Favre to Tampa for a second rounder and Chris Simms! This on the strength of a radio show call-in with an eyewitness sighting of Favre and Tampa Bay GM Bruce Allen having dinner in Flemings.

On a side note, I also saw Ted Thompson on the subway this morning sitting next to Mike Tannenbaum, trying to hide his lips so as not to be lip-read. But the implications are clear. Favre to the Jets for a first rounder and Bubba Franks. Welcome back Bubba!

When the hell does training camp start…

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Here I thought that the idea was to infuse the offensive guard position with talent, both through the draft and by letting the talent on the roster mature, and then let the contenders battle it out through the summer and the two players that performed the best would be named the starters for 2008 before the Monday night game against the Vikings.

How old fashioned of me.

Seems the Packers are looking at continuing the philosophy of ‘riding the hot hand’ along the interior of the offensive line. (Though I would posit that what they did last year was go with the healthiest, least bad option…) Via Pro Football Weekly’s “The Way We Hear It” we learn that as many as five players could be shuttled in and out at the guard position, presumably depending on what situation/down & distance the offense finds itself in.

I can not express enough how much I hate this idea.

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Seems ex-Lion Kevin Jones is starting to draw a little interest, with both New England and Tennessee having him in for visits. (What is it with the Titans and running backs lately?) It also appears that Jones has an inflated sense of his worth to an NFL team, but this should correct itself after awhile.

Depending on how the Packers’ medical staff tested him, it would seem to make sense to bring Jones in for a look. With a young, mostly untested backfield, and Ryan Grant still unsigned (though no one really thinks he won’t sign before training camp…)  having a veteran like Jones, who was stuck behind a horrific offensive line and saddled with a pass-mad offensive coordinator the last two years, could only help bolster what is a position with serious question marks all the way down the depth chart. (One could argue that adding Jones would only add another question mark, to which I could only say that you would be correct)

Now, I highly doubt Thompson would actually make this move. It’s risky in a way that seems to make the GM break out in hives. But players with Jones’ ability and experience are rarely available at this point in the offseason.  I fail to see what the harm would be in the Packers kicking the tires and getting a look at Jones firsthand.

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… it’s interesting to note that the Packers currently have 13 wide receivers on the roster. Plenty of pundits were surprised when the Packers used their first pick on a wide out, and were even more surprised when the team added another one in the 7th round, and then signed several as undrafted free agents. There’s a reason for this bolstering of the receiving corps, and I think it speaks volumes  about what McCarthy is planning for the Packers’ offense.

McCarthy has said over and over again that if he could run the ball 50 times a game, he would. I’m calling that a bald-faced lie. McCarthy’s whole offense is predicated on throwing the football. It always has been, even when he had Aaron Brooks as his quarterback. He loves to play into the Pittsburgh, tough-guy stuff, but in reality, he’s much closer to a Mike Martz or an Al Saunders than a  Mike Sherman or a Norv Turner. Remember the much-debated goal-line, 4th down debacle against the Chargers? How McCarthy spread the field without a back in sight on 4th and Goal from the one? THAT is Mike McCarthy.

I’m not saying he isn’t good at what he does. He is one of the best play-callers currently employed in the NFL. And Thompson is clearly giving him as many tools as he needs to make his offense as good as it can be. But don’t for a second buy into the idea that the Packers will try to run the ball more this season.

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That’s how Andy over at Packer Geeks wants things done over at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.

Andy’s proposal, prompted by a Packer Geek reader named Joe, is for Ted Thompson to sign UW Whitewater running back Justin Beaver, who had a try out with the Packers during this past weekends rookie orientation camp. The reason this needs to happen?

I really do think it would be a good PR/business move. Listen, a few months ago, Green Bay fans received the devastating news that Favre was calling it quits. Die-hard Packer fans, no matter how tough, are dealing with the emotional scars of seeing perhaps the most popular Packer ever, retire. While signing Justin Beaver won’t bring Favre back or heal Favre-retirement wounds, it might help infuse some extra excitement for the team at a time we could really use it.

It’s the last part that’s patently absurd. The team doesn’t need an infusion of ‘extra excitement’ but the fan base does, so let’s sign a guy that has about a 3 percent chance of making it through the first week of training camp. Andy goes on to address this very point, saying:

When I compare his obvious skills to someone like Noah Herron, I can’t help but think there is way more upside with someone like Beaver. I could understand NOT giving Beaver a shot if the backfield had other major talent besides Grant, but it doesn’t.

First of all, “major” talent? Perhaps not. But as I’ve said before, Brandon Jackson will surprise this season, and Vernand Morency should not be counted out, simply because of how adept he is in blitz-pick up. What Andy is missing is that signing Beaver is not just about the numbers at the running back position. Signing him takes a spot away from other positions where numbers are needed, positions that traditionally need much more depth, such as defensive back or defensive line (both positions where Thompson has already signed undrafted players to contracts.)

Look, I don’t want to start another dust up with my friends over at Packer Geeks (especially after Steve’s inspired Obama-Drinking-Pabst post) but Andy’s thinking here is seriously haywire for a man who claims to want to one day run the Packer organization.

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Always nice to see McCarthy and his staff get some national recognition.

Peter King today in his Monday Morning Quarterback column, mentions the great job McCarthy’s staff has done coaching up players like Atari Bigby, Donald Lee and Johnny Jolly. Bigby and Lee were taken off the scrap heap of the NFL (Bigby was cut by both Miami and the Jets, while Lee was claimed off waivers after getting cut by the Dolphins) and Jolly was a 6th round pick. But in all three cases, the Packer coaching staff has done a wonderful job of coaching their guys up and getting them ready to not only play, but to start.

One other note, I just love the fact that the Packers let David Martin go in Free Agency, where he signed with the Dolphins, while Donald Lee, a better, more consistent player, was picked up by the Packers for almost nothing. Of course, Lee has gone on to sign a nice extension, at a very Packer friendly price, while the Dolphins gave Martin stupid guaranteed money, and he has thanked the Dolphins organization by getting hurt, just like Packer fans everywhere could have told Miami he would.

Thank you Nick Saban and Cam Cameron…

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