More photos » Lynne Sladky - AP

6 months ago: FILE -- This is a Jan. 4, 2009, file photo showing Miami dolphins linebacker Joey Porter yelling before an AFC wild-card playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. The trash-talking, headline-making, in-your-face linebacker hasn't changed with age. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky, File)

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After recently signing LT Chad Clifton and RT Mark Tauscher to multi-year deals, I've moved on from my preoccupation with the pass blocking, and instead focused on the need for another pass rusher.

Though LB Joey Porter seemed to fit the bill perfectly, an outside LB who's always played in the 3-4 defense and recorded 26.5 sacks over the past two seasons, he didn't seem to be a good match with the Packers because he left Miami on bad terms, and seemed almost certain to end up in Arizona anyway. After a brief detour to visit the Redskins, who have become the official destination for all veterans trying get more money from their preferred team, he's finally gotten the contract he wanted from the Cardinals. From Revenge of the Birds:

At 33-years old, Porter may still have enough gas in the tank to provide the Cardinals with that edge pass rusher that can still pressure opposing quarterbacks. He's seen four pro bowls and four all-pro selections, and has totaled 92 sacks for his career. The Cardinals didn't have many other options available through free agency, and head coach Ken Whisenhunt has been prone to allow rookies to develop on the bench their first season - therefore, drafting a starting at linebacker seemed out of the question. Now a rookie can develop under a seasoned veteran like Porter.

I'm glad Porter never got on the Packers radar, too much baggage and I'd prefer they look for someone in the draft, but he certainly could have filled a need. Hopefully the pass rush (or lack of one) is not a problem next season.

I've been distracted away from the Green Bay Packers by the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team in the WCHA Final Five, and the basketball team in the NCAA tournament. 

The hockey team got shut out by St. Cloud, 2 to nothing. They couldn't solve freshman goalie Mike Lee. From Chris Dilks:

Equally frustrated was Wisconsin defenseman and Hobey Baker finalist Brendan Smith, who fired a team-high seven shots on Lee, and had a game-tying blast go off the post with a little over a minute left in the game.

The basketball team sweated it out, but got the win. The Badgers have been struggling because Brian Bohannon is struggling. From Bucky's 5th Quarter:

If Wisconsin is going to beat a great-shooting Cornell team Sunday -- let alone Kentucky in the Sweet 16 -- it's going to need its best shooter to start scoring points.

By the way, the CBS sports widget over at SB Nation is awesome. I got to watch the game at my desk, so don't let my boss know. It also came equipped with a "Boss Button" to switch to a Dilbert inspired fake Power Point presentation. See it below.

>> Take SB Nation Survey

Hello sports fans! We're always striving to provide you with the best experience possible and it's been quite some time since we checked in with you.

So we're rolling out this survey to learn more about you and your sports world. It should only take about 10 minutes to complete.

We really appreciate your time and this is also going to help make a donation to a good cause.

By next Thursday (3/25) at 11:59pm PST the site that has the highest percentage of their community filling out the attached survey about their sports interests and consumption will win $500 to donate to a charity of their choice. We will leave it up to the discretion of the community manager(s) of the winning blog to decide how to choose the particular charity.

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http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WYR2WQT

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It seems like every mock draft I've come across lately (NFL Draft Scout, NFL.com, Shutdown Corner) has moved QB Sam Bradford up to No. 1. I'm not a believer, but it's the Rams franchise and they can do whatever they want. Incredibly it means DT Ndamukong Suh is moving down to No. 2, or even No. 3, or even No. 8. He's the best player in the draft, so that just seems crazy.

Unfortunately most of these mock drafts still have the Packers selecting an offensive lineman. As much as that's a long-term need, since LT Chad Clifton and RT Mark Tauscher can't play forever, the need for a pass rusher to replace LB Aaron Kampman is too obvious to overlook. Maybe the value for a pass rusher/OLB type isn't there at the end of the 1st round and they're a candidate to trade down.

Shutdown Corner threw a curveball and suggested the Packers might draft Fresno State RB Ryan Mathews:

Ryan Grant was the second-most efficient back in 2009, according to Football Outsiders’ statistics, but those numbers don’t factor in blocking. To put it bluntly, Grant is a terrible pass-blocker.

I've never watched a Packer game and criticized Grant for his pass-blocking. I'm sure he's not the best blocking back on the roster, RB Brandon Jackson usually came in on passing downs and made some great plays as QB Aaron Rodgers's protector, but finding a back who's a better blocker wasn't a need I had even considered.

No disrespect to Mathews. At 6'0", 218 lbs., and a 4.45 40-yard dash, I calculated his speed score at 111, which is about as good as Grant. I can understand why he's moving up draft boards.

In a crazy pre-draft move, the 49ers have reportedly shown the door to their well respected GM Scot McCloughan. From Rob Rang:

McCloughan has a very good eye for talent. His ability to read the board and project which players will rise or slide is acknowledged by other teams throughout the league. He'll be missed in the San Francisco draft room, should it come down to that. 

I did not know McCloughan had a connection to GM Ted Thompson. Both were hired by the Packers in 1994 and then worked together under Mike Holmgren in Seattle. From the Press-Gazette:

In 1999 Mike Holmgren took McCloughan with him to Seattle to become the Seahawks' director of college scouting. A year later, Holmgren hired Thompson to run his personnel department, and from 2000 through 2004, McCloughan worked closely with Thompson on the Seahawks' drafts.

When the Packers hired Thompson as GM in 2005, he wanted to bring McCloughan with him, but the 49ers hired McCloughan that same offseason to run their personnel department.

If McCloughan is out of work, there's a good chance Thompson will be interested in bringing him back to the Packers, though Cleveland and Seattle are just as likely landing spots also.

While the Packers recently lost John Schneider to Seattle, they still have Reggie McKenzie running the personnel department and John Dorsey as the director of college scouting, and I can't complain about the job those two have done in recent years. Bringing in McCloughan seems like having too many cooks in the kitchen. Though if Thompson wants it, then Greg Bedard expects hiring McCloughan would be done.

Jerry Glanville now is admitting he's the one who traded Brett Favre out of Atlanta.Back in the mid-to-late 1990s, the former Falcons coach said former Falcons General Manager Ken Herock was the mover behind tradng Favre back in 1992. Herock always maintained it was Glanville who wanted to get rid of Favre. In more recent years, Glanville has talked about Favre's excessive drinking in his one year with the Falcons but has not directly said he wanted to trade him.But in a recent radio interview with WNSR in Nashville, via a post on ProFootballTalk.com, Glanville said he had Favre traded after his rookie season."I had to get him out of Atlanta. ... I could not sober him up," Glanville said. "I sent him to a city where at 9:00 at night the only thing that's open is Chili Joes. You can get it two ways, with or without onions. And that's what made Brett Favre make a comeback was going to a town that closed down. If I would have traded him to New York, nobody to this day would have known who Brett Favre ever was."

I know copy and pasting is a cheap way to make a post however...........the content warrants it is done so everyone could read it. The "....I could not sober him up" quote jumped out at me.

Thoughts??

Hello, my name is Ernesto J. Ruiz and I am a staff writer for Mile High Report – SBNation’s Denver Broncos’ blog.  As some of you may already know, I will be moderating a live interactive mock draft over at MHR this upcoming Sunday starting at noon EST.  As of the time of this post, we are still looking for volunteers willing to represent the remaining available teams.  I am publishing this here today because your team is among those currently without representation.  You are free, however, to represent any of the available teams – if you so desire. 

You should know that this will be our second live mock of the offseason and that the original was a resounding success!  I have since revised the process, hopefully for the better; the details of the event are all available (link: here).  If you are still interested in joining us after reading through them, then I ask that you sign-up by claiming a team in the comments section of that post.  I thank you for your time and attention, and hope to hear from you soon! 

More photos » Mike Roemer - AP

7 months ago: Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs (16) makes a first down against Green Bay Packers cornerback Will Blackmon, left, during the first half of an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

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I noticed yesterday that CB Will Blackmon appeared to be in Green Bay though it wasn't expected that any of the unsigned Packer restricted free agents would attend the weight training and conditioning that began this week. 

Well he must have known he was going to sign, and sure enough it was announced the next day. I'm still not sure he's a good CB, he so rarely plays on defense it's hard to form an opinion, but he is the best kick and punt returner on the roster. For a special teams unit that desperately needs a jump start, Blackmon is a welcome return. And it's not surprising he signed the qualifying offer. With all the injuries he's sustained, he missed the final 13 games last season, it wasn't likely that he'd attract a lot of attention as a free agent.

He celebrated the big news with a BBQ at his place.