Donald Driver?

[bhuggins]

Did I miss something? Was Driver inactive for yesterday's game? I never saw him on the field. If they are not going to play him then why did they re-sign him? That money could have been spent in other areas of need. Based on his career and reputation of having great hands, I can think of more than a couple third down plays where his experience and good hands might have mad a difference.

 

[IluvGB]

I thought the same thing! I kept looking at the Packers.com site,..seeing he wasn't listed as inactive I kept looking for him on the field. FINALLY in the 3rd or 4th quarter I saw him on the sidelines...
I think if he was on the field it would of made a huge difference! eesh!

 

[dansz15]

He will play but Cobb and Jones looked good, he was probably the odd man out.

Good hands? Did you see Cobb's catch on 3rd and 10 in the 4th? I have no problem with Cobb playing over Driver after seeing him last night. Diversifies of the offense.

 

[Rodgers in the House]

If that's the case then we should've let him go and kept a younger receiver. This guy is done.

 

[Rocky11]

I was surprised that I never saw him in the game. Maybe he is done.

 

[lambeaulambo]

He is not done, he is there for depth in case either Jones of Cobb doesnt play well or either gets hurt. Driver will sneak up on you and make a big play soon.

 

[Croak]

I mentioned before, that I think he would have been handy for those slants over the middle; his specialty. Apparently he was in as relief for Jennings in the last several plays of the game. I don't get it, either. Perhaps the loss of Philbin makes a difference. They were claiming that DD had one of his best camps ever. Now he's riding the pine pony? Jennings wasn't even the go to guy in yesterday's scheme, he was like 4th or 5th in plays thrown to. Is a message being sent to two guys who probably won't be with the team next year or was this just a one game aberration? I hope it's the second.

 

[Forget Favre]

It's a huge, huge mistake to not play him as often as before.
I don't care what anyone else thinks.
From what's been happening, if DD was used more, I think we would be doing a lot better.
Both me and my SO are DD fans and we are disappointed to not see him out there more often.
He is not just an awesome receiver but one of the best to ever wear the Green & Gold and it's a crime that he is underused this season.

 

[burt packerack]

A veteran like DD always knows how to come back to the ball in times where Rodgers is either holding onto the ball too long or scrambling due to shaky protection (both happen too often). And as Croak said above he could offer some more reliable shorter passes like drags across the middle to let Aaron find his rhythm for the game. We definitely need to get him into the game more, he has too strong of a veteran presence to leave him on the pine.

 

[TJV]

No offense intended but what surprises me is Packer fanatics (why else would you post on this forum often?) don't even watch the game closely enough to know if Driver played or not. And they don't even check the stats before wondering if he played. Driver did indeed play: He dropped another pass early (he also dropped a TD pass against the Seahawks in case you missed it) and badly missed a block. Then he sat on the bench until the end of the game and caught a 14-yard pass. Cobb is so much better than DD - it's not close at all. And I don't care what the poster who doesn't care what anyone else thinks, thinks. DD is not the answer to what is troubling the Packers' passing attack.

Jones and Cobb have been the most consistent and although he's not having a good season, certainly Nelson should get snaps ahead of Driver. To those advocating someone else should have been kept ahead of DD (whose contribution to the Packers over his career I greatly admire) I - and others - agreed long before the season started.

 

[Croak]

No offense intended but what surprises me is Packer fanatics (why else would you post on this forum often?) don't even watch the game closely enough to know if Driver played or not. And they don't even check the stats before wondering if he played. Driver did indeed play: He dropped another pass early (he also dropped a TD pass against the Seahawks in case you missed it) and badly missed a block. Then he sat on the bench until the end of the game and caught a 14-yard pass. Cobb is so much better than DD - it's not close at all. And I don't care what the poster who doesn't care what anyone else thinks, thinks. DD is not the answer to what is troubling the Packers' passing attack.

Jones and Cobb have been the most consistent and although he's not having a good season, certainly Nelson should get snaps ahead of Driver. To those advocating someone else should have been kept ahead of DD (whose contribution to the Packers over his career I greatly admire) I - and others - agreed long before the season started.

Much of what you wrote has merit. However, out of the guys listed, Cobb, Nelson, and Jones are all more sprinters and not so hot at the slants where you are bound to get clobbered. They have used Jones in that role and he also typically drops the ball in those situations. Sometimes he snags one, but usually, it seems to me he hears footsteps in the middle. This is where Driver's veteran presence and experience play a part. He can go into the middle and take some awful big hits while still keeping his head and the ball. True he drops some, they all do. True he isn't a sprinter. But he is the most reliable slant receiver the Packers have right now unless Williams and Crabtree start showing some promise in that area. Don't even THINK of suggesting stone hands Finley is a slant threat.

 

[TJV]

... Cobb, Nelson, and Jones are all more sprinters and not so hot at the slants where you are bound to get clobbered.

No, Cobb is a slot receiver ala Driver, only much better at this point in DD's career. Cobb excels at slants and is quick enough not to get clobbered as much as DD. And Cobb's catch to target percentage is very good.

BTW, I'm surprised you are posting - you didn't watch the game did you? Doesn't matter to me of course but it seems odd that someone prefers posting about something they're no longer interested in watching.

 

[Croak]

No, Cobb is a slot receiver ala Driver, only much better at this point in DD's career. Cobb excels at slants and is quick enough not to get clobbered as much as DD. And Cobb's catch to target percentage is very good.

BTW, I'm surprised you are posting - you didn't watch the game did you? Doesn't matter to me of course but it seems odd that someone prefers posting about something they're no longer interested in watching.

I haven't watched any NFL games since the end of the replacement refs. (Have watched college and a lot of soccer.) But I read sports news like any other news. I also already mentioned I donated money to help support this site, so I have a vested interest in keeping in touch with the board and I like reading the comments of a lot of the posters on here. (You can make a donation too if you wish. Help these guys out.) I'm a paid subscriber to the Packer report and I didn't tell them to stop sending me the report just because I'm not sinking my money into the NFL right now. Haven't really decided yet whether I'm going to bail on the NFL like I did baseball or not.

I did watch almost every game last year and the pre-season games plus all the three games through the Seasqwauks fiasco. But I haven't seen this slanting threat in Cobb. Maybe it's there but they're not using him that way.

 

[13 Times Champs]

He's always dropped passes but it was sad watching him Sunday with a drop and a second that took a fortunate bouce for him. I noticed Boytkin was in after that. I think he should have hung up the cleats in the off season. Great guy but I think his time has passed.

 

[VolvoD]

He is not done, he is there for depth in case either Jones of Cobb doesnt play well or either gets hurt. Driver will sneak up on you and make a big play soon.

you mean ,like this? (still my favorite play of the 2010 regualr season...)

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

He's always dropped passes but it was sad watching him Sunday with a drop and a second that took a fortunate bouce for him. I noticed Boytkin was in after that. I think he should have hung up the cleats in the off season. Great guy but I think his time has passed.

He dropped that one ball.....and then made a good catch that wasn't some lucky bounce, it was very good concentration when some defender was breathing down his neck. How about the good TD catchs that he has has under him limited playing time? The more he sits out, the more rust accumulates. I think for his limited time and snaps, he has done just fine. DD is just fine for this season. This should be his last season, a roster spot for a younger guy for next year is a good idea, but this year with the injury bug we have been infected with, I'm damn glad we have a salty wise veteran in there.

 

[TJV]

Kudos to DD for this:

…And during Green Bay's win over Arizona on Sunday, Driver paid the second-year Cobb the ultimate compliment. Midway through the first quarter, the Packers had a third and goal from Arizona's 13-yard line. The play called for Driver to line up wide right, Cobb to line up in the right slot and for Cobb to block after Driver caught a quick slant. But as the Packers exited the huddle, Driver called an audible. "When we broke the huddle I was getting ready to line up," Cobb said. "He pushed me and said, 'Go ahead and go get it kid.' " Cobb did exactly that after switching spots with Driver.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/deferring-to-the-playmaker-0f7ggg3-177573261.html

Of course Driver blocked well (so did Finley BTW) and Cobb scored on that play.

I argued against re-signing Driver but neither of the UDFA WRs the Packers paid to stay on the PS last season forced their way onto the roster. In fact both were beaten out by another UDFA WR in Boykin so it's not like Driver is taking a spot away from a young WR they coveted. But this should be DD's last season in Green Bay IMO. Even so, good for him "giving it up" for the team.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ Good read, good post.

DD is a class act to do that for the young buck. He is still a value to this team.

 

[13 Times Champs]

He dropped that one ball.....and then made a good catch that wasn't some lucky bounce, it was very good concentration when some defender was breathing down his neck. How about the good TD catchs that he has has under him limited playing time? The more he sits out, the more rust accumulates. I think for his limited time and snaps, he has done just fine. DD is just fine for this season. This should be his last season, a roster spot for a younger guy for next year is a good idea, but this year with the injury bug we have been infected with, I'm damn glad we have a salty wise veteran in there.

Disagree it wasn't lucky. The ball should have been caught initially. Most times a bounce off the receiver goes incomplete.

Bet you wouldn't say the same about Fin.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

^ but he still caught it right? Isnt that what matters? A bobble that gets caught, is still a catch.....and that did take good concentration to recover that pass when he was about to get mauled.

 

[13 Times Champs]

^ but he still caught it right? Isnt that what matters? A bobble that gets caught, is still a catch.....and that did take good concentration to recover that pass when he was about to get mauled.

Yes he caught it but to me it showed that his skills are most likely diminishing. I think he has had three drops in very limited action this year and I don't think it is rust.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

But he has also had a couple tough TD catches.......I was thinking it was 2 drops this season, but what does it matter?.....he made up for them......but I know one TE that plays a lot and drops a lot, what excuse is there for that? DD is rusty, if you don't use it, you lose it.....timing routes are the worst for guys coming in off the bench. Watch, I bet Jennings will be out of sync for a while when he comes back.

Fact is: DD caught it, has been there for TD's and has given up a sure TD and let the young guy get the score and did a hell of a good job blocking for him. The guy is still a threat and a class act.

Like I said, I'm glad we have him for depth with the injury bug flying all over us, doubt anyone else would be a better replacement over DD right now.

 

[longtimefan]

Are we really complaining about balls almost dropped but caught?

 

[13 Times Champs]

Are we really complaining about balls almost dropped but caught?

Well if it was Finley we sure would be.

 

[longtimefan]

Well if it was Finley we sure would be.

If a ball is CAUGHT why would any one complain?