“Vikesrule” has this to say…what do you think Packergeek readers?

Vikesrule Says: June 25, 2009 at 9:08 pm – I can’t wait to watch Favre charge out on to Lambeau in purple!! What a beautiful slap in the face to you toothless one sport town losers!! And how funny would it be if Favre wins not just one but two super bowls in a Vikings uniform. He’ll retire a Viking if that happens. Then we can start talking about Green Blah as the Viking “farm team” Thanks for the player development!!!! #

Vikesrule Says: June 25, 2009 at 9:18 pm – 56Coop: You sound like you just ate some sour grapes. A little afraid he might actually produce big time with a legit offense? Hunting better in Wisconsin??? Who cares!! The fact that you clowns wear your blaze orange and cammo to games frames you up as the stereotypical knuckle dragging neanderthals that everyone thinks you are. And yeah, a guy with money like Favre is going to buy a hunting outpost home in MN?? Whatever!! And afraid to step in Wisconsin. OOOOO!! What is someone going to do, mug the guy?? Yeah I suppose a townie cheeshead would do just that!!

My response? Thanks for getting our blood moving Vikesrule and as always, despite the lameness of your comments, your comments are welcome here.

• First of all, “one sport town losers“? We’ve won more championships in that one sport than Minnesota has in all of its pro sports.
• Second, nice stadium.
• Third, nice history of choking in big games.
• Fourth, I think blaze orange is far less offensive football fan attire than a carefully assembled $400 “outfit” with $200 Italian leather shoes (Vikesrule rolling his eyes right now saying “what a clueless loser, who spends only $200 on shoes anymore?”).
• Fifth, nice loyalty – Vikings fans don’t even reach the level of being appropriately considered “fair-weather fans” because even when things are going well, there are fan loyalty issues. Just last year, the Vikes needed to rely on some dude to buy up a bunch of tickets at the last minute to avoid a blackout…FOR A PLAYOFF GAME!!! On the other hand, Packer fans are truly loyal fans who are excited about our team whether we’re playing well or not . We always sell out our games and the only time the word “blackout” enters our minds is when we see a Vikings “fan” laying on the floor after having 3 beers (actually, really just 2 beers because he opens up a new one once the old one starts “getting a little warm”).
• Sixth, um, again, nice stadium.

Has Favre signed a 2 or 3 year deal?

Rumor now is that Favre is looking at houses in Bearpath neighborhood – Eden Prairie, MN. Now, I’m getting a bit out of control here speculation-wise, I’ll freely admit, but if he’s looking to buy a house there, is he thinking of being there for more than a year? (Not sure, but I can’t remember if he bought a house in NY/NJ or not last year – I think he just had an apartment/condo or something, no)? Anyway, I know he’s loaded and $ isn’t an issue, but it’s just interesting he’d actually be looking for a home and it makes me wonder for some reason if he’s planning to stick around there for a bit.

(Bearpath, by the way, surrounds a really nice golf course – a Jack Nicklaus signature course…I wonder if that’s where Longwell lives.)

Jennings signs

Jsonline and Fox 6 Sports are reporting that Greg Jennings has signed a new deal estimated to be worth a cool $9 million a year. I say – finally. I’m very pleased with this. He is a stand up guy who won’t let a new fat contract alter his effort on the field. He is a very very good WR right now but he could end up being one of the best WR the Packers ever have. Nicely done TT, Packers and Jennings. Nicely done.

“Self-adjusting” shampoo???

This isn’t the first time I have written about shampoo. Brother Steve and I have openly questioned the legitimacy of the shampoo industry in previous posts. Well, this morning, I noticed that the not-so-cheap bottle of shampoo my wife bought recently claimed that the shampoo was “self-adjusting”. At first I didn’t think anything of it because it was too early in the morning to process anything and because I’ve become numb to outrageous advertising claims anymore. But after letting it sink in for a moment, I thought about how nice using this shampoo would be because  I wouldn’t have to make any “adjustments” while using this shampoo like I must be doing unknowingly with all the others – this fancy shampoo would take care of any adjustments by itself. What the ….???

(And for those who follow closely, yes, this shampoo had Australian Tea Tree Oil in it).

Some random Packer thoughts

Random Packer thoughts:

• Apparently Greg Jennings is close to signing a deal. This is very good. I could see Greg seeking exactly what’s fair and not being an idiot about negotiations because ultimately, he’s just a really good guy. The general number people are putting out there for him from what I’ve heard is $8 million per year. I think the only thing the Packers need to be somewhat concerned about frankly, is not giving Jennings too many incentives because he’s the kind of guy who will find a way to realize most of them! Let’s get him signed – I hope this happens soon.
• Aaron Kampman has quietly grown more comfortable in his new role. Relieving significant pressure from the whole transition is the fact that Brady Poppinga has been named his main back up  – so there is virtually no competition.
• After reading Greg Bedard’s article last week about Anthony Smith – it really does seem as though he could wind up the starter. He  understands the 3-4 scheme so well and would be a good defensive quarterback. (Though I will say I still have a fresh memory of Marquand Manuel – another guy who was supposed to have a great understanding of the scheme…) But what I like about Anthony Smith may in fact be something I didn’t like about Anthony Smith at all when we signed him: his trash talking. I saw the game when he played for the Steelers and talked some trash against the Pats. He was horrendous in that game – approaching the worst game I’ve seen from a safety ever. At the time, I hadn’t read his full quote (which to me is not nearly as bad as the few words the press ran away with). Anyway, I got to thinking the other day that maybe having someone who apparently speaks his mind like Smith does is not such a bad thing. A byproduct of drafting and acquiring “coachable” players is that the team can take on a bit of a boring/flat-character collective persona. While this team has some personalities for sure, I don’t think many would argue that it’s collective persona is that riveting. I think people like Anthony Smith and Jermichael Finley might serve to mix it up a bit – which could help remind teammates that football is fun and not so serious. This is another reason I want to see Desmond Bishop play more – I think the guy has an energy/excitement to him that most of the other LB options lack.
• On Sunday, Greg Bedard wrote a feature for jsonline about Aaron Rodgers (here). There was one small paragraph in this article that struck me more than anything else – quote from Rodgers:   “There are always going to be distractions, we just have to manage them,” Rodgers said. “We have so much talent in this room; the only thing that can stop us is ourselves. And we stopped ourselves way too many times last year. If we can limit the distractions, I think we’re going to be in a position to make a big run.” It was this last sentence in particular that struck me – Rodgers saying they could be in a position to make a “big run”. As he admits earlier in the article, Rodgers is not one to stir the pot or make things particularly interesting for the media. So, to me, when he throws out there the possibility that the Packers could make a “big run”, this is significant. He could have said something a lot more tame, but he chose “big run”. My guess is that Rodgers indeed has fairly high expectations for this team – and that’s a good thing.He has to feel confident after demonstrating clearly last year that he can comfortably handle the hardest position in football. I’m glad he’s confident – I wouldn’t want it otherwise.

I’ll say it again, Favre already signed

Thanks to 56Coop for pointing out this article.

As Packergeeks wrote in an earlier post (citing an anonymous source inside the Vike’s organization), Favre has already signed with the Vikes and now it’s just a matter of Favre/the team announcing it. Read here from NBCsports.com, quoting profootballtalk.com. They too indicate the deal has already been completed but that they just want to wait for the right moment to announce it.

If you have any doubts about the veracity of these claims, read Brad Childress’ comments in this article.

Nice

Deadspin features a new Brett Favre t-shirt.

Favre situation making you want a beer?

Check out this quote from Paul Hornung:

“When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.”

Nice.

Favre interview with Joe Buck

Read here from Greg Bedard at jsonline for the full transcript. Interesting. I’m still pretty comfortable with my last post – I think a deal is essentially done and some details are just being ironed out. Bedard appears to have picked up on a Favre slip during the interview. Read here (Bedard’s boldface):

“Well, once again, it is like the terminology with the offense, it makes a lot of sense because the pieces are in place. They do have a great running back. They have a great running game. If I go there, I mean there’s no guarantees. We all know that. I went through that last year with New York.  I would like to think that, I think every player should think that he is a difference maker. I think you have to believe that. But in that situation, knowing what is expected of you, knowing your team, knowing as long as we can run the ball, and complete passes when needed, we should be pretty good.”

I’d say this use of “we” coupled with his rather detailed rationale for playing for the Vikes (because of their offense), gives away the fact that the depth of discussions has gone well beyond the very limited discussion Favre describes when he says: “have talked with the Vikings. Nothing other than, ‘Are you interested?’ Vice versa”. I don’t believe Favre here. I think he’s talked in depth with Childress and more so with Darrell Bevell and in the process, they easily persuaded him to join the Vikes. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually learn that Ryan Longwell has been a factor, a quieter factor, but still a factor.

The fact that Favre went ahead with the surgery seemed to strike me more after reading this interview than after I learned he had the surgery a few weeks ago. I know this is quite an obvious point and I know many others said the same thing once news broke that he had the surgery. But reading his words from this interview made me realize for some reason that for a guy who would prefer to simply show up game day and not do anything else (train in the offseason, participate in OTAs, have surgeries, rehab himself), it’s not a small decision to have surgery at almost 40 years old to prolong an NFL career. In Favre’s case in particular, this simply HAS to mean that the guy had decided to commit himself to return to the game PRIOR to having the surgery – or else he wouldn’t have gone ahead with the surgery. Period. And, I’d even go so far as saying the Vikes/Favre aren’t going to be picky if Favre’s arm is only 80% of what it was. I still think the real reason for any delay is due to the Vikes running into the other facet of the Brett Favre Experience that gives everyone a headache: Bus Cook.

Favre deal already done?

Two interesting developments in the Favre situation:

1. Two months ago, his family apparently reserved a bunch of hotel rooms in Green Bay around the time that the Pack would be playing the Vikings (Nov 1).
2. A trusted Packergeeks source shared with me this morning some  info from a source within the Vikings organization. Apparently,  as of early this morning, the only delay in the Favre signing is due to a few minor contract details. So, it’s just understood now by the team that Favre will be a Viking soon – an announcement is expected Weds or Thurs once the deal is finalized. (This same source also reported that rumors about Favre’s arm not being OK are false – and that Favre is reporting that his arm hasn’t felt this good in years).

I’ll say it again. Favre going to the Vikings pisses me off. The fact that he’s putting his own need for revenge against Ted Thompson above years of support from Packer fans makes me sick.

The other concern I have about this, as I’ve said before, is that if he’s healthy, I think Favre will make the Vikings very, very good. I know many Packer fans are acting like they wouldn’t be worried because they think Favre is now over the hill/no good anymore etc. But it’s just a whole different situation when you have the best RB in the NFL on your team as well as a solid, solid defense. Even with Childress being Childress, I’ll say it now, if Favre really does play for the Vikes, I bet they go 12-4.