I liked this piece by Tom Silverstein at jsonline.com re Mason Crosby’s talent with the onside kick. For those who have watched football for a while now and seen a fair number of these kicks attempted, I’m sure you appreciated how incredibly good Crosby’s onside kicks have been this year. Those 2 kicks in Minnesota were things of beauty and only Sidney Rice’s Michael Jordan-like vertical interfered with our recovering them. Given his talent for this type of kick, I wouldn’t be surprised if McCarthy tries to sneak in one of these kicks mid-game sometime soon.
On a totally unrelated note (unless Jason Hunter is a closet onside kicker), I forgot until reading the bottom of this Silverstein article that Jason Hunter, former back-up DE for the Packers, is on Detroit and starts. He has a high motor and could be somewhat disruptive this Sunday. And, I believe he will have some extra motivation coming back to Green Bay because he may have felt slighted by the Packers this off-season when his name wasn’t part of the conversation for OLB in the new 3-4 (…he was eventually waived by the team in May shortly after re-signing with the team).
Stat of interest: Jason Hunter ran a 4.48 40 yard dash coming out of college His speed alone would have made him more effective at OLB in the 3-4 than Brady Poppinga.
packergeeks 
October 16, 2009 at 12:43 pm |
Funny, I just followed the link to “Nice kick-maybe Crosby is the no-clutch guy….
With the possible exception of Special Teams it seems a lot of those complaints from Dec, 2008 still ring true today. I’d say Rodgers, Driver, Jennings, Harris (except in big games maybe), Woodson, Wells. Kampman, and maybe a few other I’m missing are about the only real “quality” players on this team today. The rest range from eiher too old, too injured, adequate (barely), overrated or lacking in talent. I’ll not get into coaches & GM’s.
In the words of the immortal John Wayne, “the hell I won’t.
Giving TT credit for getting us out of salary cap hell (that’s for you Packerbelle) I just can’t see much promise with him. Granted he drafted Rodgers & got us Woodson but look at all the drafts that have not lived up to expectations. Hawk, Raji (very unimpressive so far in my book), Barbre ( a joke) and on & on. (While I’m on that subject Ron your quote about TT’s head being so far up his ass he needs a glass navel to see is hilarious). Maybe we need better scouts or whatever but I just can’t see him putting together a complete team.
MM is really starting to worry me. It appears he thinks he has a plan that is infallible and will not change. His “stay the course” attitude reminds me the rhetoric we have endured in this country for the last 8 years but if he does decide come up with a “change that we can live with” I certainly hope it’s better than what we’re gonna have to endure for at least the next 3 1/2. OK, enough political innuendo.
God please let me be wrong, but I see 6-10, 9-7, 8-8 type records for as long as we have this current management. May be a playoff here & there but most likely one & done. There’s definitley a problem somewhere that needs to be fixed.
I will say that it’s refreshing to see evidence that at least we are addressing issues i.e. trying out RB’s, at least signing Tauscher (hopefully that’s more than a finger in the dyke). These next 3 games IMHO will define our season. We gotta blow away Detroit & Cleveland and at least give MN a better game than we did in MN. If not, there needs to be wholsale changes in the offseason either in personnel or philosophy or both.
Sorry — didn’t mean for this to turn into such a discertation.
October 16, 2009 at 2:06 pm |
56,
No need to be sorry. You’ve quite eloquently described the feeling of those who steadfastly refuse to turn Ostrich and hide from reality. It is likely the NFL will undergo a major structural and operational change next year. Right now it appears the “Cap” is going to disapear and the owners will lock the players out. Ultimately, a “No Cap” league with a “Luxury Tax” will evolve from the troubles. In short, the NFL will become MLB II. The big markets buy up all the talent when it becomes available and the small markets do all the scouting and developing for the big markets. At best, the small markets get an occasional freak of nature to go all the way. Mostly they suffer perpetual mediocrity and will struggle to stay alive.
My case study is the Milwaukee Brewers. They struggled for years to make the playoffs. Finally they did. In one year they were back near the bottom. They need pitching to improve their standing. And what is the position of the so-called experts? They can’t afford to get good pitchers on the FA market. They just have to get lucky with their drafts and make do with the lower level offerings.
The NFL is great because every team can change and fast. Look at Miami and Atlanta of last year. That is why the NFL is the most popular sport in the country. That may soon die a fast and self-inflicted death.
October 16, 2009 at 3:56 pm |
Greed, it’ll get ya every time. Then what am I gonna do with my Sundays? I hated that strike season although, if I remember correctly that’s one of the few years the Pack made the playoffs in that era.
October 17, 2009 at 3:01 pm |
So Jason Hunter is a high motor guy? So is Brady poppinga, and look what it does for him. Give me talented guys or guys who can see the play develop; high motor guys, without anything more, simply motor in the wrong direction.