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News & notes: McCarthy takes exception to Manning penalty

Posted by Mike Spofford on August 26, 2013 – 5:40 pm

On Monday, Head Coach Mike McCarthy talked about the decision to release K Giorgio Tavecchio and what that might mean going forward, while QB Aaron Rodgers recapped the Packers’ preseason thus far.

Other news & notes …

–Highly questionable call: McCarthy isn’t going to tell LB Terrell Manning to do anything different next time.

LB Terrell Manning

LB Terrell Manning

In the fourth quarter of last Friday’s preseason game vs. Seattle, Manning blitzed Seahawks QB Brady Quinn and drilled him, shoulder to chest, as he released the pass and the two crashed to the turf. Manning was then flagged for roughing the passer, with the official explaining that Manning brought his weight down on Quinn at the completion of the play.

McCarthy doesn’t agree, at all.

“I thought Manning’s hit on the quarterback was textbook,” McCarthy said on Monday. “Frankly, when the quarterback jumps in the air and the linebacker is blitzing, and he hits him with the shoulder and so forth, I don’t know how you don’t have a weight-bearing issue. I think (the problem is) the way the rule is defined and written as opposed to the intent of it.

“I think there needs to be a second action by the defender in a pinning, weight-bearing mode, and that clearly wasn’t the case with Terrell. He hit Brady Quinn, who was in the air, both his feet were off the ground, and when they did hit the ground, he continued in one fluid motion and rolled off. So I didn’t agree with the call at all.”

Manning was visibly upset with the call at the time, but to his credit, he kept his composure for the most part. The penalty came on third-and-8 and gave Seattle a first down, but three plays later the Seahawks punted anyway.

“At the end of the day, I had to move on quickly because when I’m out there, I’m the signal caller, so I have to get my defense lined up and ready for the next play,” said Manning, who said he hasn’t heard from the league about any possible fine. “Of course I was a little shocked and displeased, but I have to have short-term memory out there to make sure the team is ready to go.

“The coaching staff definitely had my back. They said it was a good, clean hit, keep going. Anytime you have the head coach and everybody else telling you that, you feel pretty confident in what you did.”

McCarthy often has expressed confidence in the league’s efforts toward player safety, but the application in this instance didn’t take all the circumstances into consideration.

“We can’t control the fact the quarterback’s feet are off (the ground),” he said. “In fairness to the referees, those plays happen fast, and I get all that, but I don’t think that’s what we’re looking for.”

–Williams back to work: CB Tramon Williams practiced on Monday for the first time since the first padded practice of camp, which was back on July 28.

CB Tramon Williams

CB Tramon Williams

He’s been nursing a painful bone bruise on his knee since then, but he tested it out in a limited number of snaps in Monday’s no-pads practice, and the early reports were good.

“It felt OK. Coaches limited my reps, obviously, but it felt good for the most part, moving around against different guys,” said Williams, who played some bump-and-run against receivers and didn’t hold back when he was on the field. “I wondered how that would feel, but it held up. It was encouraging.”

Encouraging enough for Williams to feel better about his chances of making it all the way back for the season opener at San Francisco, but as has been his approach, no guarantees.

“I think so,” he said when asked if Week 1 is realistic. “I still don’t want to go out and say that I will be there Week 1, but for me to be out here now, I think it’s definitely a possibility.”

–More on injuries: McCarthy ruled out LB Brad Jones (hamstring) from Thursday’s game in Kansas City, having already done so with S Morgan Burnett and CB Casey Hayward, who also have hamstring injuries.

Rookie WR Kevin Dorsey (toe) and LB Dezman Moses (toe) did not practice on Monday.

RB DuJuan Harris (knee) is getting a second opinion on his injury, so there’s no definitive update on his situation.

–Smooth it out: The backup center position has been a rough spot through much of training camp. Early on, Don Barclay was having QB-C exchange issues before moving back to tackle full time, and lately Greg Van Roten and Patrick Lewis have struggled with some shotgun snaps.

Van Roten is the leader for the backup job but rolled another shotgun snap back to the QB in practice on Monday.

“Greg has been given the majority of (the second-team work),” McCarthy said. “He needs to clean some things up. He had one or two things go on today that he needs to clean up, … and from Seattle.”


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Posted in Packers.com Blog, Training Camp

Kuhn, Matthews, Shields, Manning earn game balls vs. Vikings

Posted by Mike Spofford on January 7, 2013 – 2:19 pm

Vikings game balls

The coaching staff awarded four game balls from the NFC Wild Card playoff victory over the Vikings on Saturday night. They went to FB John Kuhn on offense, LB Clay Matthews and CB Sam Shields on defense, and rookie LB Terrell Manning on special teams.

Kuhn rushed for a 3-yard TD and caught a 9-yard TD pass, giving him both a rushing and receiving TD for the second time in his career in a playoff game, a first in franchise history. He also scored for the fourth consecutive postseason, the only player in the NFL who can make that claim.

Matthews had two sacks, including a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the second one. The two sacks accounted for 18 lost yards as Matthews had the second two-sack playoff game of his career. The only other player in franchise history to accomplish that is Reggie White.

Shields was credited by the press box statisticians with seven tackles, a team high. He also broke up two passes and had an interception, the third of his career in the postseason.

Manning was credited with two coverage tackles, bringing down Minnesota returner Marcus Sherels on both the first kickoff and first punt of the game. Manning also helped to separate Sherels from the ball when he muffed a punt in the fourth quarter.


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Posted in Packers.com Blog

Meet the Packers’ 2012 draft class

Posted by Duke Bobber on April 28, 2012 – 8:31 pm

Nick Perry

#53 NICK PERRY • LINEBACKER • SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Drafted: 1st Round (#28 overall)
Ht: 6-3   Wt: 265

 

#99 JEREL WORTHY • DEFENSIVE END • MICHIGAN STATE
Drafted: 2nd Round (#51 overall)
Ht: 6-2   Wt: 308

 

#29 CASEY HAYWARD • CORNERBACK • VANDERBILT
Drafted: 2nd Round (#62 overall)
Ht: 5-11  Wt: 192

 

#76 MIKE DANIELS • DEFENSIVE TACKLE • IOWA
Drafted: 4th Round (#132 overall)
Ht: 6-0   Wt: 291

 

#22 JERRON McMILLIAN • SAFETY • MAINE
Drafted: 4th Round (#133 overall)
Ht: 5-11   Wt: 203

 

#56 TERRELL MANNING • LINEBACKER • NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Drafted: 5th Round (#163 overall)
Ht: 6-2   Wt: 237

 

#77 ANDREW DATKO • TACKLE • FLORIDA STATE
Drafted: 7th Round (#241 overall)
Ht: 6-6   Wt: 315

 

#9 B.J. COLEMAN • QUARTERBACK • TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA
Drafted: 7th Round (#243 overall)
Ht: 6-3   Wt: 231

 


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Posted in Packers.com Blog

Packers trade up to pick N.C. State linebacker

Posted by Vic Ketchman, packers.com editor on April 28, 2012 – 2:21 pm

North Carolina State linebacker Terrell Manning made it six defensive players in a row and threatened to make this an all-defense draft for the Packers, as the Packers traded a sixth-round pick and two seventh-round picks to the Patriots to move up to pick 163 in the fifth round and select Manning, 6-2, 237.

Manning made 10 sacks in the last two seasons. He’s run in the 4.7’s, but speculation is the Packers view Manning as more of a prospect to play inside linebacker.

Manning recorded 10 sacks and 25 tackles for loss over the last two seasons as a starter. He’s an early entry, having redshirted in 2008 and playing three seasons for the Wolfpack. He posted numbers all over the state sheet, adding eight forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, nine deflected passes and five INTs in his career.

He earned honorable mention All-America honors from the NFL Draft Report and second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition.

After the selection of Manning, the Packers now have just two picks remaining in this draft, both seventh-round compensatory selections, at Nos. 241 and 243 overall. Those picks cannot be traded.


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Posted in Packers.com Blog