Create a seam here - X's & O's about the game or a scheme Our Offense has done a nice job of putting big points on the board for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, those points have been for the other teams’ Defense. That won’t last forever, though, and now’s a good time to stop that trend (I know, ingenious insight. You’re welcome.). Here’s the good news … our receivers have finally been getting open! As Coach watched from the stands last Sunday, it was apparent that guys were finding soft spots in the D and play calls have created opportunities, especially for TE’s and Mr. Kuuuuuuuuuuuhn. I’m unsure why Aaron was not seeing / throwing to those open guys (especially near the end zone), but that is correctable and he is smart enough to make the adjustment. Bakhtiari will be back at LT, so Sitton will be back at LG, so Rodgers will be back, Baby! Our D is playing really well. No significant complaints … another nice job against the Queens containing Adrian Childabuser. Bringing the Claymaker up the middle on stunts from the outside (see every other good defense in the NFL) has been working well for us. Unfortunately, the D has been starting on a really short field as of late. Ball control (turnovers, time of possession) is huge in the playoffs, so our Defense has had good practice in the regular season leading up to the dance. We should be well prepared. If Dom Legumes doesn’t retreat into 1 or 2 down linemen sub-packages again, we should we fine against the Foreskins. WTF - The Coach's take on a bad ref call or a bad play call or the like First up, for as great as Lambeau is, there are a couple of quirky things I heard over the speakers this year that really kinda irked me. I noticed the guy that plays the …da-da-da d da-da-da… “GO PACK GO” song doesn’t know anything about cheering strategy. The WORST time to play that song is when our D is trying to stop the opponent on a 3rd down. But that’s exactly when the dork pushes “Play” on the deck. The fans’ objective is to make so much noise that the opposing offense can’t communicate. However, when the GO PACK GO plays, most of the fan volume is brief and on a specific cadence that can be “talked around.” Stupid. The objective of that song is to fire up the fans when there is a lull, like when a time out is ending or we just got screwed by the refs on a call. As Eminem often says, we need to clean that up. My other wonder is – what’s the deal with Bill Jartz? I could swear the dude takes plays or even series off and has a substitute PA announcer fill in for him from time to time (ala Bob Uecker and Joe Block). Maybe during pregame Bill needs to pop some of those Super Beta Prostate pills that Joe Theisman peddles? Next WTF: why is it that the simplicity of the NFL playoff game brackets is so poorly understood? As far as I can tell, people who have talk radio shows must get a lobotomy once the regular season is over. On more than 1 radio show that Coach patronizes, I heard the program hosts say the Packers play in Arizona if Minnesota wins or in Carolina if Seattle wins, which is bass-ackwards. I blame ISIS. Like any other playoff system in the civilized world, the higher seed always plays the lowest seed, duh. So, if #4 Minnesota wins (highly unlikely, I suggest taking Seattle minus the points) we (as #5) play Carolina. If Minnesota loses to #6 Seattle, pack your bags for the desert. You’re welcome. There’s been much unfounded ado about Olivia Munn messing up A-Rod’s mojo to the point where he can’t get back to his Jordan-esque performances (see also, Rob Demovsky). Let Coach set the record straight. Olivia is probably a wonderful person and certainly is a bright young lady with tremendous talent on the screen (and in publication!). Not to mention she is wicked hot wearing a Wonder Woman outfit. Oh, and have you seen her on the cover of Maxim? But I digress… What’s not to like? Personally, I can’t blame Aaron for being attracted to her and I wish them both the best. If anything, Ms. Munn is probably helping Aaron get the best out of his game. But, on the other hand, what is the deal with Kirk “Kissing” Cousins’ wife? Have you seen her? Holy crap, man - WTF? No wonder “Shallow Kirk” spends so much time studying film at the stadium facility. I mean, what is that she’s eating? I think it could be another human. And what’s the deal with that bruise on her arm? Yikes. Probably got that from the poor guy fighting her off before she ate him. The Bears Still Suck - the Coach has proof Well another regular season has come and gone, and after further review the ruling is confirmed: the Bears still suck. Same ol’ Jay. Da Bears lost again in week 17…10th time this year, which I think is about their average if not a little better. This week’s celebration in mediocrity goes to the Detroit Lions, who may have just managed to “Wayne Fonts” Jim Caldwell back into Detroit for another year by beating the Midgets of the Midway in the season finale. Too bad for Jim that Megatron is retiring from Greg Oden syndrome. Similarly, too bad for John Fox that the Bears perpetually suck the big one and he is stuck there. However, it is a closer drive to Canton from Chicago than from Denver, in case he wants to go to Brett Favre’s induction into the Hall of Fame this summer. Maybe Jay can drive him there and suggest heart-healthy meals at the truck stop diners. Hey, they can even make a quick stop in Oak Brook on the way to Ohio to get a feel of Brian Urlacher’s new ass hair on his head. Pretty sweet stuff for Bears fans! Udder stuff - commentary from the Badger Underground The Big Ten had 10 bowl teams this year, the most of any conference. Here’s a breakdown of the results (5-5 overall):
See ya at the Spring game, Paul and Bucky! We're gonna kick your a$$ - predictions for the next game In the words of Alfred E. Neuman… Here’s how Coach sees it: If we don’t get royally screwed by the ref’s (see just about every playoff game we’ve lost except against the Giants and Atlanta – three at home), and we don’t fumble the football (see James Starks), and we don’t drop catchable balls (see all Wide Receivers), and we don’t act like punks that strut for the camera when we get a 1st down, we win pretty handily. Believe it or not, Ted has actually assembled a pretty decent roster (save WR superstar talent). MM says there ain’t much difference between the 1st and 6th seeds (except maybe the teams in between?), and if he’s right we probably will be okay. In other words, and the words of Aaron Rodgers… JB - Packer players you forgot about, but stories you'll remember about them Big Game? Packers & Skins? You bet. Monday Night Football, October 17th, 1983, Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI. Green Bay was not a major stop on the NFL map in 1983. It had been ten years since the 1972 team that featured John Brockington and since the Packers had frightened anyone in the NFL. The Packers made the playoffs the prior year with a 5-3-1 record in the strike shortened 1982 season, but so did the top 8 teams in each conference in a special format playoff field (and interrupted the Packers-Bears continuous games against streak…and while they didn’t play that year…Coach has video evidence that the Bears did, in fact, suck). The Redskins on the other hand were the NFL elite coming off a 27-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in SB XVII. Going into the game the Pack was 3-3 and the Skins were 5-1, reigning SB champs, and therefore were very heavily favored. The only prior Mundane Night Football game at Lambeau was in 1979 against the Pats, and the heavily favored Pats lost to Green Bay. Green Bay, Brown County and all of Wisconsin were hungry for a big time win and were frankly a bit PO’d that this was only the 2nd time that Lambeau Field was the host stadium for MNF. The fact that we had been in the NFL basement, and nationally nobody in media elite cities cared, only added fuel to the fire. In probably the most stupid moment of Coach’s life, I turned down free tickets to that first MNF contest at Lambeau and regretted it all evening as I could hear the crowd from my open apartment window; rest assured such stupidity has not been repeated. Coach scored primo seats for the Skins-Pack game, about 10 rows up behind the Skins bench and had a chance to watch “Theismann Heisman” and the “Fun Bunch” up close and personal (Art Monk, Virgil Seay, Charlie Brown, Alvin Garrett, Rick Walker, and Don Warren). On that chilly October night, Lambeau Field turned into an offensive wonderland, with MNF's greatest scoring explosion ever. The teams combined for 95 points, 771 yards passing and 254 yards on the ground. And though the Pack had had only 20:55 time of possession, we held on for a 48-47 win on a last second missed FG by Mark “Straight Leg” Moseley. Pack v Skins MNF Summary (Clink on link) From what Coach remembers, exactly “0” defense was played all evening. The table below shows zero punts by either team!!! It also shows that Jan Stenerud was perfect and Moseley was almost perfect except for that last kick. Wah-Wahhhhh. In an aside, sadly 1983 would be the last year of Bart Starr’s 9 year coaching career as he finished 8-8 for the second time in his coaching career. Although he never finished higher than 2nd in the NFL Central Division, Coach thought that Bart had finally learned to be a good coach was sorry to see him go. So what do we conclude from this game??? Well, out manned and outplayed, the Packers got the win against a superior team by playing better that night, and we can do it again! The 1983 team would finish the season at #5 overall on Offense, with Lynn Dickey #12 at QB and James Lofton, Paul Coffman and John Jefferson providing highlights all year. Unfortunately, the Defense stunk and would finish in the bottom 5 for defense. But on this night arguably the most important play of the game was by “Mad Dog” Mike Douglas. Mike was the Packers 5th round pick in 1978, out of San Diego State, and a very undersized 6’0”, 210# weakside backer in the Packers 4-3 D. Mad Dog had a chip on his shoulder and really resented that he was regularly characterized as the weak link in an awful defense. At the time “LT” (Lawrence Taylor of the NYG) was “the Linebacker” and Mad Dog announced before the game that he would show the world that he was better than LT. True to his word he returned a fumble for a TD and the first score of the game… before being largely run-over the rest of the game. Mike would be named to two Pro Bowls and finished with 967 tackles and is in the Packers HOF. Mad Dog is now a personal trainer and “natural” body builder at Alpine Fitness in San Diego, which is in California and means “a whale’s vagina.” Mike has won the “California Natural Bodybuilding Championship” six times and placed first in over 20 competitions. Don't stare too long at Mike’s powder blue undies, not that there’s anything wrong with it.
On the other sideline was one Mark Murphy, a star DB for the Skins and a future Packers President. Murphy played in Super Bowls XVII and XVIII and played a key role with an interception in the Redskins 27–17 Super Bowl XVII win over the Miami Dolphins. His best season was actually 1983, when he led the NFL with nine interceptions and returned them for 127 yards earning him one of his two Pro Bowl nominations. But on that fateful October night he was completely outmanned by the Packers and was run over for a key 3rd Qtr TD. I think all that play really messed Mark up, because he and Coach share the same Chiropractor in Green Bay and Mark’s a hobbling mess when in the waiting room until I get stretched and cracked back into alignment. BTW, ever notice how much Murphy looks like Alfred E. Neuman? Juuuust sayin.
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Author"Coach" is the insightful collective brain and funny bone of a few legendary Packer fans who provide everything you need to know (and what Packers beat writers often plagiarize) about the Green & Gold, plus a weekly guest appearance by The Badger Underground. Archives
November 2022
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