Thoughts On the Green Bay Packers’ First Preseason Game

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns 17-0 in their first preseason game of the year. While this is certainly not a sign that the Packers will go to the playoffs this season, there are several good things fans and coaches can take away from this game.

The offense looks primed. Other than the fact that every other pass Rodgers threw was going deep, the offense looked ready early, which was a problem for the Pack last year, getting shut out in the first quarter six times last year. Donald Driver shows no signs of wear, as his only catch was a 53 yard bomb from Rodgers.

Does Mason Crosby have a leg or what? Mason Crosby missed his first two field goals of the night. What is good about that? He took the attempts from 60 and 55 yards out, only missing the 60 yarder by hitting the left upright. This is a good sign for the Packer’s kicking game as Crosby can kick it from nearly anywhere on the field.

Matt Flynn is really good. While he won’t battle for the starting job, Flynn should put Packer fans at ease should Rodgers ever go down with his mobility and his will to push forward.

Without several costly penalties by the team, Flynn couldv’e led the Pack to several more scoring drives and make the game seem even more lopsided. If Flynn continues to improve, he could make excellent trade bait for the Packers at some point in the future.

Brian Brohm is awful. At one point, thought to be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, Brohm is showing Packer fans why he slipped into the second round. While he connected on five of his 10 passing attempts, two of those five completions where caught by the wrong team. Finishing 3/10 with two picks is no way to prove you were worth a second round pick.

If Brohm doesn’t show significant improvement by next year, the Packers may decide to cut their losses, if they don’t do so this season to keep an extra running back.

Speaking of running backs, the Packers will have a heated battle for third string running back between Kregg Lumpkin and Tyrell Sutton. Both running backs made the most of their opportunities by not going down at first contact and fighting for extra yardage.

With his performance, Sutton might be in the lead with his 91 yard performance on 16 carries, albeit with both teams using third stringers. This will be an interesting battle to watch all preseason.

Defense. With five possible starters not playing on Saturday, the Packers managed to shut out the Cleveland Browns. Granted, they are the Cleveland Browns, but there are both positives and negatives to be taken away from this. It seemed that the Packers managed to allow a 10-15 yard play every series but managed to stop them before they reached scoring position.

However, if this were a more potent offense they were facing, the Packers would not have looked nearly as good as they did. They did manage to pick off the Browns four times, mostly because of pressure on the quarterbacks. The run defense did a good job stopping the Browns and it will only get better when B.J. Raji gets some time at nose tackle.

Those are my thoughts on the game. I realize this was a preseason game against less than stellar competition but think there is reason to be optimistic this coming season.

Brett Favre, I Apologize

With Brett Favre announcing his decision to NOT play for the Minnesota Vikings, many Packer fans owe Brett a huge apology.

I will begin with mine.

Over the past few months, amid speculation that he was returning to play for the hated Minnesota Vikings, Favre has taken harsh criticism from Packer fans by being called a traitor and some vowing to reject him for life. I have been one of these people and am now ashamed of not having faith in him to do the right thing.

Brett has shown his true colors by making the right decision and showing many fans that they shouldn’t make judgements before any decision is made.

I for one hope that I can learn from this and not make the same mistake again, and hope my fellow Packer fans will learn the same.

So, I leave with this.

I am sorry, Favre, for believing the media and believing you to be a turncoat to the Green and Gold. I am ashamed of myself and will never doubt you again.

                                                                                            Signed,

                                                                                            Riley James Angel

Packer Fans, Now Is The Time To Start Uniting

It is no secret that the Packer fan base has been divided over the issue of Brett Favre, but with the season just a few months away, it is time to cut it out. A divided fan base is no way for a team to succeed.

For those who thought management was wrong, and for those who thought Favre was wrong, both have brought up some very good points but now is the time to drop the issue and get behind the team.

Let’s get behind the players and coaches who had nothing to do with the situation, and are just caught in the middle and who need you to rally behind them for them to get back on their feet.

So I say to you, those faithful to the Green and Gold, get your issues with the team out of your system over the next few weeks.

Write your heart out, yell your outrage in the streets, go to a bar and yell to anyone who will listen and just get it over with. Just get ready to prepare to support our team through the upcoming season, because with all of Packer Nation behind them, there is no way they can disappoint.

Go to the Vikings Brett, But Once You Do, It’s Over Between Us

I was one of those kids.

I never had to witness the horrors of growing up watching the Packers in the ’70s and ’80s.

It was the ’90s, and with Favre, things were just sitting pretty.

We had two Super Bowl appearances, with one Super Bowl win, and winning season after winning season—all the while watching games with my dad, who was just happy he could watch the Packers games without feeling miserable.

We owed this to the wonderful and infallible Brett Favre.

It was the 2000s, and Favre was still making us proud. He was throwing the ball around like he was a kid, and whenever the season ended, we would just pray that he would keep going for one more season.

In 2005 we had a miserable season but we just told ourselves it was the injuries, and we could see that Brett could still play his heart out, and it was for our team—he was loyal to us—and we worshipped him.

He proved to all of us that he still had it in 2007, taking the youngest team in the league to a 13-3 record, making us all proud, and we sung his praises. He lost in the NFC Championship game but it couldn’t be his fault, as he was the one who brought us there. And surely he wouldn’t retire because he was just too close to winning it all one last time.

But then he broke our hearts in a press conference, announcing his retirement with tears, bringing us to tears with him. I hated his decision but realized he had to finish eventually, and why not on the heels of the miracle season.

I even forgave him for wanting to come back in the summer, but realized the Packers had to move on with the next quarterback, as they had already made plans to move forward.

We had heard that he wanted his release so he could play for the Vikings, but I knew it couldn’t be true, as our Brett was too loyal to us to make such a harsh move.

He went to the Jets, so we could cheer for him there, and it looked like he just might go all the way, but then was hurt at the end of the season. Now after his release, he is doing everything he can to get to the Vikings, and the curtain has fallen.

Before, he could do no wrong, but now he is voluntarily preparing to play for the enemy, as a turncoat. This is the one sin in all of football that cannot be forgiven.

Brett, I say to you, you have one chance to get out. You don’t have to make an enemy of every Packer out there.

I know that nothing I can write—nothing I can do, nothing I can say—will make you change your mind if it is already made up.

I just put this question to you: Is it worth it? Is it worth alienating the people who worshipped the very ground you stood upon to get back at someone that you feel slighted you?

You can go to the Vikings Brett, but realize that this is one person who will never accept you back once you do.

And also realize that I am not alone.

Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions: A Case Study in Insanity

Matthew Stafford has just been given a six-year $78 million contract with $41 million guaranteed. By the Detroit Lions. Who have so many more pressing needs than a quarterback who will be spending more time on the ground than standing. Even worse, a player who has never taken a single snap in the NFL.

The NFL is desperately in need of rookie contracts, like in the NBA. Players who have never played a single down are getting payed more than proven veterans such as Brian Westbrook, who in 2008 signed a three year deal worth $21 million with $13 million guaranteed.

Westbrook, who is a star among true NFL fans for his low-key behavior and hard work ethic, us getting payed less than a third of what a rookie who has never and may never win a game in the NFL is getting. Stafford is unworthy of being a top paid player in the league.

The Lions were also insane in signing a quarterback after signing Daunte Culpepper to a two year contract, and who lost 30 lbs in the offseason. The Lions will regret not signing Aaron Curry from Wake Forest, who has shot up the draft charts and was reported to be willing to sign for $30 million dollars.

In order to be a winning team in the NFL, you have to be able to stop the other team, unlike the Lions who had the second-worst defense in the history in the NFL. The Lions have shown once again that although they have new management, they are still the Lions.

Stafford may end up being a good player. He may even up being a Hall of Fame player. Even so, he’s the wrong player and will not help the Vikings.

The point of this is it is unreasonable to pay someone before they prove themselves. There have been too many cases of the first person in the draft to be a bust in order to justify such a high price.

Ryan Leaf and Alex Smith are just two of a number of cases that have set back their teams years in terms of quarterback play.  While proven players get a fraction of what these guys get, while those guys are now sitting at home, living off the ridiculous contracts they are rewarded, they are actually out on the field working for teams that have rewarded them for actually playing.

It is an outrage and must be addressed.

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