I am Going to Miss Jordy Nelson This Season

Why I am going to miss Jordy Nelson so much at the start of the 2018 NFL season. 

If you didn’t know, the Green Bay Packers will hit the field for the start of training camp this week. Of course, in the NFL, each season is different, but on the eve of 2018, Packers fans will have to deal with one major difference -- the loss of Jordy Nelson.

Obviously, the news of Nelson’s departure came a long time ago. And after a less-than-stellar 2017 season, the writing was kind of on the wall. However, that doesn’t mean that I will miss seeing Jordy wear the green and gold any less.

Since he was drafted by Green Bay in the second round, out of Kansas State in the 2008 NFL draft, Nelson was a model citizen. He worked hard and eventually, turned himself into one of the game’s elite wide receivers.

Nelson never put together a season with 100 receptions. But he did have four seasons with at least 1,200 yards receiving and three with at least 10 touchdown receptions. Even last season, he finished with six touchdowns, which followed 57 over the previous five seasons, not including 2015.

When Nelson first arrived in Green Bay, the depth chart was loaded with good wide receivers. The Packers had guys like Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and James Jones. Yet, eventually, Nelson earned the trust of Aaron Rodgers and the title of No. 1 wideout.

In the run to the Super Bowl in 2010, he really found his groove. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in the biggest game of his life, he caught nine passes for 140 yards and scored a touchdown. It was a legendary performance from a legendary player.

It was also a sign of things to come. After that, Nelson had a breakout year, with more than 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2011. From then on, he was a focal point and a fixture in the offense.

With his tremendous speed, body control, route-running ability, quickness and incredible hands, Nelson proved to be one of the absolute best receivers in the NFL. He will also certainly be in the Packers Hall of Fame one day.

Before his release, Nelson racked up 7,848 yards and 69 touchdowns in Green Bay. His production and his play-making ability are among the best the organization has ever seen.

And that’s just part of the reason he will be missed. While his career on the field for the Packers was incredible, Nelson was also a great guy off of it. He made the organization proud and he was a someone that was always easy to root for.

Nelson was also just an incredible talent. Certainly, it will be sad to no longer see some of the incredible sideline catches we had grown so accustomed to. Or his patented take-off route, which was also so hard to defend.

Nelson was talented -- he was also a student of the game and it showed. He was also a technician and just one example of that was his amazing ability to get his feed in bounds. He was one of the best at knowing where he was and how to tap those toes.

Obviously, I could go on and on about his talent. And yes, I understand the business of football and why the Packers made the decision they did. But it doesn’t mean I am not still going to miss one of my absolute favorites.

So yes, I am really excited about the 2018 season, as I am sure we all are. However, when training camp starts and especially when the games roll around, I know I am going to be missing one thing and that’s No. 87.

 

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Chris is a sports journalist from Montana and has been blogging about the Packers since 2011. Chris has been a staff writer for CheeseheadTV since 2017 and looks forward to the day when Aaron Rodgers wins his second Super Bowl. Follow him @thepackersguru

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Comments (30)

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

July 22, 2018 at 07:38 am

100% agreement. I'd also add, Jordy had some of the greatest college highlights I've ever seen--I was so pumped after watching those right after we drafted him!

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Handsback's picture

July 22, 2018 at 07:53 am

Jordy will be missed, because as a WR he's got a few seasons left. Better to part before the age slide verses after the age slide affects his performance.

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Lphill's picture

July 22, 2018 at 08:36 am

We will all miss him but it's a business if one of the young receivers breaks out we won't dwell on Jordy not being there , their is a fine group of young receivers I think someone will emerge as a solid receiver .

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TarynsEyes's picture

July 22, 2018 at 09:15 am

If I didn't know better, I 'd think I just read a eulogy for someone that died or rather murdered and is attempting to keep it quiet, while the murderer walks free with another attempt to prove his innocence.
Victim-Nelson
Murderer- Hundley
Alibi giver-Packers FO

This trial of wrong doing will begin with opening statements come August and may possibly last until January with the Jury possibly demanding early sequester to offer verdict by large scale evidence either way. Where some will be testifying to seeing the murder victim resurrected and some may watch again as the accused murderer on trial, attempts to prove his innocence by re-enacting his actions upon others, the crime over the course of the first 4 weeks.

I believe it was involuntary manslaughter by the accused with aiding and abetting by circumstances of no one's control and that failure to accept the inability of the accused and to save face, the victim was sacrificed more from the failure of the Alibi giver than the accused murderer.

Whatever was the cause of Nelson's fate in GB will be solved soon enough. I expect anger and tears to be rampant during the trial and screams for the murder of others during and with final verdict witnessed by reading and video.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 22, 2018 at 09:35 am

deleted

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

July 22, 2018 at 09:22 am

Nelson is a sure-fire Packer HOFer. He's 5th in yards, 3rd in receptions, and 2nd in TDs. I will miss the body control most of all.

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TKWorldWide's picture

July 22, 2018 at 12:04 pm

I may not have body control, but I’ve got amazing bladder control.
Long car rides? No problems here!

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Spock's picture

July 22, 2018 at 02:51 pm

TK, Wish I could say the same but, "piss on it".

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TKWorldWide's picture

July 22, 2018 at 03:03 pm

I guess it Depends.

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I bleed green more's picture

July 22, 2018 at 10:56 am

I have watched several replays and each time I say I am really going to miss Jordy.

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Johnblood27's picture

July 22, 2018 at 11:06 am

As fans we will all miss Jordy.

I just hope that AR doesn't miss Jordy.

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Bearmeat's picture

July 22, 2018 at 11:40 am

Yes, I'll miss Jordy. He was a great Packer. But let's not pretend he was Jerry Rice or Randy Moss (without the attitude problems). Jordy was a great route runner who had elite body control. He also was uber-consistent. But he was never an elite HOF level WR. I'd say James Lofton and Sterling Sharpe were better and that Antonio Freeman was just as good.

Seeing him play elsewhere will be sad, and the offense probably will feel his loss in the short term. But he's not irreplaceable.

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Bure9620's picture

July 22, 2018 at 11:38 am

A perennially underrated player in his prime and a great all time Packer. But I still maintain the correct decision was made by BG. He can no longer separate.

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DD's picture

July 23, 2018 at 10:27 am

Bure9620: with MM offense schemes how many times did any of our receivers get much separation? Plays vanilla and predictable? You bet they were. Defenses pressed us all the time and knew the routes easily. Only saving grace was Rodgers pin point accuracy!! I must have been watching the wrong team?

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Bure9620's picture

July 23, 2018 at 04:26 pm

Cobb and Adams were able to get open, Nelson was not. PFF, for what its worth, ranked Cobb 7th in the NFL at gaining separation. He was open quite a bit actually. Cobb just can't throw himself the ball. Adams is one of the best in the league at beating press at the line, and was open a lot, even Hundley could hit him. Nelson rarely created separation and the majority of his catches in the first part of the season was Rodgers throwing him open, which is dangerous. Even when Jordy beat zones, he would go to the ground, no YAC. Jordy was a top 5 WR 6 years ago but not even close to that now.

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TheBigCheeze's picture

July 22, 2018 at 12:14 pm

.....thus far.....the only mistake the new GM has made.....

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Bure9620's picture

July 22, 2018 at 12:19 pm

How can we right now be calling this a mistake? Nelson may actually be done, as the Packers also seem to think. If Jimmy Graham goes off for double digit TDs and Nelson struggles is it a mistake? Let the season play out.

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tylerbigred's picture

July 23, 2018 at 12:40 am

Mistake is putting it far too mildly. It may cost a shot at the playoffs. It is well known how important it is for AR to trust his receivers. None were as trusted as Jordy. Any mention of lower stats last year rest totally at the feet of the wholly & totally incompetent Hundley—whose feet should have long since carried him out the door rather than Jordy.

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NickPerry's picture

July 23, 2018 at 04:59 am

OR....It may have cost the Raiders $15 million to find out what the Packers and Gutekunst already knew...Jordy got old and wasn't even remotely close to the Nelson we expected.

Nelson was one of my all time favorite players, especially over the last 30 years or so. But after watching his get caught from behind time and time again or actually fall to the ground on his own it was obvious this moment was right around the corner.

Gutehunst inherited a team with limited cap space, several holes, and some players not worth their inflated contracts. What was worse was there was no depth behind those players. Gute did what he had to. If your pissed be pissed at Ted T for leaving behind a team like this for Gute.

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Bure9620's picture

July 23, 2018 at 05:35 am

Yes very true. Gute inherited inflated contracts with aging players. Nelson, CMIII, Cobb, Perry, even Bulaga's contract does not make much sense as he is rarely available and refused a pay cut. People are so sentimental about Jordy, I get it, but watch the tape, he can't separate from a corner anymore. When he finds a hole in a zone he falls down in it. His YAC yards now are essentially 0. He is not even close to the player he was 5-6 years ago.

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DD's picture

July 23, 2018 at 10:18 am

Bure: okay, he's not the player he once was. I ask, is MM the coach he once was? How many years years has he had? Has he lost a step? Adjusted? Retained yet? YES!! Talk about mistakes.

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NickPerry's picture

July 24, 2018 at 05:14 am

Good point DD... I think the answer is YES, MM has lost a step. But what I'm hoping for is he had his moment of clarity at the end of last season and made the necessary changes and maybe got those steps back, even gained a few. McCarthy's loyalty is admirable but he deserves 90% of the blame for keeping Capers and even Bennett at OC.

BUT....Bringing in Pettine even though it was years late and bring back Philbin were smart moves, maybe job saving moves though we won't know that for about 25 plus weeks or so.

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DD's picture

July 23, 2018 at 10:23 am

The big red: You got that right. Keeping Hundley still? And genius MM? What failures. Jordy was reliable, dependable. How about Cobb, Beluga, Matthews, Perry, Beigel? How's their steps, speed, and dependability for any season? Please, spare me.

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porupack's picture

July 22, 2018 at 02:56 pm

Thanks Chris. He will be missed regardless of how one feels whether it was the right time or not.
He was a great packer, and any great packer that is no longer a packer is missed.

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Spock's picture

July 22, 2018 at 03:12 pm

Loved Jordy. I also loved a lot of Packers players who were let go (DD actually SHOULD have been let go the prior year, and I absolutely adored him as a Packer WR) but time marches on and catches up with everyone including the players eventually. Time to -LET IT GO- and concentrate on the new guys. I was the guy who had the neighbors elect one of the husbands to come over and ask me to "slow down" because I was making them look bad for my shoveling truckloads of dirt in days when their dumped soil (always on the driveway) had giant weeds coming up ( I spent a week of 'vacation' distributing 17 yards of dirt over my property). Now I can barely go down a set of stairs and have young ladies opening the door for ME instead of the other way round. Time marches on for us all. Loved Jordy. I will miss him as a Packer, but the NFL is always about the now; sadly, Jordy is about the past as far as GB is concerned. Personally, I'm happy that he got that contract with the Raiders. I hope he makes the team and does well. He is an outstanding person who I wish the best for.

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DD's picture

July 23, 2018 at 10:14 am

There's more to football then the game. Jordy was a model citizen, community advocate, honest, loyal, dedicated, and very dependable. Forget that bullshit about losing a step! He was a great receiver who would have taken less money and performed very well in the slot. All the comments about another receiver stepping up; darn well better. If not, MM and Gute will be eating some brown stuff. The Packers I feel made a big mistake as far as all that Jordy contributed.

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Bure9620's picture

July 23, 2018 at 10:32 am

DD, That player is Jimmy Graham, he's not a TE really at all, he's a reciever and the Packers will not have him blocking as Seattle did on 35% of snaps. Graham's production will be better than Nelson in yards and TDs, I believe that. Rodgers has 4 proven veteran pass catching options in Adams, Cobb, Graham and Lewis. The young receiver(s) will be a 4th or fifth options. Not to mention the options out of the backfield in Montgomery and the other backs.

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croatpackfan's picture

July 23, 2018 at 01:08 pm

I will not miss Jordy Nelson....

Why?

Because I would not like to read here how Jordy lost his step and how BG made mistake not to cut him on time, and, the biggest problem I would have, how many of you (who are now crying why Jordy is cut) would claiming that you knew before season and you were telling us Jordy must be cut...

How I know that? Because it happened so many times here...

And I respect Jordy to much to read that whining here...

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billybobton's picture

July 23, 2018 at 03:35 pm

How many people, how many terrible memories!

Jordy was great for GB, but he was not a great WR. All the super bowl memories nicely OVERLOOK all the drops he had in that game that kept PITT in the game instead of blowing them out.

OVERLOOK how easily Jordy got S E P A R A T I O N v the panthers and AROD could not get him the ball.

Truely the killer is MM and BH and the FO.

But keep it real, he is not dead. He was a great person, remarkable member of the community, a team leader with a top work ethic

but don't make crap up and don't lie about his career

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Samson's picture

July 23, 2018 at 07:51 pm

This is just another same 'ol, same 'ol.

Of course Jordy will be missed for at least a little while.
But this is organized big bucks US sports. Athletes come and go all the time. --- Hell, I still miss DD.

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