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Pastimes : Green Bay Packers -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SE who wrote (568)	7/20/1999 10:37:00 AM
From: SE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1150

This was emailed to me. Good story and hits it right on the money. -Scott -------------------- West Coast Offensive by Tom Freeman <TFreeman@brobeck.com> Monday, July 19, 1999 Desmond Howard Returns Can six months really have gone by since that unfortunate day in January? Can training camp really be starting in less than a week? It is high time that I shake off my post-season lethargy and sit down and write an article. Of all of the things that have taken place this off-season, the one that I am most excited about is the return of Desmond Howard. His career with the Raiders was lucrative for him, but otherwise a disaster. While, presumably, the Raiders gave him a shot to make a name for himself as a receiver (why else would they have paid him that much money?), he did not pan out. He had decent statistics as a kick returner, but nothing like his year of glory in Green Bay. So we now know that Desmond Howard is not a viable starting receiver in the NFL. OOPS! I guess we knew that before. It turns out that the great Al Davis was not smarter than the Packers and the Redskins and the Jaguars, after all. But he is a heck of a kick returner. Who can forget the way he single-handedly destroyed the 49ers in the "Freezing Rain Bowl" in the first playoff game that year? Or the way he snuffed out the Patriots' comeback attempt, just like that? True, he didn't exactly set the AFC-West on fire during his two year stint with the Raiders. True, his year with the Packers could have been an extraordinarily lucky fluke. And even if it wasn't he could be all washed up now, three years later. I'm betting that he is not washed up. I think the key to understanding Desmond Howard's phenomenal year with the Packers is the fact that they have had good special teams for a number of years. All kinds of players have been shuttled in and out (Schroeder, Preston, Beebe, even Robert Brooks a few years back) and they have all done pretty well, although some have had questions raised about fumbles, poor decision-making and the like. So my theory as to why Howard's years with the Raiders were not that spectacular is that the Raiders' special teams play generally does not match up with the special teams of the Packers. And the returner can't do it all by himself. To put it a different way, the magic of 1996 resulted from the rare combination of really good special teams play, and a really good kick returner. (OK, and probably some good luck, too.) Take away one, and the magic disappears, which is what happened the last two years. Put them back together and the sky is the limit. So we will see. If Howard still has it, his game could make a big difference for the Packers. If he doesn't, they can keep Arnold or someone else as their returner, and they have lost very little (basically just the signing bonus). I'm looking forward to the season already.

To: SE who wrote (568)	7/31/1999 9:50:00 AM
From: Rainy_Day_Woman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1150

glad you got you tickets and at least we have a stadium standing Freeman is holding out GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) The Green Bay Packers welcomed their veteran players to training camp practices Friday, but were still without their key passing combination. Wide receiver Antonio Freeman officially became a holdout and quarterback Brett Favre was with his wife and newborn daughter. Freeman, an unrestricted free agent before the Packers designated him their franchise player, is still hammering out terms of a new contract with the team. "We'd love for Antonio to be in camp," coach Ray Rhodes said. ''But as we all know, when you're doing contracts, sometimes that stuff takes time. But I'm certain Antonio is working hard and preparing himself to come to training camp, and I hope it will be solved very shortly." Favre is expected to join the team Saturday. The veterans who did arrive were ready to go, Rhodes said. "For the most part, the veterans are in good shape," Rhodes said. ''The guys are going to be a little rusty, but I saw some good things. I was very pleased with the way they reported." Rhodes said physical testing went well when the veterans arrived Thursday night. "We're in the best shape we've been in for some time," he said. ''It will take a couple of days before we get the timing down." Fri Jul 30 21:00:06 EDT 1999