After the Packers preseason victory over the Cleveland Browns in which the new defense held the Browns to just 191 total yards, all systems look like a go.  While defensive stalwarts Charles Woodson, Al Harris, and Nick Barnett did not play along with rookies Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji, plus Jeremy Thompson, the defense still looked good, limiting the Browns running game to just 59 yards on the ground.

The Packers offense was also hitting on all cylinders, as the first-team put up 14 points in the first quarter on a 53-yard pass from Aaron Rodgers to Donald Driver on a third down, and a two-yard run by Ryan Grant late in the first quarter.  The running game put up an astounding 230 yards behind a thought to be suspect offensive line.  Rookie running back Tyrell Sutton paced the team with 91 yards on 18 second half rushes.  Kregg Lumpkin, who snuck onto the team in 2008 before suffering a season-ending injury, also have a productive night with 8 rushes for 48 yards.

Granted, this is the preseason, and this is the Cleveland Browns we’re talking about, but last night was a success.  The players are becoming more comfortable in the 3-4 scheme and it showed results (although it was against the Cleveland Browns in the preseason).  The most impressive part is the rushing defense.  Fifty-nine yards is impressive no matter the circumstances.  At various junctures of 2008, the Packers were just gashed by opposing running backs, so to see Jamal Lewis held to 17 yards on 7 carries.

The pass defense also held as well.  Brett Ratliff, an Eric Mangini favorite from the New York Jets, was harrassed all day, as he was sacked three times and only completed 7 of 13 passes for 84 yards and two picks.  Brady Quinn was 7-11 for 68 yards and a pick, while his main competition Derek Anderson was 0-2 with one interception.  The 3-4 held against an offense it should have held against.  Tramon Williams, Charlie Peprah, Anthony Smith, and Desmond Bishop had the interceptions for the Packers.

The most disconcerting aspect of the game was the fact that after two scores by the first team in the first quarter, the Packers didn’t score again the fourth quarter.  Brian Brohm did not play well at all, as he was 3-10 for 18 yards and two picks and a fat passer rating of 0.0.  He is looking more and more like trade bait for a veteran if he doesn’t keep improving.  Matt Flynn was solid, however, completing 5 of 6 throws 50 yards, although he couldn’t find the end zone.

Sure, it’s preseason and you’re playing with second teamers, but you’re playing second teamers (the Cleveland Browns’ second teamers at that).  There should be some offense generated by the offense that does have depth in the running game and the wide receivers.  Where’s the production from Flynn and Brohm?  Both are thought to be capable quarterbacks, but Brohm, who was projected as a high first-round pick had he left school after his junior year) has yet to live up to his potential and Flynn is playing like a third or fourth-round pick, as opposed to the seventh-round pick he is, which is a bit of a plus for the Packers.  Could veteran leadership help solve this issue?  Maybe.  But then again, we’re talking about scoring points in the preseason against the Browns, so it could be a moot point.

Anyhow, the Packers have Terrell Owens and the Buffalo Bills this Saturday, and we’ll have to see how the defense reacts to a team thought to have a potentially explosive offense and see how the offense reacts to a defense that isn’t Cleveland’s.

It’s like when you’re high school.  There’s that girl out there.  You hear she likes you.  But nothing legitimate is coming from her mouth.  All your mutual friends are abuzz with the possibility of a relationship, but between the two of you, neither of you are saying anything.  You’re saying that you want real concrete proof she’s into you; she’s sending out mixed messages.  You hear she just wants to hook up with you and you aren’t the type she’d actually date.  Or maybe she just wants a “summer fling” with you.  Basically, you have no idea what’s going on, despite what everyone else is saying.

That’s how it is now.  Thompson isn’t giving a straight answer on what the Packers want to do.  Are the Packers even interested in Vick in the first place?  Do the Packers just want Vick as gimmick player?  Do the Packers want Vick just for this year as a backup for Aaron Rodgers that could be more reliable than Matt Flynn or Brian Brohm?  Or do the Packers see Vick as a long-term player in their scheme?  It feels like high school all over again.

Scenario 1: There is no interest.

The rumors are just the product of those curses called mutual friends.  You come to find that your friends were just throwing names out there as possibilities and liked the sound of this.  In their minds, it’s a perfect fit.  You two seem picture perfect to each other, but in reality, it would never work.  It’s your friends making something out of nothing.

The Packers aren’t interested in this scenario.  Thompson is sticking to his reputation of not commenting on personnel issues until there is something concrete.  Thompson just doesn’t want to say no to Vick because he wants to leave the door open just in case there’s that one in a million chance the Packers need Vick.  The Packers GM is just making a statement and is letting the media run with it and assume what they want.  Some of the more anti-Ted Thompson camps should have some pretty interesting things to say about these comments, but they appear to be innocuous.  Not saying anything about personnel has been his game, and he’s sticking to it.

Scenario 2: The hook up.

The girl just wants you for your body.  She’s attracted to you, but she doesn’t care about anything else that has to do with you.  It’s one night or bust.  It’s just up to you to decide whether or not you want to be pulled into this.  After all, she is a pretty enticing option and there is a bit of chemistry.  There is the slight chance it’ll go beyond that one night, but it’s anybody’s guess how far it can go.

In this option, Vick is the gimmick player.  The Packers feel they need to make a splash.  The Detroit Lions got Matthew Stafford in the draft.  The Chicago Bears acquired Jay Cutler from the Broncos.  The Minnesota Vikings drafted Percy Harvin out of Florida for some use in the Wildcat.  Yes, the Packers drafted B.J. Raji at No. 9 and traded back up into the first round (an OMG IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?!?!?! moment with Thompson) for Clay Matthews.  Both of these guys are great for the defense and really signal the turn around that is happening under Dom Capers, but offense sells tickets and makes the highlights.  What did the Packers do on offense?  Nothing.  I mean, the drafting of Jamon Meredith and T.J. Lang did do something to add competition to the offensive line, but as much as I love the offensive line, it won’t be a conversation topic on SportsCenter.  Vick adds this to the offense.  How are they going to use it?  What crazy formation does Mike McCarthy have thought up for Vick?  He is the innovator behind the Big 5 that utilizes all of Green Bay’s wide receiver talent.  What could he do with the Wildcat?  The possibilities are limitless.  But lying under all of this is the possibility of this being a one-time deal.  Vick could only be in Green Bay for 12 games as an experiment.  After the season he could be cut loose while the Packer pursue a more permanent Wildcat or gimmick player.  It could be strictly to keep pace with Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, and the changing National Football League.

Scenario 3: The summer fling.

You and your lady friend get to talking, and you feel that you two have some chemistry and it could go places, but once you get around to school and life in general, you two don’t really have time for each other.  Summer is great because you can see each other multiple times a week and just spend a lot of “romantic” time together talking about how you wish summer could never end, but before you know it, it’s back to reality and you both part ways, never to really see each other again.  Of course, you meet randomly, check in every once in a while to see how things are going, but you aren’t too involved in each others lives.  You appreciate what happened, but it was best to be contained by that time.

Scenario 3 is similar to Scenario 2, but at the same time it is different.  The Packers bring Vick in, not as a gimmick player, but as a backup quarterback to Rodgers.  Flynn and Brohm haven’t been too too impressive, so it seems logical to bring Vick in.  Vick’s played quarterback before, so backing up Rodgers would be a good role for him.  He wouldn’t be expected to be a star contributor from Day 1, while he still could make token appearances as a Wildcat or change of pace quarterback.  Also, being a backup quarterback to Rodgers could be a springboard for Vick.  Other teams could see how he is progressing with integrating back into a team and how he is at learning an offense.  The time spent playing in games could be used as an audition period and a team could trade for him at the deadline or after the season, or if the Packers sign him to just a one-year deal he could be free to sign with a team that needs his services.  This could benefit both sides, as it gives Vick an opportunity and it gives Brohm and/or Flynn more time to become adequate NFL backups.

Scenario 4: The relationship.

You and your girl decide it’s go time.  You have chemistry, everything is great, you commit to each other.  You’ve gone over certain things that are important to you, like your allegiances to certain teams becoming more important than the relationship and what kind of music you can tolerate.  Everything is compatible, so you have a girlfriend.  For the long haul.

Vick and the Packers decide that everything looks great.  The situation is great for him.  Green Bay is the smallest media market in the NFL, and although everyone knows how much of a circus it can be (see: Favre, Brett; Summer 2008), he won’t be under a microscope as much as he would be in a larger market (although the way ESPN covers things, it’s hard to tell).  This relationship wouldn’t end with Vick in a starting job obviously, but it would end up with him being a contributing member of the Packers organization as a Wildcat/running back/wide receiver/backup quarterback.  Vick would show up in the stat sheet frequently and mesh well with Rodgers and the whole bunch.  Of course he would cost either Brohm or Flynn a spot on the team, but it would be for the greater good of the team.  Vick could use the relationship as a jumping off point, if the feeling is mutual, for something better, but he was a success in Green Bay.

Scenario 5: A break up.

So things just didn’t work out.  Turns out she didn’t really like that music she said she did and she won’t give you your alone time with your team.  Things just aren’t meant to be, right?  There’s other fish in the sea.

So Vick comes in, spends a year filling a utility role, and things just aren’t right.  He couldn’t totally mesh, missing training camp and the first few weeks of the season.  He can’t get rolling out of the Wildcat, and the team can’t pick it up in the short time period they had to learn it so everyone feels clueless.  He can’t get it going when he has to come in relieve Rodgers either and the whole just kind of fails and disappears from view.

Scenario 6: Marriage.

Scenario 4 evolves and you and your girlfriend get hitched in a little shindig.  You all live happily ever after.  There’s kids and stuff.  Fun stuff you see in movies.

Vick is a career Packer.  All is forgiven for him defeating the Packers at Lambeau back in 2003 and the public finally accepts for his mistakes.  It’s great stuff.  He gets a ring (or two) with the Packers and keeps his nose clean.  He proves Roger Goodell right for reinstating him.  The dream scenario.

Scenario 7: Divorce.  A messy one at that.

So turns out you and your girlfriend got hitched in Vegas and it’s just bad.  Fighting.  Crying.  Broken hearts.  It is definitely not meant to be.  Once you two get that annulment or those divorce papers filed, you’ll never see each other again.

The Vick experiment fails in Green Bay, epically and publicly.  Vick does something off the field that is just embarrassing and gets himself suspended again and banned from the NFL, or McCarthy and Vick don’t click at all and get in some public disputes.  The players chime (or Tweet) in their problems with the experiment and the team morale collapses.  Pretty soon it’s Top 10 Draft Pick all over again.  People lose their jobs.  Just garbage.  The last thing anyone wants to happen.

I’m hoping for Scenario 4 or 6.  They would be the best for the Packers and Vick, who I’ll have my two cents on up soon.

Any other scenarios you can think of that could happen to Vick and the Packers?  Let me know in the comments.

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But enough introduction, time to get down to the offensive battles to take place on the field:

Fullback
The Packers have a three-way battle for the fullback spot in Mike McCarthy‘s West Coast offense between Korey Hall and John Kuhn, who have been in Green Bay for the past two years, and Quinn Johnson, a draft pick out of LSU.  Both Hall and Kuhn are special teamers who could make the team that way, while the blocking abilities of Johnson will be tested by the coaches at every opportunity.  Ryan Grant‘s yards-per-carry average dropped from 5.1 in 2007 to 3.9 in 2008, so the Packers are looking for the best blocker they can get.  The Packers have kept multiple fullbacks on the roster in the past few years.  My picks: Hall and Johnson, with Kuhn the odd man out.  Hall will be the starter.  Hall has been solid in his conversion from a linebacker at Boise State and continues to progress, while Johnson provides some athleticism as a blocker.

Right Tackle
With long time mainstay Mark Tauscher gone, the Packers have a wide-open competition for that spot.  During OTAs and mini-camps, third-year man Allen Barbre worked with the first unit and many expect him to open camp with the first team.  Rookie T.J. Lang wants to play immediated and will be no slouch for Barbre to compete with, with while second-year man Breno Giacomini is coming off ankle surgery and could steal the job if Lang and Barbre aren’t careful.  My pick: Barbre, on experience.  This battle will be interesting, as Lang, who went to Eastern Michigan, is intriguing, but Barbre’s good performance in OTAs and mini-camps will translate into a good training camp and a starting job for him.

Center
In the past two years, Scott Wells and Jason Spitz have started all the games for the Packers at center, with Wells starting 26 and Spitz filling in on the other 6.  Wells ran into injury problems in 2008, causing the offensive line to be shuffled around as Spitz filled in at center.  This race will go down to the wire and has potential ramifications for the rest of the offensive line, as Spitz can also play either guard position, meaning that if he loses this race, he could jump in one of the guard racers and steal that spot.  My pick: I’m going to have to give it to Wells by a nose.

No. 5 Wide Receiver
The Packers already have their Top 4 lined up, but the Packers want a fifth wide receiver to make their “Big 5″ formaton work.  Ruvell Martin has held down the spot the last three years, but has seen his production decline.  One of the Packers seventh-round picks from 2008, Brett Swain spent 2008 on the practice squad but has been impressive in camps.  Also in the race are Jake Allen, who had a good preseason in 2008 and Kole Heckendorf who “flashed some ability during OTAs” according to the Packers website.  My picks: The Packers carry six receivers, allowing them to go big within the Big 5 with Martin, or smaller with Swain, creating more matchup problems.

No. 2 Quarterback
We were all shocked last year when seventh-round pick Matt Flynn came into training camp and beat out second-round pick Brian Brohm for the No. 2 spot.  However, Flynn’s brief appearances relieving Aaron Rodgers and his subsequent offseason workouts and OTAs have done nothing to secure his spot as the No. 2 QB, allowing Brohm another crack at the job.  Both players have had a year in the system and will be working against a difficult 3-4 defense so they will be tested and able to show much improvement.  Plus, they will see more time in preseason games, as Rodgers no longer needs that starting experience as much as he did last year.  My pick: Brohm leapfrogs Flynn to take the job.

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Chicago Bears
The Bears brought in a franchise quarterback during the offseason in Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos in a massive trade.  The Bears now have a face to the franchise on offense to go with Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs on defense.  Although I said that Bears receivers are bad a few posts ago (a statement I still stand behind), Cutler makes them a bit better, while the presence of Cutler takes the pressure of Matt Forte and the running game.  So would you throw Vick in this mix?

The Bears already have one gimmick player on offense in Devin Hester.  Hester is the main decoy on many plays and the Bears love to use his vertical speed to stretch the defense and give the coordinators headaches.  Adding Vick would give the Bears two potentially explosive players on offense at the same time.  Putting Vick into the offense without a full offseason and training camp to get everything to work between him and Hester would be a burden for Cutler, who’s learning a new system, and the offense in general.

Also, owner Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith are classy guys.  While I think Vick should be allowed back in the league as soon as commissioner Roger Goodell can approve of him and I don’t think he’s a threat to society, Angelo and Smith would want to avoid any backlash.  Vick could really work in Chicago, but I feel that Angelo and Smith wouldn’t run the risk of the backlash and something going wrong.

Detroit Lions
It doesn’t seem like things can get any worse for the Detroit Lions.  With last year’s debacle, there is really nowhere for the Lions to go but up.  With Matthew Stafford and revamped linebacking corps, there is hope in Detroit for a few wins here or there.  But would Vick be a fit in Detroit?

The first thing you have to look at his playmakers.  Who are the Lions playmakers?  Stafford isn’t even the starter yet, as he’s behind Daunte Culpepper.  Kevin Smith guaranteed the playoffs this year for Detroit and he does give them a steady option at running back, but he’s nothing too special yet.  Calvin Johnson is the closest thing the Lions have to a star player.  After Johnson, there’s a mess with Keary Colbert, Ronald Curry, Bryant Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, and rookie Derrick Williams.  Those guys are all going for the spots behind Calvin Johnson.  Is there room for Vick in here?  I’d say yes.

The Lions could definitely use Vick’s playmaking ability.  However, Stafford is the quarterback of the future and coach Jim Schwartz wants to use Culpepper as the stop gap.  Vick would be relegated to a Wildcat role and basically be a gimmick player.

Image-wise, the Lions can’t really get that much lower after the 0-16 season.  Getting Vick would show that they are serious about making an attempt to get better.  But then again, they might look as a risk for getting their reputation dumbed down even more.  They could use his talent, but will stay hands off, as there is enough work to do on that team already.

Green Bay Packers
First off, I don’t see Vick in a Green Bay Packer uniform.  Sure, if he was more of a traditional quarterback, I could definitely see Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy run the risk and sign him to back up Aaron Rodgers if Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn can’t improve.  But the fact that Vick is all over the place with his play, I don’t see it happening.  Vick could also serve the purpose of a Wildcat in the Packers offense, but the team has been prolific enough the last few years that they should (and will) stay with what works.

Also, I can’t see Vick meshing too well in Green Bay.  He’s done his time and deserves to be back in, but Green Bay doesn’t seem to be the town to take him.  This is a big year for the Packers, so anything to upset the balance could gain the ire of the stockholders, which the team does not want.

Minnesota Vikings
Finally, the Minnesota Vikings.  There are three reasons why I think the Vikings are the least likely to land Vick in the division: 1) Brett Favre; 2) Percy Harvin; 3) Tarvaris Jackson.

Favre.  Right now, the Vikings are waiting for Favre to notify Brad Childress and the team whether or not he will be returning to football and joining the Vikings on July 30 (or sooner).  If the Vikings get Favre, it can give them a quarterback that can hand off to Adrian Peterson and get the ball down the field and make plays if necessary.  No need for Vick there.

Harvin.  Harvin fills the role of Minnesota’s Wildcat.  He can run with the ball, he can catch the ball, and the Vikings have had him throwing in practice.  If he can do all that, why do they need Vick?  Plus, they’re waiting on Favre; why wait on Vick too?

Jackson.  The Vikings have been dealing with the mobile quarterback with shoddy decision making over the past few years with T-Jack.  Vick is an exponentially better version of Tarvaris, but do the Vikings and their fans really want to go through this ordeal all over again?  I don’t think so.  Small chance of Vick in Viking purple.

Lions, Bears, Packers, Vikings.  That’s the order (from most likely to least likely) of teams in the NFC North going after one Michael Vick.

Follow @LombardiAve on Twitter or subscribe and get daily updates from Lombardi Ave here.

Dr. James Andrews Talks About QB Brett Favre (Acme Packing Company)

Tight ends should split duties (Railbird Central)

Flynn and Brohm to Again Wage a Battle for the Backup QB Job (Packers Gab)

Out of Here in 2010 (Packers Lounge)

Five Keys to the Packers Returning to the Playoffs (The Frozen Tundra)

Green Bay Packers: 5 Reasons For Excitement (Total Packers)

And some other links from the FanSided.com family:

Scouting Reports (That Ball’s Outta Here)

A Trip To Steve McNair’s Gridiron9 (TitanSized)

More Details Surrounding Steve McNair’s Death Revealed By Police (Toro Times)

Air McNair Dead at 36 (Ebony Bird)

Ice Age Athletes: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fan Addict)

Antoine Winfield is Losing His Patience (The Viking Age)

Cubs Have a Blast at Brewers’ Expense (Cubbies Crib)

What The Chuck? Iverson, Colangelo, & Dumars (Sir Charles In Charge)

Ron Artest Is A Serious Rapper (Nugg Love)

Check back later today for more Packers news and updates.

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After the 2007 season, the Packers went about their business, not knowing whether Favre would be back.  The combine came and the combine went.  Then, in early March, after the combine, Favre phones it in.  No doubt this affected the Packers draft strategy.  In 2007, the Packers just went with Favre and heir apparent Aaron Rodgers as their quarterbacks, until Rodgers tweaked a hamstring and the team re-signed Craig Nall.  If Favre had stayed, the Packers draft strategy would have undoubtedly change, as I don’t see Ted Thompson adding Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn into the mix with Rodgers and Favre.  If Favre had made his decision before the combine, Thompson could have definitely altered the offseason plans that involved drafting two quarterbacks, including one with the Packers second pick, to something that involved getting help where they needed it.

But the most memorable facts of the Favre fiasco center around the media blitz.  ESPN had a new story every 20 minutes on where he was going next.  Minnesota?  Tampa Bay?  New York?  Baltimore?  The 24/7 news cycle was unbelievable.  But now it’s back, with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  This new blitz provides a great look with some incredibly interesting articles.

The Packers blog reports that the Jets may have Favre’s answer in two days.

Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Dan Marino, and Troy Aikman share how Favre can learn to hang it up and how he can cope with being retired.  Some great reporting by the Journal-Sentinel.

The Journal-Sentinel also draws parallels between Favre’s retirement and the ends of the careers of Johnny Unitas, John Elway, and Joe Montana.

Why this blitz now?  I don’t know.  But still interesting.

The Viking Age thinks that the Packers are doomed if Rodgers goes down, but, being blinded by some form of homerism, I think that Flynn could be an adequate replacement as a game manager.  With all the talent in the offense, the Packers just need a quarterback who can come in and run the plays.  Flynn showed he can do that in the preseason.  Remember, McCarthy asked Brett Favre to be a game manager for 2007, and look at the season he had.

Although the quarterbacks are inexperienced, I’m trusting that Thompson and McCarthy know what they are doing in having Flynn and Brohm back up Rodgers.  And, of course, I hope Rodgers does not put us in a situation where we have to see how Flynn can perform under pressure.

“We just stunk,” offensive tackle Mark Tauscher said. “You can’t color it and put it in any other light. We flat-out stunk, and from an offensive standpoint, there’s nothing you can say. We flat-out were no good.”

I think that summarizes the overall performance. Since this is not a regular season game, I’m not going to go through and give all the individual stats and such. I’ll just cover the topics that I said I was not concerned about above.

Porous Offensive Line Play
The offensive line has long been a strong point of Green Bay Packers football. It wasn’t last night. Granted, they were playing a talented 3-4 defense, but people, it’s the San Fran-freaking-cisco 49ers. That’s not supposed to happen, even in preseason. The offensive line gave up six sacks last night, four of which were on the first team offensive line. Rodgers’ play was shaky from there on out.  I think the poor quarterback play could be a direct correlation from the offensive line play, but still, it was bad.

Despicable Backup Quarterback Play
So everyone thinks Brian Brohm is the backup quarterback.  Hell, some people wanted the Packers to ditch Rodgers for Brohm.  He had the job locked up from the time he was drafted, right?  Not so fast, my friend.  Brohm has been struggling.  Last night he was 4-9 for 33 yards and a fumble.  Not good.  Matt Flynn has quietly worked his way up into contention and could possibly beat out Brohm.  I’m starting to wonder if Ted Thompson is starting to regret his decision not to bring in a veteran quarterback, but something tells me he isn’t.  If he is doubting himself, he’s screwed as most of the decent backups are off the market.  A trade could possibly be in the works.  Possibly.

Lack of a Rushing Attack
Kregg Lumpkin rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries.  That boy is supposed to be cut by now.  Noah Herron rushed for 35 yards on six carries.  I didn’t think he’d be able to stay on the team either.  His main competition for the number three running back, Vernand Morency, rushed for a single yard on his single carry.  He was the leading receiver for the team, however, with one reception for 20 yards.  Brandon Jackson had 10 yards rushing.  The rushing attack is not looking good.  Ryan Grant needs to get healthy and get his ass back out on the field.  It’s great and all that he came to the voluntary workouts while holding out, but come on man, I’d rather have you skip the voluntary workouts and come into training camp on time.  Grant has set himself, Rodgers, the offensive line, and the offense back by not coming into camp on time.  I am absolutely furious right now about this.  Of course, as I said about the despicable backup quarterback play, the running game’s lackluster performance (except for Lumpkin) can be based off of the offensive line’s horrible play.

Inability to Stop the 49ers Offense
The defense was disgusting this game.  It’s J.T. O’-freaking-Sullivan torching the Packers for 154 yards.  What the hell?  Bring this up to par.  Brandon Chillar may have moved ahead of Brady Poppinga in the race for the final linebacker spot.  Yeah.  I actually had already had this part written but it got deleted and I forget most of it.  The Packers D needs to shape up.  I know it’s only preseason, and preseason does not matter overall, but I am rather concerned.

We do have hope however.  I remember an epic year where the Minnesota Vikings went 4-0 in the preseason, only to sputter, and finish in last place.  So hope remains for the Packers.

But now the two teams are in different directions.  Green Bay is breaking in a new quarterback, while San Francisco is still trying to find the successor for Young.  Ironically, Aaron Rodgers could be in San Francisco.  In the days leading up to the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers were torn between Rodgers and Alex Smith.  They chose Smith No. 1, letting Rodgers free-fall all the way down to #24 where Ted Thompson snatched him up.  Rodgers got the job of holding the clipboard for Favre for three years before getting his chance.  Smith was thrown into the fire Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  Smith has gone through three offensive coordinators in three years and is now on his fourth in Mike Martz.  Rodgers had to deal with the Favre debacle.  Smith is now competing with J.T. O’Sullivan and Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback position.  Rodgers is the man in Green Bay.

Yeah, tough cookies Alex.

Anyway, five things to watch for in tonight’s game:

1. The aforementioned storyline between Smith and Rodgers.  Yes, I know it’s preseason, but I’ll take any storyline not involving Favre I can get.

2. The battle for the backup running back.  As I mentioned yesterday, the battle for third-string running back is heating up.  Ryan Grant is not expected to play, so Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency, and Noah Herron should see the majority of the carries and a chance to show what they can do.

3. The 49ers defense.  They’ve spent loads of cash on this lately, so let’s see if the cash will come through for them.

4. The Packers defense.  The Packers defense is going to have to do more work than they did last season with the offense in transition, so it should be interesting to see how they feast on a pretty weak offense.

5. The battle for backup quarterback.  Brian Brohm was thought to have this job locked up as soon as he was drafted, but fellow rookie Matt Flynn has impressed coaches and is expected to challenge Brohm.  Intriguing.

I’m not going to be able to watch this game, but good luck to the Packers.  I’ll have a report on it tomorrow.

Many of us felt this pick was coming at #30 during the NFL Draft. But that got traded to the New York Jets. Then we thought it was coming at #36. Jordy Nelson came instead. #56? Sounds good to me. Wait, nevermind. Then it finally came at #60, 30 picks later than we thought: the Packers drafted a cornerback. Al Harris is going to be 34 this season. Charles Woodson is going to be 32. Harris was absolutely destroyed by Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants during the NFC Championship Game (which prompted me to push for the drafting of James Hardy). It was the general feeling that the Packers were drafting a cornerback at #30, whether Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Aqib Talib, Mike Jenkins, or Antoine Cason dropped to the Packers or the Packers picked Brandon Flowers.  None of the happened.  The Packers went with Nelson at #36.  Packers fans and analysts were left waiting until #56 to see which cornerback the Packers were going to choose.  The Packers threw a curveball by selecting Brian Brohm (I’m still scratching my head).  This left #60, where the inevitable happened: the Packers picked a cornerback, the tenth defensive back taken in the draft, Patrick Lee, from Auburn University.

From what has been said about Lee, he seems to be the perfect pick for the Packers system.  At 6’0″, 200 pounds, he has decent size for a corner and is big enough to imitate the physical style played by Packer starters Woodson and Harris.  There is a lot of youth in the secondary currently, with Will Blackmon, Jarrett Bush, and Tramon Williams all with three or less years of experience competing for the nickel back slot next to Woodson and Harris.  Williams played there the last few games of 2007 and did a decent job.

In his senior season at Auburn, Lee had 55 tackles (40 solo), four interceptions, and 10 passes broken up.  Lee can also throw his name into the kick return competition if he so pleases, as he averaged 25.8-yards per kickoff return as a senior.  GM Ted Thompson said Lee was a “real good value pick” for #60.  I agree with that sentiment as this draft was saturated with cornerbacks, and we definitely do not want an Ahmad Carroll repeat.  Thompson also said:

“He’s a tough guy. He likes to play bump-and-run. We think he’s going to fit well with what we do on defense in terms of putting these guys in lockdown situations.”

I think I’ll pick Lee to win the competition for the third cornerback slot.  If he doesn’t win it, I expect him to have it sometime during the season.