Donald Driver, who will formally announce his retirement next week after 14 years in a Green Bay Packers uniform, breaks a tackle after one of his patented catch and runs.

From his humbled beginnings living in a U-Haul trailer, his adolescent dalliance with drug dealing, and the transformation which turned him into the Green Bay Packers all-time leading receiver, Donald Driver’s life story has been well chronicled. His incredible tale has been woven into the fabric of Packers’ history. Even the most casual fans know Driver’s narrative much as they do the pledge of allegiance. Yet somehow the full account of Driver’s rise to prominence manages to be even more remarkable still.

In commemoration of Donald Driver’s illustrious career, let us return to 2002; the year a legend was born.

The 2002 offseason began with a mandate: revamp the receiving corps. The previous year had ended with the debacle in St. Louis, a game which saw Brett Favre throw 6 interceptions while regular season leading receiver Bill Schroeder managed only 2 catches and 39 yards. Mike Sherman, in his first year as general manager, let Schroeder leave along with longtime Packer and fan favorite Antonio Freeman. Sherman also left Corey Bradford unprotected in the Houston Texans expansion draft, and he was promptly scooped up. With running back Ahman Green’s 594 yards the highest remaining receiving total, the Packers’ offense was set to feature a very different look in 2002.

Sherman’s first move was the high profile acquisition of disgruntled wide receiver Terry Glenn. Glenn brought with him the pedigree of a decorated collegiate career, rookie of the year honors, and an All-Pro season just a few years prior. Sherman felt Glenn provided the vertical threat that the Packers lacked. To further bolster the group, Sherman used a first round draft pick on receiver Javon Walker.

Everyone expected that these two moves, coupled with anticipated development from second year wide-out Robert Ferguson and red zone specialist Bubba Franks, would return the Packers’ offense to its mid-90s dominance.

In his Chicago Sun-Times feature “Helping Hands for Favre,” reporter Dan Pompei chronicled how strongly the Packers coaching staff felt about the new look receiving corps. Photos of Glenn were prominently displayed, as well as quotes and scouting reports for Franks, Ferguson, and the new additions. Not until the very last paragraph did Pompei include a word about fourth year receiver Donald Driver.

And why should he have? Driver had only 13 receptions the previous year and just 37 in his three years in the league and appeared mostly on special teams. The coaches viewed Driver as a backup kick returner who might, if  they were lucky, develop into a fourth or fifth receiver. With Glenn, Walker, Ferguson and Franks ahead of him, no one expected that by the end of the season Driver would become the Packers number one target.

Driver spent training camp and the preseason outworking and outsmarting the inexperienced Walker and Ferguson. Driver, now famous for his offseason workout regimen, had put on 10 pounds of muscle. His newfound strength along with having the most exposure to Sherman’s offense gave Driver a head start over the other wideouts.

While he remained below the others on the depth chart, the coaches took notice. By the start of the regular season, Driver had gone from a possible roster cutdown casualty to being guaranteed some snaps in games. Now all Driver needed was an opportunity in the regular season.

As fate would have it, that opportunity came right away. Ferguson was hurt before the season opener. With the rookie Walker still learning the playbook, Driver was thrust into the starter’s role. He responded, leading all receivers that day with 7 catches for 78 yards.

Driver scored his first touchdown of the season the next week while catching 4 passes for 51 yards. The now healthy Ferguson had officially been displaced on the depth chart. While most observers were impressed with Driver’s early season production, he was still thought of as merely an overachieving role player. That perception changed over the next three weeks.

In a must-have game in Detroit, Driver wasted little time in demonstrating his abilities. His first quarter consisted of receptions of 25, 8, 19, and 21 yards, the last of which was for a touchdown. He would have another 21-yard catch later on, establishing himself as the missing vertical threat in the Packers’ offense.

The following week brought Driver’s first multi-touchdown performance, along with the first Lambeau Field chant of “Double-D.” Finally, as if to leave no doubt that he had arrived, Driver produced one of the all-time great performances in the Packers-Bears rivalry. In the much chronicled Monday Night Football matchup, Driver burned the Chicago secondary for the now infamous 85-yard touchdown. Driver’s score gave the Packers a lead they would never relinquish. From that point on, no one questioned if the Packers’ offense could stretch the field. Neither did anyone question who their go-to receiver was.

By the end of the year, Donald Driver had accumulated 70 receptions for 1,064 yards and 9 touchdowns, all team bests. The tumultuous offseason which led to the much-ballyhooed additions of Terry Glenn and Javon Walker had culminated in the first of Driver’s many Pro-Bowl selections. The vertical element missing from the Packers’ passing game had been there all along, waiting for his opportunity.

In a mere season, Driver had straddled both ends of the roster. He had gone from the outhouse to the penthouse. Through his hard work and persistence, Driver had made himself into a team leader and star performer. Most importantly, he had set himself on the path to becoming one of the all-time greats in Green Bay Packers’ history.

Jason Hirschhorn covers the Green Bay Packers for Lombardiave.com. He has previously written for Hail to the Orange, College Hoops Net, Mocking the Draft, LiveBall Sports, and the List Universe. He is currently a senior writer for Beats Per Minute, an indie-music webzine. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JBHirschhorn.

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Aug 9, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver (80) catches balls on the sideline during the third quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Aaron Rodgers whipped back his arm and with pinpoint accuracy fired a pass to his far left. Standing in wait was an uncovered Donald Driver, the Packers’ all-time leader in receiving yards. Driver’s feet were nearly a yard beyond the first down marker. It was a near certainty that the chains were about to move.

An anxious moment later, the football slithered through the receiver’s grasp. A visibly upset Driver paused for reflection and then trotted back to the huddle to prepare for third and ten.

When his receivers make mistakes, Rodgers has historically tried to go back to them quickly to restore their confidence. Third and ten would be no different. Rodgers tossed another beauty towards Driver who again was open right around the first down. The pass made contact with Driver’s chest before bouncing straight into the air, dangling there for seemingly an eternity.

Sep 9, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver (80) during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field. The 49ers defeated the Packers 30-22. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Driver managed to recover the live ball, but was tackled just short of the necessary 10 yards. The nearest referee, however, marked Driver’s progress as a first down. Wisely, Rodgers gathered the offense and quickly ran a play before a challenge flag could be thrown.

The result of that play was a 21-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb. Yet, the most significant part of the drive remains the two consecutive plays to Driver.

Outside of Rodgers, Driver is the most popular player on the team. Packers fans give more rope to Driver than any other receiver, refusing to boo any drop or mistake he makes. But there’s been many mistakes by Driver since the beginning of 2011, and the receiver has flashed his former brilliance little if at all this season.

Following Driver’s drop and near second drop, head coach Mike McCarthy removed Driver and played undrafted rookie Jarrett Boykin in his stead. Should this move prove more than just an in-game adjustment, Driver will have descended from starter to sixth string in a matter of a year and a half. His declining abilities, as unfortunate as it may be to acknowledge, are blatantly obvious. That is, perhaps, obvious to almost everyone except the Packers faithful.

In a few weeks the Packers will regain the services of Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson. With their top two pass catchers back in the lineup, there will be no need for the Packers to play six receivers each week. When that time comes, the Packers should take the unprecedented step of deactivating Donald Driver.

Oct 21, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb (18) is celebrated in the end zone with wide receiver Donald Driver (80) after scoring a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the fourth quarter at Edward Jones Dome. The Packers defeated the Rams 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-US PRESSWIRE

This will be hard for all of us as Driver is a part of so many memories from the past decade. Even today, he remains a positive presence on the team. The play that resulted in Randall Cobb’s first touchdown this past week against the Cardinals was actually supposed to go to Driver. Before the play, Driver gestured for Cobb to take his spot as the outside receiver and told him, “Go get it kid.” Driver traded personal glory for the dirty work of landing a block, allowed the younger and spryer Cobb to dash into the end zone. It was a classy move by a classy player.

But the NFL is a bottom line business, and Driver is hurting his team. At 27.3 percent, he has the highest dropped pass rate of any Packers receiver, and his ability to create yards after the catch has evaporated. The Driver we’re observing today is not the player that went over the 1,000-yard mark seven times in eight years. He’s not even the player we saw last year. Rather, the sad truth is Donald Driver is not a player deserving of activation on game days.

It may be a difficult reality to accept, but it is reality nonetheless.

2011 was probably the final year for Chad Clifton with the Packers. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Adam Czech of AllGreenBayPackers.com is citing a source who told Yahoo.com’s Jason Cole (how’s that for hearsay?) that the Green Bay Packers will cut left tackle Chad Clifton, but will work with longtime and popular wide receiver Donald Driver to bring him back with a restructured contract.

Cole is the only one reporting this, according to Czech, and Ted Thompson admitted yesterday at the Scouting Combine that he always has and will continue to keep personnel decisions and future plans close to the vest.

However, this rumor is probably pretty close to reality and it doesn’t surprise us because it’s long been said that Clifton has played his last game with the Packers. However, the popular sages have said that Driver’s willingness to rewrite his contract and to come back and compete for a spot on the team sits well with the Packers brass.

Driver, who is is the all-time leading receiver with the Packers is scheduled to make $5 million in 2012, but he came out a couple of weeks ago saying he still wants to be a part of the team and would come back for fewer dollars. In his statement, he said at this point in his career it’s not about the money.

Though Driver has said he wants to play until he’s 4o, it’s highly unlikely he would make it onto the Packers roster for tore than another year. That’s a distinct possibility but probably the limit. There is simply too much talent on the team at the wide receiver position to continue to pay a near-40-year-old millions … no matter how popular that player is.

Should the Packers win another championship next season and Driver is still on the squad, no doubt he  would see the handwriting on the wall and would call it quits. But who knows with Driver? We all know about his competitive drive … when he quits will certainly be up to him.

Clifton, the aging left tackle who has had a hall of fame-type career with the Packers, is due $5.25 million next year … an amount the Packers clearly won’t be willing to pay, especially in light of Clifton’s injury history. He missed more than half the season last year with a torn hamstring and back problems.

So, depending on various factors, including the draft in April, the Packers more than likely will make some changes that will involve these two longtime and popular players.

We await Ted Thompson’s closely held secrets to play out.

Can we finally put to an end the talk of Brett Favre playing again in the NFL? Raymond T. Rivard photograph

The announcement appropriately comes during Bears Week …

The notorious “Bears Killer,” Brett Favre, will no longer be tossing footballs around NFL stadiums – at least not this weekend – probably pleasing Bears, Vikings and Lions fans immensely.

The announcement that Favre’s alma mater, Southern Mississippi, has called and given him the opportunity to do something with his weekends is welcomed by all NFL fans. He will be the color commentator for the CSS broadcast of the school’s Oct. 1 game against Rice.

That means that there will be at least one weekend when his name won’t be floated as a fill-in quarterback on some NFL team in need of a signal-caller. The most recent floating of his name came last week when a Colts’ columnist wrote that Favre would be a good person to call to fill that team’s QB position.

The real question is this: Will he be offered a full-time job as a broadcaster, thus putting to an end once and for all any talk of the ancient one making another comeback out of NFL retirement?

We hope so.

The celebration of Ahman Green's career as a Green Bay Packer will occur tonight when he officially announces his retirement as a Packer. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Green Bay Packers franchise all-time leading rusher Ahman Green will officially announce his retirement as a Packer in the media auditorium at Lambeau Field tonight, Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6:30 p.m.

Green announced his retirement last week and was hoping he would be able to sign a one-day contract with the Packers to make it official.

As of a few minutes ago, it became official when the Packers PR department sent out a press release announcing the event.

Former Packers RB Ahman Green, the all-time leading rusher in franchise history, will formally announce his retirement as a Packer in the Media Auditorium at Lambeau Field tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Ahman Green is the Packers all-time leading rusher.

The Green Bay Packers’ all-time leading rusher announced Friday his career was done.

Ahman Green said Friday that after 12 seasons in the league he was hoping to arrange for a ceremonial one day contact with the Packers so he could officially retire as a member of the team.

And rightly so.

Though Green left the Packers in 2006 in free agency, he gave the team several years of production and left just 47 yards shy of Jim Taylor’s team rushing record. After leaving the Packers, Green’s career was never the same but he did get the chance in 2009 to return to Green Bay in a back-up role and capture the rushing record.

In 2009 as a backup for the Packers, Green carried the ball 41 times for 160 yards – good enough to break Hall of Famer Jim Taylor’s team mark. (more…)

Goodbye, Randy. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

When I heard today that Randy Moss had decided to retire, a certain melancholy fell over me.

Don’t get me wrong, he was the one, that for so many years, was the guy Packers fans loved to hate. Who can possibly forget the spanking he put on the Packers defensive backfield on that rainy night in Green Bay back in 1998. Everything that was thrown to him during that coming out party went for huge yardage. He was a man among boys and continued that type of play game after game and year after year in Minnesota and later in New England.

He was also the guy who did the faux moon to the fans in that playoff game at Lambeau a few years back when the Vikes dismantled the favored, but overrated Packers.

God that pissed off Joe Buck and Packers fans to no end … myself included. (more…)