FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS, PART 19

(Nothing special going on in other parts of the world, so you all get a break)

 

Dreadlock Tackle

RIDICULOUS

 

Eddie Lacy is having a great preseason running like his old self, hitting the holes with quickness and power, but I haven't seen him do his spin move yet, but maybe I missed it since I haven't seen the beginning of any of the first three exhibition games.

 

But something happened against the 49ers that I did notice and evidently so did Lacy. On the first play of the Packers second possession Lacy broken outside the right end and was racing down the sideline when Gerald Hodges drug Lacy down by his deadlocks limiting him to just a 21-yard gain.

 

Lacy commented on the revolting development after the game, "It definitely hurts. I'm debating after (cutting my hair). I don't know how many more of those I'd like to experience. We're in camp. So I've got to wait until I get out of camp, and then I'll assess it."

Andrew Quarless Finally Finds Work

Conan and Jodie Foster Cheesing It Up

I keep track of the ex-Packers and was surprised when I was looking at the Detroit Lions roster Friday and found former Packers tight end Andrew Quarles' name. Somehow I missed this in the news I check each day when he was signed on August 15th.

Almost Perfect

The game against the Raiders at Lambeau Field was almost a perfect outing. If you take away a play here or there and the injury to second string quarterback Brett Hundley the Packers played well both offensively and defensively.

 

First and utmost Brett Hundley is the real deal. When he gets healthy, if he does, (remember Ty Montgomery had an ankle injury and never recovered after the second hurting), will demand a pretty penny next year when Thompson trades him. He has to. Unless Hundley is going to push Aaron Rodgers out as the starter like Rodgers did it wouldn't be fair to have him sit. Favre was closer to retirement (hahahaha) than Rodgers is.

They Blinked

It's a good thing the word about the NFL's PED investigation didn't come from Packers General Manager Ted Thompson because after listening to him talk and reading and rereading and reading again his statement we still wouldn't know what he said, but the word did come down before the Packers hosted the Raiders and three of the "Al Jazeera 4" blinked.

Non-Lacy News

Aaron Rodgers Taking The Preseason Off

 

Aaron Rodgers With His New In-Game Duties - Sideline Entertainer

It's official or about as official as things get when you considering pronouncements or non-pronouncements coming from 1265 Lombardi Avenue Aaron Rodgers will not play against the Raiders tonight and will not play against the Chiefs in the final preseason game.

 

How much he plays against the 49ers in the third preseason game is still up for grabs. It shows what the Packers brain trust thinks about my suggestions since I feel Rodgers should be playing in every game to get his timing down. I guess Mike McCarthy is right (30 seconds later), but I'm really right.

 

According to Rodgers it has nothing to do with preparation or timing or his natural All-World ability to play without practice (even though every year prior to this one Rodgers has always said he wanted as much reps as possible.

 

The Talking Heads Kept Talking About The Packers

It seems after the first week of the exhibition season out of 868 rushing attempts in 16 games by over a hundred rushers 4 were the most talked on NFL.com and ProFootballTalk. Get that just .005% of those carries got everybody talking and if you haven't figured it out yet it was the first four rushes of a game on Friday. Was that enough of a hint to identify what player got everybody's tongues a wagging?

Who Blinks First?

Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and the rest of the "Al Jazeera 4" as they are now known have been given an ultimatum by the NFL to either summit to an interview or face an indefinite suspension until they sit down and discuss whether they are guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs or PEDs as they are known.

 

 Side note: For those of you who live in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis the name refers back to 1968 and the "Chicago 7", who were peace activists who were put on trial for inciting a riot during the Democratic Convention.

 

In a Donald J. Trump world and working in Wisconsin for that matter it's bad enough to be lumped in with Islamic terrorists or terrorist-sympathizing scum with the name Al Jazeera attached permanently to your picture. The only thing worse would be if your middle name is Hussein.

Defense A Work In Progress

Holding the Cleveland Browns to 11 points was a bit of an illusion. Actually the Packers could have lost the game if the touchdown pass in the second quarter had counted. What I saw didn't look good as far as the starters were concerned.



Defensively it was sadly same old, same old. First: Missed tackles. Second: Busted plays resulting in long gains. Third: Being suckered into being out of position on outside containment resulting in long gains, especially the left side. Four: Only two passes defensed on 23 pass attempts. NOT GOOD.

 

Dean Lowry (#94) Has Jumped Ahead Of No. 1 Pick Kenny Clark

The defensive scheme was basically a 2-4-5 most of the game after starting the game in a 3-4-4. The official starting unit was #4 pick Dean Lowry at left end, Letroy Guion at nose tackle and Mike Daniels at right defensive tackle. I hope you notice there is no right defensive end in Dom Capers' scheme, but 2 interior linemen.

 

Offense Wasn't Bad in First Game

The Packers opened the season with a 17-11 win over the Super Bowl contending Cleveland Browns and many will say it was a good start for many reasons.

 

I will agree in this respect. It is surely (and don't call me Shirley) better to win than lose, but there were several disturbing trends, which don't bode well for the upcoming season.

 

First, I didn't like Aaron Rodgers sitting this one out. The Packer offense was dysfunctional last year and Rodgers had a terrible season by his high standards. Everyone on the offense needs to play every game and Rodgers was the only offensive starter that wasn't injured that didn't play.

 

The Rumors of Marshawn Lynch's Retirement are Greatly Exaggerated

Jordy Lynch Answers Questions - Well Sort Of

I've been talking about the Bill Belichick infestation spreading through the league and the need of nipping this in the bud right now. It had already spread through 1265 Lombardi Ave front office and could be seen in any press conference General Manager Ted Thompson gives when he gives non-answers to serious questions on a daily basis.

 

It migrated down to Chicago a couple weeks again when Head Coach John Fox lied about the "sickness" of his No. 1 draft pick Leonard Floyd the day after he was carted off the practice field with a shoulder injury.

 

Well the winds have shifted and the virus has returned to Green Bay and its seems Jordy Nelson has caught a double dose of the Belichick/Lynch strain.

 

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS, PART DEZOITO

(Dezoito is Portuguese for 18 in tribute to the Rio Olympics because Portuguese  is the official language of Brazil)

EXTREMELY SUBLIME

 

Favre On Top of the World

Boy, how times flies. It's been six years since Brett Favre retired for the third and last time. Last night he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

 

Deja Vu Every Year

There are some certainties in the world you can depend upon. Death (I'll vouch for that one), Taxes (I'll vouch for that one, too) and Packer injuries (Hell, I will write about that one). Heading into Sunday's Hall of Game against the Colts the best laid plans of mice and Mike McCarthy have been derailed by flurry of second week injuries.

 

The first thing that came out of the Bill Belichick Injury Report this week was the declaration by the Trust in Ted press corps that "There’s no sign that the latest training-camp injuries are serious." Now how in the HELL can they say that with any certainty?

 

None Of My Ex's Live In Texas

Last year there were 44 ex-Packers in the league that were active for at least one game as well as 11 others on practice squads and 3 on Injured Reserve to raise the total to 58.

 

In addition there were 5 waived either off IR or with an injury settlement and another 22 that had tryouts with other teams, but didn't make the cut to make the grand total to 85.

 

When training camp opened last week there with 46 ex-Packers on the rosters of 24 teams leaving just 7 teams without an ex-Packer, including both the teams in Texas. By the end of the second week of camp the ranks had swelled to 49 and going into the Hall of Fame game there are now 52.

Potpourri

The Perry Plan

 

This is Nick Perry's Moment and Last Chance

There seems to be method to the madness of General Manager Ted Thompson re-signing former No. 1 pick Nick Perry, when a lot of people, including me, thought it was time to let the often injured and unpotentialized linebacker go, but Thompson evidently had other plans.

 

Observations After The First Week of Camp

Bill Belichick Injury Report: On Day Three tight end Mitchell Henry needed some Midol because he had to leave practice with cramps. On Day Four left outside linebacker Manoa Pikula also dropped out with an undisclosed injury. It was reported he limped off, so it could be cramps, could be tweeked, could be stubbed toe, could be......

 

On Day Five Pikula is the only player not participating in the Saturday morning practice. Intrepid hospital reporter Michael Cohen reported and I'm guessing he didn't clear this with General Manager Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy that when he left the practice field Thursday he was grabbing his right hamstring. When practice resumes we'll see if Cohen still has his press pass or will be tweeting from outside the fence as a spectator for breaking Belichick Protocol.