Thursday, December 28, 2006

Playoffs Begin Now

The Pack got flexed. We are now a prime time game, which makes this the first game I will be able to see on my very own TV. As we all know, this years Packers are no where near as talented as the 1989 Packers, but they have some of the majik that they had then. This weeks game is their big test, one that they have failed many times this season when they have tried to step up. If they win, they have a good chance at playing in the post season. If they lose, suddenly we are looking at next year.

At least we are in this position. You could be a Vikings fan, watching your team continue to spin downward season after season, wondering why your team wears purple, and why you continue to support such a sad sack organization. Or the Lions, they don't count I guess. Who ever heard of a Lion fan? Or those loveable Bears.


















We'll see you Sunday Bears, and no matter what the outcome is, I'll be waiting for your post season fall with bells on.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Priorities People! Priorities!

Well this ought to be an exciting week. The Packer-Bear game has been moved to the prime time Sunday night slot. Perfect. John Madden can continue his one man mission to make all of America hate Brett Favre by constantly praising him. If you ever wonder where the backlash against Favre comes from don't look any further than the big guy with the Dr. Seuss-inspired eyebrows. His raging hardon for Favre has basically forced people to say they're sick of ol' #4. Heck, even Dr. Z admitted as much this past week on si.com. Here's an excerpt:

"I've never doubted that I'll vote for Favre, without reservation, for the Hall of Fame. He's been a great player. And right now, based on my reader's precise observation, I'm reviewing the whole phenomenon of this unwarranted prejudice of mine. I think what it amounts to is a rebellion against the constant hammering of blind hype."

So, the game is now on Sunday night at 7 on New Year's Eve. Fantastic. The wife is just gonna love that. Thank God for Tivo or I would be missing out on what should be a nice little event. I hear that Madden is going to do the entire broadcast on bended knee. So that should be fun. If he truly goes for the most obnoxious Favre-fest ever maybe Dr. Z can go back to being insane and we can all feel comfortable again.

I realize the playoffs are still a possibility and that's nice I guess. I'm less interested in the playoffs then I am in the team finishing 8-8. I'm beginning to actually like this team. Really. I'm gonna miss 'em when they're gone. I want them to feel decent about the year and I think getting back to .500 might just do that. The defense has finally showed up, the rookies seem to have improved and Mike III has been winning games without much help from Favre. That's a great sign for next year. Whether #4 comes back or not, winning games without his help is a good lesson for this young team to learn. I'm excited.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Packers Beat Vikings

Last week The Packman, Cornell J, and Packra the She Packer drove up to Lambeau Field on a very wet Thursday night to watch the Packers beat the Vikings for the second time this year. Here are some pictures I took at the game for your enjoyment.







































As we all know by now, the defense played amazing, and our offense was a bit shaky. The Vikings only managed 3 first downs for the whole game, so why we didn't win by more I have no idea, except that we hate to make touchdowns.

We now have a chance to be 8-8, and perhaps make the playoffs. How crazy is that? Give it to the Pack for not packing it in when we were 4-8, or 1-4....and so on.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Packer Gameday: Minnesota Vikings (6-8) at Green Bay Packers (6-8)

NFL Network! Who doesn't love the NFL Network? Okay, I love the NFL and I'm not even into the network. I'm sure it'll come in handy down the road when I'm writing for three straight weeks about who the Packers will draft but for now it's kinda, well, dry.

Bryant Gumbel (ironically rhymes with "humble") and Cris Collinsworth in the booth. I'm not a fan of Gumbel because he sometimes acts like sports are beneath him and yet that's what he does for a living. No one likes that sort of attitude. Collinsworth is okay so long as he isn't trying to be the anti-Madden. No need to rip on Favre just because Big John wants to dryhump him. Settle down.

People are talking about this being Favre's last home game. I don't think it is but either way I'm putting this one on DVD for safekeeping.

1st Quarter

13:30 - Three and out for the Vikings on their first drive. Tarvaris Jackson doesn't look terrible but he doesn't make a huge impression either.

9:13 - The Packers drive down to the 15 or so and Ahman gets hit early on third down. That's the second pass interference call so far that WASN'T called. Dangit. Rayner from 38. GREEN BAY 3 - MINNESOTA 0.

7:32 - Third down for the Vikings again. Kampman and Al Harris combine on the sack of the rookie. TJack looked hesitant there. Another three and out for the Vikes. What's the over/under on that for their offense tonight? I'm going with 37 and taking the under.

6:15 - Gumbel: "That's a lot of man." He's talking about Pat Williams of the Vikings. He's right. Still, that's just ishy.

5:38 - Carlyle Holiday takes the reverse and throws a pass to a double covered Jennings. I like the idea. Former QB and all, but he's got to make better decisions than that. That last sentence applies to all Green Bay qb's by the way.

3:30 - Treeeemendous sequence. Bubba drops a catch to force 4th down and then Dave Rayner flops down on the Figgie attempt and gets it blocked.

3:18 - Troy Williamson drops a bomb when he's wide open. He sucks.

2nd Quarter

14:14 - Okay, Bubba's got 2 drops and a fumble tonight. Thankfully Napoleon Harris, with no one around for 5 yards, rushed over and stepped out of bounds before picking up the ball. We need a new Tight End. I love ya Bubba, but this is an all-year thing now.

11:29 -
Packers move the ball efficiently again. Rayner hits the left upright from 38. We should be up 9-0 at worst. We are not. Ugh.

10:00 - Well it's not technically a three and out for the Vikings cuz they mixed a hold penalty in there but yeah, it's a four and out. This may effect my bet.

6:00 - BPopp stopped TJack a yard short of the 1st down. I'd like to think that when historians look back on the "first initial, first syllable of last name phenomenon" this sentence will commemorate the end of it.

4:14 - On third and 2 the yellow line disappears. Ahman should have the first. I think. I don't really know and I'm a little scared right now without my yellow line.

1:46 - Jarrett Bush muffs the punt at the 5 and knocks it in for a touchback on the coverage. That was uglier than a Gumble brother sandwich.

:04 - Rayner hits a Figgie from 44. Woohoo. GREEN BAY 6 - MINNESOTA 0.

3rd Quarter

13:24 - Don Driver runs off to the locker room. He's dragging his right arm. Sooooo we've got Jennings, Ruvell and Carlyle out there. 100% awesome.

9:07 - Chuck picks off Tarvaris on the GB 20 and throws in a 20 yard return just for the Pro Bowl voters who overlooked him. Stopped a threat too.

5:10 - Jennings never turns around and Smoot picks Favre off. He returns it for a TD just so the Pro Bowl voters remember that he's in the league and technically still has a pulse. The fans reject his attempt at the Lambeau Leap. Beautiful. Well done my friends. Well done. GREEN BAY 6 - MINNESOTA 7.

4:57 - Favre and Jennings again are not on the same page. Another pick. WTF? This Vikings team is awful and we should be up by 25 by now. Settle down and win this stupid, ugly game!

4:07 - The D comes up with another huge three and out. I know they're playing a rookie qb in his first start but the D has been huge tonight. Truly impressive.

2:22 - The Packers run it 5 straight times on this Vikings defense. Back to back picks will do that will it not?

:22 - Another pass interference call NOT made. Look, I hate the pass interference call. Hate it. But that's what the league is going with and they're not calling it. If I wasn't conditioned for this sort of thing I wouldn't have an issue. But no one gets to grab DD unless it's me in an overly awkward manhug. That's just the deal.

4th Quarter

13:47 - Yet another three and out by the defense. Say what you want about the competition but they're pitching a shutout.

10:16 - On third and 13 Napoleon Harris roughs the passer. He also stepped out on the fumble recovery that wasn't earlier. He's running neck and neck with Bubba for "guy who got bribed by the other team to throw the game" honors.

8:32 - Bubba makes the catch, gets the first down, and then fumbles the fucking ball at the three yard line! Gah! You've made me swear and I'm trying to keep this place clean, y'know... for the kids. Dangit Bubba. He clearly didn't like the idea of Nap Harris stealing his award tonight.

5:24 - Nick Collins makes a huge tackle on Tarvaris to force a punt. Seriously, this D is just impressive tonight. I'm trying to enjoy it, it's been a long time since I've gotten to see this sort of thing. I mean, other than watching Chargers games on the Sunday Ticket.

3:55 - The Vikes show blitz and Favre changes the play. Ruvell Martin down the right sideline for 36 and a huge first down to the Minnesota 30 or so.

1:52 - On third and 17 from the 34 or so, Ahman takes a screen to the 5 for a gigantic first down. But Bubba was caught for a hold down the field. Where is his head tonight? I love the guy but what is going on? After the penalty it'll be third and 13 or so from the 28.

1:46 - Noah Herron carries for 2 yards. Set up the Figgie. Do we really want to rely that much on a kick when our boy's already slipped once tonight?

1:38 - Of course we do! Rayner drills it from 44! That's his first big time kick I think for this team. Shine on you crazy diamond! I have officially used my quota for exclamation points for the week! The only way I can use anymore is if I barter with a 13 year old girl for some of hers, they stockpile those things like nobody's business. GREEN BAY 9 - MINNESOTA 7.

1:20 - Kampman comes up with his third sack tonight. It's almost like the Vikings have a rookie qb out there or something.

1:13 - Nick Barnett sniffs out a screen and wraps Mewelde Moore for the loss. Third and 18 coming up.

:42 - Barnett and Collins come up and tackle Jackson on a scramble. They stop him five yards short of the first down and keep him in bounds. Nah, they wouldn't have a rookie from a 1-AA school playing his first game would they? Seriously?

:20 - Tarvaris overthrows Billy McMullen on 4th down. Collins broke up the pass. Game over.

FINAL SCORE: GREEN BAY 9 - MINNESOTA 7.

Wow. This Packer team has won back to back games without throwing out their best effort on offense. The defense has actually played solid to great for three straight weeks now. I know the competition isn't great but hey, early in the year they weren't playing at this level so I'll take it.

I just heard that they held the Vikings to 3 first downs on the night. That's just rigoddamndiculous. Most entertaining part of the night? The many, many variations of Tarvaris Jackson. Collinsworth called him "Tavaris Tillman". Marshall Faulk in the postgame called him "Tavarius Johnson". And of course I've heard it a few other times for uncredited sources. I like that the uniqueness of his first name just ruins any chance of remembering his last name. That's all I gots. I'm going to bed.

Game On!

There won't be much of a post this morning but I'll be doing the standard gameday blog tonight. Who knows, if I'm motivated it may even be a live blog? Or "shortly after live" blog. Or something. Possibly. It's entirely possible that I'll be jumping up and down and annoying my wife too much to really do much writing during the game. And yes, I'm actually sitting on a fence while I write this just to make sure I don't commit to anything.

Majikman and Packra, the She-Packer, are going to tonight's game. True there will be 60-some thousand others there as well but I don't know those people so they get no mention here. Be thankful I don't know those people because I would totally mention all of them. Believe it! Forecast calls for 31 degrees and rain. You know it's a craptastic forecast when you're hoping for snow instead of rain.

Anywho, I mention the official visit of the C&P ambassadors for one important reason. I think the Pack's lifetime record at Lambeau is something like 5-1 for Majikman and a perfect 2-0 for Packra. So assuming the game's result is based entirely on the presence of two fans and not, y'know, the players on the field and whatnot, then we're totally gonna win!

Also, I think there's talk that the qb for one of the teams may possibly be playing his last game at Lambeau tonight. Surprising that the Vikes would turn on their promising rookie so quick, I know. Wait, what? I may not have read that story very closely. You may want to go ahead and disregard this whole paragraph. I think I need to hire interns around C&P HQ just so I can fire them for stuff like this. We'll see you tonight. Feel free to comment on the game and I'll try to respond if, again, I'm not jumping up and down or drinking heavily. If I were you I'd be more concerned with the latter issue.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

What's the meaning of this?

The Packers will head into their game against the Vikings tomorrow night with a lot of opportunities on the table. The chance to go .500 and avoid a losing season being the most worthwhile goal. The outside chance to get to the playoffs a distant second. Most importantly, the honest to goodness real live first step towards rebuilding will be complete.

Getting to 8-8 isn't the greatest thing this team can accomplish, but it's the most important. Coming into this year I couldn't find a legit publication that had the Packers picking up more than 5 wins. A .500 record with meaningful (if ultimately pointless) games to win in the last month of the season would mean a lot to the young players on the team. Heck, at 8-8 Favre might consider another go-round and with how terrible the rest of the division is a playoff run might be possible next year.

There is, amazingly, still the chance at the playoffs. Frankly, I think we all know a trip to the playoffs for this team will be a quick one. But that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. Usually I think that a one and done is pretty pointless, but not when almost all of your players are young and still feed off of hope. Also, playing games that mean something right now will pay off down the line. Their season's been on the line the past two weeks and they've come up with wins. Two more and I have to believe they go into the offseason feeling good about themselves.

Finally - this team can put to death the notion that they are willing to stay in the bottom of the standings if they can pull off these last two wins. 8-8 is many things, most of them are not good, but the Packers might just be handling this rebuilding effort the right way. Surround the savvy vets like Ahman, Donald and Favre with the young guys to teach them the game. Then when the old guys retire the young guys are seasoned enough to mentor their replacements.

I mean, let's face it, if Rodgers was starting for us this year the O-line would have a lot less confidence because he doesn't have Favre's awareness in the pocket. The receivers would be wondering if they screwed up an option route or if it was the rookie qb's fault. This way, the young guys have someone to rely on and coach them up on the field. It may not always be pretty, there have been way too many mistakes, but at least there's someone to rely on.

We have an interesting window to look through here. If this team gets to .500 and finishes strong then I think Favre comes back and that $20 million under the cap gets spent on the defense (or another receiver). This team could win 10+ games next year thanks to getting to play the Lions and Vikings 4 times. It's all hanging in the balance. A 6-10 finish means Favre is probably done and Rodgers will be around next year. Thank God we get to play the Vikings this week.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Everyone Loves Golden Mullet Awards


















Don't worry Cheese and Packer fans, only two more weeks of the Golden Mullets for you to read. Three if you include this week.

LIONS AT PACKERS

Quarterback

Doesn't get much worse than that. Although I don't blame him as much as my hated Dr. Z would. He has no talent to throw to...except driver.




Running Backs


Good ol' thunder and lightning. Our running backs did what they were paid to do, score big.



Receivers


They sucked.




Defense


Our defense played well, with sacks all over the place. It was against the lions though. Oh yeah, Woodson had a nice pick.


Coach


Coach Mikey got us the win at home. Didn't that used to be a given?




Lions


They are the worst team in all of sports. I love that they are in our division.




Well, this week I'm traveling with Packra, the She Packer, to lambeau to watch the Pack's last home game from our seats in the north endzone. I'll post on Friday about the game and all the fun to be had.



Sunday, December 17, 2006

Packer Gameday: Detroit Lions (2-11) at Green Bay Packers (5-8)

Ron Pitts, Jesse Palmer (hey ladies!) in the booth today. They're actually pretty good together. I like the defensive perspective provided by Pitts and the offensive perspective provided by Palmer. I also like that Palmer is a reality tv star. This somehow seems like a perfect fit for him. He knows something about football (having played on occasion), he's not repetitive or redundant and, as my wife pointed out, he's man-pretty. Which I think the TV execs like. But then this is a profession that Tony Siragusa also works in so who the hell knows?

I see a win today. It may not be pretty but I'll take it. The Lambeau fans deserve a win, I don't care how. I think Favre is something like 14-0 against the Lions at home and I somehow don't see Kitna, Millen and Marinelli being the group to end the run.

1st Quarter

13:30 - Proving that Mike Martz still is crazy he calls for a qb sneak with Kitna on third and 4. We stuff it quickly. Ah, to be a brilliant playcaller and yet still call for a qb sneak of more than 1 yard.

11:25 - The Packers have an ugly three and out series. Two runs for no yards and a bad incompletion. So...nice to see our play at home hasn't changed at all.

9:00 - Detroit is efforting to come up with a legit drive. Y'know, just to see what everyone's always harping about in the weekly nfl player get togethers. The Packers D line gets all sorts of fired up and Cullen Jenkins and two others sack Jon Jon.

7:47 - On third down Chuck Woodson comes up and sticks the running back (I don't know who it is but it's not Kevin Jones so we're safe) to prevent a first down. He just stopped him cold. Did I mention that I'm one of the guys who is and has been solidly on the "pro" side on signing Woodson? Jason Hanson drills the field goal. GREEN BAY 0 - DETROIT 3.

6:46 - Under the "annoying trends" file we have another entry. Wells can't snap the ball to Favre. Fumble. Recovered by Detroit. I've got the NFL Sunday ticket. I watch other games. No one else has this problem every week. Shotgun or under center, you can't count on a good exchange.

5:54 - Al Harris is all over Roy Williams like a lonely teenager over, well... pretty much anything with a heartbeat. He tips the ball away, bobbles it and then makes the pick. He throws in a 25 yard return too.

4:23 - David Martin drops a TD pass from Favre. Dangit. He then follows it up with another drop. The second catch was high but still, if you can get your hand on it then it's yours.

2:54 - Favre rolls left and then uncorks a scary pass into triple coverage. No need to take that chance. None. Rayner hits from 24. GREEN BAY 3 - DETROIT 3.

1:30 - Cullen Jenkins picks up another sack on the day to force a punt. Nice first quarter for him. I guess this whole changeup with KGB is working out huh?

2nd Quarter

12:30 - Donald Driver is wide open for the second time today. He's had a few catches for solid yardage. Good teams double/triple team DD and make the other guys beat 'em. The Lions? Not so much. Totally unrelated note: The Lions have 2 wins on the year.

11:18 - The Packers have been driving methodically. Ahman Green tips a pass to him up in the air for an easy interception. Dammit Ahman! The pass was slightly high but still, very catchable.

10:40 - I don't know what's worse. The fact that Jesse Palmer just said that the Packers have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive or the fact that he's right and this team, with it's many, many flaws, is still alive for the postseason.

10:30 - Cullen Jenkins picks up his third sack of the day. He actually almost had a safety thanks to Kitna running backwards 15 yards. Wow. Maybe we got the talented Jenkins brother?

9:49 - Chuck fumbles the punt return and some dude I've never even heard of recovers for the Packers. I love these special teams guys that make 1 play all year. Does a guy like that wear his jersey everywhere around town just to try to convince people that he's actually on the team?

8:43 - Donald Lee with a drop. It's nice of the other tight ends to drop passes and fail to make plays in a show of solidarity with Bubba this year.

5:35 - With the Packers on the 15 Vernand Morency makes 19 cuts and dives into the end zone for the touchdown. Nice drive too with big third down pickups by Don Lee and DD. GREEN BAY 10 - DETROIT 3.

2:18 - Detroit has made 1 play (a Kitna scramble) and have a third down on the Packer 30. Nick Barnett stuffs the play to force 4th and 1.

2:00 - Kitna fumbles the snap and Cullen Jenkins recovers on 4th and 1. See, this is what bad teams do. They fumble the snap. Let's not be that guy anymore.

1:43 - Fabu. Chad Clifton is limping off the field. I'm staring at the phone like a contestant stares at Vanna White. Ring! Ring, damn you!

1:28 - The awesomely named Carlyle Holiday catches a slant from Favre for 20 yards. Brett now has the record for most completions in league history. Which is nice if you're into that sort of thing. Which I am. Which is cool.

:23 - The Packers get stopped and Jon Ryan comes out to punt. For no reason at all Ron Pitts mentions that he "came out of the university of Virgina". That third "I" is the key Ron. My wife, busy grading papers looked up at the TV for the first time all day and asked "he came out of where?"

3rd Quarter

10:03 - Brady Poppinga knocks a pass away in the end zone to force 4th down. I haven't seen much of Brady lately. I like him but I don't see him make a ton of plays. Hanson (who I'm 90% convinced had his leg dipped in the river Styx to guarantee perfect accuracy) nails from 42. GREEN BAY 10 - DETROIT 6.

8:33 - The Packers have a little drive going on the legs of Ahman and Vernand. Scott Wells is on the sideline putting his shoe on. Seriously I have to be the next guy on the list that they call right? O lineman can't stay on the field! But I can. I've got heart. And moxy. Tons of moxy. Put me in, you'll see.

1:44 - Chuck Woodson makes a nice pick on an awful throw from Kitna. With a 15 yard facemask tacked on the Packers will get the ball on the 10 or so. Pitts and Palmer are talking about Chuck and Al for the pro bowl. Look, I really like both of them. They're solid to very good every week. But your two starting corners can't be part of a unit that is one of the worst in the league and not give them any of the blame.

1:36 - Another drop by Donald Lee. Fugly. On third down Favre forces it for a pick. He deserved that one. I saw it coming too. See what happens when you drop the ball Don?

4th Quarter

14:24 - The D comes up with a huge stop to force a punt. Unfortunately they down it at the Packer 1 yard line. Dammit. I feel the opposite of good about this upcoming series.

11:40 - On third and 8, Favre drills Ahman for a first down. Except Ahman bobbles it and then hands it to a defender for a pick. It's gonna show three interceptions for Favre tomorrow in the paper. But two of them can go directly to Ahman. Can we petition the league for this?

10:40 - Third and 6 from the Packers 10 or so. Kitna tries the qb sneak again! Wow! I understand the coaches not wanting to risk an interception but keeping it in Kitna's hands in the 4th quarter is just asking for disaster. Wow! Mike Martz, oh how you've fallen. From the scary good playcaller on a superbowl winner to running qb sneaks for Jon Kitna for the league's worst run franchise. He's like the modern day, NFL version of Icarus. I think in this scenario that makes Dick Vermeil the sun. Or possibly this is still the smiting for not using Marshall Faulk in the super bowl when he was with the Rams. GREEN BAY 10 - DETROIT 9.

5:22 - The Packers needed a solid drive and they're getting it. 4+ minutes so far and it's not over. DD just grabbed a 12 yard catch on third and 10.

3:30 - Still on the drive, Ahman picks up 10 on third and 9. Beautiful drive I tells ya.

2:48 - Vernand makes a beautiful cut and breaks right for 20 yards and his second TD of the day. He's got a great burst. Most guys just barely get to the fans on a Lambeau Leap, he almost made the second row. GREEN BAY 17 - DETROIT 9.

The defense harasses Kitna to end the game. I realize Detroit is terrible but the D really showed up today. Well done. This team is far from great, but they've got some solid contributors showing up every week. I like how the line is playing right now with Jenkins. I like the linebackers and our starting corners aren't too shabby. If we can sort out the Marquand Manuel issue we might just have a real D.

Thanks for stopping by the booth.



Come on Pack, let's get tuff!

Friday, December 15, 2006

Matt Millen

When you go to a bar in the upper midwest you are virtually guaranteed to see a group of Packer fans, a group of Bears fans, and some misguided souls wearing blonde braids cheering on the Vikings. It's pretty much automatic from the Dakotas all the way over to Ohio. The one thing you'll rarely see is a group of Lions fans. Sure there may be one sad sack sitting on the end of the bar, his 'stache covered in coors light or some other chick beer, wearing a bobby layne jersey. But that's about it right?

Every football fan has a story about the greatness of Barry Sanders don't they? Some wow moment from your childhood. Kids who are now adults trying to do a spin move of his in the parking lot. He had universal appeal? You wanna know why? Because it's easy to cheer for an amazing talent when you're not concerned about losing to his team. The Lions were always entertaining, rarely lethal. If you doubt this, just ask yourself how you feel about Emmitt Smith. A man of far less talents but with the luck of playing for a team that had the good sense to rip off the Vikings and go win a couple titles with their draft picks.

So now here we are today. The hapless Lions are coming to Green Bay. Even a 1-5 home record can't dampen my mood. This is a win. Chalk it up. And I'm guessing no one in Michigan or beyond will care. It's hard to find a team with less personality than the Vikings but the Lions somehow manage to do it every single year. It's a sort of genius I guess.

Matt Millen still has his job despite going 23-70. Read that record again. Sweet greasy donuts, that's just terrible. I'm trying to think of how bad I would have to be at my job to match that sort of failure. I'm fairly confident I would have to spill coffee on my boss's crotch daily, hang up on clients mid-sentence AND occassionally get drunk at work and hit on prospective new investors while they toured the facility. Something tells me I would get fired before I could do the corresponding dance to my hit version of "my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard" at the quarterly sales meeting.

If any of you out there drive a Ford you may want to ask yourself how safe you are. I mean, the Fords run this franchise and allow this sort of incompetence for years. I'm just saying it's a red flag. That's all.

Anywho, I'm looking at 6-8 this week. It's not much but it'll do for now.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Let's Go 8-8!

Come on Pack! If it was good enough for Uncle Ray, then it's got to be good enough for you. Let's win these last few games, and know in our hearts that this team was equal to the Super Bowl caliber team that Uncle ray flushed away.

Three wins.

It's that easy.












Did I even mention that Dr. Z from Sports Illustrated is an idiot. Here's more proof.

Also, when I listened to the Packer-Niner game, I thought I heard as many Packer fans as Niner fans. Well, here's a video of some fans chanting "Go Pack Go". Our voices will be heard. Stand tall Pack fans.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The Golden Mullet Awards-San Fran

A Christmas Miracle! We won!













It's everyone's favorite Golden Mullet Awards. I can't tell you how much mail we get on this, but Tim Harris's Mail Sack can. On with the show.

Quarterbacks

The critics call it "Vintage Favre" when he has a good game. Get of his back already.



Running Back

Ahman seemed to play pretty well. It's hard to tell, I had to listen to the game on the internet, but he scored and ran hard.


Receivers

Huge game for Driver, the others showed up as well.



Special Teams

I never loved Longwell as much as I loved Jacke....from 227.





Coach

Well, Coach Mike showed up. Good game plan, and beat old team. We so own those niners.




Defense

They gave up some huge plays, but hung in there enough to keep them from blowing us away. That's a start. And how about A.J. Hawk with the INT. That was huge.




California Cheese

I just read an article that said they are about to overtake Wisconsin as the United States leading cheese making state. Did I ever mention that I had their adds, and their crappy cheese. You will now feel the wrath of Cheese and Packers!



Great game, we just got more wins then all of last year. Let's build off of this, and make strides to win back the Division next year and push those Bears off the Cliff. Me Lovie Long Time.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Packer Game Day: Green Bay (4-8) at San Francisco (5-7)

We have a cast of thousands broadcasting the game today. Hopefully one or two of them will be good. Matt Vasgergian, JC Pearson and Tim Ryan in the booth. There is a scary blonde woman who occasionally comments from down on the field but I'm not certain if she's real or if I just dreamed that there was a monster on the sideline so I'll leave her out of the roll call. Also, sideline reporters are pointless unless it's Rachel Nichols and even then it's only because she's pretty.

Which team will show up today? The competitive group or the quitters? And, on a side note, there's been some discussion about whether this team quits when things don't go their way (see New England, Philly, NY Jets, etc). Mike III said they're not quitting. Which, conversely, means that they were trying. I don't know if that makes me feel any better. I don't care if they're quitters or just terrible football players, I want the losing to stop.

1st Quarter

Usually I have a pretty good feeling about a game before it's played. With this one I didn't until I realized that Mark Roman starts at safety. I see a win coming on real soon.

12:30 - The Packers start out with the ball and move efficiently down the field. A number of quick throws for 3-4 yards and solid running. Are they trying to get the SF corners to come up and then beat them deep? Is there actual strategery going on? And yes I said "strategery". It's a whole new way of talking.

10:38 - On third and 9 Greg Jennings gets free along the sideline for a pretty catch around the 49er 8 yard line. Only one issue, he didn't try to get both feet in bounds. I can't believe the ref didn't call that to begin with. This'll be reviewed and overturned and we'll be punting. Still, the offense showed some pluck.

9:37 - Frank Gore busts left on the second play of the drive for 72 yards. Marquand Manuel should have had him wrapped up but he's Marquand Manuel so he did not. This is what you get when you plead with the team to get anyone but Mark Roman. If Roman's the 32nd best starting safety then Marquand is number 31.

8:00 - Third and goal for the 49ers and Chuck Woodson knocks the pass away. This should be a good matchup for us. I know people have ripped him this year but I like Chuck and Al a lot more than the SF receivers. GREEN BAY 0 - SAN FRANCISCO 3.

5:55 - The Packers are moving the ball again. They run a beautiful playfake that has Favre all alone on half the field. He flips it 35 yards to a wide open Ruvell Martin in the end zone. It's nice to see we're not the only team capable of blowing a coverage or two. GREEN BAY 7 - SAN FRANCISCO 3.

4:19 - The Defense seems to have some fire today. I was going to rip the opponent but then I realized this would be the best team we've beaten all year so I can't. Anywho, KGB comes through unblocked to force a quick throw on third down. One of the 19 announcers just said that Mike III sat in on defensive meetings for the first time this week. Um, what? Punt coming.

3:00 - The 49ers line comes offsides and Favre has a free play. And even though he's stiff arming a defender he still tries to make a play. A shovel to Bubba for 3 yards or so. That was a pretty entertaining non-play. I'll give him that.

1:57 - Driver gets stuffed on an end around for the second time already today. Did the coaches see like 9 plays where an end around (or reverse if you want to get technical) works against these guys? Driver's got 2 carries for -6 yards. The Packers punt. And for once it doesn't go 7 yards into the end zone. Dendy stops it at the 1.

:30 - With the 49ers backed up they run two plays in a row. The first gets 2 yards. The second gives the ball away. Gore fumbles the exchange and Chuck Woodson recovers on the 49er 10 or so.

2nd Quarter

14:56 - No one bothers to pick up the blitz and Favre misses DD in the end zone. One of the 22 announcers said Favre held the ball too long. He caught the snap, took maybe a step and threw. But yeah, the unblocked blitzer wasn't the issue. GREEN BAY 10 - SAN FRANCISCO 3.

13:00 - Just bizarre. Remember how Jennings didn't bother to get both feet in on a catch inside the 10 a little bit ago? Taylor Jacobs just did the exact same thing. The announcers seem to be openly rooting for the niners at the moment and said that it wasn't Jacobs' fault but it Jennings should have known better.

12:00 - As Favre hits DD for a first down on third and 7 the announcers are now discussing how unhappy Favre seems. Can we just ask that the announcers no longer discuss what they think the player is feeling anymore? It's getting embarrassing. I don't know if they're right or wrong on Favre's mental state but I'm thinking their 1 hour conversation with him isn't going to reveal much. Call me crazy.

10:35 - DD makes another catch for 20 or so yards and is now over 1000 yards for the year. See what happens when talent and heart equal each other?

9:20 - On 2nd and 2 Favre takes a shot at the end zone. Unfortunately Jennings is double covered. The pass goes incomplete but that's one of those risks I'd rather not take. It's obvious they're trying to work Jennings into the game more, they need him, but that was just silly. Ahman Green picks up the 1st down on the next play to keep us alive.

7:15 - Back to back quick passes to Jennings brings us down to the 1. Jennings is slow getting up, hopefully it's nothing major. I think he's got 4 catches today and was the target on a couple deep throws.

6:45 - Green dives left for the TD. Nice drive right there. Professional. GREEN BAY 17 - SAN FRANCISCO 3.

3:05 - With the 49ers driving Chuck knocks a pass away in the end zone. He then promptly lands with his entire body weight on his left shoulder and leaves the game. Hopefully they're just running him for x-rays before the second half starts.

2:20 - On the 35 or so of Green Bay Corey Williams and KGB stuff Gore for a loss on third down. They just blew up the middle there. It's nice that we get some solid pressure up the middle from the tackles. They've done a solid job today.

2:00 - 4th and three. Gore catches a pass over the middle for the 1st down. Dang. A stop here and a drive would have sealed the deal on this game.

1:05 - Vern Davis drops the ball in the end zone. He was well covered but he had a chance if he dove. Which he did not. GREEN BAY 17 - SAN FRANCISCO 6.

:00 - Favre gets sacked on the 35 or so of Green Bay with 11 seconds left. He fumbled. The 49ers recovered. The refs are totally asleep today and they called Favre down and didn't review the film. Hmm. I'll take it but that was a bad call. 49ers should have had the ball with 11 seconds left on our 35.

3rd Quarter

8:58 - The 49ers have put together a long drive here to start the second half. Gore dives into the end zone for the TD. They looked really good right there. Hopefully we can answer right back. GREEN BAY 17 - SAN FRANCISCO 13.

7:21 - Ugly three and out for the Packers. First time today we've gone three and out. Way to answer back!

6:20 - Man, the D is plucky today! They force a three and out after having their worst series of the game 30 seconds ago.

5:27 - Another fug three and out from the Pack. C'mon fellas. Wells managed to hit himself and couldn't get the snap to Favre. Do other teams have this many problems with the snap?

3:54 - Third and 2 for the 49ers on the Green Bay 40. Alex Smith (who looks panicky and skittish all the time. I wonder if he does this all the time. Does he order a delicious buster bar from DQ and then hide behind the bushes waiting for it to come?) rolls right and throws an awful pass that Nick Collins intercepts. The 32 announcers are going on and on about Vern Davis being wide open on the play. He was, sorta. But he doesn't run good routes and he doesn't get the passing game so he didn't give his QB much of an option.

3:37 - Now the O answers back. DD makes a catch after 12 pump fakes from Favre. He then breaks a couple tackles and takes it to the house. Which is really the end zone, not a house at all. 68 yards in total, half through the air, half on the ground, all awesome. GREEN BAY 24 - SAN FRANCISCO 13.

4th Quarter

14:05 - The D has played solid and forced another three and out. The O moves down the field for a Rayner figgie. By the way, I never say "D" or "O" in actual conversation, I just get tired typing this thing. The temptation to call san francisco something like "frisco" is tearing me apart, but I'm just too much of a pro. The sacrifices people! You don't even know! Plus I know everyone out there in SF hates pretty much every abbreviation you can think of. Wait, I may have just talked myself out of using the whole name. GREEN BAY 27 - SAN FRANSISCO 13.

12:44 - Another three and out from the niners. Alex Smith might just be terrible. That has to be considered.

12:29 - Chuck Woodson returns the punt 41 yards to the Frisco 10 or so. This is my first comment all year on the punt return game I think. Which should tell you how notable it's been so far.

8:48 - The Packers can't score the touchdown even though they had 1st and goal. But a figgie here makes it a three score game so no need to get all cavalier with the football at this stage. GREEN BAY 30 - SAN FRANCISCO 13.

7:31 - After another long kick return (I swear they're at the 50 every time) the niners go to work. Alex Smith thinks he has Vern open in the end zone. He doesn't, he's got three guys on him actually. True the safeties for this team are whatever the opposite of "ballhawk" is but that doesn't matter. AJ Hawk makes a pretty pick and returns it to the 20.

5:15 - With the Packers in a prevent-type defense Vern catches a pass on a drag route, breaks one tackle and scores a TD. One of the 46 announcers immediately crowns him the king of Santa Clara county for this performance. I don't get it. It was a nice play but um, where was he when the game was on the line? GREEN BAY 30 - SAN FRANCISCO 19

The Packers run out the clock. Our own Vern, Morency, has a pretty 38 yard burst (with Favre throwing a diving block just for kicks) to seal the deal. I like Vernand. The way he runs seems like he's constantly shifting direction. And he's all sorts of fast. He's quick fast, fast fast, sneaky fast, all of it.

FINAL: GREEN BAY 30 - SAN FRANCISCO 19.

This was a solid win against a team with playoff hopes (albeit dim ones). Favre looked sharp (2 tds, no picks), Jennings was involved and Driver was at his best. The D showed up and Hawk outplayed Vern Davis (even with his garbage time TD). The announcers proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they don't actually do any research and once again added nothing to the Favre conversation. Just stop talking people. It's diminishing to all of us. Also, Fox Sports apparently couldn't afford the yellow line today because of the extra guy in the booth or something. I'd take total silence and the yellow line any day. Other than that it was a nice outing.

Friday, December 08, 2006

The Awkward Years

The Packers have an interesting comparison in the 49ers this year. Some might say that they're on the same trajectory, just a year behind schedule. There are enough differences to argue that point, but there are enough similarities there too. A great bar conversation with the appropriate amount of Leinie's is right there for the taking. Consider:

After a decent run in 2001 and 2002 the 49ers removed their coach. Mariucci had led them to a couple 12-4 records and a playoff berth or two. He had also not been a threat in the playoffs to win much of anything so he got the axe. As he deserved. The Packers did the same with Mike Sherman. He won a few titles (in the weakest division in the league) and when the talent level was diminished (by his own terrible draft choices) his coaching ability was revealed to be below average and he also got the axe.

The 49ers then went and hired Dennis Erickson. He's never had the ability to coach, his only success came in college. Coaching in college is not a challenge worth discussing. I mean, Pete Carroll can barely break .500 in the pros but in the world of NCAA football he's a genius. The 49ers realized their mistake and whacked Erickson after a 2-14 run in 2004. Thankfully the Packers hired an NFL assistant and not some amateur from the college ranks.

The 49ers then hired Mike Nolan. Largely unknown and a questionable choice. His team struggled to a 4-12 record. During that season they managed to lose games with astonishing regularity. They also were not remotely competitive in several games. The coach seemed incompetent and many fans called for his head (and the GM's too). Check out these game scores from last year.

Philly 42 - SF 3
Indy 28 - SF 3
Washington 52 - SF 17
NYG 24 - SF 6
Seattle 41 - SF 3

Brutal right? I think we know what their fans went through last year. This is our second year in a row dealing with this sort of craptitude and we're all searching for wins on the horizon. The 49ers will probably end the year at 7-9. Nothing to be proud of but in today's nfl you can jump from 7-9 one year to 13-3 and super bowl champions the next, either way it's progress and the team can reasonably expect to improve next year.

In this crazy world with the internets and constant scores and updates on the sports ticker it's understandable why fans would have no patience. But nothing good comes from rushing. Consider the New England Patriots in 2000. Their new coach had just gone 5-11 and his only head coaching history had gotten him run out of Cleveland. They could have fired him and tried a new guy. They didn't and now they've got three trophies to show off.

I'm not crazy enough to think that Mike McCarthy is the second coming of Belichek. I don't know what he will be. Neither does anyone else. The only way to find out is to give him a second year. This isn't Ray Rhodes part II. There was talent when Rhodes was coach, Sherman left the cupboard bare for the current group. Mike III and TT have my support for this and next year. After that it's up in the air.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Almost Done with Super Bowl XXXI



We have been working on our latest stop-motion masterpiece, which we will finished this weekend. It's a recreation of Desmond Howards Super Bowl XXXI kickoff return, which turned that game around and gave us that amazing Super Bowl victory. It is the ten year anniversary, so let's celebrate.

Here are some pictures of from the 30 second animated spot:


Desmond Howard fields the kick.













Blows by a Patriot, poses for the camera man on the other side of the field for the Sports Illustrated cover photo.







Finally, Howard reaches the end zone to put those Pats away. Touchdown! Victory will soon follow.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The Week in Quotes

There are an awful lot of people talking about our favorite team. Some are insightful and some are knuckle-dragging stupid. Let's have a look.

"It's all about opportunities. It's about creating opportunities for people that deserve to have opportunities, and it's about opportunities created that people haven't taken full advantage of their opportunities," McCarthy said Monday. "You have two things you're really looking at. So with that, whether it's a role, increase somebody's role, decrease."

I think I get the gist of the comment. I'm not totally sure because he said "opportunities" 19 more times after that and then laid down in a hallway and took a nap. We get it coach, keep on selling people on opportunities and not the fact that the current player is terrible, or in coaching parlance, "inconsistent".

Jason Hunter, one of the players who will be getting an opportunity now that other opportunities haven't been claimed by inopportune players had this to say...

"That's always great to hear," Hunter said. "So much of what I've had to do since I got here was get noticed, and it's great to hear that people are noticing the things I've been doing."

"With the performance we had (Sunday), if I was a fan, I probably would have booed too," Woodson said.

I've heard this from Mike III and various players. They all seem to understand that the booing is to be expected. Which is a good sign. Now if they would just do something about it on the field.

"I'm just playing my role. Everybody has their role on the team, and I have mine. That's all I'm trying to do," said Pickett, who could have returned to St. Louis or taken free-agent trips to Buffalo or Cincinnati but chose Green Bay almost right away. "This was definitely the right play for me. We've struggled lately, but I enjoy my job, I enjoy coming to work everyday, I enjoy my teammates, my coaches. It's been good."

I must say, the signing of Manuel and Chuck Woodson made more headlines but I liked the move with the Ryan Pickett signing. I realize the run D has taken a punch in the pants the last couple of weeks but he's been solid.

"Anyway, if you think Brett Favre looks bad on TV, wait until you see him missing wide-open receivers and throwing to completely covered guys in person -- it's almost as shocking as seeing Michael Richards do a set at the Comedy Store. He's completely washed up -- and not even in an "aging gunslinger" kind of way, like Elway in the late '90s or Bird in the early '90s. He's just washed up. They absolutely could have won that game and didn't because of him. But I'm glad he's on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week."

This is from Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy at ESPN, in his column last Friday. I generally enjoy reading his stuff. He's usually slightly wrong with his opinions, particularly on teams he doesn't follow religiously, but this one was borderline retarded. Also, it should be noted that Simmons stands out as kinda smart most of the time because the rest of the media does such a poor job of covering sports that his semi-understandable takes make some sense. It's not that he's brilliant, it's that in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. Anywho, he feels qualified to trash Favre because he's seen 1 game live with him playing. He doesn't mention the injury, the weather conditions (this was the Seattle game) or the fact that Bill couldn't name any receiver on the roster other than maybe Driver. But yeah, it's totally the QB's fault. He also blames Favre for being on a cover of a magazine. Last I checked it wasn't his decision. I'll never understand why the player is blamed for how he's covered.

And finally, just so we don't leave on a down note, here are some fun facts about the Minnesota Vikings.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said Monday he has not made a decision on his quarterback for Sunday's game at Detroit. But two starters Monday lobbied for rookie Tarvaris Jackson to supplant veteran Brad Johnson in the lineup.

Both players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said starting Jackson would not be a concession that the team is giving up on the rest of the season.

"We can't get any worse," one of the players said
.

Nothing better than anonymous comments saying the QB and the offense suck. We've got it bad in Green Bay, but at least we're not the Vikings.

For the full stories check out www.packernet.com and plow on through everything. They've got everything from the Post-Gazette to the WSJ and I should know, I just pulled these quotes from 'em.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

We Were So Close

Vince is right. That's how close we got to winning that game. We almost had it, it was within our reach. Then the game started.

That was a sad sack preformence. Horrible. They should be embarrassed.

Ted, what have you done for me lately.

Let's get to everyone's least favorite Golden Mullet Awards.




Golden Mullet Awards Pack vs. Jets

Quarterbacks

I saw hustle, and a touch down pass. Everything else I was closing my eyes.




Receivers

Driver got a touchdown pass, I saw Bubba a lot. Why didn't they score more?



Running Back

Ahman got a hundred yards I believe, but now I'm getting bitter, so he only gets one.




Defense

Horrible. Fire the defense coordinator!





Special Teams

Missed field goal? Come on!





Coach

You're fired!




Ted Thompson

You're fired!




Jets fans

Who cares? They are the Mets of the NFL.




Rookie of the Year

A.J. Hawk. This guy shows up to play.

Good game guys! You made a bad team look the the 1995 Dallas Cowboys! You have showed resilience in learning this year, and just to prove everyone wrong that you're not rebuilding you refuse to grow as a team. Way to go! At least we're not the Vikings or Bears. Talk about a sad sack game. Even we could have beat those two.