Packers Blog Roundup: Has Mike Neal Sewed Up A Starting Spot?

With a spot in the starting lineup vacated by the departed Cullen Jenkins, Mike Neal may have already locked the job up. That and more in today's Blog Roundup...

It's been noticed by Monty McMahon of Total Packers that in a discussion of starting jobs up for grabs on the Green Bay Packers, defensive line isn't among them. It begs the question, has Mike Neal already locked up a spot in the starting lineup? "The book on Neal is he’s strong as an ox and can get to the quarterback," writes McMahon. "This long-term potential may give him an edge over (C.J.) Wilson for the starting spot."

This past weekend, former Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe introduced his brother, Shannon, for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "If you haven’t seen the speech, I highly recommend it," writes Jayme Joers of Eat More Cheese. "But even if you don’t have time to watch the whole speech – as it is rather long – watch Sterling’s intro and the subsequent hug between the two brothers. While Shannon asked the HOF committee to take Sterling’s career into account the next time they sit down to vote, I doubt Sterling will ever get in, 'fate dealt him a different hand.'"

More on Sterling Sharpe and the Hall of Fame appears at Lombardi Ave.

With preseason football getting underway this weekend, discussion of how much playing time the starters will receive is touched upon at the Bucky Channel. "I'm not sure how the players will approach the preseason this year due to the fact that training camp was cut short," writes Gweedo. "I would guess the starters might get a little more playing time in each game, but the guys trying to make the team should still get the most time."

A transcript of former Packers linebacker Nick Barnett as a guest on a local radio show in Toronto appears at Sports Radio Interviews. In the interview, Barnett talks about his former team. "Every year you know, this year definitely because I got hurt last year, you kinda have something and we kinda talked to them about the process of signing A.J. (Hawk) to that large of a deal and them signing (Desmond) Bishop we figured there would be some movement either with me (Brandon) Chillar, (Brady) Poppinga, or other linebackers as well," said Barnett. "From me I always kept it positive and I was still a Packer at the time so I’m not just going to throw everything away until I have a conversation with them. It sucked with the lockout I couldn’t get things figured out before the lockout. I just had to go through it. I have no hard feelings, it is what it is, they wanted to go in a different direction with some younger players, and I was able to get in a fit where they needed a veteran here and I’m excited."

Contract extension discussion continues at the NFC North blog at ESPN.com.

The Packers' over/under on regular season wins is 11 1/2.

Assorted thoughts on training camp appear at AllGreenBayPackers.com, Packer Update, Packer Chatters and Arman's Titletown Talk.

Family Night is looked at in retrospect at Green Bay Packer Talk.

The Packers Hall of Fame is hosting a teleseminar on the history of the team August 12.

The Journal Sentinel is looking for a nickname for the Packers wide receivers.

Video: The Packers' annual 5K Run is chronicled at the Packers Lounge...

Brian Carriveau is the editor of the Maple Street Press Packers Annual. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

Second-hand news sources are not included in the blog roundup unless they also include meaningful commentary.

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Wiscokid's picture

August 09, 2011 at 09:28 pm

It should have been Sterling going into the HOF. Just sad.

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