The Viking Age » jermichael finley

NFC North Round-Up: Jermichael Finley, Riley Reiff, Jay Cutler’s Mouth

Dan Zinski — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 17:56:37 +0000

Dec 25, 2011; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley (88) catches a touchdown pass during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

It’s Sunday. It’s hot. I’m feeling lazy. Let’s take a quick trip around the division (then get back to soccer):

In Lionsland, columnist Dave Birkett says rookie Riley Reiff is “on track to play a lot of football this year.” This is bad news for either Jeff Backus or Gosder Cherilus (probably Cherilus).

More Lions news: negotiations with Cliff Avril are on-going. Avril placed fourth on my list of top five NFC North D-linemen.

Checking in on the Bears: Jay Cutler can’t stop talking crap about his own offensive line. Give those guys a break Jay.

Jay Cutler also can’t stop talking about Matt Forte. Florio thinks Cutler is undermining Forte’s leverage in contract talks.

In Packerland: Jermichael Finley plans to “freestyle” this year. He’s not talking about rapping. Actually I’m not sure what he’s talking about.

More Packers: 2011 3rd round running back Alex Green could play a big role in 2012.

Like The Viking Age on Facebook.
Follow Dan Zinski on Twitter.

Brett Favre Goes for 3 in a Row vs. the Packers

Dan Zinski — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:39:15 +0000

The stars aligned perfectly for the Vikings in their two match-ups with the Packers in 2009. The Packer line couldn’t contend with the Viking pass rush, the Packer defense could get no pressure on Brett Favre…and, oh yeah, Favre himself had that whole sticking it to Ted Thompson thing motivating him. The result: 2 wins over Green Bay on the way to a 12-4 finish and a division title. Things may not line up so perfectly for the Vikings this year however. The pass protection has not been good, so it’s unlikely Favre will have the kind of time he did in those two games last season. And Aaron Rodgers will face a Vikings pass rush that has not lived up to its fearsome reputation so far. As for Favre himself…this year, he seems more frustrated than motivated. Of course, we expect Brett will be up for tonight’s game more than most, because it’s still the Packers, and he still wants to shove Ted Thompson’s face in it. Whether that lingering revenge-lust will translate into a more focused and effective Favre performance remains to be seen.
(more…)

Aaron Rodgers Admits He’s Not Playing All That Well

Dan Zinski — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:38:46 +0000

Aaron Rodgers is widely considered to be one of the five best quarterbacks in the NFL, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he’s played at times in 2010. Over the past two games especially, Rodgers has performed below expectations – and not coincidentally, the Packers lost both of those games.

Week 5 at Washington, Rodgers completed only 27-of-46 passes, threw for just one touchdown and tossed the overtime interception that set up Washington’s game-winning field goal. Last weekend against Miami, Rodgers connected on 18-of-33 for 313 yards, much of that coming on one huge play to Greg Jennings, with one TD and one pick. He did punch in the game-tying touchdown on a QB sneak at the end of regulation, but once again, the Packers failed to make it happen in overtime and wound up on the short end.

Of course those poor performances weren’t entirely Rodgers’ fault. He was sacked nine times in those two games, partly because his offensive line is not that good, partly because defenses know the Packers can’t run and therefore load up to come after the QB. The Packers have also, as their fans never tire of reminding us, been hit by injuries to key offensive players, including Ryan Grant who is out for the season and Jermichael Finley who may end up being out for the season. The loss of these weapons has clearly affected the team’s offensive efficiency.

And then there’s the gameplan, which has come under fire from lots of quarters, including Rodgers himself. After a squeaker of a win against Detroit a couple of weeks ago, Rodgers offered up some criticism of Mike McCarthy‘s approach, saying, “Offensively we’ve got to find our identity again. I think we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got our best players on the field at all times and find ways to get them the ball. We had some ad-libs today where we hit Donald (Driver) on the big play today. Take that play away and there’s clearly not a whole lot of production. We ran 42 plays or 45 — I don’t remember how many plays we ran — but it’s not going to cut it.”

McCarthy responded to Rodgers’ comments by politely reminding him who is the coach and who is the player. These words clearly resonated with Rodgers, because now he is taking blame on himself rather than dishing it out. On Wednesday, Rodgers told the media he needs to play better if the Packers are going to turn around their fading season.

“I have to look at myself first and I have to play better,” Rodgers said. “I have not been playing up to the standard I’ve set…in my 38 starts.”

Kudos to Rodgers for not leaning on the injury or “my offensive line sucks” excuse. Of course just copping to your own lack of effectiveness is not enough – you have to go out and actually improve your play. If Rodgers is to do so, he will have to manage it without his top tight end or any kind of a running game. And, given the Packers’ offensive line woes, he will likely continue being pounded on a weekly basis, which will help neither his passer rating nor his physical well-being.

The Vikings hope the downward trend continues Sunday night in Green Bay, because they could really use the win. Rodgers did play well against Minnesota last season, but the Vikings also hit him a ton, and wound up beating the Packers twice. After Sunday, we’ll know for sure if the Packers and Rodgers have finally moved past the whole Brett Favre thing, or are still emotionally hung up on their ex-quarterback, who unlike Rodgers actually won some big games for them.

Follow FanSided on Facebook. Follow The Viking Age on Twitter.