Vikings make my day

Those of you who follow Packernet will certainly know how overcome with delight I am after yesterday outcomes of the NFL’s two conference championship games. I love P. Manning getting another shot at the ring and will probably be rooting for the Colts in two weeks. The Saints are a great story but not a great team, I think the Colts are a great team and certainly they have a great quarterback. Drew Brees may be a great quarterback someday, but his play in overtime only made up for a pretty mediocre game, albeit against a great defense in Minnesota. At this point I like the Colts big time.

I am stunned it took so long for evil Mr. Hyde to show his ugly mug but when Brett Favre threw the game away just as he did two years ago in Lambeau Field, it was awesome!  The greatest gift the Packers could have gave the Vikings was even more heartbreak in what is becoming one of sports’ most amazing tails of self-imposed heartbreak. The Vikings have lost five straight NFC Championship games and this one is very reminiscent of the 1998 season NFC Championship game the Vikings lost to Atlanta (of all teams).

The 1998 Vikings also had a retread quarterback who turned back the clock in Randall Cunningham and were within a field-goal of winning the game in regulation. Kicker Morten Anderson missed for the first time all year and the rest is history. Yesterday the only thing Favre had to do was run a few yards and slide. Get up, walk off the field and put on his NFC Champions hat. But nooooooooo! Evil Mr. Hyde shows up and Favre ends his storied career in Minnesota the same way he ended his storied career in Green Bay – a pick on his last pass in the NFC Championship game.

Simply poetic justice. Packers’ fans will never know the pain of Vikings’ fans as the Packers have won three Super Bowls, but Vikings’ fans just got a taste of the pain of Brett Favre that until 2008 had only been felt in Green Bay. He’ll walk you to the doorstep then slam the door in your face. When the Vikings’ play-by-play guys yells “I can’t believe what I just saw” I was dumbfounded. Are you a football fan? Do you know who Brett Favre is? Welcome to my nightmare.

By no means does this loss alone justify Ted Thompson for trading Favre, Aaron Rodgers has already done that by throwing for almost 9,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in his two seasons as starter and returning the Packers to the playoffs this year. Rodgers will start for the NFC in the Pro Bowl this Sunday. All this proves is that the ole’ gunslinger is the ole’ gunslinger. He is one hell of a football player, one of the greatest of all time, but he stuck around too long and he was playing for the wrong reasons. The two-year revenge tour is over and I believe so is Favre. He looked more like Arturo Gatti after a fight last night than an NFL quarterback after a game.

This was Favre’s one last shot at the Super Bowl and he certainly proved me wrong the way he played in the regular season, especially in December, but in the end not even he could overcome the Vikings cursed history of losing the big one. The Vikings remain without an NFL Championship since their inception in 1961. Four Super Bowl losses, five straight NFC Championship game losses including a 41-0 loss to New York after the 2000 season. It is a sad state of affairs in Minnesota, or soon to be Los Angeles.

Looking at the future of the two teams the Packers have a franchise quarterback who is only 26-years old and the Vikings have no clue right now who their quarterback will be next year. I would love to see Favre string the Vikings along all offseason like he used to do the Packers but after that beatdown I think he is done. Every team he plays next year will come after him the same way and at 41 he can’t take that beating for 16 games.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense are still getting better and the emergence of Jermichael Finley and I think the rejuvenation of wide receiver Greg Jennings makes the Packers the most potent offense outside of Indianapolis. The run is done in Minneapolis and the student has become the master.

Let me have it, but I might need plastic surgery to remove the smile from face.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Rick

    DA in short. I will post my long hand version in a second post
    RFA Merriman OLB from Chargers losing 1st and 3rd pick.
    FA Seymour for 3-4 DE and help for when we lose Jolly to his legal problems
    2nd round we draft top KR and solid DB in Cox
    4th round Carrington a solid DE that dropped because he went to a small school for his son
    I also would be willing to look at RB Garret from Oregon that punched his way from a first day to a third day draft pick. Explosive burst runner.

  • Rick

    Here are my Packers off season moves.
    1) Resign Clifton 3-5years average 3.4M per year, on field incentives for full pay day
    2) Resign Tauscher 3-5 years average 3M per year, on field incentives for full pay day
    3) Resign Nick Collins – It will be a pay day for him 6years 20M with half as a signing bonus
    4) Resign Spitz 4-6 years average 2.8M with pro bowl and on field incentives increasing it to 3.5M

    The RFA tender amounts are as follows:
    Compensation Amount

    Original Draft Round $1.01 Million

    2nd Round Pick $1.545 Million

    1st Round Pick $2.198 Million

    1st & 3rd Round Pick $2.792 Million

    5) Our RFA tenders –
    1st and 3rd rounds = Kaupman
    = Collins – only if you can not resign him
    1st round = N/A
    2nd round = Jolly
    Original = Blackmon
    = Kuhn
    = Bigby
    = Martin
    6) Let the Final 8 RFA Flogging begin

    Pay the 1st and 3rd round picks for Shawn Merriman OLB from San Diego. It is obvious that they will tag him. We write a poison pill into the language like the Vikes did to Seattle for Hutchinson. Something like a double signing bonus if he plays more then 4 games in San Diego or more than 6 regular season games against AFC teams.

    Can you picture CM3 and Merriman meeting at the QB??

    7) FAs
    Richard Seymour DE Raiders, he still has something in the tank and we need 3-4 DEs that know their business. We will probably lose Jolly this year to the Po Po.

    8) Draft- I am using CBS draft board position rankings so we are talking about drafting players close to where a third party feels they will be available. Assuming the RFA for Merriman takes our 1st and 3rd picks
    2nd round we draft Parrish Cox CB
    Cox is one of the top KR in the draft and has shown himself to be a great DB too.

    4th round I would love it if a player like Carrington DE was around

    5th Round Cirron Black OT/OG LSU or Johnathan Jerry OT Ole Miss
    6th round LeGarrette Blount RB – He is a first day talent that punched his way to day 3.
    7th Round any 4 year starter OT that we liked left on the board, OR a serious LS or P. Imght even take a flyer on a FCS school player if he showed something

    If we keep our picks then I feel Larry Asante S Nebraska as our 1st rounder and
    Jeff Owens 3-4 DE Georgia our 3rd would be great choices.

  • Rick

    Rereading the last couple of post pb’s Joe Namath made me laugh and think of the Team America movie were the Matt Damon puppet could only say his name ” Matt Damon” 8)

  • packer_bob

    Durka Durka!!!

  • Rick

    Pearl Harbour sucked and I still love you

  • packer_bob

    Frankly, I’m getting a little weary of all these pejorative references to Johnny Jolly. Can’t a man drink his cough syrup in peace?

    He had a prescription after all. For three gallons.

    Don’t worry—-he’ll beat the rap. The pending judge is a noted Three Six Mafia fan.

  • Pete H

    I think Blackmon and Lee are potential 4th CBs. I know Blackmon is a constant injury, but he has looked good when he plays. Rick, as far as Seymour goes, do you really think he is gonna be worth the dough that they’ll have to shell out. Somebody is going to offer him some mega coin, and for him to come to GB it will have to be huge. I just remember that Joe Johnson waste of time and money.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Pete, I can’t imagine TT paying Seymour. He’d have to be desperate, which he’s not. More likely he’ll once again be passive this off season and not take any risk. I just hope he doesn’t do anything weird like dropping Ryan or carrying 3 FB’s and Havner(who could have filled in there in a pinch).

  • Sammy

    Packer Bob,
    I had the probowl practice on in the background and it was really funny. Rich Eisen calling players over, old timers like Dan Fouts lamenting about how hard it is going to be to call the game on radio. Primetime fucking with Ochocinco. Just was having some coffee and saw about thirty minutes. I agree the probowl is a joke. I am going to the movies instead. Have a good weekend.

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    I agree that the Pro Bowl is really a waste of time. The only thing it could accomplish is getting out guys hurt for the stupidest reason in the world, and I don’t know anyone who actually watches.

  • jonnyfootballhero

    Rick – I gotta know. When you refer to Kampman, why do you call him Kaupman?? I’m just curious.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Speaking of Kampman reminds me that some here want TT to shell out the 20M to bring in Peppers. Given that P is the better athlete and a hell of a lot bigger could he really play OLB either? Kampy cant. Plus, the rap on P is that he always doesnt show up, ie ’07. Seymour not as big, has played 3-4, but OAK gave up a #1 for him. I think too big a locker room risk for either of them for us to move in that direction.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    L-T, I don’t think you have to stay up worrying(5:23am) about TT paying a lot for a FA. His biggest splash since ’06 was matching the tender on Bush. If we’re lucky he’ll bring back our tackles and Pickett. We should start a betting pool on how many FA’s we get inc. our own.

  • Rick

    Johnny- Right hand seems to hate typing letter M. I also reverse r and o in the word from so it comes out form, dyslexic typing I guess.

    Peppers is a true 4-3 guy. One year late for us, I don’t see us switching back to a 4-3 now. Maybe Carolina will be our trade partner for Kampman?

    Seymour only really has us bidding for him so mid level cost for a veteran FA. Raiders are really the only other team that we are competing against I hope we can beat them.

  • Devil’s Advocate…

    I’m not sure why everyone wants to get rid of Kampman. The defense started looking good when they played him at LB on run downs and started moving him to DL for passing downs. We know he can get to the QB and what we have as a player and person!!!! We need to find someone who can come from the LB spot along w/CM3 and Kamp at DE. Also, getting Seymour, might make our line a little heavy w/players that won’t be happy spending too much time on the bench, but it sure would make us deep. Pick, Raji, Jenkins, Jolly and Seymour would be nice. I’m not so sure that Jolly doesn’t end up w/some probation plus a little. He’s not been in any trouble since or before that. Probably gets a 4 game suspension. He could appeal that pending the outcome of the roid boys. Actually, I find it a little hard to believe the NFL is even conducting drug test right now. It’d be a little tough trying to suspend a player for a failed test, when the guys from three years ago haven’t served there time. Which, if the roid boys win that, guess that would leave MN players immune to drug test. If there’s any WI legislators reading this, how about a little law stating that you will have full authority over suspensions and other such matters of WI sports teams. You could suspend Jolly’s suspension, should it happen.

  • roy jamison

    I don’t want Kampman to leave unless we get a first round draft pick from someone.
    Thanks Nobel peace winner for this word, which I didn’t have in my vocabulary…
    pejorative
    –adjective 1. having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force: the pejorative affix -ling in princeling.
    I certainly don’t want to contribute to a lugubrious chat about the merits of that great game known as the Pro Bowl!

  • Pack4life

    Peppers played Hoops at N.C. Chapel Hill he can play LB or even Safety. He has stated publicly he wants to play 3-4 OLB. No matter what Kampan cant cover decent Rbs not his fault he just cant do it. Peppers is almost as fast as LT and definitley stronger than # 56 yes the real LT. Goodell says no cap so use Kampmans money.

  • roy jamison

    Oh, just one other comment on the so-called Pro Bowl…If Donavan McNabb can’t hit wide open…top of the line…receivers with no pressure on him, what’s his future in Philly gonna be like. If I’m Andy, I take a second rounder for him and say thannks for the memories.

  • Rocky70

    Peppers, Seymour ….. ?? …….. Absurd.

    Peppers ……… 30+ ……….. Has never played OLB ………. Would be another experiment who would also be the highest paid player on defense……. If any of you have checked out the draft possibilities at OLB you’d find a nice list of ‘younger’ & more experienced OLB’ers & at a significantly less cost than Peppers ……..

    Seymour ……… 30+ …………. 2009 ……. A whopping 47 tackles with 4 sacks ………. Would be close to being the second highest paid player on defense & very possibly get less snaps than Jenkins, Jolly & Raji at DE ……. Sounds like a great plan …….. Pay Seymour more than anyone on your DL & then send him to the bench just in case you need him ………..

    Geez, you amateur GMs ………… Stick to Madden 2010.

  • Pack4life

    Packers Needs Oline, DBs and Pash rush. Highly unlikely that can be fixed in one draft class. As we saw VS AZ and Pittsburgh good teams can block Matthews or double him then what? People seem to forget that in 07 Kabeer came in on 3rd down and we had Jenkins, Kampman and KGB in passing situations. Where is that 3rd rusher now?
    The Pack is is drafting far too low to expect an impact pass rusher to fall to them.

  • Rocky70

    ” The Pack is is drafting far too low to expect an impact pass rusher to fall to them. ”

    CM3 was drafted at # 26 in 2009 ……… The 2010 draft will be deep with all the early entries ……. There’s a better chance that GB can draft a pass rusher late in the 1st round than a left tackle who can step in & start from day one …….

    TT may very well spend some FA money but it will be on the OL ……… Now all you have to do is pinpoint that key free agent O-lineman ………. There aren’t many now & will be even fewer come March 5th.

  • Pack4life

    OK Rocky I really respect your opinion but lets tell the whole story. We had to give up some draft picks to move up and get Matthews. Orakpo and Cushing were rated ahead of CM3 so things lined up in our favor last year. We dont have the picks this year and we MUST address O-line early. I like Sergio Kindle of Tex, and Mclain of AL and I know they wont be around unless the Pack moves up and TT has been replaced by an android if that happens.

  • Rick

    Seymour had a late start with the Raiders as well a fighting through the double as the only serious D line.

    As I opined earlier. If we bring in a pass rusher OLB from the RFA like Merriman then we add to our D Line with Seymour, his contract will not be a break the bank, we then RFA tag Kampman with 1st and 3rd. Let him rehab under the transition tag for the season unless we can get him to sign for less. We can bring him back and use him situationally again after his rehab unless we get the 1st and 3rd for him.

  • Pack4life

    Rick thats great but I dont see Kampman wanting to be a situational player.

  • Rocky70

    GB won’t need all their draft picks in 2010 just as in 2009 …….. At some point in time a ‘young’ NFL team must be allowed to mature ………. It wouldn’t surprise me abit if TT gave up several draft picks in 2010 to move up in the first and/or obtain another 1st ……….. Teams that are still rebuilding (Det, KC, Rams, etc.) love to pick up extra draft picks to reshape their rosters ……….

    Building ‘through the draft’ is a term given to TT by the media ……….. As soon as he changes his strategy in obtaining players, then the media will give him a different name ……… Last year’s trade to draft CM3 may become the new trend ………

  • Rick

    Rocky- the best FA lineman are with the Packers

  • Rick

    P4L- Kampman does not want to be a situational player but he has a blown ACL and is a RFA he does not have a choice. It is only smart for him and the team.

    Rock- TT does build through the draft. This draft is deep with junior talent this year, but that talent is raw overall. There is not a lot of solid play right now talent to draft. Instead of reaching and overpaying for a first round talent I would prefer to let us go shopping with the adjusted Final 8 and 4 rules actually working to our favor.

  • Rick

    I think KC is going to pay big bucks for Vince Wilfork as a FA NT. Can you say 27 yr old highest paid NT in league history.

    Thank goodness for Raji. We need to resign Pickett quick. The price of poker is about to go up as Pickett is about the 2nd or 3rd highest available FA NT/DT coming available

  • http://www.cheeseheadhq.blogspot.com Gbpfan

    I agree these are all very valid concerns, but don’t forget we need a kicker and/or a punter VERY badly for next season. That should probably be a low draft priority, and it might not be a bad idea to bring in some FA competition for Crosby and Kapinos during camp. However, all these positions- offensive line… secondary… these must all come first.

    Go Pack Go!

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Peppers interests me because he is a game changer like REGGIE. Could be history repeating itself. Bigger and quicker just not as strong. You guys, out of respect I suppose, have Kampy way over rated. Talk of 1st and 3rd and such is not reality. Reality is a 30 yr old coming off ACL who isn’t athlete enough to do other than pass rush. If we keep him we use him like KGB(at the end) or Haley. Peppers is worth 20M on the field, its off that bothers me, ala Woodson in ’06.
    As to the OT situation; you don’t need All-Pros to get the job done ie, Tausch and Cliffy for the last 10 yrs. Neither were high caliber run blockers but were OK in pass protection. OT is not a game changer like the skills and pass rushers. Besides, I’m betting Lang(for one) steps up. A lot of talk about the needs of the O, but the D is where we need the help, stats be damned. I’d like a RB, OT, CB, etc. too, but we need another guy like a REGGIE to really put us over the top. I’m just thinking about controlling our Division at this point, the rest will fall into place.

  • Rocky70

    Ref Kampman:

    ” Talk of 1st and 3rd and such is not reality. ”
    GB may be fortunate to get just the 3rd rounder. …… Both will never happen ……..

    Please don’t disregard last year’s ‘shopping spree’ by some teams ………. Haynesworth, Igor, Canty, & more ………… Name a 2009 FA signing that actually earned his money & propelled his team to ‘new’ heights ? ………….

    All teams build through the draft ………… Some are just better at it than others ……….. 42 of 51 players drafted by TT in his time in GB are still on an NFL roster somewhere ………. Means nothing going into the 2010 draft ………. GB is a different team in 2010 compared to the last 4 seasons ……….. I look for an adjusted strategy by TT.

    Sorry GBpfan, a little competition to push Crosby may help but Crosby will still be kicking for the Pack for many, many more years ……….. Early prediction ….. Crosby someday will be the all-time leading scorer in Packer history ……….

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Remember KISS. This is not rocket science or any other cliche like too much Madden or Fantacy Football. SBs are won with super DEs and LBs, not super OTs.
    Looking at the payrolls of the Saints and Colts you can pay your leader on O (QB) 10M and your leader on D 20M; the next (5) av 5M, and then 2M av on the rest. Comes out under 150M which we could do in an uncapped year. With a cap you can’t fit the big # in, its that simple. Our SB history always had both, Bart/Willie and Brett/REGGIE. Obvious.

  • Rocky70

    ” SBs are won with super DEs and LBs, not super OTs. ”

    A true statement but ………. Both Bart & Brett were well protected thus were able to lead GB to the SB ……….. AR somehow made it through 2009 with minimal injury & nothing that caused him to miss any game time ……… GB can’t take the chance that AR is going to get up everytime he’s hit in 2010 …………… The more he’s hit the greater the chance that Matt Flynn will be playing out the season at QB ……….. GB is going nowhere without AR even if Peppers as a Packer is having a career year.

  • Pack4life

    I cant believe I actually agree with LTex but hey. The Vikes arent going to go next season with TJack or Rosencopter. They will get somebody like Garcia and they have more firepower this time around. With the status quo we are below the Vikes plain and simple. Peppers is a fix for the pass rush. We can address every other need via the draft but the talent gap is too steep right now to rely on the draft alone.

  • Larry

    Can’t understand the love for Peppers…he’s a 4-3 end and we play a 3-4. Needs the first year to absorb the system and he’s 30. He will command Haynesworth numbers..and probably produce the same in year 1. This is not Reggie 2 but Joe Johnson 2…

    DT and DE are deep in the draft…Trade Hawk and Kampy for an early 2 and get the CB, LT and speedy LB. If Taylor Mays is on the board then swith to safety, CB and LT with first 3 picks. That leaves rd 3 through 7 to add LB, punter ad whatever else AND FA.

  • iccyfan

    Larry Says: “Can’t understand the love for Peppers…This is not Reggie 2 but Joe Johnson 2…”

    I don’t know that it’s that extreme, but agree I’m not enamored of him and don’t see the “Reggie Effect” should he inexplicably find himself a Packer…

    I’m kinda secretly hoping that Cromartie for Hawk swap comes to fruition; corner is no longer a big problem leaving Ted able to swap for those missing pieces to take this young team to the next level.

  • Rick

    You tag Kampan at the highest level of RFA tag. That is the 1st and 3rd if we do not match, odds are great that we keep him at around 2.7million for the year and no takers for the trade. He rehabs. If he looks good and no lockout we can transition tag him if we need to. If lockout we can see what the new rules look like.

  • roy jamison

    I could see Peppers going to Cleveland so Holmgren can make a splash in trying to fix a sub par defense. In fact, if I’m TT, I’d take the genius out for a few refreshments, get him souped up and trade Hawk for Joe Thomas. LOL

  • Larry

    If you tag Kampy with the highest level he costs you more than $2.7M…He has no reason to play w/o a contract/signicant signing bonus/contract. In the 3-4 he just isn’t worth the $’s. Put 20lbs on Brad Jones or move Thompson. He was having a very good preseason last year. (I know…so was the offensive line) but their signed, much cheeper and allow GB to move Kampy to achieve the end goal…a true 3-4 defense. Corners, safety, O-line are much bigger priorities.

  • Rick

    Larry,
    I agree to keep Brad Jones as a back up OLB. He played in a 3-4 at Colorado and looked okay as a back up. Thompson is a special teamer,period. He does not fit the scheme on defense.
    Look at the article called “Where the Money Goes” on the home page that shows how much each guy on the two superbowl teams count against the cap and compare Kampy at 2.7 Million. If he has anything left he is worth it. Kampy can be a situational DE and OLB but as an every down 3-4 DE he can not run stop. On the edge as a 3-4 OLB he can not fall into coverage. He is a 4-3 DE that is stuck on a 3-4 team. He needs the Panthers after he rehabs. We need picks. We are not playing in the Peppers pool. A 4-3 DE stuck on a 3-4 team we already have.

  • Rick

    That is harsh what I said on Thomson. He plays very well on special teams but he is kind of stuck in the middle with our scheme. He played great against 2 and 3s in the preseason, he is better than those guys. He again is a 4-3 DE stuck in the middle on the converting defense scheme of team.

  • Rick

    Larry Tex, Interesting number idea. I will play around a little bit more with that.

  • Pete H

    Kamp is almost dead weight right now. He doesn’t fit and teams know it. He loses trade value. He’s coming off of surgery..loses value. He should have been shopped right after that first game.

  • Larry

    20/20 hindsight Pete.

  • Rocky70

    GB needs to “come hell or high water” obtain a LT that has the ability to play ahead of Clifton ……….. If Cliffy is resigned & is the best option at LT then as soon as he’s out with injury (it will happen), his backup will be a downgrade …… The same could be said for Taush ………… My biggest fear for 2010 is that Cliffy & Taush will again be the best options at the tackle positions & both will be mostly unavailable due to injury ………. AR must be protected.

    In the starter mix ……. Spitz, Wells, Sitton, Lang, ?? ……. Still think TT’s focus all offseason will be the OL ……….. He may even turn to a RFA here or there ………. IMO, both TT & MM realize the key in the coming years will be keeping AR upright ….. Peppers, Merriman or Seymour aren’t going to do squat to protect AR.

  • Rocky70

    CM3 & Joey Porter at OLB in 2010 ??? ……….. Porter wants to be released from Miami as opposed to being traded so he can become an UFA …….. He’d be cheaper than Merriman or Peppers & has maybe a couple productive seasons left ….. He’ll be 33 for season 2010 …… He could be an upgrade over anything GB has now.

  • Rocky70
  • roy jamison

    Childress is getting his taxi tuned up to pick Favre up at the airport…sometime late August.

  • roy jamison

    nice use of green and white Al!

  • iccyfan

    Just looked at a list of free agent offensive linemen (unrestricted and restricted) on a website named Football’s Future or something of the like, and that route does not look promising. Their list included the “top twelve” available and it included two of ours, namely Clifton at #3 and Colledge at #10. Tauscher was mentioned in the Clifton write-up but wasn’t otherwise listed. New Orleans has a pair of restricted FA left tackles, specifically the #1 who went on IR early this season and his backup who’s performed admirably in his absence.

    They also had a mock draft on that site, which had us picking Iowa LT Brian Bulaga at #23, with the Rutgers kid right behind him and another LT two picks later (Vladimir).

    If we’re to “sign on” to the logic of that website, we’d better hope Ted resigns Cliffy, Tausch and Colledge, hoping Bulaga falls to us at #23. Of course, any site that lists Colledge in it’s top ten FA Linemen is automatically suspect!!!

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