Packers Daily Links: Jolly Denied Bond

Johnny Jolly's attorney said his client is maintaining his innocence. That and more in today's Daily Links...

Suspended Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly was denied bond by a Houston judge on Wednesday. "The decision means Jolly will remain jailed until at least his next court appearance April 20," writes Juan Lozano of the Associated Press. "He did not appear in court during the brief hearing." Jolly's attorney said he's maintaining his innocence.

Packers director of college scouting John Dorsey attended the pro day at the University of Washington yesterday in which quarterback Jake Locker worked out. "Locker, who measured 6-foot-2 5/8 and weighed 227 pounds, was put through a scripted workout by Huskies offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier that featured a variety of passes to a wide receiver and a running back," writes Gil Brandt of NFL.com. "Locker, who completed 39 of 41 passes, stood on the rest of his combine numbers." Locker isn't expected to be around by the time the Packers draft in the first round, but stranger things have happened. A player the Packers may have their eye on is safety Nate Williams.

In other pre-draft news, the Packers are said to have East Carolina offensive lineman Willie Smith through a private workout. "Smith started the last two seasons at left tackle for the Pirates after bouncing around to begin his career, playing defensive end, defensive tackle and tight end, which speaks to his feet and athletic ability," writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. "East Carolina set 16 offensive records last season." Smith told Cheesehead TV at the NFL Combine that he's a close friend of current Packers defensive lineman C.J. Wilson and the two did battle frequently in practice while at East Carolina.

The Packers announced that several former players from the Super Bowl XXXI-winning team will join them on their Tailgate Tour in May. "Dorsey Levens, Gilbert Brown and Antonio Freeman are among the scheduled ‘Packers Tailgate Tour’ celebrities added to the 2011 lineup, which kicks off May 10, in Marquette, Mich," according to the Packers official website. With the NFL lockout in place, current players are not taking part this year.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com doesn't think Johnny Jolly's latest troubles will play a part in the Packers' decision to re-sign Cullen Jenkins. "I didn't think there was much of a chance the Packers would re-sign Jenkins before this latest Johnny Jolly news, and I still don't," writes Seifert. "The Packers were looking at Jolly as a bonus if he did return. Their plan, and this fits along with what they've done at many other positions in recent years, appears to be to plug in some of the young players -- Mike Neal, C.J. Wilson, maybe Jarius Wynn -- to Jenkins' position. Stranger things have happened, but I think they would have re-signed Jenkins before the lockout if they wanted him back." It's pretty hard to argue this point of view.

Of the same mind, Brady Augustine of Green Bay Packer Nation thinks the upcoming NFL Draft could also play a part in the Packers not needing to re-sign Jenkins. "With Mike Neal on the mend and a draft full of D-linemen yet to come, there will be another beast to take his place and balance out our defensive line," writes Augustine. "And as we all learned the hard way with the departure of our former quarterback, the Green Bay Packers are greater than any one player."

Monty McMahon of Total Packers reacts to Jermichael Finley being ranked no. 10 among NFL tight ends by ESPN. "While Finley’s ranking isn’t all that surprising, considering he missed most of the 2010 season, you have to question the rationale of the voters," writes McMahon. "The Indianapolis Colts’ Dallas Clark, who also missed considerable time with an injury in 2010, came in third."

Nick Barnett's uncertain future with the Packers is noted by Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, but without a CBA in place, there's not much to say. "Any resolution to the Barnett situation – just like any other player transactions – will have to wait until the lockout is over and a new collective bargaining agreement is in place," writes Demovsky.

The deadline for payment for season ticket holders is today.

Wisconsin product Brad Thorson, an NFL Draft prospect, is interviewed by Brian Higgins at PocketDoppler.

Packers.com looks at the quarterback position.

Video: Running back Ryan Grant continues to honor the Luxem family, recently taking in an Arena League game with them...

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Comments (10)

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Franklin Hillside's picture

March 31, 2011 at 09:08 am

Grant is cool customer. I like that guy.

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maxginsberg's picture

April 01, 2011 at 06:31 am

Amen. The more I learn about Grant, the more I like him.

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ZUB's picture

March 31, 2011 at 10:05 am

I sit confused about Jolly. I have compassion for a man that in 20 years will see what a wast of a opportunity he had to be remember for something great and special, a member of a great football team. Obviously at this point in his life he just can't see this nor has the ability to make it happen, so sad.

Looking at Nick Barnett's situation, he wants to play and does the right things, yet his opportunity to play on a winning team is in jeopardy. I am sure Nick thinks about Jolly and just shakes his head and wishes he had the opportunities that once were just there for Jolly to take advantage of.

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BrianD's picture

March 31, 2011 at 01:47 pm

Publicly complaining about your team on twitter is not one of the "right things" Barnett did last year. He lost my respect during that little fiasco. I don't care whether or not he comes back next season.

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SpartaChris's picture

March 31, 2011 at 07:50 pm

^^This.

Barnett proved he wasn't a leader, and Jolly proved he's an idiot. I don't care to see either in a Packer uniform again.

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ZUB's picture

April 01, 2011 at 10:59 am

I agree with you to a certain extent, Barnett said what he wanted to say and left at that.

IMO Barnett's point was correct, he went about it the wrong way. Finely and his wife went over board on twitter and even did a TV interview.

Picture gate blew up more so from Finely than Barnett's tweet

If thats the worst thing Barnett has done, this is really not so bad coming from an emmotional Packer player who has bled grean and gold for 8 years and has been a great spokesman for the team the last 8 years.

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ZUB's picture

March 31, 2011 at 10:17 am

Talking about pure Xs and Os, not the story behind Jolly, I still contend that Hawk/Jolly lining up on the same side of the field was not a good combination. They did not complement each other very well, making our defense much weaker against the pass when they were in on that side of the field.

Opposing QBs would favor that side of the field, Jolly's lack of a pass rush made Hawk's job even harder, playing right into his weakest skill set. Which is why at times Chillar got lots of playing time under Caper's system, knowing Jolly was great against the run (shutting that down) and Chillar was better at defending the pass.

Hawk proved his all around value this year, but he still needs a good defensive lineman in front him to allow Hawk to do his thing.

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PackersRS's picture

March 31, 2011 at 01:15 pm

Agreed.

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Oppy's picture

March 31, 2011 at 06:17 pm

I could have sworn that Jolly was used almost exclusively on the strong side of formations, while Hawk plays the weak inside (mack) position.

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PackersRS's picture

March 31, 2011 at 01:15 pm

Grant is a fool, trying to make pro athletes look intelligent, educated, caring men.

He's forgetting that they're slaves! Modern-day slaves! Damn, they can't even skip work to attend a parade in their name without being bothered by the team! That's slavery right there!

/Peterson'd

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