Green Bay Update
by Jeff Ash, jeffash@netnet.net
Friday, December 1, 2000
"Green Bay update, Friday 12/1"
Greetings from Green Bay, where this year's Christmas Eve game will be quite
a bit less magical than the NFC Central-clinching game against the Steelers
in 1995:
-- The Packers (5-7) play the Bears (3-9) at 7:20 p.m. Sunday at Soldier
Field in Chicago It'll be televised nationally on ESPN, with Mike Patrick,
Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire on the call. It'll also be aired nationally
on CBS/Westwood One Radio with Joel Meyers and Bob Trumpy.
It'll also be on the Packer Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee and Larry
McCarren on the call. This radio coverage is available for free on the
Internet, with the game broadcasts offered via the Packers' web site
(http://www.packers.com) and 3 hours each of pregame and postgame
programming offered via WTMJ radio in Milwaukee (http://www.wtmj.com or
620wtmj.com).
Here's the early weather forecast from Keith, our longtime Update
meteorologist in Norman, Okla.: Partly cloudy and cold. Kickoff temperature
in the low 30s after a high of 38. West wind at 10 mph.. For updates, check
Keith's web site (http://www.galstar.com/~kbrews/packwx).
As the Pack enters the Bears' ol' Den,
Two former Sooners meet once again;
Who's the best fellah,
In a race for the cellar?
It's Allen 'gainst Parker on ESPN.
-- The Packers all but faded from the playoff race with a lackluster 31-14
loss to the Panthers on Monday night. To even have a chance of making the
playoffs, the Packers need to win all the rest of their games and get lots
of help from other teams. They're 3 games out, with the Buccaneers and
Redskins 2 games ahead of them in the wild-card race.
-- Coach Mike Sherman conceded his team was flat. A quote from him after the
game: "It was obvious we were not ready. I think this was the 1st time all
year long that we weren't crisp out there." And again on Wednesday: "The
fact that we were flat, and really the only game of the year we've been flat
in my mind. I think that happens in the course of a football season,
particularly after a stretch of 4 strong games. I didn't anticipate that to
happen, I'd tried to guard against it by warning them. ... It's pretty easy
for players to blame coaches for schemes, for coaches to blame players for
not making plays. But ultimately in order to correct a failure you have to
look at yourself, and I've spent a lot of time looking at myself and how I
prepared this team and where I went wrong. That's pretty much what my focus
has been as well as what we did wrong in the game."
-- Here's how GM Ron Wolf saw it: "I don't know if it was an aberration or
not. We've pretty much played with the opposition all year. This is one game
where we didn't. I'm not sure who to blame. I don't know if expectations
were too high, which I don't think they would be. I don't really know what
happened. It could be that they just kicked the shit out of us."
Now, looking ahead to the Bears game on a short week that's light on news,
partly because the big story this week has been Dick Bennett's sudden
retirement as Wisconsin basketball coach.
-- DT Santana Dotson's season is over, thanks to a torn right quadriceps
muscle. He'll need surgery and was put on injured reserve, but is expected
back for training camp. Cletidus Hunt will start in his place, and DE Vonnie
Holliday will return to his place in the starting lineup after 2 weeks of
spot play after a badly sprained right ankle. Dotson's absence means more
work for everyone on the defensive line. Billy Lyon, who has been the odd
man out, will be the top backup with Steve Warren, and starters Russell
Maryland and John Thierry will get more snaps than they've been getting.
-- ABC's Al Michaels correctly ripped the Packers for not giving out any
information about Dotson's injury after he was taken off the field during
Monday night's game. To be fair, the Packers aren't obligated to do so, and
they insist they wanted to be sure of the diagnosis before saying anything.
Even so, the Packers are notorious for giving out only the information as
required by the NFL, and little more. It's a trait that goes back to the
days of Mike Holmgren.
-- RB Herbert Goodman was activated from the practice squad to take Dotson's
place on the roster. The Packers did so partly to make sure they'd keep him
during the offseason, and partly because De'Mond Parker hasn't blown anyone
away as Ahman Green's backup. Goodman again wears No. 29.
-- The Packers signed TE Jason Gavadza to take Goodman's place on the
practice squad. He's 6-3, 248, a rookie out of Kent. He was drafted in the
6th round by the Steelers and also has been with the Titans and Panthers
this season. He's a better receiver than blocker. He'll wear No. 46.
-- LB Na'il Diggs is back at practice, but still slowed by his badly
sprained left ankle. Hard to tell whether he'll play Sunday night, but that
seems doubtful given that he hadn't taken part in any contact drills through
Thursday. Look for K.D. Williams to start at strong-side LB for the 3rd
straight game. He's a physical player who struggles in pass coverage. He
isn't as athletic as Diggs.
-- Look also for CB Mike McKenzie to return to the starting lineup on Sunday
night. His left knee is better, and he practiced with the 1st team this
week. Tod McBride, who started while McKenzie was out, is still slowed by a
hip pointer.
-- WR Corey Bradford finally fessed up that his right knee injury is torn
cartilage, not a quadriceps strain. He won't need surgery, but still isn't
able to do much. He's struggling to push off of the leg while doing rehab in
the pool. He's hoping to return to practice next week and perhaps be ready
for the Lions game on Dec. 10.
-- Doesn't look as if RT Earl Dotson will be activated anytime this season.
Wolf said the offseason and next year's preseason will provide better
opportunities to see how his back holds up. Wolf also said RB Dorsey Levens
and LB Brian Williams are done for the season.
-- TE Bubba Franks, who had a dreadful game against the Panthers with 3
drops and a fumble, vows to be better over the last 4 games. A quote from
him, on his 1st drop on a 1st-quarter play that seemed good for at least 20
yards: "I know I should have had it and I think I got madder at myself than
I should have. I should have just said, 'It's a dropped ball. Next play.' I
didn't. It hung around and hung around and kind of ate at me. When you do
that, it hurts your game." Though it seems Franks has had little impact,
consider: He has 31 catches for 307 yards; Tyrone Davis had only 20 catches
for 204 yards as the starter last year. Among NFC TEs, Franks is 3rd in
receptions and 4th in receiving yards.
-- WR Antonio Freeman continues to have a dreadful season, but the Packers
are stuck with him and his big contract. They can't trade him because no one
will take his 7-year, $42 million contract. They can't cut him because they
can't afford to take a $7 million hit on the next 2 years' salary caps. It
also seems unlikely that Freeman would be willing to renegotiate his big
deal.
-- QB Brett Favre's TD pass to Donald Driver against the Panthers was the
250th of his career, coming in his 141st game. Only the Dolphins' Dan Marino
did so faster, in 128 games.
-- Green leads the Packers with 53 receptions. He could be the 1st player to
lead the Packers in rushing and receiving since Barty Smith in 1977.
-- Is it just me, or was Wayne Larrivee really irritated during Monday
night's radio broadcast? He was down on everything, including commercial
breaks.
Now, the viewer mail:
-- Heather in Grayslake, Ill., one of our longtime readers, saw last week's
note on the snow at the Colts game being the 1st measurable snowfall at a
Packers game since 1985 and wisely notes: "Call me a geek, but this weekend
I found an old tape of the Packers-Tennessee Oilers game in 1998, I believe
(Reggie's last game at Lambeau as a Packer). Snow fell throughout that game.
I was at both games, and it seems the 1998 game saw more snow fall during
gametime. So I was confused. Perhaps it hinges on some definition of
"measurable." I demand a snowflake recount. Seriously, any idea why the
1998 game didn't count?"
Well, I suspect there wasn't enough snow, meteorologically speaking, to be
measurable. I also recall it snowed on Christmas Eve 1995, when the
Steelers' Yancey Thigpen dropped the ball in the end zone and gave the
Packers the win and the NFC Central title. I was at that one, and I guess
there wasn't enough measurable snow then, either.
-- Speaking of Christmas Eve games, Jim in Madison needs a little help for
the Dec. 24 Packers-Bucs game. "On Christmas Eve, I'll be in Mount Pleasant,
Mich., and I hope some central Michigan Packer fan can tell me where I might
catch the game in that area." If you can help, he's at _jbartlett@excite.com
-- Keith, our Update meteorologist in Norman, Okla., saw last week's note
about LG Ross Verba showing up for a meeting when there was none, thanks to
a concussion. Keith's take: "Hey, maybe someone should give Antonio Freeman
a concussion." Ooooh, cold.
-- Tom in San Francisco, another longtime reader, offers this: "Just heard
Paul Hornung interviewed on ESPN Radio. After they got done talking about
Notre Dame, he was asked what the problem is with the Packers. His response
was that "they don't have the talent, period." He went on to comment that
Dorsey Levens has been hurt and is "brittle," that there have been dropped
passes all year, and that they were not in a position to contend unless
Brett Favre had a fantastic year. He said that "on paper" they looked like
an 8-8 team, and that he is not sure they will get even that far now."
(Thanks to Bob in Green Bay for passing it along.)
As always, your questions and comments are welcome at the new address:
jeffash@new.rr.com
Adventures with Evan: He went off to school this morning with another lower
front tooth about to fall out. It was wobbly, wiggly and leaning, but not
out. So I packed him off with a little plastic bag for the tooth when it
finally comes out. ... We'll be up early Saturday morning, off to take part
in the Jingle Bell Run at the UW-Green Bay campus on what sounds like will
be a nice sunny morning with temperatures in the 20s. Evan will be in the
children's race, then inside to the child care while I head out for a nice
little 3-mile run. In my case, of course, it's more like plodding. We've
done this several times before, and he always likes the goody bags. When we
were in a race in late September, we each received a case of paper products
as part of our loot -- toilet paper, paper towels and napkins from Fort
James (which this week became Georgia-Pacific). Only in Green Bay. ... Evan
continues to make progress on the Packers' season-ticket waiting list. He's
No. 17,658 this year, up from 17,810 last year and 17,996 the year before.
He started out as No. 18,950.
This week's soundtrack: "Christmas Eve and Other Stories," by the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra, another excellent recommendation from one of the
Update readers a couple of years ago (and playing in Green Bay on Monday
night); "Christmas on the Border," with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" done
in the style of "Oye Como Va"; and "An Austin Rhythm and Blues Christmas."
Thanks to Jim in Madison for an excellent tip on a new Christmas CD by The
Mighty Blue Kings, the hardest-working blues/jazz/swing band in Chicago. I
am off to hunt it down later today. I also have to check out Christmas CDs
by Etta James and, believe it or not, Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special.
This week's sources: Green Bay Press-Gazette (http://www.packersnews.com or
greenbaypressgazette.com), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/) and Packers (http://www.packers.com)
web pages. Check the Packers' current roster at
packers.com
-- If you wish to show your appreciation for these Packers updates,
volunteer or make a donation to the charity of your choice. 'Tis the season
for that, you know.
Thanks as always to Janet for saving the papers and to Scott for providing
the mail service and the web space on South End Zone.
Thanks, Jeff
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