Camp Lambeau

Our man

2011-08-19T12:10:00.002-05:00

Neat update on Bart. But seriously, who pays for my favorite CA high school football team to fly to Fort Lauderdale?

GOD'S TEAM... INTO THE SUNSET.

2011-02-20T02:11:00.013-06:00

Well this is fun. Living in California, if I even see someone with a green shirt on I throw up a high 5. Yesterday one of the Mexicans waiting for work outside home depot was wearing a packer hat and I went in for a bear hug. He's my pool guy now. I don't have a pool. My Mom bought championship gear. It's on the way. I've watched every video on NFL.com from the start of the playoffs until Matthews went on ELLEN at least 5 times. Some well over 20. I haven't spoken to anyone I know from Chicago and I think its well clear that I wont until after Labor Day. I just learned all the names on the Badger Basketball team. I've had season tickets since I was eleven. I know that the Badger Hockey team tied Minnesota tonight.
The Superbowl was fun. Rooting for Rodgers in that game was what I always imagined it would be like to root for Tom "sugar gumdrops" Brady. He wasn't losing. Either was I. I hit my halftime square and my Game square. I won 3 $20 bets on the game and I gave up the 3 points quickly. I won marijuana from a cook at work. I won 2 $5 bets on the color of the gatorade they dumped on Mccarthy. I lost on how long Christina Aguliera would hold "Brave" for in the Anthem. The over/under was 6.8 seconds. I went under like a complete tourist. I was paying excruciatingly close attention to the Anthem and neither I nor anyone in the room full of people I was watching with had any idea that she messed it up. USA.
I can't wait for next season. We're loaded. Greg Jennings just guaranteed that we are gonna go to Indianapolis next year on the NFL network just after he'd said that the Lions needed to draft defensive backs 'badly' in the "NFC North draft preview", with Solomon Wilcots and Warren (Met Simeon Rice once and asked him who the best athlete he ever played with was and he said Warren Sapp without hesitation) Sapp. Yyyyikes. Tone it down, Greg. But we are, and they do. Sapp said we needed a running back. Way off. No we don't. We're strong at running back. It's going to hurt to lose B. Jackson, which we will. Also, I think we'll probably lose James Jones. Those might be our biggest loses. Also AJ Hawk if he doesn't restructure. But no one we can't replace.
Im not going to pretend to know who'll be available for us at 32, but I've seen as many as 5 tackles predicted to go in the first round and in a year where we seemingly have depth and and players getting healthy at almost every position, I'd be in favor of grabbing another O-Tackle. Especially if theres quality at the top. Which it sounds like there is. Unfortunately the Bears need O-lineman and they'll be poaching right before us. Oh well.
Can we get Casey Matthews? How about that? Lets get these Matthew boys some walkie Talkies and hand grenades.

SUPERBOWL, EXTRA LOVE

2011-02-05T00:48:00.009-06:00

As the regular season progressed and we ran low on ways to make the playoffs, I felt like if the Packers were somehow able to make it to the postseason and get Rodgers his first playoff win, the season would be salvaged. Then we could lose and regroup with Jermichael and his twitter account*. With so many injuries, I was certain that we didn't have the horses to make a run like this.
Then the Giants imploded, Jay Cutler retired, Cullen Jenkins got healthy, We hurt Desean Jackson, Matt "Ice Man" Ryan Leaf shit his pants, Dom Capers proved to have effectively maintained a rock solid Defensive scheme able to adapt to role players in places while being anchored by stars everywhere, Sam Shields and Tramon Williams took control of the matrix and started seeing the world in green numbers, and Aaron Rodgers established himself as one of the very few quarterbacks in the league with such a rare combination of athleticism and robot like attention to detail.
Also the bears, in typical bear fashion, made it to the NFC championship game with an atrocious offense. I predicted if we could make it passed Julius Peppers, AKA Da bridge troll, we'd win the Superbowl. I still feel that way. The Steelers might be mean and fast and have rings, but they do not have the longest strongest fastest best athlete in the league. Which is exactly what Peppers is. And in that NFC title game he executed, to perfection, what I can only describe as an all out assassination attempt. The lick he put directly on Aaron Rodgers chin was beautiful. If I was a Bear fan I would have loved it. It was exactly what they needed. They needed to take out Rodgers. And they tried. But what did Aaron Rodgers do? He stood up immediately and proceeded to win Poppa Bear's trophy at soldier fucking field.
Forgive me if I'm confident in the Packers going into this Superbowl. It'll be our first non-road game in 4 weeks. Rodgers wont have to contend with a hostile crowd. The stadium wont even be half filled with Steeler fans. I look forward to watching Rodgers shout and move guys around as much as he wants without worrying about crowd noise.
Also, people just accept that the Packers wont be able to run the ball on Pittsburgh. Why? We did on the Bears and I would argue that the Bears have a better front 7 than the Steelers. Statistically I think Chicago would have been the top team against the run if they hadn't gone up against 4 3rd string QB's (ie running teams). And we ran on the Bears. James Starks is a stud. He will start for us next year. He's got great instincts, incredible hands and he rarely, if ever, falls down in the back field (one of Ryan Grants slight flaws). I re-watched the NFC championship, and aside from that gorgeous opening drive, the thing that stood out the most was the play of James Starks. He had 22 carries for 74 yards and a td, with a long of 16. And he had a couple big runs called back on holding penalties. He'll be fine on Sunday and will also benefit from a less noisy environment. If we can loosen up those safeties, I don't think we'll be running all over them, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Starks go for 70 or 80 yards.
Finally, BJ is gonna destroy this back-up rookie center. Rapelesburger is fixin to get chased and pounded. I think they'll get deep on us once or twice. And if Mcarthy decides to take a knee with 5 minutes left we could get stung, but as superbowl champion Drew Brees put it, "if Green Bay plays their best game, and the Steelers play their best game, Green Bay wins." Sounds right. I'm glad I don't have money to bet or I'd jinx the shit out of the Packers this Sunday.

*On Jan. 19th @JermichaelF88 tweeted "I got alittle break so im going head to get a pedicure, to get these toes right.." So perhaps the twitter hubub might could may be unnecessary? Anyway, get y'all's toes right. IT'S THE DAMN SUPERBOWL!!

Memo to McCarthy: Apologize for this Loss

2010-11-28T15:52:00.005-06:00

In many ways, the Packers' loss this afternoon to the Atlanta Falcons had the makings of a moral victory. The Packers were on the road against an excellent team, gave up 100 yards rushing, failed to force a turnover, failed on a fourth down conversion, fumbled the ball at the goalline, got nothing from their star defensive players, and reverted to their penalty-prone ways, but still had a chance to win the game. This demonstrates that they can, indeed, compete with anyone in the league on any given day. What held them back today? Coaching, specifically McCarthy's boneheaded clock management decisions.

At the end of the first half, Atlanta had a first and goal with roughly 80 seconds left on the clock. The Packers had two timeouts remaining. But as the last minute of the half ticked away, McCarthy chose to use neither of his timeouts, and the Falcons went on to score a touchdown with 8 only seconds left. Why, in God's name, would McCarthy not call timeout in that situation? The Packers had moved the ball in the first half. You know Atlanta is either going to kick a field goal, turn the ball over, or score a touchdown. If you use your timeouts, you give Rodgers and company a minute on the clock and see if they can get somewhere close to field goal range. And Atlanta had all three timeouts left. You know they're not going to run out of clock, even if you stop them on third down. So there was ABSOLUTELY no reason not to use your timeouts. Terrible, terrible mismanagement of the clock. And three points (what Crosby could have gotten at the end of the first half) turned out to be the margin of victory.

Then, at the end of the game. Unless Rodgers is constantly audibling into passes, the Packers' failure to call at least one run play during the goal-to-goal series was inexcusable. Have confidence that you're going to score. Think ahead, milk the clock, and make sure that Atlanta does NOT have enough time to march down and kick a field goal. By not running at least once on those four downs, McCarthy essentially lost the game. He gave Atlanta, with a great quarterback, and an excellent offense, playing at home, in a dome, more than a minute to march down and at least attempt a makeable field goal. Of course, Wilhem (who should be booted off the team for his double-penalty performance today) and the special teams made it easier. But the Packers have done this before in recent years--- they don't pay attention to the clock and end up shooting themselves in the foot, undermining what are often heroic offensive performances.

The NFL is a highly competitive league. Any offense in it has the ability to move the ball forty yards in a minute and kick a field goal. Every week games are decided by who has the ball last with some time to move down the field. And so, so often, McCarthy has ignored this fact. He's been a head coach for over five years now. He needs to learn. If he doesn't, the Packers' terrible record in close games (in his tenure) will only continue.

McCarthy should man up, learn from his mistakes, and apologize to the team for this loss. It's on him.

What makes a good College Head Coach?

2010-11-01T23:05:00.003-05:00

The last time the Badgers beat a #1 team, the U-65 crew came home and engraved our boathouse with the date and score. The boat is gone, but the message remains. Badger Football can elate.

That was a long time ago, but it is dear to my heart. Sometimes in life you hear stories so often, or are reminded of an event so often, that it becomes a memory for you even if you were too young to have lucent recollections of the event. I told the old man before the OSU game that I was looking forward to a new engraving to match the old one. (and since the DNR disallows new boathouses, I doubt any future owners of my homestead will be tearing it down any time in the next century, so let the sun shine upon it)

Thanks to the 2010 Badgers, I won't have to recall the 80s to cherish a great Badger victory over #1.

After the greatest televised Badger week ever (ESPNU weeklong special, GameDay, The Van Pelt Declaration), the Badgers then went to Kinnick stadium and gutted out a victory against an able Hawkeye team which fights with long nails and almost never loses at home. Greatest back-to-back victories in quite some time.

So how did we get here? Only weeks ago, I had to hear from alumni complaining about Bret Bielema. Now, I hear Rose Bowl chants. So why the variation? People don't like hearing opposing opinions, so they didn't want to hear about what a coach does. But let's review.

A successful coach at Wisconsin must:

1) Impress boosters (the life blood of major college athletics)

2) Get along with the AD

3) Appease the chancellor (grades, behavior)

4) Manage a staff

5) Manage the media

6) Lead young men

7) Excite recruits

8) 93 other things

101) Always make the right play call

When I hear people wanting to oust Bielema for a bad play call, I consider them to be children. How little they understand of the enterprise of running a college football program.

(This is much different than the NFL where the Head Coach is mostly responsible for play-calling and game management, with all other duties delegated. So feel free to continue to hate McCarthy for being a moron.)

Since the day that I met Beets, I have been impressed. Boosters like being around him. He's engaging. When he speaks at a podium, you want the speech to run long. He listens to Barry. He's excitable. He gets it. When you chat him up about football, you feel as though he is recruiting you, and you want to sign. He addresses weaknesses. He sees the big picture.

Granted, I may be the biggest Wisconsin football homer on the planet, but I am not playing around when I talk about our coaching and our administration. Our HC is getting the right kids. We are recruiting the hell out of south Florida. We have kept a fence around Wisconsin and have annexed Minnesota. Watch how our players respond to him on the field.

The back-to-back nationally televised big wins are great for Wisconsin, great for fans, and great for recruiting. However, they are not a surprise in Section U. We have a solid foundation, and we will continue to build.

On Wisconsin!

The Packers will never win the Super Bowl under McCarthy because he is too STUPID

2010-09-27T22:54:00.003-05:00

Why in god's name did the Packers not let the Bears score a touchdown with 1:40 left? What are the better odds-- that you can match the Bears with a touchdown in a minute and a half or that Robbie Gould misses what is essentially an extra point? What a fucking joke. McCarthy is a coward and a loser.

The penalties need no commentary. Atrocious. Tauscher in particular is washed up. TJ Lang and Bulaga at tackle, and keep looking for a Colledge replacement. And Al and Atari can't get healthy soon enough.

To all those needing to get psyched for Badger football season

2010-07-15T14:54:00.001-05:00

2010-06-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

2010-06-03T14:49:00.001-05:00

Yeah, that was terrifying

2010-03-19T16:53:00.003-05:00

So I'm in midst of a year of semi-Southern exile/sabbatical, and thus missed out on witnessing actual, video evidence of the vast majority of Wisconsin's rubbing-one's-rabbit's-foot victory over Wofford in the first round of the NCAAs today. But I saw the last three minutes. And I've looked over the box score. And thus I can provide some analysis:

(1) Wisconsin continued (continuing from the Illinois Big Ten tourney debacle) to shoot poorly. This was in all phases of shooting-- from the floor, from the line, from the three-point line especially, where they were 1 of 8.

(2) Wisconsin did not do their usual yeoman's work on the offensive glass. Wofford is an average offensive rebounding team. UW is a superlative defensive rebounding team. Given these facts, UW let Wofford grab way too many offensive boards. I'm guessing these led to several easy put-backs for the Terriers.

(3) Thank goodness for Wofford's late carelessness with the ball and its lousy 2nd half free throw shooting. Otherwise, UW is going home early.

(4) Also, thank goodness for UW's carefulness with the ball. The Badgers coughed the ball up only 4 times. A few more traveling calls, or loose passes, and the season would have been over.

Looking forward, Cornell is a far superior offensive team to Wofford. And goodness knows, after dismantling Temple and enjoying a well-earned and gleeful shower and fresh change of clothes, the Big Red (but with a bear as a mascot-- like the Alabama Crimson Tide with an elephant mascot) were sitting in the stands watching this game snorting at the general ineptitude of the two teams. But Cornell is also, at least statistically, a worse defensive team than Wofford. (Although they certainly didn't look like a mediocre defensive squad today. They flustered Temple all game long. ) Needless to say, UW will have to keep on doing the good things it did today (taking care of the ball) and cease and desist doing the bad (missing shots, giving up too many offensive boards) in order to get past the hot-shooting denizens of Ithaca. But the Badgers live to fight another day. Phew.

Tim Jarmusz so far this season

2010-01-31T06:38:00.006-06:00

GP 21

MIN. 24.1

PTS/G 2.8

REB/G 3.5

AST/G 0.8

FG % 30.6

as happy as ive been with the team and the coaching staff this year, this is undeniable. what the hell is going on with this guy? hes not a stopper. our 2nd leading scorer is out. he starts. what gives? there are 4 better options sitting on the bench.

Ask, and ye shall receive

2010-01-25T12:24:00.004-06:00

Observations from a thoroughly entertaining NFC Championship Game:

I had found my animosity towards Brent fading over the course of the season, but that pre-game interview with Pam Oliver put me back over the edge. If you missed it I will summarize: This is my best season ever, this is the best team I have ever been a part of, all I care about is winning, I don't try to force things anymore, this is the most fun I have ever had. Translation: "My one year with MN is better and more fun than 16 years with the Packers. Eat it Green Bay." What an ass.
I said out loud that I hoped they broke his leg, when I thought it happened for real I realized I didn't mean it. I enjoyed every single time the hit him though.
When my wife told me it was my fault that he got hurt, because I wished it upon him, I didn't feel guilty. Not even a little.
When he was able to hobble off the field, I knew he would be back for the next series. He may be an arrogant narcissist, but he's the biggest bad-ass in football.
I was prepared to be devastated when the Saints punted with 2:30 left in the game, prepared for the old Brett to be gone for real. And then the true Brett magically reappeared.
It was a perfect ending. Sporting justice at it's best. Vikings fans wanted Brett so bad, they loved him this year like we used to, but they got all of the good Brett and none of the bad. It was too good to be true. If you want Brett you deserve all of him, heartbreaking playoff picks and all.

If Brett comes back next year, it will be curious to see if he still gets the same love from Minnie. It won't be the same as this year. He will be trying to prove something again, forcing throws, ignoring his coach. Minnie fans are much more fickle (almost had a blacked out play-off game last year). Maybe he will stall long enough to let the Vikings think he will come back, and then actually retire and they are stuck with Tavaris Jackson again. That would be perfect.

Ooof

2010-01-11T15:15:00.002-06:00

Oh boy. Just when you thought, with the Packers' loss, you could sit back and enjoy Badger basketball season. This happens. Leuer is out indefinitely. Probably for the remainder of the regular season (my prediction). Balls.

Well!

2010-01-11T09:46:00.002-06:00

It's been a while, and that's because life's been moving pretty fast over here, to reference Ferris Bueller. Life was moving pretty fast last night though, no? What a crazy flippin' game.

We're all going to remember the sudden, anti-climactic last play for a long, long time. (More on that play in a moment.) But it's worth noting the heroic effort of the offense, and the huge doses of good luck, that got the Packers back into the game in the first place. That ridiculous bomb to Finley where he just jumped over an interfering defensive back that had him smothered. The perfectly executed and recovered onsides kick (Underwood jumping on the ball just two yards past the forty). Warner inexplicably throwing to a well-covered Fitzgerald on one of the Cardinal few third downs, leading to the lone punt of the game. And, of course, the utterly makeable, but missed field goal by the Cards in the closing seconds of the game.

The Packers' offense, after the first five minutes, generally played magnificently in facing a very aggressive, experienced, and talented (Rogers-Cromartie, Wilson (who looks and plays like a modern-day gladiator), Dockett, Berry, two two ex-Michigan DTs) Cardinals defense. But boy, in contrast, didn't it seem like Rodgers and the Packers had to work a lot harder for their points than the Kurt Warner and the Cardinals? How many wide open receivers did Warner hit? Heck, how many tough throws did the Packers force? (Three maybe?) How many times were they really in his face? How many times did he have to wait more than four seconds to throw the ball because people were covered? As my official little brother put it, it seems like the Packers--with the safety shuffle with Anthony Smith (cut), then Derrick Martin (generally ineffective in the defensive backfield), and injured for this game), then cutting Aaron Rouse, and Bigby getting injured yesterday and playing poorly before that, and with the mounting injuries at corner with Lee being presumptively placed on IR, and Blackmon, and then Al--- had a "war of attrition" in the secondary. And the Pittsburgh game and this then game demonstrated that they had lost that war. Especially with the pass rush, outside of Clay Matthews the XLVII (my wife likes to call him "Barbie"), generally being iffy. (Maybe a healthy Kampman coming off the other side on passing downs would have helped?)

But who could have predicted a defensive outing this abysmal. Think of it. One forced turnover on Woodson's karate chop. One forced punt when Warner chose to risk a deep throw to a covered receiver on third down. That was it. Every other Cardinal drive ended in points (except for the missed short field goal, of course). I think it's safe to say, this was the worst defensive performance in the playoffs in the team's history. Warner had more touchdowns than incompletions, folks. This against a team that, while explosive and excellently quarterbacked, was starting a journeyman at left tackle and was missing its third-best offensive player (Boldin). I can't explain what happened. Certainly, whatever blitzes that were brought were ineffective. (I remember many inside linebacker blitzes being picked up well by the Cards.) But the culprit seemed to be the secondary, and our players' inability to cover every man coming out of a bunch formation. It would be fascinating to hear or read a long interview with Capers about his tactics and decision-making during the game, and why he chose to do what he did. (That's never going to happen, of course. At least you could see that he was mad, on one of the camera cuts to Capers in the booth.) Part of it, no doubt, was lack of depth. But part of it must have been schematic or lack of preparation. That stings, and hopefully will drive the defensive coaching staff to improve and reevaluate during the offseason.

And, of course, here's hoping that Woodson remains an excellent player next season, that Lee and Blackmon recover and become solid contributors, that Underwood turns into a decent nickle back, and that we draft a capable safety to work into the mix. And, of course, that we draft someone to put some pressure opposite Barbie. My personal candidate would be Wisconsin's O'Brien Schofield, who looks tailor-made to be a 3-4 outside linebacker-- 6'2", 250, explosive, instinctive, great at shedding blocks, a leader, a fine tackler, never gives up on a play. Here's hoping he's available in the second round.

Back to the last possession of the game. First off, that missed deep throw. Wow. How different things could have been had Rodgers read where Jennings was going just a little bit better. Then, who else thought we were sunk when Colledge (who I unfanned on Facebook in October) got called for holding on that nice pass to Grant? Especially when the replay showed that Rodgers got nailed with a helmet-to-helmet on the same play, and that there should have been offsetting penalties? Plus, although that was a hold, it wasn't the most blatant you've ever seen. Worse stuff goes uncalled pretty often. Maybe it was Colledge's god-awful arm tatoos. In any event, good pass play to Jones to make it a reasonable third down, and then the final play.

It was an empty backfield, and Mike Adams, the whipping boy for the Packers all day (he had what, four penalties called on him?) and the previous week, comes off on a corner blitz from the right side. First off, this was a great call by the Cardinals. As Football Outsiders has demonstrated, when an offense empties the backfield teams should blitz, and blitz heavily. Statistics show that empty backfields fair poorly against the blitz. Blitzes against empty backfields force quick throws by the quarterback, and if the rest of the defense plays press man, the throw is often rushed and the pass is contested. Usually, unless you have a great receiver who can easily beat press coverage, any completed pass results in an immediate tackle. So on third and decent distances, blizting an empty backfield is a smart strategy.

For an offense to even get close to winning the down, the quarterback needs to recognize and respond to the blitz. Rodgers, sadly, appeared to fail on this initial step. Maybe Adams was too small for him to notice (he's only 5'8"), maybe Tauscher blotted him out, but Rodgers never looks in his direction. Rodgers needs to see Adams coming, go to his hot read, get the ball out, and hope his receiver can make a play for the first down. In this situation, with an unblocked man coming at you, your hand is forced. But none of these things happen. Rodgers fails to see him, though he's not coming from his blind side. Aaron does some sort of a pump fake, or a double-clutch. Adams jars the ball loose, and Karlos Dansby, who had been behind every other one of the Cardinals turnover plays, is in the right spot once again. Game over, season over. Even the post-fumble facemask that Adams pulls on Rodgers (had it been called) wouldn't have made a difference. What a game.

This Totally Rules

2009-11-24T09:01:00.002-06:00

Seriously, this is awesome. If you're tired of seeing Ohio State blow it in the BCS year and year, throw some spare change in this group's direction.

Also, the Sporting News is reporting that the BCS has hired Ari Fleischer to defend its image, apparently predicting that there'll be an uproar after Iowa and Oklahoma State are picked to play in the BCS over an undefeated Boise State. Hey, BCS, the only reason anyone thinks Fleischer is competent is because he was followed in his job by Scott McClellan. I think 90% of the world's employees would look extra-competent in hindsight if they were replaced by Scott McClellan. Also, Fleischer was the guy the Packers hired to "manage" the Favre retirement/unretirement debacle 16 months ago. How'd the Packers look coming out of that one? Hmmm, not a ringing endorsement. Seriously, how does this guy keep getting work.

Predictably, Fleischer's first comments on behalf of the BCS didn't defend the current ridiculous system, but rather criticized playoff proponents for not having a coherent alternative. Hey Fleischer, the fact that there are a bunch of good playoff options doesn't mean that the BCS doesn't suck. Continuing your dishonest BS, even off the White House podium. Booo Bush apparatchiks.

FARVPOCALYPSE

2009-11-04T21:24:00.017-06:00

Favre can play for whoever he wants. But I don't have to like it. And if I had been there last Sunday I would have boo'd loudly. He gets to have fun playing, and I get to have fun rooting. And accepting him in a vikings helmet is not fun for me. So, eat shit hillbilly. We can talk about what you did for Wisconsin after you're finished undoing it. We are talking about the vikings. I have rules.
One thing was very apparent to me on Sunday afternoon; Brett Favre could not be happier playing for the vikings. He hasn't been this focused since the 90's (except for the 4-12 season when he was trying to get Antonio Chatman to the probowl). He's found Jesus. Purple Jesus. He wants to win. Maybe he even pays attention watching film this year. Or maybe it just looks like that because he's not throwing up interceptions like they're punts. You don't have to when you aren't your teams best player. He's enjoying himself and trying, at the same time. Too bad he had to play us to do that.
He sure is enjoying making us watch it though; waving off the incompletion that Greg Jennings barely got one hand on; saying that this 7-1 viking team (that needed a missed field goal and a hail mary to win two home games) is more talented than the 96-97 Packers; it's all a bit enthusiastic. Especially the comments about the Reggie White-led World Champion 1997 Green Bay Packers. It sounds needy. Favre trying to pump his teammates up at the expense of the one team too good to let him lose. Be quiet.
The media here in LA hammered Packer fans for booing. "Classless". Which is rich, coming from grown men that scream about college football 80% of the time. They love to talk about what Favre did for the Packers. So do I. They don't talk about what the Packers did for Brett Favre. First, Ron Wolf got him out of Jerry Glanville's basement. He was a drunk punk hick and the Packers gave him the softest landing in the league. Then they had a hall of fame receiver carry him for four years; then they kept him well protected the whole time he was a Packer; and somewhere in there they signed Reggie White to help him win a Superbowl, but of course, he wouldn't start for these 09' Vikings.
Maybe this is revenge for the yahoos that crashed his dad's funeral like it was a tailgate party. Maybe he was put out playing for the Packers.
This is bullshit.
I didn't realize until Sunday, that Favre really did want out of Green Bay. He definitely wanted to play for the Vikings, and what really bothers me is how he's pretending like he had no choice. He retired before the draft. That was his decision; let the Packers draft knowing that he would come back and they would have to cut him loose. Then it could be Thompson's fault that he had to go play for the Vikings so that when he fails, he can come crawling back to his championship legacy without having to admit that he really cared way more about winning a championship than alienating the people that supported him through alcohol, vicodin, life, death, playoff disasters, and the most interceptions in the history of the league. What competitor wouldn't?
Only, Thompson stuck him with the Jets for a year. Thank god. And he stuck us with Aaron Rodgers. Who currently has 16 tds and 2 interceptions (!). And a rushing touchdown. Last year he threw 12 interceptions. Favre did that in 2 playoff games. I totally understand him wanting to beat us, but he could've toned it down a bit. And I wont listen to any asshole tell me that I shouldn't hate watching it. We have rivals to hate them. It's almost as fun hating them as it is rooting for our team. He can never take my hatred away. Fuck that. He'll never be that good. Ever.
I was totally ok with Favre going to the Vikings. I kind of wanted it. Just for the spectacle of it. And I also felt that Favre had earned the right to get paid 12 million dollars to do what he loves to do. Wherever he wanted. Honestly I didn't think he would sweep us. I thought we'd be better than this.
If he wins a Superbowl with the Vikings, he's dead to me.

It's the Players, Stupid

2009-11-02T11:05:00.006-06:00

Let's be frank. Childress may have some awful personal grooming, and definitely needs someone to take him aside and tell him not to wear polo shirts that highlight his man-boobs. (McCarthy, whose own rack is likely far more prodigious, has the good sense to wear nylon jackets.) But for all the fun that's been made of Childress, the coaching between the two teams is basically a draw, even with Capers at the defensive helm. Childress may not take advantage of the most obvious gimmie in football (Peterson on short-distances behind Hutchinson and McKinnie) as often as he should, but McCarthy keeps letting Rodgers take 7-step drops with two neophyte tackles and has allowed his team to become utterly penalty-ridden. Who's dumber? I can't tell.

Given the draw in equally-dunderheaded coaches, the difference between the Vikings and the Packers is personnel. Namely, the Vikings are on a ridiculous hot streak in player acquisition, especially compared to the Packers.

Consider the Vikings' hit list. First, the draftees: Harvin (1st rd. 2009), Loadholt (2nd rd. 2009), J. Allen (acquired for 2008's 1 and 2), Peterson (1st rd. 2007), Rice (2nd rd. 2007), Greenway (1st rd. 2006). Peterson is a superstar, maybe the best player in the league, certainly the best back. Favre has turned Rice into an All-Pro wideout. Harvin may be the best returner in the game. Loadholt stoned Aaron Kampman twice now, as a rookie. Greenway is a well-above average starter. Jared Allen is simply a great pass rushing right end and is in the prime of his career. He's at a much higher level than Kampman. And even the year they traded for Allen, they found two other starters in late rounds that year. They haven't had a "bad draft" since 2005.

And in the years' prior to current GM Rick Spielman (Chris's brother) taking over, the Vikings made some excellent free agent signings-- notably Pat Williams and Antonio Winfield, and, of course, Steve Hutchinson, who even though he's fading this season, is still the best guard in the division, at the least.

Plus, they've held onto prior draft hits, like E.J. Henderson, Bryant McKinnie, and Kevin Williams, and managed to get some adequate starters out of random picks, like starting safety Tyrell Johnson, and starting center John Sullivan (who has replaced former Pro Bowl Center Matt Birk without a hitch). And, of course, getting Favre at no cost took their offense to an entirely higher level.

Now compare the Packers. No impact free agents since Woodson and Pickett several years ago. Chillar is pretty good, but not great. So the drafts have needed to produce excellent players. But, until Matthews this season, Thompson's five drafts have produced exactly two above-average players-- Rodgers and Jennings. Take a look at the other high picks: 2006-- Hawk, Colledge; 2007-- Justin Harrell, Brandon Jackson; 2008-- Jordy Nelson, Brian Brohm, and Pat Lee. Ooof. Not one even one "solid starter" in that bunch. The Vikings kicked the Packers' asses in those drafts.

This is why you saw what you did on the field last night. The Vikings are simply, top to bottom, a better team. Favre is the cherry on top of the sundae. Thompson's been excellent at improving the team's depth, no doubt, and a disproportionate number of discarded Thompson draft picks have found places in the league (like Hunter Hillenmeyer, Aaron Rouse, David Clowney, Tony Moll, and Dave Tollefson). But he just hasn't found many top of the line players. He needs to do better.

D Day

2009-10-29T03:40:00.010-05:00

The one decision Ted Thompson made that I still can't get over was the one to not give up a 3rd round draft choice for Randy Moss. We would have won a superbowl. Certainly. That is a serious black eye on his record, due to the way Randy Moss has continued to "tear up the N F L" since then. In Thompson's defense, Moss was awful for the Raiders with recurring hamstring issues, and Greg Jennings emerged the following season as an absolute star receiver. But it would have been glorious. I would have bought a jersey.
As far as Thompson's decision to transition to Aaron Rodgers following Favre's retirement and unretirement, he has my unending support and gratitude. Aaron Rodgers is playing unbelievable football right now. In the last three games he's completed 70 of 94 passes for 9 tds and 2 ints. And he gets the crap beat out of him. I could not be more excited to watch this guy run our offense for the next 10 years. Favre is my favorite player ever, but in all honesty, who's to say he'd have anywhere near this level of desire and passion if TT had just left him in there to go through the motions with the Packers. For everyone who says the Packers abandoned him, may I suggest that he was kind of done with the Packers. Would you imagine he would've made it through last year healthy with us? Either way he would have retired. Hurt or healthy. Him being 'wronged' by management is exactly what had to happen. In his mind, I'm sure its the reason he got hurt, and all the justification he needs to come back from the injury to play for the vikings. If he hadn't been treated so poorly by the Packers he wouldn't have gotten hurt and he wouldn't have had to play for the vikings. I'm sure. I guarantee he fantasized about handing the ball off to Adrian Peterson before he retired. Sometime right around when he lost the feeling in his face as he realized it was on him to win the NFC championship and take the Packers back to the superbowl.
Fine. Good for him. But all this talk about who was at fault is ridiculous. The way it went down was a gift to both sides. And by both sides I mean just Brett Favre. Favre needed this. If TT hadn't locked the door behind him, Brett wouldn't be 6-1 right now. He wouldn't still be being the ultimate legend's legend. He'd be rehabbing from shoulder surgery and we'd be blaming our offensive lines terrible play on the inexperienced Aaron Rodgers.
I'll feel good if the crowd cheers him on sunday. I'll also feel good if they boo him mercilessly. He brought a lot of money into the state. That's kind of a bottom line deal. You have to applaud that and you have to applaud his dependability and level of play. It's undeniably legendary. But if he gets to have fun playing, then I get to have fun rooting. That's what it's all about right? It's why we love to watch right? Well right now I'm having alot of fun hating Brett Favre. And I will continue to hate him until he stops wearing that awful uniform. I hated the vikings long before I idolized Brett Favre. So get body-slammed on your hillbilly face, old man. I'm sure you understand. Love ya'.
As far as the actual game goes on sunday, our defense looks to finally be in place. I think its good. Really good. And not just because they put up consistent fantasy points (sacks/turnovers/touchdowns). But it helps.
I think Clay Matthews is a stud. He also happens to have been chosen with the pick we traded the pick we traded Brett Favre for if I'm not correct. Our line play is solid (Johnny Jolly is having a probowl season) and our secondary sits and waits. Patient. Calm. honestly I'm anticipating a season defining performance out of a talented, well coached, well built defense. They've looked good against awful teams, but the defense has been new. The last 2 weeks they've given up 3 points. Its the NFL. Sooo. I understand it was cleveland and detroit, but I'm still excited. I think we win and I think our defense wins it for us. 2 picks, 3 sacks, 20 points. Pack wins. And covers. 27-20.

17 Point Dogs

2009-10-10T11:03:00.003-05:00

BBBWWWHHAAAT?

I am appalled and dismayed. It's not that Vegas knows anything, its that Nobody is betting the Badgers at +15. This is unbelievable.

I've been all over the internets this week, gathering reports. The main theme is that the Badgers are a running team and the Buckeyes are great at stopping the run. I'm happy about this. They don't believe we can throw. Let's go to the air early.

Let's have our Defense get after them. We rotate 5 ends and 4 DTs. Then we can bring Borland as a rush end late. Hopefully we can contain the running Terrelle Pryor.

Let's go get this Big Ten.

Bruising the Buckeyes

2009-10-07T15:37:00.003-05:00

The Badgers are a physical group, and the coaching staff continues to bring in big, strong athletic players. Anybody else get the feeling that Wisconsin plays some serious ball upfront? The Buckeyes sure do. Apparently, from their point of view we gave them there most intense physical battle last year. Expect more of the same on Saturday.

Also, note the goodies at the end. The Buckeyes might be down a few big uglies this weekend, including at the LT and DT spots.

Bucky Heads to the Horseshoe

2009-10-07T09:57:00.002-05:00

So the Badgers are 5-0. They are heading into a battle against Ohio State for a game, which (collect yourself) is for the lead in the BigTen. If the Badgers win this game, they are well-positioned to LEAD the BigTen.

The best part is, this Ohio State team is beatable. We can matchup with this version of the Ohio State EchoChamberHeads.

Our D-line is coming together and we have a rotation. A D-line rotation. It's so nice to have one of those. By now, Badger fans are on to JJ Watt, and they should be recognizing the standout year from O'Brien Schofield. But how about Nzegwu? That kid can run, and he looks like a DE.

Our O-line appeared to come together running the ball. This could be due to some continuity forming, but it could also be that we just know how to put the Gophers in the mindtrap and run all over them. I LOVE to see us run the ball so forcefully. We run 6 plays in a row, and then all of a sudden guys on the other team don't wanna get up from the turf and its injury timeout time. Old school Badgers bodying people.

This leads us to the RB position. Clay needs to get worked into a game. He gets stronger as the game goes on. SO we obviuosly need a #2. Zach Brown has been a disappointment, and his terrible fumble PLUS his terrible "challenge that! I was down!" when he was clearly lying. I didn't need to see the replay to know he was lying. I knew when they showed the replay it would show a fumble and it did. Not even that close. Bottom line, when you fumble in a huge situation you take ownership of it, you don't act like a child. Zach acted poorly and I am convinced it impacted his oncoming demotion.

So this leads us to the enjoyably named Montee Ball. Montee will get his shot on the BIG stage this Saturday. Hopefully he can relax on his way to the hole, allowing him to use his gifts on the way out of the hole. In his few carries against Minny, he was nervous and it shrunk his vision.

I hope we continue to throw it around in the first quarter. I love throwing early and pounding them late. Also, Ohio State does not fuck around with the schemes. They have routinely challenged us with 8 and 9 in the box. After 5 games of film on us, maybe they believe in our passing attack, but probably not. Let's throw it early and run it late. We can push them around man on man, I have seen it before.

McFadden and St. Jean are not great tacklers, its noticeable. We Need them to tackle better against Terrelle Pryor. If we can contain Pryor on 3rd down, I like our chances on defense.

So the BigTen title is on the line on Saturday. Get your game face on Badger fans! Let's Go!

After 10 hours of reflection

2009-10-06T08:50:00.004-05:00

- Favre is a self-obsessed douche. Even NPR gave him a twenty-second quote, in which he rhapsodized about how he went to church and prayed before the game. Now, after years of philandering, boozing, drugging, and being a spoiled ass, he's found God. Give me a flippin' break.

- Vikings fans-- I highly doubt he'll last the season, although Sage Jacksonfelds would have looked great with that much protection.

- If the teams' switch offensive lines, the Packers dominate that game.

- The Vikings have a top-ten left tackle in McKinnie, and a top-five left guard in Hutchinson. All of their other guys are either rookies or replacement level guys. But the Packers couldn't get any pressure, even when operating against the weak side of the Vikings' line. This shows that coaching matters. Maybe if you just switched the teams' offensive line coaches, the Packers win. The Vikings have Jim Hueber, who was Wisconsin's offensive line coach for a decade, from 1995 to 2005. Think of all the great linemen he produced. At least three first-round draft picks (Gibson, McIntosh, Thomas). Hueber has almost 40 years of coaching experience. Compare that to James Campen, who was a solid player, but has very little experience, and was coaching at a high school four years ago. Ridiculous. (Hat tip-- Bob McGinn in a recent Packer Insider article.)

- As Randy mentioned, Rodgers held onto the ball far too long, far too many times. He should have run more. He generally seems to be holding the ball too long when the Packers are running limited patterns and holding guys back to pass protect. Thus, there aren't a lot of options down the field, and he waits, hoping someone's going to get open. Just run for a few yards or throw the ball away. (I wonder if after last game, McCarthy tried to talk him out of running so much.) He needs to get a clock in his head.

- I think Rodgers has been sacked more in the past four games than Favre was for the entirety of the 2007 season. What's the NFL record for sacks allowed through four games? Seriously, the Packers have got to be close.

- Rushing the passer, for both sides, that's what it came down to. Favre was able to convert a ton of third downs because he had all day. The offense was in fits and starts because Rodgers either had no time or nobody open. Ugh. Thank goodness the bye is here.

Quick Post-Debacle Thoughts

2009-10-05T22:57:00.003-05:00

- Sorry, James Campen. You need to be fired. Like three weeks ago.

- Generally excellent run defense. But where the hell did the blitzes go? When they were called they went nowhere.

- Nick Barnett is awful on essentially every pass play.

- I predict Colledge will be okay. Just looked like a bad banging of the knee.

- However, I predict Will Blackmon is done for the year.

- Will Blackmon's injury problems are actually a good example of the problem of overrelying on young players-- you don't know which ones are durable enough to make it in the league. Blackmon has proven that he isn't. I think this may be a career-ender for him. Sad, because he was a fine punt-returner.

- Woodson was robbed. If that play stands, how much different is the game? If the Packers convert from the 1, how much different is the game?

- With the penalties (esp. Woodson's and Kuhn's non-existent hold) didn't it feel like the fix was in?

- Muffed punt aside, Jordy Nelson looks good. Jermichael is jerkick-ass.

- Clifton will come back after the bye. I predict Colledge will as well. I hope James Campen doesn't come with them.

- Now I know why every other NFL fan hates Favre. I am no longer apathetic. Boo forever until he apologizes for not retiring.

US AGAINST THE WORLD running commentary

2009-10-05T19:32:00.022-05:00

PREGAME: Steve Young picked us. Only clown on the countdown. Much better that way.

Also, love the state by state percentage map of where thinks who's gonna win.
Wisconsin was the only red state. We were the only republicans. Call me John Boehner.

side note - we're all for pink, but does it have to be hot pink? yes. I think it does. Nice shoes.

FIRST TURNOVER:
Colledge made a half an effort. I suppose the play call was a quick pass and Rodge didn't like what he saw. Too bad. We might not move the ball like that again. Looked good early.

DEANNA FAVRE:
I've never said this, but your forehead is enormous.

GET JER POPCORN READY
Its a Jermichael party up in here. Say it Loud!

GOPHERS NEW STADIUM:
Is perfect for outdoor hockey. Awful for football. Perfect for outdoor hockey.

ANOTHER 3RD DOWN FOR THE VIKES. GOOD SIGN.

JOHNNY JOLLY;
Is playing probowl football. Every week.

ANOTHER 3RD DOWN CONVERSION:
We spoke too soon. 3 in a row ending in a touchdown. Yikes. That's not beatable.

CLAY MATTHEWS:
Is making plays whenever I see him. Huge heady play. 14 is alot of points. We continue to be in a position to win this game.
3rd down conversions are still a problem. Favre is focused.

2ND HALF

SOOOOO...
Favre wants it. And I still don't know exactly why we cut Aaron Rouse.

KICKOFF AFTER VIKING TD
Holding penalty. Didn't get to see it, but the Packers continue to be highly penalized. The PI on Woodson earlier was gross. And you can't call taunting in this game.

NOTHING WORSE THAN:
John Gruden Fellating Jared Allen.

4TH DOWN FIELD GOAL DECISION @ THE 1:
Please kick the field goal. Our defense is scoring points. Give Favre a reason to choke. KEEP HOPE ALIVE !!!!

AARON RODGERS:
Has got to THROW. THE. BALL. AWAY. At this point he has to start taking as much credit as the offensive line for sacks. They aren't giving him much time, but the time they are giving him is consistent. He is showing very poor awareness.

THEY:
Dusted of the Viking fight song. Didn't know there was one. Cheerleaders in the endzone. This is a victory party viking parade and brett Faver is the drum major. Its gonna be hard to forget this.

DRIVE:
We went 95 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Take more care of the ball and score when you get the cance. This game is dead even. Adrian Peterson has 55 yards with 3:10 left in the game. COME ON COACHING STAFF!! I MEAN GOOD WORK COACHING STAFF!!

8 Sacks. WTF. I thought we had paid professionals on our team.

Stuart Scott. Which eye is glass?

1 Score game. 1 minute to go. Get u this ONSIDE

Imagine if...

2009-10-01T13:42:00.002-05:00

So this weekend is the Minnesota-Wisconsin football showdown on both the amateur and professional levels. In both instances, the games occur on the Western side of the Mississippi. In both instances, the home teams are breaking out a shiny new bauble that they are certain will propel them to victory over their hated rivals. In the Gophers' case, it's their brand new (minature) stadium. And maybe those repellent all golden uniforms that show the sweat stains so nicely. In the Queens' case, well, it's the tarnished, dated, but still shiny penny that is Brett Favre (pronounced like Ben Stiller says it in "There's Something About Mary"). Vegas certainly values these new playthings, as it favors the home teams by about the same margin (Vikings by 3.5 and Gophers by 3).

The blunt truth is, that's probably right. A neutral third-party would likely say that the Gophers rely on their passing game (and the crotch-puncher) to win a close one in an emotional game to take back the axe for the first time in several years. That same "reasonable man" would note that the Packers haven't played a complete game this season, can't really run the ball or pass protect, are missing their left tackle, and made Cedric Benson look like a superstar two weeks ago in concluding that the Vikes will likely take this round. Maybe by more than the line.

Knowing this, let's approach this football weekend (that includes Monday night) with an open mind. If the Wisconsin teams lose, really, so what, it's expected. The tide is turning on the Northeastern prairie. The past is prolouge and all that. This is what Minnesota is telling itself. So if they sweep, expect some crowing come Tuesday, but don't be downtrodden. A sweep is what the genius odds-makers are predicting.

For now, instead, think about the other option. Given these shiny new toys that have finally addressed each team's most deep-seeded excuses, imagine if they fail. Oh boy. If the long-sought, on-campus, outdoor, non-Metrodome stadium doesn't lead to axe reclamation. If the HOF-bound, grizzly-bear quarterback doesn't cure all your football team's ills. A reverse sweep. A Minnesota flop of epic proportions. That idea is just so delicious, I could chew on it all day. Of course, it probably won't come to fruition, but it is a tasty treat to imagine while we wait out the next 45 hours. Hoooo, nelly.

I Hate Him

2009-09-27T23:51:00.002-05:00

So I tried to be diplomatic about it. I tried to ignore it. I tried to act like I didn't care. Not any more.

Today made it impossible to ignore. Watching him prance around in that awful purple jersey as if he had been doing it his whole career was too much. I wanted to vomit, I wanted to punch him in the face.

Brett is now a Viking. I hate him.

Badger Preseason Over

2009-09-20T06:39:00.003-05:00

After a sloppy 44-14 drubbing of the smallest I-AA football school in the country, and a wild overtime win over California's largest junior college, the Badgers' preseason is over. Sparty, now coming off two consecutive close and embarrassing losses, comes to the Camp next Friday.

Every college football season is a mystery unfolding-- it's a several-months-long process of discovering who your team is. If things unfold they way you want them to, at the end of the season you've learned that your team is BCS-bowl eligible, or a league champion. But things usually don't work out that way. Last year, Wisconsin also went into the Big Ten undefeated with a couple of decent looking victories, but promptly lost four straight games due to various combinations of unclutchness, tough scheduling, poor defense, and awful quarterbacking. So this year, what do we know so far? How much of the cloud has lifted from the team? Yeah, not much.

The team can pass the ball. Kendricks, Graham and Toon are the real deals. (What a catch Lance made in the back of the end zone yeserday!) Tolzien throws a nice, hard, flat, generally accurate ball (still no interceptions, knock on wood), and when he has protection does a decent job of going through his progressions although he's not infallible. (No one is.) Carimi is a legit NFL left tackle should he stay healthy, so Tolzien's blind side should be okay when the defense brings four. What's missing is a solid bookend receiver. Isaac Anderson, coming off two excellent games, looked iffy yesterday (drop on an easy pass, killer holding penalty). Gilreath, besides two kick returns and a run against Fresno, has looked poor. Kyle Jefferson has caught one short pass. Kraig Appleton, the much touted frosh, hasn't gotten the chance to show himself, and now may not get one this season. Maurice Moore could be it, I guess. But I'm quibbling. Three really good receiving options, a fine LT and a smart accurate quarterback are enough to make this unit well above average.

We also know that there's more consistency and lots of potential on defense. Despite Wofford's lack of impressive physical talent, and the one touchdown drive against the first team defense to start yesterday's second half, this year's defense is more assignment sure, especially in the front seven. Plus, it has some fun guys to watch. It's hard to believe Mike Taylor is only a redshirt frosh. Maragos is a solid leader and seems very good at playing the ball in the air. O'Brien Schofield (OB), if he keeps this up, should be a lock to be taken in the first three rounds by a 3-4 NFL team (as a stand-up outside LB). St. Jean actually looked like a linebacker yesterday, maybe for the first time in his college career. McFadden is playing more instinctively and getting off blocks better. Devin Smith's diving interception in the end zone was a great individual play. JJ Watt is enormous and will bat many more passes before the year is over (and is only a redshirt sophomore). By the way, I don't think it's any coincidence that Wofford's one touchdown drive against the first team defense came after Watt left the game with a turned ankle. (Heal up soon.) The DL depth should be better, which was a huge problem last season.

Also, we know that Chris Borland rules. That punk block was amazing, especially for someone shorter than six feet. He created two turnovers yesterday. A huge recruiting find. Barring injuries, he's got a great future in Madison.

But I think that's all we know so far. The defense as a unit has not looked solid for an entire game and has given up some big plays to every team UW has played. The offense produced no big runs yesterday (this is against Wofford), though Moffit and Nagy both played and looked fine, so maybe the line-play will improve. But Clay's fumbilitis was hugely worrying. And this was his first game after being named a starter at Wisconsin. Uh oh. Brown looked better yesterday, and Smith is an interesting option (though he runs backwards too often), but no one else on the team can drive the pile forward like Clay can. We need Clay performing and protecting the ball. There's not enough depth at safety with Pleasant and Carter booted off the team, apparently for having too many parties at their apartment, or at cornerback. The pass rush, besides OB and Taylor on blitzes, has been iffy. Nzegwu needs to come back soon and show the explosion he did in the spring. The special teams coverage remains poor, and will seriously burn UW sometime this season.

In short, much remains unknown. And a pissed-off, and decently talented, Sparty is looming. More will be revealed next Saturday.

Football

2009-09-16T19:41:00.002-05:00

I need to start with the NFL network. It replays the games of the week. Great, we love this. Obvious call. But what I wanna know is: who is the guy who came up with the idea to splice in the relevant post-game interviews into the gameplay. You see I'm so Johnny I'm Jolly sniff out a middle screen like a bear sniffing a cheeseburger in the forest. You see him display paranormal athleticism to intercept a pass and hilariously try to get up and run for a TD and only make it 2 feet. Then a window pops up and it's Charles Woodson at his locker discussing the play you just watched. He is talking and giving you insight and yet the rest of the screen continues to show gameplay. So I ask, who is the guy who invented this and can I send him a thank-you note?

Chinatown Sneak-ball WEEK 1

2009-09-12T01:02:00.007-05:00

Let's jack-knife some kidneys.

I'm most concerned about Matt Forte, but he can't do as much damage as our offense, so winning to me comes down to one player, Devin Hester. If we can shut him out, which we've been able to do recently, we'll win. Devin Hester has 3 catches for 19 yards over his career vs. Green Bay. He'll do better than that. If we can keep the improvement minimal, they can't score with us, unless he causes problems on special teams. Green Bay special teams have fared relatively well against Hester; In 6 games vs. the pack he's returned 15 punts for 192 yards including an 84 yarder @ Lambeau 3 years ago. This needs to continue, because if they start every possession on the 50, the bears offense might be as improved as it's been said to be.
Thankfully, (and it seems almost as a direct result of Hester re-acquiring his duties as leagues most amazing punt returner), the packers place a high level of importance on special teams play. Several personnel decisions this year, directly emphasized this priority. Instead of a third quarterback, Tyrell Sutton, Ruvell Martin and/or an extra line-backer for the new defense, the Packers decided in favor of younger athletes that apparently have been making a significant difference on special teams. Brett Swain and TE/LB Spencer Havner are 2 players touted as most suitable for the STs, along with the third full-back, beast headcrackerwedgebuster Quinn Johnson.
Hester is a very scary football player. He made the superbowl they lost a good game. Danielle Manning led the league in Kick returns as Hester made the shift to receiver, but you can't tell me that Devin Hester returning punts is not one of the most threatening weapons in the league. It's a great thing that the idiot Bears ever gave that job to someone else. Hopefully now that he's back, the Packers attention to special teams will pay off, and he wont sneak up on us. That would be a prototype Bear victory.
But really they're gonna have to score 40 points to beat us because our offense is going in through the mouth so-whatever.

Apparently our punt returner has a quad contusion and might not play. Which would be unfortunate. Jordy Nelson would assume return duties if Blackmon can't go, but Blackmon had a punt return for a touch down in last years home opener. And I want that to happen again. He's excited about playing (the end of that interview is hilarious).

Packers Down to 53

2009-09-06T14:59:00.003-05:00

Seasons are rarely won and lost in the last weekend before the season starts. That said, I generally like what the Packers have done with their roster, and like the guys they were able to stash on their practice squad. Namely, the practice squad has enabled the Packers to keep an eye on (and keep developing) draft picks Brian Brohm and Jamon Meredith, in the hope that they start living up to their talent. (Brohm was eligible because he didn't play in a game last season. Also, I love the fact that the Packers have quasi-retained a guy whose first name translates as "Ham.") There was also likely some debate between developmental 3-4 outside linebackers Brad Jones (a late round draft pick this April) and Cyril Obiozior. The team kept Jones on the roster, but managed to stash Obi on the practice squad. Again, a success from my perspective.

The one loss, I suppose, is former Northwestern Wildcat Tyrell Sutton, who was claimed by the Carolina Panthers and put on their active roster. He ran decisively during the preseason, and looked to be a solid fit in the zone blocking system. Personally, I think they made the right decision in keeping DeShawn Wynn, who's a great blitz pick-up guy, and has shown (when he's been healthy) that he can bust some big plays. Sutton just didn't have much wiggle or speed.

I also like the decision to give Justin Harrell a full-on medical redshirt year. Next year's training camp will probably be make it or break it time, career-wise. With the rookie Wynn and Montgomery looking like decent back-ups, and the Packers able to stash the squatty run-stopper Anthony Toribio on the practice squad, this made sense to me.

See the full practice squad members here.

Of the unretained, the one guy I'm sad to see go is Ruvell Martin. He was a fine blocker and by all accounts an excellent teammate. With his nice preseason interceptions, the decision to release Anthony Smith is a bit of a puzzler, but I guess we fans don't notice all of the mistakes and missteps. With Rouse's life story, I've always been pulling for him, so I'm glad he's still a Packer.

Northern Illinois: Good and Bad

2009-09-06T09:36:00.003-05:00

A wild opener for Wisconsin full of good and bad. Some fun new discoveries, and some recurring issues. How about we go through this with a compare and contrast-type lay out?

Good: 28 to 6 in the Fourth Quarter
Bad: 28 to 20 with 2 minutes left and Northern Illinois driving to tie the game

Good: Nick Toon looking like everything we hoped he'd be-- big, strong, fast, plucking the ball out of the air with his hands. Isaac Anderson finally looking like the Minnesota state sprint champion.
Bad: Isaac Anderson's generally poor run-blocking (i.e., on the bubble screen to Toon that ended up in a loss); Toon alligator-arming a high Phillips pass

Good: True freshman Travis Frederick starting at center, but no fumbled exchanges
Bad: Frederick's holding penalty killing a drive; several blown blocks or missed blitzers; (Heal up, Moffitt)

Good: Zach Brown and Clay looking like a decent one two punch; Clay's two touchdowns
Bad: Brown's inability to break tackles; no long runs (poor wide receiver blocking?)

Good: Defensing racking up lots of tackles for loss; NIU 3 of 12 on third down
Bad: Still giving up yards in big chunks at times; horribly unclutch defensive penalties (i.e., McFadden's awful face mask when he and two other defenders had a back cornered for a loss on third down; Fenelus not needing to interfere on fourth down in the red zone-- the ball was overthrown)

Good: Phillips has wheels and is great at getting past defenders in the open field; having his running threat in the backfield noticeably opened up the rushing game
Bad: Phillips throwing too high to open receivers; some near interceptions; no points on the drives when he was in at quarterback

Good: Tolzien starting 11 for 11; generally good accuracy and decision-making; great strike to Toon on crossing pattern where he got drilled right after throwing; Good deep ball to Anderson on first play (what a great way to begin your career as a starter!); cheering on Phillips from the sidelines, joking with Sherer
Bad: Two picks-- on first, somebody probably should have picked up the corner blitz, but Tolzien needs to see that guy coming and hit his hot read, the guy wasn't coming from his blind side; on second, the defender made a great play, but it looked like he was forcing the ball to Toon-- Anderson was open deep behind the coverage, was a guy open on the right sidelines; both picks occurred at really bad times-- in red zone, on first play from scrimmage after other team scores.

Good: Graham looking like All-Big Ten player both receiving and blocking
Bad: No receptions for Kendricks, failing to pick up blitzes several times

Good: JJ Watt is pretty damn good and only a redshirt sophomore; Schoenfield looks great playing the run-- refs stole a fumble from him that would have ended the game
Bad: No other plays from other D-linemen, pass rush iffy when not blitzing (really need Nzegwu healthy)

Good: Gilreath's one long kickoff return
Bad: All other kickoff returns and punt returns; Gilreath running backwards several times; generally awful blocking-- Bielema may need to fire himself

Just Bad: Welch missing two field goals (shouldn't have attempted the first), only one touchback.

Almost Just Good: Mike Taylor-- blitzing, making tackles for loss, ripping that ball out for UW's lone turnover
One bad play: reacting late to a fullback wheel route, and giving up a 20 plus yard pass play to a guy he's definitely faster than.

Sorry for the shorthand. Generally, the game was fun to watch, and UW looked (with some better run blocking and blitz recognition when Moffitt returns) like it could have a pretty exciting offense. The defense seems like it has a chip on its shoulder and has some talented, heady players. But if anything, this game emphasized that even against non-BCS conference opponents, how small UW's margin for error is. The defense can't give opponents fresh sets of downs when it has them beat. The offense needs to take care of the ball, not beat itself and at least work the clock some when it has the lead. The special teams, don't get me started. Beside Nortman, there's nowhere to go but up. The main thing for this team is whether they improve as the season progresses. The ceiling certainly seems quite high.

Anyhow, much uncertainty remains. Could be a great year. Could be rough, could be mediocre. Fresno State is up next. They won their opener 51-0. Of course, they were playing Divsion I-AA UC-Davis in Fresno. But still. After this performance, I think that game looks like a toss-up. One twelfth of the journey in the books.

2009 Badger Football

2009-09-04T20:13:00.002-05:00

Let me make myself clear: I like this year's Badgers.

I like our schedule. I like our running game. I like the attitude of our players and coaches.

I like our secondary more than I have in years. Jay Valai makes plays. Aaron Henry is an All-BigTen talent. I like our guys back there.

I think our LBs are underrated. I like what I hear about Mike Taylor. I worry about our DLine, but i don't tell anybody about that.

There is no way our QBs can be worse than last year. Our starting QB from last year is now #3 on the depth chart. I love Garret Graham.

Nobody with a press pass in the entire country like the Badgers this year. I do.

I will be not be in U-65 much this year. I will be at the LA Coliseum and it will be weird (I'm attending USC Marshall MBA). But that can't stop, and won't stop, my unabashed homerism.

I am psyched for the new year. I think Northern is pretty good, but fuck'em, Bucky. We are more talented than most people give us credit for. We're like a sneaky badger, with sharp claws, hiding behind a mud hill. Come forth and bleed, foes!

It's always hard to project in college FB, when you don't see any preseason action and you have to go on newspaper reports, and the whispers from program insiders. But I like the whispers, and newspapers are dying dodo birds anyway.

Chilly

2009-09-04T20:12:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Minnesota, make I take your order please?

What does 3-0 mean?

2009-08-29T10:46:00.003-05:00

So I don't usually care about preseason NFL football, and I still don't really. The Lions were 4-0 in the preseason last year, and that turned out pretty well for them. However, I can't ignore the success the Packers have had in their first three games. I have only managed to see bits and pieces of games, so I can't make a completely legitimate analysis. That said here are some thoughts:

1. Offense: I believed from the start last year, and I continue to believe, that Aaron Rodgers is the real deal. Is he going to be the Packers version of Steve Young? I don't know. Is he going to be a top 5 NFL QB? Yes. He is top 10 now, and he will get better. The O-line is a work in progress, and it will be interesting to see how they do when opposing defenses play more than their base packages. The running game, as always, is the key. Grant looks better this year, and we need a full year out of him. I was impressed by Tyrell Sutton, who heretofore shall be known as Wildcat. He runs downhill, and has a good sense of space and how to read the zone blocking schemes. I hope Jermichael Finley continues to show the promise he has shown this preseason. TE seems to have been our weak spot in the receiving game, so we could us another presence down the middle.

2. Defense: So far so good. If we can force 3-4 turnovers per game, we will have no problem winning games. Obviously that won't happen. However, in the interview I saw with Charles Woodson he seems happy with the new system. He is more comfortable in read coverage than the previous press coverage. I'm hoping for a huge season from him. Nick Collins is motivated by his contract situation, he fortunately is not named Brandon Marshall, and is out to prove that he fits the new system. Kampman is still learning, but I remain hopeful that he can make the same transition that Jason Taylor made and continue to destroy people. As I said, so far so good, but I'm a bit more reserved in my enthusiasm for the defense. I think more will be revealed in the early regular season. That said, I did draft the Packers D as my back up in Fantasy this year.

3. Special Teams: I have not paid enough attention to make a comment. I continue to wait for Crosby to be given a shot at a 65 yarder. He will make one.

Reason the Vikings (and their fans) Suck #43872

2009-08-19T20:12:00.003-05:00

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-vikings-favreeffect&prov=ap&type=lgns

How is it possible that the Vikings hadn't sold all of their season tickets already? AP isn't enough for 'Queens fans? That franchise should hang its head in shame.

I've noticed nobody has rushed to post in re Captain Narcissus. I was going to, then I reread Mr. Man's post from 7/29 and realized that there was nothing more to add. Nothing has changed except it's August, not November. Even the media can't get excited this time. They seem to be doing their due diligence, but certainly aren't going crazy.

Question: Was there a game of significance (i.e. close playoff game) after the Super Bowls in which Brett didn't throw a pick that changed the course of the game? I can't think of one.

You stay classy, Rick!

2009-08-11T22:35:00.001-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4392828

Don't you wish this guy was our coach?

Make sure you read about the incredibly romantic story of how this woman met her husband. Classic.

Give Break Please

2009-07-29T16:14:00.004-05:00

Right, right so Favre says he's staying retired. But then he qualified it with baloney like this, as relayed by Peter King:

"I passed up the greatest chance I could have had right now, and it hurts,'' Favre said. "By saying no, I know I'm leaving an incredible opportunity on the table, and that opportunity is not coming back.'' There's no sense in asking the question about whether this is it for Favre. He said he was finished 17 months ago in Green Bay, and he insisted he was finished five months ago after leaving the Jets. Even he knows his gut feeling can't be trusted right now. "Very unlikely,'' he said. "I really believe this is it. I truly, truly believe it's over. But if someone calls Nov. 1, who knows?''

Dear God. Here's what he's really saying:

(1) I'm old;
(2) I'm spoiled;
(3) Playing football is hard, especially when the fans are mean to you and the team you're on isn't that good and everyone doesn't cowtow to you;
(4) I'm not interested in participating in a training camp or really practicing at all, especially not for a full season; and
(5) After Tom Brady shredded his knee in the first game of the regular season last year, I realized I should have waited to demand to be traded, so I could have selected a better situation for myself.

Sigh...

Favre Tidbits

2009-07-27T11:22:00.003-05:00

According to this article, John Elway had the same biceps-disfiguring surgery as Favre just had, before he and Terrell Davis led the Broncos to two Super Bowl victories. Crap. The toothy car salesman from the San Fernando Valley is also egging on Favre to return. Haven't you done enough, Elway?

Also, providing further fuel for the "Favre is really just in it for the money" theory, Favre has filmed a commercial for Sears, featuring him, wait for it, waffling over a purchase at Sears. Sigh. I guess it makes fun of him, so that's good. But the man has no shame. Or at least, he has no shame now, when he knows he's nearing the end of his commercial viability. How much do you want to bet that he gets fat, and then gets thin again and jumps on board with Marino's Nutrisystem ads?

Singularize me

2009-07-24T09:11:00.004-05:00

How come people covering sports teams with plural team names reference the individual member of these teams in the plural? This happens all the time and it's always absurd.

Follow me. Let's take for example the White Sox. We know that Sox is just a fun spelling of Socks. The team name is undeniably referencing socks. When Mark Buehrle throws a perfect game, he is not the first White Sox to do so in 80 years. He is the first White Sock, or the first Member of the White Sox to do so. Definitely not the first White Sox.

I hear this garbage all the time on sports shows and every time it sounds awkward and you can tell that the speaker is forcing themselves to give the individual a plural reference. Whose terrible convention is this? I often take issue with public nomenclature and this particular form of usage really annoys me more than most. Webster's dictionary adds roughly 100 new words a year. It's not as though all these journalists really need to follow this ridiculous protocol(1). We can change this and let's start now.

Reason No. 5 Why Fantasy Sports Are Great: I played fantasy baseball this year for the first time. I drafted Mark Buehrle in the late rounds and he has been good even though he has few Ks and gives up HRs. I was home packing to move west yesterday, and I decided to watch the White Sox game because I had Buehrle going. That's the only reason. I watched the entire game yesterday. I would NEVER have done that without Fantasy. I saw a perfect game from start to finish with an amazing HR saving catch in the 9th that I dreamed about in Little League whenever I was in the outfield.

I'm working on a thesis that uses sex and sports to explain how fantasy is like alcohol. It's not finished, but here's the outline. Lots of people love having sex and lots of people love following sports. Now even though having sex is enjoyed by everyone, alcohol came along and aided the experience. It made people relax it and it made people's vision worse. It does innumerable things to catalyze the sexy time. It's come so far that most mates meet while drinking or have drinks on their first 2 dates. We drink to get in the mood and we drink to get others in the mood.

Now let's look back at sports. Most guys like sports. We enjoy following sports. Now here comes along fantasy. And it allows guys to have more reasons and more opportunities to enjoy sports. It brings more people in. It gives me a reason to send an email to AJ. It makes us watch. It also gets the ladies more willing. I date a girl that has been playing fantasy football for 2 years now and she has done so on her own volition. She will rootlikeHELL against the opposing players if they touch the ball. She won't watch all the games, but she will check the scores. She has dipped her toe in the water. Fantasy has given her a reason to get in the pool, she can outdraft her boss and beat him on Sunday. The girls want it the boys want it. Fantasy is the sizzurp of sports.

(1) I'm not actually sure what the defense for this pluralization of the singular is, but I'm sure it's out there and I'm referring to whatever it is as "protocol"

Jackie I: Freed!

2009-07-17T20:47:00.002-05:00

Unsurprisingly, Jack Ikegwuonu joins his brother Bill in being acquitted on the ridiculous "burglary" charges the Dekalb County State's Attorney's Office charged them with. Again, they were found in a townhouse that Bill's friend was renting, allegedly holding an XBox, by Bill's friend's roommate, who was drunk and freaked out, and they ran off. That's the worst case scenario of what occurred. The Ikegwuonus said that they had plans to meet up with Bill's friend and saw a light on inside, so they went in. In any event, this seems like typical college male stupidity. Did you ever borrow anything from a friend's apartment or dorm room without asking? Probably. Did you get charged with burglary? Uhh, no.

I hate to say it, but throwing the book at two African-American scholarship football players in this sort of questionable circumstance reeks of overreaction. But why? Did Dekalb State's Attorney John Farrell think it'd be good press to persecute (not prosecute) two out of state black college students by charging them with a felony? (To be fair, Ron Matekaitis, now--horrifyingly-- a judge, was State's Attorney at the time of the brothers were charged.) Did he not want to look soft on athletes in a college town like Dekalb? Did he have something against guys with African last names? Who knows. What I do know is they should have offered some deferred prosecution agreement, like Madison has, where the charges should have been dropped in exchange for community service. And they certainly never should have charged the Ikegwuonus with a felony. Jesus. A conviction would have ruined these guys' lives. Ridiculous.

Change?

2009-07-16T10:18:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty sure that this article means that Barry has changed the person in the UW athletic department who oversees ticket sales. (I believe that Vince Sweeney used to be in charge, and at the bottom of that portion of the article it says he's moved on to a different position.) If that's the case, hallelujah. Time for some new blood in there to shake up the policies, especially, as has been oft-noted here, those regulating student tickets.

If they're looking for some new ideas, take a look at those proposed in the post by the oddly named "LynxRufus" (down toward the end of the page) here. Those all make sense to me.

A Theory

2009-07-15T20:55:00.004-05:00

So. Before the '07 football season, you know, the season where Favre played like a rock star (except for any game with inclement weather), and was runner-up in the NFL MVP voting (only because one smart ass sportswriter decided to protest the deserved Tom Brady unanimity), he apparently spent the off-season working with a personal trainer. I believe this was a personal trainer the Packers paid for, whom they sent down to Mississippi to live with Favre and hound him on a daily basis. Allegedly, he then came into training camp "in the best shape of his life."

Then, before the '08 season, he seemed to spend most of his free time sending vague texts to Peter King and Chris Mortenson, and then occasionally worked out with a local high school team. He then played decently before getting injured and stinking up the joint the back third of the season, blowing the Jets' playoff chances.

And now, before the '09 season, the one where he wants to, allegedly, sign with the Vikings, make them into legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and shove his Peter Panology down Ted Thompson's throat ("Hey, Ted: Fame! I'm gonna live forever!"), he's . . . occasionally working out with a local high school team again. In cargo shorts. And he's another year older, and coming off shoulder surgery. On his throwing arm. Hmmm . . .

Whither Student Tickets?

2009-07-06T08:49:00.005-05:00

So the Wisconsin State Journal's sports editors have finally caught onto the fact that something is amiss with Wisconsin's student ticket policies. This dawning realization led to this article, with its implied criticism of students who buy football season tickets and then immediately turn around and scalp them. My thoughts on that extremely common phenomenon are as follows.

First, there's the general and irrefutable truth that every year, at least some students are going to try to resell their student tickets. They're in college, they need money, standing for three hours in tiring, sobering up in the middle of the day isn't pleasant, all the games are on TV anyway, Wisconsin v. Wofford isn't particularly compelling, etc. So I don't begrudge kids' efforts to resell tickets and make some money. Indeed, I've bought scalped student tickets on several different occasions myself. (I do, however, begrudge the idiot student in the article who insisted that he isn't being "selfish" by buying tickets and then immediately scalping them. Dude, you're doing this to make money for yourself, and in doing so, making some other fan (like the incoming freshman mentioned in the article), pay more for tickets. That's selfish. Get a dictionary. And it's okay-- capitalism is based on selfishness. Just embrace it, you coward.)

Anyway, given that fact, the question is what to do about it. It seems to me, that the university currently has policies that tacitly encourage scalping, and I'm talking about the way that they allocate tickets and how they admit "students" to Camp Randall. In regard to allocation, until this past month, the university had a pure lottery for tickets. This year, they changed the policy to a first come, first served sale, but held the sale online at 8 am on a weekday-- not the most convenient time for students who have summer jobs. (The system didn't work particularly well as the University apparently cheaped out with their contract with Ticketmaster, but that's another matter.) In any event, neither method of allocation works that well. If you want to discourage scalping, you need to make getting tickets kind of a pain in the ass-- making people who want them do something a bit difficult, like wait in line for a long time. Certainly, making people sit in front of their computers for an hour is more difficult then just having them submit their names to a lottery, but they're still making it far too easy for the commercially-minded to buy tickets.

Second, I have never understood how anyone can walk up to the student gates, submit a voucher, get a ticket and waddle into the student section without any proof that that person is actually a student. Hell, an eighty-three-year-old who doesn't speak English can use a "student" voucher. It's ridiculous. Because of this complete lack of verification that the users of student vouchers are in fact students, the resale market for scalped student tickets is unlimited. If the UW did what other schools do without too much hassle, that is, simply ask for student IDs along with a voucher, the market for scalped vouchers would be halved, at least. Apparently spending three seconds to glance at a student ID is too much to ask of the ticket takers though. Sigh.

I'll make it plain-- in combination with the documented neutering of the "Grateful Red"-- it's clear that whoever runs UW's student ticket program for the major sports is doing a piss-poor job. Folks, this is a down economy. People are scrambling for work, the state (like most states) has serious budget problems, the university is looking to save money-- how about firing whatever half-assed, uncreative, and overpaid simpleton is handling student ticket policies? I'm guessing you could hire some young turk with fresh ideas to replace that person at 60% of the cost. Maybe a recent graduate of UW's MBA program? Hell, they could have a competition for that job among second year MBA students, with applicants needing to submit proposals to revamp the system. But that would be far too fun and unorthodox for the athletic department under Barry's reign.

Anatomy 101

2009-06-09T17:58:00.004-05:00

The biceps muscle of the arm (the hamstring is also a biceps) is called this because it has two muscle bellies. At the shoulder there are two places that the biceps inserts into the scapula. The two bellies merge and form one attachment below the elbow. This makes the biceps a "two-joint" muscle. As we all know, it flexes the forearm, but it also helps in flexing the arm at the shoulder (raising the arm in front of you). The tendon that Farve had released was likely the long tendon that attaches at the front of the shoulder. He will still be able to raise his arm becuase he still has his deltoid and the 4 rotator cuff muscles to help with this. His other tendon at the shoulder is also probably intact, and the insertion below the elbow (the one primarily responsible for showing your guns) is definitely intact, otherwise Mr. Favre would not be throwing a ball any time soon.

Basically, his throwing motion should not be greatly impacted, nor should the power behind his throws, which comes primarily from his legs and core. Releasing that tendon will serve to relieve the pain he felt in his shoulder that limited the amount of torque he could apply with each throw. The risk to him is that his shoulder will be less stable without that attachment and could and likely will eventually lead to rotator cuff problems.

As for hoping that Stan Van Gundy would out coach Phil Jackson...one listen to his pep-talks during time-outs should clue you in to his coaching deficiencies.

I agree with the Kobe-face moratorium. However, I like to think of it as the "Angry Wallace Face", (referencing Wallace and Gromit).

I Need a Consult

2009-06-08T08:46:00.004-05:00

I am definitely not a doctor. And one reason I know this, besides my failure to take any science classes in college or spend four years of my life in medical school (though if I had to go, I'd choose this one: Dominica is phenomenal), is that I am befuddled by the descriptions of Favre's recent shoulder surgery. That is, the procedure doesn't make sense to me, and I don't see how it's going to allow Favre to be a decent quarterback.

Getting into specifics now, apparently the reason Favre was gargling raw sewage for the last third of the '08 season was that he partially tore the bicep tendon in his throwing arm. That is, he partially tore the portion of his biceps muscle that connected it (I believe) to his shoulder bone. As you would think, this injury hurt and made Favre less effective as a quarterback. That much seems straightforward. So one would think that the solution to this injury would either be physical therapy, to help the tendon heal up on its own, or surgery where doctors would stitch up the tendon and reattach it to the shoulder. However, early reports said that Favre wasn't interested in that type of surgery, as it would be quite invasive and the rehab would be too arduous and lengthy. All this makes sense to me.

But then this weird second option emerged--- instead of having the partially torn tendon fixed, Favre could just have it completely severed. And this, it seems, would alleviate the pain he'd have in his shoulder and allow him to throw the ball at "100%" again while also allowing for a far simpler surgery and quicker recovery. So Favre consulted with the doctor in Alabama everyone talks with (Why is the nation's most preeminent sports orthopedic surgeon living in Alabama by the way? Low malpractice insurance rates?) and now news reports have surfaced that he apparently had the surgery done last month. (I guess Favre's entourage got nervous after more than 8 days passed without some useless, anonymous bit of Favre news leaking out.)

But I still don't understand how this is going to work. I mean, Favre now has a completely unattached biceps in his throwing arm. First off, how does he bend his arm up? Are there other, smaller muscles that get used? And second, in the football world, you'd think that not having a funcational biceps in his throwing arm would, at the least, make that arm a lot weaker than it was before. When one winds up to throw, you use your biceps, so I don't see how it wouldn't affect his throwing motion or accuracy. Plus, you especially rely on that muscle to secure the ball when you get tackled. So you'd think he might have increased problems with ball security. But this is all speculation. Really, I don't understand how this surgery "fixes" the problem or how it might impact Favre's abilities.

Can Papa Sal, the site's resident physician, provide some explanation?

p.s. I guess it was too much to hope that Stan Van Gundy would be able to top Phil Jackson in the NBA finals, eh? Also, Kobe's PR guys need to tell him to stop making that weasel/unrepetant rapist face.

Randomness

2009-05-19T09:11:00.002-05:00

Mike Vick will be great in the wildcat. He was the wildcat before the league knew his phylum. 7 plays a game of hell to pay for the defense. I would love to have a green&gold Mike Vick beat Benedict Favre in the snow at Lambeau. He's done it before. He will be effective for someone in a limited role.

Also, I hope there aren't any people who object to him for moral reasons. Atleast any people who eat meat. Now, I don't condone his behavior and am glad our society prohibits it, but let's leave our EXPENSIVE jails for criminals who are threats to society. Mike Vick has paid a tremendous price for thinking that dog-fighting was normal behavior. Time to move on.

TO got the key to the city of Buffalo yesterday. That is so pathetic. So pathetic. Buffalo looks like the downtrodden loser who just spent his life savings on a pair of diamond earrings for the fickle, bitchy, self-absorbed and aging girl who just moved into town after being discarded by men in other cities. The girl also fumbles balls and cries a lot. Buffalo.

On second thought, this might be totally acceptable behavior from Buffalo considering that they are in mortal fear of LOSING THEIR NFL TEAM. That is a seriously bad outcome. I suppose Buffalo fans that have to be self-conscious because of a Canadian city (read that again) have good reason to delude themselves so thoroughly. Take the key TO! Our doors are open to you! Did you see him! That's the real TO!

What spectral plane does Geno Malkin see light through? He makes passes that my brain can't process quickly. When he skates through the neutral zone he does so with such fluidity that he appears to be kayaking. He can skate into the offensive zone while stick handling every time. Crosby and Malkin on Versus! Making the NBA unwatchable this year.

Oh its comin'

2009-05-06T05:25:00.010-05:00

I can't wrap my brain around this. It hurts me on my insides. I can't not root for Favre. He's my hero and my favorite player of any sport of all time (Close second- Tracey Webster). I didn't care what happened to him on the Jets. I mean I didn't want him to get hurt. I loved touchdowns and liked the interceptions. I didn't have to worry about him hurting the Packers at least. Some said that it finally allowed them to fully enjoy his game. I agreed. I felt like I was moving on. In the back of my head knowing, that soon, he would be released, and available to the dirtdome trashtown scumcolored boatpirate waitressmolesters.
Now I have a choice to make. And it will get less and less difficult to make as the season nears and as footage of Favre throwing out routes to Bobby Wade start flyin around. I'm gonna want to see him get fucking body slammed. Period. Screw this shit.
Because he'll be good. He's still great!! He's a top 10 qb easy. He was hurt for half of the season last year. Torn throwing biceps tendon. Before that he was going to the probowl. A week ago, I texted my viking buddy that he was coming, and he asked me, "do we want him?". HILARIOUS. That's the worst part; he'll go up there and be awesome. Visanthe Shianco will go to the probowl, and Purple Jesus will gang rape gang tacklers. This is NOT a good thing. Sentimentality aside, this could keep us out of the playoffs. Or have us playing against Favre in the dome. Which would actually be the easiest draw in the playoffs come to think of it. Yeah he's got to get through the year. But he's definitely, I GUARANTEE, suiting up against us twice.
I hope he gets fucking body slammed. I hope he gets absolutely body slammed. What would be a good injury? Broken collarbone. Painful, but healable.

Top 10 Worst things about Favre playing for the vikings

1. Adrian Peterson.

2. It'll be for 2 years.

3. Purple 4 jerseys.

4. Whiney Viking fans that hold a grudge and wont have the class to appreciate a
real legend.

5. There will be at least one suicide in Wisconsin (actually hilarious).

6. Watching him get hurt.

7. "Zygi" Wilf's pronunciation of Favre. Faaf. I'm guessing.

8. The gay comrodery shit that he'll try and pull to undo the image he had in NY
as someone that wasn't a team guy. Starring Jared Alan as, Mark Chmura/white
gorilla.

9. Having cable.

10. Idiot packer fans that will blame Ted Thompson.

Top 10 best things about Favre playing for the vikings

1. Brad Childress will keep his job.

2. Hopefully Ted Thompson's vindication.

3. Watching Raji swallow him like a chicken.

4. Favre shitting on the bears still.

5. Charles Woodson owning his tired ass arm.

6. The horn operator will be totally confused.

7. Getting him back out in the cold in the playoffs.

8. Watching him under throw Bernard Berrian.

9. Favre getting confused by our 3-4.

10. Aaron Rodgers.

I'm over it. Get body slammed, old man. Lets do this.

G B P

Neat Look Inside Tryout Process

2009-05-05T09:38:00.002-05:00

So the Washington Post followed a University of Maryland senior, offensive lineman Dane Randolph, through his tryout (and eventual signing) with the Packers. Of course, Randolph faces seriously long odds in making the Packers regular season roster, but the story's a neat look inside the tryout process, and a decent read for the fellow football-starved. See here.

Kevin Greene...

2009-05-04T03:53:00.004-05:00

is hilarious. But I don't think his line about concussions is a joke.

I Feel a Draft In Here

2009-04-29T10:14:00.003-05:00

I enjoyed this draft immensely. The junction of college football and pro football (my two favorite spectator sports) is tons of funs to watch. The NFL will soon air the first round on its own night and then show round 2 and 3 the next night. And for good reason, because it's good football fun at the halfway-until-football-comes-back mark.

Now I'm not a paid NFL talent evaluator, but I thought several teams did well. I will start with the ACME Meat Employees.

I wanted Raji a month ago. Of all weakness, I hate to be run on the most. Getting the biggest fattest guy in the draft was my hope. I am glad to have had the choice and I am glad we selected him. Give me D-line depth please. He was the consensus #1 D-Linemen. Ours. Minnesota has led the lead in rushing D for 3 years because they have 2 huge fat guys. It's not even disputed. Glad to have a highly rated fat guy.

When the jingle came on and I heard (of all things!) the Packers traded up I was all aflutter.

The Packers select Clay Matthews

Warrior of Troy

Son of Clay, and Clay before him

Nephew to Bruce Matthews, Master of Durability

Needless to say, I love this pick. He plays like a downhill long jump skier, with a forward lean. We need a blitz/cover OLB and we TRADED up to get him. With our first 2 picks we filled 2 major holes. The defense became so much easier to envision in 2 hours. Matthews as weak OLB, opposite of Kampman playing over the tight end. Hawk and Nick in the middle. Viola. Raji, Pickett, Jenkins, Jolly, Harrell. On the line. I like it.

Then in later rounds we get bigger. Big strong tackle, and then we sneak up and get another big tackle. Big FB to lead Block. Then a D-Line pick.

I also like the Underwood pick. Underwood was on his way to being a stud at Ohio State, but he flunked out. That's what we need is guys who are too dumb to stay at Ohio State. That's talent.

Thank Goodness

2009-04-28T14:12:00.004-05:00

The UW athletic department finally gives in--- and scraps the stupid student ticket lottery. Although it's only for football, sadly. Now tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis, but done online only. I guess the embarrassment of a 70% empty student section at the start of every game, even for night games against decent opponents, was enough to shame them into action.

Hopefully, this change will lead to more kids who actually want to go to the games getting tickets, and thus there being more kids in the seats and more intensity from the student section during games, resulting in a better, more intimidating home environment. Okay, maybe it won't be a sea change. But it's got to help. And the kids who keep getting shut out of the lottery will finally have some recourse.

The policy change will also likely mean that for fans looking to buy a scalped student ticket every once in a while, like myself, prices will be a bit higher. But don't worry, the online sales method ensures that people who aren't really interested in going to the games will still try to buy season tickets just to resell them. We couldn't have kids camping out or anything, could we? Nooooo, never. That'd be way too much fun.

Dean Wormer said it best: "No more fun of any kind!"

TweetLambeau

2009-04-28T02:32:00.002-05:00

Draftiness

2009-04-26T12:37:00.003-05:00

What a wild moment with Michael friggin' Crabtree and BJ Raji still on the board, eh? Fun stuff. I kind of wanted Crabtree, thinking about him on one side and Jennings on the other for the next six years, but Raji makes far more sense. Honestly, I think drafting another wideout would have forced the Packers to make a losing trade of either Driver, Jones or Jordy Nelson, and probably would have ruffled Jennings' feathers in a serious manner-- not good given the team and his agent are in the middle of contract negotiations. Plus, I read somewhere that Jennings and Crabtree have the same agent. What weirdness that would be. Finally, if the team drafted Crabtree and reupped Jennings, that would be devoting a ton of money to the two players at the same position. Kind of a weird scenario.

My main concerns with Raji were (after reading far too many comments from Greg Bedard over at the Journal-Sentinel's Packer blog) (1) I was skeptical that he'd make a good 3-4 nose tackle, and was more suited to be a run stopped in a 4-3 front, and (2) the general fact that defensive tackles have a pretty high bust rate. (Ahem.) But he was the consensus top defensive tackle in the draft, and the Packers d-line totally let them down last season. Plus, that for someone who loathes Notre Dame, that remarkable highlight against the Irish is about the funniest thing ever.

The Clay Matthews pick is fascinating. First, there's just him as a player-- three immediate relatives were great NFL players, a walk-on at USC, redshirting, kicking ass on special teams, growing taller and gaining a ton of good weight, earning a schollie and then turning into a stud in his last season. Yeah, and he graduated with an International Relations degree four months ago. Whoa. His tapes make him look pretty relentless, with fine change of direction, and good ability to flight off blocks-- a big weakness for the team's current crop of linebackers. I suppose he's someone who could eventually supplant Poppinga, or replace Kampman after this next season, if the plan to move him to an LB position doesn't work out. Cool stuff.

My enthusiasm for the pick is tempered by the opinion of a close friend who covers USC football as a beat writer for a SoCal paper. He didn't trust Matthews, in large part, because of his lack of experience (he only started about 80% of one season), and because of his sudden weight gain-- something like 20 pounds of muscle in about a year. Of course, the three top notch USC linebackers were drafted in the exact opposite order of how he thought they should have gone-- since he also thought Cushing was injury prone, dumb, and on a Bill Romanowski like regime of performance-enhancing substances.

Then there's the cost of the Matthews pick-- both third round picks and the team's second rounder. Pretty damn steep. And when you hear it's the Pats on the other side-- well, you have to think your guys have been hood-winked. Hell, even Thompson said the way things worked out on the draft value chart weren't "great." But two things make me okay with it. First off, Thompson (and some other folks) seem to believe that the Packers have a pretty solid core, and don't have a ton of holes. (Whether this is an accurate view is something to be debated.) Second, there was the cacophony of opinions that this was a historically weak draft. If that's the case, and Matthews, as Thompson said, was a guy they had been talking about for weeks and thinking of ways to acquire, then I applaud their decision. Seriously. When confronted with a weak draft, moving up and sacrificing quantity for quality makes sense. What good are three picks in a crappy draft? How do they compare to one pick for a guy that you viewed as a legitimate talent and have been targeting and thinking about for weeks? Makes good sense to me. Of course, history will be the ultimate judge. It's quite likely some guys taken after Matthews or when the Packers would have picked in the second and third round will turn out to be excellent players.

But in defense of my theory, this morning, after taking a hard look at the guys available, the Pats went out and traded away two of their third round picks, for two second round picks next year. Maybe this draft is weak, and the Matthews trade did make sense, eh?

If this is true...

2009-04-24T08:43:00.002-05:00

then the DeKalb County State's Attorney is a colossal jackass. Yeah, I'm talking about the almost never-ending saga that is criminal case against former Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his brother Bill. Bill was tried separately this week, and acquitted. See here. Ha.

Given the facts laid out by the article, which I'm assuming tracks the evidence presented by both sides at trial, this whole thing should never have gotten to the point of felony charges. Bill's roommate was friends with the victim's roommate, and the two Ikegwuonu's went over there thinking there was a party. They let themselves in, and when the victim came home he saw the two of them in there and freaked out, and they ran off. After talking to his roommate and Bill's roommate, the "victim" tried to get the charges dropped, going to see the police, writing a letter, and calling the prosecutors. All to no avail. The "victim" actually testified in Bill's defense. This is a ridiculous overreaction by the State's attorneys, who were probably trying to show "how tough" they were by throwing the book at an NIU football player. They should be embarrassed. They nearly ruined Jack's career with this crap, and have ruined Bill's college career. He was playing for Northern Illinois at the time, but was suspended from school, and I doubt he managed to graduate after getting mired in this garbage.

And Jack is still set to go to trial the first week of May. What a load. Drop the charges already, you total nitwits. Here's another article about the trial from the Dekalb daily paper. See the comments below the article.

Hope against Hope

2009-04-22T13:56:00.006-05:00

I am holding out hope, my fingers tightly crossed, that the Packers will be in position to use the ninth overall pick to draft this guy:

I'm not joking.

Draft in the Attic

2009-04-20T16:19:00.005-05:00

Momentous events, like the signing of ex-Steeler safety Anthony Smith, the tendering of Atari "Sega" Bigby, and, yes, the blockbuster trade of triple J, aka JJ Jansen Golden Domer long-snapper extraordinaire, have passed without comment on this website. For that, I apologize fecitiously. I do somewhat regret letting the UW Spring Game and the build up to the NFL Draft (the best "watch while lifting weights" sporting event ever) go by without comment. But, what can you do? Life jumps up on you like a drooling, overeager Neapolitan Mastiff, and certain things fall by the wayside.

Anyhow, I'll try to make up for the hiatus by starting some discussion on the Spring Game, the general state of the UW football program and the NFL Draft over the next few weeks. I suppose I'll begin by being lazy and sharing what I'm reading and enjoying, these days.

To begin, I found this "scout's take" on the Packers and their draft needs, as related by Bob McGinn, to be quite fascinating. Whoever McGinn talked to didn't see a lot of holes in the team, which is encouraging. But at the same time, although this might not have been what McGinn asked him to do, he didn't ladle out strong praise for any Packer players. That seems to be the problem with this team. Solid, but lacking in the star/difference-maker department. Or maybe I'm wrong and Woodson, Collins, and Jennings are all legitimate stars, and A-Rodg is on his way? Hmmm.

I also stumbled across this fascinating piece in Football Outsiders, doing a full-on rehashing of the '03 draft, six years down the road. That was the draft where the Packers tabbed Nick Barnett at the end of the first round. Although they misstate Barnett's accomplishments slightly (he was not a Pro Bowl alternate this past season), they seem to think that the choice was a solid one. They also liked the Javon Walker pick in the '02 draft. I guess Sherman's picks weren't always so bad, eh? Anyhow, the analysis suffers a bit by only doing comparisons of picks within each position-- thus concluding that Barnett was a good pick for '03 linebackers, and Walker was the best of the '02 receiver class. A more critical look might redo the entire draft based on actual contributions, or, more harshly, show which players your team could have had at their spots instead of the guys they took. For example, instead of Barnett, Sherman could have drafted the league's current top corner Nnamdi Asomugha, current top tight end Jason Witten, or the agitating but fabulous wideout Anquan Boldin. Or, hell, even repeat Pro Bowl LB Lance "Rance" Briggs. (It looks like FO thinks Barnett's career has topped Rance's. I don't buy that one.)

A PACKER FAN IS BORN

2009-04-09T17:52:00.002-05:00

Camp Lambeau Loyalists and human being fans across the land, let it be known that at 9:28 pm on Tuesday, April 7, 2009, Dashiell Adrian Gansner was brought into this world screaming about the Minnesota Vikings awful uniforms. For the record, he is 7 lbs. 15 oz., and has small birthmarks shaped like the Vince Lombardi trophy on both bisceps.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Man. We are proud of you, we love you, and are thankful for the new addition. He is chosen. DA DA DEE DA NAH NAH NAH GO PACK GO!

Ah, #&$%#%@!

2009-04-02T17:03:00.002-05:00

The Sid Luckman era may have finally come to an end. The only way this trade flops for the Bears is if Jerry Angelo would have spent both of the teams ' '09 and '10 picks on defensive players.

A-Rodg may be back to being the second best quarterback in the division.

Two Outbreaks of Total Hilarity

2009-04-02T14:12:00.002-05:00

Hilarious story number one: Are you kidding me? That would be sooooo appropriate.

Hilarious and awesome story number two: Nick Barnett rules. Now go sign Kevin Carter already.

Perhaps, Appropriate

2009-03-22T20:24:00.003-05:00

Well, Wisconsin gave it a ride. They were there for quite a while, but eventually the X-Men were just a little too much. Too much sizeable strength in the front court, too much strong cleaning of the defensive glass, too many well contested shots.

This game was a bit of the microcosm of the issues with this year's team, honestly. When Leuer and Nankivil were playing decently, the team was right in the thick of things. When they started fouling (Leuer), and bricking decent shot after shot in the post (Nankivil), and blowing defensive assignments (both, but most plainly Nankivil on that wide open dunk), things broke down. Pop and Landry kept them in it for a bit, with Hughes drawing fouls, and Marcus scoring on some nice post moves, but Xavier adjusted on Landry, Pop stopped getting the calls and couldn't really convert on most of his shots. Thus, the offense dried up, the lead evaporated, and the season trickled to an end.

In order to beat better teams this year, and there's no doubt in my mind that Xavier was a slightly better team, UW either needed a great team effort, or for someone to be on fire. When the production from your five spot is poor, when you don't have anyone hitting their shots (like Bohannon was against FSU in the second half), when your team's heart and best rebounder (Krabby) is hampered by fouls the entire game and you're playing against a big team with excellent rebounders, well, that's a sure recipe for a loss. Thus, this loss highlighted the issues with this team once more:
- The lack of quality depth.
- The lack of a go-to scorer on offense.
- The revolving door at the third frontcourt spot.
- The lack of physicality, athleticism and size up front.

So they went out like they played. They were who we thought they were, to paraphrase Denny Green. The failure of JP Gavinski to develop in his third year in the program and provide the team with a serviceable big guy, the failure to land a true impact player in the last few years of recruiting, the lack of depth due to the impatience of guys like Mickey Perry (who certainly would have played just about as much on this year's team as he did for Dayton--- 14 minutes a game), Leuer and Nankivil's slow grasping of the team's defensive principles, the bill on all of this stuff came due, again. Of course, there was a big positive in this game-- except for some loosening down the stretch, they held a pretty darn good Xavier team to less than 40% from the field. That's solid defense any way you slice it, and bodes well for the future, especially since Krabby was on the bench for a fair amount of the game.

It was nice to see Landry have a solid game in his last college outing-- stepping up on the boards and getting a double-double. He's had some serious times in Madison, and seems to have matured immensely. He will be missed. Good luck to him and his family.

I felt the worst for Krabby-- no points, just a few rebounds, fouling out, and (worst of all for him) going out with a loss. But remember Joe, unless you play in the Ivy League, or win the Tourney, the NIT, or that other weird tournament, every squad ends the season on the right hand side. Good luck to Krabby, as well.

More forward-looking thoughts later on this week.

YYYYYYESS!... YEAH.

2009-03-21T00:14:00.004-05:00

Much needed.
That game was the exact opposite of every big game that the Badgers had played all season. Slow start; two come backs from 7 or more down; clutch shooting and rebounding; effective substitutions; great play calling and execution at the end of the game and in over time; and most importantly a FINISH.

A couple observations:

I felt like FSU's fatal mistake was not maintaining their defensive intensity in the second half. This might have been due to an active offense that frankly tired them out by the end. Maybe that was why we got as many open threes as we did. Or maybe it was because we were bombing from 40 feet.

Jason Bohannon's clutch 3's were not only huge tonight, but they are huge for next year. He seemed to be battling on and off with confidence problems all season. Can't think of a better time to get over those.

Being the 12 seed was nice. It sounded like we were getting the support of the neutral fans that were there. It helped late.

We should've won in regulation. Douglas fell. That was a horrible call.

Keaton Nankivil was the only thing that could've happened to that game. He has a certain switch that I haven't seen since Ty Calderwood. Yeah, I just said that. When he's hot he needs to be shooting everything. He's legit. I eat my words in regards to Keaton Nankivil. I love Keaton Nankivil. Too bad he didn't touch the court for the last 3 weeks of the season (including 0 minutes in the Big Ten Tourney match-up w/ Ohio St.).

Bo's clearout for Hughes after Douglas' 3, when he shuffled the ball down to Taylor to get within 1, was an odd play. It looked like poor communication by FSU. Nonetheless, Bo made his time-outs count down the stretch. The execution was refreshing.

Lastly,

Not to be hack about the apparent lack of emphasis put on academics at Florida State University, but did you pay attention to the majors on some of their players? There were several good ones, but the best belonged to Jordan Demercy, who is getting his degree in "Recreation and Leisure administration". Might as well say water park techniciary. Gorgeous. Two losses to FSU in one year would've been rough.

Bring on the Jesuits!

NCAA

2009-03-19T19:54:00.002-05:00

We are here, We are gears, get used to it.

Where the hell can I go on the internet to get some good ole fashioned homer journalism? Everybody is down on the Badgers. I love this #12 seed. On Selection Sunday I was nervous after the first two regions went by. Then we got the #12 and that meant we almost missed the tourney.

But hi ho! We made it and we get an ACC team. Fine by me as long as its not the big 2. This feels like an 8-9 matchup to me except that if we win we get the #4 not the #1. So I'm excited and I think we can play.

Everybody seems convinced we're gonna take it on the chin. But I don't. (what, that isn't enough for you?) Okay also Vegas doesn't. We're 2.5 point dogs. That means it's even almost and I can see why. We may be unclutch, but we're sticky. I think we can easily stick with these guys and hopefully shut them down.

Anyway, I'll have some rose colored glasses analysis for you tomorrow.

Pick Your First Day Upsets

2009-03-19T08:29:00.005-05:00

Since I'm trying to ignore the fact that in about 36 hours, Wisconsin will likely cement its bizarrely frustrating season by getting at least five shots blocked against Florida State, taking more three pointers than foul shots, and losing by double digits, I'm going to focus on today, and living in the now. And thus, I'm setting my sights on enjoying the spectacle that is the tournament, and have decided to make a list of today's likely upsets:

- Western K-Tuck over Illinois. Why? Because I'd really like it to happen. No seriously, Westbound K-Tuck has some good perimeter guys named Sergio and Orlando (hot-blooded, fiery Latins, no doubt), and uh, ahh hell. Western K-Tuck can't really play defense (as per Pomeroy), and is likely going to lose by ten points. Honestly, I'd just really like to see this upset happen, and I think Illinois was overseeded. Pomeroy has Illinois's odds of winning at 83%, though I'm given hope by the fact they're down senior leader and solid defender/ballhandler Chester Frazier. I'm getting psyched for fabulous Orlando to do some tooling of Michael Jordan's kid.

- Conversely, I like Michigan over Clemson. Clemson is certainly deeper, but Michigan's zone is kind of weird, and they have a bunch of hyper-motivated senior guards who are decent outside shooters-- exactly the kind of guys the tournament is made for. Seriously now, Clemson isn't all that big, and it's teams with size inside that have really bedeviled the Wolverines.

- Finally, I like ten seed Maryland over Cal. Why? Well, I did just read that series on Maryland coach Gary Williams, and now have come around to the turtle. But seriously, they start a kid named Greveis, who is actually really good. Isn't that the name of a general from one of the awful new Star Wars movies? Plus, the Turtle just beat NC State, Wake Forest, and gave Duke a hard run. Also, the kids at Cal are clearly dirty hippies. I mean, that's just a given.

Anyhow, enjoy the first day of the Madness, my friends. Yee haw.

An Entertaining Diversion

2009-03-18T16:06:00.003-05:00

Seven years from now this tourney will be a foot note to Wisconsin's 18 year run in the tourney...or it is the start of a bad trend. If nothing else, this is a sign that Bucky has established themselves as a perenially legit basketball team. Did we get in on our laurels this year? Yes. Lute Olsen did that on a regular basis in AZ, and Bo's hair isn't even close to as gross as Olsen's.

In order to temporarily distract ourselves from the beat-down we are about to receive, here is an entertaining rant from slate.com. Things to hate during the tourney, including the worst chin-strap I have seen in a long time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2213975/

A Glimmer of Hope

2009-03-18T03:42:00.006-05:00

This years Badger basketball team has been among the most consistent in resent memory. Consistently beatable. Formulaic in their losing: Run their system; control tempo; build a lead; choke/get out-coached at the end of games. Clock-worrrr..urr.r..
Now, after squeaking into the field of 65 with a hilarious 12 seed which they don't deserve, Badger faithful prepare to watch them get high-jumped by a team which was competing for an ACC title well into February. I guess it's better this way.
But there is little reason to believe that our beloved Badgers, who have shown next to no heart all season long, will all of a sudden sack-up for the NCAA tournament. That is... Until now.
Perhaps Carl Landry's Shot in the leg is just the shot in the leg Marcus Landry will need. You know what they say, "one Landry's terrifying brush with death is another Landry's reason to get his head out of his ass." Too true. Not that it guarantees an inspired performance, but I'm sure Carl will be in Boise supporting his brother, and we all know how Marcus likes as many family members as possible at his games. Thank you, Carl. God bless you. And know that the next two weeks of your season died for your brother's apparent disinterest in the game of basketball.
Seriously get well Carl, and tell your brother that it's his last chance to accomplish something in an otherwise very forgettable senior season.

Designated Drivers

2009-03-17T08:39:00.002-05:00

Seriously, get one. This type of crap is getting really tired. And who flees from the cops? They should show the entire UW football team the internet footage of that guy trying to steal the Krispy Kreme delivery truck from the Freedom on Old University. Madison is just not a big enough city where you're going to be able to escape from the cops.

Plus, you'd think that during some intense physical training regimine would not be the time to go out on random benders, but rather eat really well and get a lot of sleep. Just straight dumb, my friend. And he seemed like such a nice, jolly kid. He has a great smile. Sigh. Can you say undrafted? If so, you've said it all.

Skinless Teeth

2009-03-16T08:53:00.006-05:00

A 12? Wow, huh? Last (or perhaps second to last, after Arizona) team on board. Lowest seed ever in UW history. Wild times. Okay, time for some Larry King randomness:

- First off, I find it a bit funny that Michigan gets a ten and UW gets a 12. I know, I know, Michigan beat Duke once in Ann Arbor, and beat UCLA on a neutral floor (an accomplishment that doesn't look all that impressive now-- UCLA got a 6 seed), and the bear-skunks managed to beat Purdue once, unlike UW. But we swept them, and we played a tougher non-conference schedule. Come on, now.

- Penn State apparently paid the price for us sweeping them. Little did they know that us beating them in the Valley of Happiness would doom them to the National Invitational. Switch that game around, and we're probably out and they're probably in. Poor little extinct mountain lions. 22 wins, 10-8 in the conference, sweep Illinois (who received a far too generous 5 seed), and you get a ticket to the NIT. Guess you have to schedule some better non-conference competition, PSU. Plus, they totally got the "we can't add another Big Ten team" bias. Wonder if they're wishing they had joined the Big East. Sadly for them, I bet this year is their topping out for a while. Two of their three best guys (Stanley Pringle and Jamelle Cornely) are outta-here as soon as their NIT ride is over. And the kids they have coming in don't look like super stars.

- Speaking of recruits, last night I was reading this Washington Post series about Gary Williams and the Maryland basketball team's quick fall from "elite" status after their national championship in '02. It makes for fascinating reading. This article, the second in the series, contained the following description of how AAU teams serve as the new means to use money to secure recruits (background-- many AAU teams actually incorporate themselves as not for profit corporations):

For years, college coaches have hired AAU coaches as assistants in attempts to attract players from that AAU program. Plus, AAU coaches have been paid to speak at camps affiliated with the college coaches. But in recent years, a few dozen elite AAU coaches have engaged in a variety of more creative practices to make money in exchange for access to their players, according to several prominent college and AAU coaches across the country.

The funneling of cash recruiting inducements between colleges and AAU or high school coaches, in the form of tax-deductible donations usually made by college athletic boosters at the behest of the coach, has become common, according to several prominent college and AAU coaches. Some summer league coaches also charge college coaches -- sometimes hundreds of dollars -- for copies of "scouting reports" that are often little more than lists of players' names. What's more, one elite AAU coach has suggested that he will create a 1-900 telephone number so he can make money when college coaches call him about recruits.

Read that bit in italics again. Instead of paying high school coaches, parents, friends or other family members, boosters are bribing recruits' AAU coaches. I imagine these guys either keep the money for themselves and try to "influence" their player to choose a certain school, or skim some of it off the top and furtively funnel some back to the player and his family or friends. (One of the writers talked about a certain unnamed recruit's mother driving some new car with a license plate number that was registered to no one.) Fascinating stuff, and the sort of thing that makes you feel pretty good about being a Badger fan, since it seems like UW and its boosters don't play those games. Here's the first article in the series.

- Now I feel I should have paid more attention to the Duke-Florida State game that was on yesterday afternoon. Instead, I fell asleep when Duke was up 20, and woke up with my arm asleep, some droll leaking into my armpit, and Greg Anthony trying to sound smart. Florida State did beat North Carolina in the ACC-semis, no? That's a bit scary. Yeah, UNC didn't have their bowling ball point guard, but still.

- So all I really know about Florida State is that they have one really good guard (Douglas) who was a transfer from Auburn. And I think their coach just won ACC Coach of the Year, and used to be the Miami coach. And they lost to Northwestern at Northwestern in the Big-Ten ACC challenge. (That's right, Northwestern beat a 2 seed and two 5 seeds.) All I know is I am deathly afraid of hearing the following chant coming from the FSU fans who actually make the trans-continental trip to scenic Boise: "Just Like Foot-ball! Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap" (and repeat). I heard that once at Northwestern's horrific minor league arena, and never want to hear it again.

Request for Answer to Trivia Question

2009-03-13T15:44:00.002-05:00

What is UW's record in games when Bo gets a technical?

Seriously, it can't be good. Anyhow, another game, another horribly unclutch and crucial cold stretch, another late lead dissolves. Bummer, another thing that could have redeemed the season--- winning the Big Ten tournament-- crossed off the list. Time to look ahead to the tournament. Yeah, I'm coming around now to the "seriously, they should get in camp." They were fourth in the league. You going to let in Penn State or Michigan but not them? Come on, now.

Maybe they'll be a ten seed now. That'd be excellent. (See below.) With the added plus that UW could finally put those annoying Marquette taunts--- "When is Bo going to win a game against a higher seed?"-- to rest.

7 to 10

2009-03-13T08:18:00.003-05:00

So that's the range most "bracketologists" have the UW men's basketball team falling into, when the NCAA tournament seeds come out on Sunday. (See here for a handy synopsis.) Right now, most of the prognosticators seem to have UW as a 9 seed. And history shows that that would be, well, unfortunate. An explanation requires us to think about how the brackets actually look.

In each of the four regions, the 9 seed plays the 8 seed in the first round. So, usually this will be a decently tough match-up with another team that's relatively even with your squad. And the statistics bear this out, as the results of that game are pretty even (9 seeds have won 52 8/9 games; 8 seeds have won 44 of these games). The problem is that the winner of this game plays the winner of the 1 v. 16 seed. Considering that no 1 seed has ever lost in the first round, winning this game is a near lock to face one of the top four teams in the country. This sounds tough, and history shows that it has been-- 8 seeds have managed to beat 1 seeds 20% of the time, but 9 seeds have beaten 1 seeds only 6% of the time. Ouch. And that's currently where UW is projected to be seeded.

(UW has had mixed results with this seeding. In the 2000 Final Four year, they were an 8 seed, and beat 1 seed Arizona in the second round. In 1994 though, the Griffith/Webster/Finley/Stu Jackson year, they won their 8/9 game, and then got bounced hard by 1 seed Missouri.)

Thus, the far preferable option would be for UW to dodge a 1 seed for as long as possible. Given UW's resume, a 7 seed seems to be the highest they could reach. A 7 seed plays the 10 seed in the first round, and the winner of that game plays the 2 seed (unless a 15 plays an upset). As you'd expect, 7 seeds beat 10 seeds most of the time (62% of the time). But oddly, 10 seeds, if they manage to advance, are historically far more likely to beat 2 seeds than 7 seeds are. Namely, 10 seeds have beaten 2 seeds 44% of the time. 7 seeds have beaten 2 seeds 29% of the time. Thus history says that being a 10 seed might actually improve UW's chances of making the Sweet Sixteen, more than being a 7 seed. Weird, huh?

So as a UW fan, where does this leave us? Obviously, you want UW to win every game, especially against other douchey Big Ten teams that nab our recruits (cough, Evan Turner, cough; yes, I'm bitter). But if UW wins today and goes out and loses to Sparty, probably nothing changes. They stay an 8 or 9 seed. If they win today, beat Sparty or the Goofs tomorrow, and make it to the finals of the Big Ten tournament, I think there's a decent chance they could get bumped to a 7 seed. That would be excellent. But then again, history shows that UW might be best served by being a 10 seed. That would require losing to The Ohio A&M College today, most likely, something that would place UW, in my opinion, squarely on the bubble again. And nobody but some typically spastic Buckeye fan would want that. But still, there's your silver lining if Evan Turner, BJ Mullen's struggling goatee, and Coach Matta and his Judge Alvin Valkenheiser nose (yeah, I'm referencing the worst Chevy Chase movie ever) manage to take the Badgers this afternoon.

Note: statistics were derived from this extremely helpful website.

All-Bo Squad

2009-03-09T17:49:00.003-05:00

A conversation with Mr. Man sparked this idea. Who are the best players during the Bo Ryan era? It's only 8 years, but it's fun to think about. Here's my line-up:

PG: Devin Harris

SG: Kirk Penny (?Michael Flowers?)

SF: Alando Tucker

PF: Mike Wilkinson

C/PF: Brian Butch

Other opinions are requested.

Wisconsin Wins the Champs Sports Bowl?

2009-03-07T13:11:00.003-06:00

If so, that would be totally hilarious. See here.
This raises the question-- would you rather have won the middling bowl game and then have this sort of thing break out, or get stomped and humiliated on national television but maintain some integrity?

How did this crap get in my bed?

2009-03-04T22:59:00.003-06:00

Good Lord. That was 38 terrible minutes of officiating followed by 2 terrible minutes of basketball by the Badgers.

Did we hire a PAC10 ref squad or something? Four of the Badgers first three "fouls" in the second half barely counted as contact in the Sparty game. This was follwing several phantom travelling calls in the first half. Nevertheless, Bucky showed some pluck in the mid-2nd half and mede me think that they had turned the corner on the season...come from behind, adjust to the crappy officiating and take what the opposing team is giving you.

Then the last two minutes happened. Not only did we stop doing what was working, we stopped doing anything. I understand milking the clock with the lead, but keep running the offense. Standing around and watching Pop jack up a jumper is not the swing, and Pop is not Devin Harris. We threw away a game I thought we were going to ice.

Oh, and what is with that M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A cheer? If you are going to have a chant, make it short and catchy. Cal Tech's swim team speeled out all of California Institute of Technology, but that was a nod to their nerdiness. (Funny for the first minute or so.) Stupid Gophers.

The Wisconsin Mechanism

2009-03-02T11:39:00.003-06:00

Sure feels nice to get a quality BigTen home win. Bo Ryan is now 48-0 against unranked BigTen opponents at the Kohl Center. Read that again. The Bo Ryan basketball stats are absurd. Remember them when you hate the swing because we don't score for 7 minutes at a time.

Is it me, or is Jordan Taylor shrinking? He looked about 5'7" during that game.

It was nice that Pop was making lay-ups this game. He gets plenty of chances during games, but he doesn't always make them. Kbot never makes them. He missed a lay-up so bad that it didn't even hit the rim off the backboard. Luckily Landry cam in for a perfectly timed two-handed put-back lay-in. (every other team power slams this)

There were a lot of things to like about this game. My favorite moment happened near the very end when we were almost fading. Pop Hughes went driving to the lane and tried a wrap around pass to an unsuspecting Jarmz. The ball bounced off Jarmz and went out of bounds for a turnover. Pop looked disheartened. My grief was palpable. It was not good times. The cameras cut to Bo Ryan, who got Pop's attention, and then snarled at him like a an angry badger. He showed his teeth and straight snarled. It was ferocious and he was doing it to instill in Pop an energy and a purpose. Bo wanted to win and he wanted Pop to want it too. You could not help but be invigorated by that look. Pop nodded and would not let his spirit waiver. That's coaching folks. It's not all Xs and Os. It's about guiding young men.

Bo Ryan puts our cogs into the Mechanism and we win. Feels good. Go Badgers.

Back in Madison

2009-03-02T08:50:00.004-06:00

Yeah, so I went to the Wisconsin-Michigan basketball game yesterday with a good friend who's a Michigan alum. (He was not the dick Michigan fan shouting "Miss it!" in an otherwise deathly quiet Kohl Center when the Badgers were shooting free throws.) As many folks are saying, this is a win that puts the Badgers in reach of the tournament. A win at Minnie this week (followed up by a home win over Indiana) would seal it I think. With a loss at Minnie, and a win over IU, I think I'd want a first round win in the Big Ten tournament before I'd be relatively comfortable with their chances. Yeah, I know their RPI is good, and their strength of schedule is excellent, but still. I'd like them to be safe. Anyhow, various observations:

- UW and Michigan are sort of like polar opposites. Michigan starts a guy who was a walk-on. Pretty much all of their seniors are former walk-ons, and most of them (like Lee and Merritt) play a fair amount. The point is, they have little depth. DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris are burgeoning stars-- true sophmores with legitimate All-conference ability. Zach Novak, their pure shooter 2-guard is a true frosh. Everyone else on that team is pretty fungible. They lack solid role players. UW, by contrast, seems to have a team full of solid role players-- Bohannon is an excellent spot shooter, Krabby is a fine defender and excellent rebounder, etc. But I don't know if UW has a guy with the ceiling that Sims and Harris have. Maybe Leuer. Sometimes Pop, I guess, but he only has one season left. Anyhow, it made for a funny contrast.

- So the Pops' seats are at the baseline, about ten rows up behind the visiting bench. They're good seats, and thus we're surrounded by the Madison bourgeoise-- a class that seems to be rapidly aging, and growing increasingly persnickety. That is, clapping or shouting during Michigan's offensive possessions (along with the student section) earned me a bevy of stinkeyes from the folks in the rows in front of me. Particularly from this pallid high schooler who was a ringer for the bizarre arty son in Wedding Crashers, and a red-sweatered sextegenarian working a salt-and-pepper afro. Sorry, folks, I like to cheer, and I think making things loud for the opposing team helps UW's cause. We also got some hilarious chatter from the retirees behind us about the referreeing. Apparently every time Marcus Landry touched the ball he got fouled. Who knew? (I tried to get my UM fan to appreciate the comedic value of their complaining. Like the time they started complaining about Michigan goaltending on a rebound on the far baseline--those seats have the worst angle in the stadium for making that call.)

- Whenever the typical Jarmusz-for-Krabby substitution occurred, I experienced a feeling of dread. Don't know why, and I'm not sure if the Badgers' performance merited that feeling. As much as I'd like Timmy to be the new Krabby, I'm just not seeing it-- maybe the new Clayton Hanson, if Hanson was taller and somewhat afraid to shoot...

- I don't know if Michigan will make the tourney or not. I think they have one more conference game. If they win that, and win their first rounder in the Big Ten tournament, then maybe? My buddy kept ranting about how they were the worst road team in the conference-- even when I pointed out that Iowa and Indiana are clearly worse. Anyhow, their best players (Sims and Harris) are both sophs. Novak is a frosh. Transfer Lucas-Perry (who has fallen out of favor, but is still pretty talented) is a soph. They have four decent looking prospects coming in next year, including the 14th rated point guard in the country. Their zone defense in the last 8 minutes of the first half was excellent. I look for them to get better and better in the next few years, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Sims leave early.

- Anyhow, this was a bit of an ugly game. UW was dominant in the first ten minutes, with Michigan coming out man-to-man, and getting owned. Then Wolvie switched to zone and (after a few mintues) really established themselves, and UW did their uber-frustrating "pass the ball around the perimeter until the shot clock is almost up" thing, or turned the ball over. At the other end, UM drained a bunch of threes. During that strech, UW scored once in 8 minutes. Ugh. Thankfully, Hughes and Boyanyon each nailed a three to make the halftime score respectable. Then, to start the second half, UW either put the clamps down defensively, or Michigan went into the dumper. Either way, again, Michigan scored one basket in the first ten minutes of the second half. But the pace was so slow, or UW wasn't hitting enough shots, so they only built up a nine-point lead. Yeesh. It was ugly and semi-tightly contested from then on, especially, as a UW fan, all the missed free throws down the stretch. Not a pretty game. Good thing it was on the Big Ten Network.

- Speaking of free throws, the students need to start doing something when the Badgers are shooting charities. It's too quiet, enabling spoiler visiting fans to be heard. Unfortunatley, given the administration's successful effort to muzzle the student section, I doubt anyone will come up with anything. Speaking of that, there were a lot of empty seats in the lower bowl of the student section. A lot of kids standing around, a fair number sitting, many not really into the game, not dancing with the band. Again, the university needs to change the way they allocate tickets so that passionate student fans get the prime seats down low. The student section was helpfully loud at times, but compared to years' past, it was lame. Come on, Biddy! UW's lost more home games since the student ticket policy was changed than the previous four seasons combined. Time to try something new.

- Final note--for post-game munchies, I can highly recommend the chorizo-egg torta at this establishment, very conveniently located for those heading out of town to the East (just between East Wash and Willie Street).

CAMP LAMBEAU was going to write a piece about yesterdays NCAA basketball contest...

2009-02-23T21:39:00.003-06:00

but after 30 minutes we forgot how to use our computer. Then Tom Izzo complained to our computer that it shouldn't let us type anyway. Then Gorun Saton traveled again and we smashed our keyboard.

How is that team ranked 5? They're awful.

this message was posted by kelvin sampson via blackberry

Crimson & Creampie'd

2009-02-19T22:02:00.002-06:00

Well that was an entertaining game. Indiana came out all juiced up and ready to play. Number 12 was feeling it and was making shots. They were keeping it close, but I was never as worried as Mr. Man. How can you be worried when Lavin kept referring to our Surge? I mean when you are on a Surge, the enemy has no chance. Regardless of what Harry Reid might say.

I love college kids. The big heads in the crowd made no sense and were completely enjoyable. Shamed Governor Blagojevich made an appearance. So did Tiger and Peyton Manning. Awesome. I even saw a long-haired kid hoist up a sign that read: "Phelps Is Still My Hero". Fantastic. FANtastic. I also love college girls, and despite the low-def transmission, there were several IU hotties for visual consumption.

Maybe my favorite moment happened at the very end when Kevin "Last Call" Gullickson set a screen to free up Fearless Bob Wilson for a dunk. The camera panned back to the Hoosier who got screened and he was writhing on the ground in pain. Then the camera jumps to the crowd where four students had painted the letters R-O-T-H on their bare chests. The looks on their faces when they realized it was Roth on the ground in pain was simply hilarious. "Oh no! Roth is down! That's our guy! oh shucks! Not Roth!"

I enjoyed the hell out of this game. We stomped Indiana at their place. This will not happen very often. We just cruised in the second half and flexed our defense. We got up by so many points that we got to put our scrubs in. That was the icing on the cake. We are definitely the only team in the country that puts in the scrubs and the team gets blacker. The black lackey squad getting mop-up minutes.

Go Badgers!

8 PM Trap Game?

2009-02-19T09:31:00.003-06:00

Is it wrong to be worried a little about UW's road game against Indiana tonight? With Sparty on the horizon on Sunday, and the Badgers perhaps feeling a bit overconfident after four straight wins, and with Indiana's leading scorer, Juco transfer Devan Dumes, returning from a two game suspension, and this being the Badgers' first game against Tan Tommy Crean in his new digs, well, color me a bit nervous. Harumph.

In other news, I actually enjoyed this column from the State Journal's Tom Oates, lamenting how UW's basketball games seem to have been permanently moved to 8 pm. Indeed, this is lame. As Oates notes, 8 pm games inconvenience the fans, especially folks from smaller towns around Madison who have long drives home, and reduces revenue for the charities that run many of the concession stands in the Kohl Center. Plus, it incentivizes people to leave early and check their watches incessantly-- which leads to half-hearted, ineffectual fan support. Lame.

As a viewer at home, I'm not a fan of 8 pm starts mostly because I'm not a night owl. 8 pm games usually end around 10:15 or so, and I need a good half hour or so to wind down after watching a live UW basketball game, especially one against a decent conference opponent. This drives the wife nuts.

What I don't understand is why the Big Ten Network doesn't use its alternate channels to broadcast games at the same time. Sure, they don't want to dilute ratings. But they should be able to recoup money by telling larger advertisers who want to show ads across the region that their ad will now be broadcast during three games, not just one or two. And they could do fill in with local advertisers-- the kind of folks who used to pay for ads when games were just shown locally, but now don't want to pay the region-wide rates charged by the Big Ten Network. What's to stop this from happening? Not enough broadcasting teams? Please.

Is it 2009 or 1999?

2009-02-17T09:43:00.003-06:00

Having the pleasure of attending the OSU game on Saturday night, here are my observations:

Wisconsin still has the ability to play solid defense if they work at it. Clearly this was lacking during the losing streak, but the pep-talk/beat-down administered by Greg Gard seems to have done the trick. J-Bo was all over 3-point shooter guy, we adjusted to the backdoor lob to the ugly monster and made him disappear, and we were able to shut down Turner (who we apparently almost signed) when we needed to at the end.
Our offense is monotonous, overly methodical, and painful to watch. Nobody was working for/getting post position in the post. That is one of the flaws that I see in the swing. If you can't immediately establish post position, you clear out. Most of our points came in the paint, and when we got the ball to the block good things happened. Evidently Angry Bobby said that we just needed to run the offense more quickly to get better looks. I agree. The pass the ball around the perimeter for 20 seconds and then have Pop drive offense is not a reliable strategy.
Thank God for our rebounding. Beating them by 10 overall and by 12 on the offensive glass won the game for us. I can almost guarantee you will not see us give up 60% FG% and win again.
The students finally brought it. My favorite was when huge monster man was at the line and he made his first. Then the students began chanting "SHAVE YOUR MUSTACHE!" with the requisite hand claps. Hillarious, and he missed the second. That guy has no hands by the way. Every time he touched the ball in the low post it was a turnover.
At the end of the game I realized that the pain I experienced was familiar. Painfully slow offense, good hustle defense...hmmm. It's Dick Bennett basketball! Hopefully we can turn on the offense for IU and Sparty.
Finally, if anyone can explain the mysterious 24 hour recruiting methods of one Thad Motta that would be great, because Turner would make our team pretty scary.

They are Big, Strong and Crafty

2009-02-09T10:43:00.002-06:00

The Badgers are apparently. Those are the words the Penn State coach used to describe our team. So in case you've tuned out on these Basketball Badgers, remember our size, might and industry. I actually loved that line.

I loved it almost as much as I loved the color commentator from Sunday's broadcast. In his pregame remarks he called Bohannon one of the hottest players in the BigTen who is really having a solid year. I watched the game with two others we were all like Okaaaay. We weren't in the mood to argue, but really? Anyway we laughed off that he was really pumping up Bohannon. But the thing is, he did this the ENTIRE game. He lauded our methodical and efficient offense. He said that we were "almost unpressable". He gushed over Wisconsin White Monkey and his arms. He said Landry had a polished inside-outside game. Midway through the 3rd quarter my living room had given up simply noticing the flattery, and had joined in and began to try to top the remarks. He topped it off at the end when the announcer said, Kbot is an 88% FT shooter. 30 seconds later the color guy says ...and Kbot is a 90% shooter. It took him 30 seconds to upgrade Kbot! I need more of this guy.

Speaking of JBo, how bout that Illinois game. He was hot. He was so hot that when he got on a breakaway, he tried to sky jam it! My team of Badger watchers can not believe that despite our team being the most tentative offensive team we have seen in years, somehow when we get ahead we act like crazy maniacs and drive the ball recklessly to the basket. We lost to Minnesota and cascaded our season partly because we didn't just continue to run the swing at the endgame. We've lost several close games because we didn't maintain our poise. Don't get me wrong, in general I always want our players to dunk the ball. I hate when we don't dunk it. But on a 6 game losing streak I was terrified when JBo went up and missed that dunk. I was thinking "Oh no! He jinxed himself and the team trying that! Why didn't he lay it in! We need the lead! Did he lower and straighten his off-arm and lean into the basket to thunder jam it?! That should have been awesome, but what was he thinking!' Thankfully we won and I will look on JBo's attempt to lean-to straight-arm sky jam favorably.

This Badger team is so offensively tentative it hurts. It is glaringly apparent how much we miss multiple post threats in our offense. We have become accustomed to swinging the ball around and getting the ball in the post to somebody who was effective. We've had Wilkinson and Tucker and Butch and Steimsma and others. Now we just have Landry, and he is not automatic. So we pass it around and pass it around, looking for an advantage down low that isn't there. That's why I think we need to adapt by mandating that JBo shoot it every time he gets it. Just fire it up. He should have atleast six 3PT attempts per game. Just fire away.

Let's get some more wins.

Favorite Line of the Week

2009-02-05T17:33:00.001-06:00

"I've had guys that could bench press the world and can't make our team. I've had guys that can't bench press their sister and they're All Pro every year. This is a conditioning program for football. It's not how much they can bench press."
-- Dave "Red Man" Redding, Green Bay Packers Strength and Conditioning Coordinator

What's Been the Difference?

2009-01-30T08:28:00.006-06:00

Like many fans of Wisconsin Men's basketball, I'm a bit bewildered by what's happened to the Badgers this Big Ten season. After three solid wins to start the conference schedule, they've dropped five straight, two losses coming in overtime and two in a row at home. Three of those losses were clearly winnable games, games that UW has pulled out more frequently in prior seasons, and two were games that nearly anyone looking at the conference schedule in December would have marked as wins (at Iowa and Minnesota at home). This leads us all to wonder-- what's been the difference? Why are so many games that UW would have dominated last season turned into close wins, and so many close wins turned into narrow losses?

Randy gave his own theory below, with his conclusion being (I think) that the team lacks talent overall, and that the coaching staff has been too safe in their recruiting strategies. He's also ranted to me over the phone about how the team lacks "heart," meaning there aren't enough guys who are busting their asses on every play. I agree with that to an extent. But my take is slightly different.

Namely, I think UW is suffering from a lack of depth and experience. In the last two seasons, UW has shown it can win either with a couple of very, very good players, and some guys in complementary roles, or when it's deep and experienced. I don't think it can win when it only has four upperclassmen, and none of them are dominant players. (Hughes can be dominant at times, but he's been on a frustratingly ineffective streak lately-- not shooting that well from long-range, not nabbing many steals, not drawing enough fouls and missing bunnies when he gets to the rim.) Last season the team had five upperclassmen. The year before, (until Butch got hurt), UW had one great player (Alando), one very good offensive player (Kam), and six upperclassmen. That's how you almost beat an Ohio State team with three lottery picks late in the season in their own building.

Hughes certainly can be great, and is at times. But he isn't able to carry the team, at least not when he's lacking a real back-up. (Hopefully, the development of Jordan Taylor should aid Pop over the rest of the season.) Bohannon is a heady player and a streaky shooter, but he's been in a slump, and seems to be trying to do too much. The only potential back-ups for those guys are a guard-forward who will never be a primary ball-handler (Jarmusz), and two true freshmen. So the team's two juniors and only experienced guards get asked to do a ton, and have worn down and become ineffective. Especially in this last five game stretch, where UW has faced five teams that play tight, pressure man-to-man defense, which really stresses opposing guards.

The two seniors, and only legitimately experienced frontcourt players, Krabby and Landry, are in similar predicaments. Krabby is doing everything you would have expected of him this season. He's a rebounding fiend, he defends very well, and he's showing much better touch than years' previous. But he's not a guy who you can go to when the shot clock is running down. Landry is a more skilled offensive player, but he has just never developed that lateral quickness needed to drive to the basket, and his low-post game looked a lot better in previous seasons when he was posting up the other team's forwards, not their center. With no Butch or Stiemsma on the floor, bigger, lankier defenders like Purdue's Johnson or Illinois' Tisdale are stymieing him in the post.

Although there's more depth there with Leuer and Nankivil and Gullickson rotating in occasionally, and the two sophs have both shown excellent offensive potential (although Leuer has been in a slump lately) neither of those guys are experienced defenders. Their breakdowns at key moments in games (like Nankivil failing to rotate back to the right man late in the Purdue game, leading to Kramer's wide-open three pointer), have been an absolute killer. But it's hard to expect more from them. This is their first real year of playing, and Bo is so quick with the hook that they're in and out constantly, and thus have trouble settling down and gaining the needed experience. And at this point, Jarmusz is only a decent back-up to Krabby--- his issues on offense, whether it's a lack of confidence or ability or both, make him a bit of an afterthought.

So really, I agree with Randy, it does come down to personnel. Four upperclassmen, none of whom are consistent stars. Five scholarship freshmen, only one of whom is currently contributing. Three inexperienced and tenative sophomores. That leads to a tough year, folks.

It's true that Ryan has had success with thin teams, but that's partly because he's been blessed with two of the best players in UW history in Devin and Alando. And last season did show that with just a lot of good, experienced (not great) players, UW could excel. Unfortunately, both things are missing this season. I don't think that's because they're recruiting coachable, hard-working, lesser talents. It's more about total misses in recruiting and development, and a failure to recover from those misses. I'll explain more in the next post.

One Moment

2009-01-26T14:56:00.012-06:00

Illinois has never been an easy place to play for Wisconsin. For the most part, that has been due to great coaching and recruiting on the part of (most recently) Lon Kruger, Bill Self and Bruce Weber. Three exceptional coaches. Last year Illinois was 5-13 in conference & 16-19 overall. Horrible by anyone's standards. Seemingly bad enough to leave them vulnerable for at least a year or two. But alas, quite the job has Bruce Weber done over the last year, and on Saturday, quite the hand did Bo Ryan lend him. The results, for Badger fans, were agonizing to watch.

We out-rebounded them (29-28). They had way more turnovers than us (5-12). They got called for just as many fouls as we did (15-13 [which is a bit misleading because we were fouling @ the end of the game*]). So what was to blame for this latest chapter in Wisconsin's momentary lapse of a season?
Was it the TWO shot clock violations in a 3 minute span, down by 10 with 8 and 5 minutes left in the game respectively? yes.
Was it the worst missed lay-up i've ever seen (courtesy of Joe "chained to the floor" Krabbenhoft)? yes.
Was it the garbage that Chester Frazier was getting to go in the basket? nope.
Was it the fact that with 3 minutes left, our best shooter had been on the bench for 3 minutes, replaced by Kevin Gullickson? absolutely.
But it was another moment in the game, that forecast all of these:

Down by 2, under 4 minutes into the game, Trevon Hughes used his quickness to take the ball from Illinois' latest bird boy center, "Mike" Tisdale. The result was a 2 on 1 break where Hughes had super sopht Keaton Nankivil in space over the 1 defender back. However Nankivil stayed away from the rim like it was covered in small pox, and Hughes was forced to continue his 3 year streak of alley-oop-less basketball, in favor of the, not-always-the-best-idea-but-usually-our-only-option-trevon-hughes-pull-up-jumper. He made it.

For the rest of the game Wisconsin seemed to be out of sync, not trusting each other enough to make crisp aggressive passes, and bogged down by the oppressive :35 second collegiate shot clock. Illinois sucks. This game, to me, was way worse than the Minnesota game (the one where people seem to have forgotten, Minnesota needed 2 bombs to force overtime), because we looked like we had nothing. Leuer was gone. Bohannon was gone. Landry got punked like he does often. Jarmusz and Nankivil continued to look ready to go back to high school. We fucking sucked. And Illinois had waay too many defensive breakdowns for me to listen to talk about how tough they are. We had plenty of space to work with, we just didn't know what to do with it.
I grew up watching Wisconsin basketball. I am eternally grateful for winning as often as we do in recent years. But the Big Ten is about to get real good. We will win a lot less, and we will be a perennial bubble team if we keep touting the "character" of our recruits, instead of the basketball skills that are paying their way through school. I don't want to watch Keaton Nankivil.

This year, the Big Ten is full of great coaches. Matter of fact college basketball in general, is full of ambitious, personable, respectable coaches with great records and accomplishments. I love Bo Ryan. I love his demeanor and I love his record. But we went to the Final Four before he got here. The Kohl Center is a state of the art facility and Madison is a beautiful place to live, play or coach. At a certain point, expectations will and should, move past quiet grumblings about how thankful we should be. Bo Ryans style of play keeps us off TV. I care about that.

What worries me most though, is the arrogance i've recently witnessed from Ryan regarding the players (HIS players). At the press conference following the Golpher game, Ryan was asked the following question:

"Coach their press gave you quite a bit of trouble down the stretch, what were you guys missing getting the ball up to half court?"

After a long pause, he asks to have the question repeated. It is. And he replies:

"The fact that the other team got their hands on it".

Oooo k. I appreciate protecting his players from criticism, be it about their decision making, or lack of quickness and ball-handling skills, but I'm worried that Bo is under the impression that the "bit of trouble" they had getting it over half court was not directly attributable to his players' lack of quickness and ball-handling skills. Anyone else?

I really do appreciate that Ryan takes character guys. However, to be a character guy, you don't have to be slow. There are smart, responsible athletes in California. I understand that they tend to be the ones getting offers from Duke and UCLA, but I feel like Ryan is hell bent on protecting his players' weaknesses from criticism, (in part, because he has given up on getting a higher caliber athlete?) to the point that he simply wont allow the question-'were your players good enough to win tonight?'. Which sucks. Because sometimes they aren't. And I see no reason for that to be the case. Especially as the program continues to be solid, and Devin Harris prepares to (eventually) put on an Eastern Conference All-Star Uni for the NEW JERSEY Nets, a team with a tremendous presence in the biggest market in the country. That wouldn't give us access to better players? Guess it doesn't matter because we've given all our scholarships away through 2022. Fuck it.

*It's real boring to me that it's just a given that the home team gets fewer fouls called on them. By a lot. Even when it happens for us. It's totally gay and might be my least favorite thing about college basketball. It rarely doesn't happen.

The Julius Peppers Wet Dream Has Been Permanently Interrupted

2009-01-24T07:41:00.003-06:00

For all of you Packer fans, like myself, who were salivating at the thought of getting a premium defensive lineman in free agency this year, it may be time to, err, eat a few saltines or something. Not only does the implementation of the 3-4 mean the team probably won't be going after Albert Haynesworth (who's far more suited to be a traditional 4-3 defensive tackle, as opposed to a 3-4 nose guard or end), but the Packers just hired Carolina's former defensive coordinator as their defensive line coach. Yes, this is the same guy who coordinated Carolina's defense the past several years, the same defense that burgeoning free agent Peppers said had failed to help him reach his potential. If teams are throwing equal money at Peppers, do you think he's going to want to run out and be directly coached by the same guy who he says has been holding him back? Yeah, I doubt it.

But whatever. The ex-Carolina D-coordinator, Mike Trgovac, sounds like a pretty good catch anyway. Seriously now, the chances of getting Peppers in the first place were slim. He's a Southern guy and will probably want to stay in the South, and Carolina will likely franchise him and try to trade him for several first round picks-- something the Packers will not be willing to give up. And under Trgovac, the Panthers had several excellent d-line units-- like the dominating Kris Jenkins, Brent Bucker, Mike Rucker, and Peppers group of a few years back. So I'm relatively confident in his ability to coach the line decently well. (Much more confident than I am in his ability to coordinate a good defense-- not the greatest job against Larry Fitzgerald there, Mike.) Anyhow, I think this is a good time to wake up to reality and realize that the Peppers free agency daydream (a daydream which fans of every other team in the NFL with cap room are also having) is essentially over. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to online reading mock drafts and hoping that Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo falls to 9th.

HA!

2009-01-24T07:38:00.001-06:00

The UW "athletic board" just gave head football coach Brett Bielema a one-year extension, meaning his contract now ends in 2014, instead of 2013. I have no idea why the board (who even knew there was a specific "board" just for the athletic department?) voted to do so, but at first blush it seems ridiculously undeserved. It certainly wasn't the awful bowl performance, his failure to develop players, the constant worsening of UW's performance in his three years or his fair to middlin' recruiting. Maybe it was just the fact that the board does what Barry says, and Bielema is Barry's boy? Maybe Barry wants to give Brett a public vote of confidence, so as to help recruiting? Who knows.

I do know that unless the extension increased the penalty if the university breaches the contract (that is, the amount of money the contract says the university will owe Bielema if and when the university fires him while he's still under contract), then it doesn't really matter, or make his job any more secure. And I doubt the penalty clause would increase that much with a one-year extension. So it's probably just window dressing. Every Badger fan knows that Bielema is going to have to do significantly better next season, even with Alvarez defending him. All this extension did is make the heretofore unknown "UW athletic board" look like a gaggle of dunces.

Bubble Team

2009-01-21T21:33:00.003-06:00

That's what this UW men's basketball team looks like now. Hell, they way they've played in the last three games, they look like an NIT team. And one that doesn't do much in the NIT to boot. Tonight, they play at an 80% full Iowa arena, against a team missing two starters, who had lost three in a row coming in. They look loose with the basketball, make lazy odd passes, resulting in a ton of turnovers given the low number of possessions in this game. And the killer, the ultimate sign of a loss if you're a UW fan-- committing way too many fouls. Certainly, the refs were calling the game ridiculously tight. Every drive Iowa made in the second half seemed to result in a foul. UW just didn't adjust though.

Yes, Taylor's shot to force overtime was remarkable. It was excellent to see him get some confidence and contribute, and the additional shots he made in overtime were great. But with no Leuer and Krabby in the extra period, and with Bo sticking Pop on the bench for no apparent reason (why not play Hughes and Taylor at the same time?), you never had the feeling that UW was going to make a solid push. They just didn't seem inspired, which is odd, because we've seen a very solid, and very inspired UW team at earlier points this season. So yeah, tough ugly road loss in the Big Ten. It happens, I know. But what's scary, is what's going to happen going forward.

I'm sure most UW fans, myself included, looked at the conference schedule and thought "win, win" for the last two games. It has not been so. Wisconsin is now 3-3 in conference. Consider the next five games, and assume a similar level of performance from the past three game. At Illinois on Sunday. Given how the Fightin' Fibs have been playing, especially at home, that looks almost like a guaranteed loss. They've always played great team defense under Weber, and this year is no exception, and their sophomore big men have really come along. Then Purdue at home. Loss. At Northwestern, who is coming off wins against Minnie and today (shockingly) Sparty. Decent chance of a loss, given UW's troubles in Evanston. Illinois at home. Again, a decent chance of a loss, and should be, at the least, a very, very close game. Then at Penn State, ditto. In three weeks, Wisconsin could have an 8 game losing streak. Crazy to think of, given the level of success we've been used to, but still. It seems well within the realm of possibility.

I'd like to think that the solid contributions of Nanker and Taylor tonight are a sign that the team's depth will be better as the season goes along, and that this loss can just be written off. But this sudden and uncharacteristic tailspin the past three games has me feeling odd. Loads of fouls, poor rebounding, unclutch defensive lapses, weird turnovers, poor three point shooting, changes in the starting line-up, and now benching of starting point guards. Something strange is afoot, and I don't mean that in a good way.

Mike Lucas is dumber than I thought

2009-01-20T15:47:00.003-06:00

http://www.madison.com/tct/blogs/lucas/433444

Seriously? These two situations are comparable?

1. Kurt Warner does not have a consecutive games played streak. Brett Favre was not coming back to compete for a job. His ego would not allow that. Anybody who suggests otherwise is delusional or disingenuous. Additionally, it would be unfair for the Packers to say to Brett, "Well, you've been our starting QB for 15 years, but now you have to compete for your job." It just doesn't work like that in the NFL.

2. Matt Leinart and Aaron Rodgers are in different situations. If the Pack had not played Rodgers this year they would, in all likelihood, have lost him to free agency. The same cannot be said of the Prince of LA.

3. The Packer's atrocious defense and spotty running game would not have improved with Brett at QB. The Pack missed the playoffs because of those inadequacies, not because of poor QB play.

So I ask myself the question, "Would the Packers have been in the same position as the Cardinals with Favre (as the starter) and Rodgers (as the backup), if they would have adhered to the same fundamental concept of competition, "We'll play the best players and the quarterback who gives us the best chance of having success in 2008"?

Ummmmmm, no.

Thank Goodness

2009-01-19T16:50:00.006-06:00

An experienced defensive hand has arrived in Packerland-- Dom Capers. My best memory of Capers was his blitz-heavy Carolina Panthers team that the Packers beat in the '97 NFC championship game. He head-coached that surprising squad, taking an expansion team and turning it into a contender in just a few years. Anyhow, Capers has a pretty solid career record as a defensive mind, coordinating defenses in Pittsburgh, Miami and Jacksonville. His record as a head coach is not so great, having helmed two expansion teams in Carolina and Houston. But whatever. This is exactly the kind of guy I wanted-- an old hand, a guy who's happy as a coordinator, and someone who has a huge body of work and experience to inform his decisions.

What's especially interesting is the announcement, made today at McCarthy's press conference, that the Packers will run a 3-4 system under Capers. That will definitely shake-up the team's front seven, and perhaps change the Packers' drafting and free agent philosophy. The 3-4 depends on having a big run-stopping, block-absorbing, nose guard. Looks like that role will be Ryan Pickett's, though the team will immediately enter the market for a capable back-up. Smaller DTs like Colin Cole, Johnny Jolly, and Justin Harrell may switch to ends in a 3-4, as those guys tend to be bigger and serve more as designated run-stoppers than pass rushers. What will happen to the team's ends, specifically Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins, and Jeremy Thompson, remains to be seen, however. Then there's the linebacker jumble. Will it be Hawk and Barnett (or Bishop, if Nick's unable) in the middle, with Poppinga and Chillar on the outside? Surprisingly, this Packers' press release has a good outline of the personnel issues raised by the implementation of the new scheme. Then there's this concern--good 3-4 defenses seem to have a stud-hybrid rusher, like Kevin Greene on the Panthers, Jason Taylor on the Dolphins, or Terrell Suggs on the Ravens, and the Packers don't have anyone like that right now. Then again, I think Suggs might become a free agent in a few weeks.

Anyhow, I take this as a big positive development. Grizzled, well-respected former head coach and coordinator signs up with the Pack, and looks to bring in a more versatile style of defense. Changes are afoot and it'll be fascinating to see what happens.

Gopherk Themselves

2009-01-16T10:43:00.003-06:00

That was a unique Badger loss. Giving it up at home does not happen often at all. Here's what's on my mind.

Pop Hughes looked like he was fighting off a nap to start the game. He was lackadaisical. He started of so sluggish that in the first minute I was yelling at the TV screen and Bo had to take him out and put the freshman in. So let's note that our PG was having an off-day.

The Badgers get up big in the second half Tubby is forced to engage THE KENTUCKY PRESS on us. And the major problem for the Badgers is that their press breaking strategy is to throw it to Hughes and have him dribble it up. This is the strategy. Throw it to somebody else and that person will stand there and look to give it to Hughes so he can dribble it through the press. Even if Hughes was at top form, this would be a terrible idea. Thursday night, it was fatal.

The Swing offense has been our guiding ship, but she has several maddening faults. One of them is that the Swing demands that the passer chose good passing lanes. Our kids get coached up on how to pivot and makes a safe pass in a half court set. This works great when we are in a half court set controlling the tempo. But it instills in our players a hesitancy. Save for Hughes, none of our players runs and dribbles with any confidence at all. This kills us against the press. We inbound the ball to a guy who does not even attempt to beat his man up court. The guy (Bot, Landry, Jarmz, BWM, Bobo, Gullicksmash) is only looking to get it to our PG. This is not sustainable.

The Badgers consistently struggle against the press, but usually manage to pull out wins because of clock management. But what the hell was going on in this game? THREE times we break the press and the guy in the front court goes for a courageous ridiculous lay-up?? Pull the ball out gentlemen. We do it all game long. Run some clock. I could not believe this was happening. We were going to win this game until all those ridiculous attempts in the last minute.

One thing that I need to know: How come Bo Ryan, a pressing coach in DIII, can not teach the press? Skip the fact that our team can't break a press. How come we can't enact the press? You'd think Bo would want to incorporate this into our arsenal. How much practice time would it take to be good at the press? This seems like it could take us to the next level. Anyway, I need to get the answer to this.

This is the last team in the league I would want to lose that game to.

Giving it up to the Gophs

2009-01-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

Well, ouch. Blowing a double-digit lead at home, and a three point lead on the past possession, all do to multiple foot-shootings (aka turnovers) is never fun. And neither is losing at home to a neighboring rival, in a game that allows your rival to really feel as if he's on the make. Yi. A few observations---

- This team doesn't seem deep enough. Maybe the upperclassmen mainstays (Hughes, Bohannon, Krabby, Landry) were tried down the stretch. Maybe they weren't. Regardless, not being able to rest, get hydrated and evaluate what's happening in the game can't help matters. Nankivil really needs to be able to contribute some solid minutes, and his disappearing act in the past couple of games is really disappointing. His issue seems to be a lack of comfort and you only get more comfortable when you get more experience. I hope he rallies and maintains at least 15 minutes a game for the rest of the season.

- The issues against pressure D are a bit infuriating, and I'm confused as to why it seems to be such an issue this season compared to last. Butch and Stiemsma did not handle the ball much. Flowers is a loss, but you'd expect the upperclassmen quartet to be able to handle pressure pretty well. Maybe, again, it comes back to depth. They need more help from everybody else than they're getting. Argh.

- Anyhow, you have to hand it to Minnesota. They busted their butts, rallied from a huge deficit, and stole a huge win. Give it up to the Gophs. In their honor, here's a Kenny Loggins-influenced Caddyshack montage.

Proven Right Again

2009-01-13T10:50:00.003-06:00

So yeah, it does look like the male basketballing Badgers' success against Northwestern may have been due to a growing comfort against zone defenses. Because in Sunday's game vs. Purdidn't, UW looked like crap against their pressure man defense. Of course, it didn't help that Robbie Hummel, the Big 10 preseason POY made a triumphant return, or that the ambiguously gay Boilers were desperate for a win. Even with their generally poor offense, if there's no Hummel, I think that game is a toss-up instead of a double digit win for the Indianans. Also, attempting 6 stupid free throws? Come on, hometown refs. Also, Bo is now 1-4 against Matt Painter, and has won only once in West Lafayette-- and that game was during the middle of a winter break snowstorm so the arena was half empty. Not good.

Anyhow, it's clear we Badger fans have been spoiled in recent years. The league has been down for a while in numbers of high quality teams, and UW has had some excellent squads with dynamic senior leaders. This season, the league's depth is outstanding, and there isn't as much proven quality on the Badgers. It's the four upperclassmen, and Leuer and, uh, everyone else really can't be counted on to provide that much. The Nank is inconsistent, Jarmusz plays pretty good defense but he is mostly lacking on offense. The frosh guards basically come in to give Pop and Bohannon some rest, as does Gullickson with the forwards. Things are still percolating and coming along, hopefully. I don't know where we'll finish in the league, but at this point if I knew I'd call the season a success if Wisconsin qualified for the tournament and made it to the Sweet Sixteen. See, this is how you think like a Michigan State fan. Except they'd need at least a trip to the Elite Eight.

More Randomness

2009-01-08T12:50:00.009-06:00

Again, too much nunsense out there for a coherent post. Here's another grab-bag.

- Former Packer O-coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski was "fired" from his position as the Boston College football head coach yesterday, after refusing to not interview with the Jets. Apparently UW-Whitewater alum Jagod failed to tell his AD that he was talking with the J-E-T-S, and that didn't sit too well with his boss. And the Globe reported some informal agreement that Jagod would not pursue other jobs for the first three years as BC chieftan. So there. But what a wacky way to get fired, eh? "If you do not-very-outlandish thing A, I'll can you!" "Alright, well I'm doing it." "You're canned!" That's a pretty quick trigger. And can Boston College really afford to be so choosey? It's not like the goofy Wisconsin native hadn't gotten BC (the smallest school in the ACC) to the ACC title game two straight years. Oh, wait. (I guess they did just gift Vandy its first bowl win in 50 odd years.) Anyhoo, Jagod is a friggin' weirdo. If you don't like recruiting 16-year-olds and want to go back to the NFL, just quit already. Further proof that you just can't trust a Warhawk. They're shifty.

- So, awesomely, UW men's basketballers totally pounded Northwestern last night. What a contrast to the PSU game on Saturday. NU had been doing quite well so far this year (they were in the top 25 in Pomeroy's ratings), but UW carved up their defense and forced miss after Wildcat miss. The dominant final score (by 29 points in a 62 possession game), jumped UW 15 slots in the Ken Pom ratings. Awww, yeah. Number 34, bitches! Whoop!

- Seriously now, UW sophomore forward Jon Leuer is getting smoother and smoother on offense, and his rebounding and D really have picked up. Or they at least looked excellent against NU's nearly all-white frontcourt. (It's like being back in Minnesota!) Sadly, fellow soph Keaton Nankivil continues to start but play less than Leuer. The young Madisonian just keeps looking a bit timid, though he has bursts of effectiveness. (What is it with these Madison Memorial alums? Are they all nancies or is it just me?) Hell, lower ceilinged walk-on Kevin Gullickson got about the same number of minutes as Nankivil last night. And don't get me wrong, I effing love kids like KG who are academic badasses (Academic All-Big Ten two straight seasons with a "business finance" major) and have multiple drinking citations. That is doing Wisconsin proud, my young friend. But schollie sophs should be earning more minutes that walk-ons, regardless of how bad ass they are. Can I blame the math teacher/head coach at Memorial for stunting the Nanker's development?

- Also, third soph Tim Jarmusz ran about the ugliest fast break I have ever seen last night. He bricked a mildly contested one on one lay up. The Leuer missed a tip, then Krabby missed a tip, then the ball got knocked out of bounds, I think. Yeesh. I thought Tim could shoot. There were a couple of ugly fast breaks last night-- there was another where Pop missed a lay in, Bohannon tipped it back up, and it was goaltended. Bizarre. Apparently, NU is the only team unathletic enough that Wisconsin can run on them (or is unafraid of the consequences of trying to run).

- Last UW basketball note: I'm convinced that UW's kick ass offense against NU was partly due to the fact that NU is the third straight team UW has played who primarily plays zone defense. (Michigan and NU are 1-3-1 teams, and PSU plays a lot of 2-3.) Meaning they just finished their second straight week of preparing to play against zone Ds. This has me worried they're going to be out of practice for the pressure man to man D Purdidn't will throw at them this weekend, and accordingly are going to look ugly on offense. Whatever. Number 34! Whoop!

- I have no idea who the Packers will hire to replace now deposed D-coordinator Bob Sanders. I do like, a lot, this line from a Journal-Sentinel article about the search. "McCarthy, a source said, wants someone who could adapt to his talent and not be tied to one way of doing things." Exactly. If you need perfect personnel to coordinate an effective defense, you're going to be in trouble, because people get old and incompetent and/or get injured quite quickly in the NFL. Hire somebody who makes decent lemonade.

- Getting back to college football, I will not be watching this evenings faux-national championship game as I have more interesting and important crap to do. In addition, I have opted to not even Tivo the game, as Grey's Anatomy and 30 Rock hold more allure than watching two "schools" try to run up the score on each other. (How can a team be seen as a formal representive of a school, if less than half of said team actual matriculates from said school?) Plus, Florida and the Pope should win by double digits. OU got into the championship game by losing early in the season (thus resulting in being higher ranked than Texas Tech and Texas, which was the tie-breaker for getting into the Big 12 Championship game), and by running up the score. Karma is a bitch. As is the fact that the Big 12 has gotten exposed this postseason. True, Nebraska managed to beat a terribly quarterbacked Clemson team, and Kansas bombed a floundering Minnesota team as predicted but Mizzou needed overtime to beat friggin' Northwestern, top ten team Texas Tech got pounded in Dallas by Ole Miss, Oklahoma State got burned by Oregon, and Texas needed all sorts of help to barely squeak past the Ohio A&M. Not looking so strong there, El Grande Doce. Plus, Florida actually has a defense and an offense, and Bob Stoops has laid several BCS eggs since winning his national championship eight plus years ago. I say the Pope, his balanced team, Tim Tebow (and his remarkably built ladyfriend), win by two touches. 30 something to 20 something. Predictable, cheesy and boring, especially with Fox's awful production values. (ABC does the Rose Bowl so much better, it's not even funny.) Watching the lady from Knocked Up debate the moral dillema of her illicit affair with a dead boyfriend's ghost (worst plot development ever) on Grey's Anatomy will be far more entertaining. Or maybe not. Well, if it's a good game it'll be rebroadcast soon enough anyway.

- In all seriousness, not watching that game is actually an effective way you can show your displeasure over the stupid BCS system. If the ratings start to suffer, the university presidents (whose hands must be chapped from all the rubbing together they do at the thought of the financial payout from the current deal) may start to come around. Either that, or we'll have to wait for them to all die off. Or at least for Big 11 commish Jim Delaney to die off.

- Finally, UW running back PJ Hill and his prodigious posterior have opted to try to take his game to the next level. Good luck to the young man. Despite assorted injuries, PJ has been a fine college back, and is actually third in career rushing yards at UW, behind Anthony Davis and Ron Dayne. In addition, PJ has always seemed like a good teammate and an amiable young man. (For example, I didn't see him grumble or sulk a bit after John Clay started getting more carries this season.) As far as his decision to leave "early" goes, I can't blame him a bit. He redshirted after breaking his leg in preseason camp as a frosh, so he's been here for four whole seasons. He doesn't have much left to prove, and Clay (and Zach Brown and Montee Davis) would have been champing at the bit behind him next season. I don't know where (or if) he'll be drafted, but he has always been great at getting yards in tough spots, maximizing what he can get after contact. He'd make a solid short yardage back, I'd wager. Godspeed.

New Year, New Thoughts

2009-01-05T09:02:00.008-06:00

The state of the sports world currently calls for a random, classic Larry King style post. Here goes:

- An early report states that the Packers are firing defensive coordinator Bob Sanders. By all accounts, Sanders is an excellent human being. Unfortunately, his defensive tactics, while occasionally very effective, are somewhat simplistic and predictable, and he hasn't shown much ingenuity or flexibility during games. With workaholic players and coaches flooding the league, more and more it feels like you need a defensive scheme that will confuse the other side. The Packers haven't had that. So it's probably time to try something new. What'll be especially interesting to see is who replaces Sanders, and what kind of defense that coach will bring. And, of course, how much personnel turnover the new system will require and how quickly the players will be able to pick up the new scheme. Remember, one of the worst defenses in recent Packer history came in the first (and only) year of a new d-coordinator (Bob Slowik).

- If reports are true, Sanders will be joining Packers Special Teams coach Mike Stock on the way out of town. The sextagenarian Stock opted to retire a few days ago. This was probably a good reading of the tea leaves, as the Packers' kickoff coverage unit was awful this season and directly contributed to some close losses, particularly the loss at Chicago and the home loss to Carolina. Plus, Crosby seems to have stalled in his development, and some of the blame for the atrocious decision to release punter Jon Ryan and rely on (and stick with) the horrid Derrick Frost fell on Stock's shoulders. Of course, some blame must go to Thompson, who jettisoned Ryan, stuck with Frost for more than half the season, and released several special teams leaders, like Tracy White. Hopefully, he learned some lessons as well. Trivia-- did you know Stock had been the head coach at Brown?

- This year's Badger men's basketball team just doesn't let you get comfortable, do they? After a very solid victory over a pretty darn good Michigan team in Ann Arbor, they have to duke out a close one against Penn State in Madison. Yeesh. PSU is definitely improved over last season (although it'll probably be a one-year blip, as Pringle and Cornley are seniors), but still. A double digit victory would have been nice.

- Speaking of UW hoops, does it just feel like every game some guy goes off from long range against the Badgers? I mean, there was that swingman from Va Tech (6 for 9), this guard from San Diego (5 for 8), McShneal from Marquette (4 for 7), Zack Novak at Michigan (5 for 8), and on Saturday, Stanley Pringle (4 for 6, with all the makes in the second half). Last season the Badgers were at the top of the league in three defense, and were in the top 25 nationally. This year they're in the middle of pack nationally--174th out of 340 odd teams. They lost Michael Flowers, who was a great perimeter shot contestor, and the line has been moved back, which might actually have increased the shooting percentage on long-range attempts by creating more space (and by reducing the raw number of threes taken). Anyhow, the numbers (and personnel) say they're worse on the perimeter defensively compared to last season. But at the same time, I can't remember a lot of uncontested threes. It seems like guys (especially the guy at Va Tech) have just been on fire at times. So maybe it's luck? Whatever it is, I hope it turns around.

- Speaking of random stats, here's Ken Pomeroy's statistical summary of Wisconsin's season so far. Things look fine offensively, though you'd like them to grab a few more offensive boards and shoot a little better from the line. And the lack of steals and turnovers will always be a black mark against UW's defense, as they're far more focused on avoiding stupid fouls than nabbing stray passes. (Flowers' departure also hurts here though.) But what really sticks out is the opponent's free throw percentage-- against us, opposing teams are nailing their free throws. Totally weird. (The Texas loss and their ridiculous free throw shooting come to mind.) Hopefully, that rate will return a bit closer to the mean sometime soon.

- Did anyone reading this not love watching the Cowboys look like total garbage 8 days ago? Man, that was hilarious. And they can't get much better-- they gave away almost their entire 2009 draft for Roy Williams, the receiver, "offensive guru" Jason Garrett may very well abandon his head-coaching apprenticeship for a real gig somewhere else, and the front office still has the team-killing headache of Terrell Owens and the underperforming nuisance of Pacman Jones to deal with. That's totally the way you want to transition to a billion dollar stadium (one built with $475 million of tax money) that still has a stupid hole in the roof, where you'll be asking many fans to cough up 100 grand for a personal seat license. And it's not like the economy is not awesome or like the wealthy have seen their net worths shrink by half. Oh wait. Smooth moves, Skeletor. And it couldn't happen to a nicer, more humble guy.

- The playoffs have been very odd so far. Arizona winning a game? In the playoffs? The Dolts get a bunch of lucky scores, but still can't beat the 8-8 Chargers and their formerly sieve-like defense, even with LT on the sidelines? Weirdness. The ViQueens lines looked pretty dominant against the Eagles, but they give up two huge plays and thus lose. Fitting that their special teams looked like garbage, as it has all season. (They tied the record for most punt return touchdowns given up in a season-- thanks in large part to the Pack's Will Blackmon.) Personally, I'm rooting for Jimmy Leonhard and the Ravens. Even with the lack of talent on offense, at least they try to be entertaining on that side of the ball, employing lots of bizarre shenanigans.

- Did anyone else laugh when former Ohio A&M cover boy Ted Ginn, Jr. dropped the (admittedly stressed) exchange on that fourth quarter end around, effectively sealing the Dolphins' playoff loss? Thank goodness the AFC East has been eliminated from the postseason. That division was dreadfully overrated this season, mostly due to a flaccid schedule. As you can tell, I'm not a fan of the national media's East Coast-centricity.

- I still can't bring myself to write about the UW football team. The beatdown is too fresh, the program seems adrift, wandering in the wilderness, as it were. Maybe I'll hold out until national signing day, hoping for some encouraging developments.

Completely Unsurprising

2009-01-02T08:35:00.003-06:00

Other Jet players complain about Favre's special treatment, aloofness, and lack of accountability? Shocking, just shocking. It's not like the Jets didn't know that they were trading for a soon to be 39 year-old quarterback, who had been treated like a demi-god for a solid decade by the entire populations of Wisconsin, Mississippi, Louisiana and Bristol, Connecticut. And given that the moronic Jets management publicly lauded Favre as the savior of the Jets' franchise, is it at all surprising that Favre was barely criticized in the locker room and had no fear of being benched, despite leading the league in intereceptions? Not to me. I actually feel bad for now-deposed coach Eric Mangini. Jets GM Sam Tenenbaum put him in a horribly weak position.

The Big Ten Season Begins: Meeeechigan

2008-12-31T08:42:00.004-06:00

"In watching us on tape [after the Texas game], there is a lot of room for improvement, so that is the encouraging sign. I don't think we're anywhere close to where we can be. The question is whether we'll get there or not." --Wisconsin men's basketball team assistant coach Gary Close

In a word, yes. A few more minutes of solid effort (to invoke the Rudyard Kipling poem cited by the soon-to-be-indicted governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, a few more seconds worth "of distance run") and the Badgers would be 11-1 and solidly ranked in the top twenty. But thems the breaks. Crappy free throw shooting and poor defensive rebounding against Texas, and a failure to get the rolls in the last few minutes = loss. Going cold down the stretch and not locking down defensively on Jerel McNeal at Marquette = loss. The question is whether the Badgers have learned from that, whether they're taking those lessons and running with them and improving. Whether they'll get there or not, to quote Coach Close.

This afternoon, well, we'll see whether the Badgers are anywhere closer to getting there. Wisconsin plays at Michigan in a 1 pm Central game on ESPN2. Michigan is vastly improved over last season (as should have been thought, given their coach's consistently outstanding record of turnarounds). They lost to Duke on a neutral floor, and at a decent Maryland team in a close game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. But they beat Duke at home a few weeks later in a rousing performance, beat UCLA at the start of the season, are undefeated at home this year, and have yet to lose since the Maryland game four weeks ago. They're currently ranked 24th. They have the best pure two-guard in the conference in Manny Harris, a sure fire All-Big Ten pick if there is one (Harris turned down a schollie offer from the Badgers, choosing to stay in Michigan), a big talented forward in DeShawn Sims (he lit up Duke), and the just-cleared-waivers transfer from Arizona Laval Lucas-Perry. Jim Beilein has surrounded these legitimate talents with some decently skilled holdovers, like guard Kelvin Grady, and heady role players, like newly acquired three-point sniper Zack Novak.

The play a wacky 1-3-1 zone defense that gives up offensive boards, but is designed to force lots turnovers. They work the ball around the perimeter a fair amount and shoot a lot of threes, but Sims is an excellent interior player and will challenge Landry/Leuer/Nankivil. Harris is excellent at hitting mid-range jumpers off the dribble, and will be a tremendous defensive challenge for Hughes/Krabbenhoft/Wilson. The main key to watch out for, I think, is whether Wisconsin can take care of the basketball. In Michigan's biggest wins this year, they've forced a fair number of turnovers. This is a difficult task, as I don't know if UW's seen a 1-3-1 this season, and even if they have, it's not likely they've seen one as effective as Michigan's. Anyhow, fun stuff and it should be a revealing challenge for the Badgers. If you have to work today (like me, sigh...) set your tivos.

That was Frustrating

2008-12-30T11:41:00.003-06:00

Maybe even more so it was Frustmaking or Frustchafing or maybe instead it was Frustpaining.

(Editor's Note: In a continuation of my miserable sports 2008, two months ago I assented to escorting a lady to a wedding and somehow managed to nail the Saturday of the Champs Sports Bowl right on the dot. So it needs to be noted that I was unable to view the second half of the game, and only got to see a procession of terrible score updates on my phone.)

First, I must apologize to readers for not highlighting FSU's Groza award winning, footdart pub champion, Graham Gano. He lit us up in the first half. Was it back-to-back-to-back punts to our 1 yard line, or was I swallowing pills given to me by Sebastian Janikowski? Graham Gano assassinated us in the first half.

However, even with bad field position, the Badgers outplayed the Seminoles in the first half. This can not be disputed. The Badger defense held up, forcing punts, while the Badger offense was moving the ball with some effectiveness. Except for two events, the Badgers were better than the Seminoles in the first half. The big catastrophe occurred during the 3rd drive, with the game at 0-0 and some momentum building during an 80-yard drive. The Badgers attempted a quick pass to the WR with some blockers over there, but the pass was jumped by a FSU player. Since we are no good at these types of plays, our quarterback and WR managed to align themselves so that the pass was heading backwards. The FSU player picked it up and ran for a score. 7-0. (Your 2008 Wisconsin Badgers!) The game chugs along and the Badgers are containing the lawless savages. We put a couple more drives together, mostly with the run, and the score is 7-3. Notice that FSU has done nothing up until now on offense. The first half is almost over and it's 7-3, and we GAVE them their 7.

In our Q&A with Tomahawk Nation, they seemed to be pretty confident that we wouldn't be able to hold up in our base defense, and we argued otherwise. During the first half I think the Defense held up great. (One tidbit that they passed along that didn't make it in to the chat, was that Curtis Ponder runs the fastest shuttle run on the team. Read that again. The fastest on the entire team. This quickness would torture Badgers fans in the second half.)

Things are going pretty well for the Badgers until the coaching staff makes another mess of game-management. With 1:10 to go in the half, the Badgers get the ball at their own 7, (Gano punted to our 3, 1, 1, 7 in the first half!), and the coaches call two passing plays. Now I'm all for trying to get a first down however you can, but it's not like our passing game was effective up til that point. Hell, Sherer had only attempted 5 passes up til that point! So why on earth are we throwing the ball and stopping the clock? There is a minute to go and we are at our 7. In this situation there is every reason to run the ball. Run it. We ran it 20 times already, and it was actually working. Instead, we threw 2 incomplete passes, and gave the ball to FSU at our 47 with 40 seconds left to go. With nothing to lose FSU gained some swagger and lobbed two balls to really athletic wideouts. 14-3. We controlled the first half and were losing 14-3. Yeesh.

I have the game DVR'd but havent wanted to watch the second half. I know FSU got on a roll and rolled us under. Hopefully there were enough shaky calls to blame...

The score of the game showed disaster, and I think it's a fitting end for this team. Just good enough to somehow get smashed by a team that was no better than them.

Two more cents...

2008-12-30T10:06:00.003-06:00

Without looking at stats, which can often be misleading in this type of situation, I think the Packers finished with about the right record +/- 2 games. As has been previously stated, AR had good stats, which is partially reflective of the fact that we threw the ball a lot to catch up/keep up, but his relatively low number of INTs is encouraging. Another part of that equation is that McCarthy is inconsistent in his willingness to stick with the running game. When the Pack is successful on the ground we win; when we are unable to run, we lose (More on this later).

I think the fact that we played multiple playoff caliber teams close down to the last drive, won the games we should have won, and lost the games we should have lost places the Pack squarely in the middle of the overall NFL picture. We had some bad breaks/lapses that led us to lose a couple games that we might have won, but we finished right about where we belonged: somewhere between 8-8 and 6-10. In the long run, it is better for us to have a worse record if we do miss the playoffs so we get better draft picks.

I will not get into what are needs are, because they have been and will be discussed at length in other posts. Needless to say, our needs are obvious and we have the capability to fill them if we so choose.

Back to the non-personnel part of the Packs struggles: It seems to me that part of the Pack's problems on offense (sputtering on many drives) is our inability/unwillingness to commit to a running game. Some of this has to do with our O Line, but another part has to do with play calling. McCarthy, it seems to me gives up on the run too easily, if it doesn't work early. Case in point is last year's divisional playoff and NFC championship game. Against the Seagulls, we ran, and ran, and then ran some more. We dominated the entire game and won easily. One week later, granted against a monstrous front 4, I think we ran the ball maybe 4-5 times in the first quarter before McCarthy jumped ship on running the ball as a legitimate game plan. This was in freezing, windy conditions with a QB who clearly wanted nothing to do with playing that day. Would we have been successful running against Strahan, et al? Maybe not, but I think it would have been wise to try a few more times. Perhaps then the Fearsome Foursome would have had to think more about pinning their proverbial ears back and going after Brett. When I look back at that game, it wasn't much different than this entire season. Play a quality opponent close, and then lose at the end with unclutch plays.

So apart from personnel changes, I think McCarthy needs to use the quality he has in the offensive back field, even if we have a couple of 3 and outs in the first quarter. Running = winning.

Excellent Michael Hunt Quote

2008-12-29T08:56:00.001-06:00

Unfortunately, the whole piece is only available if you have ponied up the big bucks for a Packer Insider subscription, but I wholeheartedly agree with this point by Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Michael Hunt---

"And now that the painful season is over, it bears repeating that the Packers did the right thing at quarterback. Of all the things that went wrong this season, Rodgers was the least of their problems. He played through a shoulder injury. He was on the field for all 16 games. He threw for 4,000 yards. And he's coming back with a gifted set of skill players that suddenly includes DeShawn Wynn and Jermichael Finley.

So even as you hold Thompson and McCarthy accountable for upgrading the defense and the special teams and the offensive line, know that their most difficult decision of all has put the Packers in a position to compete for years to come at the most important position."

We're Number Nine!

2008-12-29T08:22:00.003-06:00

In the April 2009 draft that is. By virtue of the Packers not becoming "a footnote in history" (as Wayne Larrivee put it on the radio yesterday afternoon) and losing to the Detroit Lions, they have clinched the ninth pick in next spring's NFL draft. That's pretty solid, although losing to the Lions would have put them into a tie for seventh. What am I saying? Losing to the Lions would have been franchise-crushing. As a friend recently noted, the Lions are not only a terrible team. They're history-making 0-16 record is actually reflective of how historically gawd-awful they've been. Specifically, according to the stat-crunchers at footballoutsiders.com, the Detroit defense is the worst defense an NFL team has fielded since 1995. (See here, and scroll down to the last bullet point before the comments section.) And that's only after Week 16. One can only imagine that giving up 100 yards rushing to Deshawn Wynn on 6 carries, 100 yards rushing to Ryan Grant, and three hundred passing yards to A-Rodg will further worsen those ratings. That same Football Outsider post notes that the Packers have shown the biggest discrepancy between performance on the field and wins and losses. This should come as no surprise to Green Bay fans.

Anyhow, I feel like the win against the Lions sort of summed up the season, in a way. Explosive but inconsistent and sputtery (giving up 3 sacks to the Lions?) offense, somewhat confused looking defense that relies on picks to get it out of trouble, mediocre special teams. The huge offensive numbers would give you some hope for the future, but it was a bit of a sloppy performance, and, as I just mentioned, the Detroit defense is historically bad.

The real question is-- what lies ahead in the offseason? I'm hoping for some coaching turnover (I know it's the knee jerk fan's demand), some free agent signings (particularly on both lines, where they may be some good depth players available), some further development from the team's young players, and a good draft with some impact players (Michael Oher, perhaps?). More on this later.

More Champs Sports Bowl Nunsense

2008-12-27T14:18:00.002-06:00

Also, here's our end of the witty repartee. That is, here's our answers to Tomahawknation.com's various questions regarding Wisconsin and this afternoon's Champ Sports Bowl (3:30 pm Central, mis amigos).

Holiday Q&A with Florida State Experts

2008-12-27T08:56:00.002-06:00

Season's greetings, folks. We were recently broached by a Florida State blog to engage in a mutual Champs Sports Bowl Q&A. Below are their responses to our questions. Later today we'll post our responses to their queries. Also, err, go Badgers.

B. Bowden was quoted in our newspapers saying that there is the National Championship game and if you're not in that, then all of the other bowls are all about the same. Do FSU fans feel the same way?

Recently, I've found it very difficult to gauge the pulse of this fanbase. Personally I think that the comment was poorly phrased and shouldn't have been said at all. Sure, Seminole fans are disappointed that they weren't in the National Title hunt, but he should have said "Clearly this isn't where we want to be, and we'll work very hard to get the Noles back on top this offseason. Right now our focus is on Wisconsin." I'd personally prefer that he not say anything at all in this scenario, as it marginalizes Wisconsin.

Is Wisconsin on your radar as a legit football program? Does the school have any name recognition among FSU fans?

I honestly don't think they do. I don't mean this as a slight, but our schools have never played and there haven't been any relevant games where we needed you to win for us to go to the National Championsip, etc. One connection, however, is that FSU fans believe Peter Warrick was much more deserving of the Heisman than Ron Dayne. We think the trophy was stolen from him when he well... got a big discount from Dillards.

Wisconsin runs a pro-style offense and often uses 2 TEs and a fullback. Have you encountered these power formations this year? How have you fared? Is your defense better suited to defending big pro-sets, or the spread option type offenses?

Very interesting question. I will start by saying that our defense is made to defend 2-back pro-style offenses. In fact, many will argue that the emergence of the one-back offense with a mobile quarterback is a direct reaction to the 90's and early '00's dominance of Mickey Andrews (FSU's DC of 25 years and Broyles Award Winner), Bob Sttops, and Jim Leavitt.

You may read some reports that indicate Florida State struggled mightily against large offensive lines and heavy sets. This is innaccurate. The Noles struggled against large offensive lines... when the opposing offense ran zone read out of shotgun. The actual performances on the field show this. The reason? The hesitation created by the zone-read (where the QB chooses to give or keep) allowed the big offensive linemen to get on the smaller FSU defenders, eliminating their aggression and diminishing their penetration.

Florida State relishes facing a pro-style offense. Against Pro Style Offenses... FSU allowed

	Points	Total Off.			Rushing				Passing
Opponent		Plays	Yds	Per Play	No	Net	YPC	TFL's	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	Int	Sacks	Dropbacks/ Sacks	QB Rating
Wake Forest(3-12)	12	68	276	4.1	38	59	1.6	9	30	17	217	0	0	2	16.0	117
Colorado(39-21)	21	73	278	3.8	37	124	3.4	10	36	17	154	3	1	4	10.0	105
Miami (Fla.)(41-39)	30	63	256	4.1	14	51	3.6	6	49	21	205	1	3	2	25.5	72
Virginia Tech(30-20)	20	56	243	4.3	34	82	2.4	10	22	12	161	1	0	6	4.7	137
Clemson(41-27)	27	71	316	4.5	36	79	2.2	14	35	20	237	2	1	6	6.8	127.17
Maryland(37-3)	3	60	252	4.2	29	103	3.6	10	31	16	149	0	2	6	6.2	79
	19	65	270	4.1	31	83	2.6	10	34	17	187	1.2	1.2	4.3	8.8	100

Against Teams who run some form of option primarily for their run game (NC State runs zone-read, as did Boston College. Georgia Tech runs flexbone. UF obviously runs spread option)

		Total Off.			Rushing				Passing
Opponent		Plays	Yds	Per Play	No	Net	YPC	TFL's	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	Int	Sacks	Dropbacks/ Sacks	QB Rating
North Carolina St.(26-17)	17	47	338	7.2	21	157	7.5	4	25	13	181	2	0	1	26	139.22
Georgia Tech(28-31)	31	51	343	6.7	44	288	6.5	2	6	4	55	0	1	0	NONE	110.33
Boston College(17-27)	20	74	357	4.8	46	176	3.8	13	27	14	181	1	1	1	28	113
Florida(15-45)	45	68	502	7.4	46	317	6.9	8	22	12	185	3	0	1	23	170
	28	60	385	6.4	39	235	6.0	6..8	20	11	151	1.5	0.5	0.8	28	138

The numbers are insanely different. Quite frankly, FSU owns pro-style offenses and gets gashed by the modern 1-back gun schemes.

10 more points allowed per game.
55% more yards allowed per play.
More than double the rushing yards per carry allowed (140% more)
1-1 TD-Int Ratio allowed against ProStyle offenses, 1..5-0.5 TD-Int ratio allowed against the singleback gun schemes.
QB Rating of 100 against pro style teams, and 138 allowed against the other.
A sack every 8 dropbacks against prostyle schemes, night and day from the one every 28 against the modern scheme.

MANY of the prostyle offenses had huge offensive lines and heavy sets, as did the singleback gun teams. The size of the offensive line was largely irrelevant. This seems to be something the media is writing about because the common fan can eaisly digest "big white guy against fast small black guy" type comparisons.

Wisconsin has been recruiting Florida actively in recent years, has FSU ever recruited a Wisconsin player? If not, why not? Too much academic eligibility from our high school students?

We've had luck recruiting players from near Wisconsin (Chris Weinke). I believe we missed on our last Great Lakes commit (Twins Catcher Joe Mauer). I'm sure we could use some of their eligibility. Maybe their pale skintone would lull our opponents into a lacksidasical attitude like Wisconsin did to Tennessee and others in recent bowl games? haha.

How many "head-coach in waiting" candidates to replace Bowden have their been? Are there any former potential Bowden replacements who are already retired?

Officially, one. Unnofficially, three. Many felt Andrews would be the guy, but Bowden has held on far too long to allow the 65 year old Andrews to take the reigns. Assistant HC and former LB Coach Kevin Steele also seemed destined for the spot at one time, but he departed on questionable terms and is now the DC at Alabama. I wouldn't be surprised if someone did retire already, however.

Our head coach has an Iowa Hawkeye tattoo on his calf from his playing days. Bobby Bowden played at Alabama. Does he have an elephant tattoo anywhere? If not, you're ahead of us there....

I've never seen 'em, and if he has one hidden, I am sooo not interested in learning about hidden tats on an 80 yearold's body.