Saturday, June 2, 2012

Saturday Night Five: Donald Driver

It's been an amazing two weeks for Donald Driver. On May 22, he became the third NFL player to be crowned champion on Dancing With The Stars.

And it appears that he restructured his contract earlier this week in order to hopefully finish his career as a Green Bay Packer.

I know there are fans out there who think it's time for him to move on. Some say that even after his restructured contract, he's still making too much money for a player that most likely won't reach the 50 reception mark. Others think that it's time for the Packers to give Diondre Borel and Tori Gurley a shot at the fifth spot on one of the most talented receiving corps in the league.

But here are five reasons I love Driver and I'm glad he's going to have a shot at making the 2012 roster:


#1: He's has the best hands in a receiving corps that has been known to drop passes. He'll be very valuable in short yardage situations when a reception is a must.


#2: Wide receivers often make the best "prima donnas" in the game, but I've never seen Driver put himself ahead of the team. You cannot put a price on his "team first" mentality.


#3: He may be getting up there in age, but with age comes wisdom. Driver is a respected leader on this team and was one of the few players who showed up in the embarrassing loss against the Giants in last year's playoffs.


#4: He's one of the greatest, if not, the greatest receiver in Packers history. He is their all-time leader in receptions & receiving yards and has the third most receiving touchdowns in franchise history.


#5: I have a fond admiration for athletes who spend their entire career with on franchise. Driver has been loyal to Green Bay since they drafted him in the 7th round, back in 1999. Yep... that's right... he was the 213th pick in the draft.

So there you have it... five reasons I'm a Donald Driver devotee.

Mr. Driver, I'll be pulling for you this preseason when you're battling Borel and Gurley for those final receiver spots.

Okay... it's your turn.

Who's your favorite and least favorite "prima donna" in sports?

I'll stick with football and go with Brett Favre as my favorite and Terrell Owens as my least favorite. If Favre didn't play for the Green Bay Packers for 16 seasons, he'd easily be my least favorite. The retirement drama was sickening, but in the end, he was my favorite football player for well over a decade.

T.O. is a joke and I've disliked him since his days of dancing on the (Dallas) star. His arrogance is appalling, but I must admit... I felt a little bad for him and his AFL falling out.

Have a good weekend everyone... and sayonara!

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