Wrapping up the past...um...few days in Packerland

So it’s been a minute since I’ve last written for the site.

It feels like I’ve been saying that a lot lately. That’s because, well, I have.

My reasons are, of course, legit. First it was vacay-time; then I got sick; and, finally, I’ve been out of town attending my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I don’t forsee any future delays, so we should be good to go from now until the start of training camp (just 12 days away – holy crap).

Again, we apologize for the overall lack of consistency with the posts lately.

So, with that said, let’s wrap-up the past handful of days’ activity surrounding the Green Bay Packers.

• Team releases financial numbers

Last Wednesday, the Packers released their financial numbers for the past fiscal year. As a publicly-owned team, they kind of have to. The numbers showed the team had a significant drop in overall profit, from $20.1 million for the 2009 fiscal year to $9.8 million for the 2010 fiscal year.

The team attributed the dip in overall profit to rising player salaries. Considering the fact that the Packers dished out roughly $80 million in new salaries over the offseason – combined with rising numbers for players like Aaron Rodgers – I’m not surprised. In short, it’s becoming more and more expensive to run a football team.

In order to survive, the team must create new ways to bring in bucks. The idea of hosting an annual Big Ten Championship football game would certainly help, as would adding more seats. I think it’s a lock that more seats will eventually be added, but I’m less sure on the Big Ten title game. It’s a great idea, but I have such little faith in those running college football. I’m sure they’ll figure out a way to screw it up.

The team seems committed to keeping ticket prices reasonable and I have a feeling that will continue. But don’t be surprised if there’s a slight rise in concession prices at some point in the near future. By charging a buck or two more for things, the team can bring in a lot more money. Ultimately, I have no problem with that.

Not surprisingly, the league and the NFLPA are making a big deal of the numbers. But the Packers numbers aren’t necessarily indicative of the rest of the league, so I’m not sure why. This team truly is unique in regards to almost everything – market size, fan interest, etc. - so both sides would be wise to avoid making the Packers an example of anything.

• What to do now that Jolly is gone

Gene wrote about the Jolly suspension Friday. Seeing as how I had zero internet access, I’m glad he did.

And even though it’s been a few days, I figured I’d weigh in quick. Obviously, Jolly’s absence is big. He’s a great fit for the 3-4 and had a really good season last year. I love how, when a player is suspended, everyone instantly downplays his importance. Don’t. Jolly would have been a crucial piece to the defense in 2010 and beyond.

That said, I have faith that someone will emerge out of the group of Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson, Jarius Wynn and – why not? – Justin Harrell. Actually, two players from that group will have to emerge for the line to avoid running out of gas come December. Well, there’s four options, so the odds are in Green Bay’s favor.

My best guess is that the team will use the first couple of weeks of camp to figure out if those two options are in-house. If not, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see Ted Thompson tap some of the team’s depth elsewhere in order to bolster the d-line. Tight end (Donald Lee), offensive line (Jason Spitz, Daryn Colledge) or safety (Atari Bigby) are all areas he could look to. 

Either way, the line should be alright, so don’t go panicking. You should still be every bit as high on this team as you were before Mr. Purple Drank got shelved for the year. I know I am.

• Team signs third-round pick Morgan Burnett

I’d just like to say this: See, Atari, safeties can sign contracts.

• I got to be on Cheesehead Radio…and here’s proof

Thursday, the fine folks at Cheesehead Radio had yours truly on as a guest. My LeBron/Judas article, the story of OBOD and, yes, my recent Twitter tussle with Desmond Bishop (who went on record to say he does NOT want to kill me, thank God) were all discussed.

Here’s the link. Sorry about my voice sounding so Lempesis-y. This is why I’m a writer. And thanks again to the CHTV folks for having me on. My Thursday nights are usually open, guys, so…you know, I’m just saying…hint, hint.

• Congrats to our contest winners!

Last week, we had our “Name That Packer” trivia contest here at OBOD.

Two lucky folks were able to answer correctly, winning themselves t-shirts from Sconnie.com.

Kathy Wutkowski nailed our first question after just one clue, correctly guessing Edgar Bennett.

We purposefully made our second question much, muuuuch harder to answer. After a day of misses, JonBob over at JonBobsPackBlog correctly guessed cornerback/safety/bain of EVERYONE’S existence Jarrett Bush.

Kathy will receive a “The Mighty Clay” shirt while JonBob will receive a “We’ll never forget you Brent” shirt. We’re working on getting those out to you guys as soon as we can.

Thanks to Adam for running the contest while I was away, and thanks again to the folks at BrentFavre.com for their assistance.

• Finally…

We’ll begin our “Friendly Fire” training camp series this week, with our “Know Your Enemy” series on the other NFC North teams soon to follow.

Actually, that’s all I had for that one.

-Chris Lempesis