The 53 - First Look at 2014 Regular Season Schedule for the Green Bay Packers

Besides their usual home and away with their NFC North divisional foes (Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Minnesota Vikings), next season the Green Bay Packers host the New England Patriots, the New York Jets, the Carolina Panthers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons in non-divisional games while they face the Seattle Seahawks, the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints on the road.  The date date and time of when the Packers actually play all of those games was announced last night:

Week 1: @ the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, September 4th @ 7:30 p.m.
Week 2: vs. the New York Jets on Sunday, September 14th @ 3:25 p.m.
Week 3: @ the Detroit Lions on Sunday, September 21st @ noon
Week 4: @ the Chicago Bears on Sunday, September 28th @ noon
Week 5: vs. the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, October 2nd @ 7:25 p.m.
Week 6: @ the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 12th @ noon
Week 7: vs. the Carolina Carolina on Sunday, October 19th @ noon
Week 8: @ the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, October 26th @ 7:30 p.m.
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: vs. the Chicago Chicago Bears on November 9th @ 7:30 p.m.
Week 11: vs. the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, November 16th @ noon
Week 12: @ the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, November 23rd @ noon
Week 13: vs. the New England Patriots on Sunday, November 30th @ 3:25 p.m.
Week 14: vs. the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, December 8th @ 7:30 p.m.
Week 15: @ the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, December 14th @ noon
Week 16: @ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, December 21st @ noon
Week 17: vs. the Detroit Lions on Sunday, December 28th on noon

The three most interesting games on the slate to me when you factor in just the time of the year of the game, where the game is being played, and the current rosters for the other team are:

#3) Week 16 @ the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, December 21st @ noon: For years Cheesehead Chick and I've talked about spending Christmas at Mama Cheese and Papa Cheese's vacation home in Punta Gorda, FL.  This year seems like the perfect year to do it, especially if we take Christmas week off so we can make the short two hour drive north to score easy tickets to see the Packers play in the sun in late December and then spend the rest of the week relaxing poolside, hopefully enjoying the fruits of another Packer victory.  There is no doubt that Week 8 @ the Saints and Week 13 hosting the Patriots look like better games right now but there is always one team that struggles the previous year but wins at least six more games the following year.  The Bucs were 4-12 last year but they cleaned house after last season and brought in Lovie Smith as their new head coach, Jason Licht as their new general manager, and Josh McCown as their new starting quarterback.  I am not sold on McCown despite how well he played in relief of Jay Cutler at quarterback for the Chicago Bears the last few years, mostly because filling in for the injured starter is much different than being the starter from day one. Factoring in all the changes for the Bucs, I could see them turn the corner quickly to become a borderline playoff team next season.  Leaving the glorious possibility of spending Christmas in warm weather in Florida aside, I could actually see this game determining whether the Packers or Bucs are playoff bound in 2014.

#2) Week 12 @ the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, November 23rd @ noon: The Vikings are finally building a new stadium to replace The Humpty after they knocked it down following the 2013 season.  Mother nature tried to get rid of The Humpty in 2011 but the Vikings kept playing there for two more years.  Without a new permanent home till (at least) 2015, the Vikings are playing at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.  Last year Gaber, Nick, Sug, and I sent out The Humpty in style.  The day before, Nick and I got a preview of coming attractions when we saw the Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the Nebraska Cornhusters at TCF Bank Stadium.  Let's not forget, TCF Bank Stadium is where Brett Favre's consecutive games started streak ended at 297 when he took a hard hit on the astro turf at the hands of Buffalo Bills linebacker Arthur Moats.  Despite opening in 2009, the Vikings are still investing money in the field and running beer lines throughout the stadium to make the stadium as modern as possible.  Hopefully Gaber, Nick, Sug, and I can get the band back together to see the Packers beat the Vikings outside at TCF Bank Stadium in 2014, where games should be played in the Midwest.

#1) Week 1 @ the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, September 4th @ 7:30 p.m: This is clearly the easy one to pick for a number of reasons.  Not only is this the first game of the entire 2014 NFL regular season because the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year, but this also marks the first visit to Seattle for the Packers since they got hosed in the "Fail Mary" game on MNF of Week 3 of the 2012 season.  The replacement refs botched the call at the end of the "Fail Mary" game so bad in front of a national audience that it actually ended the NFL ref's strike.  The front offices of both teams are intertwined given that current Packer's general manager Ted Thompson used to be a prominent member of the Seahawk's front office while the current Seahawk's general manager John Schnieder worked under Thompson in Green Bay.  One game does not make a season but my expectations are low for this game unless Thompson has a stellar performance in the 2014 NFL Draft so if the Packers could somehow beat the Seahawks on the road, it could go a long way towards making 2014 a special season for the Packers.

I will have a much more detailed breakdown of how I think all of the games will play out once I know how The 53 is most likely going to look following the 2014 NFL Draft.  Speaking of which, make sure to check back over the next few week as I start to roll out my in-depth look at draft for Thompson.

The 53 - Packers beat Vikings in last visit to The Humpty

The Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings met for the 31st and last time at The Humpty because for at least the next two years the Vikings are going to play at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, while they build a new stadium on the footprint of The Humpty.  Despite the fact that the Vikings sputtered to start the season, I still think the NFL made the right call to make the last Packers/Vikings game at The Humpty a Sunday Night Football game.  Given the late kickoff, it allowed plenty of time for fans to get ready for the game.

After going out for a bunch of drinks to celebrate Halloween following the Gophers' victory over the Cornhuskers, Nick and I watched Man City play Chelsea at Brit's Pub & Eating Establishment, a great futbol pub in Minneapolis.  Brit's Pub has the most impressive lawn bowling set-up on their rooftop I've ever seen at a bar, unfortunately it was closed for the year.  Also unfortunate was City's 2-1 loss to Chelsea due to a defensive gaffe that lead to a Fernando Torres goal in the 90th minute.

Following the match, Nick and I met up with Sug at the Aloft Minneapolis right by The Humpty.  After grabbing some drinks around the stadium and dominating Sug on the official Sunday Night Football bag set, we met up with Gaber.  Finally the Nordys met us to give us equal Packers and Vikings fan representation at our tailgate.  Despite not having a grill we had a million options for grilling our brats because of all the tailgating going on around the stadium.  Thanks to the Old Fashions provided by Gaber, we made the best of our time in the parking lot before heading into the game.

A rowdy crowd of 64,134 peopled turned out for the last installment of Packers/Vikings at The Humpty.  The inactives for the Packers against the Vikings were: Jermichael Finley (TE, spinal injury), Brad Jones (OLB, hamstring), James Jones (WR, knee), Clay Matthews (OLB, thumb), James Nixon (CB, healthy scratch), Nick Perry (OLB, foot), and Ryan Taylor (TE, knee).  Vikings rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson returned the opening kickoff for an NFL record typing 109 yards to put the Vikings up 7-0.  Unfortunately for the Vikings that was really the high point of the game for them as the Packers won their 15th game against an NFC North team in their last 16 tries.  Their only loss came at The Humpty last year to close the 2012 regular season, which meant the teams met in the playoffs the following week.  Cheesehead Chick, Dre, Gaber, Nick, Sug, Tessa, and I saw the Packers beat the Vikings handily in that playoff game last season.

Back to the game at hand.  Despite giving up 31 points, the final scoreline of 44-31 was very misleading.  The Packers scored every time they touched the ball besides their last possession when they ran out the clock.  Plus the Vikings scored 14 of their points when the game was out of reach after the Packers lead 41-17 midway through the fourth quarter.  With a victory, the Packers finish with a record of 15-16 at The Humpty.  Here are my updated rankings along with my thoughts on certain players following the last installment of Packers/Vikings at The Humpty:

The 53

1. Aaron Rodgers (QB, LR 1) 2. Clay Matthews (OLB, LR 2) 3. Morgan Burnett (S, LR 3) 4. Jordy Nelson (WR, LR 4) 5. Josh Sitton (G, LR 6) 6. B.J. Raji (DL, LR 7) 7. Sam Shields (CB, LR 5) 8. T.J. Lang (G, LR 8) 9. James Jones (WR, LR 9) 10. Tramon Williams (CB, LR 10) 11. David Bakhtiari (T, LR 11) 12. Eddie Lacy (RB, LR 15) 13. Evan Dietrich-Smith (C, LR 12) 14. Jermichael Finley (TE, LR 13) 15. Brad Jones (MLB, LR 14) 16. Mike Daniels (DL, LR 22) 17. A.J. Hawk (MLB, LR 17) 18. Micah Hyde (CB, LR 21) 19. Casey Hayward (CB, LR 18) 20. Nick Perry (OLB, LR 16) 21. Don Barclay (T, LR 20) 22. Tim Masthay (P, LR 23) 23. Datone Jones (DL, LR 19) 24. Davon House (CB, LR 24) 25. Ryan Pickett (DL, LR 26) 26. Jamari Lattimore (LB, LR 27) 27. Johnny Jolly (DL, LR 25) 28. Jarrett Boykin (WR, LR 31) 29. Mason Crosby (K, LR 28) 30. Mike Neal (DL/OLB, LR 29) 31. Jarrett Bush (CB, LR 30) 32. James Starks (RB, LR 34) 33. M.D. Jennings (S, LR 32) 34. Brett Goode (LS, LR 33) 35. Andrew Quarless (TE, LR 38) 36. Chris Banjo (S, LR 35) 37. C.J. Wilson (DL, LR 36) 38. Jonathan Franklin (RB, LR 37) 39. Marshall Newhouse (T, LR 39) 40. Andy Mulamba (LB, LR 40) 41. John Kuhn (FB, LR 41) 42. Jerron McMillian (S, LR 42) 43. Ryan Taylor (TE, LR 43) 44. Sam Barrington (LB, LR 44) 45. Seneca Wallace (QB, LR 45) 46. Nate Palmer (LB, LR 46) 47. Brandon Bostick (TE, LR 47) 48. Myles White (WR, LR 50) 49. Lane Taylor (G, LR 51) 50. Chris Harper (WR, LR 48) 51. Jake Stoneburner (TE, LR 52) 52. Josh Boyd (DL, LR 49) 53. James Nixon (CB, LR 53)

Physically Unable to Perform

1. Jerel Worthy (DE) 2. Derek Sherrod (T) 3. JC Tretter (T) 4. Sean Richardson (S)

IR, Designated for Return

1. Randall Cobb (WR)

Injured Reserve

1. Bryan Bulaga (T) 2. DuJuan Harris (RB) 3. Robert Francois (MLB) 4. Greg Van Roten (C/G) 5. Kevin Dorsey (WR) 6. Sederrik Cunningham (WR)

Cut

1. Jeremy Ross (WR, Lions) 2. Michael Hill (RB, FA)

#1) Aaron Rodgers (QB, LR 1): The Humpty has been a house of horrors for former Packer quarterback Brett Favre besides the two years he (gulp) actually played for the Vikings.  I know Favre broke quarterback Dan Marino's all-time touchdown record in The Humpty but the fake noise pumped in crowd noise always seemed to get to Favre.  The same cannot be said for Rodgers.  Although Rodgers is only 3-3 all-time in The Humpty, he usually puts up great stats.  Case and point, in Rodgers's last visit to The Humpty, he went 28 for 40 throwing for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns but the Packers still lost 37-34.  Besides putting up greats stats in The Humpty, another reason why Rodgers doesn't mind playing in there is that he gets to wear his favorite shoes, The Destroyers.  Former Packer wide receiver Greg Jennings had a number of disparaging comments about Rodgers (12 as he called him) and the Packers (apparently the organization brain washes people in Green Bay) after he signed a five-year, $45 million contract with the Vikings in the off-season.  Apparently Jennings was trying to make good with Rodgers because Rodgers said nothing as Jennings whispered a number of things into his ear as a part of one of the longest post-game embraces I've seen by opposing players in a long time.

#4) Jordy Nelson (WR, LW 4): With Cobb, Finley, and Jones missing time due to various injuries, Nelson has been the only constant pass catcher for the Packers this season.  Sunday against the Vikings was no different, Nelson had seven catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Packers got a nice performance from backup wide receivers Jarrett Boykin last week against the Browns but let's be honest, Nelson is really their only healthy stud pass catcher right now.

#6) B.J. Raji (DL, LR 7): Let me be the 10 millionth person to write a blurb about Raji being a good citizen for not complaining about his reduced playing time despite the fact that he is in a contract year.  In 2011 and 2012 the Packers kept Raji on the field for most downs, which wore him down each game and made him a lot less effective. Thankfully this season the Packers have more depth along the defensive line than they've had in the past so they can rotate their defensive lineman to keep everyone fresh.  The Packers defense limited running back Adrian Peterson to 13 carries for 60 yards and former Packer wide receiver Greg Jennings to 1 catch for 9 yards thanks in large part to their fresh defensive line wreaking havoc.

#16) Mike Daniels (DL, LR 22): The Packers used the first of their two compensatory fourth round draft picks in 2012 NFL Draft to select Daniels.  At the time I said Daniels was going to have to battle defensive lineman C.J. Wilson and Jarius Wynn for a roster spot.  Even if you combine Wynn's and Wilson's talent, they still would not provide the inside pass rush that Daniels gives the Packers in their sub-packages.  The two sacks by Daniels against the Vikings is evidence of how far he has come as a player in less than a year and a half to leapfrogged almost everyone in the defensive line rotation.

#18) Micah Hyde (CB, LR 21): The Packers finally got their first look in 2013 at cornerback Casey Hayward.  Going into the season you could make an argument that Hayward was the best cornerback on the roster or at least the cornerback with the highest upside on The 53.  Less than halfway into the season Hayward is nominally the 4th cornerback on the roster due to a lingering hamstring injury.  With Hayward out, Hyde has taken over the nickel cornerback role.  More importantly, Hyde has excelled as a punt returner.  Apparently the reason why Hyde fell to the 5th round of the 2013 NFL Draft was his lack of speed.  On Hyde's 93-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Vikings he looked like the fastest guy on the field so looks like the scouts were about Hyde's speed.  I know this is supposed to gauge "trade value" but given how much a nagging hamstring has limited Hayward so far this season, when you combine Hyde defensive and return capabilities, I honestly think Hyde has more value to the Packers in 2013 (and possibly beyond) than Hayward.

#32) James Starks RB, LR 34): The Packers put together their best performance on the ground of the season amassing 182 yards.  Running back Eddie Lacy gained 94 yards, quarterback Aaron Rodgers gained 31 yards, and last but certainly not least Starks gained 57 yards.  Sure Lacy was more impressive against the Vikings than Starks but I highlight Starks because if he can stay healthy the Packers will have a rich man's version of a two-headed running attack for the first time since Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens.

In what is now becoming an annual post-game tradition whenever we stay at an Aloft thanks to Sug, we hit the pool for a soak to kibitz about the win.  There really is nothing better than taking in an impressive Packer win followed by drinking beers and reminiscing about the game in the hot tub.  The only bummer of the post-game soak was my 6:50 am flight the following morning that necessitated a 5 am wake up call.  Luckily I was able to ride the train to the airport and make it through security just in time to make my flight.  Unfortunately because I cut it so close, I got a middle seat next to a guy with a Larry Craig-esque wide stance.  Thanks to Sug for locking down a hotel room and Gaber for bringing the drinks (Old Fashions and beers) and brats, which really made the day.  Despite a rough Monday, thanks to Minneapolis for a truly great sports weekend.  I hope we are all able to make it back next year for the first ever Packers/Vikings game at TCF Bank Stadium.

I Went There - Gophers beat Cornhuskers at TCF Bank Stadium

As an avid Cheesehead sports fan I try to cut people from the Land of 10,00 Lakes slack because although we are technically "border football rivals", the Packers and Badgers have dominated the Vikings and Gophers for the better part of the last decade.  Since this is the last season that the Vikings play their home games in The Humpty before they play for at least two years where the Gophers play while their new stadium is built where The Humpty currently stands.  As a result we decided to catch a game at both stadiums in the same weekend as a preview of coming attractions and a goodbye to The Humpty.

My buddy Nick and I took early flights out of Chicago to Minneapolis on Saturday morning.  After dropping our bags off at the hotel, luckily we still had enough time to tailgate before heading to see the Gophers take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at TCF Bank Stadium.  There are some great bars around the stadium and even though it was an 11 am kickoff, tons of people were out having drinks.  Thanks to Nick we had great seats in the first row of the upper deck in the end zone.  High comedy ensued right after we got to our seats when the singleton sitting next to us started rattling off the offensive stats he is putting up in NCAA 2014.  For the uninitiated, NCAA 2014 is a video game, which means we were in fact getting a recap of video game stats from a stranger.

Following the video game stats recap we made our way to the "beer area".  Normally you cannot drink at college football games but for some reason they sell beer at the stadium, which is a good thing for the most part.  Unfortunately they make it very inconvenient to actually buy the beer so instead of selling beer inside the stadium you have to essentially leave the stadium to buy beers.  Trust me, it is nice that you can drink at the game but making it so inconvenient forces you to buy as many beers as possible (two per ID). Instead of casually buying beers throughout the game, Nick and I made two trips to the beer area to get our allotment of two beers each.  I hope they made the beer area to sell more bear instead of trying to curb consumption because making the trek out to the beer area essentially forces you to get as many beers as possible.

There are a million reviews of the Gophers' impressive 34-23 win over the Cornhuskers for the first time since 1960.  Instead of giving a full game recap of the Gophers' snapping their 16-game losing streak to the Cornhuskers, I want to highlight one play from the game and a player from each team that stood out to me.

The play of the game actually happened midway through the second quarter.  The Gophers were down 10-7 and facing a 4th and 10 at the Cornhuskers 33-yard line.  Instead of trying a field goal or punting, the Gophers decided to go for it and quarterback Phillip Nelson hit Derrick Engel for a beautiful touchdown.  Luckily that play happened right in front of us so we had a great view of the play.  Nelson was only 7 of 15 throwing for 151 yards and 1 touchdown but his pass to Engel was perfect.  Although Nelson's pass to Engel was his only touchdown pass of the day, he did add two rushing touchdowns.  I say that was the play of the game because it gave the Gophers their first lead over the Cornhuskers since 1969.

I was very impressed by Gopher defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman.  When we got to our seats Nick told me to keep an eye on Hageman and I came away quite impressed. At 6'6" and 311 pounds, Hageman looks like a dominant defensive tackle in the making.  ESPN's draft guru Mel Kiper has him as a late first round prospect.  On talent along I agree with Kiper, the only real knock on Hageman is that he turns 24 before he ever plays a snap in the NFL so I am not sure whether he is worth a first round pick when you factor in his age.

For how impressed I was with Hageman, I was equally unimpressive with Cornhusker quarterback Talyor Martinez.  I know Martinez was playing with a number of injuries but for the last few seasons I've thought his only chance to transition from playing on Saturdays to playing on Sundays in the NFL is to change positions. Martinez is only 6'1" tall so he is not tall enough to play tight end. Luckily Martinez runs a 4.5 40-yard dash so he is fast enough to turn into a quality slot wide receiver if he can work on his hands and route running ability.

After the game Nick and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings across from the stadium to hang with his parents and their friends.  There was tons of talk of the Gophers victory over the Cornhuskers being a program changer.  I wouldn't go that far, especially since their head coach Jerry Kill still is not healthy enough to attend games because of the seizures he suffers as a result of his bouts with epilepsy. For what its worth, the same guy that was rattling off his video game stats claims a buddy of his that works in the athletic department said they are trying to get Kill to take a buyout.  I chalk that up to unfounded speculation, interesting, but but still unfounded.

My college soccer coach Nick Gaudioso had the same condition that Kill does. Fortunately Gaudioso was able to manage his epilepsy so that he was still able to coach but keep in mind that Gaudioso was the head soccer coach at Carnegie Mellon University, a Division III soccer program, whereas Kill is the head coach of a Division I Big Ten football program.

As you can tell, I was very impressed by the Gophers in their win over the Cornhuskers.  More importantly I was even more impressed with TCF Bank Stadium besides the inconvenient beer situation.  As long as the Vikings install beer lines inside the stadium, I actually think going to a game at TCF Bank Stadium will be a better experience than going to a game at The Humpty.  Thanks to the Gophers for providing a nice prelude to Sunday Night Football for the Packers and the Vikings at The Humpty.  Check back later today for my thoughts on the Packers/Vikings game.

2012 Wildcard Round Playoff Review of Packers/Vikings

The weekend got off to a great start Friday afternoon with an unprecedented hour long conference call with Mark Murphy, the President of the Green Bay Packers.  Obviously this is catnip to a Packer fan like me but being as objective as possible, it was nice to hear Murphy field fan questions while having an open and honest discussion about the state of the organization.

Cheesehead Chick, Dre, Tessa, Nick, Sug, and me left Chicago early Saturday morning.  We snagged Gaber, The Burban (aka The Seamonster's grandpa), and some tasty sausages in Milwaukee then headed for Graceland.  After a quick stop at the Aloft Green Bay to check into the hotel and throw on a couple extra layers, we hopped back into The Burban to choose the proper tailgating spot by Lambeau Field.

Green Bay has to be one of the only towns that actually encourages parking and tailgating in yards around the stadium.  We decided not to tailgate in a yard since we were leaving our car overnight.  We had a great set-up of bags, rum apple cider, and plenty of tasty treats.  As expected, it was super cold at the tailgate but that didn't damper any of the fun.  A fellow tailgater dropped their ticket and was unable to find it until we got Dre on the case to save the day.  All of this happened as rumors spread that the Vikings were going to start Joe Webb instead of Christan Ponder at quarterback.  There was talk of Webb possibly playing because Ponder was banged up but no actually thought Ponder would be inactive.  About 90 minutes before kickoff the official word spread that Ponder was inactive so Webb started at quarterback for the Vikings.

The Vikings lost 10 of their last 12 trips to Green Bay.  If more Vikings fans were being honest, they knew that number was going to extend to 11 of their last 13 when Webb was named the starting quarterback.  Here are "10 Things I Think I Think" (trademark Peter King) about the Packers' 24 to 10 win over the Vikings:

#1) The Packers spread the ball around through the air so it is hard for any one guy to rack up a ton of rushing yards (lack of opportunities) or receiving yards (too many options).  That's why despite Rodgers throwing for more than 4,000 yards, he did not have a 1,000 yard receiver.  The Packers' leading receiver in the regular season was Randall Cobb with 954 yards and their leading rusher was Alex Green with 464 yards.  That makes the 2012 Packers the 3rd playoff team (1986 Kansas City Chiefs and 1991 New Orleans Saints) in the last 30 years without a 1,000 yard receiver or 500 yard rusher in the regular season.  Case and point, Rodgers tied an NFL playoff record by completing a pass to 10 different players against the Vikings: Randall Cobb (1 catch for 7 yards), Tom Crabtree (1 catch for 10 yards), Jermichael Finley (1 catch for 10 yards), Ryan Grant (1 catch for 16 yards), DuJuan Harris (5 catches for 53 yards), Greg Jennings (4 catches for 61 yards), James Jones (4 catches for 51 yards), John Kuhn (2 catches for 15 yards & a TD), Jordy Nelson (3 catches for 51 yards), and Ryan Taylor (1 catch for 0 yards).  Too bad tight end D.J. Williams or running back Alex Green couldn't snag a pass (wide receivers Jarrett Boykin and Donald Driver were inactive) to give Rodgers the record of completing a pass to 11 (or 12) different receivers in a playoff game.  For the day, Rodgers completed 22 of 33 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown.

#2) The captains for the game were Aaron Rodgers (QB) and James Jones (WR) on offense, Clay Matthews (LB) and Charles Woodson (CB) on defense, and Jarrett Bush (DB) and Jamari Lattimore (LB) on special teams.  All of those make sense to me, especially Jones since he was exceptional all season.  I was way off the mark when I said he was the 4th most overpaid on the roster before the season.  The Packers won the toss but decided to defer.  That was a curious decision because the Vikings scored 6 times when they received the ball to open a game in 2012, 3rd highest in the NFL.

#3) I am an unabashed Woodson fan, I wear his jersey for every game so I thought it was great to have him back in the lineup with his new scary looking face mask.  I know Woodson's cap number for next season might mean I witnessed his last home game in Green Bay unless the Packers beat the 49ers and the Seahawks beat the Falcons to set-up a Packers/Seahawks NFC Championship Game in Green Bay.  That said, the Packers need to come up with a way to keep Woodson around for next season.  Sure Woodson is a step slower and is getting handsier in coverage than a horny 13-year old boy with a chance to touch his first boob, but with how well Woodson tackles and creates turnovers (2012 excluded), the Packers can ill afford to cut Woodson.

#4) The Packers dominated the Vikings in the first half amassing 239 total yards (197 passing and 42 rushing) to merely 97 total yards (91 rushing and 6 passing) to take a 17-3 lead thanks in large part to scoring on their last possession of the half.  If there was any doubt whether the Packers were going to win, they got the ball to start the second half and lead a methodical drive that was extended by the Vikings having too many people on the field for a Mason Crosby field goal attempt that ended in a Kuhntang (trademark Pat Leo) receiving touchdown to extend their lead to 24-3.  Kuhntang became the 5th player in NFL history (Earnest Byner, Emmitt Smith, Ricky Watters, and Thurman Thomas) to score a rushing and receiving touchdown in two playoff games.  The Packers perfectly executing the "Double-Up" (scoring in the last possession of the first half and first possession of the second half) put the game out of reach.  A 21 point deficit on the road is tough to overcome with less than two quarters of football to play, especially for a team without a quarterback that can actually complete passes down field.

#5) Speaking of Webb, he joined Roger Staubach (1972 Cowboys), Gary Danielson (1983 Lions), and Frank Reich (1992 Bills) as the only quarterbacks since 1950 to start a postseason game without starting a regular season game.  What made the Webb start even more remarkable is that he is the only one of those four not to at least throw a pass in the preceding regular season (took three snaps: two hand-offs and a kneel down).  Joe Webb is clearly an athletic guy but he struggles throwing the ball, which is a deal breaker when you play quarterback.  Usually when the starting quarterback struggles, fans want to see the backup quarterback play.  Oddly with how well Ponder played towards the end of the season, Vikings fans were finally clamoring for Ponder instead of Webb.  To be fair, part of the reason Webb struggled was the presence of Clay Matthews who got a strip sack in the first half and a strip sack in the second half.  In the defense of Webb, even if Ponder was healthy and played his best, I am not sure the Vikings would have won anyhow.

#6) Sad to see wide receiver Donald Driver as a healthy scratch in a home playoff game since rookie linebacker Terrell Manning was needed to play special teams.  The Packers have an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver and tight end now but that could change this off-season with the likely departure of Driver, Jennings, and possibly Finley.  Cheesehead Chick wears a #80 jersey, which will sadly be assigned to another receiver as early as next year since this looks like Driver's last season as a player in Green Bay.  I wish the Packers would retire #80 as a joint James Lofton and Donald Driver jersey.  The Green Bay Packer Wide Receiver Mount Rushmore is currently Driver, Don Hudson, Lofton, and Sterling Sharpe.  If there is a way to simultaneously honor two of those four guys by joint retiring #80, I am totally on board.  The Packers have the option to do that with #36 as a joint LeRoy Butler and Nick Collins jersey as well.  Trust me, I know both will never happen, but something fun to think about.

#7) After gashing the Packers for 409 yards on 55 carries and 2 touchdowns in their two previous meetings, Adrian Peterson had the quietest 99 rushing yards in NFL playoff history.  The only other running back that the Packers gave up more than 100 yards rushing to this season was Week 1 to Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers.  If I had an MVP vote, there is no question that I would vote for Peterson over Peyton Manning.  I have so much respect for Peterson that he is my favorite non-Packer in the NFL.  In fact I admire what Peterson does so much that I would trade him straight up for any player on the roster besides Rodgers, Matthews, and Raji.  I am not sure the Vikings would trade Peterson for anyone on the Packers' roster besides Rodgers.

#8) Head coach Mike McCarthy is making his 5th playoff appearance in 7 seasons.  With a win over the Vikings, McCarthy improved his playoff record to 6-3.  My biggest gripe with McCarthy is his in-game adjustments.  There is no doubt that McCarthy has an innovative passing offense that already resulted in winning one Super Bowl, but let's not forget that he's had Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers as his quarterbacks the last seven season.  Part of the blame might be on general manager Ted Thompson but if the Packers aren't throwing the ball well, they can't run the ball.  Although running back DuJuan Harris has given the Packers a 2010 James Starks-esque spark towards the end of the season, McCarthy refuses to commit to the run, which has already hurt the Packers twice in the playoffs against the Giants and could be problematic next week against the 49ers.

#9) Hard to believe it took eight seasons (drafted by Packers on April 23, 2005 to January 5, 2013) for Aaron Rodgers to get his first home playoff win.  Rodgers has the highest all-time regular season passer rating (104.9 ahead of Steve Young @ 96.8 and Tom Brady @ 96.6), post-season passer rating (105.5 ahead of Bart Starr @ 104.8 and Drew Brees @ 104.2), a Super Bowl Ring, a Super Bowl MVP, and a league MVP that all happened before ever winning a home playoff game.  The Packers missed the playoffs in Rodgers's first season as the starting quarterback in 2008, lost @ Arizona in 2009, won the Super Bowl XLV in 2010 (won @ Philadelphia, @ Atlanta, @ Chicago, and @ Dallas beat the Steelers), lost in Green Bay to the Giants in 2011, and beat the Vikings in Green Bay so Rodgers is now 4-1 on the road and 1-1 at home in the playoffs.  I have a hard time believing that Rodgers finishes with less than a touchdown of home playoff wins for his career, but I would never have guessed it would take this long to notch his first.

#10) I can't say enough about Sug and the Aloft Green Bay.  Getting tickets actually wasn't all that cost prohibitive, we payed slightly over face value to have great seats.  Since it was a 7 pm kickoff, getting hotel accommodations was the bigger issue.  Sug stepped up in a big way using Starwood reward points to book us rooms.  When we got back to the hotel I asked the front desk what time the pool was open until.  I thought they would give the usual answer of 10 pm but was shocked when they said it is open 24 hours. Talk about a novel idea.  I get the potential liability of keeping the pool open 24 hours but there is really no better way to celebrate a playoff win than drinking beers in the hot tub.  One final kudos to Aloft Green Bay, a staff member checked in on us around 3 am.  Despite us goofing around and openly sucking down beers, he gave us no heat whatsoever.

Next up, the Packers travel to San Francisco for a Divisional Round match-up against the 49ers.  The Packers are 4-1 in playoff games played at Candlestick Park, possibly the most outdated stadium in the NFL.  Their only loss was the missed Jerry Rice fumble game aka the T.O. "Crying Catch" game.  Let's hope the Packers can avenge their embarrassing loss to the 49ers in Green Bay to start the 2012 regular season with a playoff win in San Francisco.

Week 11 of 2010 - Packers/Queens Review

The Green Bay Packers played the Minnesota Vikings ("Queens") for the 100th time in their storied rivalry on Sunday, November 21, 2010 in front of 64,120 people at the Metrodome ("Humpty Dumpty Dome"). The Cheeseheads dominated the Queens to give the Cheeseheads a slight upper hand in the all-time rivalry 51-48-1.

If you are an avid reader of CheeseheadSportsNut.com, you know that I am often critical of Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy but starting with the coin toss, McCarthy made almost all the right moves to push his dome coaching record to 10-4 (including playoffs). The Packers called "heads" and won the toss. Instead of taking the ball, the Packers deferred to the 2nd half. I love that move on the road for two reasons.

One, with the Packers defense playing so well it gives them a chance to get on the field and silence the home crowd right away. The Packers have forced three-and-outs on 6 of 9 opening defensive drives. The only team to score on their first possession of either half was the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game and a field goal on their first drive of the second half. There is always the possibility of giving up a score on the opening drive, which makes deferring look dumb, but the numbers were in the Packers' favor.

Two, at the start of a professional game the stadium is usually full unless you are the Miami Heat and have to tell your fans to "Fan Up" in a cheesy video. How sad is it that the Miami Heat have Wade, James, and Bosh but still have to tell their fans to "Fan Up" and show up to the games on time? The Miami Heat "Fan Up" video feels like a bad SNL parody. In fact, I looked for a better one but this mediocre parody of the Miami Heat’s “Fan Up” video was the best one I could find. Back to my original point, if you add in that the stadium is usually empty at the start of the 2nd half because people are getting food and going to the bathroom, the best time for the road team to have the ball is the start of the 2nd half. As a result, I think it makes complete sense to defer on the road to get the ball in the second half.

The Packers stopped the Queens on their opening drive but failed to do anything on offense when they got the ball. The Queens opened the scoring with a 24-yard field goal by all-time Packer's leading scorer and current Queens' place kicker Ryan Longwell. Unfortunately for the Queens, those would be the last points they scored on the day. In a bit of an oddity, for the second game in a row the Packers failed to score in the first quarter but still walloped their opponent.

The Packers opened the second quarter down 3-0 but with the ball thanks to a strip by Packer cornerback Charles Woodson of Queens running back Toby Gerhart that was recovered by Packer middle linebacker A.J. Hawk. The Packers failed to capitalize on the turnover and the teams traded possessions until the Packers matched the Queens with a field goal of their own 5 minutes into the second quarter.

The Packers forced a three-and-out on the ensuing Queens possession. Then the Packers offense moved the ball down the field methodically into scoring position again where Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers uncharacteristically threw what should have been an interception but Queens’ safety Husain Abdullah dropped the interception in the end zone. The Packers made the Queens pay. On the next play, Rodgers found Greg Jennings on an improvised route that ironically burned Abdullah and the Queens for a touchdown.

The Queens got the ball back with 5 minutes remaining in the half and proceeded to pound the ball on the ground with running back Adrian Peterson and all-around-stud Percy Harvin to set-up a 1st and 10 at the Packers’ 25-yard line. In what I like to think was the ultimate retirement gift…Favre uncorked a screamer intended for Harvin that was intercepted by cornerback Tramon Williams.

When Favre came to the sideline following the interception he got into a verbal altercation with Queens offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. You know things are going bad when Favre gets into a disagreement with Bevell because Bevell is Favre's biggest advocate on the Queens' coaching staff. If Favre and Bevell are at odds, Favre's days as a starter for Queens could be numbered.

Thanks to a low block by Queens’ wide receiver Greg Camarillo, the Packers offense took over at their own 47-yard line with a little over a minute remaining in the half. A scramble followed by 5 consecutive passes by Rodgers was capped off with a touchdown when Rodgers found wide receiver James Jones in the end zone with only 3 second remaining in the half to put the Packers up 17-3.

Let's play the "what if's" game for a second. What if Favre and the Queens scored a touchdown at the end of the half? The game would have been tied 10-10 with everything to play for in the second half. Instead, the Packers lead 17-3 and got the ball to start the second half.

The Packers picked up where they left off to start the second half moving the ball fairly well. On 1st and 10 at the Queens 46-yard line Rodgers hit Jennings on a short pass and Jennings was off to the races for a 46-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 24-3.

When the Queens got the ball back they moved it a little bit and looked to have converted a 51-yard field goal but were called for a hold which forced them to punt instead. Those are the types of things that happen to teams that are in a downward spiral. Dumb penalties compound an already dismal situation, which leads to unrest among the players.

Speaking of unrest among the players, the public went crazy over Nipplegate when Justin Timberlake accidentally exposed Janet Jackson's nipple for a millisecond during the Super Bowel XXXVIII halftime show, yet the NFL routinely shows NFL coaches and players swearing on the sidelines. In all honesty I have no problem with either, but I find it funny that people were so up in arms over Nipplegate but never complain about in-game swearing. As things started to fall apart for the Queens, rookie cornerback Chris Cook and veteran defensive end Ray Edwards got into a yelling match where you could see Chris Cook plainly saying "F#%k You Ray" a bunch of times. For my money it is worse for kids to see swearing like that all the time than a nipple for a millisecond.

After a couple of lackluster possessions by both teams, the Packers finally went for the kill when the Queens turned the ball over on downs on their own 42-yard line. The Packers moved the ball well setting up a 3rd and 1 at the Queens 22-yard line. Rodgers hit Greg Jennings on a "go" route for a touchdown. After the extra point the Packers were up 31-3 with 9 minutes remaining in he game. Things were so bad for the Queens in the Humpty Dumpty Dome at that point that when the broadcast went to commercial you could hear "Go Pack Go" chants.

Let's take a brief intermission to look at Greg Jennings' impressive day: 7 catches for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns. On two of the touchdowns, Jennings did a little something extra to get into the end zone. Almost 5 games removed from losing dynamic tight end Jermichael Finely for the season, it looks like Rodgers has finally locked into his go-to-guy Greg Jennings.

With the game out of reach, my nostalgia for Favre kicked in Stockholm Syndrome style. I am a Packer fan first, but there will always be a place in my heart for Favre. As Favre started to miss throws and fumble snaps with the game out of reach, I weirdly felt myself rooting for him to at least be competent. No matter how much of a diva Favre was on his way out of Green Bay, it will never change what he did for the Packers. I felt myself starting to hope that Favre would do enough to keep going because he was flirting with getting benched.

I think Packers wide receiver Donald Driver's quote after the game summed it up the best, Driver said something to the effect: "I love him to death but when you play this game, there's no friends until it's all over. I'm happy that we beat him." I felt the same way watching the end of the game. Favre did so much for the Packers. I by no means was rooting for him, but as he slumped over on the sidelines looking like a beaten down man I couldn't help but feel for him.

The politically correct thing to say is that this was not about Rodgers v. Favre but that would be a lie. Favre and the Queens pounded Rodgers and the Packers twice in 2009, but it looks like Rodgers and the Packers will have the last laugh taking it to Favre and Queens twice in 2010.

Rodgers was on fire going 22 for 31 for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns. Rodgers notched the second highest passer rating of his career, 141.3 (his highest was 155.3 against the Cleveland Browns on October 25, 2009). For the year Rodgers has a passer rating of 95.7 (9th best in the NFL) and has thrown 19 touchdowns (tied for 3rd best in the NFL).

On the other side of the coin, Favre was a pedestrian 17 for 38 for 208 yards and 1 interception for a 51.2 passer rating. Favre was only sacked once but got hit 7 times. At the end of the game Favre and Rodgers talked for a few moments with Rodgers smiling knowing he has a promising NFL career to look forward to while Favre gingerly left the field looking like a battered man finally headed for retirement.

One of the keys to beating the Queens was bottling up the ever-dangerous Percy Harvin. On kickoff returns Harvin averaged a mere 17.3 yards per return, which is 7.3 yards below his average. Despite blowing out the Queens 31-3, the Packers still could not establish a consistent running game. The leading rusher on the day for the Packers was Dimitri Nance, who gained a mere 37 yards on 12 carries...oh dang.

After crushing the Queens, the Packers defense is firing on all cylinders. Over the last 3 games the Packers defense has only given up 10 points: shut out the Jet on the road, gave up a touchdown to the Cowboys at home, and held the Queens to a field goal on the road. The last time the Packers defense only allowed 10 points over a 3 games period came in 1974.

For the season, the defense ranks third in the NFL in sacks with 29, tied for second in the NFL in interceptions with 15, second in the NFL in defensive touchdowns with 4, and second in the NFL in opposing quarterback passer rating allowing 66.5. Even better, the defense ranks first in the NFL in fewest touchdowns allowed with only 14 touchdowns surrendered and tied for first with the Chicago Bears in points allowed per game at 14.6 points per game. The only stat that flies in the face of all the aforementioned stats is that the Packers rank 12th in the NFL in total defense with 323.4 yards allowed per game.

I much prefer looking at yardage totals than points because sometimes points are fluky, but the 2010 Green Bay Packers are making me change my line of thinking. The Packers have scored 252 points and allowed 146 points for 106 positive net points. The next closest team in the NFL is the Pittsburgh Steelers with 70 positive net points. That means the Packers are outpacing the next best plus/minus team in the league by 36 points or 3.6 points per game...pretty impressive.

Just to juxtapose the yardage and points theories, the Packers beat the Queens 31-3 but only out gained the Queens by 74 yards for the game (374 yards for the Packers and 300 yards for the Queens). So as you can see I am going to hang my hat on the points stats this week as opposed to yardage stats.

Let’s look at some final game stats to understand why the Packers pounded the Queens on the road in the Humpty Dumpty Dome. The Packers:
- converted more first downs: 20 for the Packers and 15 for the Queens.
- converted more 3rd down attempts: 8 of 15 for the Packers and 4 of 14 for the Queens.
- won the turnover battle: Queens committed 2 turnovers while the Packers didn't commit any turnovers.
- committed less penalties: the Packers committed 1 penalty for 5 yards while the Queens committed 6 penalties for 50 yards.

In the end the Packers handed the Queens their second biggest home beat down in the 100 game rivalry dating back to 1961. The biggest home beat down the Queens have suffered came in 1964 when the Vince Lombardi lead Packers knocked off the Queens 42-13.

Throughout the game there was a steady stream of boos and "Fire Childress" chants. Well your wish was granted. For the second game in a row, the coach of the team the Packers beat did not have a job the following day. Brad Childress joined Wade Phillips in the NFL head coach unemployment line.

I hate to say "I told you so" (not really) but why did the Queens extend Childress for so long at such a big number after the 2009 season? In 2009 Favre had his best year of his entire career playing for an aging football team. It is not like a bunch of NFL teams would have been lining up to sign Childress if he was available. Everyone outside of the land of 10,000 lakes knew that Favre made the Queens season in 2009. Furthermore I have always maintained that the day Childress picked Favre up from the airport during training camp in 2009, he lost the locker room. Winning made that go away in 2009 but it reared its ugly head in 2010.

As always, I will end the post with a look back at the roster moves Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson made between my review of the Packer/Cowboys game and today. The Packers released linebacker Robert Francois and subsequently signed him back to the practice squad (in place of safety Michael Grego) to make room to activate running back James Starks off the physically unable to perform list. I have covered the physically unable to perform list and James Starks' health situation a number of times throughout the blog so I will keep it brief. Although the Packers want to bring Starks back slowly since he has not participated in a live football game in a little less than two years, Starks might be forced into action sooner rather than later because of the lack of quality depth that the Packers have at running back.

In an even bigger move, the Packers placed veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher on injured reserve and signed former Packer tight end Spencer Havner. With Tauscher getting placed on injured reserve, he might have taken his last snap as a Green Bay Packer. Despite only being a 7th round pick out of Wisconsin in 2000, Mark Tauscher has put together quite an impressive NFL career: played in the NFL for 11 years, made 132 starts, and appeared in 134 NFL games.

I find it interesting that Thompson put Tauscher on injured reserve as opposed to cutting him in the uncapped year. Part of that might be because McCarthy wants to keep Tauscher involved in the daily team activities through the end of the season to help tutor rookie tackle Bryan Bulaga. Tauscher is owed $4.58 million in 2011, but most of it comes in the form of salary ($4.1 million) as opposed to roster bonus ($280,000), with a $200,000 work out bonus making up the balance. That is an indication to me that the Packer expect to, or are at least leaving the door open to bringing back Tauscher in 2011 despite having Bulaga, Lang, and Newhouse in the fold.

I am going to start a new thing this week. I will score each move on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best possible score:
- Cut Francois for Starks: 8
- Placed Tauscher on injured reserve and resigned Havner: 4

Check back this weekend for a Wisconsin Badger related “Sunday Funday” post and next Wednesday for a long look back at the clash between two of the best teams in the NFC when the Packers take their talents to Atlanta to face the Falcons.

Week 7 of 2010 - Packers/Queens Review

I got to take in the Green Bay Packers' victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in person with Cheesehead Chick and 71,107 of my closest friends. The first part of the post will be my impressions of the game. After that, I will end the post with a review of the flurry of moves by the often-conservative Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson.

Before I dissect the game, I wanted to give a quick recap of the tailgate. Every sports fan thinks their team has the best fans/tailgate in the world. Let me settle this once and for all...Green Bay is the best. I know this sounds biased, but we got to Green Bay about 2 pm and despite rain falling, there were already thousands of people tailgating and drinking for a 7:30 pm kickoff.

I want to say that we tailgated with 100,000 fans (which we did since we were in Green Bay) but our immediate tailgate was Cheesehead Chick, Sug, E-Dogg, Fernando, Tyler, Tom, Vicky, and Brian. Good times all around, check out the picture of our tailgating crew sans Fernando and Tyler. If you want to see Fernando, he made an appearance on a previous post.

Moving from tailgating to other pre-game festivities, after turning in the 45-man active roster for the Vikings/Packers game, Packers defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins pulled his calf muscle ruling him out for the game. On the second series of the game, already hobbled Packers defensive lineman Ryan Pickett tweaked his ankle. With Packers defensive lineman Mike Neal (season ending shoulder injury) and Mike Montgomery (healthy scratch) left off the 45-man active roster, the Packers were left with only 3 available healthy defensive lineman (B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson, and Jarius Wynn) to combat the ever-dangerous Adrian Peterson.

The Packers had so few healthy defensive linemen that Packers offensive lineman T.J. Lang played some snaps on defense in short yardage situations. I know injuries happen but being forced to play an offensive lineman on defense (this was not the first weekend that Lang played defensive line by the way) is unacceptable.

To start the game, the Packers defense forced a 3-and-out. Rodgers and Company moved the ball into the red zone with ease against the talented Vikings defense. It was 1st and 10 on the Vikings 12-yard line. For some reason Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy called a screen to barely used back-up running back Dimitri Nance. If there was ever a time to try and establish the run, why not do it there? Instead, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen made an impressive interception that killed a promising drive. One footnote on that interception, it was Rodgers' first red zone interception of his entire career.

After taking a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown running by Packers running back Brandon Jackson, the Packers special teams gave up a 48-yard kickoff return to Percy Harvin. Not only is it a field position killer, but a huge momentum killer. Green Bay Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum has been under constant criticism because of plays like these. Yes the players have to make the plays but the Packers cannot give up big kickoff returns like that. At some point someone has to be accountable for those special teams miscues.

Thanks to Harvin's return, the Vikings started with great field position and shoved the ball down the Packers throat. Harvin finished what he started with a 17-yard touchdown run. When the Vikings drafted Harvin in the first round last year, I thought it was a mistake because of the health issues that Harvin has always had. So far Harvin is proving me wrong returning kicks, catching passes, and running the ball out of the backfield for the Vikings.

The Packers responded nicely to the Harvin touchdown run by putting together their own impressive drive. A long catch by Packers wide receiver James Jones and a long run by Brandon Jackson got the Packers into the red zone. A couple quick notes on Jones and Jackson while we are here.

Coming into the Packers/Vikings game Jones had 15 receptions for 177 yards and 1 touchdown. Although Jones did not get into the end zone against the Vikings, he made up for some rough games the last few weeks. Part of the reason Aaron Rodgers kept going to Jones was that Rodgers was picking on Vikings rookie cornerback Chris Cook. A couple times it felt like Rodgers almost tried to pick on Cook too much. Either way, despite not catching a touchdown, Jones had a huge impact on the game contributing 4 receptions for 104 yards.

Each week Brandon Jackson starts to look better, but much like Kuhn, neither is able to pick up a yard when it matters. I am not too sure why it has taken 5 weeks, but Jackson might be a viable starter for the rest of 2010 and a good 2nd running back when Grant is healthy in 2011.

Back to the game, facing a 3rd and 8 from the Vikings' 9-yard line, Aaron Rodgers hit Andrew Quarless in the back of the end zone for a nice "catch". I say "catch" because replays showed that Quarless did not maintain control of the ball as he went to the ground, so the pass should have been called incomplete. In fairness the back judge, who missed a few calls, he was blocked.

That does not excuse Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress's failure to challenge the play. Television replays clearly showed that Quarless did not catch the ball, but Childress failed to challenge the play in time. Mike McCarthy rushed the kicking team onto the field and the Packers went up 14-7.

When the Vikings got the ball back they marched down the field and looked to cap the drive with another Percy Harvin touchdown. Replays showed that Harvin's foot touched out of bounds at the 1-yard line. As a result, Mike McCarthy challenged the play. McCarthy won the challenge and the ball got move back a yard.

Quick question, why did McCarthy challenge the Percy Harvin touchdown? It only moved the ball back one yard, which gave the Vikings 1st and goal from the 1-yard line. The Packers have a hard time getting in the end zone from the 1-yard line but the Packers do not have Adrian Peterson, who shoved the ball down the Packers' throat on the next play for a 1-yard touchdown run.

After a decent drive the Packers, they faced a 4th and 7 from the Vikings' 37-yard line. Mike McCarthy dialed up a fake punt with back-up quarterback Matt Flynn taking the snap and throwing deep to Packers tight end Andrew Quarless. Unfortunately Quarless tripped on the play, which resulted in an incomplete pass. I heard a number of people in the stands say "Finley would have caught that" or "the Packers are much worse on offense without Finely". Those people were referring to dynamic tight end Jermichael Finely who was lost for the season with a knee injury. Yes, the Packers seem to have a better offense with Finley but in the three games without Finley they averaged 388.3 yards while in the four games with Finley they averaged 321.3 yards. Don't get me wrong, I would rather have a healthy Finley, but those are some interesting numbers.

When the Vikings got the ball back, Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews (“Claymaker”) put a legal hit on Favre as he released the ball. Last year the Packers defense got no pressure on Favre and he carved the Packers up in their two meetings winning both games while Favre went 41 for 59 throwing for 515 yards for 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions for a 135.9 passer rating. This year the Packers defense finally got pressure on Favre and forced him to rush a few throws. A few hits like that in the first half forced Favre to throw a few ill-advised passes that were intercepted in the second half. Claymaker made all the difference against the Vikings, because he was in Favre's face all day.

Back to the game, Favre hit Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for what looked like a touchdown. Mike McCarthy challenged the play and the touchdown was overturned. The Vikings ended the drive with a field goal instead of a touchdown to take a 17-14.

Quick footnote to that overturned play. Brad Childress complained about the call being overturned a number of times in his post-game presser. Apparently the league confidentially called Childress and told him the play should not have been overturned because there was not enough evidence. Against league rules Childress shared that information and was fined $35,000 by the league.

Following the field goal, the Packers moved the ball well again and looked poised to score a touchdown to go into halftime leading 21-17. Unfortunately Rodgers forced a pass to Jennings that was tipped by Vikings cornerback Frank Walker (former Packer that held the distinction of being the only free agent signing by Ted Thompson in 2007) and intercepted by Vikings safety Madieu Williams.

Instead of sitting on the ball, the Vikings tried to get more points. Favre hit Randy Moss for what looked like a 49-yard reception that would have put the Vikings at the Packers 17-yard line with 40 seconds left in the half. The play did not stand though because Moss was flagged for pass interference, which meant the Vikings only lead 17-14 at halftime.

The first rushed throw by Favre came early in the second half on 3rd and 4 from midfield. Packers outside linebacker Brad Jones applied pressure, which lead Favre to throw a stupid interception to Packers middle linebacker A.J. Hawk. On that play Favre broke his ankle, which might break (no pun intended) his 291 consecutive games streak.

The Packers capitalized on Favre's interception and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive with Rodgers hitting Greg Jennings for a 14-yard touchdown to put the Packers up 21-17. The Packers offensive line played really well against the Vikings. Left to right they were left tackle Chad Clifton, left guard Daryn Colledge, center Scott Wells, right guard Josh Sitton, and right tackle Bryan Bulaga. Those five guys held the highly touted Vikings defensive line in check all game with one of their best performances as a unit in 2010. Aaron Rodgers was sacked 14 times in two meeting with the Vikings in 2009. Through one game, Rodgers was not sacked once thanks to the aforementioned 5 guys.

Back to Favre, on his next throw after the Hawk interception, Packers defensive linemen C.J. Wilson got great pressure. That pressure "forced" Favre to throw his 32nd career pick-six to Packers middle linebacker Desmond Bishop. The reason I say "forced" is that you live and die by Favre forcing throws. I have gotten into all my feelings on Favre a number of times. In short, Favre gave Packer fans a million more positive memories than negative, but it is forcing the ball like he did on the Bishop pick-six that stand out when he is wearing purple. Favre was not the only guy to throw a pick-six on Sunday. Nugget alert…there were an NFL record 9 interceptions returned for touchdowns on Sunday.

When the Vikings got the ball back they faced a 3rd and 1 at the Green Bay 49-yard line. Vikings all-around stud Percy Harvin burned Packers cornerback Charles Woodson deep for a 37-yard gain. Charles Woodson continues to show he is not the same guy that won the NFL defensive player of the year in 2009. Later on that same drive there was a breakdown in communication between Woodson and Packers cornerback Tramon Williams that resulted in a touchdown catch for Randy Moss.

Following the Moss touchdown, the Packers again moved the ball well. Facing 4th and 1 at the Packers' 44-yard line to start the 4th quarter they called on fullback John Kuhn to pick up the first down. The Packers lucked out and picked up a first down. On 3rd and 6 at the Vikings 39-yard line, Rodgers completed what looked like a 6-yard pass to Greg Jennings. Instead the refs gave Jennings 5 yards, leaving the Packers facing another 4th and 1.

It boggles my mind why Mike McCarthy did not challenge where the ball was placed. Based on the replays shown at the game, if McCarthy challenged the play, it would have resulted in a first down. Instead, McCarthy decided to go for it again on 4th and 1, this time from the Vikings 33-yard line.

Instead of calling a play action pass, McCarthy had some false confidence in the fullback dive because on the second 4th and 1 of the drive, the Packers again went to Kuhn to try and pick up a yard. This time the Vikings stuffed Kuhn and the Packers turned the ball over on downs. The Packers really struggle at running in short yardage situations. McCarthy, please never run the inside full back hand-off on 4th and 1…it officially doesn’t work.

Just to back that assertion up with stats, the Packers average .7 yards on third and fourth down with 2 yards or less to get a first down. You read that correctly .7 yards NOT 7 yards. If that wasn't bad enough, through Week 6 the Packers were last in the NFL in converting on 3rd and less than 3 yards: 8 for 22 or 36.4%...yikes. The Packers could have added free agent running backs like Ryan Torain (now with the Washington Redskins). Instead the Packers have Jackson, Nance, and Kuhn...not good. Bottom line, the Packers need a better short yardage plan or start running more play action passes in those situations.

The Vikings moved the ball on offense after forcing the turnover on downs. On 3rd and 7 at the Green Bay 35-yard line, Favre threw to Harvin but Packers safety Nick Collins jumped the route (and Harvin) for the interception. Harvin could have fought harder for the ball but give credit to Collins, he read the play and jumped the route. For those counting at home, Favre threw 3 interceptions over the span of 7 throws including 3 touchdowns, one for the Packers and two for the Vikings.

Thanks to the Collins interception, the Packers got the ball back with 9 minutes remaining leading 28-24. The Packers took a few minutes off the clock but were forced to punt. Unfortunately that meant Donald Driver's 133 consecutive games (139 including post-season) with at least one reception came to an end. To compound matters on the home front, Cheesehead Chick got her first jersey ever before the Packers/Vikings game...you guessed it, a home #80 Donald Driver jersey. On behalf of Cheesehead Chick and me, sorry that the streak ended DD, you are on the classiest guys to ever play the game.

Back to the game, the punt gave Favre and the Vikings the ball back at their own 17-yard line down 28-24 with 6 minutes left in the game. Favre made his 119th start at Lambeau Field, breaking John Elway's NFL quarterback record of 118 starts at Mile High Stadium in Denver. The script looked written for Favre to pull off some of his late game heroics in his old stomping ground.

After converting a couple 4th down plays for first downs (the Packers were 1 for 3 and the Vikings were 2 for 3 on 4th down on the day), Packers defensive lineman Jarius Wynn registered the Packers' first sack ever against Favre on the first play after the two-minute warning forcing the Vikings to use their 2nd timeout. Favre followed up the sack with a dump off to Harvin that got the Vikings down to the Packer 15-yard line.

Following a false start penalty by the Vikings, they finally got called for a facemask penalty for essentially tearing Claymaker to the ground by his facemask. How many times does it look like Claymaker was either getting held or having an offensive lineman touch his facemask? I hate to complain about penalties but that was way too obvious.

Following the penalties the Vikings faced a 1st and 30 from the Packer 35-yard line. As Packer fans know, you can never count Favre out. In what initially looked like another notch in his belt, Favre and the Vikings looked to take the lead on a 35-yard connection for a touchdown between Favre and Harvin.

After a booth initiated review (because there was less than 2 minutes left in the half) the refs overturned the play since only one of Harvin's feet came down in bounds. With that call getting overturned, how horrible was the back judge today? It was almost a great play by Harvin to try and get both feet down in bounds. That said, the ref was right there, how did that ref miss that call? I know NBC commentator Cris Collinsworth was calling for a pass interference penalty on Packers safety Charlie Peprah on the play, but that is a hard call to make with 48 seconds left in the game.

On the next play Favre hit Peterson for a 15-yard gain. That left the Vikings with two chances to go 20 yards to score a touchdown and beat the Packers. Favre tried to get the ball to Moss on both occasions but both passes fell incomplete allowing the Packers to pull out a much needed 28-24 win over the Vikings. Neither Rodgers or Favre had their best game but if you compare their stat lines, Rodgers did just a little more than Favre to help the Packers beat the Vikings:
- Rodgers: 21 for 34 for 295 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a 84.8 passer rating.
- Favre: 16 for 29 for 212 yards, 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions for a 50.4 passer rating.

The Packers won the turnover battle after losing it the last 4 weeks, which went a long way towards helping them beat the Vikings. Following their 28-24 victory over the Vikings, in games decided by 4 points or less McCarthy is now 5-13 and Rodgers is 2-11.

Switching gears to the personnel moves Green Bay Packers general manger Ted Thompson was forced to make because of all the injuries the Packers have suffered in 2010. As chronicled throughout the blog, coming into their Week 7 match-up against the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers already placed 4 starters (running back Ryan Grant, tight end Jermichael Finley, middle linebacker Nick Barnett, and safety Morgan Burnett) and 3 back-ups (cornerback Josh Bell, defensive lineman Justin Harrell and safety Derrick Martin) on injured reserve.

Following the Packers/Vikings game, the Packers had to place another starter (outside linebacker Brad Jones) and 2 back-ups (defensive lineman Mike Neal and outside linebacker Brady Poppinga) on injured reserve. That means 10 players, including 5 starters, have been lost for the season in only 7 weeks.

With three new additions to injured reserve, Thompson was forced to abandon his cautious roster maneuvering and make a ton of moves in short order. Thompson had to start signing players and making waiver wire claims because the 2010 NFL trade deadline already passed. In last week's Wednesday What Happened I talked about how ridiculous it is that the NFL trade deadline already passed for the 2010 season. In the NBA the trade deadline happens roughly 60% of the way through the season. In Major League baseball the trade deadline happens roughly 66% through the season. The NFL trade deadline comes after only 35% of the season is played. With all of that as background, here is a quick look at each move:

#1) Claimed outside linebacker Diyarl Briggs, who was waived by the Denver Broncos. The 24-year old Briggs is 6'3" and 248 pounds. In 2009 Briggs ran a 4.75 40-yard dash and had a 31" vertical leap. Briggs has appeared in 6 regular-season games with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green in 2009. The Packers were the only team to put in a claim on Briggs and is on an NFL minimum contract through 2011. The Packers will use Briggs as a situational pass rusher, but don't expect him to contribute a lot other than on special teams.

#2) Signed middle linebacker Matt Wilhelm. The 29-year old Wilhelm was a 4th round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers out of Ohio State University. At the combine in 2003 Wilhelm ran a 4.72 second 40-yard dash, scored 19 on the Wonderlic test, and had a 39" vertical leap but that is all pretty meaningless (besides the Wonderlic) since Wilhelm has been in the league for 8 years now. Wilhelm has played in 82 NFL games (including 22 starts) over 8 NFL season. For his career Wilhelm has 238 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 interceptions, and 53 special teams tackles. The former San Diego Charger and San Francisco 49er has been on the street since September 9th, when the 49ers reached an injury settlement with Wilhelm.

#3) Signed outside linebacker Erik Walden. Walden is a third-year player taken in the 6th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys out of Middle Tennessee State. The 6'2", 250-pound Walden was cut by the Cowboys at the end of the 2008 training camp. Walden went on to appear in 9 games for the Kansas City Chiefs and 6 games for the Miami Dolphins in 2008. Walden appeared in 11 games in 2009 and 2 games this year for the Miami Dolphins. Walden is mostly a special teams player and was on the unit that saw their special teams coach, John Bonamego, fired in season by the Dolphins. Walden has appeared in more games (28) than he has registered tackles (23) in the NFL so don’t expect much.

#4) Claimed defensive tackle Howard Green, who was waived by the team the Packers play this weekend, the New York Jets. The 6'2", 340-pound (more like 375 pounds) Green was taken in the 6th round in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans out of Louisiana State. Green has appeared in 51 NFL games (including 12 starts) with 5 different NFL teams (Texans, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks, and Jets). Green was cut and signed by the Jets a number of times this year so hopefully he will be out for revenge against his old team.

I don't now enough about Briggs and Walden to make an informed judgment. Basically the Packers added two young outside linebackers in place of injured outside linebackers Brad Jones and Brady Poppinga. I would be surprised if Briggs or Walden could come anywhere close to having the impact that Jones has at the outside linebacker position. Either way, the Packers have arguably the best young outside linebacker in the NFL in Claymaker and a bunch of unproven outside linebackers (Zombo, Francois, Briggs, and Walden) trying to fill the other outside linebacker position.

Usually you have to be undrafted and younger than 25 to get added to the Packers roster during the season. This week Ted Thompson added not one but two veterans to the roster in signing Wilhelm and Green.

The Packers added Wilhelm in place of middle linebacker and former Green Bay Blizzards arena league player Maurice Simpkins. The Packers promoted Simpkins from the practice squad earlier this year. Simpkins was active in 2 of a possible 3 games. It is not like the Packers had a ton of time or money invested in Simpkins so I totally support Thompson adding a proven veteran in place of an unproven rookie.

With Jenkins and Pickett questionable to even play this week, Green is a big body that the Packers sorely need to help slow down the potent Jets running attack. It doesn't hurt that Green played for the Jets last week either.

If you read this far, you obviously have a few more minutes to spare. Check out these videos below:
- Packers/Vikings post-game speech: glad to see McCarthy, Rodgers, and Company celebrate after finally beating Favre.
- SNL's spoof on Favre's Wrangler commercial: my only beef is that they make Favre a left-handed quarterback. Everything else about the commercial was great besides that, nice work SNL.
- "We Love the Green and Gold" by Pat McCurdy: an all around Cheesehead production.

Week 6 of 2010 - Packers/Dolphins Review

Another week, another overtime loss. With the Green Bay Packers' overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins at Lambeau Field, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy halted his 6 game home winning streak while extending his overtime losing streak to 6 games.

Last week not only did the Packers lose in overtime to the Redskins, they lost a number of key players to serious injuries. The only silver lining to this week's overtime loss to the Dolphins is that besides Brady Poppinga, no new names were added to the injury list. That said, most of the reason that few new names were added to the injury list was that a ton of players (Clay Matthews, Ryan Pickett, Jermichael Finley, Mark Tauscher, Mike Neal, and Brandon Chillar) were held out of the Packers/Dolphins game due to injury.

With defensive linemen Ryan Pickett and Mike Neal out, the Packers were so thin along the defensive line that they re-signed defensive linemen Michael Montgomery. Montgomery took Nick Barnett's roster spot when Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson decided to place Barnett on injured reserve.

Quick side note, Montgomery and suspended Packers defensive lineman Johnny Jolly were teammates at Texas A&M. Both guys have been working out together the last six weeks in Houston while being unemployed for different reasons. Jolly is suspended for the entire 2010 NFL season by the league while Montgomery is just not that good. Montgomery spent training camp with the Minnesota Vikings, so the most he can offer the Packers in terms of value is a copy of the Vikings play book at this point.

Anyhow, back to the Packers/Dolphins game. The Packers were forced to start C.J. Wilson in place of Ryan Pickett. You read that correctly, C.J. Wilson. That meant the healthy Packers defensive linemen against the Dolphins were B.J. Raji, Cullen Jenkins, C.J. Wilson, Jarius Wynn, and Mike Montgomery. The Packers were so thin at defensive line that they inserted back-up offensive lineman T.J. Lang on a few plays on defense.

With the Packers thin along the defensive line, the two-headed running back monster of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams got a bunch of carries. The Dolphins are proof that the two-back system can work in the NFL. Even if Packers running back Ryan Grant was healthy, having another quality running back would help the Packers immensely. With Ryan Grant out for the season, Thompson's decision not to trade for another running back looks downright foolish now. Let's say Marshawn Lynch was in fact a head case (despite rumors that Thompson was gunning for Lynch even before Grant got injured) then take a chance on another guy. The Cleveland Browns recently traded running back Jerome Harrison to the Philadelphia Eagles for running back Mike Bell. Are you trying to tell me Harrison was not available for a late draft pick?

Not only were the Packers thin at defensive line but All Pro in the making outside linebacker Clay Matthews (and his league leading 8.5 sacks) didn't play either, so the Packers struggled to create any pass rush. That gave Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne plenty of time to sit in the pocket and locate wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Another quick side note, the Dolphins would be much worse off if Ted Thompson picked the right quarterback in the 2008 NFL Draft. For those of you that don't remember, Thompson picked Lousiville quarterback Brian Brohm one pick ahead of when the Miami Dolphins selected Michigan quarterback Chad Henne. As we all know by now, Brohm was cut last year in favor of quarterback Matt Flynn. That lead to me writing a post about whether Justin Harrell or Brian Brohm was Ted Thompson's worst draft pick. For a guy that "builds through the draft", Harrell and Brohm are two huge black marks on the resume for Thompson.

Let's leave those horrible personnel decisions and get back to the painful Packers/Dolphins game. Dolphins pass rusher Cameron Wake was a one man wrecking crew against the Packers. Wake tormented rookie right tackle Bryan Bulaga all game. Despite Wake having his way with Bulaga, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy refused to give Bulaga any help. As a result, Wake and Company sacked Rodgers 5 times and hit Rodgers 10 times. May be it is because Rodgers is getting hit more than he wants (although that was the case the first half of last year as well) but Rodgers been just a little off this year compared to last year. Through 6 games this year, Rodgers has thrown 10 TDs and 7 INTs. Through 6 games last year, Rodgers threw 11 TDs and 2 INTs.

Last year third down was a productive down for the Packers, but this year it has been a completely different story. Against the Dolphins the Packers only converted 3 of 13 on third down after a 2 of 13 performance on third down against the Redskins. Aaron Rodgers was automatic on third down last year, but this year things have been different on third down for Rodgers. Take a look at the stats:
- 2009: completed 67.5% of his passes, throwing 14 TDs and 0 INTs for a 133.5 passer rating.
- 2010: completed 53.5% of his passes, throwing 4 TDs and 4 INTs for a 65.6 passer rating.

Finally Packer punter Tim Masthay struggled again. In fact, 2010 Packer punter Tim Masthay has worse numbers so far this year then the horrendous Jeremy Kapinos did in 2009. The Packers need to invest in a quality veteran punter and special teams coach soon, otherwise it will be more of the same out of Tim Masthay and Shawn Slocum.

Despite all the negative things said above, there were a few positive things that came out of the Packers/Dolphins game. For one thing, Greg Jennings and Aaron Rodgers finally got on the same page. That was sparked by the Rodgers/Jennings 86-yard touchdown hook-up. On that play, Jennings beat Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis, one of the up and coming cornerbacks in the NFL.

Also the Packers have amassed a little less than 800 yards of offense in their last two games but only have 33 points and 2 losses to show for that. According to most professional bettors (I know that sounds like an oxymoron), yards are a much better indicator of a team's ability than points so may be things are looking up...

At the start of the season the Green Bay Packers were picked by a lot of pundits to win the Super Bowl. A ton of serious injuries (18 players have missed at least 1 game) later the Packers are 3-3 and the Super Bowl talk has come to a screeching halt. Let me play the optimist for a second. At 3-3, the Packers are only 1 game out of first place. I am convinced that 9-7 (may be even 8-8) will get you into the playoffs in the NFC this year so there is no reason to hit the panic button yet. Plus, the Packers are a few small breaks away from being 6-0. Lets turn each of the Packers' 3 losses into a win.

Packers/Bears Game: If James Jones holds onto the ball at the end of the Packers/Bears Monday Night game, the Packers most likely move down the field and score to win the game. Instead, the Bears got the ball back and Mike McCarthy inexplicably let the Bears run the clock out and kick a field goal with only a few seconds left in the game to win.

Packers/Redskins Game: If Mason Crosby makes either of the two (should have been three) field goals he missed against the Redskins, the Packers win that game. I put three in parenthesis because McCarthy should have attempted a field goal when it was 4th and goal from the 1 yard line up 7-0 against the Redskins. Any more points via Crosby's foot and the Packers win in regulation instead of losing in overtime to the Redskins.

Packers/Dolphins Game: If the referees eat the flag, as they should have, with the Dolphins punting to the Packers mid-way through the 4th quarter then the Packers probably win that game. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out in a great blog post, the Packers got absolutely hosed on the Robert Francois special teams penalty.

See how I turned the 2010 Green Bay Packers' record from 3-3 to 6-0 with a few minor tweaks? Unfortunately, it is the little things that usually decide whether a team wins or loses a close game. Aaron Rodgers, Mike McCarthy, and Company have struggled to do those little things in close games which is why the Packers are 3-3 instead of 6-0. Just to drive the point home, in 39 career starts Aaron Rodgers is 1-11 in games decided by 4 points or less and 0-5 in overtime games. Mike McCarthy is 4-13 in games decided by 4 points or less and 1-6 in overtime games. Those are downright horrible stats, so what do the Packers need to do to fix it?

Despite all the injury troubles the 2010 Green Bay Packers have gone through, Thompson made only one trade before the NFL trade deadline. Not that it would matter for the Packers but isn't it crazy that the NFL trade deadline is so early in the season? I understand that the NFL does not want teams to trade away players for future draft picks if their season is going down the drain but the NFL trade deadline should be at least a few weeks later in the season. Players just became eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list so many NFL rosters are in flux with no ability to add players via trade.

Back to Thompson's one trade. Immediately following the loss to the Dolphins, Thompson sent a conditional 7th round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for safety Anthony Smith. Some will remember that Thompson cut Smith in favor of the perpetually disappointing safety Aaron Rouse at the end of the 2009 preseason. Throughout 2009 Thompson tried to reacquire Smith via the waiver wire, but was unsuccessful on two occasions. Well Thompson finally got Smith back, but is that enough to keep the Packers in the playoff picture?

Here is a little unsolicited advice for Ted Thompson. This week cornerback Al Harris, safety Atari Bigby, and running back James Starks are eligible to come off the physically unable to perform list. That means Thompson has to activate, cut, or place on injured reserve the aforementioned players in the next three weeks.

Of the three players, Al Harris should be put on the active roster immediately. Yes Harris is only 11 months removed from a serious knee injury but he is a physical freak. The Packers are in need of another physical freak this weekend when the face Brett Favre, Randy Moss, and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Lambeau Field. As a result of activating Harris, Thompson will have to cut a player from the 53-man roster. Thompson should cut offensive line prospect Nick McDonald. If McDonald clears waivers, put him on the practice squad where he should have been from the start of the season.

With the recent re-acquisition of Anthony Smith, Thompson can take his time with Atari Bigby. If Bigby is ready to play significant snaps this weekend then put Bigby on the active roster immediately. Thompson should cut fullback Quinn Johnson in favor of Bigby if that is the case.

Thompson still does not know what he has with the current running backs on the roster so there is no rush (no pun intended) to add rookie James Starks to the active roster right away. Plus, Starks has not played a live snap of football in over two years so the Packers should ease Starks back into the fold.

Finally Thompson has to buck his trend and sign a couple free agents that can contribute immediately. First, Thompson should sign a veteran free agent outside linebacker (i.e. Adalius Thomas) in place of rookie outside linebacker Robert Francois. Next, Thompson should sign a veteran middle linebacker (i.e. Abdul Hodge) in place of rookie middle linebacker Maurice Simpkins. After that, if Brady Poppinga has to go on injured reserve, Thompson should sign recently released (from the Detroit Lions) tight end/linebacker Spencer Havner for Havner's versatility alone. Finally, Thompson should sign a dedicated return man because Jordy Nelson/Pat Lee on kickoff returns is not working and Tramon Williams on punt returns is not worth the injury risk.

The advice is free for now, I can only hope that Thompson follows at least a few of the suggestions. Good luck to the Packers this weekend on Sunday Night Football against Brett Favre and the Vikings at Lambeau Field. I am going to the game so look for my notes next week on the blog.