New Stuff and Old Stuff

New Stuff

The NFL.com power rankings are out and if having the Detroit Lions tied for the North Division lead with the Packers didn’t impress you then get this the Lions are ranked No. 2 up from No. 4 and the Packers No. 5 up from 10.

Elliot Harrison’s summaries said this:

(These aren't the same old Lions. They are 3-1 (with a bit of an asterisk on the 1[for the loss to the Falcons on a bad call]). They made the playoffs last year. And since owner Martha Firestone Ford addressed the media midway through the 2015 season -- announcing the firings of team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew while sternly advising that the circumstances around her football team would change -- Detroit is 18-10. Also keep in mind that two of those losses came on an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary and the dreaded rulebook monster. If running back Ameer Abdullah can keep this going (109 total yards on Sunday), the Lions will win the NFC North).

(Impressive win for the Packers, especially considering that same Bears team upended the Steelers in Week 3. Green Bay's defense, in particular, showed encouraging signs. As did Davante Adams,who is doing well after the vicious hit he took from Danny Trevathan. The player safety rules have been criticized by uninformed people. Hopefully, those who have taken issue with -- or made fun of -- those precautionary measures to protect players saw the hit, so as to appreciate why those rules are in place (even if the refs don't always get calls right). On another note: Green Bay plays at Dallas this Sunday, then at Minnesota. Big games)

.

Just to fill out the division the Minnesota Vikings are No. 17 down from 9 (Large shift down for the Vikings, with Dalvin Cook's season-ending injury a huge factor. The hard-fought loss to the pesky Lions on Sunday didn't help matters. Case Keenum failed to muster the magic -- The Keenum Magic! -- he'd harnessed the week before versus the Bucs, and that's what ultimately wore his defense out. Those guys were out there all day, as ( the Vikings' offense only held the ball for 23 minutes and lost three fumbles. This is almost exactly what happened in Keenum's first start this season, when Minnesota's defense was forced to stay on the field against the Steelers far too long. That's three tough, close losses in a row to Detroit) and da Bears are No. 24 down from 21 (While all of Twitter was calling for Mike Glennon's ouster during last Thursday night's blowout loss in Green Bay, consider John Fox's dilemma. After two subpar seasons, could he really afford another as head coach of the Bears? Does Glennon give Chicago the best chance to win? Not to mention, Fox's boss is the guy who signed Glennon to a lucrative deal. All of which might have led to the Bears dragging their feet in regards to playing Mitchell Trubisky. Right move? Probably. The offense looked dysfunctional for a large portion of Thursday Night's game. For what it's worth, though, Glennon is a better player than he's shown so far. Trubisky's assignment in NFL start No. 1? Taking on a formidable Minnesota defense in the bright lights of "Monday Night Football." Good luck, kid).

Old Stuff

I have had a major problem with what I call Green Bay’s “local kiss ass media” for a long time. I am “the local media” where I live, so I know of what I speak from direct hands on knowledge and while I soft pedal somewhat when I’m covering high school sports (i.e. I don’t usually ask the player about a bad play. I will ask the coach about that play instead. Only 3 times I can think of I asked the actual player about that and that because his or her’s comment were relevant and if he or her seemed upset about it I would drop it and then ask the coach). However, on the collegiate level all is fair, but I still, for the most part, will ask the coach for comments on negative items, but I have still ask the player.

I especially have a problem with Larry “The Rock” McCarren. I hate seeing his smiling face on his carefully chosen “good news” stories. He lives in a rosy glasses bubble and if you just followed him you would think the Packers are undefeated since 1995, the Packers have won 22 straight Super Bowls, Ted Thompson is the greatest general manager of all-time (better by far than Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi), Mike McCarthy has been Coach of the Year for the past 12 seasons, Dom Capers is the greatest defensive coordinator of all time (better than Curly Lambeau, Phil Bengston and Fritz Shurmur), Mark Murphy, etc, etc, you get my drift. I absolutely hate getting smoke blown up my skirt (or pants) and his smiling jackass face gripes my butt. I won’t watch his Pollyanna approach to journalism.

Today I read an article on Cheesehead TV (I wish I could get on CHTV) by Cory Jennerjohn and he said this among other things about the Damarious Randall situation:

“It was my decision to send him to the locker room,” said McCarthy on Friday. “And frankly, we got to be real honest here. We’re going to start evaluating and regulating and conversation and things that go on an NFL sideline. Let’s be real here. I know some would like to make a good drama series out of it or something, but it’s not going to happen here.”

Give me a break Mike. You have enough regulations at 1265 Lombardi Avenue. The argument was in plain view of everyone to see. And if that was missed, it was obvious when Josh Hawkins was playing instead of Randall.

What’s he going to do? Put a huge tent over the entire Packers’ sideline? The local media have been handcuffed by what they can do and where they can be during the pre and postgame. The reason is the Packers. Ever since the Packers have beefed up their media presence with writers and photographers, they have made a concerted effort to control the message. The reason why the official Packers TV station is the lowest rated station in the Green Bay market is because the Packers know that a middling station isn’t going to ask the tough questions that need to be asked.”

So now I know and have probably always known that Ted Thompson was the first coming of Donald Trump. Thompson keeps a tight control of the Packers organization and it seems won’t toleration any deviation from his “official” pronouncements of “fake news”. Thompson never answers questions and I would think if someone of the “local kiss ass media” would persist on asking hard questions after receiving a non-answer he would be removed from the press pass list.

However, following the “Fake News” is doing nobody any good. The Packer Backers, especially in Green Bay and Wisconsin, evidently love to be lied to, thusly the “In Ted We Trust” crowd, or as I call them the “Tedders” who attack you if have any complaints about Ted Thompson. The Packers have settled into a “just good enough” mode since the Super Bowl season in 2010 to be happy with just making the playoffs (8 straight and counting).

Two weeks I reported that Mike Floria of Pro Football Talk said about his power rankings in Week 3 (6. Packers (1-1; last week No. 1): Take away Rodgers, and the Packers wouldn’t win a game.) Last week on the CBS pregame show Deion Sanders was talking about the North Division and said that the Vikings have Dalvin Cook, their dominant defense, Stefon Diggs and the Lions have Matthew Stafford, Ameer Abdullah, a great front 7, but when he came to the Packers all he said was Aaron Rodgers and the other people on the stage noticed.

If you think about it the only name of excellence that comes up about the Packers is Aaron Rodgers and he was Thompson’s first of 121 draft picks. Now to be fair Clay Matthews, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Nick Collins, Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang were also great players for a time or still, but only Matthews, Nelson, Cobb and Clinton-Dix are left. Matthews is no longer being talked about in elite circles or at all while Nelson is still admired, Cobb is also when he isn’t injured, which is a lot, Clinton-Dix made the Pro Bowl last year, but he isn’t talked about much otherwise, Sitton has made the Bears’ terrible offensive line a strength and Lang has made the Lions’ terrible offensive line better after Thompson just let them go for nothing. Think of that 2 Pro Bowls guards just released.

Thompson and CEO Mark Murphy have allowed the Packers roster to atrophy as evidenced by 2 guards having to play offensive tackle the past week because there are no experienced tackle backups. In the secondary, there will be a No. 2 draft pick rookie and a 2-year undrafted free agent starting at cornerback against the Cowboys. It was just demonstrated that the top 2 draft picks from 3 years ago are now officially busts.

The recent draft picks are not thought of in elite circles, but they are by the “local kiss ass media” and “The Rock”. The local Packer Backers aren't told how bad it really is and hang their hats on the “fake news” fact that the roster would be stellar if just wasn’t for injuries. Injuries which happen at an alarming rate each and every year.

An astute general manager would notice the trend and have experience backups ready to plugged in, but Ted “Jack Benny” Thompson is soooo cheap he will find the absolute cheapest player behind the starters. The “53” roster is comprised of 33 draft picks if you included recently reacquired draft pick Davon House, 12 undrafted free agents, 7 street free agents or 8 if you include House and 1 acquired off waivers.

With Aaron Rodgers nearing the end of playing career the 53 roster has 29 players with 3 years experience or less, including 11 rookies, 2 1-year players and 9 2-year players. This team is not built to win the Super Bowl. Ted Thompson builds teams for an undetermined future wasting the final years of Rodgers, just like he did at the end of Brett Favre’s Packers career. Instead of acquiring a great veteran player (Randy Moss in Favre’s last season could have been acquired for a 4th round pick) he just twiddles his thumb with marginal signees.

Thompson can do this because Mark Murphy, (who is in his 11th year at the helm of the Packers, Thompson is in his 13th as general manager and Mike McCarthy his 12th as head coach) with only one Super Bowl appearance – a level of mediocrity considering you have the greatest quarterback in the game) has stated in no uncertain terms that, "As long as he wants to continue to work, and he’s still doing a good job — and I think he still does a great job for us — we want him to continue to be our general manager. At a point he decides he doesn’t want to do it anymore for whatever reason, then we would do a search."

Ted Thompson has no and I mean no incentive to do anything different than he has for the last 7 seasons since the Super Bowl. He, Murphy, the “Tedders” and the “local kiss ass media” led by “The Rock” refuses to realize how mediocre the roster has become. Some of us see the forest for the trees, but we have no power or influence.

This week it has come down to the Packers being praised for beating a terrible Bears team. To show you much lack of regard the Packers have in the sports community just look at what happened the first 2 weeks of the season. After beating what really is a bad Seahawks team the Packers jumped from No. 4 to No. 1. However, after the loss to the Falcons the Packers fell to No. 7. The Packers then fell to No. 10 after the win over the Bengals with usually doormat teams like the Lions, Titans, Eagles, Redskins, Raiders and Vikings ahead of them.

The rest of the world sees the Packers for what they are Aaron Rodgers and nobody else. The Packers are in for a big fall if Rodgers goes down or retires.

The emperor has no clothes. When Rodgers is gone the inadequate roster and Ted Thompson’s incompetence will be revealed. I love the Packers and hate that they have become “paper tigers” riding on the back of one player. Young blood who actually can see beyond their own self interest is needed and as soon as possible. The time is now to energize the Packers organization by firing Murphy, Thompson, McCarthy and Capers.