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Green Bay Packers

15-1, 6-0 NFC North (1st)
Team RankingOverallRushingPassing
Offense3rd97.4 (27th)307.8 (3rd)
Defense31st111.8 (14th)299.8 (32nd)
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Notes, Quotes

 
Notes, Quotes · Strategy And Personnel · Jenkins knows he might be leaving
 

--Green Bay Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy said the franchise will make a decision on pay cuts when it's determined the lockout is causing a loss of ticket or television revenue from lost games. "It's base on when were' going to start missing revenue," Murphy told the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Murphy said that so far there hasn't been a large impact on sponsorships or the team's bottom line.

--Rookie wide receiver Randall Cobb will be working out in Phoenix this week with Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald thanks to an invitation from Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings.

Cobb said Jennings contacted him after the draft and suggested he make the trip to Phoenix.

"I'm really looking forward to that," Cobb said. "There will be a lot of good receivers and quarterbacks there. They're going to help me to be an NFL receiver. I'll be there two weeks for sure or as soon as the lockout is over."

Cobb said when he heard from Jennings, he told him, "I really want to hook up with him and Aaron (Rodgers) and learn as much as I can. He invited me out there and said if I needed a place to stay he would help me out. I'm really looking forward to working out with him."

As for the current situation in the NFL, Cobb said, "Normally at this time I'd be at minicamp and learning the system. The way things are now, we don't get that opportunity. It's a little bit difficult, but hopefully we'll be in soon."

--Quarterback Matt Flynn has heard some of the chatter about moving to another team, but the backup to Aaron Rodgers says he's happy where he is.

Said Flynn, "I love being a Packer and I'll be here as long as they want me. It's all kind of speculation right now, of what people want to write or whatever they want to say. You can't say that anybody wants me or doesn't want me. We'll see what happens. I just like where I am right now."

Acknowledging that the Packers are "Aaron's team and it will be for a long time," Flynn added, "Everybody wants to play, but I know my role on the team. I know if I need to step in there I'm always prepared because I work just as hard as the next guy."

Flynn played well in the team's loss to New England on Dec. 19 when Rodgers was out, gaining some notoriety because it was a Sunday night game.

He said, "I've always been a confident person. I think my teammates and coaches always knew I could step in and do it. It was definitely nice to go out there and be able to do it, have the opportunity to have some success.

"It probably did more for my teammates than it did for me personally because I've always been confident. It probably gives them a little bit more confidence if I need to step in."

--He didn't play a down for the Packers in 2010 and only practiced briefly while on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but cornerback Al Harris will be rewarded for his time with the team when he receives a Super Bowl ring.

Club president Mark Murphy told fans that in response to a question while the team was on its Tailgate Tour throughout Wisconsin recently.

Harris suffered a knee injury that ended his 2009 season, and was placed on PUP at the end of training camp last summer. He returned to practice on Oct. 19, but was then released by the team on Nov. 9. Harris was with the Packers for eight seasons, counting last year, and he started every game for five season from 2003-2007.

When hearing of the news, linebacker Nick Barnett tweeted, "wow that's a class act org."

--While on the team's Tailgate Tour, Packers president Mark Murphy was asked about the team at some point honoring retired quarterback Brett Favre.

Said Murphy, "Eventually, he'll come back into the fold. We are going to retire his number. He deserves that for what he did as a Packer. There are very few players in our history that had their number retired. He deserves it though. But it's a very, very meaningful honor and we want to do it at a time when it's meaningful for both him and the organization.

"I think it's probably going to be a few years. We want to make sure that he's really retired first. We made that mistake when he first retired after the 2007 season. Ironically, we were going to retire his number and have a big ceremony at the opening game that next season against the Minnesota Vikings. Little did we know he'd end up playing that season for the Jets."

Former Favre teammate Antonio Freeman was on the trip, and said, "This is a league and a world of second chances. So, I think at one point in time we'll have to give Brett Favre a second chance to come back home. He did have a very meaningful career here. I'm personally biased because he and I shared so many magical moments. He was my quarterback for, basically, my entire career. He was a guy who threw me all of my touchdowns.

"Things like this, you're torn because as a player you see the drive to want to continue to play football, so you appreciate that. But you never appreciate the fact that he puts on purple on Sundays as his second career. So, that's a problem. But in due time, he'll be back."

--With the NFL back in lockout mode, head coach Mike McCarthy's plan to hold a rookie orientation camp the weekend of May 13-15 may not materialize.

"It doesn't help them," McCarthy said Saturday of the 10 players the Packers added in this year's draft. "I think that's obvious, if you cannot get your rookie class in here to get to work. Hopefully, they'll be able to participate."

After the draft ended Saturday night, teams are prohibited from having contact with their players, including the rookies, for the duration of the lockout. Team facilities also are off-limits for all players.

As such, receiver Randall Cobb, the Packers' second-round draft pick out of Kentucky, felt a sense of urgency to reach out to his new quarterback.

"I'm trying to get a hold of Aaron Rodgers," Cobb said after being drafted Friday night. "I want to get wherever he is as soon as I possibly can and start working and start building a relationship and a bond with him on the field."

Cobb already has a connection with the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

Cobb was the last player sitting in the green room at New York's Radio City Music Hall before hearing his name called at the end of the second round, the 64th player taken overall.

Rodgers suffered the same fate until the Packers rescued him from isolation in the green room with the 24th pick in the first round of the 2005 draft.

"Hopefully, I can have the same success he's had," Cobb said.

--The addition of Cobb gives the Packers potentially a multidimensional player they've never had. The converted quarterback not only excelled as a receiver his last two years at Kentucky, but he also had to be accounted for as a running back and even a left-handed thrower in what was coined the "WildCobb" formation, a spinoff of the Wildcat used by some teams.

"This kid has some background as far as a quarterback. It just opens up additional opportunities," said Packers receivers coach Edgar Bennett. "You talk about a guy that's versatile. We're not game planning right now, but I'm pretty sure we'll take full advantage of what this kid is capable of doing."

McCarthy, however, stopped short of saying he would make WildCobb a component of an explosive Packers offense triggered by Rodgers behind center.

"To me, the Wildcat is a package of deceptive play, and how much you want to major in it is really your choice," McCarthy said. "But, Randall was not drafted so we could play the Wildcat. I'll just make that clear. Now, if we line up and do something like that, that'll be part of our deceptive packages that we have in every week."

McCarthy did commit to giving the 5-10, 191-pound Cobb a shot to compete for the punt- and kickoff-return duties, which has been a deficiency for the Packers in recent years.

--General manager Ted Thompson kicked off a busy final day of the draft Saturday, when he swung three trades and netted an extra pick to give the team seven choices in the last four rounds, by taking New Mexico State cornerback Davon House.

The 6-0, 195-pound House revealed after the selection that he patterns his in-your-face coverage skills after Packers cornerback Tramon Williams. The former undrafted free agent led Green Bay with nine interceptions last season, including three in its postseason run to the Super Bowl title.

"I just watched him all last year, and what he does is amazing," House said. "He's a ball hawk. That's what I believe I am - a ball hawk, too. I'm excited."

House picked off 11 passes, returned three for touchdowns and set a school record with 319 interception-return yards as a four-year starter at New Mexico State. The Aggies and Williams' school, Louisiana Tech, are rivals in the Western Athletic Conference.

--Provided the league's labor woes are resolved by then, McCarthy is looking forward to the start of the preseason in early August. He points to a roster dripping with depth, thanks in part to the "value" picks Thompson believes were made from start to finish in the draft for several positions.

"I felt last year's training camp was the most competitive training camp that we had up until this point in my tenure here in Green Bay," said McCarthy, embarking on his sixth season. "I'm very optimistic that this year's training camp will be even more competitive. Those are good problems to have."

QUOTE TO NOTE
"He was kind of Kentucky's offense the last couple of years. So, we feel very fortunate to be able to add him to our team. I think he gives us a lot of versatility. He'll be a nice fit with our group." -- General manager Ted Thompson on the second-round selection of Kentucky receiver Randall Cobb.

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