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What's Happening at the Packer LinkUp GreenBay Packer Social Network

We've been working some bugs out of the Packer LinkUp so we can bring you a seamless GreenBay Packer social network. 

 When we started this GreenBay Packer social network, we had many plans for what to include in it. Over the course of the first half of the 2008 GreenBay Packer season, we've seen what's been of interest to GreenBay Packer fans and what hasn't.

Consequently, we've trimmed some things on our GreenBay Packer social network that haven't worked and developed some areas of the social network that have been of interest to our visitors.

 Groundfloor of the #1 GreenBay Packer Social Network

 Here's your chance to get in on the groundfloor of the Packer LinkUp GreenBay Packers social network. We're offering what no other GreenBay Packer site is offering.

 With a simple mouseover, you can have all the great GreenBay Packer news at your fingertips.

We're also featuring the exciting videoblog The Atrium on this GreenBay Packer social network . The Atrium will give you a quick snapshot of GreenBay Packer info and some thoughts on how the team is doing.

 Finally, the Packer LinkUp GreenBay Packer social network has By the Numbers , a weekly recap of statistics about the GreenBay Packers and their opponents, both past and upcoming.

 Roam around the Packer LinkUp and find out how easy our GreenBay Packer social network can make keeping up with the greatest team around.

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 It's another week of football, another week of watching hours of entertainment. The Bears vs. the Packers, at 1:00 p.m. we get to watch Aaron Rogers blow out his shoulder on a twenty yard pass. Ryan Grant get stopped 20 yards behind the line. Mike Mccarthy's terrible play calling. Ah, im looking forward to this game,

aren't you?   

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Rodgers had a good completion percentage in the first couple games of the season. But much of that was due to some good efforts by his receivers. Most of his passes were (and continue to be) just enough off the mark to be dangerous.

 We saw that inaccuracy come back to bite us last game. A couple of off-target throws turned into interceptions against Tampa Bay. That could have just as easily happened against the Vikes or Lions.

 Aaron had one really well-placed throw so far. It had a lot of zip on it and was right out in front of his receiver. Unfortunately, it also threw out his arm because he's just not capable of that kind of power.

 McCarthy needs to get more of the crossing patterns to protect Rodgers' arm and give those receivers a chance to get some yards after the catch.

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When Ted Thompson decided to give Aaron Rodgers the only guaranteed starting job in the NFL and not pick up a veteran quarterback, some would say he was asking for trouble. When TT ditched our punter and brought in a new one a couple days before the start of the regular season, the plot thickened.

 But week one and two it looked like the plan would work, then came the Dallas game and we lost one that every Packer fan knew we could very well lose. But the Buccanneers game brought home the great risk Thompson took when he traded Brett Favre and kept two draft picks behind A Rod. Aaron has not played well the last two games and gave up three interceptions last Sunday. The worst of it is he was injured and may not be able to play this week. Even more important is the question "If he plays, will he play well?"

The Packers need a big win this week against the Atlanta Falcons to start the process of righting the ship. It is still early in the season so none of the losses are a death nell. But at this point we could either be headed in the right direction or the wrong one. We have either seen the tip of the iceberg, or we will begin this Sunday to see the rainbow.

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Well Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers put on a great show in the first half, let it get close in the third and forth and then sealed the deal with three interceptions, two of which were run back for touchdowns.

Rodgers looked very comfortable in the first half though he was hurried several times. He made plays with his feet but his eyes were always downfield. Accuracy was at time suspect and his receivers dropped a pass or two but Green Bay put up 21 on the Lions right off the bat and the defense was putting consistent pressure on Jon Kitna.

The Packers did not have a consistent running game and Ryan Grant looked particularly bad. We had to go to the air to have any success against a team that gave up 318 last weekend. Until Brandon Jackson ran it in for a touchdown late we did little or nothing.

In the end, our defense did what it did consistently for us last season, make a big play when we needed it most. Charles Woodson picked off Jon Kitna to give the Packers their chance and the Packers cashed in. Then Wood picked off another and took it to the house. Not to be undone, Nick Collins got in the action with his own pick six.

Though the team looked good against a bad Detroit Lions team, I have to be concerned about how we will fare against the Dallas Cowboys next week if we can't run the ball. I believe that with Rodgers getting more comfortable, we are again going to be a team that sets up the run with the pass, but Grant has got to get healthy. I don't want to be a nay sayer and I am a Ryan Grant fan, but he has struggled in big games when we need him most. Against the Cowboys last year he had a big run and of course after the two fumbles in the Seattle Seahawks game, he looked great, but it seems he needs to have a bad start to have a good day. We need Grant to come out of the gate strong for us if we are going to win against a very good Cowboys team.

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Well, the Rodgers era has begun in Green Bay and the Packers are 1-o with him under center as of this very hour. Rodgers went 18 of 22 for 178 yards and one touchdown passing. Rodgers added another on a second quarterback sneak and proved he was willing to throw caution to the wind for his team.

 The Packers finish the game with a 24-19 win over Minnesota after the Vikings mounted a drive that brought them within one touchdown of winning the game and coming up short on an onside kick that was mishandled by Atari Bigby but danced out of bounds. The Packers kneeled on the ball a couple of times to advance to 1 and 0 and send the Vikings to 0-1.

The Packers looked good at times but the big story of the game was penalties with the Pack penalized for over 100 yards. The game had a sloppy feel with nothing that fans felt the team could really hang their hat on. To me, it seemed that there were just enough breaks (the touchdown punt return by Will Blackmon being one) for the game to go in the Packers favor. It is enough, however, to survive to play another game and rest up and get healthy before the next contest.

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DeShawn Wynn was signed to the practice squad and I must say, even though the guy did not turn out the way the Packers had hoped, I am still glad that they found a way to keep him around. He was our guy in thee Giants game last year so the potential is there and maybe being on the practice squad will send the message that the Packers are really ready to fish or cut bait with him. I think Morency does not have as much upside simply because he was not a rookie last year. They say with most of these positions that the second year is the biggest jump in terms of improvement and though Wynn won't have the kind of opportunities he would on the roster, he can still show that he is serious about a career in the league. Another knock on Wynn has been his inability to play through injuries and though I understand that players need to do that particularly when they are fighting for a roster spot, I think there are other players on this very team who have been given a pass on that same issue. I myself felt that same way about Wynn and the fact that we couldn't even be sure he would be able to play an entire game for us but the same could be said about Aaron Rodgers. The difference is, when Wynn went out in the Broncos game last year, Ryan Grant stepped in and we had Brandon Jackson and Vernand Morency waiting in the wings. If Rodgers goes down, is Brian Brohm or Matt Flynn going to take us where we want to go? I think Flynn might but we would be hurting. Wynn didn't have the benefit of sitting on the bench and practicing for two years before seeing action and yet it is Rodgers who gets the "no fault of his own" for his injuries. At least Wynn got injured playing on the field. Rodgers last injury, if I remember correctly, came in practice shortly after the Cowboys game when we weren't sure that Brett would be in the next game.

Please don't misinterpret what I am saying, Wynn has a long way to go to prove he belongs on this team and it may very well be that his chances have now passed him by. What I am saying is that I tip my hat to the Packers staff for finding a way to give him another chance based on his potential that sends a message at the same time. That message is "Put up or shut up."

In terms of Wynn's attitude, I think some of the criticism is warranted. Rumors of talking on the cell phone on the sidelines don't just appear out of nowhere and even though we don't know if that really happened, I think the guy must have had his attitude a bit off when he took the step to the NFL. That being said, nothing is better for your humility than to be cut and get back on the team through the practice squad. I think Ruvell Martin went that route (for different reasons) and he has become very productive.

Let's hope this guy takes his medicine and becomes a player.

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With the laundry list of injuries and three more players put on injured reserve today, the Packers will really benefit from an extra few days rest before the season opener against Minnesota on September 8.

The Green and Gold have been black and blue for most of the preseason and with long snapper J.J. Jansen going on I.R. today, they will in all likelihood need to make some more roster moves to make room for the guy who will be snapping for Jon Ryan's punts and Mason Crosby's field goals this season. Jansen, who had been solid as a rock all preseason, injured the knee block for Jon Ryan after he snapped the ball over the punter's head and forced him to run. Ryan made the first down and more and it ended up being the beginning of an exciting ending for the Packers final preseason game. Not so exciting for Jansen who will have to watch from the sidelines and wonder about his job with the four other players the Pack has in total on I.R.

Other players hurting but expected to play include Ryan Grant, who played in the game against the Titans for all of one play but has been hampered by a hammy that held him out of game play all preseason. Hamstring injuries are the kind that make the player feel like he is fine and then tend to flare up at random times so extra rest along with another few days to get into game shape won't hurt. Ryan Pickett and A.J. Hawk are two serious players on our defense who appear to have more serious injuries, we have watched teams run through the place Pickett would be on or defensive line and there are rumors that A.J. won't even start in the game against the Vikings.

I am looking forward to and can't wait for that big game against the Vikings. At the same time, I am  willing to wait a few days longer to see if we can get our team back together. We will need all hands on deck when we meet A.D. and Bernard Berrian at Lambeau in a week or so. 

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As we come to the end of the pre-season, coach Mike McCarthy has some difficult decisions to make about his team's roster after their loss to the Tennessee Titans. One of the questions he should be addressing is whether the rookie quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn are ready to be viable backups to starter Aaron Rodgers. Even after the Packers' 23-21 loss, Mc Carthy said that he is comfortable with the quarterback situation. He believes that it will take some time to develop his rookies' execution but that they are right on track where they should be.

From what we saw during the pre-season, I think that both of the rookie quarterbacks have struggled on the field, even though Flynn has generally out performed Brohm.  The highlight of last night's game was when Flynn drove the Packers into the Titans territory in the final 2 minutes and threw a 22-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver Jake Allen to cut Tennessee's lead to two with no time left on the clock. Then the Packers had a chance to tie the game on a 2-point conversion, but receiver Johnny Quinn was knocked out of bounds when he caught Flynn's pass in the corner of the end zone.

Brohm looks like he needs to play smarter and avoid the numerous sacks and interceptions he endured during the pre-season. He may be one of the rookie players who will be cut from the team when the roster for the regular season will be determined on Saturday.  It is not only the players who are anxiously waiting to see who will be a part of this season's team. The fans are also hoping that the Packers' Ted Thompson will be wise enough to keep his strong players such as wide receiver Jordy Nelson and linebackers Desmond Bishop and Tracy White, with a team that needs to start capitalizing more on their scoring chances as they begin the regular season.

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The Packers knew that Friday's game against the Denver Broncos was the all-important game for their pre-season performance. With two losses behind him, Aaron Rodgers had a lot to prove to everyone. Rodgers said that most of the mistakes of last week's game were on him.  The new quarterback showed much improvement in his passing game, completing 18 of 22 passes for 193 yards and leading the Packers to a 27-24 victory over the Broncos.

The Packers' offense showed the Broncos that they were going to be physical team early in the game. Rodgers led four scoring drives in his five possessions, including a 10-yard touchdown to wide receiver Donald Driver. Later, Rodgers scored a 1-yard touchdown, showing new assertiveness and athleticism getting into the end zone.

While the team's offense improved their communication, the Packers' defense was challenged against the Broncos. Linebacker Nick Barnett missed his tackle of Andre Hall, and safety Nick Collins' injury forced him to leave the field, giving Nate Jackson the opportunity to score a 7-yard touchdown.

Rookie wide receiver Jordy Nelson had another remarkable performance during Friday's game. He had a 23-yard punt return and had a reception from backup quarterback Matt Flynn. Another rookie who led the Packers to their first pre-season win was running back Kregg Lumpkin, who ran for the winning touchdown, after linebacker Tracy White picked off a pass from Broncos' Patrick Ramsay.

Unfortunately, the Packers did lose some key players in their game. Wide receiver James Jones and right guard Josh Sitton were both out with knee injuries. However, the team's overall chemistry showed signs of improvement, especially with Rodgers whose focus is helping the team's cohesiveness, and which should help the team's preparation for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. 

 

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