Here is the Jeff Ash Update. Sorry it is late.
-scott
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-- The Packers (2-1) face the Buccaneers (2-2) at 7:20 p.m. Sunday at
Lambeau Field. It'll be nationally televised on ESPN with Mike Patrick, Joe
Theismann, Paul Maguire and Solomon Wilcots. It'll be aired on the Packer
Radio Network with Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren, and aired nationally
on the CBS Radio network with Joel Meyers and Bob Trumpy.
-- The forecast, from Keith, our longtime Update meteorologist in Norman,
Okla.: Mostly cloudy and cool, gradual clearing in the evening. Kickoff
temperature around 60 after an afternoon high around 67 degrees. Chance of
a light rain shower, especially in the late afternoon. Chance of rain 20%.
Light north wind, 5-10 mph. For updated forecasts, check Keith's web site
at galstar.com
And, of course, Keith's take on the game:
When over the line they're trying,
Whether by running or flying,
Our Williams will drop 'em,
The Bucs he'll be stoppin',
As that is the life of Brian.
-- Before the bye, in a game that already seems weeks ago, the Packers beat
the Vikings 23-20 in another thriller led by QB Brett Favre. Complete
coverage of the game is at the usual web sites listed below.
-- Injury update: DT Santana Dotson probably won't play Sunday night. He's
still bothered by a stinger that has sapped the strength in his right
shoulder and arm. He hasn't practiced for 2 weeks. ... Favre's bruised
right thumb is almost healed, and he's over the flu that caused him to take
oxygen on the bench right after throwing the winning TD against the
Vikings. He took 10 days off after the Vikings game to rest and get healed.
... The bulging disc in RT Earl Dotson's back is slightly better after his
4th painkilling injection of the season, and he has been practicing without
pads. He'll play Sunday, but wouldn't have been able to play had the
Packers had a game on the bye weekend. Mike Wahle has been working at RT
just in case... LG Joe Andruzzi says his knee remains sore, but isn't
stopping him from continuing to share time with Wahle at LG. ... Rookie G
Craig Heimburger tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee
during practice on Thursday. He'll be out 4 to 6 weeks. ... TE Mark Chmura
insists he'll try to play again if he can. He's off to consult with doctors
around the country on the bulging disc in his neck.
-- RCB Tyrone Williams is struggling, and rookie Antuan Edwards is giving
him a run for his starting job. Williams isn't too happy about it, but
Edwards doesn't care. A quote from Edwards, when asked about the
possibility of replacing Williams: "Why do you say Tyrone? Let me reiterate
this to you. I don't give a damn whose position I take. Corners play
anything. I just think I should be starting."
-- The Packers had a fairly normal couple of weeks of practice around the
bye weekend. They were off Friday, Saturday and Sunday last weekend. In
practice, they worked on improving the red zone offense (inside the 20),
getting big plays on defense and improving the blocking on kick and punt
returns. On defense, look for the Packers to turn loose LB Brian Williams
as a playmaker all over the field much as Butler has been.
-- CB Tyrone Bell has been playing well on the practice squad, perhaps well
enough to make the Packers think about activating him soon rather than
losing him to another team. ... CB James Souder was the practice squad
player released to make room for S Chris Akins.
-- The SportGrass surface, a hybrid of natural and artificial turf, will be
torn out after Sunday night's game. The Packers figured they'd had enough
after having to paint some of it just to have it presentable for national
TV for the Vikings game. They'd also had repeated problems with proper
growth, wear and tear. A conventional sod field will be laid and will be
ready for the Nov. 1 game against the Seahawks. That'll cost the Packers
more than $100,000. K Ryan Longwell is delighted. A quote from him: "The
problem with the SportGrass was that it never seemed to come back once it
was torn up or worn down. The spots that had divots or the spots that had a
lot of play on them just never seemed to grow back."
-- If you're going to Sunday's game, the Packers Women's Association is
having its annual food drive to benefit one of the pantries in Green Bay.
Non-perishable items and cash donations will be collected in the parking
lots.
-- The Packers players have raised almost $100,000 to help rookie P Josh
Bidwell with his medical expenses as he recovers from surgery and
chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Bidwell isn't covered by NFL medical
insurance because he wasn't on the Packers' 53-man roster at the start of
the season. The Packers can't pay his bills because that would count
against the salary cap. So, the players have picked up the slack. Lance
Armstrong, the cyclist who overcame testicular cancer and won this year's
Tour de France, flew up to Oregon to be with Bidwell for his 1st chemo
session.
-- The Packers are honoring retired DE Reggie White at halftime Sunday
night, and he's miffed that it isn't taking place at halftime of the Monday
night game against the Seahawks. The Packers say they didn't want Mike
Holmgren's return to take the spotlight from White. This comes on the heels
of an interview with ESPN's Andrea Kremer in which he said he was miffed
that he didn't get the kind of special introduction at the Pro Bowl that
Broncos QB John Elway did.
White suggested the perceived Pro Bowl slight was racially motivated, but
said the Packers' decision had nothing to do with race. Nevertheless, some
of his ex-teammates weren't too happy to hear any of it. A quote from SS
LeRoy Butler: "I'm not sure that it's fair to Ray (Rhodes) to say that this
thing was racially motivated and that kind of stuff. It's kind of
bothersome to some of the leaders on this team because we don't want to be
distracted." For his part, Rhodes is staying out of the debate.
-- Retired WR Robert Brooks will keep the remaining $2.8 million of his
$3.5 million signing bonus. The last 3 years of the bonus, or $2.1 million,
counts against the 2000 salary cap. The Packers tried to negotiate a
settlement to recover the money, but Brooks said no deal, that he'd come
back and try to play, forcing the Packers to cut him and allowing him to
have the entire signing bonus anyway. The Packers gave up.
-- Packers president Bob Harlan says he's happy with 2 preliminary drawings
as the team considers how to proceed on the stadium issue. One drawing is
of a renovated Lambeau Field; the other is of a new stadium. Both were done
by Ellerbe Becket, a Kansas City-based sports architectural firm. Not even
the board of directors has seen the drawings. A quote from Harlan: "We're
making changes to the sketches now, and we hope that in the next 2 months,
we can go to the board and decide what to do." The Packers also have hired
Hammes Co., a Milwaukee- and Madison-based real estate development firm, to
crunch the numbers to try to find out how much each option would cost. The
Packers want to be in a new or renovated stadium by 2003.
-- Now that the NFL has added Houston as the 32nd team and plans to realign
to 8 divisions of 4 teams each, look for Tampa Bay to drop out of the NFC
Central, leaving only the Packers, Bears, Vikings and Lions.
-- The Packers will play the Dolphins, Broncos, Jets and Browns during the
2000 preseason. Dates and places won't be announced until March or April.
The Packers also have a new contract to televise preseason games on a state
network originating from WBAY in Green Bay through the 2002 season.
-- If you have $1,995 laying around, and you want to pick up business
management tips from Harlan, VP John Jones, GM Ron Wolf, Rhodes and a group
of business trainers, the Packers are co-sponsoring and hosting a 4-day
seminar beginning with the Bears game at Lambeau Field on Nov. 7. For more
details, check the Packers' web site.
-- Just one piece of viewer mail. Tom in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is going to
be at the Packers-Chargers game later this month and is "wondering whether
any organized pregame tailgate parties" will take place. He's at
tom.rosenthal@latimes.com
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
To try to follow the Packers via Internet radio, check these sites:
packers.com or
connect.net
or premier.packers.com (the latter is the Packers' pay site)
-- Adventures with Evan: This has been a big week. It is Fire Prevention
Week. The Howard Fire Department visited his preschool on Tuesday, and the
firefighters sprayed the side of the building. Evan came home Tuesday
wearing one of the toy firefighters' helmets from his classroom. He has
been telling us all week what we should do if there is a fire. Today is the
much-anticipated open house at the De Pere fire station. ... He missed last
week's open house at the Allouez fire station near our house because he was
with Janet and Grandma at Grandma's farm in central Illinois. There, he got
to ride in the cab of Mr. Aden's tractor and even got to steer the lawn
tractor while Mr. Aden drove. When he got home Monday after the long trip,
though, Evan admitted, "Dad, I'm kind of wiped out."
-- 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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