I haven't approached Green Bay Packer gamedays with this much anticipation and emotion since 1995 when we all watched, somewhat in disbelief after so many years of heartache, a team come together, to "gell" as they say, before our very eyes, improving game after game and all the while building confidence.
That was the same year I bought my Mirage "throwbacks" letterman-style Green Bay Packer jacket at the newly opened Scheels Sporting Goods Store -- It was the last one they had and was hanging way high out of my reach and had to be fetched with store help.
Even though the jacket was an extra large, I bought it and found that the extra room inside the jacket was good for layering during colder weather.
Then the patch collecting began. Over the years, it's gotten a bit crazy. On the left sleeve I have a "Green Bay Packers Vs All Americans" Pro Bowl, January 7, 1940 patch, a 50th Anniversary NFL patch, and the league issued 75th Anniversary patch in red, white, blue and green.
On the right sleeve there are sewn patches from all three of the Superbowls won.
The front left breast of the jacket has, at the top, the self-same patch the team is wearing on their home jerseys this season, the "Lambeau Field Fifty Years" patch; beneath it is a patch of my own design which I had embroidered locally some years ago. On it is listed all the Packer Championships from 1929 to 1996. (and because I dislike them so much, I added the NFC Championship of 1997, a 23-10 victory over the San Francisco Forty Whiners, even though that is not a League championship.)
Below that on the same patch, are listed the three Superbowls.
The bottom patch is one of two that was issued in 2003 when Lambeau opened with the renovations. (an aside: when the patches arrived, they came with a written notice saying the patches were not to be attached to anything -- some day the NFL fashion police will nab me!)
The first patch on the upper left is the "Rebirth of a Legend" patch. The middle chenille patch, the running back emblazoned on the outline of the state of Wisconsin, is original design on the jacket.
The bottom patch was one that I hd a lot of difficulty locating for a long time, but through the internet, I finally tracked it down, the 75th Anniversary of the league in green and gold with a "G" at the top, as worn by the Packers during that magical season that took them to the Superbowl.
The back of the jacket has PACKERS in large chenille letters across the shoulders, under which is the running back/state logo and below that in original chenille the years 1966 1967.
When we won in New Orleans, I had 1996 sewn on in chenille as well. I purposely left a spot open for the ensuing Superbowl, certain that we would beat Denver, which of course, we did not, thanks, I believe,to Mike Holmgren, who was too busy sniffing out jobs on the west coast to adequately prepare his team to win.
Don't get me started! If you ever want to pull my chain, just ask me how I feel about Mike (the Poohbah) Holmgren!
I just got my jacket back yesterday after having a new "industrial strength" talon brass zipper installed. The other zipper no longer would zip.
This jacket is going to be an on-going preservation project!
Back to the present season.
There is no doubt that we are a good football team. I still feel we are a player or two away from being Superbowl bound, however.
Doesn't just watching the Vikings' back Adrian Peterson run make your mouth water? Eight games into the season and he has already broken a league record.
If he were in green and gold, there would be a lot of open receivers down field.
We hve to stop shooting ourselves in the foot! Stupid, stupid penalties every game. Way too many. And not just by rookies. How many times has Chad Clifton stalled a drive by moving before the snap?
And I agree with Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal -- The Green Bay Packers drafted offensive linemen Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll last year with the intention of solidifying an almost-bare cupboard at guard, but with performances like the one the three had Sunday against Kansas City, the Packers don't seem much better off.
" We expect a lot more. They're young, but they've played almost 20 games now. I'm really telling you our guards have to play better. We need to get that shored up."
- James Campen,
Packers offensive line coach
With guard Junius Coston (ankle) and center Scott Wells (pneumonia) on the sideline, the three second-year linemen started together for the second consecutive game and ninth time overall, with Colledge at left guard, Spitz at center and Moll at right guard. Later, after Wells was inserted into the lineup, Spitz replaced Moll at right guard.
Through it all, the three played poorly and were the main reason quarterback Brett Favre was hit five times.
"That's not up to our standards," offensive line coach James Campen said. "We expect a lot more. They're young, but they've played almost 20 games now. I'm really telling you our guards have to play better. We need to get that shored up."
The Packers overcame their misdeeds on the offensive line to muster a 33-22 victory over Kansas City, raising their record to 7-1, which is tied for the second best mark in the NFL. Favre was only sacked once and threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
But things could have been much different if, say, the Chiefs had recovered Favre's fumble after Moll blew an assignment and allowed him to be sacked. Or if Favre hadn't gotten rid of the ball just before Alfonso Boone, who was in his face because Colledge misread his assignment, got his hand up on the 60-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings. Or if Spitz's whiff at the end of the second quarter, which allowed Jared Allen a free shot at Favre's ribs, had injured the Packers quarterback.
"You can say we threw for 360 yards and we completed 70% of our passes and all of that, but we let our quarterback get hit five times," Campen said. "That's unacceptable. We say that we expect that he never should get hit. That's not always going to happen, but just because we only gave up one sack doesn't mean we did a good job."
On the surface, Colledge appeared to be the worst offender. He was responsible for three quarterback hits, including a Boone hit on Favre's arm as he threw an interception at the end of the first half. He also didn't run block very well, missing some backside blocks, and committed holding and false start penalties.
The highest pick of the three, Colledge, a second-rounder, has started 23 games, all but one at left guard. He's playing between two reliable veterans, left tackle Chad Clifton and Wells, and should be performing more consistently.
Asked at his Monday news conference if he had concerns about Colledge, coach Mike McCarthy said, "Yes, I do. He didn't play very well yesterday, and he needs to perform better."
Were any of the other two playing better, McCarthy would have the option of replacing Colledge in the starting lineup. But neither Spitz nor Moll did much better against the Chiefs.
Moll was responsible for the only sack of the game, when he allowed penetration and opened the door for Allen to loop around and sack Favre, with the assistance of end Tamba Hali. Spitz did not make a smooth transition from center to guard after Wells was inserted into the lineup, allowing Allen's solid hit on Favre and being party to some ineffective blocks in the run game.
There is a chance that Coston, who took over the starting position at right guard from Spitz after Week 1, could be back this week from an ankle sprain. But Coston was inactive Sunday and looked gimpy in practice as late as last week.
Campen said he didn't know if Coston, who was mostly solid as a starter, would be back this week. Regardless of his status, Campen said the focus of practice this week will be the play of the guards.
"It's not just Daryn, it's what happened to our guard position?" Campen said. "We have to play better. It always goes back to fundamentals and finishing. We certainly have our work cut out for us this week going against two Minnesota big-time defensive tackles. We'll get that fixed this week."
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And I am not too certain about defensive back Atari Bigby. Here we are at the half way point and he still hasn't learned that if he doesn't turn and look for the ball, he is going to get called for pass interference every time. Not that it makes much difference considering the awful call on Woodson last Sunday. Woodson was clearly in position and had a better chance to catch the ball than the Kansas City receiver.
In fact, I just read the folloing quote by LeRoy Butler: "The interference call they had on him was a dumb call. It was the worst call of the game. The guy was looking for the ball and you can't really touch the guy without them throwing a flag."
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I do have to admit that watching both Brady and Manning is like watching a machine at work. They both make completions look easy and have a great ability to move their teams offensively because of their smarts.
I watched the Colts/Patriots game, hoping for a Colts victory. I really was turned off last year by Bellicheck's show of poor sportsmanship when meeting with coach Dungy at midfield -- totally blew him off.
And I see that referees are starting to treat Randy Moss the same way they treated Jerry Rice. Rice, and now Moss, are the masters of the "push off" just as the ball is arriving and don't get called for offensive pass interference.
Better quit -- getting my undies in a bundle!
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