"Jordy-Jordy-Jordy"

G

Guest

Guest
He made a nice catch along the sidelines on a comeback route, pass hotly thrown and over his head but he brought it down, and the announcers lauded it.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
Bleacher Report writer Kevin Roberts thinks it's time for Donald Driver to move on and make way for Jordy Nelson and James Jones:

Donald Driver: Is It Time for the Green Bay Packers' WR To Move On?

He's 34 years old, going on 35 in a couple of weeks, and he's due $4 million next season (plus $3 million as a roster bonus).



Not the numbers you want to hear when you're thinking of a rising team's No. 2 receiver.
Donald Driver has recently said that he'd like to keep playing in the NFL until he's at least 40.


While that's a fine goal, it's growing less and less likely that he will be able to retire as a Packer, if he does in fact continue aiming for this goal.


And what a lofty goal it is.
Only 51 players in NFL history have played to (or past) 40 years of age, and only one has been a wide receiver: Jerry Rice.


That's some interesting company Driver is fancying himself keeping.
But forget about the age factor. For right now, at least, that's not an issue. Driver has still played at a fairly high level for the majority of his past six seasons (all with 1,000+ receiving yards), and has great chemistry with quarterback Aaron Rodgers.


You can even ignore the money argument for the time being. Obviously, with any player that is getting older, the money can (and will) factor into the equation. But let's not attempt to dictate things that are out of our control, and out of our realm of understanding.
When it comes to money, only two things can happen: Either Green Bay views Driver as a player who is still playing at a high level and can continue doing so, or Driver is overestimating his value, and will be forced to take a pay cut.


Regardless of the perspective, Driver could, and very well may, be shown the door if his need for a fat wallet gets in the way of what he's got going on in Green Bay.


But there's a few more reasons why this story won't have a happy ending:


He's Already Regressing
He had some mighty fine seasons when Brett Favre was around, putting up three consecutive 1,200+ yard seasons, while catching 80+ balls in four straight campaigns.


But ever since Aaron Rodgers took over, for whatever reason, Driver hasn't caught more than 74 passes, and he hasn't cracked 1,100 receiving yards.


However, the switch from Favre to Rodgers impacting Driver's numbers doesn't necessarily prove anything. His dropping off late in the season, however, might.


In his final 11 games this season, Driver topped 76 yards receiving just twice, while topping 70+ just once in his final six (including playoffs). And out of those six outings, three went for 43 yards or less.


Whether it's Driver actually slowing down, struggling to get open, or just not being relied upon, something isn't quite right.


True, it's only starting to happen now, and it's just one small late-season fade, but the question is, is it a fluke, or is it a start of a trend?


That's the question many GM's are faced with when deciding whether or not to hold on to aging veterans: Is this how they're playing right now, or is this how they will continue to play?


The Youth Movement


There's nothing wrong with Driver wanting to play until he's an old man. There's nothing wrong with him having his sights set on James Lofton's Packers' receiving record (which he needs just 507 yards to break).


But at what cost?


If Driver does begin to slow down, and Green Bay is still paying him big money (or even keeping him as the starter), are they hurting themselves in doing so?


And just as important, are they hurting the development of their two young, talented receivers?


James Jones and Jordy Nelson, two young receivers with good speed, excellent hands, and good playmaking ability, are simply wasting away as third and fourth options, while Driver keeps chasing records.


Jones has found ways to still be a factor as the main slot receiver, as he caught 32 passes for 440 yards and five touchdowns in his third season.


But considering he had better numbers as a rookie back in 2007, it's arguable that there is talent worth tapping into, that won't be realized until Driver is gone.


Nelson offers the same type of potential. He showed sound fundamentals and the ability to make catches in traffic in his rookie season, when he caught 33 passes for 366 yards and two scores.
However, a knee injury and a reduced role brought his reception total down to 22 this year, although his big-play ability was still shown by his solid 14.5 yards per catch, as well as four of his 22 catches being for 24+ yards, including a 51-yard score against Arizona in Week 17.


The argument isn't that either Jones or Nelson are right now better than Driver, but more than they are young, talented receivers, with arguably more potential than Driver ever had.


If They Traded Brett Favre...


The main reason this story won't have a happy endingâ€"why Donald Driver is destined to finish his career elsewhereâ€"is because if Brett Favre can be sent packing, so too, can Donald Driver.


The situation is entirely different. Driver isn't waffling, isn't demanding a trade, and hasn't even begun to think about retirement (which is actually part of the problem).


But he's there, and whether you're willing to admit it or not, he, like Favre, is in the way.


If Driver truly wants to play until he's 40, or even 37, that means the Packers would have to sit down with him and discuss his future.


Does he keep the same role? Does the contract change?


As beloved as a player as Driver is, all of these reasons may be enough to finally have him sent packing (pun intended) by his trusted front office.


Because it's not that Driver isn't good or unworthy of the money. It's just that it's only a matter of time before he won't be.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/329237-green-bay-packers-why-its-time-for-donald-driver-to-go
 

guest301

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jan 7, 2006
Messages
4,246
Location
Ohio
It would not be suprising to see Driver end up a Viking at some point if Favre continues to play next year. It all depends if the Packers cut him sooner rather than later because the guy can still play at a high level. Hope he is gone soon so Jordy Nelson will get his lugitimate shot at a starting job.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
I've always like the way Driver plays the game, but he does seem over-rated at this point in his career. I watched the Packers a lot this season and Driver often exhibited hands of stone, and seemed to never be able to connect with Rodgers on deep throws. Nelson could easily take over Driver's role in the offense.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
Nelson gets a nice compliment in an article on Ted Thompson's draft selections for the Packers

No. 1, some of his picks don't even get enough credit, and are mostly based on the player's first season. Jordy Nelson, A.J. Hawk, and B.J. Raji, are some of the biggest ones that come to mind. It's true that A.J. is under-performing, but he's still a good player.



Raji is still just a rookie, and he was instantly thrown into a 3-4 defense that is a work in progress. Someone even said that Raji is "a bust in the making." Raji just needs some time to fill into his shoes and he will eventually show that he is indeed the "ninth overall pick."


Jordy Nelson is overlooked in the Packers offense as well. If you pay close attention, Jordy has been having his flashes as a good athlete and a reliable WR. Nelson is proving that if he were to fill in Donald Driver's shoes, he could very well be the next Miles Austin.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/379344-is-ted-thompson-being-given-enough-credit-for-his-draft-picks
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
Another media trend this offseason has been to annoint James Jones over Jordy Nelson as Donald Driver's successor. (Driver had both knees scoped after the end of the '09 season.) This despite Nelson being drafted higher and being bigger, faster and having better hands.


This is in Rotoworld right now: Packers coach Mike McCarthy described backup receivers James Jones and Jordy Nelson's offseasons as "outstanding. "Jones may be most productive on the team," McCarthy added. Jones is the likely successor to 35-year-old Donald Driver, who is coming off dual knee surgeries. Nelson would then slot in as Green Bay's third receiver.

And this from an article by Rotoworld's "senior football editor" Evan Silva (who looks from his picture to be about 18 years old): Green Bay - Make no mistake: Donald Driver's dual offseason knee surgeries are a big deal. Though they took place in January and Driver's work ethic is indisputable, at age 35 he is at major fall-off-the-cliff risk. Note that Torry Holt was never the same after his own knee woes, only had surgery on one knee, and was a relatively young 31 at the time. This is good news for Greg Jennings and eventual Driver successor James Jones. ... The Packers would love to supplant Brandon Jackson as their No. 2 and third-down back, but it probably won't be with rookie James Starks. While Starks does not lack the talent to eventually contribute, the sixth-round pick is coming off an injury-ruined senior year and missed a chunk of OTAs with a hamstring strain.


http://www.rotoworld.com/content/features/column.aspx?sport=NFL&columnid=59&articleid=35547&pg=2E-mails can be sent to Silva after the article.

Edited by: Don Wassall
 

Bart

Hall of Famer
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
4,329
Don Wassall said:
Another media trend this offseason has been to annoint James Jones over Jordy Nelson as Donald Driver's successor.  (Driver had both knees scoped after the end of the '09 season.)  This despite Nelson being drafted higher and being bigger, faster and having better hands. 

That's how it always goes. He had to serve his apprenticeship behind the older established affletes then finally when a spot is opened up ... a younger Negro gets to leap frog over him. Dat be da NFL. Thing is, he's loaded with talent. Edited by: Bart
 

backrow

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Messages
7,209
Location
Spain
Jordy Nelson has enjoyed a "phenomenal" offseason, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

Beat writer Greg Bedard called Nelson "the new [Donald] Driver" for his impressive practice work earlier in the week. We had been assuming that James Jones would be the primary beneficiary if Driver's play fell off this season, but this is becoming a battle to track in training camp.
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette
 

backrow

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Messages
7,209
Location
Spain
a quote from the article:

"Thing about Jordy is, when he first came in you looked at him and said this guy has all the talent to be a great receiver,"Â￾ Driver said. "Jordy just wants an opportunity.

i guess some people are his fans! article barely mentions Jones.
 

backrow

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Messages
7,209
Location
Spain
from rotoworld:

ESPN's John Clayton believes that Jordy Nelson will beat out James Jones for the Packers' No. 3 receiver gig.

We're not really buying this, but it's worth noting that Jones has work to do in camp to justify his fantasy hype right now. Still, Jones has outperformed Nelson consistently over the last two years and there's no reason to think he won't do it again. Clayton's prediction is likely a simple product of Nelson's strong offseason. Jones remains Donald Driver's backup and better prospect.
Source: ESPN.com
Related: James Jones

now what the f**k makes Jones a better prospect? Jones is 2 inches shorter, i am sure his hands are not as good as Nelson's and the very worst they have equal speed, if Jordy isn't flat out faster. Oh,and Jones is a year older... so what gives... (also just noticed that Jones has a picture of him on rotoworld and Jordy doesn't).
 

whiteathlete33

Hall of Famer
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
12,669
Location
New Jersey
Jones only had slightly better receiving numbers last season compared to Nelson. That's only because Jones started more games than Nelson. Two years ago Jordy had better numbers. Nelson is slightly faster than Jones and is the better receiver overall.
Edited by: whiteathlete33
 

White Power

Mentor
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
Messages
931
I told you guys to stop reading that piece of sh"t website. They obviously hate white athletes find a site that is somwwhat fair to whites and read it.
 

whiteathlete33

Hall of Famer
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
12,669
Location
New Jersey
The only reason some of us read it is for information on white players. I really could care less about their opinions.
 

backrow

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 23, 2005
Messages
7,209
Location
Spain
yeah they are an opinionated bunch of dicks.

also, Nelson's ypc were higher than Jones' last season, he had fewer TD but that's also because he only had 22 catches to Jones 32... and wasn't on field a lot on certain packages in the red zone.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
The anointing of Jones as Driver's successor has been purely a media driven affair. It started right after last season ended and the drumbeat has kept up all off-season. After a few White sportswriters began calling Jones the heir apparent the others began repeating it until it became a big lie. None of it is based on anythingthat's beensaid by the Packers coaching staff, it's the ingrained racial bias against White players coming out.









I found this little comparison between Jones and Nelson. Jones is an ok receiver but Nelson, besides being drafted higher (which is used all the time to justify giving blacks opportunity after opportunity) is easily the better receiver.

Jones is the most enigmatic skill player on the roster. His size (6-foot-1, 218 pounds) and big-play ability (five receptions of 30-plus yards last season, including his playoff touchdown vs. Arizona) should make him a major factor in the offense. Watch him at practice, and he'll make the difficult catches look ridiculously easy. But he drops too many routine passes. According to STATS, he dropped six of the 63 passes thrown his way and turned only 25.4 percent of those passes into first downs. By contrast, Jordy Nelson turned 48.4 percent of his passes into first downs. Despite Jones' strength, he rarely breaks tackles to gain extra yards. This is his final year under contract.

http://gnb.scout.com/2/985226.htmlEdited by: Don Wassall
 

whiteathlete33

Hall of Famer
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
12,669
Location
New Jersey
Big play ability? Here is Sports Illustrated's scouting report on Jones.



POSITIVES:</span> Nice-sized wideout coming off a tremendous
senior campaign. Quick in all aspects of his game, displaying a lot of
natural skill. Uses his frame to shield away defenders, adjusts to the
errant throw and looks the ball into his hands. Displays strong hands.


NEGATIVES:</span>
Marginal playing speed and is not a deep threat. Just average
production until his senior campaign.


ANALYSIS:</span> A
big, strong, receiver, Jones turned himself into an NFL prospect last
season. Gives effort in all aspects of the game and could develop into a
productive third wideout.


According to SI he only has marginal playing speed and isn't a deep threat yet the other guy says he has "big play ability."







Edited by: whiteathlete33
 

celticdb15

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 24, 2007
Messages
8,469
James Jones is the definition of a possession receiver! His body type kind of reminds me of Ricky Proehl!
 

FootballDad

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
5,132
Location
Somewhere near Kansas City, MO
A "possession" receiver HAS to catch the routine balls, an area where Jones (like many black receivers) struggles.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
More racist "analysis" from theanti-white trolls at Rotoworld. A lot of football writers will be sobbing if their boy Jones doesn't end up ahead of Nelson on the depth chart:

Asked to anoint a third receiver heading into camp, Packers WRs coach Jimmy Robinson replied "Jones-Jordy."

<DIV ="s_pNewsTextMain">The Packers seem to be talking up Jordy Nelson almost in an effort to motivate James Jones, who is the more talented of the two. Jones, though, "tends to drift mentally," which has affected his drop totals and route running. "He has to avoid the fluctuations," said OC Joe Philbin. "Some of it just came maybe from lack of concentration, sometimes the injury bug." Edited by: Don Wassall
 

ToughJ.Riggins

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
Messages
5,063
Location
Ontario Canada
And that sentence in bold is cited by what evidence (inside info from a Packer coach etc.) Rotoworld? Is it simply a gut feeling? Are the Packers clearly trying to "motivate" Jones to snap out of mediocrity and into his vast untapped "potential" by talking up his competition who they know is less talented (despite drafting Jordy high in the 2nd round more recently than Jones)? Oh, I forgot that I'm supposed to be one of the American "sheeple" who will never question this media, sorry for forgetting my role Rotoworld.
smiley42.gif
 

Jack Lambert

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
4,743
Even though he is better, Rotoworld can't seem to fathom that Jordy might actually be better than their love child.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette speculates that Jordy Nelson "might have taken a step ahead" of James Jones after an outstanding performance Tuesday night.

With Greg Jennings (personal reasons) out, Nelson took advantage of extra reps with the starters. The coaches have been talking up Nelson for awhile now and it appears he's in a real battle with James Jones for the No. 3 receiver job. Still, we believe Jones holds more value as the more talented player and Donald Driver's direct backup. Nelson is behind Jennings.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
30,319
Location
Pennsylvania
Of course Nelson had to be drafted by a team that has one of the few black receivers to continue to play at a high level into his mid-30s. And now the Packers have extended the "revered" Donald Driver's contract through the 2012 season. Very frustrating.

Packers extend WR Driver's contract

Receiver satisfied with ending career in Green Bay

When he's 37 years old, Donald Driver might not be the same receiver he is now, but the Green Bay Packers know for sure that for the next three years he'll give them everything he has on the field and never offend anybody off it.


For those reasons, general manager Ted Thompson faced a no-brainer in extending Driver's contract for two years, thus taking the 35-year-old receiver off the free-agent market in 2011 and setting up the possibility that he would be able to retire having played for just one team.


The Packers don't usually announce contract extensions, but given Driver's lofty station in the organization and vast popularity in the community, the public relations department kept reporters around after the open locker room session Friday and brought Driver in to announce his new deal.
full article: http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/100167979.html
 

bigunreal

Mentor
Joined
Oct 21, 2004
Messages
1,923
Another example of how white players are purposefully "slotted" to teams that they will never have a chance to start for. If Driver was white, he would have long ago been forced into the slot, at best, to make room for high draft picks Jones or Nelson. Since Jordy has been more impressive than Jones, if he was black, he would already be an NFL starter.

Why don't receiver hungry teams like the Rams, Redskins, Buccaneers, etc. draft the Jordy Nelsons?

We all remember how Kevin Curtis shone for the Rams some years ago, after Isaac Bruce was hurt. The next season, old man Ike was handed his job back with no questions asked. Compare that to the Colts' situation, where a #1 draft pick like Gonzalez is apparently already being given up on, because of the "stellar" play of Pierre Garcon.

Even the few white WRs that get playing time are never allowed to be #1 guys. Wes Welker- strictly #2, no matter how many balls he catches. Austin Collie- no matter how impressive, will probably never get out of that wonderful "slot" position. Hartline- #2 at best. Kevin Walter- signed to a huge contract by the Texans so that he can battle Jacoby Jones for the #2 position.



Edited by: bigunreal
 

whiteathlete33

Hall of Famer
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
12,669
Location
New Jersey
Every time a higher profile white athlete at a caste position such as Gerhart or Nelson do well in training camp and are expected to get significant playing time a "magic negro" unknown appears and challenges for playing time. Tell me I'm not right. The NFL then enforces the idea in the DWF"s heads that this unknown black is just as talented, it not more talented, than the white player who had way better numbers in college. The DWF's believe anything.
Edited by: whiteathlete33
 

JReb1

Mentor
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
838
In the minds of coaches, GMs, scouts and DWFs, just having black skin automatically makes you have more upside and look faster than a White athlete with better numbers and times...
 
Top