FINALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL, BUT GONNA BE A BUSY SUMMER

So it's been over a week since my last post, and I promise to try to not let that happen again this summer. I'm done with school so I'm at home and have already begun working, and I'm going to be a slave to jobs this summer trying to make as much money and do as much as I can to bulk up my resume. I'm glad that this busy week I just had came when it did, so I didn't have to follow up close the Brett Favre situation. As a huge Favre fan, I can't handle it. I even got the point that I said some pretty bad things about him, because I just cannot believe that he is even considering Minnesota. I mean, c'mon, after playing nearly his entire career with the Packers, becoming a beloved icon to Packer fans, football fans, and the entire state of Wisconsin, he wants to cross the borders and wear purple and yellow? Please God, do not let him make this mistake.

Anyways, I'll be bartending a lot this summer as well as trying to bulk up my resume working for a Cape Cod-like summer collegiate baseball league, but I will try to find as much time as possible for the Packers and my blog.

The Journal Sentinel is reporting that Quinn Johnson should step right in as the starting fullback because of his old-school style of bruising lead blocking. The JS also says that B.J. Raji, out of respect for Ryan Pickett, will accept playing the 5 technique, or defensive end, at points during the season, which is good to hear that Raji has some respect. Nick Collins hasn't been present with the team for a while now, but it is not believed to be simply over contract extension issues. Reportedly there is a very serious family situation that is keeping him away, and I hope that everything is alright for Nick and his family. I checked up on Nick Barnett's Twitter recently and, as I have also seen this on other athletes Twitters, he was eating fast food yesterday. Man, if I could afford to eat fast food and still maintain the physical shape and physique that these guys do, I'd die for it. But yeah, not so much.

Well that's about all I have for right now. I'll do my best to post as often as possible. Go Pack go!

NOT FAR FROM TRANSITION TO 3-4?

Pat Kirwan over at NFL.com started a short series of updates he will be giving on the Packers transition from 4-3 to 3-4. And the title of his first article is "Packers not far off from making 3-4 defensive conversion work." Kirwan talks about how it took Dallas nearly 2 years, New England three first round picks on the line, and the Jets a few years to get the right personnel in place for the 3-4, and he argues that the Packers may be much closer than most people think.

At nose tackle, Kirwan thinks Ryan Pickett is more than adequate to get the ball rolling, but he believes he needs a young backup to rotate in and give him some rest. As for the outside linebackers, Kirwan says that Aaron Kampman is even more suited for the switch from DE to OLB than Greg Ellis was for the Cowboys. He states that Kampman should be the least of the Packers' issues in the conversion." I'm not fully on board with that idea yet. Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar are currently slotted to fill the spot opposite Kampman, but Kirwan suggests the Pack might look towards the draft for this spot as well, citing the names of Larry English, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, and Brian Orakpo (Brown and Orakpo would be converted DE's as well).

The defensive ends the Packers currently have for the 3-4 are Cullen Jenkins, who should fit in just fine, and Mike Montgomery, who is a question mark and has a lot to prove. Kirwan says that the Packers should make a play in free agency for the Cowboys' Chris Canty or the Chargers' Igor Olshansky. I guess he's not very optimistic about Julius Peppers coming to Lambeau. At strong inside linebacker, A.J. Hawk should excel, as long as Ryan Pickett can hold down the middle and keep demanding double teams. At weak ILB, Nick Barnett, as long as he recovers from his ACL injury, should be just fine.

Finally, in the secondary, this is where I truly question Kirwan. He says that there isn't much conversion from 4-3 to 3-4. It has been well documented that the Packers bump-and-run corners will need to learn to sluff off and play a lot more zone, something that Al Harris and Charles Woodson may struggle with. He believes that if the Packers make a free agent signing in the front 3 and draft a ready to play outside linebacker, they could make the transition in under one year. That is a VERY bold statement, and I'd like to see the green and gold make a few good moves and picks before I'm ready to jump to such a conclusion.