Wisconsin Sports Blog - The Daily Drink : Monday Morning Hangover

The Monday Morning Hangover: Reason To Believe Edition

BrewTownBeat — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:25:00 GMT

Today's Monday Morning Hangover, was probably the easiest one I've had to write yet (well, aside from the lack of sleep, and sickness I'm currently battling). It was easy, because today is the best Monday I can remember in some time. What we just witnessed, Saturday and Sunday, was the best Wisconsin sports weekend, since the Brewers clinched a playoff berth last year. It may have even been better.

Thursday:

Jay Cutler throws 5, count 'em, 5 picks, and the Bears lose to the 49ers. So for those scoring at home, the great Jay Cutler has now thrown 9 interceptions in his two national games this season. Nice.

Friday:

An evening at The Hody (all you Madison/Middleton folk know what I'm talking about). Before this Courtney Cox show came along, The Hody was the real Cougartown. Still is. The highlights of the evening, were getting 4 straws for a margarita - as it it were a fish bowl - and guessing whether or not our bartender was pregnant. My guess? You bet she was. As I was leaving the bar, said bartender was outside..smoking, so yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say she was pregnant.

Saturday:

The Badgers make up for last year's choke job, by completely dominating Michigan at home on Senior Day. Not a bad start. The capper though, as we all know, was Brandon Jennings' 55 point outburst against the Warriors.

The MMH has touched on this before, but the Bucks were extremely fortunate to get Jennings. But hey, in the NBA, sometimes luck is all you need. Had Jennings been able to turn pro after his senior year at Oak Hill, there's no way he goes past the 5th pick. He was the top rated HS player in the country. Lets just say he went to school, and didn't play overseas - out of sight, out of mind - spending a majority of his time on the bench, in favor of older players, again, Jennings probably goes much higher. The Bucks got a player many viewed to be "raw", and an guy who supposedly couldn't shoot, just because no one had scouted him enough.

I'll be honest, I didn't see much of Jennings' performance on Satuday. I spent the day at the Badger Game (well, mostly at the Badger Bus, tailgating) and took a nice four hour power-nap after the game, so I saw the Bucks game in chunks. I saw the entire first quarter, and Jennings look bad. Like, really bad. It looked like he was forcing shots and not letting the game come to him. The last I saw of the game, before heading to the Great Dane (where I dominated in shuffle board, more on that later) was early in the third, and by then, he was only up to 19 or so point. Needless to say, I was stunned when I recieved a text from my buddy Filzen telling me Jennings dropped a double nickel.

With Jennings performance, and the Bucks suddenly, well...good, we were all happy heading into Sunday. But, at least in my case (and don't kid yourselves, you all felt the same way too) you had a feeling that happiness would soon go away. Like say, around 6:30 Sunday evening?

Sunday:

On my way into the station Sunday afternoon, I had a discussion on the phone with a friend of mine about the upcoming Packers game. I couldn't see any way the Packers defeated the Cowboys. The Packers linebackers covering Jason Whitten seemed like bad news to me, Miles Austin would probably torch Al Harris, and continue his break-out season, Roy Williams would probably get a lot of matchups on Tramon Williams or Al Harris, and take advantage (for the first time this year), and Felix Jones would probably break off a long run at some point.

Oh, and I didn't mention the Cowboys defense, or my thought going in, that DeMarcus Ware would get 12 sacks.

But just as things looked darkest, and my fears were the worst, my friend said to me, "You know, I too see no reason(s) why this team should beat Dallas, it just doesn't make sense. Thats why I think we're winning by at least 17."

Unreal.

Now, I won't make the mistake a lot of us made in the pre-season, by putting too much into one game, but I will say this, thats the defense we saw in the pre-season. More importantly, thats the play-making, potental defensive player of the year, Charles Woodson we saw in August. Now, maybe, just maybe it does take 8 games or so to master this defense, before you start to see it on the field. But again, I fully expect the Packers to lay an egg next week, and leave most of us asking if the Dallas game was just an anomoly.

The Bottom Five:

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
31. Bill Belichick's decision to go for it, deep in his own territory
30. Detroit Lions
29. St Louis Rams
28. Cleveland Browns

As great as this win was against Dallas, I was really only half into it. How can that be? Well, I had other things on my mind, like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

After taking in most of the second half of the game at Turner Hall, I made my way across the street, to the BC for another Springsteen show.

There was a sense of anticipation in the air, as it's been hinted that there is somewhat of a chance that this could be the last show we see in Milwaukee. We know with the tour wrapping up on Sunday and plans for rest on the horizon, it's going to be a while before there's another tour. Factor in Bruce's age (60) and the age of other band members, like the big man (65) and his declining health, and there was at least a small feeling, that this may be it.

If this was it, it was an amazing sendoff. I'll do you the service now, since the rest of this is mostly a gushfest over the Boss, so if you don't like him, we'll see you next week...

The show got underway around 8:15, opening with a Milwaukee favorite, the upbeat, Cadillac Ranch, immediately followed by the classic, Badlands and Hungry Heart (featuring the costumary audience participation on the first verse). A subdued, Working on a Dream ending the opening portion, before Bruce grabbed the mic, and introduced us to the Born to Run portion of the show.

Coming in, I wasn't sure how I felt about getting Born to Run, in it's entirety, but it was a solid performance. One could argue, he could have ended the show after Jungleland. The highlights of the BTR portion, were Thunder Road and Jungleland. BTR is what it is, it's always good live, but it's getting to the been there, done that point. Plus, I hate how they always bring the lights up for the song.

When the BTR album was over, it was Darlington County and a transition into another favorite, Waiting on a Sunny Day - featuring a 10 year old boy in the crowd getting pulled on stage to sing-along with Bruce (even though he did screw up the lyrics, but hey, he's 10). After Waiting, it was request hour. Bruce ran around stage, grabbing signs from the audience wtih song requests on them.

The first request granted was Santa Claus is Coming to Town, as the group all donned santa hats, and a christmas tree sign, equipped with christmas lights, made it's way to the stage. The next song granted was the rarely played, Loose Ends. The sign requesting it made an infamous "Are You Loose" reference (if you don't know, look it up). After an incredible performance of Loose Ends, it was Jole Blon and Growin' Up to close out the request portion of the show. Growin' Up was probably the highlight of the night for me. Never thought I'd get to hear that one live. The band then ripped back into it, before Born In the USA's No Surrender closed out the set.

In the encore portion, Bruce took one more request, this time from a new father, who's sign read "Two Weeks ago Today, I found Living Proof". Initially hesitent to play the song (he admitted, and it was clear he didn't remember how to play it, nor did the band), he rebounded and put together a solid performance of the song, telling the new father who remarked his daughter was a new Bruce fan, "Hopefully I'm not dead when she sees me".

From there, they closed things out with Kitty's Back, the Irish immigrant song, American Land, Dancing in the Dark, Rosalita, and as he's been doing in most shows on the tour, a cover of (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.

In all, 27 songs and five mintues short of three hours. A truely incredible show, especially with the rarities he pulled out, especially those during the request portion. If you've never seen a Springsteen concert, you've never seen a concert. Like I said earlier, if this was it, he left us with a lasting memory and a fantastic show.

Sunday night's show was without question the best I've seen him put on, and the best concert I've seen period. It served as a cherry on top of the sunda(y)e to what was the greatest weekend we've had in Wisconsin, in quite some time.

The Top Five:

5b. Thunder Road
5a. Cadillac Ranch
4. Badlands (as always)
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
2. Growin' Up
1. Loose Ends

Rambling Home...

There's a certain, indescribable feeling you get, when drinking from a 16oz camo can of High Life...only in Wisconsin...

Do we really think Rich Rod will have Michigan turned around, soon?

How long before we start getting more than 10,000 people to show up to Bucks games?

Ahmad Carroll was cut by the Jets? Wait a minute, he was still in the league?

Seriously, how do you even follow something mentioning grabby smurf? Yuk...

Oh, I know how, twitter.com/BrewTownBeat...

Until Next Time...

Monday Morning Hangover: Rock Bottom Edition

BrewTownBeat — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:57:00 GMT

You know, had I not honestly thought the Packers would lose this game anyway, I'd be a lot more upset right now. Lets be honest, Packers fans, most of you thought they were going to lose this game too. The warning signs were all there.

The opponent, a winless team drumming up interest by honoring a hall of famer and wearing throwback uniforms. The Bucs were starting a rookie quarterback, when the Packers had never lost to a rookie quarterback making his first start, EVER, all but sealed it for me. Oh, and the fact that the Packers had only won at Raymond James Stadium, just once. You just knew they weren't winning this game.

The Packers, are a bad team. 4-4 record, and only one win has come against a team .500 or better (The Bears, 4-4). Actually, the saddest factoid being, 3 of the Packers 4 wins have come against 1-7 teams.

Lets not kid ourselves, this is not a playoff team. Actually, if you really want to get real, the Packers are in serious danger of dropping four games in a row. They welcome the NFC East-leading Cowboys (6-2) to town next week, followed by the 49ers (3-5) and then the Thanksgiving Day showdown in Detroit.

Yes, I'm counting the Lions game as a potential loss. While it's widely overplayed how well Lions play on Thanksgiving (35-32 overall, 1-7 this decade), the Packers and Lions have played on Thanksgiving 3 times this decade, with the Packers winning twice (29-27 in 2001 and 37-26 in 2007). The Lions only win on Thanksgiving this decade, came when they defeated the Packers in 2003. More than that though, the biggest reason why the Packers can (will) lose that game is simple, they're not that much better than the Lions.

When you're a good team, you can afford to sleepwalk through a half, or play sloppy, and still manage to overcome it. The Packers do these things now, but aren't good enough to overcome. Thus, you see things like losses to an 0-7 team.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, yesterday's game sealed coach Mike McCarthy's fate. His teams have by and large, underachieved, and they show no progression, week in week out. The continued sloppy play, and abundance of penalties though, is the biggest indictment on McCarthy. If he hasn't already, he's on the verge of completely losing this team. And more than that, is this not the softest team you've ever seen?

With another disappointing season on the horizon, and so many quality, former head coaches available this offseason, one would think a change may definitely be in order. Guys like Bill Cowher, Gruden, Shanahan (I won't say Mike Holmgren, but 16,978 Packers fans already do every week) this is one of the better offseasons in recent memory, to make a change at the top.

Ugh.

The Bottom Five:

32. Cleveland Browns (1-7)
31. St Louis Rams (1-7)
30. Washington Redskins (2-6)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (1-7)
28. Green Bay Packers (4-4) - Yeah, it had to be done.

Speaking of bad, Aaron Rodgers sure picked a good day to have his worst game of the season, huh? As the numbers dictate, the Buccaneers officially own Rodgers.

9/28/08: 14/27, 165 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
11/08/09: 17/35, 266 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT

Oh, and speaking of Rodgers, 6 more sacks yesterday. 6 Sacks, to a team who had only racked up 11 on the season, coming in to today's game. Beyond embarassing. 37 sacks, through 8 games. Nice job, boys. If you were to give up 37 sacks in a full season, you'd be considered a poor offensive line, but this group just needed half of a season to reach that...

Darren Colledge, I really have no words...It will be interesting to see what TT does with the line this offseason, with Colledge and Spitz both free agents. I have little doubt he'll at least re-sign one of them, if not both, which really terrifies me. If you had to pick one, which one is it? Colledge? A guy who is versatile, but no better than mediocre at guard and god-awful at tackle? Or Spitz, a guy who can't stay on the field? Nice problem to have, isn't it?

The Top Five:

5b. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
5a. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
4. Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
3. Denver Broncos (6-1)
2. Indianapolis Colts (8-0)
1. New Orleans Saints (8-0)

Switching Gears...The Bucks!

Should this entire column just be completely devoted to the Bucks, from this point forward? Jodie Meeks had a break out game of sorts over the weekend, as the Bucks defeated the Knicks in a laugher. Oh and by the way, Saturday night marked Marcus Landry's return to Milwaukee. Why didn't this get as much attention as a certain QB returning to Lambeau did last week?

Brandon Jennings continues to impress, and I know it's early, but after 5 games (Yes, I know this sounds ridiculous) he looks like the steal of the draft. The thing is this though, playing professional ball in Europe definitely helped Jennings' game on the court, but it hurt him in terms of stock. Had Jennings been able to turn pro after high school, he would have at worst been a top 5 pick. Then, he goes to Europe, doesn't really get a ton of minutes, and doesn't have as many eyes on him, and people start to forget about him.

Jennings has flashed all the signs of becoming a potential star in this league, something the Bucks desperately need to turn around, perhaps even save their franchise.

Brewers Games Just Became Sausage-Fests:

JJ Hardy, no more. On the surface, it seems like the Twins are winners in the short term, in the JJ Hardy for Carlos Gomez trade. Gomez is still a little raw, but has the tools to become an All-Star CF. The Brewers replace Mike Cameron with a CF who's arguably, just as good defensively, and much younger, but also, with a guy who strikes out more than Cammy. If Gomez can get on track offensively, the Brewers are winners in this trade.

Oh and with this trade and Cammy's departure freeing up roughly $15M, I'd expect the Brewers to be a major player for at least one top tier pitcher. John Lackey's name gets tossed around a lot, but I think he'll prove to be too costly for the Brewers. I wouldn't be shocked to see Jarrod Washburn signed to a two or three year deal though.

Rambling Home:

I realize it's their job to do this, but hearing Lucas and LePay tell us on Saturday that Iowa's loss was huge, because it keeps the Badgers alive in the hunt for the Big Ten title, was ridiculously humorous. Yes, they're technically in it, because they're now one back in the loss column, but I don't see both Iowa and Ohio State losing two more times, thus allowing the Badgers to leap-frog them...oh and all of it is null and void anyway, after Northwestern defeats the Badgers. C'mon, you know they will...

Man would Bill Cowher look nice on the sidelines...

I'd have to agree with Don Draper, Betty is a whore. Can I write that, Walsh? I thought overall, Mad Men was so-so, this season, but the last four episodes were fantastic. Last night's season finale was the best the show has delivered so far. Oh, and you just knew Joan would be brought back in that role...

Was anyone else as excited as I was to see Mario Lopez share the screen with Kiersten Warren again? We first saw these two on Saved by the Bell: The College Years, as Slater and Alex, and now, 16 years later, they recapture the magic as Dr. Mike Hamoui and Jenny Juggs...Wait, I can write that, can't I?

The Office is just purposely trying to suck now, right? They're intentionlly trying to not be funny, right? Mission accomplished...

I did not see the Chris Henry injury, and from what I heard, I'm glad I did not...

The Black Crowes put on a solid show at the Riverside Saturday night, as they always do, but I'd have to say July's show at the Waukesha County fair was much better...

Bill Cowher is available...

Extremely disappointed with ESPN's 30 for 30 series. The Len Bias one continued the theme of not living up to the hype, and leaving so many unanswered questions and material completely glossed over. For as much as Simmons and Co. have criticized HBO's documentaries, so far HBO's have been much better...

Speaking of the Len Bias documentary, was I the only one who felt a bit uneasy about those interviewed making Bias out to be a hero by dying of a drug-overdose? The common theme I picked up was, "Bias was a hero and saved lives by over-dosing on drugs." Yeah, not quite sure I can go there. I realize it served as a wake-up call to the dangers of cocaine, but I don't think I can give you that one...

Speaking of saving lives, go donate blood. It's probably the one true good deed I regularly do. The free cookies and juice are more than worth it. Speaking of which, if the Red Cross in Madison is reading this, Apple Cider would be a welcome addition on Thursday...

And speaking of Madison, I'll be spending an extended weekend there, this weekend. Badger tailgate and game Saturday, and heavy drinking, all weekend. You know, after the Packers lose to the Cowboys, next weekend's MMH might just be a recap of my weekend in Madison, and Sunday night's Bruce Springsteen concert...

Why are Packers fans all of a sudden lashing out at media outlets for being "overly critical" of this team? You do realize this team sucks, right?

I'll be honest, if I saw anyone at a game, or anywhere in public for that matter, using the Freedom Tray, I'd probably walk up to them and knock it over. Take that, dorks...

Bill Cowher...

See everyone at the Badger Bus Tailgate Saturday, and at the Bradley Center for Springsteen, Sunday night. Until next time...

Monday Morning Hangover: Packers/Vikings, Return of the Favre Edition

BrewTownBeat — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:59:28 GMT

So, anyone watch any football over the weekend?

Once again, I find myself questioning just how good of a coach Mike McCarthy really is. Brad Childress outcoached him...again. Brad freaking Childress. Blowing through timeouts in the second half, once again abandoning the run altogether, poor play calling, they all pale in comparison to this team's biggest issue, penalties. Explain to me how you can commit so many penalties, while being held "accountable?" Well-coached teams don't commit so many penalties or make so many stupid mistakes. How does this not fall on the coaching, especially when you consider it's become an annual issue under McCarthy?

McCarthy loves to preach accountability, yet we've seen none of it. I've had it with his lame talks of "we'll have to review the film" shut up. Just. Shut. Up.

The afore mentioned play calling, sucked. Once again, we see the Packers in a big game, where coach McCarthy opts to be one dimensional and completely goes away from the run. Have they ever attempted more than 15 rushes in a big game? The biggest issue I had though, came in the fourth quarter on the failed Mason Crosby FG. First of all, hindsight is 20/20, but it was an awful decision (and so was going for 2 when trailing 26-31, but it didn't really matter). The play calling, where to begin?

2nd and 3 and not running the ball? Oh, but then again, McCarthy never runs in meaningful games, so why am I complaining? So after Rodgers gets sacked on 2nd and short, resulting in 3rd and 8, you call a terrible play, with the primary route going 20 yards downfield? On the play, Rodgers did have a receiver (appeared to be Driver) flash over the middle, but it would have still been well short of the first down.

Here's the thing, and stop me if you've heard this before, McCarthy was calling a play that he was hoping would have worked big (possibly touchdown) with the idea of falling back on a FG. Again, how many times have we seen him play for FGs? So, you settle for a 51 yard FG (never a gimmie), with a kicker who has been anything but consistent this season? You don't want to rethink that, Mike?

With just over 5 minutes left in the game at the time, you had to think that was probably going to be your last chance to pull ahead. No. Field. Goals. Call a play on third down that will at least get you 5-6 yards, knowing full well you're in 4 down territory. It's four down territory because of the time and score. The score, because as I said earlier, GOING FOR TWO WAS AN AWFUL DECISION! Again, easy to say now, but I was screaming it at the time, YOU DON'T GO FOR TWO HERE, MIKE!

Lets just say Crosby hit that FG and made it 31-29. Two point game. But then, just as they did, the Vikings go down field and score a TD. 38-29, two score game. Now, had you just kicked the extra point (as you should have, regardless of what "the chart" says, even though I'm certain it probably said kick the PAT) you're still very much in the game, at 38-30.

I realize the payoff was that had they converted, it's a 3 point game, but you have to review everything. Like the scenario I just laid out. The idea of the two point conversion is to prolong the game as long as possible. You don't want to use it too early, because it might set you back. If you're down 15, you save the 2 point attempt for your last TD, keeping you alive as long as possible. McCarthy didn't do that.

Again, the play calling on 2nd and 3rd down, and the decision to attempt the FG were viewed as bigger blunders, but the 2 point conversion attempt was arguably as costly.

And speaking of the FG attempt, did anyone honestly think Crosby was making that, when he was lining up? I don't know who I have less confidence in, Mason Crosby or Mike McCarthy.

Oh and one last, quick thing, defensively, Dom Capers? What? Thats what you call a more aggressive game plan? Yes, there were a lot of instances of just not beating your man, but I saw a lot more of a coordinator seeing his guys not beating their men, and just giving up on the blitz.

The Bottom Five:

32. Cleveland Browns
31. Tampa Bay Bucaneers
30. Detroit Lions
29. St Louis Rams
28. Tennessee Titans

I must say, after listening to Favre's post-game comments to Pam Oliver, I found myself partially torn for the first time in months. When Favre said "I hope they still love me as much as I still love them" I had to ask myself, why do I hate this man.

For five minutes, Favre won me back.

Then I remembered all the waffling, all the back and forth, all the lies, the dog and pony shows put on, the imaging, the back-pedaling, and those feelings subsided. Well, hate is the wrong word, but you get the picture. I don't hate Brett Favre, but I don't root for the enemy.

That's what kills me, all of these fans who root for Brett Favre, and openly wish he beats the Packers, all the while calling themselves Packer fans. Look, I don't care if you root for Brett Favre, but just don't call yourself a Packers fan if thats the case. All of these fans hold onto Brett Favre as the reason why Ted Thompson should be fired, when in fact one could argue, that may be the one thing Thompson has done right - signing Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett aside.

Seeing Favre on the field at Lambeau, and hearing how emotional he was after the game did win him some points back with me though. When it's all said and done, we'll all overlook this season with Minnesota, five years down the road when he's being inducted into the Hall of Fame, and when he makes his return to the organization to get his number retired. All water under the bridge. But man oh man do I wish his return to Lambeau would have been as a Bucaneer last season, and not a Viking this season.

The Top Five:

5. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Denver Broncos
3. Minnesota Vikings
2. Indianapolis Colts
1. New Orleans Saints

Bucks Talk aka Where Most of You Stop Reading

I'll keep it short and sweet this week. Brandon. Jennings. The kid is the real deal. There will be some growing pains this season, but there will be just as many, if not more, performances like Saturday night.

There. That wasn't too painful, was it? Maybe next week we can work our way up to a full paragraph of Bucks talk.

Oh, and sort of Bucks related, I loved these tweets from Charlie V:

FANS LETS NOT PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, THE SEASON IS YOUNG, WE WILL BE MORE THAN ALRIGHT, AND WHY WERE MILWAUKEE FANS BOOING ME

and...

Brett Farve did get booed too, Milwaukee fans hating on Farve and myself

Two things, Charlie. Bucks fans booed you, because you suck. You were a so-so player in Milwaukee, and are the type of player that is easy to hate. You show up when you want to and are all about Charlie V. You even stated the Twitter thing from last year was great for you because it got your name out there. Nice. You're a turd, that is why you were booed.

Secondly, Milwaukee was not "hating" on Favre - and please, don't even put yourself in the same sentence as Brett Favre. GREEN BAY WAS "HATING" ON FAVRE, CHARLIE. For f%$k's sake, you lived here, Milwaukee is not Green Bay. Idiot.

Rambling Home...

After watching her on Celebrity Rehab, and now on Sex Rehab, I feel like with my wit and charm (two things Dan Walsh does not posses, by the way) I could get Amber Smith. That is also assuming she relapses and alcohol is involved, but still...

Much was made of this last week, but seriously, how many different teams has Brett Favre now called the "best team I've ever played on?" Forget the 96 Packers, what about how bad he's slighting all those Pro Bowl teams he was a member of, when he says that...

On a scale of 1-10, how closely does Hulk Hogan going to TNA compare to Favre going to the Vikings? Probably a 4, but still, I'm suddenly interested in TNA...

Still don't wish Charlie V or Ramon Sessions were Bucks...

They're going to take their dog to the park over there. There, I just used all three correctly, why can't 80% of our population? Not that hard, people...

Why don't we see more Survivor Series elimination matches at the Survivor Series? Wasn't that the point of the pay-per-view?

TV shows you won't see me watching: The League, and of course, Lost...

It looks like Johnny Bananas' days may be numbered on The Ruins...

Speaking of The Ruins, I loved Wes' line of "I've been called a renegade and assassin, but I want to change that to bounty hunter now". Um, who's been calling you a renegade or assassin? And can someone please tell Evan, $25,000 in American money is not worth $52,000 Canadian. All reasons why I love that show...

After watching him carve the Packers up, twice, I still wouldn't bet on Brett Favre, down the stretch. We'll talk if he's still playing like this in December...

As a reminder (yes, I feel pathetic for doing this) you can follow the Brew Town Beat on Twitter, at: twitter.com/brewtownbeat

Since they're at the Riverside this Saturday, lets enjoy some Black Crowes, shall we?

Oh and in the spirit of Dan Walsh and all of his dork retreats, I'll buy a sparks for the first person who tracks me down a the show and tells me they read the MMH...If only I could have the Robinson brothers play an acoustic set in my living room...

Monday Morning Hangover: Packers/Lions Edition

BrewTownBeat — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

26-0, and yet I still come away unimpressed. How many times has that happened? More on the reasons for concern later, but first, a few things that jumped out at me.

AJ Hawk didn't see much of the field today. I have to say, I'm shocked. Hawk should have seen a reduction in playing time, weeks ago, glad to see it finally happened, but as I stated earlier, this move did surprise me. In Hawk's three-plus seasons in Green Bay, he's shown he's not a playmaker. He's not that fast, he can get exposed in coverage, he can't rush the passer, and he can't beat his man. If you put a body on him, he's won't get a release from his blocker. He's done. Play over. AJ Hawk, is just a guy. He's a solid backup linebacker, but not the type you want with your fifth overall pick.

Tom Brady just threw another touchdown.

While coach McCarthy has always been the type that preaches accountability, he hasn't really help his main guys accountable. Perhaps thats all changed now. About time. Ryan Grant, you're on notice.

Ryan Grant. Where to begin. I'll start off by saying this, I realize your offensive line sucks, and I also realize you were playing most of last season on one leg, but Ryan, you're not a starting caliber running back in the NFL. You lack the ability to make tacklers miss. You have zero shiftiness and limited agility. You're a straight ahead, power-runner, much like DeShawn Wynn, who also sucks.

Power running is fine, it does serve a purpose, but the problem in Grant's case is that more often than not, he goes down on initial contact. We did see some of it on two runs in the fourth quarter yesterday, but before that, when was the last time you saw Ryan Grant bounce off a would-be tackler? I would say lets give Brandon Jackson some extended reps to see what he can do, but I know full-well, Jackson will go down to another injury in two or three weeks anyway, so between that and the contract they gave him, the Packers are stuck with Grant.

Scott Tolzien just threw another interception.

Is it just me, or did some more holes seem to open up on the left side of the line when TJ Lang entered for Chad Clifton? Speaking of Clifton, how in the bloody hell do you get so many false start/illegal formation penalties called against you when you're a seasoned veteran? And speaking of veteran offensive linemen, Scott Wells has to be your starting center. He's one of your best five linemen on the team, why were you sitting him on the bench the first few weeks of the season?

Donald Driver may be one of the more underappreciated players in league history. He's arguably the greatest receiver in Packers history, and one of the best receivers in the past decade. Sadly, you almost get the impression this season may be his last in Green Bay.

Hey, Aaron Kampman got after the quarterback! Wow, amazing what happens when he goes back to the 3-point stance and rushes the passer. I said it when they first talked about the switch, and I'll say it again, I just don't get the decision to move him to LB. You have one of the best pass rushers in the game and you ask him to lose weight and do something he's not comfortable doing? The decision that was made should have been to either trade Kampman over the offseason, or ask him to bulk up a bit to play end in the 3-4.

I don't get the notion that LB is his best spot in this scheme. Defensive ends can still get after the QB in this scheme. Kampman isn't quite athletic enough to play LB, he can't cover anyone, and just looks lost and uncomfortable out there. If you had him add some weight to his frame, he could still rush the passer and better defend the run at the end. I just don't get it. While Driver may be in his last run with the Packers, Kampman definitely is. There's no way he's coming back here next season, unless he's franchised by the team and left without an option.

Hey, Donald Lee is alive after all.

Reasons For Concern

Penalties. The Packers commited 124 penalties yesterday (OK, maybe thats an exaggeration), ridiculous. Why did this team become the new Raiders? Seriously, if you want a Packers drinking game, take one drink every time they commit a penalty. You're buzzed by the mid-point of the second quarter. The propensity for committing penalties absolutely falls on McCarthy and his "accountability". These guys aren't afraid of being held accountable for making mistakes. Well, either that or they're just plain stupid.

Playcalling. AWFUL. McCarthy's playcalling = FAIL. I hate shotgun formations from inside the 10, and especially 5 yard line. I hate running 4 yard routes on 3rd and 9. I hate many things Mike McCarthy calls. The penalties were a large part of it, but this team stalled offensively most of the day. Take away a big catch by James Jones and a few big catches from Driver and they might not score an offensive touchdown yesterday. It may have been 15-0.

Overall sloppy play. Penalties, miscues, poor playcalling. Save for the first two drives of the game (although there was a holding on the opening kickoff) it felt like nothing was worked out during the bye week. They didn't look like a team fresh off a week off, who had cleaned things up. Thankfully, they played the Lions yesterday.

Reasons For Optimism

They still play the Lions once more and have two of their next three against the Browns and Bucaneers. Actually, you can toss Seattle in there as well, and Pittsburgh, Arizona and Dallas look like completely average teams. San Francisco and Baltimore may be the toughest non-divisional games they have left, and they don't look as good as they did three weeks ago.

Around The League

Can we just admit the Titans are a bad team already? Stop with all the "I can't believe the Titans are 0-3, 0-4, 0-5" talk, and my favorite "The Titans are the best 0-4 team in NFL history". Um, no, they're not. The Titans are a bad team. Way to show up yesterday, Tennessee. Nice sense of pride, losing 59-0.

Oh, and Jeff Fisher, good job. Kerry Collins sucks. He caught lightening in a bottle last year, just as he did in 2000 with New York. He's a backup QB who got lucky. After the 0-4 start, and Collins continued poor play, why didn't you go to Vince Young? Collins is now 0-6 as a starter, with a QB rating of 67.4. If you don't name Vince Young your starter by the end of day today...

The Washington Redskins are truely awful. Just fire Zorn already.

Is Jay Cutler the dumbest person ever to get into Vanderbilt? I'd like to think so.

The Saints are the best team in the NFC. Speaking of which...

Bottom Five

32. Tennessee Titans (By rule, you have to be the worst team in the league if you lose by 59 points)
31. St. Louis Rams
30. Tampa Bay Bucaneers
29. Cleveland Browns
28. Washington Redskins

Top Five

5. New York Giants
4. Minnesota Vikings
3. New Orleans Saints
2. Indianapolis Colts
1. Denver Broncos

Yup, I've caved and am now a Broncos believer...or is that just a reverse jinx?

For reality TV commentary, inside jokes, radio happenings, and Dan Walsh blasts, follow the BrewTownBeat on Twitter, @BrewTownBeat.

Until next time...

Monday Morning Hangover: Bye Week, Power Rankings and Ramblings Edition

BrewTownBeat — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:00:00 GMT

For the second straight Sunday, there was no Packers football. Two weeks in a row, and you start to get used to it. The only benefit of not having your team playing, is that it allows you to watch other teams in the league more closely, and when it happens two weeks in a row, well, it gives you an extended look at the league.

If you've been following the NFL closely, it's becoming more and more evident that parity is slowing going away. There are a handful of really, really bad teams, and handful of really, really good teams, and a lot of teams that could beat each other, any given week.

Isn't that the definition of parity? Well, sort of. Unlike in years past, when you got the feeling that any team could get hot and reach the Super Bowl, this season appears to be drawing closer and closer to the way things were, up until the late 90's.

In short, we know who's good this year. We know who's bad.

The Bottom Five:

32. St. Louis Rams (0-5)
31. Cleveland Browns (1-4)
30. Tampa Bay Bucaneers (0-5)
29. Buffalo Bills (1-4)
28. Oakland Raiders (1-4)

Bad, But Not Awful:

27. Kansas City Cheifs (0-5)
26. Detroit Lions (1-4)
25. Miami Dolphins (1-3)
24. Tennessee Titans (0-5)
23. Washington Redskins (2-3)
22. Carolina Panthers (1-3)

Mediocre:

21. Houston Texans (2-3)
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3)
19. Seattle Seahawks (2-3)
18. San Diego Chargers (2-2)
17. Arizona Cardinals (2-2)
16. Dallas Cowboys (3-2)
15. Chicago Bears (3-1)
14. Green Bay Packers (2-2)

Just Better Than Average:

13. Philadelphia Eagles (3-1)
12. San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
10. Atlanta Falcons (3-1)
9. Baltimore Ravens (3-2)
8. New England Patriots (3-2)
7. New York Jets (3-1)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)

The Top Five:

5. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
4. Denver Broncos (5-0)
3. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
2. New York Giants (5-0)
1. Indianapolis Colts (5-0)

Turning To College...

The loss to Ohio State was probably just what the Badgers needed. The Bandwagon was picking up too many passengers, and the Badgers weren't nearly as good as most fans and alumni were touting them to be. They're better than they were a year ago, and have a better QB in place than they did last season, but neither of those two statements say much.

All that being said, the loss was absolutely gut-wrenching. You dominate time of possesion and play well on defense, yet still come away losing by three scores. Thats what turnovers will do to you - actually, thats what turnovers do when any team but the Packers generates the turnovers.

Ohio State and Iowa are not top 10 football teams. Penn State is the best team in the Big Ten, and even they are not a top 10 team. The Big Ten is a power conference, only by name. This started ten years ago, when criticism came that their teams were too slow and were getting beaten by faster, SEC schools in bowl games. The problem is, you are what you are. Rather than recruiting secondary speed and talent, like most of these schools have - you're not going to out-recruit SEC squads in this department - get the players that work for your system. If you can block and tackle, you're going to win more games than you lose, even if your opponent is faster than you.

Note to Iowa, when you're ranked, and a top 15 team at that, and defeat an unranked team...YOU CANNOT STORM THE FIELD! Oh, and your crowd's chants of BCS, BCS, BCS, all but asure a loss to Wisconsin next week, or an even worse opponent in the coming weeks.

In my mind, there is little debate to this, Alabama is the best team in college football. The offense is better than it was a season ago, mainly because of an upgrade at quarterback, and the defense is a top 5 defense in the nation. Yes, Florida left points on the field, but if LSU had an offense, they win that game Saturday night.

Rambling Home...

Can you name a broadcaster, as nationally prominant as Chip Caray, who's worse than he is?

Tom Brady is no longer a top 5 QB in the NFL. Not to say he won't return to that level, but he's not there this year. You can tell Tom doesn't trust that knee, just yet.

I recently saw two of the worst movies to be released the past twelve months, Couples Retreat and Observe and Report. Stay away.

Why were the Cowboys and Cheifs both allowed to wear dark jerseys yesterday?

I could probably name fifteen quarterbacks in the league that I'd rather have on my team than Tony Romo.

Last week's wedding episode of The Office was the best episode in some time, but it was still an average episode. That show is on it's last legs.

Excellent job getting the right call on Joe Mauer's double in that Twins/Yankees game on Friday night...oh wait. Remind me again, whats the point of having replay in baseball, when it's only used 10% of the time?

Dear Jonathan Papelbon, F U. Please don't be back next year. Thank you.

Is there any doubt the Angels are winning the World Series this year?

Why do we have to wait until Friday for the ALCS to begin, when both participants advanced yesterday, as in, SUNDAY.

How about that trump card Johana pulled on Wes on The Ruins last week? Wow. The bigger question should be this though, how can two losers who only perform on reality show contests, and never win any of said contests, afford a $300,000 house?

From the looks of it, Nip/Tuck is going to use the fall of the economy in this season's plot lines. Brilliant move, that show was running out of steam fast. Using the failing economy and it's effects on a cosmetic surgery practice is a logical call.

Just a gut feeling, Carlos Delfino will be an excellent addition to the Bucks this year, and a fan favorite.

Chances that Carlos Delfino sucks, fans constantly boo him and he's eventually released before the season is over, pretty good.

Is there a more loathsome TV character than Betty Draper?

Time to eat some crow, the Broncos...are good.

Josh McDaniels wears a hoodie better than Bill Belichick. I bet thats why Belichick didn't even bother wearing one yesterday.

Until next time...