Morning Buzz: Packers drop local favorite
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and their upcoming showdown with the Atlanta Falcons from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a cup of coffee (or brew some tea) and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.
The big news, if you can call it that, coming out of 1265 Lombardi on Thursday was Tom Silverstein reporting the Packers were releasing wide receiver Jared Abbrederis after he and the Packers reached an injury settlement.
A thigh injury that would have sidelined receiver Jared Abbrederis for two weeks tipped the scales against the former University of Wisconsin standout and in favor of practice squad receiver Geronimo Allison.
Though the Packers easily could have waited for Abbrederis to get healthy without the risk of running thin at wide receiver, they decided to put him on injured reserve and bring up Allison, a promising rookie free agent who had an excellent training camp.
By putting Abbrederis on injured reserve, they effectively were releasing him, which they officially did Thursday after agreeing on an injury settlement.
Michael Cohen shines a light on the punt return problem. This team is still struggling there, despite head coach Mike McCarthy using extra practice time on returns in training camp.
Cohen also has the latest on James Starks, who seems to be on schedule with his recovery from knee surgery.
Bob McGinn has a fantastic column up on what Sunday night’s 6-6 tie between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, and public reactions to it, say about the current state of the game of football.
The fantasy crowd surely hated Sunday night, and NFL owners probably did, too. But if you get the essence of football, you loved it.
Be sure to read the whole thing.
Tom and Michael spoke on Clay Matthews’ latest hamstring injury and his status for Sunday’s game along with the running back situation in Green Bay.
Elsewhere, Greg Matzek spoke with Abbrederis for WTMJ shortly after Silverstein’s report dropped. Abbrederis indicates he could have played through his injury.
Mike Freeman concludes his ongoing series wherein he ranks NFL franchises by various criteria. Packers fans undoubtedly will agree with his findings.
Ty Montgomery doesn’t care how you use him in fantasy football.
The Falcons have run a Madden simulation for Sunday’s game. It’s a tight one.
Aaron Rodgers was named FedEx Air Player of the Week for Week 7.
Craig Nall did his part to clear up the confusion of when exactly Aaron Rodgers first called Brett Favre “grandpa”:
Zach over at CHTV has a great look at how the quick passing game just might be the way forward for this Packers offense.
The NFL’s ratings are down. The MMQB asked fans why.
Greg Bedard has a great look for Sports Illustrated at how far behind the NFL is compared to other sports leagues when it comes to player safety and transparency.
This article on ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen over at The Ringer is an incredibly compelling read:
Finally, on a somewhat personal note, I can’t believe Twitter is closing down Vine. The platform that gave us gems like this should live on forever: