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

To: SE who wrote (1044)	12/25/2000 10:43:42 AM
From: Alan Whirlwind	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1150

One New Orleans touchdown short of the play-offs. How sad. You know, the way the Pack had been playing I think they might have done quite well in the post-season action.

To: SE who wrote (1044)	12/26/2000 5:13:16 PM
From: SE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1150

Wags by Len Wagner Tuesday, December 26, 2000 "A Leap into the Pressure Cooker" If Mike Sherman doesn't sleep particularly well over the next six months, there's good reason, for what his Green Bay Packers really accomplished Sunday was to seriously inflate the pressure that will be on him next season. Oh I'm sure the coach is delighted with the bottom line results of his team's unexpected play down the NFL regular season home stretch, even if it was left grasping unsuccessfully for the playoffs. Four straight wins against NFC Central Division opponents -- well, that and some other pertinent statistics -- will not be forgotten when it comes time to begin evaluating prospects for the 2001 season. Not many serious fans (as opposed to fanatics) or other observers really expected the Packers to finish 9-7. Not after the chaos of the fortunately short-lived Ray Rhodes regime was handed over to a rookie head coach in every sense of the word rookie since Mike Sherman had never had total control of any team in his life, dating back to Little League or Pop Warner. And after opening 2-4 against what was seen as the easier portion of the schedule, eight wins began looking like a very successful season, with seven or even six a more likely scenario. This gray outlook was not ehanced by a series of injuries that seemed destined to decimate the team. The Packers were not overburdened with sheer talent to begin with and the injuries could have dragged morale to the depths of self-misery. But Sherman, an adroit practioner of spinning positive vibes from negative conditions, not only held his team together but developed it to the point were field leader Brett Favre declared that this team had more chemistry than any other Packer team in his years -- including two Super Bowl season -- in Green Bay. That may have been the ultimate public compliment for Sherman and his staff. So while the Packers failed to reach the playoffs, the exciting, overtime conquest of Tampa Bay under raw weather conditions in Lambeau Field Sunday provided some startling stats: 9-7 for the season, 4 straight wins to conclude the season, 5 wins in their last 6 games, 6 wins in their last 8 games. And a final 5-3 record in the division including a sweep of division champion Minnesota. And a 5-2 record against teams that did make the playoffs. These are pretty heady numbers and you will read about them come early summer. They would seem to indicate that this is a team that has crept past the rebuilding stage and is again ready to challenge for supremacy. And thus the pressure -- and remember, there will be no excuses about a new coach, new defensive scheme, many new players -- that will bear down on the Packers and Sherman come July. There are questions, of course. First is whether this surge in the stretch was truly a legitimate indication of the team's progress or was it a matter of some overachieving wizardry? We would like to think the former but there is still a case for the latter. Sunday's win over the Bucs, after all, was accomplished despite a relapse into the inconsistency that plagued the team early in the year. Winning despite four turnovers, not to mention the cooperation of Mother Nature and Martin Gramatica, brazenly defied all odds. Then there are question about the salary cap and re-signing key players like Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell. There are questions about the injuries to Dorsey Levens and the two Dotsons (though, frankly, those questions don't bother me too much -- I would be more concerned about Steve Warren). There are questions about whether people like Nate Wayne, Na'il Diggs, Tod McBride, Cletidus Hunt, Chad Clifton, Mark Tauscher, Antuan Edwards and a few others will continue to develop. Finally, there is the question of Antonio Freeman, who was not only benched but deactivated and told not to even show up in the stadium for Sunday's game after missing two team meetings Saturday. If there is some way to rid the team of him, it would be the best move. But he is not exactly strong trade bait and cutting him still saddles the team with millions of salary cap dollars. It is a difficult situation. His continuing off-field escapades, his apparently uncaring attitude about his teammates, his ridiculous statements to the public and his general lack of production on the field are not made any better by the inane comments of General Manager (and frustrated coach) Ron Wolf, as reported in the Green Bay Press-Gazette: "I'm very disappointed, but it's all part of what we go through. That's the way it is. I don't want to belittle what he's done, because my opinion is that it's very serious. But I also feel this: If he was in a major city, this wouldn't be a big issue. He's constantly in front of the press all the time for all the things he does. You guys blow that up and that's not fair to him." It will be a very interesting off season. ---------------------------( ADVERTISEMENT )--------------------------- Get your sports tickets (yes even Packer tickets) from OpenSeats.com southendzone.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- South End Zone Mailing List southendzone.com SouthEndZone-subscribe@egroups.com SouthEndZone-unsubscribe@egroups.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- == Over 2,600 subscribers in 14 countries. Tell all your friends! ==