October 2008 - Posts

• NFC North Race - Packers and Bears, Start Your Engines

  Posted Oct 29 2008, 01:36 PM by Jay_Sorgi

  The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears simultaneously exit the bye week and enter the proverbial second half of the NFL season tied with 4-3 records.

  They also have similar 2-0 divisional records, two losses each in the next tiebreaker of common opponents (Bears 4-2, Packers 3-2) and equal 3-3 marks in the NFC, the following tiebreaker.

  Considering the strength of teams in the NFC East and South, there's not much chance a wild card would come from either squad, and it's highly doubtful the lucky-to-be 3-4 Vikings or winless Lions would challenge.

  Gentlemen, start your engines...it's a nine-week match race to the playoffs.

  Let's look at four factors involved in deciding which of the two teams that have owned the division the last seven years will take it this time around.

  1) Winning head-to-head.

  That's a no brainer. For the Packers, that's been easier said than done, especially with how well Lovie Smith-coached Chicago teams have historically pounced on Brett Favre mistakes.

  This might be the one opponent where it's clear that Aaron Rodgers better serves the Packers than Brett Favre.

  (Who would have ever thunk that back between 1992-2004, when Favre, to Packers fan's bliss and Bears' fans' chagrins, completely owned Chicago?)

  The teams meet in Green Bay on November 16th and in Chicago on December 22nd.

  If this week's results are the same for both Green Bay and Chicago, they will play for at least a share of first place on Nov. 16th.

  Date	Packers	Bears
  Nov. 2	at Tennessee	Detroit
  Nov. 9	at Minnesota	Tennessee
  Nov. 16	Chicago	at Green Bay
  Nov. 23-24	at New Orleans	at Saint Louis
  Nov. 30	Carolina	at Minnesota
  Dec. 7	Houston	Jacksonville
  Dec. 11-14	at Jacksonville	New Orleans
  Dec. 22	at Chicago	Green Bay
  Dec. 28	Detroit	at Houston

  2) What is different about their schedules?

  Very little. In the seven remaining games that aren't head to head, only one opponent is different. In each case, the game has a differing level of scariness.

  The Carolina Panthers come to town on November 30th. It could easily be argued that they're the third best team in the National Football League right now. That matchup is more than scary. That's downright mongo-frightening.

  One week beforehand, the Bears go to St. Louis to face the resurgent Rams. They upset Washington and Dallas and nearly produced three straight Vegas-busting games.

  Perhaps the degree of scariness in this contest could rise a bit if the Rams are fighting with Arizona for a division championship, and a Rams win over the Cards at home this weekend could come into play.

  3) It's not who you play, it's when you play 'em.

  In this column, four of each team's remaining shared opponents will face the Packers and Bears on opposite sides of the road-home ledger.

  This weekend, the Packers have to go to Nashville to battle Tennessee.

  Next weekend, the Titans head to the Windy City. Against the NFL's only undefeated team, a home confidence boost could help the Packers and hurt Chicago.

  Nov. 24 gives the Packers a date in New Orleans against the Saints, a very dangerous team, especially at home under a dome.

  Two weeks later, that same Saints team has to go to the cold and potentially mucky weather of Chicago.

  Dec. 7 offers the Packers a home date with the Houston Texans. The Bears are in Houston three weeks later. Neither game should be problematic.

  Dec. 14 could be another Packers problem game: Jacksonville. They're on the road in that contest. It should be a win considering Jacksonville's recent problems, but don't count on that. The Bears have a better chance the week before against the Jaguars.

  So three of those four matchups could lean favorably toward the Bears.

  4) It's not who you play, it's where you play 'em.

  That category could favor the Packers in the two matchups remaining where each team has a home game.

  Both the Packers and Bears have to head to the Humpty Dump to battle the Vikings.

  The Packers' contest comes Nov. 9, while the Bears go there Nov. 30.

  How could timing be an advantage for Green Bay? Simply the fact that, if the FOX Sports story is true, Minnesota is likely to not have all-world defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams available due to a four-game substance-abuse violation.

  Another reason the Vikings shouldn't figure into the NFC North race.

  If the suspension goes into effect this weekend, the two of them would be back for the Bears' game on Nov. 30, the third straight road game for the Bears - which might play into Minnesota's hands.

  The other common opponent in terms of site is Detroit.

  The Bears host the Lions this week, while Green Bay gets them to end the year on Dec. 28.

  By the time the Lions get to Green Bay, they could be 0-15 and completely confidence-less in beating a team they haven't defeated on Wisconsin soil in 17 years.

  Perhaps that's not much advantage, but it could prove to be something.

  So What Does All This Add Up To?

  Considering the differing opponents and "when you play 'em" factors add up to four games that help Chicago and one "wash" game, and the "where you play 'em" factor helps Green Bay in only two others, it's rather problematic for Green Bay.

  If both teams end up tied, the common opponent tie-breaker games would hurt Green Bay, since they're a half-game behind the Bears in that category, and they have to go on the road against Tennessee, New Orleans and Jacksonville while Chicago hosts them both.

  With all that craziness digested, it means one simple thing at this point: the Packers had better sweep the Bears.

  Anything less might lead to a mess in the tiebreaker category, as the upcoming schedule seems to portend a Bears' division title, and sadness in Titletown.

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• "Benedict Brett": We May Never Know the Facts

  Posted Oct 23 2008, 10:15 AM by Jay_Sorgi

  Ah, yes. Episode 28,110 in the never-ending soap opera known as Brett Favre.

  I've loved his effort on the field, and gushed about how he's been a difference maker off it.

  I've agitatedly tolerated the yearly Tractor Watch, and just felt plain sad when the divorce between himself and the Green Bay Packers happened.

  Now, after taking a day to let the events of the last four days happen in the "Benedict Brett" saga happen, I'm not sure how to feel.

  Because I, and the grand majority of us on this planet, don't have the beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt-or-even-reasonable-doubt facts to give us true pause for feelings.

  Some of us choose to take Jay Glazer's FOX Sports report for real.

  Some of us choose to take Brett Favre's words in his press conference as gospel truth.

  But having worked in the sports media, and having been on the other side of the sports media world as a public relations staffer whose job it is to control what information is being leaked to the public, I've learned to know better:

  That we will probably never KNOW the truth of what happened as long as we live on this earth.

  For example: Glazer's report says that Favre and then Lions-GM and President Matt Millen chatted for 60 to 90 minutes.

  Favre, in his press conference, said it was no more than 25 minutes.

  Do you have Brett Favre's cell phone records? The Packers certainly wanted them back in the Minnesota Vikings tampering allegation.

  I don't think Jay Glazer has them.

  I'm willing to bet that Brett Favre doesn't even have them, as I'm guessing Deanna sent them through the shredder after paying the phone bill.

  The cell phone company has them, but my guess is, it's not a government-owned company, so we can't get those phone records available to us as media or the public.

  More so, there's no way we could ever get an actual recording of what Favre and Millen said to each other.

  Did Favre and Millen discuss hunting and tractors, as he put it in the presser?

  Or did they talk in more detail about - as a hypothetical example - Mike McCarthy's tendencies to use key passes on 3rd and short situations in the red zone against a 4-2-5 defense?

  And can we trust Brett Favre's word anymore?

  At this point, considering the record of Brett Favre, recalling how he text messaged multiple national reporters this summer to tell them the report of him coming back was "b.s."

  How do those text messages smell now, since he's playing again - in a Jets uniform, no less?

  That's not the only instance of say-one-thing-and-do-another that we've heard out of Brett Favre.

  If this was a courtroom, we'd have a hung jury or a case thrown out of court because of a lack of evidence and conflicting testimony.

  Folks, we need concrete proof. And that proof - Brett Favre's cell phone bill - is probably buried next to Jimmy Hoffa in the Jersey swamps.

  So to waste my time on espousing my feelings of anger at Brett Favre about this incident is no longer worth it.

  Because we will probably never get the complete facts.

  With no comments

  Filed under: Brett Favre, Jay Glazer, Mike McCarthy, Matt Millen

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• GB's D Mans Up on Manning

  Posted Oct 20 2008, 03:00 PM by Jay_Sorgi

  When was the last time that a defense that Peyton Manning faced created a scoring output equaling or surpassing the point total Manning and his offense produced?

  How about September of 2001?

  That's how dominant a supposedly suspect and injury-prone Packers defense proved to be in Green Bay's 34-14 victory over the Colts.

  Consider how well the Packers owned this game.

  Offensively, the Colts equaled Green Bay's output, 302 yards, but Green Bay owned a seven-and-a-half minute time of possession advantage.

  Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, the deadly wideout combination of the Colts, caught only four passes for 35 yards.

  Peyton Manning completed 50% of his passes. It's the first time a defense has held him there in 13 games.

  And, of course, the two pick-sixes, one by Nick Collins and one by Aaron Rouse.

  "We're playing with attitude now," Rouse said. "I think that's something we need to be doing, playing with more attitude. We're playing with a sense of urgency out there. We're just trying to take over.

  "When you come to Green Bay, Lambeau Field, it's our house, and we're just trying to take it over."

  They're taking defenses over to the tune of six pick-sixes this year.

  It was a brilliant performance by a defense that had been lambasted, for good reason, when Dallas, Atlanta and Tampa Bay lit up the Packers in weeks three, four and five.

  Granted, the Colts didn't have Joseph Addai at running back.

  But it still doesn't take away from how well the Packers' defense took away Peyton Manning's weapons.

  Notice how it didn't happen with much of a pass rush. The Packers never sacked Manning.

  It was confusing pass coverage that killed the Colts, something that rarely does in Manning and company.

  Of course, long offensive drives helped the Packers' cause - credit Ryan Grant and Aaron Rodgers' consistent-if-unspectacular passing, but all considered, this game belonged to a unit that needed a positive result - the Packers' defense.

  That unit - and all the Packers' units - will be sorely tested in two weeks against the undefeated Titans, who love to run the ball and might be salivating when they look at how well teams have run on Green Bay this year.

  Still, it's a day for the Packers' tenacious D to celebrate going into the bye.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  With no comments

  Filed under: Aaron Rouse, Nick Collins, Reggie Wayne, Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison

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• Report: Favre Helped Lions Prep for Sept. 14 Packers Game

  Posted Oct 19 2008, 08:05 PM by Jay_Sorgi

  According to a report from Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, former Packers quarterback Brett Favre helped the Detroit Lions prepare for their matchup with the Packers on September 14.

  It's a game the Packers still won, 48-25.

  "Favre called the Detroit Lions, starting off with (former Lions GM Matt Millen," said Glazer on "FOX NFL Sunday."

  "Millen then put him in touch with the coaching staff and gave the coaching staff like an hour or a 90-minute dissertation, every single thing that the Green Bay Packers do on offense. 

  "It's his former team.  He's calling a division opponent of a team he has nothing to do with any more and just lets loose all the family secrets.  How about that?"

  A Packers pro bowler chimed in about the subject Sunday.

  "If he sought that ought, there's no respecting that to me," said Charles Woodson about the subject following the Packers' 34-14 win over the Colts.

  "Obviously he still thinks about it.  That's a good thing."

  According to the report, such an action is not against NFL rules.

  More: foxsports.com

  With no comments

  Filed under: Brett Favre

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• Packers-Colts: The Happy In-Game Blog

  Posted Oct 19 2008, 07:42 PM by Jay_Sorgi

  4th Quarter

  6:21 p.m.  :00  Packers' 3rd Drive
  Let Grant just blast for more yards and end this thing.  He gets to 100 yards, the first time his year, on 31 carries.  NICE.

  Victory formation, and the best regular season win this year.  Did they need this - not just a win, but a domination - a complete victory.

  6:17 p.m.  1:41  Colts' 3rd Drive
  Green Bay 34, Indianapolis 14
  Now there's no worry on my part...Manning with less than five minutes left producing four scores?  Uh, not gonna happen.

  In a series of oh-by-the-way plays, Johnny Jolly makes a stop on 3rd down and one, Manning finds Gonzalez wide open on fourth down and it's a 44-yard play including a 15-yard face mask on Rouse.

  You've got to give MAJOR kudos to the Packers' defense against Manning.  I can't think of the last defense that outscored Peyton Manning...oh, wait, Manning just hit Gonzalez for a 15-yard score.

  Whoa, there....replay says it's incomplete.  Mr. referee, it DID hit the ground.

  As I was saying, it's such an accomplishment to have your defensive unit outscore Manning.

  4th down and a late call as Clark extended the ball beyond the pylon...uh, no he didn't.  REPLAY again.

  Well, it just delays the celebration, the happy happy joy joy.

  Replay agrees with me again.  Think I've got a future as a replay guy in the booth?

  Anyway, 1st and goal on the 1 and Rhodes ends the "drama."

  5:57 p.m.  4:27  Colts' 2nd Drive
  Green Bay 34, Indianapolis 7
  Aaron Rouse 98 yd INT return TD
  Three scores in 10 minutes?  Manning's done it before.  Or am I just sounding like the total nincompoop being mister woe-is-Green-Bay right now?

  Manning's using the two-minute offense already. 

  KGB, why are you giving Manning help?  Don't cause a five-yard penalty on an offsides!

  Kampman, you're doing it now!  Lining up in the neutral zone.  Manning doesn't need any help wearing green.

  3rd-four on the GB 37...it's four down territory.  Manning's receiver fell down and there's no flag on 3rd.

  Fourth and 4?  Incompletion but a flag on Chillar after Wayne screamed at the ref.  That is WRONG.  That's a really iffy call, anyway, and you call it later than bar time in Green Bay?

  2nd down delivery to Rhodes and a FUMBLE!  Wait, it's incompletely?  The replay doesn't say so.  Uh, you'd better check that one.  The ruling is that it wasn't a fumble.

  Manning finds Clark, but on 3rd down it's short of the first down by five yards.  Hmmm...4th and the dagger if it fails? 

  It didn't.  Gonzalez caught it at the GB 20.  More nervousness.

  A delivery to Rhodes sets up a first-and-goal at the five...which starts to really scare me. 

  AARON ROUSE!   INTERCEPTED!  TO THE HOUSE!  GAME OVER!!!!!   DAGGER!!!!

  5:41 p.m.  9:51  Packers' 2nd Drive
  A little less worried at this point about Manning when he produces three-and-outs like he just did.  A long drive, though, would really make things easier.

  3rd and 4: gotta convert here.  Jackson on a second effort GETS the first down at the GB 37...fantastic individual effort to shake up Bethea.

  3rd and 7: you're 5-10 today so far, Packers...get it done...puhleeze...ah, Rodgers had to throw it away because the pressure was about to destroy Rodgers. 

  Not much you could do.

  5:36 p.m.  13:36  Colts' 1st Drive
  Pass-fest begins for Indy with an incompletion as Wayne juggles a pass.  Get Reggie some mime's makeup and calliope music.  Hmm...that looks like a catch.  No red flag by Dungy, though.

  An illegal substitution flag by Indy - their 2,410th penalty of the day - negates a 15-yard Manning-to-Rhodes completion.  Oopsy, Indy.

  Nice job KGB on a run stuff for a 2-yard gain on 2nd and 15...3rd down?  Deep pass to Harrison?  INCOMPLETE!  Barely.  We like three-and-outs.

  5:29 p.m.  14:56  Packers' 1st Drive (continued from 3rd quarter)
  How to start the quarter - with a 3rd down and three situation.  Colts win this one and a momentum swing could ensue.

  What happens?  An incompletion.  I've never been more scared with a 20-point lead.

  3rd Quarter

  5:26 p.m.  0:00  Packers' 2nd Drive
  Oh, to be up 20 at the start of the fourth quarter against Indy.  The scary thing is, that's not a safe lead.

  Just a couple runs up the gut by Grant pad his stats and get us 15 minutes away, and 70,000+ applaud.

  5:22 p.m.  1:22  Colts' 3rd Drive
  Just think - if the Colts get a negative result in a quarter where they have the wind...that's HUGE for Green Bay.  Still, I don't trust Manning.  He can come back from seemingly ANY deficit.

  AAAAHH!!!  Tramon Williams gets a flag thrown after a blitz flustered Manning into an incompletion on 3rd down.  Illegal contact on Williams while guarding Anthony Gonzalez.

  Frustrating.

  Charles Woodson nearly had a pick and a PICK SIX at the Indy 45...Colin Cole also rushed and reached Manning as he threw it.  Manning a very un-legend-like 11-20 for a pick so far.

  A 3rd and 10 on the Indy 41...and a slip by Rhodes causes another incompletion!  Barnett got away with one there...an excess chip on Rhodes, and Manning is rather angry.

  Punt return - a face mask call on Indy...that's nice for the field position.  Garcon, a wrenching of Will Blackmon's neck, please?

  5:13 p.m. 2:37  Packers' 1st Drive
  Green Bay 27, Indianapolis 7
  Crosby 29 yd FG
  They haven't been on the field for about a half hour, but they have a 17 point lead in their pocket.

  Rodgers to Jenning 12 yards to start the drive.  Boys, don't sit on your lead.  Put another time-consuming touchdown march on the board.

  3rd down...not gonna happen.  Jackson on a check-down completion and the Colts discovered and stopped it quickly.

  Darn - first Frost punt today.  Interesting...hold the phone!  Defensive delay of game - Packers get the first down!  Supposedly the punt defense tried to copycat the cadence of the punt.  We'll take it.

  New life for the Packers' drive...a VERY unusual situation with the Colts making so many penalties.

  Kuhn past the Colts 30 with a hurdle move on a completion from Rodgers.  Channeling his inner Edwin Moses...ah, he probably would have knocked the hurdle down.

  Grant with another gain of nine...keep pounding the ball.  What was the Jon Gruden credo?  POUND THAT ROCK!  POUND THAT ROCK!

  Ain't it a pretty sight to see Manning sitting with his arms crossed on the sidelines?

  UGH!  The Colts ran a stunt with Mathis outside and they well diagnosed a Grant outside run - five yard loss.

  Colts blitz and they're offsides on 3rd and 15...nice, a more managable third and 10, though still long-ish.  10 penalties on Indy?  What is this, the 1973 Raiders?

  So why did you run it off-tackle on 3rd and 10, Mike McCarthy?  That made no sense.  It's still a three score lead if Crosby converts on the 29 yarder, which he does.

  I DO like the six-and-a-half minute drive, though.

  5:01 p.m.  9:01  Colts' 2nd Drive
  Barnett well-snuffed out a bubble screen on 1st down.  A 3rd and one in Indy territory: Rhodes pounds for another 1st down, even though the Packers did a good job sniffing out the play.  Sniffing, snuffing...is there a Mr. Snuffleupagus sighting anywhere?

  Uh oh, Dallas Clark got wide open in the seam of the Green Bay defense for 29 yards.  Don't let Manning get in rhythm or you'll get toasted.

  NICK COLLINS!  He tipped a pass by climbing the ladder with his 400" vertical leap to stop what would have been a touchdown pass on 2nd down.  3rd down?  ANOTHER TIP!  Colin Cole at the line of scrimmage. 

  Did Karch Kiraly and Dikembe Mutombo become defensive coaches for Green Bay?

  Vinatieri from 45 yards?  SUPER SHORT!  Did someone block it?

  4:55 p.m.  12:28  Colts' 1st Drive
  Now is when I get worried, knowing Manning has come back from huge deficits a million times before - including one time this year when the Colts were down to Houston by 17 points with about eight minutes left and came back to win.

  The good news for Green Bay - they'll get the wind for the 4th quarter.  Indy has it for the 3rd stanza.

  With the Packers in their 4-2-5, the Packers force a 3rd-and-2 - usually a guaranteed first for Indy...and it is again with an arcing pass to Rhodes.  Did anyone have a clue he was out there in the pass pattern?

  A good swim-move run by Rhodes gets nine yards, as the Colts' line starts getting all lathered up, and Green Bay has to adjust with a typical 4-3-4.

  3rd and six?  INTERCEPTION!  Collins down the sidelines and to the house!!!!  62 yards!!!  There's that three-score lead we wanted.

  2nd Quarter

  4:33 p.m.  0:02  Packers' 3rd Drive
  The thought of a three-score lead on the Colts at halftime gets me rather pumped.  So does the fact that Ryan Grant's carried the ball 18 times already.

  A third and six scares me since you give the best two-minute QB in the NFL another chance.  GOOD, Rodgers gets Nelson with a spin move to midfield for a first down.  Phew.

  Aaron Rodgers must have gone to the Randall Cunningham school of running the ball, but he skipped the class about crazy running moves while doing it.  The first down on the scramble keeps the drive going.

  A couple great open-field tackles by Colts defenders after catches force the kick attempt by Crosby with 0:08.  Why not take a shot at the end zone?  Either way, Crosby's kick is...no good?  He pushed it to the left.  Ooga.

  4:23 p.m.  2:00  Colts' 2nd Drive
  WOW!  To this point, the Colts have only half the plays in this game that the Packers have.  NICE.

  Pierre Garcon downs the kickoff...Garcon, a nice dry chablis, please?  (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

  Give Pickett and Cole credit for snuffing out a draw play on 1st down.  GREAT job, and it turns into a 3rd and five...uh oh...quick play call here.  Better - big Ryan Pickett knocked down the pass that could have had the Packers off guard had he not come up BIG!

  Just like DeShawn Wynn did when he saved a Blackmon fumble on the punt.

  4:18 p.m.  2:49  Packers' 2nd Drive
  Green Bay 17, Indianapolis 7
  Grant 11 yd TD run
  Now Green Bay can take some control...and they're going for it on 4th and 1 on the GB 44?  Hmm...Indy takes a time out.  I wonder if they're trying to make Green Bay think about its decision.

  Oh, this is big, they're sticking with the call.  Grant!!  First down across the 50, but if he hadn't stumbled, he'd still be running - maybe to Iron Mountain. 

  Rodgers just dinking and dumping to his hearts content - nine yard gain to Jackson for a first down.  Keep using the clock, boys, and turning it into a score.

  Session nearly decapitated the Packers' receiver on a hit behind the line of scrimmage, but an illegal hands to the face helped out Green Bay's cause.  Still, looking at the replay, I'm not convinced it was a worthy call.

  Rodgers finds Martin on a BEAUTIFUL catch and he got smashed helmet-to-helmet by Brackett...that's a possible fine?  Martin bounded right back up and pointed to the north end zone.  Replay says it was to the shoulder...perfectly legal hit.

  Grant to the end zone!  That was a perfect off-tackle play and Spitz absolutely mauled his man on the run. 

  They're executing the game plan to control the ball AND score perfectly!

  4:04 p.m.  9:40  Colts' 1st Drive
  Colts salvo number two today: not great on 2nd down with a tremendous string-out of a sweep by Kampman, Jolly and co.  This ain't Tom Matte running the power sweep like back in '65, boys.  Ah, but the scramble by Manning gets a 1st down on a throw to Clark.  Frustrating, isn't it?

  3rd and 6 at the IND 44:  short of the first down on a completion to Harrison.  Will Blackmon's great coverage helped him get in position to stop the play from getting a first down.

  MUCH needed defensive stand.

  3:53 p.m. 14:13  Packers' 1st Drive (continued from end of 1st quarter)
  Green Bay 10, Indianapolis 7
  Rodgers-D. Lee 12 yd TD pass
  The Packers' offensive line is getting holes to open, but pursuit is coming quickly to stop running plays.  Still, a 1st and 10 at the Indy 12 on a four-yard run.

  Rodgers delivers to Donald Lee on a WONDERFUL leaping catch in the end zone.

  Let the shootout begin.

  1st Quarter

  3:50 p.m.  0:00  Packers' 2nd Drive
  Green Bay had better do something with this drive or this game could get nasty and quick.  We like Ryan Grant blasting through for seven yards, and...Jennings with pass interference on Jennings?  Oh, that's Tim on Greg.  The Packers will probably use that matchup a LOT with their secondary decimated.

  Hmmm...I'm hearing the Badgers band going.  Will they do the march of the tubas?

  Third and six at the 30 - GREAT scramble by Rodgers to step up and find Greg Jennings for the first down.

  Defensive false start?  Is that the first time we've seen that all year with the Packers owning the football?  What a change of pace, refreshing.

  3:39 p.m.  4:08  Colts' 1st Drive
  Indianapolis 7, Green Bay 3
  Rhodes 1 TD run
  The Colts start their game with...HANG ON...an onside kick attempt caroms out of bounds.  Was that on purpose?  That doesn't help Green Bay since it gives Manning and company good field position.  WHAT?  It's an NFL rule you have to re-kick it if it's outside the last five minutes.

  2nd version - and this one goes out of bounds, too, absolutely not on purpose.  The winds must really be making life havoc for kickers and passers today.  A guy on the receiving team cost his team 15 yards of field position with unnecessary roughness.  Thanks, Colts.  Ball on the 25 yd line.

  Ryan Pickett came to play today!  He stuffed Rhodes on 2nd down.  3rd and 2?  Rhodes gets the first and did Tramon Williams get a late hit?  Yes!  To quote Vince Lombardi: "what the hell's going on out here?"

  3rd and 3 at GB 31...Manning being Manning, the throw to Reggie Wayne to the 16.  Just sickening, and you can't stop it.

  A horrible run defense gives up a first down to Dominic Rhodes.  Inside the 10?  He punches it twice, the second time past the goal line, the second time after the Packers' defense ran around like a Chinise fire drill - yep, it was 12 men on the field.

  3:25 p.m.  8:06  Packers' 1st Drive
  Green Bay 3, Indianapolis 0
  Mason Crosby 31 yd FG
  Great sign to see a 14-yard gain on the first play by Grant - that will up the yards per carry that was under 3.0 last game for Grant. 

  Third-and-6 from the GB 38, the first 3rd down of the game....to Donald Lee - first down!  Ugh...penalty marker?  Personal foul on Indy.  Beautiful, but un-Dungy-like.

  Agh - third and nine from the Indy 35...penalty marker down and it's holding on the Colts in the secondary.  Hmm...rare undiscipline by a Dungy team.

  RYAN GRANT!   Stop your fumbleitis!  Thanks, Korey Hall for recovering.  Thanks, even more, for a run by Kuhn to smash into the red zone.

  A well-defended play stopped the third down play int he red zone.  Thanks, Mason for the leading kick!

  Still, we need more touchdowns than field goals on long drives, just like I said on Our Experts Predict.

  Pregame

  2:51 p.m. 
  If this report by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer is correct, I will be putting all my Brett Favre jerseys and memorabilia into a box and storing it until time heals this wound...he helped the Lions with their game against Green Bay on Sept. 14?

  If it's true, that's classless.

  The grounds crew has cut the level of the grass at Lambeau Field and put sand on the field.  It looks like it needs a little H20, but from what the crews tell Wayne Larrivee, we're OK for the game.  It's meant to help players from slipping.

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