Here is today's Green Bay Update from Jeff Ash. If you have any questions
or comments about the update, contact Jeff (mailto:jeffash@netnet.net).
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Greetings from Green Bay on a cool morning that has a hint of fall in the
air:
-- The season opener is at noon Sunday against the Raiders at Lambeau
Field. It'll be televised on CBS with Verne Lundquist, Dan Dierdorf and
Bonnie Bernstein. It'll be aired on the Packer Radio Network with Wayne
Larrivee and Larry McCarren. For updated weather forecasts, check Keith's
web site at galstar.com.
-- TE Mark Chmura likely won't play against the Raiders. He's still
recovering from a bulging disc in his neck, but has been practicing. He's
expected to resume full contact on Wednesday. ... G Joe Andruzzi continues
a strong recovery from a right knee injury but probably is still a couple
of weeks away. ... WR Bill Schroeder likely will start, but sat out
practices Sunday and Monday with a bruised shin sustained on his
spectacular hurdle and flip for a TD in the Dolphins game.
-- CB Craig Newsome may be traded to the 49ers today, but he must agree to
a pay cut that fits within the 49ers' tight salary cap before a trade can
be made. He's steamed over being passed on the depth chart by 3 rookies and
has asked that the Packers trade or cut him. He sat out the first half-hour
of practice, the time during which reporters are allowed to watch, on
Sunday and Monday. The Packers have until 3 p.m. Saturday to trade or cut
Newsome. After that, his $800,000 salary is guaranteed and counts against
the salary cap.
-- The 13 final cuts: S Chris Akins, CB Andre Dixon, FB Chris Gall, G-C
Grant Garrett, WR Tyrone Goodson, TE Lamont Hall, G Craig Heimburger, LB
Deon Humphrey, FB Jim Kitts, QB Ronnie McAda, DE Jon Harris, DE Jabbar
Threats and RB Edwin Watson.
-- No huge surprises on the final roster. The Packers have gotten much
younger, with 15 players who've never played in an NFL regular-season game.
They also believe they've improved their depth at most positions. The only
lingering area of concern is depth on the offensive line. ... The Packers
kept rookie T Scott Curry over Heimburger because they figured it would be
easier to get a guard through waivers and onto the practice squad instead
of a tackle. ... LB Jim Nelson was kept, but may be staying only until Jude
Waddy returns from the last 2 games of his steroid suspension. ... CB Tod
McBride was kept, likely because the Packers knew Newsome would be going.
... The backup RBs are Basil Mitchell and De'Mond Parker, with Matt Snider
as the backup FB. All 3 are rookies. ... Rookie NT Antonio Dingle was the
only late pickup kept. He did well against the Dolphins. The rap on him is
his endurance, but the Packers figure they can work on that. ... The
Packers kept Ss Scott McGarrahan and Rodney Artmore, who are bigger than
Akins but may not know the defense as well as Akins did. ... Kitts was
waived with an injury settlement. He had a torn shoulder muscle.
-- Hall, Heimburger and Goodson already have been re-signed to the Packers'
practice squad, with Akins expected to join them. Harris was picked up by
the Browns, who also put former Packers WR Zola Davis on their practice
squad.
-- With the final cuts, a couple of number changes. P Chris Hanson is No.
7. LB Jim Nelson is No. 57. WR Donald Driver is No. 80.
-- Rookie P Josh Bidwell, out for the year with testicular cancer, was put
on the reserve non-football illness list. He's going home to Oregon for
chemotherapy and another surgery to determine whether the cancer has spread
to his lymph nodes. Hanson will remain the punter for the foreseeable
future.
Now, the viewer mail, chock full of people seeking places to watch the
Packers. If you can help, their addresses follow.
-- Shi-Ling is relatively new to Washington, D.C., and is at hsu@eli.org
-- Rob is new to Cleveland's western suburbs. He's at Rccolbert@aol.com
-- Rich, a Platteville native, is new to El Paso, Texas. He's at
rmkdimeglio@hotmail.com
-- Jim is seeking a place in New York City or the suburbs. He's at
cio@hershnet.com
-- Alan in the Atlanta area says a new place to watch the Packers is
Houck's Steak and Seafood in suburban Alpharetta.
-- Lance and Dan are seeking videos of Super Bowls I and II and the Ice
Bowl. I believe only highlight videos, not complete games, are available. A
complete film or tape of Super Bowl I doesn't exist. If you can help their
search, Lance is at llafrom@aol.com and Dan is at dvanveen@ag.org
-- Chris in Cincinnati has this question: "I am about No. 10,152 on the
season ticket waiting list. Does that mean that there are 10,151 ticket
buyers in front of me, each of whom may take 2 or 4 seats, making me more
like No. 30,000, or does it mean that there are 10,151 fannies before mine
is planted in a seat of my own?" If you know, drop me a line. I'll share
the answer here.
That's it for now. As always, your comments and questions are welcome at
jeffash@netnet.net
This week's sources: Green Bay Press-Gazette
(http://www.greenbaypressgazette.packersnews.com), Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/) and Packers
(http://www.packers.com) web pages. If you're seeking the Packers' current
roster, it's at packers.com
-- Adventures with Evan: We took him to his 1st big-league baseball game on
Saturday, taking in the Cardinals and Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium.
He enjoyed the arcade and playground area underneath the left-field stands
(thanks for the tip, John) and eating quick-frozen chocolate ice cream
pellets in a souvenir batting helmet. But asked what he liked best, he said
"Bernie Brewer!" That's the mascot who sits in a chalet above the
center-field bleachers and slides down into a stein of beer after a Brewers
home run. Evan loved it even though we saw no slide. We, like about 25,000
of the crowd of 31,000, made it to Mark McGwire's last at-bat, in the 8th
inning, then took off. The 2nd-best attraction was what Evan called "the
Sausage Guys," who have a race between innings. There is a brat, a Polish,
an Italian and a hot dog. The Brewers are so lacking in appealing players
that their souvenir stands seemingly had more McGwire, County Stadium,
Miller Park and Sausage Race merchandise than Brewers items. (If you are
interested in Packers memorabilia from their days at County Stadium, check
for items being auctioned and sold at countystadium.com)
As usual, if you wish to show your appreciation for these Packers updates,
volunteer or make a donation to the charity of your choice. 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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