It's AARON RODGERS days until we get married

I don't need to tell you how great Aaron Rodgers is. Just watch this highlight video of his rise from forgotten draft pick to Super Bowl champion.



Or this movie-trailer style preview of his return from injury a couple years back.

It's CHESTER MARCOL days until we get married

So serious Chester!

The Packers have been around for approximately 1000 years (citation needed) so of course they're going to have their share of unusual plays. That's just how football works. The longer you play, the more weird stuff you're going to see.

Kicker Chester Marcol owns the weirdest play of all, bar none.

The Packers were tied with the Chicago Bears in overtime in 1980. Marcol and the kicking unit lined up for what looked to be the game-winning field goal.

Instead...

It's DON HUTSON days until we get married

Jordy Nelson is great. James Lofton is in the Hall of Fame. But there has never been a better wide receiver to lace 'em up for the Packers than Don Hutson.

Let me qualify that statement by saying that if you dropped Nelson or Lofton into Hutson's era, they'd have been at least as good, probably better. But Lofton is great because he invented all the things that made Lofton and Nelson successful in their eras.

Before Hutson burst onto the scene in 1935, nobody ran pass routes consistently, nobody planned out the passing game regularly, and nobody even really considered throwing the ball a really consistent way to generate offense. Hutson changed all that.

In his eleven year career, Hutson led the NFL in receptions eight times, receiving yards seven times, and in receiving touchdowns nine times. He was more successful in his era than any other player has been in theirs, and that, in my mind, makes him the best receiver ever.


Plus, he was a pretty decent pitchman for Marlboro, of all things!

It's BABE PARILLI days until we get married

Nobody has worn the number 15 since Bart Starr retired in 1971, and the list of people who wore that number was pretty short even before Starr took it up in 1956. But would you believe that there was another All-Pro quarterback who wore the number? There actually was, and his name was Babe Parilli.

To be perfectly fair, Parilli wasn't an All-Pro until long after his two short stints in Green Bay, but he apparently had greatness inside him all along. The Kentucky University product got his start with the Packers in 1952 as a combo quarterback and punter. He started four games that year, five the next, then fled for Cleveland for a year before returning to Green Bay for the 1957 and 1958 seasons. He spent the 1959 season in Oakland before finally landing in Boston with the Patriots.

That's where things all came together for Parilli. During his seven seasons with Boston, he played in all but four games, earning three Pro Bowl nominations and an All-Pro nod. He was good, but never consistently great, although the fact that he was a Packers back-up while Bart Starr was in town really makes him an interesting note in Packers history.

It's CRAIG NALL days until we get married

Craig Nall is the best Packers quarterback you've never heard of.

That statement is designed to sound impressive, but trust me, now that you've heard of Craig Nall, he ranks far lower on the list of Packers quarterbacks. Allow me to explain.

Craig Nall was a backup quarterback for the Packers from 2003 through 2005 and in 2007. During his first stint in Green Bay, Nall was efficient in mop-up duty on several occasions, and as a result compiled a scintillating 139.4 passer rating.

After the 2005 season, Nall left for Buffalo for a shot at becoming a starter, but never made it into the lineup. He returned to Green Bay for the 2007 season and played in one game, though he wasn't nearly efficient.

Still, Nall ended his career with a 123.8 passer rating, which, if he'd sustained it for a much, much longer period of time, would easily rank as the best mark in NFL history, which is why he's the best quarterback you've never heard of.

Of course, the things that happened when he tried to become a quarterback you've actually heard of take the shine off that apple a little bit, but let's not split hairs here.

It's DAVANTE ADAMS days until we get married

With Jordy Nelson done for the year, there are several other wide receivers currently on the Packers will have to step up. No one will be asked to step up in a bigger way than Davante Adams.

The 22 year old Adams was a second round pick for the Packers last year, and he had a pretty decent season by all accounts. He had his struggles, to be sure, but he finished the season with a respectable 38 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns. Not spectacular, sure, but not terribly disappointing either, especially considering that both Nelson and Randall Cobb both caught more than 90 passes last season.

In the Packers first postseason game, though, Adams came alive. With Aaron Rodgers hobbled by injury, Green Bay needed everyone on point for the biggest game of the season, and Adams delivered, snagging seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown, showing everyone what he was capable of accomplishing.

Unfortunately, in the Packers next preseason game, the fateful NFC Championship game in Seattle, Adams all but disappeared. He had one catch for just seven yards and was an utter non-factor.

So which Adams is the real one? I'm inclined to believe that he's closer to the guy who tore up Dallas than the one who vanished in Seattle, and I've got to believe the Packers are hoping that's true, too. If anybody is going to replace Nelson, Adams is the man, and it's up to him to show it.

It's DOUG PEDERSON days until we get married

Imagine the stereotypical dad that you'd see on an ABC Family TV show. Then imagine if that dad was the quarterback for a professional football team. You've just imagined Doug Pederson.

You might surmise from that description that Doug Pederson was not a very impressive football player. You would surmise correctly. He was never a featured player, but more stuck around to make sure that if something did go wrong, it wouldn't be a huge disaster.

Pederson backed up Brett Favre for most of Favre's tenure in Green Bay. You know, of course, that Favre never missed a start from the time he took over in Green Bay until the end of his time there, That, obviously, meant that there wasn't a whole lot for ol' Doug to do, so the Packers gave him things to do. Among them, Pederson had to make sure Favre's jersey stayed tucked in so he wouldn't get fined for a uniform violation.

Pederson did eventually get his crack at being a starter. He left Green Bay to sign with Philadelphia as a free agent, and for a time he was installed as the starter. For whatever reason, it didn't work out, and after two years Pederson came back to Green Bay, where he finished out his career. He's now a coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. And yes, he still looks like a dad.

It's MYLES WHITE days until we get married

Only five players worn the number 19 for the Packers since I've been alive. All of them were wide receivers. Only four of them actually appeared in games wearing that number. Just three have had the ball come their way. Two did something with it. Only one has caught a pass: Myles White.

As much out of necessity as skill, White appeared in seven games for the Packers in 2013. Though small in stature, White was known for his explosive athleticism and grit on the field. However, White never got a chance to unleash his gamebreaking speed, as defenses kept him mainly under wraps when he took the field. He managed just 66 yards on nine catches that year.

The next year, White found himself in a do or die competition with three Packers draft picks for a roster spot: Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, and Jeff Janis. A second round pick, Adams was guaranteed a spot. Abbrederis tore his knee early, leaving Janis and White to fight for the final available roster spot designated for receivers.

Early on, it looked as though White would have a leg up. Janis, though even more athletic than white, was raw, and he missed numerous early practices after a bout with shingles. White had a chance to get a leg up, but he couldn't capitalize.

Once Janis returned to the field, it was all over. All he did was produce, scoring touchdowns in consecutive games. White was cut, but was offered a position on the Packers' practice squad, which he accepted.

Now, Janis and White are repeating their battle, and it's just gotten extra interesting with the devastating injury to Jordy Nelson this week. It's hard to say if either one will lock down a spot for sure, but the battle has been interesting so far, and White is going to give it everything he's got if the past is any indication.

It's JEAN FANOR days until we get married

I told you already about Andy Mulumba and the difficult and circuitous route he took to the NFL. Few players in the NFL could match Mulumba's story, except for maybe safety Jean Fanor.

Fanor spent the first ten years of his life in Haiti, moving to Miami with his family to escape the violence in his home town. Fanor was robbed every day on the way to school, and since he couldn't outrun the robbers, he had to learn how to fight to keep whatever little money he had.

After playing safety at the lightly-regarded Bethune Cookman University, Fanor didn't get much attention from the NFL. He signed with the Chiefs in 2012, but was cut before the start of the regular season.

Undeterred, Fanor signed with the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football league, where he starred for two years. When I say starred, I don't mean that he was just a good arena football player. I mean he dominated his competition. Take a look at this video.

Those two excellent years earned him a tryout with the Packers in 2014, and although he wasn't signed on the spot, Fanor was offered a contract in Green Bay a month later.

Despite the offer, Fanor is hardly guaranteed a roster spot this year. There are at least four, maybe five safeties ahead of him on the depth chart, depending on how you count, and the opportunities for a guy like Fanor are few and far between. Still, if anybody is ready to fight, you'd think it would have to be Jean Fanor.

It's CHARLES WOODSON days until we get married.

I don't have to tell you who Charles Woodson is. Instead, just enjoy the awesomeness of his time in Green Bay wash over you.

It's DARICK HOLMES days until we get married

Darick Holmes was a pretty average running back for several years before he arrived in Green Bay in 1998. He continued to be an average running back, even an invisible one, for most of the 1998 season, until suddenly he exploded in Week 10.

Having been inactive for most of the season, Holmes must have had ultra-fresh legs or something, because after seven weeks on the bench, Holmes erupted with 111 yards on 27 carries against the Giants.

This is a good stat line, but nothing all that remarkable, although the sudden-ness of it made quite an impression on the 4th grade version of me. For some reason, Holmes instantly became my favorite player. I was all about Darick Holmes for...well about a whole month.

Why only a month? Well, that's about as long as the Holmes phenomenon lasted. A week after his 111 yard effort, Holmes rushed for just 51 yards. The next week, he was back up to his old tricks with a monster 163-yard output against the Eagles. But the very next contest, Holmes dropped off again, managing just 41 yards, and from there his totals were all but wiped out, as he recorded just 15 total yards between the final two games he played that season.

Still, I've always remembered Holmes. I drew a pretty intricate picture of him on the back of one of my notebooks during class one day after his performance against the Giants. I still can't recall what made him jump out to me. Maybe it was something about the way he ran. Maybe I liked the way number 22 looked out on the field. Maybe I just wanted to buy low on a guy that nobody else was on board with yet. I can't tell you why I liked him, but I did then, and I still remember him today.

It's NOAH HERRON days until we get married

Former Packers running back Noah Herron did little of note during his season and a half with the Packers, but off the field he had one of the more notable off-field incidents in recent memory.

Some time during his stint with the Packers in 2005 or 2006, Herron found himself home alone late one night. Suddenly, he heard some movement outside, and peaked out of his bedroom window to see two men attempting to break into his house.

What does he do? Well, instead of calling the police, Herron unscrewed one of the posts on his big four-poster bed and hid behind the door. When one of the would-be robbers stepped into the bedroom, Herron smacked him upside the head with the post. The other robber, hearing of his counterpart's plight, decided he didn't want to be a robber any more and escaped while he still could.

Of course, none of this compares to what I'm sure you'll find to be the most enjoyable moment of Herron's football career...



BONUS: Here's the story of Maurice Harvey, another running back who wore 23. He almost died as he was returning back to Lambeau Field after practice one day.

BONUS BONUS: Let your imagination run wild on this one. I want to introduce you to a man named Tiger Greene who retired from the NFL and became a police officer in Atlanta. If that's not the backstory of a character in a buddy cop movie, I don't know what is. Also, he looks like this:

It's ANTUAN EDWARDS days until we get married

In 1998, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was the scariest man in the National Football League, and that's saying something. That year, the Vikings were the toast of the league. Their offense was absolutely incredible, and they rode it to a 15-1 record.

It's remarkable that Moss stood out the way that he did. That year, the Vikings had former Philadelphia Eagles legend Randall Cunningham at quarterback, a future Hall of Famer at wide receiver in Cris Carter, and Robert Smith at running back, who had rushed for nearly 1300 yards the season before.

Moss outpaced them all, even as a rookie. The 25th overall pick in the NFL Draft in 1998, Moss came with more than a few red flags already flying, most of which followed him through the rest of his career. Mercurial though he was, he dominated the league that year, catching 69 passes for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns, an incredible season for just about anyone, much less a rookie.

And of course, there was no team that Moss torched more thoroughly than the Green Bay Packers.

In two games against Green Bay, Moss totaled 13 catches for 243 yards and three touchdowns, none more spectacular than his first prime time touchdown against Green Bay on Monday Night football in Week 5.



Moss was clearly the most dangerous player the Packers would be seeing on a regular basis, and they responded accordingly. In the draft the following off-season, the Packers spent their first three picks on defensive backs, and safety Antuan Edwards was their first man off the board.

Early returns were pretty good, though Edwards only managed one start in his first season with the Packers. He did catch four interceptions that year, but the Packers surely expected more from their first round pick.

That ended up being the theme for much of Edwards' career. He started three games in 2000, then missed most of the 2001 campaign with an injury. 2002 saw him on the field for 12 games with four starts, and then he finally seemed to be putting things together in 2003.

That year, he started 10 games, and although he missed a couple games near the early portion of the year, he was as healthy as he'd ever been. Things culminated with what could have been the finest game Edwards played as a member of the Packers. In Week 11, San Francisco came to town and Edwards nearly single-handedly took them apart. He notched one sack, snagged an interception, and in what could be the best play I ever saw Edwards make with the Packers, absolutely destroyed Terrell Owens on an end around.

Now, I've waxed poetic about Owens before, but it bears repeating for you to understand what an incredible play this was. Owens was at the peak of his powers in 2003. A chiseled, freakish athlete, nobody was no dangerous after the catch than T.O. I remember vividly that he already had a full head of steam built up when he was handed the ball as he came sprinting into the backfield on that end around run.

Edwards, though, was not phased at all. He stepped into the backfield, squared Owens up, then somehow picked him up, leaned back, and all but pile-drived Owens into the ground.

It was as stunning as it was final. Edwards only played one more game with the Packers, sustaining a season-ending injury in the next week's contest against Detroit. He left as a free agent the following off-season, less of a has-been and more of a never-was, at least in terms of his life in Green Bay.

But for that one play, Edwards was a wrecking crew that took out the most physically impressive player in the entire league.

It's RYAN GRANT days until we get married

Ryan Grant was a running back who wore number 25 for the Packers from 2007 through 2012. To me, he's an interesting story not so much of his success, but because of how he stopped having success.

A quick rewind. The Packers traded for Grant just before the start of the 2007 season, and midway through the season he exploded. In just seven starts, he rushed for 956 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging more than five yards per carry. He was incredible during that stretch, helping carry the Packers to the NFC title game that season.

Grant was the classic "one cut" zone running back during the peak of his powers. The gist of that style is that the offensive line tries to get everybody moving in one direction while the back generally goes in that direction, and then the back will cut back against the grain and go off to the races. Grant racked up yards by the armful in that system.

Until he didn't.

For whatever reason, Grant could never recapture the magic of that run in 2007. Perhaps it was because of the diminished passing game during the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. Perhaps it was injuries. Maybe the offensive line just wasn't as good. But for whatever reason, Grant was never as explosive or impactful as he was during that run. He still ran for 1200 yards each of the next two season, but it never felt the same. He was never the dominant force that he was.

Grant left the Packers after the 2011 season, but returned for four games in 2012 after the Packers were hammered with injuries. I wish I could tell you that he recaptured some of the magic, but that's not really how professional sports work in the real world. He did score a couple touchdowns and had one long catch for a score as well, but once again, he wasn't quite the player he was when he first burst onto the scene.

But what an explosion that was.

It's CUP OF COFFEE days until we get married

Nobody wears number 26 for the Packers now, and it's been a while since anybody of significance has worn it.

Historically, it's been a pretty amazing number for the Packers. Hall of Fame Herb Adderly wore it for Lombardi's teams in the 60's and in the 80's, Tim Lewis was pretty good in his own right, but since then, it's been pretty nondescript.

The last two guys to sport it were DuJuan Harris from 2012 to 2014 and Charlie Peprah from 2006 to 2011. Each had their moments, to be sure. Harris helped resurrect the Packers running game down the stretch in 2012, and was a pretty fun guy to watch as he did it.



He couldn't ever really duplicate that success, though, and was released that offseason.

Peprah was a bit of an also-ran at safety, but limited though he may have been, he did have one of the most fun to watch interception returns in recent memory in 2011:



But the guys I want to talk about are even less notable in Packers history than either Harris or Peprah. This pair wore 26 in the four years before Peprah and Harris took it up, and combined for 26 tackles between them in their four years in the NFL.

I'm talking about Erwin Swiney and Jason Horton, of course, household names that they are. Each of them played two seasons with the Packers, Swiney from 2002 to 2003 and Horton from 2004 to 2005. And that's about really all there is to say about both Swiney and Horton, at least from a statistical perspective.

Sure, each of them have backstories. Each of them was among the better players at both their high school and college, and each of them surely produced a long list of highlights on their way to their sport's highest level.

But when it came to that level, neither of them was much more than an afterthought. Why? It's hard to say. The physical difference between a good player and a great one, or even an average one and a poor one, is very negligible. What made someone else a star and Swiney and Horton afterthoughts?

It's doubtful we'll ever know, or that anybody will ever figure out why one athlete made it and another didn't. The Packers have surely collected their share of success stories from guys who were unheralded but ended up as stars. If something would have gone differently, could either of Swiney or Horton been another one of those success stories?

What I want to know most of all, though, is if either of them have come to terms with it. Each of them has been out of the league for either more than or close to a decade now, but I wonder if they've come to terms with the fact that it ended the way it did. Are they satisfied with the way things turned out? Do they wonder if it could have gone differently? How do they deal with not knowing why it turned out the way it did?

It's EDDIE LACY days until we get married

The good thing about doing a countdown for the second consecutive year is that I don't have to tell you Eddie Lacy's life story this time around. Not that it's not a great life story. But you know what's better than a life story? Watching Eddie Lacy truck some dudes. Take it away, Mr. Lacy:

First we have high school Eddie:



High school Eddie is a little bit more shifty than his modern day counterpart.

College Eddie seems to be an equal mix of quick moves and power:



And then there's professional Eddie, who's become something of a force of nature entering his third year. I mean just look at poor Robert Blanton:



Have some more!

It's SEAN RICHARDSON days until we get married

I feel like I've written this exact story before, but bear with me, because it's one that's going to play out on the Packers' roster this year.

Many players end up snagging positions not so much because they are good players now, but because they could one day become good players. This is why the Packers kept players like Carl Bradford and Khyri Thornton last year, and it's why they doubled down on Sean Richardson this year.

I'd like you to look at the picture of Sean Richardson to the upper left. Clearly, he's a very fit individual. He's exceptionally physically gifted, even for a professional football player. Richardson is taller and heavier than a typical safety by a couple inches and about 15 pounds, and it shows. If you watch him on the field, those gifts jump out, but he's had trouble staying on the field throughout his career.

Last year, however, Richardson played all 16 games for the first time in his career. The Packers found creative ways to use him as a result. He was a valuable contributor on special teams (coaches love big guys that can run fast on those squads) and on defense, they deployed him as sort of a hybrid safety/linebacker that played close to the line of scrimmage to some success.

This success, however, did not go unnoticed. A free agent this past offseason, Richardson was offered a one year, $2.55 million dollar deal by the Oakland Raiders (whose general manager just happens to be a former Packers executive). Since he was a restricted free agent, the Packers had the option of matching the Raiders' offer, which they did.

This is where Richardson's potential comes into play again. Though he was something of a mystery for his first couple years, Richardson finally flashed that immense potential of his last year. The Packers have committed an awful lot of money to Richardson for a guy who's going to be a backup this year, more than likely. Will the gamble pay off? Will he keep improving as a player?

I'm not sure what the answer will be. Richardson is obviously physically gifted, but I think the chances of him showing what he can really do will depend on what kind of opportunities he gets. Given his position, the chances that he can really show his potential could be slim, but he's so talented that the Packers may let him make his own opportunities.

And there, I suppose, is the catch-22 of potential. At what point do you go from a guy with potential to a guy who's just not very good at making the most of his opportunities? The Packers will find out with Richardson this year.

It's TYRONE CULVER days until we get married

Tyrone Culver was a safety for the Packers for one season with the Packers, donning number 29 for the 2006 campaign. He's only notable because he proves that even in Wisconsin, Culver's aren't always good!

Okay...that was a bad joke.

It's JOHN KUHN days until we get married

John Kuhn is currently the Packers fullback. John Kuhn is inexplicably popular with Packers fans. I mean he is wildly popular with fans. They chant his name. They demand he get the ball near the goal line. They get upset if anybody suggests that this may be the year that Kuhn doesn't keep his roster spot.

So why is Kuhn popular? I'm not exactly sure, but he has the exact background of a player who should be popular in Green Bay. He's from a small blue collar town. He entered the NFL from a small school (Shippensburg) and plays a position where a hard-nosed attitude is desirable.

Kuhn is also not enormously physically gifted like many of the other players in the NFL. I mean, yeah, he's a good enough athlete to play in the NFL, but he's also not the kind of athlete that makes him look superhuman.

On top of that, Kuhn somehow has a knack for making run-of-the-mill plays look interesting, like this short touchdown pass from a few years back...

...or this short catch and run:



I guess he's kind of a fun player, even if his popularity may not entirely make sense.

KUUUUUUUUUHN

It's FRED VINSON days until we get married

Sometimes in professional sports, you're the superstar. Other times, you're the stepping stone for somebody else to become the superstar. Such is the case of Fred Vinson.

Vinson was a second round pick for the Packers in 1999. He had a reasonably successful year as a rookie, starting one game, catching two interceptions, and recording one quarterback sack in 16 games.

That off-season, however, Vinson was traded to Seattle as part of the package the Packers used to acquire running back Ahman Green. It may have worked out to be a beneficial swap for both teams, except Vinson tore up his knee playing pickup basketball before he even played a down for the Seahawks. He never played in the NFL again.

Green, of course, went on to become a star for the Packers. Vinson tried a comeback in the Arena Football League but only lasted a year before the team he played for ceased to exist. Talk about your hard luck!

His post-football career seems to be going alright, though, even if he got several bad breaks in the NFL. He presently works as an SEO coordinator for a web development firm. Hopefully there aren't any trades in his future there.

It's BOOTH LUSTEG days until we get married

I am quite confident that I will not be able to do justice to the story of Booth Lusteg.

The creatively named Lusteg brings a tale that you will probably have to read once or twice to fully understand. Intrigued by his name and the fact that a kicker could wear the number 32, I Googled Mr. Lusteg and found this on his Wikipedia page:

Note that line there near the middle: "his top two competitors were a German bricklayer and a one-armed cyclops."

Um.

Figuring that couldn't possibly be true, I went looking for more information about Mr. Lusteg, and I found this article from the New Haven Register which details Lusteg's attempt to earn a spot on an NFL roster as a kicker. More than 100 people showed up, including (you guessed it) a German bricklayer and a man with one eye and one arm. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

The rest of Lusteg's story is nearly as interesting, including a moment where he had to navigate a team bus to a place he'd said he'd been but had never actually visited, an assault outside an NFL stadium, and a near fatal encounter with Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose nickname was well-deserved.

Unfortunately, as interesting as Lusteg was, he was not actually a good kicker. Sure, he led the AFL in points once, but he never converted even 60% of his kicks in a season one time, including making just one in five attempts during his lone season with the Packers in 1969. But come on! How much do you want from a guy who never actually played real football beyond high school before BS-ing his way onto an NFL roster.

It's DOUG EVANS days until we get married

Cornerback Doug Evans suited up in the number 33 from 1993 to 1997, and he may have saved the Packers 1996 Super Bowl season.

Rewind to when I was just eight years old. Watching football with my family was incredibly fun, but prime time games were the absolute worst. If the Packers played on Sunday or Monday nights, I had to beg and plead to even make it to halftime.

That was a problem in the mid-90's, since, much like now, the Packers were a marquee team and tended to end up in prime time matchups a lot, which brings us to Week 13 of the NFL season. The Packers were slated to take on the St. Louis Rams on Sunday Night Football, and it was viewed as an opportunity for the Packers to get back on track. They'd lost two games in a row and had been ravaged by injuries, but the Rams were something of a pushover that season and the Packers were heavy favorites.

Only, it didn't work out that way. The Packers fell behind early as the Rams scored a touchdown and forced Brett Favre into a safety, earning a 9-0 lead. Green Bay managed a field goal just before halftime, but trailed by six to a team they were expected to crush.

I was very nervous, seeing the Packers behind and being forced to go to bed was torture, so I begged for a few more minutes. they relented and I got to watch the start of the third quarter. I can't say this is how it transpired for sure, but as I remember it, the Rams received to start the second half. With a chance to push their lead, the Rams got down to work deep in their own territory, and that's where Doug Evans made his move.

Early in the Rams' drive, they made the call for a quick out route, which Evans read to perfection. He picked off the pass and headed for the end zone, putting the Packers in the lead and sending me off to bed with a smile.

Thanks Doug Evans!

It's AHMAN GREEN days until we get married

I told you about Packers running back Ahman Green during our countdown last year, but that time we talked about Green as number 30. This time, as you'll notice, he's number 34. What's the difference? Let me explain.

The Packers acquired Green in a trade in the year 2000 and within a couple seasons he had taken over as the Packers lead running back. For four season, Green was nearly unstoppable. He made the Pro Bowl in all four of those seasons, racking up more than 5600 yards and 38 touchdowns.

But as so often happens with running backs, injuries began to mount. He only played  five games in the 2005 season, and although he rebounded to play 14 the next year, he was never the same player. Green was released after the 2006 season and signed with Houston, but the injury issues persisted. Over two years with Houston, Green only played in 14 games, accumulating just 554 yards. The Texans let Green go after the 2008 season came to an end.

At 32, Green's career looked to be over, but the Packers found themselves dealing with scores of injury issues at the running back position in 2009. Midway through the season, they brought Green back for one last tour of duty. During his absence, the team had acquired fullback John Kuhn who wore the number 30. That suited Green just fine, though. An enormous Walter Payton fan, Green switched to number 34 for his final few games with the Packers.

In all honesty, Green was just a shadow of himself during his last year in Green Bay. He was nothing close to the juggernaut of a running back he was during his prime. However, it was still fun to see Green end his career where he had the most success, and somehow it seemed fitting that he went out wearing the number of the player that had inspired him to take up the sport.

It's SAMKON GADO days until we get married

2005 was a dark time for the Packers. They'd finish that season at 4-12, the worst mark by far in the Brett Favre era. By mid-season there was very little reason for hope. The playoffs were an impossible dream, and the Packers found themselves in a very odd position: just playing out the string on a lost season.

That is, until Samkon Gado exploded onto the scene.

Gado was the kind of player that cliche sports movies are written about. A native of Nigeria, his family moved to the United States when he was just a child. Then, as an undrafted rookie, he toiled on the Packers' practice squad until injuries pressed him into action.

Coming off the bench in his first real action in the Packers' eighth game of the season, Gado rushed for a lackluster 62 yards on 26 carries in his first significant NFL action. The next week, he broke out for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Gado continued to carry the load for the Packers over the next few weeks, until his best performance of the season. In Week 13, he rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, including a 64 yard scamper down the right sideline for a touchdown. The Packers had a rookie sensation on their hands.

Unfortunately, that would be the last the Packers would really see of Gado. He was injured on his sixth carry of the next game and missed the remainder of the season. He was traded the following off-season, but he left quite a legacy in Green Bay. Gado is a devout Christian and never failed to readily share that faith with whoever would listen. On top of that, he knew that his NFL career wouldn't be the be all, end all in his life. He really dreamed of being a doctor, and made use of his NFL career to pester the team's medical staff with questions. At last report, he was closing in on his goal of becoming a doctor. Not bad, Mr. Gado.

It's TWO AWESOME SAFETIES days until we get married

Two of the best safeties of their era both wore number 36 for the Packers, and we'll review them in historical order.

First, we have LeRoy Butler. The stocky safety is really one of the all-time greats, and may have been only one or two more solid seasons from being a Hall of Fame-level talent.

In fact, his 1996 season was one of the best seasons any safety has ever had. Only two defensive backs in NFL history have ever had a season with five or more sacks and six or more interceptions: LeRoy Butler and Bears great Dave Duerson. 

Of course, few people remember Butler for his statistical prowess. No, there's one play that jumps out:

Yep, that's it. The original Lambeau Leap. And just like that, a legend was born.

Unfortunately, Nick Collins is also remembered for one play, although for more tragic reasons. Just two games into the Packers defense of their 2010 Super Bowl win, Collins injured his neck while trying to make a tackle. The injury was such that he was unable to continue his career, ending his playing days at the age of just 28.

Made especially tragic was that Collins seemed to just be coming into his prime. He'd made four consecutive Pro Bowls when his career ended, and those four Pro Bowl-level season had yielded more than a few spectacular plays, including one on the biggest of all possible stages:

Ah, memories.

It's MARK MURPHY days until we get married

It's important to know that there are two significant men named Mark Murphy in the history of the Packers. The first is Mark Murphy, the team's current president. The second is Mark Murphy, a safety for the Packers in the 1980's and early 90's. What's weirder is that the first Mark Murphy also played safety (and his career even overlapped with the second Mark Murphy for a time) although he played for a different team.

For the purposes of this countdown, though, we're focusing on the guy who actually played for the Packers, not the guy who runs the Packers.

Murphy is statistically the best player to ever wear the number 37 for the Packers, even if he was never spectacular. There's something to be said for consistency, though, and that may have been his greatest strength. Murphy played in 147 games with Green Bay over the course of his 12 year NFL career.

Consistency he had, but big numbers he did not. Murphy only collected 20 interceptions during his 12 year career, but he was also versatile. On top of his interceptions, he also managed 11 sacks during his career, no small feat for a defensive back. Though he might not have big numbers, he was certainly very good, and it's a shame that he's a footnote in the team's history thanks to his shared name with the team's president.

It's HURLES SCALES days until we get married

I've got to be honest: Hurles Scales did basically nothing on the football field, either in the year before he came to Green Bay or the year he spent with the Packers. No seriously: in 15 career games with three NFL teams, the only recordable stat he generated was one fumble recovery. That's it.

But still, he may be one of the most important players to ever come through the NFL. No seriously!

It's something of an odd quirk of professional sports, but the players' union is a big deal in the NFL in the 21st century. It wasn't always this way, though. There was a time when the players did not have a union and they had to rely on little more than the hope that the owners would deal well with them. They rarely did.

Hurles Scales helped to change that, though. He was the first vice president of the NFL Players' Association's Dallas Chapter, an area that has long been a vital part of the league's fortunes. He may have played a small role in changing the league's labor history, but it was a role nonetheless.

Not only that, but Scales was awful smart outside of football. He holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Arts and a Master's degree in education. Not bad for a guy who barely had a cup of coffee in the National Football League.

It's DEMETRI GOODSON days until we get married

Demetri Goodson is a second year defensive back who's currently with the Packers. He's accomplished almost literally nothing on the field for the Packers, but he's still interesting.

Football is not Goodson's first sport. Before he played a season of football at Baylor, Goodson was a starting point guard for Gonzaga, leading them to the NCAA tournament and eventually becoming the first player in NCAA history to start both an NCAA tournament game and a BCS Bowl game.

The reason behind Goodson's transfer is pretty simple: he's probably too little to play professional basketball, at least in the NBA. He's quick, sure, but he was not a phenomenal shooter and not a good enough passer to become an elite NBA player.

On the football field, however, Goodson is on the plus side for his position, at least in terms of size. He's a little taller than average for his position, and the foot speed and lateral quickness that made him a good defender in basketball make him well suited to the defensive backfield.

To be honest, Goodson's prospects for making the Packers are not great. He's already 26, he's still learning his position, and he looked absolutely lost when he was on the field last year. Still, he's a good story, and one worth paying attention to in this year's training camp.

It's TONY FISHER days until we get married

You've probably heard me talk about former Packers running back Ahman Green, and for good reason: he's one of my favorite Packers players of all time. I may not have told you that Ahman Green's self-given nickname was Batman. Green loved Batman because Batman had no superpowers, but he kicked butt anyway. Green adopted the same mentality for himself.

Well, for every Batman, there must be a Robin. For the Packers' version of Batman, Robin was...not Tony Fisher actually. It was Najeh Davenport, but that's a story for a different day.

No, behind the Packers' Batman and the Packers' Batman's Robin, there was the...third superhero. This metaphor is breaking down. Let's start again.

From 2002 to 2005, Tony Fisher was a third string running back for the Packers. But that's not to say he wasn't an important part of the team during those years.

NFL teams have shied away from using just one running back to do all their dirty work. As early as the turn of the century, the league was tending towards using multiple versatile back to accomplish their offensive goals, deploying different backs in different situations that were suited to their unique skills.

During Fisher's time with the Packers, Ahman Green was the unquestioned lead dog in the backfield, but both Fisher and Davenport had their uses. Davenport was without a doubt a better runner, possessing excellent power in short yardage situations. (His nickname was also the Dump Truck, both for his size and power and for another, less glamorous reasons. Ahem.)

Fisher, on the other hand, was an excellent receiver, and the Packers used this skill to their advantage in long yardage third down situations. In 2003, Fisher averaged 9.8 yards per reception and scored two touchdowns, and two years later he caught a whopping 48 passes, a remarkable total for a backup running back.

His role may not have been glamorous, but Fisher found his niche and stuck with it. He never earned a big money contract, but he was a notoriously studious financial manager and believed he had made enough money in his relatively short NFL career that he could retire. Not bad for a third string superhero.

It's SPENCER HAVNER days until we get married

Remember way back on Day 53 when I mentioned that Spencer Havner switched from wearing number 53 to another number? 41 was that other number.

After a lackluster year at linebacker in 2008, the Packers switched Havner to tight end, thinking he could still contribute on special teams there. Instead, he ended up having one of the stranger seasons I've ever seen a Packers tight end have.

You can't really say that Havner was a big part of the offense, or even an intentional part. But he had a knack for doing good things at opportune times. To wit: Havner caught only seven passes in the 2009 regular season, and four of them went for touchdowns, including a long catch and run that saw him scamper for 45 yards and a score.

The playoffs were much the same: Havner caught two passes, one of which went for a crucial score in the Packers ridiculously wild playoff comeback against the Cardinals.

But then, just like that, Havner was gone. He played in just six more NFL games, and never caught another pass.

So why did it all go right in 2009? It's hard to say, but the other tight ends on the roster may have been part of it. Only two other tight ends caught passes for the Packers in 2009: journeyman Donald Lee and mercurial second year man Jermichael Finley. Havner, though pure happenstance, seems to have just been the next man up, and boy did he take advantage.

It's JOHN BROCKINGTON days until we get married

Before there was Eddie Lacy, John Brockington was the most famous big back in Packers history. Sure, he might have been a little bit more svelte than Mr. Lacy, but he was every bit the bruiser that his modern day counterpart is.

Brockington opened his NFL career with three consecutive 1000 yard rushing campaigns, three consecutive Pro Bowl berths, and one All-Pro nod, a more than solid start by nearly any stretch of the imagination.

But what was really important about Brockington, at least in terms of where he fits in Packers lore, is when he had his successful seasons. The early 1970's were the start of the dark times for Green Bay. The post-Lombardi era was underway in earnest, and the team was desperately in need of hope in whatever way it could possibly come. Brockington provided that, even if the Packers only went 19-19-4 during his three best seasons, making just one playoff trip.

After his great three seasons, Brockington began to fade away, as ballcarriers tend to do. He managed three more full seasons in Green Bay, then was traded after the first game of the 1977 season. After 10 games with Kansas City, that was it for Mr. Brockington.

But still, his legacy held strong. His rookie record 1105 rushing yards held until Eddie Lacy crushed it two years ago, and it's still an impressive mark, perhaps even more so today now that the NFL has begun to minimize the rushing game even more.