The dust has settled...let's take a look

Teddy's a little frazzled after his busy weekend.

Following the madness associated with Cutdown Weekend, the Packers 2011 roster appears to be solidified- at least for the time being. No doubt it will change as we progress through the season, with the inevitability of injuries and other areas of weakness that may need to be addressed.

What follows is my rather random assessment of how things went down this past Saturday and Sunday-- and how the Packers are situated on the cusp of the 2011 season.

Bob's Final 53 and Thoughts on Jarrett Bush, Super Bowl Hero

It's that time of year again. Teams are breaking camp, roster "bubble" players are looking forward to showing their stuff in the final game of the preseason, and the kickoff to the regular season is just around the corner. So are teams' final roster cuts, which will reduce the total NFL labor force by almost 35% (anyone else see the irony of this happening over Labor Day Weekend?).

Naturally, you're wondering which players are good enough to crack our beloved World Champion Packers' 53 man roster. The following is my best guess as to who Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy are ready to roll with in 2011 on the way to Green Bay's second straight Super Bowl victory.

(Note: A * next to a player's name indicates that he is an absolute, stone-cold lock for the roster in my eyes. If one of these players are cut, I would be shocked.)

QBs (3)
Aaron Rodgers*
Matt Flynn*
Graham Harrell*

This was the easy part. Flynn is a top backup QB entering the final year of his rookie contract and his clipboard-holding days are numbered. Harrell has made leaps and bounds from his first year on the practice squad to now. Green Bay can't leave him there this season and risk losing him too. And yeah. It's safe to say the reigning Super Bowl MVP's roster spot is safe.

Packers Court: Andrew Quarless

It's Packers Court! The JonBob's feature where a Packers player comes before the honorable Ted Thompson and pleads his case for more playing time, a fatter contract, or even a roster spot! In today's installment, second year tight end Andrew Quarless appears in Judge Ted's court against charges that he's a bust and doesn't deserve a second season in Green Bay.

All rise for the honorable Ted Thompson!

Ted Thompson: Good afternoon folks. I've got an exciting week of fun cuts to make, so let's get down to brass tacks! Will the accused please present his case?

Andrew Quarless: Well, your honor, I feel like I've been getting a bad rap. I'm only just starting my second season, and already people are calling me a bust and saying I should be cut. I'm sorry I didn't put up huge numbers my rookie season and I'm sorry I botched that trick play. Oh yah, and the lone touchdown I had probably shouldn't have counted. But seriously, I was only a rookie. What were ya'll expecting?

TT: Hmm. Enough about the past. What have you done for me lately?

AQ: Well I showed up to camp and couldn't pass my physical 'cause of some problem with my hip, so I missed some practices...

TT: Remind me why I drafted you again?

Grant usurped by Nance? Not even a chance

I'm not going to lie. Tom Silverstein's article asserting that Ryan Grant could be cut in favor of Dimitri Nance makes no sense whatsoever. It seems like a reach of epic proportions, something that he just fabricated out of nowhere on a slow news day. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writer goes to great lengths to make it seem like Grant's status is tenuous, and likewise blows Nance's preseason accomplishments way out of proportion. He creates a competition where one does not exist. Not very good journalism in my opinion.

These are the facts. Grant is the teams' only proven rusher capable of lasting a full 16 games. Aside from his last season, which was lost due to an ankle injury, he has been a steady and dependable presence in the backfield. He's not exceedingly flashy, but he wears down a defense and he hangs on to the ball, too. He has proven production, with 1,200-plus yards in both of the seasons he's played as the team's starter. Furthermore, though 28, he's really only had two and half seasons as a featured ball-carrier, and shows no signs of breaking down just yet. All reports from camp indicate that he is running strong, and that there are no lingering effects from last year's injury.

James Starks is exciting, yes, but let's not forget that he had injury concerns throughout his collegiate career at Buffalo and even into the first half of his rookie year in Green Bay. Alex Green also has potential, but is still very raw. And Nance-- well he already had a chance to show what he could do last year and didn't show much.

The only way Grant isn't on the roster come opening day is if the team decides James Starks is so good and reliable that Grant becomes expendable. And we've seen nothing to indicate that so far, as Grant has gotten the bulk of carries with the first unit. There really is no sort of "battle for the last spot" between Grant and Nance, and to suggest so is ignorance at best and sensationalism at worst.


With so many more interesting and plausible things to speculate on, this article is simply a waste of webpages.

The Zombo Aftermath

AHHH! Get your mitt off my broken scapula, coach!

I don't have all the information yet, but it's a safe to say to say that second-year OLB Frank Zombo will be out for some time. Zombo broke his scapula (shoulder blade to us less medically inclined folks) when he collided with FB John Kuhn in warm-ups before the Arizona preseason game. And he played with it. If he was trying to prove his toughness and grit, he's convinced us. But if he's trying to be the Packers opening day starter opposite Clay Matthews, he's now out of contention.

McCarthy has indicated that he believes Zombo will return "sooner rather than later," but word is that this type of injury takes about six weeks to heal. That timetable for recovery would put us well into the regular season, so it's all but a given that Erik Walden will be the starter at OLB. Additionally, Brad Jones, who I think was previously a candidate for the cutting block, can now feel a little safer about his roster spot.

While this much may be true, there's a lot of uncertainty involving depth at OLB, as well as Zombo's own roster status. Because he's not eligible to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, the Packers really only have three options.

Graham Harrell is an absolute, surefire, 100% guarantee to make the roster

At the start of the 2010 regular season, the Packers elected to carry only two quarterbacks, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Flynn, on their 53 man roster. Graham Harrell, a former Texas Tech standout who'd had trouble catching on in the NFL, was stashed on the practice squad for most of the season.

As the date for final cuts approaches, there's been some speculation within the Packers community that Ted Thompson and Co. will follow the same approach they took last year, and go into the regular season with only Rodgers and Flynn on the roster, hoping to land Harrell on the practice squad yet again. After all, the reasoning goes, what's changed from last year to the present to warrant keeping 3 QBs on the 53 man roster? If anything, the emergence of Flynn as a dependable, durable backup would give us even more reason to use that extra roster spot at a different position. Harrell can spend another year on the practice squad.

Will there be room for Chastin West?

Chastin West is making things difficult for the Packers.

The second-year pro out of Fresno State has been dominant this preseason. He's been spectacular in practice, has earned high praise from Aaron Rodgers, and just put together an impressive 5 catch, 134 yard performance in last night's game against the Cardinals, which included this 97 yard catch and run to pay dirt.

So what's the problem?

Who makes the cut? Bob's final 53

I realize it's still very early. Training camp just started. But that doesn't mean I can't predict who makes the final cut! Check it out!

QB

Aaron Rodgers
Matt Flynn

RB

Ryan Grant
Brandon Jackson
James Starks
Quinn Porter

FB

John Kuhn
Quinn Johnson

WR

Donald Driver
Greg Jennings
Jordy Nelson
James Jones
Brett Swain

TE

Jermichael Finley
Spencer Havner
Andrew Quarless

OL

Chad Clifton
Daryn Colledge
Scott Wells
Josh Sitton
Mark Tauscher
Bryan Bulaga
T.J. Lang
Jason Spitz
Breno Giacomini
Evan Dietrich-Smith

DL

B.J. Raji
Cullen Jenkins
Ryan Pickett
Mike Neal
Jarius Wynn
C.J. Wilson
Anthony Toribio

LB

Clay Matthews
Nick Barnett
A.J. Hawk
Brad Jones
Desmond Bishop
Brandon Chillar
Frank Zombo

CB

Charles Woodson
Al Harris
Tramon Williams
Pat Lee
Sam Shields
Brandon Underwood

S

Nick Collins
Atari Bigby
Morgan Burnett
Will Blackmon

K

Mason Crosby

P

Chris Bryan

LS

Brett Goode