Welcome back to The Coach Clarahanson Show!!! In Coach’s Humble Opinion: …God should bless America at Lambeau Field each week. If you happened to be at Lambeau on Sunday watching Russell Wilson drop his first NFL doughnut, you might have also been lucky enough to see the halftime show. Well, it wasn’t really a show per se, but it was as entertaining as it was moving. Ninety-one years “young” Korean War Veteran, John Oberg, sang God Bless America from the grid iron turf during halftime. Not only did he belt out his patriotic rendition with warmth and vigor, but he also inspired everyone in the stadium to stop what they were doing and listen, and then to join in singing along (Coach included). As I looked around – as far as I could see people’s faces in the bleachers, every soul was singing. …word for word, in tune, in time. No need for the lyrics on the Jumbotron (see also, Christina Aguilera’s singing of our national anthem before we won Super Bowl XLV). Packer fans know God Bless America by heart, and they should be led in song by an American war veteran for every game at Lambeau Field. That’s way better than removing beer vendors from the aisles. ...at least, in Coach's humble opinion. Create A Seam Here – X’s & O’s about the game or a scheme A little bit of snow before the game … and then the heavy flurries started in the 3rd Quarter … Although the score was only 3-0 at that point, Coach knew the game was over. (OK, we’re not counting the Sherman meltdown against the Falcons in the 2002 Wildcard game, the blocked punt turned that game, not Mike Vick.) Snap-ur-fingers 'n Bob’s-ur-Uncle, just like that we go up 17-0, Wayne Larrivee declares “the dagger” and we win, giving Russell W his first-ever shutout. Now we’re 8-2 and the No. 1 Ranked Team in the NFL. Ain’t no trophies handed out for making Pete Carroll look like a dipshit in a Regular Season game, but it was nice anyway. The Defense looked outstanding and held Wilson to a passer rating of 39.7, his lowest of the year (133 yds, 20-40 passing, with 2 INT’s and 0 TD’s, with 3 sacks). That puts the Packers at the No. 3 Defense in the League at 18.0 pts allowed /gm (see table below). You want scary? Last 3 games, we have the No.1 Scoring D Last 9 games (aka, 2021 minus whatever the hell the Saints game was), we also have the No.1 Scoring D The Defense is all well and good, but the Offense is only Ranked NO. 19 in scoring and our Place Kicking has been abysmal, well, OK, other than Borky punting, ST have been a disaster this year. So how did we do this game? Covid/Schmovid …yes Erin was coming back from an almost 3-week stretch of no on-field practicing. But he missed several downfield throws, all due to very poor fundamentals. But this one? Just dumb, no need to throw the ball at all, this one is just a huge mental error. Place Kicking… After starting the 2021 Season with 9 straight made FG’s, Crosby has now made only 5 of his last 12 attempts. The good news is that he made one on Sunday and he’s moved up from 34th ranked kicker to 30th. Whooppeee Crosby has missed a lot of kicks to the left this year, particularly when there is a big rush from the right side. … but man, this one looks like Coach golfing. Slicing to the left? No problem, I’ll just push it to the right. The good news here is that maybe (hopefully) the blocking is fixed and maybe (hopefully) the snap-and-hold is fixed … they looked pretty good on this one anyway. So how does this all fit into the bigger picture? OK, ya know Coach must pull Stats into this as well. For his career, Crosby has made 81% of his kicks, which puts him toward the top of the NFL All-Time list. During the LaFleur era, 2019 thru present, Crosby has made 85% of his kicks … which is a little bit better than his career average (including all the misses this year). History doesn’t guarantee anything, but Coach says that Crosby will at least get back to his average 81% … … and if we assume he will get to his career average attempt attempts per season (meaning 12 more attempts in this first-ever 17-game season) … he will go 12 for 12 the rest of the way … He did make his last FG attempt on Sunday, and the last XP was absolutely perfect. Here’s hoping that this is figured out and we don’t drop a Playoff Game on a missed FG. You also know that Rookie Amaroni Rodgers has been terrible on punt returns. He started the Seachickens game looking pretty shaky, but on his last two returns showed confidence and he picked up some yards. Let’s hope this is fixed too… we’ll see. DEFENSE Wow, Coach must pinch his-self, is this real? We will see as the Season rolls on, Coach reminds youse that we had the No. 1 scoring Defense for 3 of our 4 Super Bowls, and the No. 3 D for the other one. (We only count the ones we win. We ain't the Vikings for chrypes sake!) The play of the Defensive Backfield has been much improved this year. With the improvement in interceptions, we are averaging almost +1 in turnovers. Obviously, those turnovers are very important, but Coach wants to point out the no-name guys and how they are really making a difference. Let’s set the scene … at 2:39 in the 3rd Quarter, Rodgers throws the dumb-ass interception shown in the earlier clip. The Packers are leading 3-0 and the entire world assumes that Wilson will lead Seattle to a TD. 1st & 10 at SEA 20 (2:30 - 3rd) (Shotgun) A.Collins right end to SEA 21 for 1 yard (T.Lancaster). Watch Lancaster very carefully in this clip... Lancaster sheds his block, moves down the line, and he leaves his feet and dives to make the tackle on Collins. Tyler Lancaster is in his 4th year with the Pack and has never played at this level before. 2nd & 9 at SEA 21 (2:02 - 3rd) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass short middle to D.Eskridge to SEA 17 for -4 yards (R.Douglas). On 2nd down, the Def Hero of the Cardinals game, 5th year journeyman, the guy we signed off of his couch a few weeks ago, Rasul Douglas, absolutely shoots up the field and makes 4-yard TFL!! 3rd & 13 at SEA 17 (1:23 - 3rd) (Shotgun) R.Wilson pass incomplete short left to D.Metcalf (R.Douglas) On 3rd down, the Def Hero of the Cardinals game, 5th year journeyman, the guy we signed off of his couch a few weeks ago, Rasul Douglas, aggressively comes up and punches the ball out (borderline fumble). How in the hell was this guy sitting at home waiting for a call? Or maybe, just maybe, Def Coordinator BeriBeri is getting the best out of his guys. Damn nice to see! And we finally started to play complimentary football. For the first part of the game we played the McCarthy/Rodgers Offense --- Shotgun formation all the way. Nine times (only) Rodgers was under-center and we gained 45 yards with no negative plays. For the 21 times we ran shotgun we averaged 3.2 yards/play. When Erin is under center, the D has to honor the run … which allows us to pass. We ended up almost doubling up the TOP (39:02 to 20:51) and by the end of the game the Seachickens were exhausted. … up 10-0 with 7:26 left in the 4th, with Rodgers under center, Quadzilla took a short swing pass and turned it into a 50 beat down. Nine plays later Dillion was in the EZ and everyone was going crazy … nothing like seeing 310# Eglington Jenkins crushing the folks in the front row on his Lambeau Leap!! We may not be winning pretty, but the 2021 Packers really seem to be a team! WTF – Coach’s take on football news that’s messed up Area Dad Knew That Play Would Never Work NEW KENSINGTON, PA—Groaning and pounding his fists on the side of the couch as running back Najee Harris was tackled for a short two-yard gain, area dad Joseph Mitchem announced during Sunday’s Steelers game that he knew that play would never work. “Jesus Christ, how stupid can you be. They run this fuckin’ play a hundred times a game!” said Mitchem, who claimed that you could see the second the screen pass left Mason Rudolph’s hand that the play was going nowhere, and that any idiot could call a better play. “I could see that call coming a mile away and so could the defense. This is a classic Steelers bullshit 2nd down call. When you’ve got Eric Ebron and Cody White out there you should be calling a damn pass every 2nd and long.” At press time Mitchem was admonishing a failed slant pass call on a 2nd and 9 and claiming the Steelers should be “running the damn ball more.” The Bears Still Suck – Coach has proof ‘God Has A Plan For Me,’ Says Man Who Was Drafted By The Chicago Bears CHICAGO—Praising the Lord for the divine guidance on his journey, former Ohio State quarterback Justin Field, a man who was drafted by the Chicago Bears, told reporters Wednesday that God has a plan for him. “Everything that happened was meant to be, and I have faith that God in all his goodness is looking out for me,” said the man who will now have to spend the next 5 years of his life living in Illinois and playing for a franchise that squandered the prime of several generational superstars. “It’s been a tough year, but you have to keep believing and hold on to the knowledge that God is looking out for you. God is great – and spending my time on a middling team made up mostly of people who are in the same situation as me is proof – he loves me and wants the best for me.” At press time, God was mapping out a plan for Field to go down with an ACL tear in the second half of the season. Udder Stuff – Commentary from the Badger Underground CFP #15 Badgers Favored by 9 The Bugeaters invade Camp Randall boasting gaudy offensive stats, ranking #16 in the country, #2 in the Big Ten in total yards and 4th in scoring. Though their conference record is 1-6, their losses have been by 8, 7, 3, 7, 5 and 9 points. They were able to hang with Oklahoma, Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Ohio State in a schedule that has been tougher than Wisconsin’s. They have recruited well and are loaded with talent, including at the WR position. QB Martinez is their top rushing threat, gutting it out with a high ankle sprain and a broken jaw. They lost their top tackler on defense, but return their top DB. Teams like this worry us, because they typically put it all together for one game, before returning to mediocrity. This is their sixth Rose Bowl game this season, with their seventh coming next week against Iowa. They are not losing sleep over our improved passing game. As Wisconsin’s schedule has become progressively easier starting with the Purdue game, their offense has found a good groove. The one exception is offensive procedure calls, particularly in the red zone. These are dumb unforced penalties that can cost you a game (see Penn State). In the 10th game of the season, we should be doing better than the 5 procedure calls that we had against Northwestern. Not much else to pick at, other than the lunacy of having our #3 receiver returning kickoffs and our #3 cornerback returning punts, alternating with our #2 receiver receiving punts. Neither is a difference maker as special teams blocking is on par with that of the Packers. Our receiver corps is among the weakest in the Big Ten and can’t afford to lose any of the top three for an extra yard or two on a return. One last item for the wall of worry. Braelon Allen is a season-ending injury waiting to happen. He has been beat up since the Purdue game and has been gimpy at times in every game since then. It is unlikely that he will have big runs where nobody touches him as he has the last couple of weeks. We need to avoid a 4-quarter game where he is called upon for a bunch of carries and breaking tackles to wear down the opponent. Why feel good about being 9-point favorites and Bucky taking care of business? This year’s defense is so dominant and pass coverage has become lock-down. Mobile quarterbacks like Martinez are not a worry as in the past, particularly when their supporting cast lacks a running game. Our front seven will hit and tackle with the usual physicality and violence while spending a great deal of time in the Martinez’s backfield. So how does Saturday play out? 4am wake-up call, in the tree-stand by 6am, 170-inch rack down by 7:30am, nearby watering hole popular with area hunters opens early. Oh yeah, the game. Kickoff is at the hunter-friendly 2:30 time slot. Bucky prevails 28-10. Seven of Nebraska’s points are courtesy of a pick-six or scoop-six run-back curtesy of the Badgers’ 2nd string offense. One step closer to an appearance in Indy. All in all, a great day in Wisconsin! We’re Gonna Kick Your @$$ – predictions for the upcoming game The ViQueens have been hanging around the edge of having a Playoff Team… and who knows, they might make it into the 7-Team NFC Playoff bracket. Currently they are No. 8, they hate us and they will be treating Sunday like a Playoff game. Coach really hopes they treat it like a Playoff Game, that’s perfect for us! The most boring job in Minneapolis is polishing all of the Super Bowl Trophies in the empty Trophy Case. Heaven help us, how can you not make fun of their obnoxious fans and their team which has never won a damn thing. Fer da crye yi yi! This is a metropolis that’s buried in snow for half the year and they can’t even build a roof to withstand the snow! Ole’, what a buncha lamo’s, huh? So, ja, Sven, dats why I’m a Packer Fan now. Packer Fans are everywhere and you’ll see a bunch of ’em at the Humpty-Dump-Doux. In fact, there were even Packer Fans showing off their skills at the Raiders-Chief game! Check out his catch!! Norm Van der Loop from Little Chute, WI was at the game last Sunday and when Patricia Mahomes through this ball into the stands, Norm -- the Packer Fan, was ready. Look at the concentration!! He catches the ball one-handed, wrestles the ball away from his buddies, all while not spilling a drop of beer. Norm Van der Loop, Coach salutes you! Have a good look at the table above. No surprise, we have a 2.4 pt/gm advantage in Point Differential. But shock of shocks … they have a better Offense, and we have the better Defense. If we take into account the 2-points for them being at home, the line would be less than a point in favor of the Pack (so a push) … but the line is 2.5 points … so even Vegas recognizes that we have a much better Team. Why is that? Very simple… … they have Kurt 'Kissin' Kousins at Kuarterback. He, of “big game chokes.” This one is gonna be a Defensive battle, one which we will win. Packers 21 ViQueens 17 JB – Packers you forgot about, but stories you’ll remember about them This week we pay tribute to a man who might be the least known or appreciated Packers hero that has his number retired. There’s only 6 retired Packers numbers: Don Hutson’s (14), Bart Starr’s (15), Ray Nitschke’s (66), Reggie White’s (92), Brett Favre’s (4), and … who is it? Can’t think of him -- can you? Well he was a very modest man to be sure, so it’s no surprise that I must remind you that it is number 3, Tony Canadeo. NFL Hall of Famer Tony Canadeo was a star for the Packers from 1941 - 1952. He did have his football career briefly interrupted for most of 1944 and all of 1945 for serving in World War II. As legend has it, Tony claimed an emergency family exemption for his “ailing brother” in order delay his deployment a couple of extra weeks so he could play in 2 additional games in 1944, but ultimately missing the team's victory in the NFL Championship Game later that season. Canadeo, who became known as the "Grey Ghost" because he had greying hair at an early age while playing football at Gonzaga, was selected by the Packers in the 9th round of the 1941 NFL Draft and went on to play multiple positions including running back, quarterback, defensive back, punter, and return specialist. Tony was not particularly fast or elusive, and was smaller than average NFL players even for his time. However, he was a determined and tenacious player. Canadeo was just the third 1,000-yard rusher in pro football history when he gained 1,052 yards for the Packers in 1949. He ranks 4th in franchise history with 4,197 yards on 1,025 carries, a 4.1 average. If you drive east of Lambeau Field, chances are you’ll take Tony Canadeo Run from Brett Favre Pass to Bart Starr Drive. If you do, Coach recommends you stop in at the Badger State Brewing Company for a delicious Cinnaster Scotch Ale! Anyhoo, after his playing career, Canadeo raised his family in beautiful Freedom, Wisconsin and continued his association with the team as a CBS broadcaster (paired with Ray Scott), and member of the organization's executive committee until he passed away with grace at age 84 in 2003. Sportswriter Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said of Canadeo in 2003, "Of all the players, coaches, and executives who left an imprint on the Packers organization, none did it for longer than the affable Canadeo." Nuf sed.
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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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