photo from bleacherreport.com

This time of year for football is the most exciting part for me outside of the actual season with everything from free agency and the use of the  franchise tag, and I love the anticipation that comes with it. (Free agency is set to start Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m. eastern time…yes I am counting down the minutes!)

Last week, the Packers opted out of using the franchise tag on WR Greg Jennings. As much as I love Greg, it really does make perfect sense to me. First of all he isn’t getting any younger, but more importantly, Aaron Rodgers has a lot to work with that doesn’t include Jennings. With WR’s Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and James Jones, in addition to TE Jermichael Finley, there are still a great amount players to work with on offense.

And when it comes to free agents, RB Steven Jackson from the St. Louis Rams is a name that we keep hearing in association with the Packers. Although nothing has been said by Jackson or the Rams on if he is staying, going, or what his situation is, he is continually being linked to either the Atlanta Falcons or Green Bay Packers.

photo from helmet2helmet.com

With the release of Michael Turner from the Falcons, that would leave room for Jackson, but Green Bay could use the extra help at RB . If Green Bay were to take that route, they would have to pay Jackson the $7 million he is set to make in the last year of his contract. Coming from someone who has lived their entire life in St.Louis and lived through the Steven Jackson era, he is most definitely a player that any team would be happy to have on their roster. In addition to having 8 consecutive seasons of over 1,000 rushing yards, his work ethic, drive, and ambition is through the roof. He is a truly talented player and works so hard to achieve greatness. He has said he wants to play for a winning team and get a ring, and Green Bay just may be a place to get that done!

photo from packers.com

Congratulations to Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, LB Clay Matthews, and C Jeff Saturday for all being named to the Pro Bowl this year, Rodgers being named as a starter! Nothing quite says thank you for an awesome season and being amazing players than sending them on a Hawaiian getaway along with being able to represent the NFC in a game with all of the NFL greats of the season! This will be Rodgers’ third Pro Bowl, Matthews’ fourth, and Saturday’s sixth.

photo from Packers.com

Couldn’t be happier for you boys. In addition, Randall Cobb and Josh Sitton are first alternates, along with John Kuhn, B.J. Raji, Tramon Williams, and Charles Woodson as other alternates.

photo from Packers.com

The Pro Bowl will be played in Honolulu on Sunday, January 27th, at Aloha Stadium.

Think the Green Bay Packers are anxious to get the playoffs started? With a game like today’s, they are nothing less than ready to play, and win. Beating the Tennessee Titans 55-7 is quite a way to show they aren’t messing around and are here to win it all after clinching the NFC North title last week with a win against the Chicago Bears.

Lambeau Leap! *photo from Packers.com*

Although they had already secured themselves a spot in the playoffs, the Packers didn’t let that stop them from bringing it all out onto the field today. Scoring 55 points is a season high for the Packers offense, but the defense held the opposing team to only 7 points, scored late in the game. A.J Hawk had his first 2-sack game in four seasons and the defense as a whole were able to hold Titans RB Chris Johnson to only 28 yards.

The offense had just as good of a game as well. With TD’s scored by James Jones, Randall Cobb, Greg Jennings, DuJuan Harris, Ryan Grant, and Aaron Rodgers, the Pack were once again unstoppable. And just to brag about WR James Jones for a minute, he leads the league in TD receptions with 13 after today’s game. You go James!

Head Coach Mike McCarthy on the game and heading into the playoffs,

“Everything happens for a reason.  We’re going to play to win next week. At the end of the day, you want to play your best football, and we have to do that next week in Minnesota. I’d rather have the No. 2 seed with a win in Minnesota.”

While some would agree with McCarthy and want the No. 2 seed, some would rather the Packers have the No. 3 seed and just play their way through with no break on wild-card weekend as opposed to being No. 2 and resting wild-card weekend. Last year that didn’t work out as planned for Green Bay, but according to how this team played today, I’d say they’re ready for anything.

Once again this week, it wasn’t pretty, but the Pack got it done. They defeated the Lions in a 24-20 victory that keep us watching all game long.

photo from espn.go.com

First of all, I gotta give a HUGE shout out to Matt Stafford for throwing an interception that was returned 72 yards by M.D. Jennings for a TD. Pick 6 baby!!

And of course we can’t forget the touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers to Jermichael Finley in the 1st and Randall Cobb in the 4th. Of the game today Rodgers said,

“When our best was needed, we were able to come through.”

Yes they were, and today makes this the 5th consecutive win for the Packers. Nothing better than coming off a bye week with a win…especially against the Lions!

Next week the Packers will be on their way to MetLife Stadium to play the reigning Super Bowl champion Giants on Sunday Night Football.

The Packers did it again today, and got the win, 31-17 over the Arizona Cardinals.

Injuries are still a concern in Green Bay, but today they were able to overcome it, and win anyway.

Jordy Nelson did play in the game today, but left early due to an ankle injury that left him limping off the field. Bryan Bulaga also suffered a hip injury.

Speaking of injuries, Greg Jennings had his surgery earlier in the week and seems to be doing great. He even left us with this pic via Twitter, post surgery.

He tweeted that all went well, and from the looks of things, I would say Greg is going to be just fine.

But even with Greg and a number or other Packers receivers out today, the offense was on fire! Rodgers threw for 4 TD’s, 2 to Randall Cobb, 1 to James Jones, and 1 to Tom Crabtree, who celebrated his birthday today. Happy Birthday Tom!

Next week, Green Bay will have a bye  and then will be on their way to Detroit to face the Lions, in a divisional match up.

The Packers beat the Jaguars 24-15 today at Lambeau Field sending them to 5-3 on the season, but the win didn’t come as easily as we might have expected.

photo from espnmilwaukee.com

We have the offense, defense, and special teams to thank for the win today.

The first Green Bay TD was on a 5-yard pass from Rodgers to Randall Cobb in the 1st quarter, but it wasn’t until the 2nd quarter that the fun started.

In the 2nd, CB Davon House was left open and then able to block the punt from Bryan Anger. As a result, LB Dezman Moses recovers the ball in the end zone for a Green Bay Touchdown. Gotta credit the special teams on that one, it was an awesome play, and the Packers up 14-3.

To finish off the game in the 4th quarter, Rodgers finds James Jones for a 31-yard completion putting the ball on Jacksonville’s 4-yard line and then hits Donald Driver in the end zone for another TD. Later in the quarter Mason Crosby gets the field goal sealing the deal.

The Pack found a way to get it done today without WR’s Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson. DE Jerel Worthy and DE Mike Neal both left the game today due to injury, but the defense didn’t let up. Blaine Gabbert came out of nowhere and threw for 303-yards in today’s game, which came as a shock to me.

In the second half the defense was able to hold the Jaguars to just 5 first downs and three straight three-and-outs in the 3rd quarter.

Next Sunday the Packers are up against the 4-3 Arizona Cardinals who will play in the MNF game tomorrow with the San Francisco 49ers.

Today the Green Bay Packers traveled to St. Louis to take on the Rams, and let me tell you, they brought their entire fan base with them.

photo from packers.com

Living in St. Louis, I go to more Rams games than anything, but today at the Edward Jones Dome, you would have thought you were at Lambeau Field. It was a sea of blue, green, and gold. And more than a couple of times throughout the game, you could here chants throughout the dome of “Go Pack Go”.

Never have I been to a game where the opposing team made so much noise. There was a ton of energy throughout the game though, making it a great atmosphere for fans, including some great friendly rivalry from the stands.

Once again, Jordy Nelson stepped up as Aaron Rodgers go to man. With 8 receptions and 1 touchdown, Jordy had another great game. Randall Cobb came away with 2 touchdowns as well. Another notable play was the Casey Hayward interception off Sam Bradford in the 3rd quarter. And of course, Clay Matthews another sack this game.

So the Packers come away from the game today with a 4-3 record. They will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lambeau next week.

First off, I’ll say this. It’s one loss, just gotta brush it off. On to the next one.

photo from Packers.com

The next thing I would like to mention is that we need the refs back! No, I cannot blame the loss today completely on the refs, but let’s be real. They were definitely in favor of the niners…especially in the first half.

The Packers were just not able to hold up against the 49′ers defense. I know, you can’t compare this years team to last, but I must say that this is not the 15-1 Packers that we saw last year…and not even close to the same offense.

While I’m still ranting about things that I didn’t like about this game, what’s up with Perrish Cox flipping Jermichael Finley and then stomping on him? Not cool. But then, Jermichael came back and scored a touchdown, and as it was stated on the Aerys NFL Twitter feed, Finley gets a TD, a Lambeau Leap, and the last laugh. The first Lambeau leap of the season too. Couldn’t have said it better myself!

But back to the recap of the game, it wasn’t pretty. The first quarter consisted of a David Akers field goal to put the niners up by 3.  Things got a little more interesting in the second quarter.  In the 49ers first of the second, Alex Smith hits Randy Moss for a TD, and Green Bay responds on the next drive with the Finley TD.

In the third quarter Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis for a TD, and the fourth quarter was by far the best.

With 11:35 left in the fourth, Randall Cobb runs for a 75 yard TD on the punt return, followed by a successful 2-point conversion attempt.  On their next drive, Rodgers passes to Jones for a 10-yd TD, making the score 30-22 San Fran.

This is the time where we were all hoping for the rally of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but in the end they just couldn’t get it done.

That’s why I say there is always next week….just have to keep workin.

The Packers will meet the Chicago Bears this Thursday for an NFC North showdown. With wins from the Lions, Vikings, and Bears today, Green Bay has a lot to make up for in the division. GO PACK GO!

Associated Press NFL MVP? Why yes, it is our very own QB AARON RODGERS!!

No one from Green Bay has been named the NFL MVP since Brett Favre in 1997!

He could not be more deserving. Of 50 votes, 48 of them were for Aaron. Amazing!

With a completion percent of 68.3 and an overall rating of 122.5, the 2011 regular season was quite a good one for Aaron.

Another notable mention is Randall Cobb and his 108-yard kickoff return for a TD against the New Orleans Saints in Green Bay’s opener. It was named as the NFL play of the year.

Congratulations to both men on their honors named tonight. So proud!