|
|
December 2008 - Posts
-
The Packers are back in the Hutson Center practicing for this weekend’s game with Jacksonville. You’d never know that this was a team looking from the outside in at the post-season. There isn’t any hollering or screaming going on, no heads hanging low, no one “going through the motions” so to speak. All in all, for the hour and twenty minutes or so that I was in there, this looked as if it was just another Wednesday practice with some emphasis on special teams and a few more fundamental drills but that’s about it.
I got a “Hey Unit”, from Aaron Rodgers, a “thanks for talking about my kids book” from Donald Driver and picked up an overthrown pass from Brian Brohm and then proceeded to toss it 20 something yards, with a tight spiral I might add, back to Jordy Nelson. It was just another day at a Packers practice.
The one thing I do find amusing, in an interesting way, is the rampant speculation about who’s on the hot-seat. Is it Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders, Special Teams Coach Mike Stock, Linebackers Coach / Assistant Head Coach Winston Moss, McCarthy or even Thompson for that matter? There was a lot of talk today about who’s underperformed this year and who might not be back wit the team next year or who has the offseason (mini camps, OTA’s, training camp) to get better or be cut.
I’ll get in to some of those discussions later this afternoon here on the blog and during Sports Central tonight.
Here’s the injury report for the Packers today:
Atari Bigby – shoulder injury – out
Brandon Chillar – groin – limited participation
Chad Clifton – knee – full participation
Korey Hall – knee – DNP
Justin Harrell – hip - DNP
Danny Lansannah – arm and ankle – limited participation
Ryan Pickett – illness – limited participation
Jeremy Thompson – ankle – limited participation
Charles Woodson – toe – limited
Mike McCarthy, during his press conference today was asked his opinion regarding his statement prior to the season that this team would take on the identity of the defense. McCarthy responded by saying, “Well, we’re not hitting the targets that we wanted to on defense; we’re well aware of that. We have games left; we’ve had obstacles to overcome.” McCarthy reiterated, “I stand by the vision that we had for the football team. We need to play better and we need to coach better but at this point it’s a team issue.”
One of the more curious, yet obvious, questions was regarding quarterback Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers has performed well in many phases of the game, he has not had that defining moment in which he has led the offense down the field for that game winning score. A seemingly tired McCarthy stated, “There hasn’t been spots in games, as a play caller, where I’ve looked into his eyes and have had to go in a different direction. I’ve been in that position before. I know what it feels like. I know what it looks like. I haven’t experienced that with Aaron Rodgers.” McCarthy added, “I’ve never felt whether it’s 2 minute…3rd down…where I’ve had to pull back or be conservative because of what I saw in his eyes or the way he was playing.”
As far as a quarterback needing one of those games to get that win in the last couple of minutes, the head coach responded by saying, “All quarterbacks need that. That’s a positive and right now our whole football team needs that. That’s an opportunity to stack successes. We haven’t done that this year.”
Many of the other questions, regarding philosophy on defense, rating player’s production, things of that nature, McCarthy stressed that he’d rather wait to evaluate those types of things until after the season.
-
To heck with everything that I predicted for the Packers / Texans game. Mike McCarthy and his staff defy logic. When your team is as fundamentally poor as this team is, how do you not coach to your strengths? To have 10 3rd downs and line up in the shotgun 9 out of those 10 times, and throw the ball EVERY TIME out of that formation, you completely take away your run opportunity. You become predictable. Your opponent’s linebackers don’t have to creep up to the line of scrimmage and guess run or pass, they can simply sit back and fill the seam/slot routes and take away a part of the field that you could normally manipulate. NOTE: Ryan Grant was averaging over 5 yards a carry.
Why discard this aspect of your attack? That's horrific coaching! The one time Aaron Rodgers was under center, the Packers and Ryan Grant did run the ball for 22 yards and picked up their only 1st down.
The other 3rd down opportunities went like this;
2 completions: One for 12 yards and the other for 3 yards
1 sack for a loss of 7 yards
1 interception
6 incompletions
Thus my point, when they know what you’re doing it’s easy to defend.
What happened to mixing up Grant and Jackson in the backfield? I understand that Ryan Grant was running the ball pretty well but there were still opportunities to mix it up and add yet another dimension to your offense? Again, you’re predictable and one dimensional.
I don’t know about you but I’m really sick and tired of the dancing and “showing of the guns” by a defensive player. Collectively, YOU STINK. STOP IT! You’re embarrassing yourself. Take a note from Charles Woodson. Make the hit, get up, walk a bit with your controlled energy and head back into the huddle. When you “flex you’re your guns” to the crowd, only to get your butt whipped on the next play for a first down or a score, you look foolish. Try getting off of the field consistently on 3rd down and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to do a little chest pounding.
Question to Mike McCarthy; In the 3rd quarter, on 4th down and 3 yards to go at the Houston 44 yard line, why not go for it? Ryan Grant had picked up 26 yards on 3 plays prior to that and, let’s be honest, why put the game back into the hands of an inept defense not to mention the fact that you’re 5-7 and you have nothing to lose at that point! It was an opportunity to swing momentum heavily in your direction without much risk and you blew it.
The progression of Aaron Rodgers has pretty much fulfilled and somewhat exceeded my expectations. I knew he was an intelligent guy who would, and will continue, to catch on in the NFL. His numbers and toughness have pretty much proven to people that he’ll be a decent quarterback in this league. A few things that he, in my opinion, needs to work on;
Use the pump fake. He doesn’t freeze defenders with the “look off” or the pump fake. Montana, Marino, Elway, Favre…they all knew the value of a “look off” and a pump fake. I’m sure that’s something that will come with time but it could be a huge asset to Rodgers if he concentrates on it now.
The play action fake, we saw Matt Schaub work it to perfection yesterday and sell out on every play. This is something that Favre was good at when he wanted to be but wasn’t consistent with it. The best play action faker I’ve ever seen was Boomer Esiason. He sold out every play and took pride in getting hit when he didn’t have the ball. He felt that if he could keep lineman and linebackers guessing, it would open things up for both the pass and run games…and he was right.
Get rid of the ball. Aaron’s still holding on to the ball too long at times and it’s costing him hits and field position. This beats just throwing it up for grabs but it’s still costing you field position.
One last thing; we saw yesterday, Mark Tauscher get carted off the field. A knee injury toppled the right tackle and possibly his career as a Green Bay Packer. Mark has been nothing but a gentleman, a goodwill ambassador for the Packers organization and the state of Wisconsin. That’s not the way he wanted to enjoy what could have been his last moment wearing the uniform on Lambeau Field.
He didn’t get fanfare, applause, his moment in time. I don’t think the fans realized what they were witnessing as #65 rode past them, head down, in pain, on his way to the locker-room. Maybe the injury will drive Tauscher’s free agent price down enough for the Packers to resign the offensive mainstay but I doubt it. There were few bright spots in the season and one of them was Mark Tauscher. He certainly deserved better.
-
This one’s simple, the Packers HAVE to win. Look for a one-two punch of Ryan Grant and Brandon Jackson. It’s cold, it’s icy, and it’s a running back’s dream today. Hit, pound and grind on the defense. Make them hurt before they hurt you.
On the other side of the football, the Packers d-backs will have their hands full with Texans Receiver, Andre Johnson. In his last appearance vs. the Packers, Al Harris gave up 5 catches and 106 yards to Johnson. With former Packer, Ahman Green, on injured reserve rookie running back Steve Slayton will get the start here at Lambeau. The Packers have made careers of guys no one has ever heard of before. With Green Bay’s inability to tackle the ball carrier lately, Slayton could have a huge day. Texans QB Matt Schaub is ready to go after missing 4 weeks due to injury. He’s a quarterback that’s prone to throw the ball away but only if there’s a decent pass rush. Don’t hold your breath that this will be the game that the Packers defense swallows the magic pill and discovers super human strength suddenly discovering the nuances of rushing the passer.
It’ll be close but it’s bitterly cold, therefore the Packers pull this must-win out.
NOTE: It’s going to be interesting to see how Aaron Rodgers handles the cold. The last image we have of #4 in the bitterness of Lambeau is that of an aging veteran who just didn’t seem to have it in the chill of Green Bay. Out with the old and in with the new I guess.
-
I’ve been away a bit this past week and that’s the reason for my tardiness with the blog, so please forgive me. Everyone needs a little time away, right?
There are numerous things that I’ve observed this week and I’d like to share my thoughts with you now;|
When was the last time you heard, seen or read about an athlete successfully fending off a robbery attempt with a handgun? Especially when that said athlete was out on the town clubbing? Hmmmm….you’re right, you can’t think of any. I’m sure there’s been an instance or two in history but for the most part, handguns and athletes have been a pathetic surreal joke of mishaps and innocent bystanders.
Plaxico Burress
In today’s culture, it’s not a necessity for an athlete to feel safe by carrying a weapon; it’s a “want” to be a bad ass, bigger and badder than you are. It’s a immature desire to impress his friends, posse, peeps, homies, comrades, whatever adjective you’d like to use to describe those who “glom on” to star athletes and claim that they’re their friends. To me, bling and weapons is probably a signal that there are shortcomings in other areas (insert joke here).
Why did it take so long for the Packers coaching staff to recognize the fact that Brandon Jackson has been carrying the ball every bit as well, if not better, than Ryan Grant has. I’m not saying sit Grant, I’m simply saying; when you’ve got a solid 1-2 punch, use it.
Is it me or has the baseball free agent market been eerily quiet? You know what’s going on don’t you? Every teams waiting to see what CC Sabathia’s going to sign for, then all other salaries will fall in line.
CC Sabathia
It takes that big fish to set the bar for the rest of the school. We should start seeing things break loose at the Winter meetings, this week, in Las Vegas.
It’s been quiet and under covered, and for the most part that’s our (the media’s) fault but UW Whitewater is back at it. WINNING! The Warhawks have once again gone deep into the Division III playoffs. Whitewater is now 1 win shy of going to their 4th straight Stag Bowl and playing for the D3 championship. At 12-1, Coach Lance Leipold has been nothing short of incredible. Kudos!
RB Antwan Anderson
The BCS is a mess and they’ll never fix it, you know why? Because we’ll talk about it, analyze it, discuss it, complain about it, presidentially it’ll come under fire, bar fights will break out, mass hysteria will overtake the world because of it…..but we’re talking about it in every way and that’s what makes the NCAA so obstinent. If we didn’t care and the BCS didn’t receive any attention, they (the NCAA) would eventually come up with a playoff system to reclaim our interest. Until then, networks will bid millions of dollars on it and then gripe about the lack of a playoff system.
The Milwaukee Bucks have put together a couple of wins to climb to 9-12. While I know it’s not leading the East by any stretch of the imagination, it’s been fun to watch. If you’ve paid attention to Skile’s guys, they hustle, the play defense, they pass the basketball, there’s accountability….all of the things we were hoping for. It’s early and things could rapidly fall apart and the phrase “same ole’ same ole’” could rear its ugly head again but its fun to go to the BC again for a Bucks game.
Michael Redd
Now, if we could just get Levy’s to stop worrying about what the food looks like and care more about the taste. I don’t care if a brownie looks like something off of the dessert plate in a Norman Rockwell family painting, if it tastes like a dry ricecake or has the same texture as one of grandparents coaters...you get the idea. The BC, and other venues, used to be the best food around, now….well….at least it looks good. I’m sticking with the big pretzels and a beer. You can’t go wrong there, I mean, how can you screw up a pretzel?
-
In today’s day an age, have you ever heard of an athlete getting into trouble where a night club, a gentleman’s club, a gun, alcohol, an altercation stemming from said nightclub, gentleman’s club hasn’t’ contributed to the incident playing itself out?Excluding the tragic death of Washington Redskins, Sean Taylor, there hasn’t been a single incident that was considered a “random act”. Now you have the most recent story of Plaxico Burress carrying a loaded gun, into a nightclub in New York. The gun slides down the pant leg of Burress and as he trys to finagle it back up, the trigger’s pulled and the gun goes off, shooting Burress in the thigh.
Now, while Burress receives only a minor gunshot wound, you can help but wonder what if; What if that would have hit his femoral artery? What if the bullet would have found it’s way into one of his teammates? What if that gunshot would have found it’s way into the preverbal innocent bystander?When will athletes learn that they, and they alone, are their own worst enemy? To carry a loaded gun, in the state of New York, in New York City mind you, has to be the stupidest thing you can do. No, wait, SHOOTING YOURSELF has to be the stupidest thing you can do but carrying the weapon runs a close second. In New York, they have the toughest gun laws in the country. It’s a MANDATORY 3 ½ years for this type of offense. On top of that, Burress has been charged with an additional felony of carrying a concealed weapon with the intent to unlawfully discharge the weapon. In other words, why carry a loaded gun unless you intend to use it?
Forget about how Burress let down his teammates, the coaching staff, the organization, and the fans. He’s, again, let down the league. The NFL is so image conscience right now, how he could even fathom doing something so incredibly stupid is beyond the rationale of normal thinking. I said NORMAL thinking. You have to believe that Burress is only sorry that he shot himself, not that he’s truly sorry for carrying the weapon to begin with. He was only thinking of himself and impressing his friends. Giants’ linebacker, Antonio Pierce, was with Burress and knew of the weapon. According to reports, it was Pierce who noticed that Burress’ gun had begun to slide down his pant leg. Pierce must have felt really safe hangnin’ with a buddy that’s packin’ for his protection.Not that I’m a big Plaxico Burress fan to begin with but I’m not going to be sorry for one millisecond if Plaxico goes to prison. I understand that million dollar athletes live in a different world and there are different pressures and threats but I’m tired of them thinking that there’s a different law. One that applies to you and me and one that applies to them. It’s time the justice system and the NFL make an example of yet another athlete and this selfish human being seems to be the perfect poster child for that. You can almost guarantee that Pacman Jones will be banished at some point but he’s been given numerous chances to make himself right and he’s failed miserably. Just wait though, you know he’s “on the clock”. Maybe the Burress incident will scare him straight? Yeah…me too, I doubt it. If he hasn’t gotten it by now, he never will. Michael Vick was the first domino in the line of current players who have seen prison time but, in today’s world, his conviction is a distant memory. We need idiots like Burress to go to prison once every year or two to remind the others that this too can happen to you if you do something stupid.I guess the larger question looming is, What kind of nightclub is it if you have to carry a loaded gun and more importantly, why would you want to hang out there?
Go away Plaxico, your time has now too past. Good luck at the single gender dance.
More Posts « Previous page - Next page »
|
|