PACKERS ARE SCARY, MAYBE 16-0 SCARY, SCHAUB MIGHT BE GONE FOR THE YEAR & SANDUSKY SURFACES
The Green Bay Packer offense we saw this evening was scary, maybe even 16-0 scary. Head coach Mike McCarthy calls the plays & he has as hot a hand as his MVP quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. In 9 games, Rodgers has thrown 28-touchdown passes & 3-interceptions. if he stays anywhere near this pace, his should be a unanimous MVP. But we all know just when you least expect it, something goes wrong & you lose a game. Even without an outstanding running game, this team is effective on the ground when the situation calls for it. Their offensive line isn't overpowering but it's versatile & very well coached. They have a lot of interchangeable parts & line coach James Campen moves his guys around like chess pieces & somehow it all works. But Rodgers & his receiving corps is what makes this offense nearly impossible to defend against. The five wideouts, James Jones, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings & Randall Cobb could all start for maybe half the teams in this league, all five. Tight end Jermichael Finley is a monster & the top three running backs, Ryan Grant, James Starks & John Kuhn are adept at getting open & racking up yards after the catch. They have three high impact players on defense, CB Charles Woodson, OLB Clay Mathews & ILB A.J. Hawk. I thought NT B.J. Raji would also be in that group, but his play has really fallen off this season as has fellow DL Ryan Pickett. Without them, this defense is just slightly above average. What makes the Packers so tough is that their opponents are under so much pressure to score at least 30-points to even be in the game, they make mistakes. I love watching this team play for a lot of reasons but first & foremost, it because Aaron Rodgers is playing the most difficult position in all of team sports at a level we've never seen. After Tampa bay this Sunday, the Pack travels to Detroit for a Thanksgiving Day game & then to new York to play the Giants. If they get thru this part of their schedule, they just might go 16-0.
The New York Giants lead the NFC East by one game over Dallas. I think the Giants are the better team but they have a much tougher remaining schedule. They play each other twice & the Eagles once, but with the Saints, Packers & Jets, the Giants have the more difficult road to the division title. Dallas has Miami, Arizona, Tampa & Washington.
With their win over the Jets Sunday night, the QB/coach combination of Tom Brady & Bill Belichick became the winningest pair in NFL history. Their 117 wins together passed Dan Marino & Don Shula's 116. It should also be noted the Dolphin pairing lost 68 games while B&B lost only 35 against their 117 wins.
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson was inactive for yesterday's loss to Arizona. He missed a special teams meeting on Saturday & coach Andy Reid made a move that proved to be popular with many in the Philly locker room. Jackson addressed the entire team & coaching staff on Monday, apologizing for his actions. Apparently Jackson, who has been obsessing about a new contract, is broke. For a 24-year old who makes over $500,000 a year, how pathetic is that? He has been living on a credit card belonging to his agent Drew Rosenhaus & the tab is quite sizable, approaching 6-figures. If Jackson finds himself suspended, the regular paychecks will cease & his debt will only grow larger & his value in free agency will decrease. Pay attention young man, get a grip on your finances because no one else will.
On the injury front there were several that will definitely impact teams in the playoff races. The patriots will lose safety Devin McCourty for 2-3 weeks after he sustained a Grade 2 shoulder separation Sunday night. Denver RB Knowshon Moreno's sprained knee diagnosis wasn't correct, he tore his ACL & will miss the remainder of the 2011 season. But the worst one hit the Houston Texans. Quarterback Matt Schaub has a Lisfranc injury to his left foot & will miss the rest of the season according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Matt Leinart will step in after Houston's bye week when they play Jacksonville. So he'll have three weeks to prep for Atlanta & Cincinnati who follow the Jags. But this could cripple their hopes of a Super Bowl run, Schaub isn't Tom Brady, but he's way better than Matt Leinart. Another serious injury felled Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis, he tore his ACL.
Texas running back Fozzy Whittaker will be lost for the season after tearing his ACL & MCL in Saturday's game at Missouri. Mizzou RB Henry Josey also suffered a severe knee injury in the game, tearing his ACL, MCL & PCL. They face extremely tough rehabilitation. Good luck to both of these outstanding young men.
Tonight on NBC's "Rock Center" news program, Bob Costas interviewed former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky by phone live on the air. Sandsky's attorney, Joe Amendola, sat next to Costas as he asked the questions. Sandusky denied ever having sex with any children(he's charged with 40 counts) but said "showering with the kids was a mistake." Really, ya think? When asked if Mike McQueary saw him in the shower room, he said no. When asked if Joe Paterno had ever questioned or confronted him about his showering with young boys, he said no. Amendola said they thought they had located the alleged victim in this incident & he had denied it ever happened. The State of Pennsylvania said they do not know his identity, but Amendola says he does. This whole thing gets more sordid as the days go by. Sandusky kept referring to the shower interaction with the young boys as 'horseplay' which I found really disturbing. But Amendola said after the interview "Jerry Sandusky is a big overgrown kid." Somehow I didn't think this P.R. effort was successful.
In another part of this horrible story, wide receivers coach Mike McQueary emailed several of his college teammates to explain his side of the story, he's refused any public comments to date. NBC got hold of the email & quoted from it a few times, the most interesting part was when McQueary said "The truth is not out there fully, I just didn't turn & run, I made sure it stopped." I wonder why his grand jury testimony didn't reflect that. It was his testimony he went to his office, called his father, went to his house & told him what he had witnessed. He called Joe Paterno the next morning to report what he'd witnessed the night before in the shower room. There was nothing about stopping Sandusky anywhere in the 23-pages of testimony. I carefully read every page. So is this a case of CYA, damage control or did he actually stop Sandusky that night?
Jack Rayjowitz, the president of Sandusky's "The Second Mile" foundation, stepped down on Monday after 28-years with the organization. He said he wanted to help clear people's perception of the charity by removing himself. Like I said, this story gets worse by the day.
The BIG TEN has removed Joe Paterno's name from it's championship trophy. It will now be known as the Stagg Championship Trophy. Conference commissioner Jim Delaney said "The trophy & it's namesake are intended to be celebratory, aspirational, not controversial." The family of famed coach Amos Alonzo Stagg had protested to the BIG TEN about both names being on the trophy & considered asking the conference to remove their family name from it.
Our contest to predict the score of the Monday night game on the radio show tonight was won by Eric R. of Mack's Creek Missouri. He guessed it Green Bay 42-10, pretty darn close there Eric, congrats. We'll talk to you next Monday night to get you hooked up with your prize package.
The New York Giants lead the NFC East by one game over Dallas. I think the Giants are the better team but they have a much tougher remaining schedule. They play each other twice & the Eagles once, but with the Saints, Packers & Jets, the Giants have the more difficult road to the division title. Dallas has Miami, Arizona, Tampa & Washington.
With their win over the Jets Sunday night, the QB/coach combination of Tom Brady & Bill Belichick became the winningest pair in NFL history. Their 117 wins together passed Dan Marino & Don Shula's 116. It should also be noted the Dolphin pairing lost 68 games while B&B lost only 35 against their 117 wins.
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson was inactive for yesterday's loss to Arizona. He missed a special teams meeting on Saturday & coach Andy Reid made a move that proved to be popular with many in the Philly locker room. Jackson addressed the entire team & coaching staff on Monday, apologizing for his actions. Apparently Jackson, who has been obsessing about a new contract, is broke. For a 24-year old who makes over $500,000 a year, how pathetic is that? He has been living on a credit card belonging to his agent Drew Rosenhaus & the tab is quite sizable, approaching 6-figures. If Jackson finds himself suspended, the regular paychecks will cease & his debt will only grow larger & his value in free agency will decrease. Pay attention young man, get a grip on your finances because no one else will.
On the injury front there were several that will definitely impact teams in the playoff races. The patriots will lose safety Devin McCourty for 2-3 weeks after he sustained a Grade 2 shoulder separation Sunday night. Denver RB Knowshon Moreno's sprained knee diagnosis wasn't correct, he tore his ACL & will miss the remainder of the 2011 season. But the worst one hit the Houston Texans. Quarterback Matt Schaub has a Lisfranc injury to his left foot & will miss the rest of the season according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Matt Leinart will step in after Houston's bye week when they play Jacksonville. So he'll have three weeks to prep for Atlanta & Cincinnati who follow the Jags. But this could cripple their hopes of a Super Bowl run, Schaub isn't Tom Brady, but he's way better than Matt Leinart. Another serious injury felled Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis, he tore his ACL.
Texas running back Fozzy Whittaker will be lost for the season after tearing his ACL & MCL in Saturday's game at Missouri. Mizzou RB Henry Josey also suffered a severe knee injury in the game, tearing his ACL, MCL & PCL. They face extremely tough rehabilitation. Good luck to both of these outstanding young men.
Tonight on NBC's "Rock Center" news program, Bob Costas interviewed former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky by phone live on the air. Sandsky's attorney, Joe Amendola, sat next to Costas as he asked the questions. Sandusky denied ever having sex with any children(he's charged with 40 counts) but said "showering with the kids was a mistake." Really, ya think? When asked if Mike McQueary saw him in the shower room, he said no. When asked if Joe Paterno had ever questioned or confronted him about his showering with young boys, he said no. Amendola said they thought they had located the alleged victim in this incident & he had denied it ever happened. The State of Pennsylvania said they do not know his identity, but Amendola says he does. This whole thing gets more sordid as the days go by. Sandusky kept referring to the shower interaction with the young boys as 'horseplay' which I found really disturbing. But Amendola said after the interview "Jerry Sandusky is a big overgrown kid." Somehow I didn't think this P.R. effort was successful.
In another part of this horrible story, wide receivers coach Mike McQueary emailed several of his college teammates to explain his side of the story, he's refused any public comments to date. NBC got hold of the email & quoted from it a few times, the most interesting part was when McQueary said "The truth is not out there fully, I just didn't turn & run, I made sure it stopped." I wonder why his grand jury testimony didn't reflect that. It was his testimony he went to his office, called his father, went to his house & told him what he had witnessed. He called Joe Paterno the next morning to report what he'd witnessed the night before in the shower room. There was nothing about stopping Sandusky anywhere in the 23-pages of testimony. I carefully read every page. So is this a case of CYA, damage control or did he actually stop Sandusky that night?
Jack Rayjowitz, the president of Sandusky's "The Second Mile" foundation, stepped down on Monday after 28-years with the organization. He said he wanted to help clear people's perception of the charity by removing himself. Like I said, this story gets worse by the day.
The BIG TEN has removed Joe Paterno's name from it's championship trophy. It will now be known as the Stagg Championship Trophy. Conference commissioner Jim Delaney said "The trophy & it's namesake are intended to be celebratory, aspirational, not controversial." The family of famed coach Amos Alonzo Stagg had protested to the BIG TEN about both names being on the trophy & considered asking the conference to remove their family name from it.
Our contest to predict the score of the Monday night game on the radio show tonight was won by Eric R. of Mack's Creek Missouri. He guessed it Green Bay 42-10, pretty darn close there Eric, congrats. We'll talk to you next Monday night to get you hooked up with your prize package.
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