Tag: Henry Black

Packers activate 5 players from COVID-19 reserve list

The Packers activated five players from the reserve list, including S Henry Black and CB Kevin King.

The Green Bay Packers are getting back five players from the COVID-19 reserve list before Sunday’s showdown with the Minnesota Vikings.

The team brought back safety Henry Black, outside linebackers Tipa Galeai and LaDarius Hamilton (practice squad) and cornerbacks Kevin King and Shemar Jean-Charles from the reserve list on Friday.

If nothing else, the returns provide a boost on special teams.

Black, the defense’s dime safety, has played the most snaps on special teams of any player on the roster. He also leads the team in special teams tackles. Jean-Charles, a rookie, is fifth in special teams snaps.

King provides an extra layer of depth at cornerback behind Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. It’s possible Hamilton will be elevated to the gameday roster for help at outside linebacker.

While the Packers got five players back, the team also placed practice squad kicker JJ Molson and practice squad linebacker Ray Wilborn on the COVID-19 reserve list.

The following players remain on the COVID-19 reserve list as of Friday afternoon: P Corey Bojorquez, OL Ben Braden, LB Oren Burks, TE Tyler Davis, DL Kingsley Keke, TE Marcedes Lewis, WR Amari Rodgers, OLB Chauncey Rivers, LB Ty Summers.

The Packers play the Vikings on Sunday night. It’s possible more activations from the reserve list could happen Saturday.

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Bobby Wagner compares DK Metcalf’s situation to Richard Sherman’s

Longtime Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner told reporters that he sat down with Metcalf and talked with him about keeping his emotions in check.

DK Metcalf has been a vital contributor to the Seahawks in his young career and his trajectory continues to point skyward for the foreseeable future. However, the third-year wide receiver’s strong production has come with a side effect that has flared up at inopportune times.

On a few occasions this season, Metcalf has let his emotions get the best of him, jawing at opposing players and drawing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that can be easily avoided. This was particularly noticeable near the end of Seattle’s 17-0 defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, in which he got into an altercation with several Packers players and grabbed the facemasks of Eric Stokes and Henry Black. In his postgame interview, he stated that his actions were a result of him being “tired of losing.”

Metcalf’s frustration is understandable at times, but the fact of the matter is that the yellow flags fly when he loses his temper and this behavior could cost his team greatly down the line if it continues. Longtime Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner told reporters that he sat down with Metcalf and talked with him about keeping his emotions in check.

“I just was talking to him, wanting him to understand that this moment was bigger than it needed to be,” Wagner said. “That’s really all it is.”

Wagner compared Metcalf’s emotional outburst in Green Bay to a similar incident involving former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman back in the 2013-14 NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers, when he got heated in a postgame interview with Erin Andrews after receiving a shove to the facemask from 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree following his game-clinching interception that allowed Seattle to progress to Super Bowl XLVIII, which they would ultimately win.

“I think it’s very similar to Sherm,” Wagner said. “After Sherm made that play, everybody was looking and watching and they created this narrative that Sherm was this angry player that none of his teammates liked. But if you spoke with every teammate and you spoke with every person, and I’m pretty sure you guys would share the same sentiment, he was an amazing person, a caring person, a thoughtful person.” 

Wagner continued that Metcalf’s incidents do not leave him overly concerned and that he believes the receiver will learn from them and grow not just as a player, but as a person.

“No, it doesn’t concern me. I think it’s part of growth. There’s a lot of growth when you (first come) in the league.”

No matter the outcome for this Seahawks season, Metcalf must heed Wagner’s advice and keep his emotions under control for the sake of the team as well as himself.

“So that’s just kind of the message,” Wagner stated. “To control your narrative.”

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Packers need big season from emerging backup S Henry Black

Henry Black, as the expected No. 3 safety and an ace special teamer, is an important player for the Green Bay Packers in 2021.

The Green Bay Packers suffered a blow when they lost safety Will Redmond to a season-ending injury. At best, Redmond was a replacement-level nickel or dime safety. However, on special teams, he was one of the most utilized players. In 2020, Redmond played the third most snaps on special teams for the Packers and totaled four tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. Unfortunately, Redmond’s 2021 season is lost, but the good news is that his replacement might be readily available.

If there is one player who can step up and takeover Redmond’s special teams role, it’s safety Henry Black. Black is entering his second season with Green Bay and is a lock to make this year’s team. The Packers are hurting at safety depth with only Black and Vernon Scott there as experienced backups to Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. Factor in that with Black’s special team ability, and you have a player who will play a lot of snaps for this team this season.

Even if Redmond was healthy and available, it’s safe to say Black had a leg up on the competition for a roster spot. Not to be dismissed, last year Black was Green Bay’s top special teams’ player with a grade of 74.3, per PFF.

As an undrafted free agent rookie, he played in only eight games for the Packers. However, his six special teams tackles ranked fourth on the team. Black also did not miss a single special teams tackle, which is significant considering just how bad Green Bay’s special teams unit was a year ago.

Black continued to impress into last year’s playoffs, leading all special teamers with four tackles. That most certainly factored into the Packers’ decision to retain Black in 2021, seeing that Black was one of the few bright spots on one of the worst special teams units in the league.

What really put Black over the edge was his play during the 2021 preseason. Not many members of Green Bay’s defense showed consistent effort throughout all three games besides Black. Again, he was the team’s top special teamer, and he also had the third-overall grade of defense.

In three games, Black led the Packers with 12 tackles but was ninth in snaps. And, once again, he did not miss a tackle.

Unless there are unforeseen injuries, Black probably won’t play a ton of snaps for Green Bay’s defense. He’s simply not ready for a significant role, but if called upon, he’s shown he can be reliable.

However, Black will be a staple on this year’s special teams – where he could be the Packers’ best player for the second straight season.

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Packers promote rookie safety from practice squad to 53-man roster

With Raven Greene injured, the Packers promoted rookie safety Henry Black to the 53-man roster.

In need of depth at safety, the Green Bay Packers promoted rookie Henry Black from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Tuesday.

Black, an undrafted free agent from Baylor, will provide help at the safety position, where the Packers are dealing with an injury to Raven Greene. Coach Matt LaFleur expressed concern over the severity of Greene’s shoulder injury on Monday.

Black has been elevated from the practice squad four times, twice as a gameday elevation and twice more as a COVID-19 replacement.

Over four games, Black produced six tackles and a forced fumble. He’s played 24 snaps on defense and another 48 on special teams.

The Packers had an open roster spot after placing center Corey Linsley on injured reserve last Saturday.

GM Brian Gutekunst replaced Black on the practice squad with center Anthony Fabiano, who has played in nine regular season games since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Packers elevating DB Henry Black from practice squad

The Packers are bringing up rookie DB Henry Black from the practice squad for Sunday against the Vikings.

For the second week in a row, the Green Bay Packers are elevating a rookie defensive back from the practice squad.

Ahead of Sunday’s visit from the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers brought up rookie safety Henry Black, who had a pair of tackles and a forced fumble against the Houston Texans last week.

The Packers have both Darnell Savage and Raven Greene on the injury report with questionable designations for Sunday, necessitating the need for more depth in the secondary.

Each player can be elevated from the practice squad twice in a season, meaning the Packers – after Sunday – would need to sign Black to the active roster to play him again.

Black’s forced fumble against the Texans ended the game after Houston recovered an onside kick late in the fourth quarter. Black was actually the defense’s highest-graded player at Pro Football Focus, although he played just six snaps.

Black is an undrafted free agent from Baylor. He didn’t make the team coming out of training camp but has been on the practice squad all year.

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Everything Georgia football fans need to know about Baylor

Georgia won each prior meeting, but the game in New Orleans will be the first in which they’ve faced each other outside Sanford Stadium.

With conference championship week having come to a close, bowl season is upon us. The Georgia Bulldogs are headed to the Sugar Bowl to square off with the Baylor Bears, with whom they’ve competed four times across the programs’ histories.

Georgia won each prior meeting, but the contest in New Orleans will be the first in which the Dawgs have faced the Bears outside Sanford Stadium. It will be the first time the teams have played since 1989.

Baylor and Georgia enter the game with identical records (11-2), both having lost one regular season game and their respective conference title games.

The Bears’ two losses both came against playoff-bound Oklahoma by a combined ten points.

Led by third-year head coach Matt Rhule, Baylor will make its second consecutive bowl game following an incredible turnaround: the Bears finished with just one regular season win in Rhule’s first season, six in his second, and eleven in 2019.

Georgia’s second-longest active bowl streak continues with a second consecutive trip to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. It will be Baylor’s first Sugar Bowl appearance since 1957, when the Bears shocked a second-ranked and previously undefeated Tennessee Volunteers squad by a score of thirteen to seven.

Baylor possesses a balanced, powerful offense that averages 257 yards passing and 175 yards rushing per game.

However, The Bears’ powerful offense may arrive to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome shorthanded; starting quarterback Charlie Brewer was knocked out early in the second quarter of this weekend’s Big XII Championship and stayed sidelined for the remainder of the game.

Backup quarterback Gerry Bohanon, who was also recruited by UGA, was later replaced by third-string QB Jacob Zeno against Oklahoma. Zeno led a comeback that took his team to overtime before coming up short. Prior to his team’s most recent game against the Sooners, Bohanon had attempted just 21 passes wearing green and gold. Zeno has attempted nine passes all year.

Baylor has a run-first offense, attempting 82 more rushes than passes in 2019 (476 to 394).

If Brewer, who’s posted a solid 20:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio with a 65% completion rate, remains out, expect an even heavier rushing attack procured by the Bears’ massive offensive linemen (three of whom have played together for over three years). Behind them, shifty tailbacks JaMycal Hasty and John Lovett have combined for 1251 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

On Defense, Baylor hasn’t allowed north of 30 points all year to anyone who doesn’t attend school in Norman, Oklahoma. This group of players amounts to one of the most physical defenses the team has produced in years, nearly half-full of seniors (Henry Black, Jameson Houston, James Lockhart, Chris Miller and Blake Lynch) all playing the best statistical season of each of their college careers.

They give up just 19.3 points per game facing an injury-plagued Georgia team that has failed to score over 27 points in all but one game (against Georgia Tech) since their first loss of the season to South Carolina two months ago.

Baylor presents a cohesive defensive unit against a rattled Silver Britches offense. Whether their signal caller is missing or not, the Bears are not to be underestimated.