…can we now stop worrying about Rodgers?

An off-the-top-of-my-head list of Aaron Rodgers’ teammates miscues tonight:

• Jason Spitz forgets the snap count (or the entire offensive line does - take your pick)
• Brandon Jackson is completely inept on a very simple blitz pickup
• Donald Driver drops a perfect pass
• Ditto Chris Francies
• Ditto James Jones (though Jones gets a reprieve for later taking a monster hit and continuing on to the end zone)
• Brandon Jackson sets up a ‘Come On In’ sign in the backfield again

You get the point.

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• What I Don’t Get…

I keep reading things like this regarding James Jones at the end of last season:

James Jones faded badly at the end of his rookie campaign, hitting the rookie wall in the final month of the season.

Um, no he didn’t. Brett Favre stopped looking his way and started forcing the ball to Koren Robinson. One only needs to go back and actually review the games to see this. The kid was great when given the opportunity, especially against the Seahawks in the playoffs. (Although I will admit that no receiver other than Driver showed up against the Giants)

Just needed to get that off my chest. And Silverstein’s not the only culprit. Just the latest…

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• What We Know, or Think We Know

Not toys. Props. I’m talking timelapse. Cheese and Packers style.

So I am perusing Packer World and I notice the Out of Bounds blog tab has a headline that reads “The first Aaron Rodgers action figure“.

What is cooler than my very own full team set of players? The frickin Brett Favre action figure. Dang. I went to the McFarlane Toys site and they have different photos of the Brett figurine and the Team.

They only chose four teams for this full team edition. Green bay, New England, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. Oakland? wtf? Maybe it has something to do with the Spawn look and the Raider look being similiar.

The players in the Packers set: quarterback Aaron Rodgers, running back Ryan Grant; tight end Donald Lee; receivers Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones; and left tackle Chad Clifton, guard Daryn Colledge, center Scott Wells, guard Jason Spitz and right tackle Mark Tauscher.

It’s sort of sad that my set has has to have Daryn Colledge. Good thing my girlfriend is good with paint.

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• The Good and the Bad (Waiting On Ugly…)

Throughout the month of December, we kept hearing and reading how Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin were making their moves to take over the #3 WR position. And it certainly looked that way heading into the playoffs. And then lo and behold, here comes Jones with his best game in over a month. (Though he did have one ball bounce off his hands that almost ended up as a pick) I just found it interesting that we hardly saw anything of Koren Robinson from scrimmage, when he seemed to be playing such a prominent role as the season came to a close. But it was Jones, not Robinson, who was on the field more often than not when the Packers went 3-wide. I really like Jones and think he’ll be an excellent receiver for the Packers for years to come. My only issue with him is the way he waits for the ball to hit his hands when he’s catching it. He has great technique, always holding his hands out and bringing the ball into his body when he catches it. His problem is that he is too passive when the ball is in the air. He needs to attack the ball with his hands, rather than waiting for it. This passivity rears itself in his run after the catch as well. Watch Donald Driver after a catch and then watch Jones. It’s night and day. Driver runs like he’s running for his life. Jones acts like he’s playing a game. I’m not sure that can be coached, but I do know Driver didn’t run like that when he was a rookie. Hopefully, it’s something the Packers can help Jones develop.

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• Let’s Straighten Something Out

The anonymous quotes from NFL Scouts, coaches and personnel people over at Pro Football Weekly are always worth their weight in gold, if only to remind me that I too could one day work for an NFL team. No, really, how hard could it be when they employ people who will say this:

Look at James Jones. He’s a ‘Z’ (receiver) in that West Coast system. A lot of times, he’s catching underneath the coverage. (Opponents) are covering (Donald) Driver and (Greg) Jennings and (Jones) comes slithering underneath and has a lot of room to work with. You put Jones in a system where he has to beat coverages, and I’m not sure he can do it. But for what he is being asked to do, he is playing good.”

Now, on the first part, he’s absolutely correct. They are running him underneath on a lot of clear-out stuff. Fair enough. But I seem to recall him toasting Mr. Champ “Best Corner In the NFL” Bailey for a 70-something yard touchdown on national television. I think he beat some pretty damn good coverage right there Mr. Scout/Coach/Personnel Man.

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• What We Know, or Think We Know