One thing is sure if Brett Favre does decide to retire and that is the Packers better be winning or they will fall off the face of the NFL planet. I doubt there has ever been a player that has meant so much to the rise of a franchise than Brett Favre. His style of play and the success he has had made him a media superstar.

While I don’t think he will be missed so much as a player when he retires, but what Brett Favre does for the city of Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers will be hard to replace. Two players, Reggie White and Brett Favre, put the Packers back on the NFL map. If Brett hangs it up the Packers’ marketing department is going to have to work overtime, or in reality, might have to finally actually work. With a guy like Favre around there can’t be a whole lot to do.

Brett Favre is a star of epic proportions and I can’t see anybody on the roster right now being able to reach that level. The Packers had Reggie White, they still have Brett Favre now. Can this team survive without a superstar player? We might find out sooner than later. It is my gut feeling that Brett does indeed hang it up, but I’m an idiot and I don’t know anything about football, so take it with a grain of salt. I just think he doesn’t want to go through the offseason stuff and I think he has the Packers’ best interest at heart as well.

Never in a million years could anyone think the Packers would be blessed with two such stars in Reggie and Brett. Reggie’s shoes have not been filled, and if the Packers cannot replace Brett, the future could be dim. Green Bay is not Hollywood, or in this season’s case, Dallas. Paparazzi is not a fan of 40-below wind chills.

The Packers appear to be on solid ground right now with a young team and chip on their shoulder after the loss to the Giants. Head coach Mike McCarthy has turned the franchise around, but has to factor in the fact that he won’t have Brett Favre as his quarterback every year. That is why I thought the extension being worked out for McCarthy might be a tad long. Let us see what he does without Favre before we go throwing money at him.

The Packers did seem to get a lot of respect by media and players this week at the Super Bowl. I feel a little better about the Packers’ chances next year. The stats certainly point out that the loser of the conference championship game is more likely to return than the loser of the Super Bowl. I think the Giants are going to get hammered and I know the feeling of losing a Super Bowl, you never get over it, and I don’ think the Packers could have beat New England had they beat beat the Giants.

OK, the cat is out of the bag. I think New England wins the Super Bowl in a rout. I think 60 points is possible, but I will go on the conservative side and say Patriots 56, Giants 28. Of course, I know nothing about football and never will, so bet on the Giants.

More to come…

In an effort to try an ease the pain I am going to give you my 2007 year in review of each game as I remember them. Given time to let the emotion that I am so criticized for subside, here is my take on the Packers’ 2007 season.

September 9, the Philadelphia Eagles, Lambeau Field. They went to Jarrett. I went in to this game hoping we could keep it close, but with the Packers’ history with the Eagles recently, I figured a loss was a pretty good possibility. The Packers hadn’t proved anything yet and the Eagles were seemingly the better team. Who knows what would have happened had not Jarrett Bush recovered the Eagles’ fumbled punt with 59 seconds left? If only he would have done the same thing when his hands were on the ball in the playoff game against New York.

In any case, the Packers beat the Eagles and looking back I can’t remember feeling any better leaving Lambeau Field that day than any other game all year. I don’t know why exactly, but that was a great day at Lambeau and looking back it set a tone for the whole season.

Week two in New York, I took my rips on the blog but the Packers destroyed the Giants in New York to go 2-0. I thought this game was more the Giants sucking than the Packers being good. How wrong did that turn out to be? I’m not a rocket scientist.

The third game brought San Diego to Green Bay and a buddy of mine got me tickets in row one behind the Packers’ bench. While I couldn’t see much on the field, for one game it was absolutely worth the money. To see the interaction on the sidelines up close and personal was priceless. You can see my pictures on the the Packernet picture gallery. To watch the reaction when Favre hit Jennings for the game-winner will be forever etched in my memory. A classic moment by a Hall of Fame quarterback. One of those plays you like to tell people you were at.

I have to say I was fairly confident going into Minnesota in week four. The thing that worried me the most was the Packers’ 3-0 record. I thought the Vikings sucked, but the history of the Green Bay Packers at Minnesota always worries me. Some strange sh…., excuse me, stuff, has happened in that dome. However, the Packers ripped sh…, excuse me, stuff, up and rolled to 4-0. At this point I was living a dream. I mean, how can the Green Bay Packers have won eight straight games?

It is amazing how life changes in Green Bay from week to week during fall, at this point, life is good.

More to come…

Wow, what an amazing few days. One thing is sure, my readers share the same passion for the Green Bay Packers, whether or not they can take a little criticism is irrelevant. The Green Bay Packers are and always will be my team, but I fortunately am able to see the good and bad of my team. I don’t just say they are great because I like them them. Granted I’m not a coach or a scout, but because I am a fan and a shareholder in this case, I can speak the good with the bad, as I see it. If you don’t like it, find another Packers’ site to visit. I could care less. I’m not in this for the money. If I was, Packernet would be plastered with ads like the other fan sites. It is a labor of love for me, but I have to call it as I see it, I may be right, I may be wrong.

The bottom line is while this is the second worst loss in my Packers’ history, behind only the Super Bowl loss to Denver, and just slightly above the 4th and 26 game in Philly, the time has come to move on. And in moving on I will not back off my stance that I hope Brett Favre retires. Nobody can ever overstate what No. 4 has done for the Packers, the city of Green Bay and NFL, but for the first time in his career he might not be the best option at quarterback for the Green & Gold. I know Aaron Rodgers hasn’t done a thing yet other than his strong performance at Dallas this year, but I doubt he throws the ball up for grabs in the playoffs like Favre has and still does. Favre is the Marty Shottenheimer of quarterbacks, wins big during the regular season but sucks in the playoffs. If anybody has a stat that can argue that I’m open for debate. I just think the Packers can achieve the same goals next year with Rodgers at QB that they can with Favre, and that is a reflection of how good the Packers are, not how bad. If you are building for the future, than it is time to build with a young quarterback as well.

Brett is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, no question about it, he holds all the records. One guy who doesn’t hold all the records in Joe Montana, but he has four Super Bowl Rings. Winning in the playoffs is the most important thing. Trent Dilfer, Jim McMahon, Jeff Hostetler, they all have the same number of Super Bowl wins that Brett Favre has. For cripes sakes, Terry Bradshaw has four Super Bowl rings and he couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the “C” and the “T”. He knew enough not the throw the game away though. I love Brett to death and drive by his house every single day thinking about him and how much I love him, but in the big picture it is time for the Packers to go with Rodgers. A-Rodg is ready to play and another year on the bench will only hurt him and the Packers long term future.

That is all I’m going to say about that. Looking ahead to 2008 offensively,  I think the one position the Packers need to improve on is the offensive line. The Packers have not recovered from the loss of Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera three years ago and when you think about it had the Packers been able to run the ball against the Giants they wouldn’t have to had to rely on Favre to win it on his own. I think the Packers and head coach Mike McCarthy need to address this position and especially the zone blocking scheme that so far in McCarthy’s tenure has not developed into the force he said it would. In fact, for the most part, the Packers running game sucks. Ryan Grant could still be another Samkon Gado, mark my words.

I don’t know what free agents will be available in that position, but I think that is the key area that needs to be upgraded via free agency or trade. To think the Packers can draft somebody who can step right in and upgrade the line is unrealistic considering the Packers draft position. One thing former general manager Ron Wolf was good at was finding o-lineman, so far his protege Ted Thompson has struggled with that task. Wolf always said without five quality guys, you can’t play.

I’m only talking offense today with a look toward the 2008 season. I will have my defensive take forthcoming.  In the NFL if you are not getting better you are getting worse. Actually that statement is true in all aspects of life.

Hate me if you like, but I am what I am and that is all that I am.

Go Pack!

I’m sorry. The Packers are great. They have great depth and a great quarterback. The defense is fantastic. I think they could win the next ten Super Bowls. The coaching staff is great, the front office is great. I can’t see any flaws anywhere in the organization. I don’t know what I was thinking. From now on I will shed not one bad word about the greatest team in the league – the Green Bay Packers.

Go Pack go! Have a great 2008 season.

OK, maybe it wasn’t all Favre’s fault, but it was his interception that gave the game to the Giants. The bottom line is the Packers have so many holes to fill on both sides of the ball that trading Favre and going with Aaron Rodgers just makes the most sense. Favre’s trade value is as high as it will ever get at this stage of his career and if wants to win a Super Bowl a place like Tampa Bay for instance, might be closer than the Packers. We need to look at the big picture.Losing to Eli Manning at home is huge embarrassment. Right up there with the Michael Vick debacle. Just because you weren’t expected to be there doesn’t excuse you from playing horribly in the biggest game of the season. The game exposed the Packers and has given Ted Thompson a long list of to-dos this offseason. Start with finding two cornerbacks who can challenge the declining Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Find some offensive lineman who can actually play. Find a tight end who shows up every week. The list goes on.I also have to wonder about the timing of the contract extension for Mike McCarthy as well. Shouldn’t he have been worrying about the Giants last week and not a new contract. It should have been based on him winning Sunday. Might have jumped the gun on that one. Why five years? Too long if you ask me.It will be an interesting offseason and the bar has been raised for next year, realistic or not. Like Favre said in 1996, it is Super Bowl or bust. No matter who is at quarterback.

Brett, don’t go away mad, just go away. It is clear you can’t carry a team any longer, you are no Joe Montana, you are no John Elway, you are just a chucker who should have won more championships than you did. I’m done with the Packers and you should be too. Game over. Please do not respond to this entry. In fact, go away and leave me alone.
No more to come…

The Green Bay Packers and New York Giants face off in the NFC Championship today in a game that will go down in history before it even has started. With temperatures in the single digits and wind chills around 20 below zero, the game will be one of the coldest ever and second coldest in Lambeau Field. Ice Bowl II they are calling it. I know I am looking forward to the game but sitting in those stands is going to be a nightmare, I can’t imagine what it would be like trying to concentrate on playing football.

I think anything can happen today but the team that gets the early lead will have a huge advantage, it is always colder when you are behind. Having played in a cold game already this year and losing in Chicago, the Packers know what is in store for them. The Giants don’t have a clue. The fact that Eli Manning is contemplating wearing a glove on his left hand because he is worried about the snap exchange tells me the Giants are scared. They should be scared, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win.

This game could come down to just who is the luckiest. The ball will bounce funny, the cold will wreck havoc on the players concentration and affect their motor skills. If the Packers can’t run the ball today the Giants will be able to hang around and put themselves in a position to win. If the Packers are able to run the ball I think they win going away. That is a lot to put on young Ryan Grant’s shoulders, but after last week he may have proved worthy of the task.

Special teams could also be a major player in today’s game. Covering punt and kickoff returns and the ability of the kickers to even kick the ball will be tested. Here is the perfect chance for Jon Ryan to redeem himself after that woeful performance in Chicago.

Like I said after the Bear game, in weather conditions like this the home team always has the advantage, today should be another example of that. The conditions and the fact that the Packers are the better team and playing at home will carry them to a 24-14 win and trip to Glendale to face the Patriots and their 18-0 record. Lets get it on!

I don’t know what to think about this game. Right now I am leaning toward the Packers, but unlike last week, I don’t see a blowout. I’m not ready to make my pick yet, but on a late night on Friday, all I can say is I’m getting more nervous by the hour.

The cold weather is going to make the game historic.

More to come…

One thing is sure folks, the Packers will not rout the Giants Sunday. The New York defense is 100 times better than the unit that was shredded by the Packers in September. If the Packers get behind against this group and are forced to pass Brett Favre is in for a long day. The Giants get after the quarterback so the Packers will need to slow that rush with short passes and Ryan Grant running the ball. It’s going to be a good matchup.

The other problem is freaking Sports Illustrated putting Favre on the cover again this week. Give me a break! Tom Brady goes 26-for-28 and Favre gets the cover. What is up with that? The Packers may have a free pass on the cover jinx, however, as they beat the Rams the week after Favre was named SI Sportsman of the Year. At least that is the way I want to look at it.

It is a tremendous cover, though. Check it out: http://blogs.jsonline.com/packers/archive/2008/01/15/another-souvenir-sports-illustrated-cover.aspx.

More to come…

What an unbelievable weekend for Packers’ fans! A blowout win by the Green & Gold and a loss by the despised Cowboys, which in turn leaves the NFC Championship game in Lambeau Field next Sunday. Sorry for the delay in this entry, but I had to let this weekend soak in so I wouldn’t get cocky and say “I told you so”! Unfortunately it didn’t work. I told you so! Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. Hell, I even have a hole-in-one. Life is good.

Life is indeed good for the Green Bay Packers. I cannot believe that I am going to go to yet another game at Lambeau this year. I will have my pictures from Saturday up tomorrow, thanks to my nephew I have some really good shots. It was a glorious day at Lambeau and I enjoyed every minute of it after the Packers tied the game at 14. I did yell to the players to the best of ability as they left the field after defeating Mike Holmgren in the playoffs yet again, “You are not done yet” in memory of the 1996 Super Bowl Champions lead by the now Seahawks coach. Two more to go.

Sorry folks, but I again like the Packers, although, I know, you know, and the American people know, the Giants are not the Seattle Seahawks. The Giants have a tremendous defense, ranked seventh in the regular season and have been dominant in the postseason thus far, shutting down Tampa Bay and Dalllas. The Packers won’t score 42 points on Sunday, I promise you that. I like Green Bay because I think they can stop the Giants running game and despite the fact the Giants will be looking for revenge after the 35-13 beat-down the Packers laid on them in week two, the teams are so different now I see a totally different game. A defensive battle is my guess at this very moment in time.

You know how I hate to get overconfident but as I write this I am watching my DVD of Saturday’s game and this team has so many similarities to the the Packers’ Super Bowl teams of the 1990s it’s scary. They rely on Brett Favre for three months then turn the tables and grind it out on the ground in December and January. Back then the Packers had Edger Bennett, now the Packers running back coach, and Dorsey Levens as their two-headed horse. Now they have Ryan Grant, who just continues to amaze, and Brandon Jackson who has come on strong the last few weeks of the season and actually had the first touchdown pass by a running back this year against the Seahawks.

And now the game is in Lambeau in what is expected to be an a very cold day with the forecast at this very minute calling for a high of eleven and a twelve mile-an-hour wind out of the west. Sucks for me. Many layers this week. Makes the walk to Curly’s Pub that much more cumbersome. But great for the Green Bay Packers. I think the Giants are not a cold weather team. New York rarely has cold home games like the Packers do, much less the attitude of being a cold weather team. Yes, I know the Packers got worked in the cold and wind in Chicago a few weeks ago, and because it was the Bears, I will never forget it, but I think the Packers’ players have forgotten it, hell most of them are too young to know that the Packers and Bears are even rivals.

I’m not going to come out a predict a 37-0 rout like I thought was possible last week, and almost happened, I might add, because the New York Giants’ defense scares me big time. My early thinking is that the Packers will struggle to score but the Giants and Eli Manning will struggle even more, turning the ball over enough times to allow the Packers to get pummeled in the Super Bowl. That is not prediction, however. Don’t get carried away on Monday. This is the playoffs.

More to come…