but has only one catch in three of his past four
games.¡°Everybody is very frustrated. Nobody wants to lose
games
Marquez
Valdes-Scantling Jersey ,¡± Cobb said. ¡°We don¡¯t go out and work every day
in the offseason to come into the season in shape and go through training camp
and beat each other up in training camp and go through seasons and lose games.
Nobody wants to do that. That¡¯s not fun. We want to win games and we¡¯ve won a
lot around here. We¡¯ve got to find a way to get back on track.¡±The Packers are
running out of time, regardless of what the playoff standings suggest. A sixth
consecutive road loss on Sunday would put Green Bay two games behind Minnesota
(plus the head-to-head tiebreaker) with five to play.Still, the Packers have a
chance. They were 4-6 at this point in the 2016 season and reached the NFC
championship came. Among the four primary challengers for the last playoff spot,
the Packers have the easiest remaining schedule. Their final six opponents have
a combined winning percentage of (.425), followed by the Seahawks (.442),
Cowboys (.500) and Vikings (.542).¡°Our reality, it¡¯s where we expect to be,¡±
McCarthy said. ¡°Regardless of what anybody¡¯s opinion is, we expect to complete
the goal that we set out back in April. That¡¯s the big-picture focus. But it¡¯s
not anything we¡¯re talking about right now.¡°Because part of the message today,
there¡¯s not a whole lot to talk about. We know where we are, we knew this
four-game stretch was going to be a challenge, we didn¡¯t hit the target as well
as we¡¯d like, but now we have six seven-day stretches here. We have full
intentions of going to Minnesota and winning this game.¡±