The appeals by Pat and Kevin Williams, the Vikings’ All Pro Tackles, have succeed again (read it here).  Unless something unforeseen happens they will play all 16  games this season, barring injury.  This news is of course disappointing to Packer fans and fans of the other teams in the NFC North.  The reason their appeal was successful was that they were able to move the case into the Minnesota state court system as opposed to the  federal court system.  As I understand it, Minnesota has some of the most stringent labor laws in the country.  This will make it harder for the NFL to legally inforce the suspensions of the Williamses.  This difference in state law is why Will Smith and Charles Grant on the Saints are getting suspended and the Williamses are not.  The ultimate fate of the proposed four game suspension by the NFL for violating their substance abuse policy will not be decided until 2010.  This  means suspensions for the Vikings, if any occur, will not take place until the 2010 season. There is an issue that results from this court ruling which is, frankly, not being discussed.

That issue is fairness.  I am not going to discuss steroids and masking agents and whether or not they should be illegal in the NFL.  The real issue is that it is fundamentally wrong for players to be able to use masking agents in Minnesota but not in Louisiana or any other state.  If the Williams brothers win their case in 2010 and completely escape suspension, the NFL must act to make sure that this does not happen again. On the field, if they call questionable holding penalties against the Packers, as long as it is called the same way on both sides of the ball, I have no problem with it.  Off the field conduct must be handled the same way.  If the Williamses do not receive a suspension for this violation, then Smith and Grant should not either.  I do not care how the NFL handles their subtance abuse policies, as long as it is fair and applies to each team.  After this case goes through court, and an ultimate verdict is handed down, the NFL must absolutely prevent discrepancy in penalties bestowed upon different teams off the field as well as on the field.  GO PACK GO

- E

Erik might be right. ESPN’s NFC North Blog posts a comparison of Rodgers, Cutler and Favre in the preseason.  Spoiler alert: it’s not close.  Cutler and Rodgers threw almost the same number of passes with almost the same number of completions.  (Favre, for now, is an outlier.  He his team late and only threw 22 passes.)  Look how it breaks down:

• Rodgers, 29 of 41, 11.3 YPA with 6 TDs and 0 Ints.  QB Rating: 147.9
• Cutler, 28 of 44, 7.5 YPA with 2 TDs and 1 Int.  QB Rating: 91.9

I’ve never thought that preseason meant very much.  The games are structured around evaluating talent.  But I just have this gut feeling that this Green Bay team is straining at the leash and when they get loose Sunday night–look out.

Most people are tired of hearing about the Favre saga, and I can’t say I blame them. The whole thing was not just one summer ago, but two. At the time, I felt that trading away a Hall-of-Fame quarterback following a 13-3, NFC Championship-hosting season was not the right move.  Obviously many, many people disagreed with me on that point, and we’ve spent the last two years arguing about it.  Beyond dispute is the fact that Green Bay emerged from the soap opera in terrific shape for 2009.  They have a young, stud quarterback–one of the best in the league–and look poised for an exciting season.  The one thing I do want to address however is the glaring inconsistency between the two stories I keep hearing:

1.  Favre was wishy-washy, couldn’t make up his mind.  Thompson and McCarthy did everything they could to get him to come back but in the end his indecisiveness forced them to move on.

and

2.  Thompson made an unpopular but shrewd move: dumping the washed-up Favre and keeping the MVP of the future, Aaron Rodgers.

They can’t both be true–at least not entirely.  (Neither scenario explains the bizarre late summer move to bring Favre into camp but to not let him practice.)  Of course there are possibilities that combine subtle shades of each story; something like that’s probably much closer to the truth.  But at any rate, I think we can stop reciting both of them like they’re absolute fact.

This morning I woke up to another article in the Chicago media where they bash Aaron Rodgers and praise Jay Cutler, this time by  David Haugh.  Haugh even goes on to say that anybody who thinks Rodgers is better than Cutler must be “wearing a cheddar chapeau.”  I understand that it must be exciting for Chicago to get a quarterback potentially better than Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton.  However, they are drinking the Cutler Kool-Aid south of the Wisconsin like Busch Light at a fraternity initiation.  I think it is time to give everybody some Aaron Rodgers Kool-Aid to drink so they can taste how much sweeter it is than Cutler Kool-Aid.

Rodgers last year was the 6th overall quarterback compared to 16th overall Cry-baby Cutler. One of the reasons Rodgers was an elite quarterback last year was because of his excellent decision making skills.  He is cool and calm in the pocket, effectively reads defenses and has excellent vision down the field.  He had only 13 interceptions last year, and as any Packer fan could tell you, most of his picks came in late fourth quarter when he was forced to try and engineer football magic due to the Packer’s tendency to give up points late in the game.

Anybody who watched the Packers last year could not help but be wowed by the Packers passing game.  Rodgers can throw short and deep with great accuracy, rhythm and precision.  Only Drew Brees threw as many 40+ yard passes as Rodgers (16), which makes him a true deep threat.  Still Haugh insists that Cry-baby Cutler’s seven 40 yd+ passes last year makes him a better deep threat.  Rodgers has also been blessed with one of the best receiving corps in the NFL.  We know from history that great receivers and a great QB can accomplish many things.  Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns and received a 93.8 QB rating in his first season as a starter.  Now he has a year of starts under his belt, a year of experience with the offence and better chemistry with his receivers, conventional wisdom is to expect more.  Even as impressive as Rodgers was last year, even Haugh’s had to admit, that if Rodgers stays healthy, he is destined for an even better year.

Haugh’s main argument for Cry-baby Cutler being the better QB is that he has started more games than Rodgers.   Haugh’s logic is more starts and more experience equals a better quarterback.  (This logic would state Brett Favre clearly the best QB in the NFL and put both Cutler and Rogers in the bottom ten starters.)  This may very well hold true in the playoffs, but in the regular season I am not convinced.  I am sure that for as many instances you could find to support his logic, you probably could find as many to refute this.  Would you rather have Dan Marino in his sophomore year or any year after that?

As for David Haugh, while I appreciate him hyping up the home town hero to the home town crowd.  I do not feel a need to reiterate my lack of faith in Cry-baby Cutler, (you can read about it here if you desire.)  I understand that his new promotion at the Chicago Tribue to In the Wake of the News reporter he must feel even greater pressure to praise Cutler.  However, I must state a fact that is well known in the Midwest.  While natives of the Hoosier state are born and raised to have an in depth knowledge of the game of basketball, they continue to prove that they really have never had a solid understanding of other sports.  I know this is a stereotype, but until I see differently, I will continue to believe it.  I maybe wearing a cheddar chapeau, but I would take Rodgers over Cry-baby Cutler. GO PACK GO

- E

There is so much to be said on this.  As a Packers fan there has been nothing that has ever confused my emotions more than the Brett Favre saga.  I was just entering my preteens when Brett Favre came in during that fateful game against the Bengals.  I thought that we were going to lose for sure when Don Majkowski went down.  Majkowski is the first Packers QB I really remember watching–I only vaguely remember Lynn Dickey (or Limp Dickey as my father and uncle would call him.)   I cringed  repeatedly as Favre fumbled, fumbled and fumbled.  Then with a little more than a minute to go, he leads the Packers downfield for a touchdown to win the game.

From that point forward, Brett Favre was Green Bay Packers football.  We lived with him through the highs and the lows.  The high interception seasons.  The defeat upon defeat in Dallas.  (It should be noted that Favre played in Dallas 9 times as a Packer and only twice in Lambeau.  Even without the three playoff games, they played in Dallas way too many times.  Here is a link that goes through those tragic games).  Yancy Thingpen’s dropped touchdown pass that allowed the Packers to win the NFC Central for the first time in years.  The pride of the three MVP awards the AP awarded him.   We felt for Brett as he successfully over came his pain killer addiction.  The Super Bowl Victory over the Patriots (This was the greatest Packer moment in my life time.)  The Super Bowl loss to Denver, which I watched from the seats at Jack Murphy stadium with my brother–where we chanted MVP during Favre’s last drive which ultimately failed and our hearts broke with Brett’s.  There was the fruitless Ray Rhodes year and then the Sherman years.  Those years under Sherman which Brett seemed to have new life with the acquisition of Ahman Green.   The game after Brett’s father death and he mourned him by beating the Raiders mercilessly.  Then the heart break that came with 4th and 26.  Then the year that the Packers failed and only won 4 games.  Then we saw a new fire breathed in Favre again with McCarthy and a young new roster.  We watched Lambeau fill with pink Packer gear in support of Deanna Favre’s battle with breast cancer.  My brother and I literally froze while we watched the NFC Championship at Lambeau in Brett’s last game in Green and Gold.  We watched him throw the season-ending interception in overtime and then went home to Chicago and we still defended him against attacks he was too old.

Then came the drama.  After waiting months, Brett Favre announced his retirement from football.  I was sad to see him go, but I always was told, nothing is forever.  Apparently retirement is not forever either.  Shortly after his ‘official’ retirement Brett wanted back.  It erupted into a he-said, she-said battle the likes of which I have never seen in football.  The Packers front office, Brett’s agent and Brett kept making various statements and the media ran wild with rumors.  I really don’t want to go through all the details, and like a fight with a loved one, you really can’t keep track of what was said and when.  The final result was Favre going to the Jets.  My brother and I disagreed on this.  I thought it probably the right decision for the Packers to let him go, even though it was done as ham-handedly as possible.  My brother thought at the time that this was Ted Thompson’s ultimate folly.

I watched Brett play a good first half of the season on the Jets and then watched him play bad game after bad game for the second half of the season.   Brett Favre apparently had a torn bicep which prevented him from playing in top condition.  Instead of surgery, he re-retired.  All of a sudden, the media exploded with Vikings rumors.  Our beloved QB was going to head to the Vikings?  How could he betray us?  Why would he do this?  Then at the end of July, he missed camp and stated that he was going to stay retired.  A short time later, I watch at my office as we turned off CNBC and put on ESPN to watch Favre land in Minnesota and walk in the facility and make his transition to the Vikings official.

Being one of the most notorious Packer fans in a hostile city, my phone, email, and Facebook were flooded.  Many were taunting messages but the common message is “How do you feel about Favre playing for the Vikings?”  The answer was and still is I am not sure.  Much like the schism with a long time girlfriend or estranged family member, the emotions swing wildly and are confused.  I feel betrayed by Favre.  His personal feud with Ted Thompson has spilled over to the point where  he betrayed his loyal Packer fans.  I really want him to fail and fail horribly but at the same time I would hate to see that silver haired hero of my youth suffer.  However, the idea of him succeeding with the Vikings does not appeal to me on any level.

After much thought, here is what I have come to believe.  That Brett Favre did betray his fans.  The game is ultimately for the fans and the ticket holders.  However, like a past relationship, I look at it as this: I am mad at him for what he did but I must still cherish the games he played with the Packers.  I hope Brett Favre fails this year.  I hope the Packers beat the Vikings twice and the Vikings have a losing season, and he fails hard enough that he will be forced into retirement.  As much as I don’t want to see my hero embarrassed I ultimately bleed Green and Gold.  F**k the Vikings.  GO PACK GO

-E

The Bears and Packers are tied at 11th in ESPN’s Power Rankings, with Minnesota ahead at #9.  Two money quotes:

#1

I still don’t see how Jay Cutler can play his best without proven wide receivers. (Chadiha)

#2

It all comes down to whether that defense can play better with a new 3-4 scheme. (Chadiha)

Opinions, observations and concerns.

- Aaron Rodgers was a focus of controversy last season, but there will be none this season.  Ted Thompson was apparently right in trading Favre and starting Rodgers, even though he did this with the grace and delicacy of a guerrilla.  Rodgers, in what effectively was a first year, showed poise, leadership and skill.  He is clearly the corner stone of this offense and will lead the Packers to 24+ points each game.  However, he has been injured in the past.  After watching this preseason I am not confident that Flynn can carry this team if Rodgers goes down in a blaze of glory.   I believe that the difference between 6-10 and 12-4 could very well be a healthy Rodgers.

- Jay Cutler is the rage down here in Chicago.  Only purple Favre jerseys are outselling midnight blue Cutler jerseys.  I am NOT a believer.  Cutler has had one good year, good not great.  His 25TD, 18 INT and a 86 QB rating with a good receiving corp does not prove to me, or anybody besides Bears fans and people paid to hype pro athletes, that he is a future Manning, Brady or Favre.  The Bears best receiver is Forte followed by Olsen and their wide outs do not impress anybody.  While Forte and Olsen do present tough mismatches and it will be hard to minimize their impact, I do not believe he will be able to stretch the field, that he will have great All Pro seasons,  or that he will be the golden ticket to a Bears Super Bowl.  Also, his big mouth and criticism of his teammates will fly as long as he performs, if he doesn’t perform, the Chicago media will rake him over the coals.   In my life time, I have not seen a Chicago QB mental survive the damage of a Chicago media bashing.  These beliefs combined with my natural hatred of all things midnight blue and orange will force me to refer to him as Cry-baby Cutler until proven otherwise.

- The 3-4 Green Bay Defense maybe the biggest question mark in the NFL right now.  If it isn’t, it still is to me.  From what I have seen of preseason, (which was only the Cardinals game due to Direct TV not broadcasting the games,) and everything I have read, it seems that what has been seen so far this season is positive.  There seems to be some question on who will start where in the linebacker corp and on the D-line.  Also, Bigby may lose his spot.  I am not sure what to think of this.  When he played well, he is great, but I just don’t know if he can do it anymore.  I have no worries at corner, I think both players still are good and their backups also looked good.  All and all I ask this.  Can they be any worse than last year?  Not likely.  Will the defense improve?  Very likely.

- Packers Wide Receivers are incredible.  Jennings, Driver, Jones, and Nelson?  I am a little sad to see Martin go but the talent is here. There is nothing else to say here.

- Jermichael Finley will be the real deal.  I am jumping on his bandwagon with reckless abandon

- Packers Running game, I am hopefull here.  It looks like the O-line is no longer nimble cut blockers but big power blockers now.  Hopefully this will help the packers pick up that 3 yards and a cloud of dust as opposed to a mixture of no gains and break away runs.  I am disappointed they kept Wynn and cut Sutton.  I think Sutton is very talented and Wynn is just too injury prone.

- Favre.  This will have to be its own post.

- Ted Thompson.  Also will have to be its own post.

Go Pack Go

- E

This blog is the brainchild of two brothers who share a deep love and unbreakable loyalty to the Green Bay Packers.  We both grew up in the Chicago suburbs and were the children of a mother from DePere and a father from West Allis.  From a young age, we learned that our church on Sundays was at Lambeau field, and County Stadium for a while.

Many of my earliest memories revolve around the Packers.  From watching my elders get dressed in snowpants, plush winter jackets, thick mittens and heavy boots in preperation for going to a winter Packers game to my father wrestling with our TV antenna in order to pick up the Packers television feed from Milwaukee.   I grew up wearing packers sweatshirts and hats to schools in Chicago at the sametime the “Superbowl Shuffle” was being played non stop on the local radio stations.  My childhood helped developed a unique Packer fan.  Just as passionate as our brethern north of the border, but with a stronger dislike of our rivals the Bears, Vikings and Cowboys.

My brother and I decided to take to this blog so we could express our excitement, passion and frustration that comes from being Packer fans.  We often have different opinions about events, situations and all things football.  We will do our best to present unique and interesting insight into the Green Bay Packers.  Thank you for taking your time and GO PACK GO!

- E