GREEN BAY White Jace Sternberger Jersey , Wis. (AP) r12; Time for Joe Philbin to assume an important new responsibility with the Green Bay Packers, and itr17;s not just the duties that come with taking over as interim head coach.Itr17;s been a while since Philbin has called plays.r0;Trying to think. Might have been about 20 years, maybe,r1; Philbin said.Now he takes over the job on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons following the Packersr17; firing of Mike McCarthy , who also called the plays.The previous time Philbin had that task?r0;I think it was at Northeastern if Ir17;m not mistaken,r1; said Philbin, who was offensive coordinator of the Northeastern Huskies in 1995-96.He does have a wealth of experience. A 16-year NFL coaching veteran, Philbinr17;s college coaching resume goes back to Tulane in 1984. Her17;s in his second stint as offensive coordinator in Green Bay, having held the job when the Packers won the Super Bowl in the 2010 season, and when the offense set franchise records the next season.Philbin was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2012-15. He spent two seasons on the Coltsr17; staff before returning to Green Bay this year. He has been heavily involved in planning, installation and putting together play scripts. He met regularly with McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers.This week, though, will be a little different.r0;Sometimes, because I wasnr17;t calling the plays http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-brett-hundley-jersey , I could kind of peek ahead a little bit so we could move forward a little bit,r1; Philbin said. r0;I think that will be the biggest difference. Ir17;m not going to be looking at our next opponent until the game is over.r1;r0;And then obviously just sequencing the calls the right way and hopefully they work when we call r17;em,r1; he added.McCarthy was fired after a 20-17 loss on Sunday at home to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. His specialty was offense, but the once-prolific production had slacked off. Empty third downs and a lack of potent plays have been season-long issues. Rodgersr17; completion percentage is his lowest in three seasons, though he has still thrown just one interception this year. Drops by receivers especially plagued the Packers on Sunday.r0;I just think you really need to be better in situational offense if you want to win games, so wer17;re going to pay a little more attention, even more attention, to that the next couple weeks,r1; Rodgers said, r0;because wer17;ve got to fix that if we want to win games.r1;The change does present a unique wrinkle to how Falcons coach Dan Quinn prepares his defense. He can get his team ready for the unique skillsets of Rodgers and top receiver Davante Adams. But he canr17;t study Philbinr17;s tendencies when it comes to calling plays.r0;The analogy I told the team today,r1; Quinn said, r0;if we all had the same playbook, we wouldnr17;t all call plays in the same way or the same style even though itr17;s all part of it.r1;It helps to have a quarterback of Rodgersr17; caliber to have input on concepts and schemes, Quinn said. But there isnr17;t a lot of background into figuring out Philbinr17;s tendencies in clutch situations Davante Adams Jersey , such as on third down. Quinn calls those r0;Got to have it moments.r1;r0;Those, hey, you better be ready to call your best stuff because those arenr17;t scripted. Those are off the cuff,r1; he said.An intangible is the familiarity between Rodgers and Philbin, who was on staff for the quarterbackr17;s rookie season in 2005. Theyr17;ve worked together during highly productive seasons. They apparently share a similar sense of humor.r0;A lot of dry humor. Joe is, every time he talks he reminds us about how simple this game is,r1; Rodgers said. r0;It comes down to the little things and her17;s always reminding us and harping on those things.r1;NOTES: RG Byron Bell (knee) and RT Bryan Bulaga (knee/illness), who both left in the second quarter against Arizona, missed practice. r30; CB Bashaud Breeland (groin) and S Kentrell Brice (ankle/concussion) were limited. r30; Little-used RB Tra Carson (ri and starting CB Kevin King (hamstring) were placed on injured reserve. Kingr17;s rookie season last year ended on the injury list because of a shoulder issue. r30; The team claimed DL Fadol Brown from the Raiders and rookie CB Natrell Jamerson from the Texans. Originally a fifth-round draft pick by New Orleans, Jamerson played in college at Wisconsin. Heading into Super Bowl LIII, there was plenty of speculation that the big game could be the last for New England Patriots tight end and future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski.After earning another ring, the beaten-up 29-year old still could very much decide to call it a career. In a recent ESPN article, opposing defensive coaches said several remarks about Gronkowskir17;s aging body and athletic traits.And perhaps most importantly.In many ways, those quotes could also be applied toward Jimmy Graham and his first season in Green Bay. It seems hard to envision Graham re-discovering his Pro Bowl self in 2019 Ray Nitschke Jersey White , but he, like Gronk, remains a player with a big body that can get into space and cause mismatches. Unfortunately, the Packers failed to use these strengths throughout the 2018 season. Once a feared runner in the seams and a red zone nightmare, Graham instead was confined many times to crossing routes over the middle and short sideline out routes. His large frame was rarely used to win 50-50 balls in the end zone and, really, was rarely targeted at all with just eight red zone targets. Eight!And while watching Gronkowski in the Super Bowl on Sunday did not provide insight into how to fix that specific error, it did shed light on how to use the 32-year old veteranr17;s size in other creative patterns. Here are two of those examples coming in a critical fourth quarter.The tight end wheel routeWith under 10 minutes to play, New England needed a play to jumpstart a stunted offense and begin a go-ahead drive. The Patriots did just that on first down by involving Gronkowski. Although he is a far better run blocker than Graham and can deceive defenses by lining up in a two-point stance, Gronk was able to hold up Samson Ebukam just enough before shedding away from Ebukam and getting downfield. The wheel route isolated Gronk in space down the right sideline, allowing Tom Brady to place a perfectly-thrown ball in his tight endr17;s hands with just one step on the defender. Gronkowski may not be the fastest target and Ebukam may have jammed him, but the Patriotsr17; largest weapon came up with a monumental play. If Green Bay ever attempted a wheel route with Graham last season, it was not often. However, it could be one of those plays the Packers draw up for third-and-short and other crucial situations. While Graham is not an in-line blocking threat Aaron Rodgers Jersey White , the Packers could at least use him in that position as a decoy earlier in games to set up the wheel route later on. With his size and ability to run past most linebackers if he gains separation, Graham would be a good fit for the route if Aaron Rodgers can put the ball where he wants it.The seam from the slotThe seam is a concept many thought the Packers would deploy heavily the moment Graham signed on. And though Green Bay used it occasionally, Rodgers and Graham rarely connected.After feeding Gronkowski with the wheel route just a few plays earlier, Brady and the Patriots used a two-tight end set for a stretch of several plays to march down the field. With Gronk in the slot, New England ran and passed the ball with ease. And when the Los Angeles defense was at its breaking point, Brady sought out Gronk for a decisive punch. With Julian Edelman providing a distraction by motioning out to the right, Gronkowski took off running down the seam at the snap. Brady didnr17;t hesitate to throw to his tight end in single coverage, dropping the ball 29 yards downfield into his hands before the safety could arrive. Again, Gronkowski still had just enough speed to beat his solo defender and used his height and length to catch the ball and get his team into the red zone.If Gronkowski still has enough to win one-on-one battles down the seam, Graham is at least equally as capable and was effective in that role in New Orleans. Having more of a vertical presence from Graham in 2019 to pair with the second-year receivers would be a dimension Green Bay just did not have enough of last offseason. Seattle also struggled to game plan according to Grahamr17;s strengths, but perhaps Matt LaFleur can help in this regard. Graham does not have the same type of quickness in his route-running that he used to. But neither the wheel route nor the seam require elite athleticism to be successful.New Englandr17;s fourth quarter playcalling not only benefited from a slot weapon like Edelman, it took advantage of Gronkowskir17;s remaining dominant skills. Green Bay has something to learn in both areas as the offseason truly begins.
and starting CB Kevin King (hamstring) were placed on injured reserve. Kingr17;s rookie season last year ended on the injury list because of a shoulder issue. r30; The team claimed DL Fadol Brown from the Raiders and rookie CB Natrell Jamerson from the Texans. Originally a fifth-round draft pick by New Orleans, Jamerson played in college at Wisconsin. Heading into Super Bowl LIII, there was plenty of speculation that the big game could be the last for New England Patriots tight end and future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski.After earning another ring, the beaten-up 29-year old still could very much decide to call it a career. In a recent ESPN article, opposing defensive coaches said several remarks about Gronkowskir17;s aging body and athletic traits.And perhaps most importantly.In many ways, those quotes could also be applied toward Jimmy Graham and his first season in Green Bay. It seems hard to envision Graham re-discovering his Pro Bowl self in 2019