How’s that for a succinct introduction? Not bad, [...]]]> Two posts on outside linebackers are in the books. We’ve still got a couple of second-round guys to get to, but the majority of this post – our last on the position - will focus on some possible mid-to-late round gems who could strike the Green Bay Packers’ fancy in the draft.

How’s that for a succinct introduction? Not bad, right?

• Daryl Washington, TCU

The numbers: 6-feet, 2-inches, 225 pounds…turns 22 years old in October…4.58 40-yard dash time and 17 bench press reps at the combine…first team All Mountain West Conference in 2009…109 tackles, three interceptions (one returned for a score) and two sacks in 2009…five sacks over his final two seasons at TCU.

With all the talk surrounding Washington’s teammate, Jerry Hughes, Washington has become a forgotten man of sorts. Don’t let that fool you, though – Washington can play. He’s a supreme athlete with pure sideline-to-sideline range and excellent tackling skills (have I mentioned Green Bay struggled in that area last season?). His coverage skills are also very good, which would put him right at home in the 3-4 OLB spot. He’s versatile and can play multiple ‘backer spots (something the Packers always love). He’s not overly big and needs to put on bulk in order to shed blockers at the next level. His sack totals aren’t overly high, either, which gives some pause. Still, he’s got solid upside and would be a nice second round pick for the Pack. 

• Eric Norwood, South Carolina

The numbers: 6-feet, 1-inch, 252 pounds…turns 22 years old in May…4.71 40-yard dash time at the combine and 21 bench press reps at his pro day in March…unanimous first team All SEC in 2009…81 tackles, seven sacks and two interceptions (one returned for a score) in 2009…29 sacks for his career.

The first thing that jumps out at you about Norwood is his production in the best conference in the country, particularly in terms of rushing the passer. It is indeed his strongest asset as he enters the NFL. While not overly fast, he’s great at using his hands to clear free from blocks. From there, he relies on his good closing speed to get to the quarterback. He’s also strong, relentless and a good tackler. He’s not quite as bulky as Brandon Graham and his arms are longer (33 3/8 inches to Graham’s 32 1/4 inches). On the downside, he’s raw in coverage, overly aggressive in pursuit and, again, that 40 time is hard to ignore. He’d be a decent second round pick and an absolute steal as a third round pick for Green Bay.

• A.J. Edds, Iowa

The numbers: 6-feet, 4-inches, 244 pounds…turns 23 years old in September…4.62 40-yard dash time and 16 bench press reps at the combine (those numbers changed to 4.67 and 18 for his pro day in March)…72 tackles, five interceptions and no sacks in 2009…two sacks for his career at Iowa.

While Norwood’s biggest strength is his ability to rush the passer, Edds’ biggest plus is his ability to cover. He’s intelligent, fundamentally sound and has excellent ball skills. He’s been compared to Minnesota’s Ben Leber and, at this point, I’d say that’s fair. In that sense, Edds would be a nice compliment to Clay Matthews (a very underrated cover man). And he’s a better athlete than his 40 time would suggest. Of course, Edds also seems to bring almost nothing to the table as a pass rusher. Like a lot of cover linebackers, he’s not very aggressive. He’ll be on the board in round four and if Green Bay thinks Brad Jones is the guy – particularly as a pass rusher – Edds could be a nice guy to have for nickel situations.

• Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas

The numbers: 6-feet, 2-inches, 235 pounds…turns 23 years old in November…4.68 40-yard dash time and 19 bench press reps at the combine (40 time fell to 4.73 for his pro day in March)…second team All Big 12 in 2009…80 tackles, two sacks and one interception in 2009…five sacks for his career at Texas.

Think of a smaller, slightly slower version of Edds. Well, that’s basically Muckelroy. While he does not cover quite as well as Edds, he’s still very solid in that department. He’s also a slightly better tackler than Edds with equally strong fundamentals. He’s got good instincts and played both inside and outside for the Longhorns (again, something Green Bay loves). He needs to get much stronger and, like Edds, he doesn’t bring much of anything to the table as a pass rusher. Muckelroy will still be available in the fourth round, but if I had to choose, I’d pick Edds instead based purely on his cover skills.

• Cameron Sheffield, Troy

The numbers: 6-feet, 3-inches, 257 pounds…turned 22 years old in February…4.92 40-yard dash time at the combine (improved it to 4.85 at his pro day in March) and he did not lift at either event…second team All Sun Belt Conference in 2009…50 tackles and six sacks in 2009…11 sacks over his final two years at Troy.

Sheffield’s is a name you probably don’t know, but odds are you know of a couple of guys his school has produced (that Ware guy in Dallas and that Osi guy in New York). Like those two, Sheffield’s biggest strength is rushing the passer. He’s got an explosive first step (that 40 time is a bit misleading) and can easily navigate his way around opposing tackles. He also improved steadily in coverage and playing the run as his time at Troy went on. He needs to get much stronger to avoid being swallowed up by tackles at the next level, though, and he’d do well to play with more aggression from time-to-time. That said, if the Packers are looking for this year’s Brad Jones, Sheffield very well could be that guy. He’d be a great sixth-or-seventh round selection and could make an immediate impact as a pass-rushing specialist.

• O’Brien Schofield, Wisconsin

The numbers: 6-feet, 3-inches, 244 pounds…turned 23 years old earlier this month…No combine or pro day numbers as Schofield tore his ACL during Senior Bowl practices…first team All Big Ten in 2009…62 tackles and 12 sacks in 2009…17 sacks over his final two years at Wisconsin…cousins with both Vonnie Holiday and Bobby Engram.

Talk about heartbreak. After a very good showing in the East-West Shrine Game, Schofield was having a nice week of Senior Bowl practices until he tore his ACL. That, obviously, dropped his mid-round status considerably. His knee injury will likely cause him to miss the entire 2010 season, but if the Packers are willing to redshirt him for a year, they could end up with a very good player come 2011 (you know, if there is a 2011 season). Schofield is a pass-rushing monster with decent enough size and strength. Some worried about his coverage skills, but he showed marked improvement in that area in the postseason games/practices. I’ve said before that Green Bay needs to find immediate impact players in this draft, but in Schofield’s case, I’ll make an exception. As a seventh-round pick, he’d bring fantastic value.

That wraps up our look at outside linebackers. We’ll be back later today with a look at some mid-to-late round defensive lineman.

-Chris Lempesis

I say that because, on the same day we kicked off our list of the top moments/games of the decade, Green Bay Press Gazette sports editor Mike Vandermause wrote a column in which he listed the top 10 Packers-related stories of the decade. Vandermause’s column also focused on off-the-field [...]]]> Funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?

I say that because, on the same day we kicked off our list of the top moments/games of the decade, Green Bay Press Gazette sports editor Mike Vandermause wrote a column in which he listed the top 10 Packers-related stories of the decade. Vandermause’s column also focused on off-the-field stuff, such as the respective retirements of Brett Favre and Ron Wolf, so the list’s aren’t really that similar.

Hopefully, though, the list we came up with at our little dog-and-pony show here will provide a nice compliment to Vandermause’s list in order to give people a more thorough view of the decade that was for the Green Bay Packers.

With that said, it’s time to unveil the final part of our list of the top 10 moments/games of the decade.

(Fair warning: The descriptions for these ones are a bit longer than in the first part, so strap in.)

Again, enjoy.

5. “Dan Marino – Step Aside” – at Minnesota, September 30, 2007. In week three of the ‘07 season, the Packers earned a heartstopping 31-24 win at Lambeau over the mighty San Diego Chargers. It was a huge win as it announced to the rest of the league that Green Bay was, in fact, for real. Lost in all that excitement – at least for a minute or two – was the fact that Favre’s fourth quarter touchdown pass to Greg Jennings was the 420th of his career, tying him with Dan Marino for the all-time mark. He would have a chance to break the record the next week on the road against the hated Vikings. And it didn’t take him long to do just that. With five minutes left in the first quarter, on a third-and-7 from Minnesota’s 16-yard line, Favre made a last-second adjustment before hitting Jennings on a slant route (fitting that it would come on a slant, no?). Jennings did the rest, sprinting into the endzone and allowing Favre to surpass Marino once and for all. The crowd, comprised of at least 50 percent Packers’ fans (I know this because Adam and I were at the game), erupted before Marino himself paid tribute to Favre via a taped announcement on the Jumbotron at the Metrodome. The Packers went on to win, 23-16, improving to 4-0 on the season. Watch it here.

4. “He Did What?!?!” – vs. Minnesota, November 6, 2000. The Packers looked to be in trouble heading into this “Monday Night Football” affair. The game was at Lambeau, yes, but the Pack - under first-year head coach Mike Sherman - stood at just 3-5 while the Vikings came in a pistol-hot 7-1. Green Bay, surprisingly, held its own in the first half, trailing just 13-10 at the break. Trailing 20-13 in the third, the Packers evened the score on a two-yard touchdown run from Ahman Green. It appeared to be all-for-not when Gary Anderson headed out for a 32-yard field goal with just seven seconds left in the fourth. Remember, though, it was raining pretty hard in Titletown that night. That rain caused Minnesota holder Mitch Berger to lose control of the snap and attempt a crazy heave of desperation. Tyrone Williams picked him off and we were headed to overtime. The Pack won the toss and slowly made their way into Minnesota territory. On a third-and-4 from the Vikings’ 43, Favre looked to his right and threw one up for Antonio Freeman. Enter Lambeau magic. At first, Minnesota cornerback Cris Dishman appeared to pick Favre off. But he couldn’t get a grip on it and the ball darted towards the turf, where Freeman was already on his stomach. The ball bounced off Freeman’s shoulder, arm and facemask before finally resting in his right hand. Freeman, realizing the play was live, got up, made a move on a Vikings’ defender and sprinted into the endzone for the game-winning score as the Packers had earned a 26-20 victory. In the more than nine years since that night, I’ve seen the replay of that catch roughly eight million times – and I still have no idea how he caught it. I do know that I’m sure glad he did. Watch it here.

3. “Nate Poole Is Our Hero” – vs. Denver, December 28, 2003. The outlook was bleak for the playoff hopes of the 2003 Packers heading into the final week of the regular season. Here is a quick refresher of what needed to happen. Green Bay, sitting at 9-6, needed to beat Denver and:

A)  hope that a good Seattle team lost to a bad 49ers squad. Didn’t happen. Seattle won, 24-17.

B) hope that a good Dallas team would defeat a mediocre Saints bunch. Didn’t happen. Dallas lost, 13-7 (again, thanks for nothing, Dallas).

The failure of those two scenarios left the Packers with one, and only one, shot to get into the tournament: Beat Denver and hope that the Vikings – somehow, someway – would lose to the 3-12 Arizona Cardinals. Sure, Minnesota (also at 9-6) had sputtered after starting the season 6-0 – but, I mean, come on, the Cardinals? No way the Vikes lose that one. In a delicious bit of scheduling, the Vikings game (at Arizona) and the Packers game (at Lambeau) were both scheduled for late starts. The game itself at Lambeau on this day was not extremely memorable (outside of a 98-yard touchdown run by Green). With the Broncos’ playoff position already solidified, Denver rested most of its starters as the Packers rolled to a 31-3 win. In the desert, though, things were more than interesting. The Vikings, after falling behind 6-0, scored 17 unanswered points and held a commanding fourth quarter lead. It looked like Green Bay was about to walk away empty-handed, despite closing the season on a four-game win streak. Just then, though, Arizona scored. The two-point conversion failed, but the Cards were still within striking distance at 17-12. But there was just so little time left. The Cards would have to recover on onside kick, then go down and score, all in less than two minutes. Well, they got the onside kick and on a fourth-and-25 – fourth-and-25!! – at the Minnesota 27, Arizona quarterback Josh McCown lobbed a prayer into the endzone that was pulled down by Nate Poole with no time remaining. Poole didn’t get two feet in, but it was ruled a score because of the push-out rule (which no longer exists). Cards win 18-17. The news reached a frenzied Lambeau in about .5 seconds. Despite nearly impossible odds, the Packers had made the playoffs as the 2003 NFC North champs. And, if only for a day, Nate Poole was the hero of an entire fan base. Watch it here (and, just for fun, watch this too).

2. “We Want the Ball and We’re Gonna Score” – vs. Seattle, January 4, 2004. Sure, the events of week 17 of the 2003 season played to Green Bay’s benefit. But they simply got the Packers into the playoffs. If they were to advance, they would have to get past a more-than-formidable Seattle team that finished second in the NFC West with a 10-6 record. After 30 minutes of football at Lambeau, the Packers were looking good. Two Ryan Longwell field goals and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Favre to Bubba Franks (not sure if anyone else remembers that pass, but it was an absolute rocket, even by Favre standards) powered Green Bay to a 13-6 halftime advantage. If the Packers could just get one more score, they’d likely have the game in the bag. Then came the third quarter and a pair of one-yard touchdown runs from Seattle’s Shaun Alexander. Green Bay, on the other hand, was held scoreless. This massive sea change resulted in the Packers trailing 20-13 heading into the fourth. The sea shifted again, this time in Green Bay’s favor, in the fourth. Two one-yard touchdown runs from Green gave the Pack a 27-20 lead with just 2:44 to play. The defense just could not hold, though. Seattle ripped off a seven-play, 67-yard drive in less than two minutes, capped off by Alexander’s third one-yard touchdown run of the day. The Packers drained the final 51 ticks off the clock and we were headed to overtime. Seattle won the toss, prompting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to utter eight words that will never be forgotten by Packers fans (and, probably, Seahawks fans, too): “We want the ball and we’re gonna score.” Well, as Gene likes to say, somebody scored alright. On a third-and-11 at the Seattle 45, Green Bay went with an all-out blitz (dubbed the “Thriller blitz” by the defense). Hasselbeck went to his hot receiver, Alex Bannister, who was supposed to cut his route short. He didn’t. Al Harris jumped the route, picked the pass off and returned it 52 yards for the walk-off score. Lambeau erupted as the Packers had advanced with a 33-27 win. Watch it here.

1. “Snowglobe Game” – vs. Seattle, January 12, 2008. If someone had said, 4:59 into this game, that this would ultimately end up as the Packers’ No. 1 moment of the decade, you would have smacked them in the mouth. And, really, you would have had good reason to do so. After all, a pair of Ryan Grant fumbles on Green Bay’s first two drives of the game – which, by the way, happened to be a divisional playoff game AT LAMBEAU – led to two Seahawks’ touchdowns, giving the visitors a 14-0 lead. All the goodwill we’d built up, all the joy we’d experienced during the regular season seemed to be all for nothing. Adam was actually at this game and he said you could hear a pindrop after Hasselbeck hit Bobby Engram for Seattle’s second score of the day. But just then, something happened. The Packers got to driving and ended up scoring on a 15-yard pass from Favre to Jennings. The next Green Bay drive also ended in a score – this time it was Grant from one-yard out – and, all of a sudden, the game was tied. Had we really taken their best punch and remained in the game? As it turned out, we indeed had, as the next four – FOUR! – Packers’ drives all ended in touchdowns. Seattle mustered but two field goals in the midst of that onslaught. The final score? 42-20, Packers. But those aren’t the only reasons this earns the top spot. There was also Grant, bouncing back from his horrendous start to turn in a once-in-a-lifetime performance for a running back (an astounding 201 yards and three touchdowns on just 27 carries). There was the defense holding a good Seahawks’ offense to just 200 total yards. Finally, there was the environment in which the game took place. A wicked snow storm – even by Wisconsin standards – blasted the Fox Cities with inches upon inches of snow that day, turning Lambeau into a snowglobe of sorts as the game went on. People said they had to watch the scoreboard to see what was actually taking place. It was insane (photographic evidence soon to follow). And when you add this all up, could there really be a better moment of the past 10 years? Absolutely not. Watch it here.

That concludes our list. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. What will the next 10 years bring us? Aaron Rodgers getting some face time with the Lombardi Trophy, perhaps? As always with sports, you never know. But you can always hope – and that’s the best part.

-Chris Lempesis