Kurt Warner came into the Cardinals - Packers playoff game with the second-best lifetime QB rating in NFL history. Only Bart Starr is better. Did everyone forget about that?
During the Sunday pregame shows on CBS, NBC and ESPN, only one football analyst picked the Cardinals to defeat the Packers (Bill Cowher). Everyone else picked the Packers. 14 out of 15 of the so-called experts were swayed. Swayed by what? The Packers meaningless win the week before against Arizona? The Cardinals lackluster play over the last four meaningless games of their season?
And a host of Packer fans were wrong. The prevailing sentiment in the week leading up [...]
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Looking back on the Green Bay Packers 2009 season, I would call it a season of fulfilled potential. Yearning to bounce back from a 6-10 record in 2008, the Packers seemed to have all their ducks in a row. An excellent draft, outstanding preseason and a supposedly easy schedule over the first half of the season.
I, for one, predicted a 2009 wild-card berth with a record of 10-6 or [...]
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It was Monday, Nov. 9 at 2:25 PM. The "Tragedy in Tampa" had occurred less than 24 hours ago. The Packers offense had just finished watching the film of that very ugly game. More sacks. More penalties. More of the poor and inconsistent play that had plagued them all season. Everyone was disgusted. Veteran players stood up individually and spoke to the entire team, including coaches.
Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers, Mark Tauscher, and others had their say. Donald Driver had some of the more powerful words: "If we don't win - and I mean now - they are going to fire all of our (butts) at the end of the season," Driver said. "I'm [...]
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As the 2009 Packers season plays out, and yet another football lands in the hands of the Packers #88, I've adopted a new twist on an old acronym:
TGIF - Thank God It's Finley...
Packers GM Ted Thompson's 2008 draft will never be featured at the top of his resume. Jordy Nelson, Brian Brohm and Patrick Lee were the first three picks of that draft. While I like Nelson, and think he will develop into a very useful receiver, Brian Brohm was a certified bust from day one and Patrick Lee is just one more injury away from being called the same. But Thompson did uncover a hidden gem in that draft. In the third round (pick 91) Thompson selected a young [...]
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Pro Bowl voting closes December 21. Here’s my 2009 ballot.
NFC (*starter)
QB: Drew Brees, Saints*
QB: Brett Favre, Vikings
[...]
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It was July 2008, "The Summer of Favre," yet with all the attention being given to that PR nightmare, Ryan Grant wanted a little attention too. Five months after the Packers had told Grant and his agent that they would "take care of their own" and sign him to a new contract, Grant was a holdout.
There were angry words from Grant's agent. "It's insulting," agent Alan Herman said of the offer he received from negotiator Russ Ball, "Ryan Grant gave them a running game last year. They know what he can [...]
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As the Green Bay Packers prepare to meet the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night, I felt the need to get the inside scoop on the Ravens from someone in the know. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview John Eisenberg, a long-time Baltimore sportswriter and author of seven sports books. John is currently employed by the Ravens organization, writing a regular column for the official team web site.
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32. St. Louis Rams (1-10)
Gotta feel bad for Steven Jackson.
31. Cleveland Browns (1-10)
Every week, [...]
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As the Green Bay Packers knocked the stuffing out of the turkeys known as the Detroit Lions, Packer fans everywhere were surely in a thankful mood. After watching the game, here are five things this Packer fan and writer is thankful for. Feel free to add your own in the comments section:
Thank you for the 2009 NFL Draft: Clay Matthews, BJ Raji, T.J. Lang, Brad Jones, Quinn Johnson, Brandon Underwood. Six Packer draft picks have made significant contributions in just their first year in the NFL. Clay Matthews has shown he can be a star in this league. Watching him beat two players easily in a three-man rush and then chase down a scrambling Stafford for a sack showed me the kind of will he has to be successful. I have no doubts that he will. BJ Raji, has been coming on [...]
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The injury bomb fell on Green Bay, Wisconsin this Sunday, and the fallout will surely hit Charles Woodson the hardest. Just as many Packer fans were marveling at the relative good health of this team, Aaron Kampman and Al Harris, two Packer stalwarts that have had few injuries throughout their careers, were hit hard by misfortune.
The first question that comes to mind is, " Will these injuries have the same devastating effect on the Packers defense as Nick Barnett's and Cullen Jenkins' injuries did last season? With the improvement this year in personnel and scheme, [...]
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