I use the same phrase in golf a lot more times than I care to admit. When asked why I shot so bad I say “offense, defense, special teams.” In golf a bad round is the result of a loss of all phases. In football, the Packers were somehow able to overcome the complete and total loss of special teams and yet finish 11-5 last year. One would think changes would be made to improve that situation. One would be wrong.

A year after which firing special teams coach Mike Stock and replacing him with Shawn Slocum turned out to be a bust, the Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy stood pat and kept Slocum on as special teams coordinator. Why? I have no idea. The bottom line is the Packers have no excuse for being so bad on special teams. The roster is well stocked with promising young players who are fighting to make the team and special teams might be their only hope. Either the Packers’ depth isn’t what we think it is or the special teams’ coach is clueless.

My guess is the later. When McCarthy hired Slocum there were other well respected special teams coaches available and yet McCarthy hired the assistant to the worst special teams coach in the Packers’ recent history. The results last year reflected that poor decision. Going into the 2010 season the Packers are widely regarded as Super Bowl contenders because of Aaron Rodgers and the No. 2 defense in the NFL. Both Rodgers and the defense should be even better this year, but will it be enough to overcome the failings of the special teams?

I doubt it. Like a Brett Favre interception in the playoffs, you know it’s coming, but the heartbreak is still the same.

Obviously I’m in the minority on this one, but I am not a fan of expanding the NFL season to 18 games. I hate to admit it, actually, I don’t hate to admit it, but I like preseason games. While six games was a bit too much, the current four game preseason is perfect. The only thing I hate is having to pay full price for them with my season ticket package. It’s like paying Super Bowl prices for regular season games, it ain’t right.

The thing I do love about the preseason games is watching the young players play and develop. Without four games to play I think it will seriously effect how players develop and even more important their ability to come in and play their rookie year. With talk of a new developmental league being formed it will be like baseball’s minor leagues and it will much harder for the fans to follow their team’s draft choices when they are playing for teams out of town.

I also like having four weeks of stress-free football before kicking off the real deal. It makes opening day special. On the other end the thought of attending non-playoff games in late January and possibly playoff games in February in Green Bay is not very enticing. I can see thousands of no-shows at those games if the temperature is 20 below with a windchill of 50 below. I know I’m not going, twenty-five years ago maybe, but not now. I remember the first week in February 1996 in which the temperature never got above zero one time, with a low of 31 below. Daytime highs were around minus 15. Can you imagine hosting a playoff game in those conditions? It would make the 2007 loss to the Giants feel like sunny Tampa.

I know this is a battle I’m going to lose as the NFL always gets it’s way. With 18 games though, you can expect to see teams rest their starters the very second they lock up their playoff spot, regardless of whether or not they are playing a division foe the last few weeks of the season. The risk of injury will be increased dramatically, especially considering possible weather conditions late in the year.

And finally, how can you develop a young QB without giving him playing time? Without preseason games where would Matt Hasselbeck be today? Stories like Hasselbeck’s are all over the NFL at other positions as well. I love watching those players. It will also be interesting to see how bad the quality of play will be the first few weeks of the regular season, it could be ugly.

I hold out hope that it won’t happen, but I think it will be part of the new CBA between the NFL and the players association. Money talks and the TV networks pay the bills, so get ready for football in late February. It’s going to be interesting.

Johnny Jolly may be stupid but he ain’t dumb, he at least knows the difference between $2.5 million and $500,000, even if he might never see a dime of it. What Atari Bigby and Tramon Williams are thinking is beyond me. Williams is likely to have his tender cut from $3.1 million to $580 grand. If it is true that Williams didn’t sign his tender by the deadline yesterday he should sign up for the next edition of “Dumb and Dumber.”

Bigby would be the dumb half of that duo. He is only giving up a few grand but probably has already lost his starting spot in the secondary which would have been tenuous even if he was present at the OTAs. If Williams thinks the Packers are going to open the vault for a player who was a starter by injury for less than a full season and played average at best he is either getting bad advice or is on drugs. If Williams or Bigby never step foot in Lambeau again the Packers will no worse for the wear, that is for sure.

I will admit Williams has some upside, but he is 27 years old still is not a proven entity. He has shown signs but at that age you wonder if he can get any better. There aren’t too many guys like Charles Woodson out there, or even Al Harris for that matter. Of all the people who need the OTAs and minicamp Williams probably needed it the most considering Harris might not be ready for the opener. If Williams would have performed at a high level Harris may never have got his job back. Now I think Harris will be back in the lineup sooner rather than later as the Packers no longer have the luxury to put him the PUP list to start the season.

It is definitely not business as usual in the NFL this offseason due to the impending work stoppage following the season. The players have much more to lose and the sooner they realize it the sooner things can return to normal. The NFLPA and the player’s agents are acting like they hold all the cards when the best they have is a pair of ducks.

The Packers close out the offseason program with a mini-camp June 21-23 then don’t resume until July 30. The absence of Bigby and Williams will surely be a hot topic. And with Jolly not being around for OTAs it will be interesting to see what kind of shape he is in or if he even shows up. Enjoy the next eight days because that’s all we get until July 30.

What the hell is going on out there?! The off-the-field exploits of Johnny Jolly and now Brandon Underwood are making the Packers look like the Pittsburgh Steelers or Cincinnati Bengals. Enough is enough. The Packers should cut ties with both players right now. In Jolly’s case all they have to do is withdraw the tender they offered him that he never signed. They don’t even have to cut him. In Underwood’s case, word came out he has been trouble since day one so letting him go is no big deal either.

Underwood garnered praise from head coach Mike McCarthy last week but it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Underwood was a sixth round draft choice who only saw the field last year because of injuries. If you can remember a play he made you are a better man than me. The Packers are possibly on the verge of great things and they need to nip this in the bud immediately. Responding rapidly will certainly send a message.

What pisses me off is that the names of the six players who did nothing wrong were dragged through the mud. To even think players like Matt Flynn or Clay Matthews or Brad Jones would be involved in something so stupid is ridiculous. Matthews must be thinking “what is coming next?” First he is accused by association of taking steroids in light of the Brian Cushing affair, now this. At least Matthews stood his ground.

Sounding like a seasoned veteran Matthews had this to say:  “Unfortunately one person kind of put himself in a situation that kind of dampened this weekend a little bit. It is unfortunate, there’s no doubt about it. But everybody showed up today, trying to move forward, trying to put that behind us and wipe our hands clean.”  Matthews was speaking at the Donald Driver charity softball game.

That kind of reminded me of the Peyton Manning and his “idiot kicker” quote. Matthews is the real deal and barring injury should be a Packers’ great for years to come. Hopefully Jones can be good enough to take some of double-teams off CM3 to allow him to continue to make big plays.

But with that said, the Packers need to act now and be done with it. I mean come on! Jolly wearing gangsta clothes to court? I’m an owner and I don’t want that on my team. The only person dumber than Jolly is his lawyer. Now that his trial has been postponed to the opening day of training camp, do the Packers really want that distraction? I think not. So long and good luck with your future endeavors Mr. Jolly.

To quote McCarthy – “the train has left the station.”