| Mike Sherman certainly is putting his stamp on
the Packers. In perhaps the franchise’s most aggressive offseason, Sherman, the
club’s head coach and general manager, pursued some of the top free agents in the
league. Grady Jackson, Jeremiah Trotter and Joe Johnson, among others, were pursued, with
Johnson inking a lucrative, multiyear deal.
Even on Draft Day, Sherman was aggressive, trading a second-round pick to move up in
Round One and select WR Javon Walker. And before all of this, Sherman acquired
much-maligned WR Terry Glenn from the Patriots in the hope of turning his career around.
All this for a team that finished 12-4 last season and advanced to the divisional round
of the NFC playoffs.
But there’s no standing pat in his day and age of the salary cap, and Sherman
seems quite comfortable with that. At first glance, though, Sherman’s moves seem
awfully risky. Gone are the Packers’ top three wideouts from a season ago. Bill
Schroeder and Corey Bradford left in free agency, and Antonio Freeman won’t be
allowed back unless he accepts a sizable pay cut, an unlikely resolution.
They have been replaced by, in no particular order, Walker, Glenn and Robert Ferguson,
the second-year pro who might as well be considered a first-year player because of his
limited duty as a rookie. Strangely, Ferguson is ahead of Walker and Glenn for the simple
reason he was with the Packers last season.
Say this for the trio: It certainly is a talented one. Walker, a product of Florida
State, has excellent size, deceptive speed and big-play ability. In the Gator Bowl vs.
Virginia Tech last season, Walker caught four passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
Glenn has All-Pro tools, and even during his tumultuous times in New England, defenses
maintained they had to account for him whenever he was on the field. Ferguson hasn’t
caught on to the cerebral side of the game yet, but he’s still a great talent. Even
All-Everything QB Brett Favre is impressed with the group.
"I like the talent more so now than I did then," said Favre, referring to the
Packers’ Super Bowl seasons of 1996 and ‘97. "What I shouldn’t say
scares me now, but what probably worries me is the experience. When Keith Jackson came in
here, we all knew what he could do, and sure enough he did it.
"We all know what ‘Chewy’ (Mark Chmura) could do and what he brings to
the table. And Robert Brooks, and so on. Some of these guys are unproven, but they have
tremendous talent. So I’m probably more pleased with the talent now than I was then.
But talent alone doesn’t win championships and doesn’t get you into the
endzone."
No, but you do, Brett. What has to be taken into account when examining the prospects
of these new receivers is the quarterback. Favre makes everyone around him better, and for
that Schroeder owes him dearly. Many believe Schroeder, and Freeman for that matter, will
not be the same players elsewhere as they were in Green Bay. Favre often was able to buy
time for the two to get open, and then he’d rifle one of his bullet passes that have
to be caught in self-defense for a big play.
Favre will make Walker, Glenn and Ferguson better. Glenn, in particular, has been
looking forward to catching passes from Favre. Such a positive outlook could not be found
in Glenn in New England, where everything from the head coach to the mess hall became a
bad fit. And the way Favre tells it, Ferguson is turning into a veteran based on his
performance at the team’s post-draft minicamp.
Walker has a ways to go to learn the ropes in the NFL, and wideouts usually don’t
make dramatic impacts as rookies. But having Favre around expedites Walker’s learning
curve, as does RB Ahman Green, a versatile ground weapon who gives the offense great
balance.
Sherman’s fingerprints are all over this offense, for it was his aggressiveness
that brought it together. Though it will be years until we realize the true value of his
work, this much is certain: He’s doing it his way. |
