Packers Morning Buzz: Pettine preaches accountability

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.

We’ll start with Michael Cohen’s look at Blake Martinez and his outlook in Mike Pettine’s defense in the upcoming season.

From Michael:

The departure of veteran safety Morgan Burnett during free agency left the Packers without their best communicator and stripped the secondary of its most reliable player, another blow to the craterous back end of the defense. To combat it, Martinez, who played 93.3 percent of snaps and tied for the most tackles in the league (144), said he plans to assume more of a leadership role as one of the focal points of Pettine’s defense.

At the crux of that plan is taking over the communication headset worn by Burnett, the only direct line of contact between players on the field and the defensive coordinator in the coaches box. Wearing the green dot on his helmet means Martinez will be responsible for relaying play calls from Pettine to his teammates and clarifying any pre-snap confusion. To prepare himself, Martinez said he will approach this year’s organized team activities and minicamp the same way he approached his rookie season: with four to five hours of studying every night to learn the entirety of the playbook for all 11 positions.

“I worked through the whole entire install, learned every position and learned exactly what everyone is supposed to do,” Martinez said. “Just kind of dive in it that way and use that method to make sure I can be ready for whatever they ask me to do.”

I spoke with Michael about the latest on Martinez:

Aaron Rodgers met a fan:

I spoke with readers via Facebook Live yesterday afternoon:

Elsewhere, Kevin King has some FOMO about the Tailgate Tour:

The Packers draft cap is unfortunate:

The Packers are continuing to celebrate their 100 years:

Appleton North appreciated the Packers stopping by:

Zachary Jacobson looks at the Packers running backs in the passing game:

Mike Mayock could be a wizard:

The Power Sweep continues its look at past Packers drafts:

Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey gives an update on the Titletown District:

Color Rush uniforms could be on their way out:

NBC26 has some video of the kickoff of the Packers Tailgate Tour: