Packer487

The Denver ones are fugly. Can't believe I forgot to mention them. The Chargers powder-blues were awesome. I like that they at least went with the white helmets this year. Their jerseys are better than the most recent ones, but still not nearly as cool as the throwbacks.

One of the worst trades in history, bar none. And if he was available for that little of a price, I wish we had found a way to get in on it. Guys of that caliber don't become available all that often, especially for a couple of scrubs. The fact that Carolina missed the playoffs last year makes it even worse, because they obviously were looking to sure up the team for last season. They're going to regret that move for a long, long time....

And that's the only Thanksgiving game the Lions have won in the last 6 or so. I actually think it'll be a good game on Turkey Day, but since that game against GB that Detroit won, I think they've been blown out 3 in a row. Of course this team is better than the other ones were. I think the Lions beat Chicago this week. If nothing else, we know this Detroit team can score points, even if it's only 17-21. I'm not sure Chicago can keep up with them offensively. And the Lions might be able to put up more points than that, especially since the Bears could be missing like six defensive starters this week. That team's going downhill in a big way and it amazes me that more people didn't see it coming. As for the jersey debate: I agree with timothy1997 that the Lions throwbacks were awesome. I've always liked Detroit's jerseys, though I hate that they added the black trim to them (and black jerseys period--do they still wear those?). It wasn't necessary and it makes them look like they could be the Carolina Panthers. And the Packers have the best, most distinct jerseys in the league IMO (not that I'm biased or anything). You can't confuse them with any other team. They're classic, great color scheme, and they jump out. If you want the worst, I'd have to go with the Vikings and the Bills. What the deuce is up with the piping on the sides? It looks horrible. Uhhhhh......

Well the good news is that this week they showed the signs of snapping out of their doldrums. When they ran the ball against SD it was effective. They just didn't run it very often. And I don't really blame them. The strength of San Diego is clearly in stopping the run and they're very vulnerable to the pass (similar to this Vikings team we're about to play). SD is a good enough team that you can't waste possessions in the interest of establishing the run, so I think it was a pretty good move to throw, throw, and throw some more, especially since it was working like a charm. The other good stuff: Clifton had a monster game against Merriman. He looked like ass the first two weeks. Tauscher still wasn't great on the other side, but he was better. The interior line play was a ton better. Nobody bursting into the backfield to take handoffs, Favre not getting killed on every third passing attempt. Remember, the offensive line can't practice cut blocks in training camp b/c of the risks to our own DL. I don't think it's crazy that they have a few kinks to work out. They got much better later in the season last year, and it's the same group. If we were able to run by the end of the year last year, I don't see any reason the running game shouldn't get going in the near future. What thrilled me is that we've got a terrible track record against AFC teams, as well as a terrible track record against teams that run the 3-4. And we had NO trouble moving the ball on SD. 31 points, only 7 of which were aided by a takeaway, and they could've had another 11 points easily (Bubba dropped a TD, we ended up kicking a FG; 1st and goal from the 1 foot line and we turned it over on downs). That's a HUGE day against a great defense. They'll probably have a similar gameplan against Minnesota. Detroit didn't try to run against them, and won. Kansas City didn't move the ball on offense until they stopped running the ball. But you can pass on them all day. Defensively, just play Peterson the same way they played Tomlinson and we'll be fine. Jackson/Holcomb shouldn't be able to hurt us through the air the way that Rivers did. The QB isn't nearly as good, the WRs aren't as good, and the TE definitely isn't as good. It's tough anytime we go into the Metrodome, but despite people calling it Favre's Personal House of Horrors because of his career mark there, he is 3-1 in his last 4. And I fully expect a LOT of green and gold in the crowd.

Favre is unreal. I never thought this team could start out 3-0 against three playoff teams from last year. Dallas is probably still the favorite in the eyes of the world if they beat Chicago tonight, but there's not a team in the NFC that even remotely scares me at this point (and even assuming a Cowboys win, we've still been more impressive). I'm also excited to see what this offense can do now that they KNOW Jennings can play. I can't imagine that they put too much in the gameplan for him, since they didn't know until like Friday/Saturday if he could play. It also looked like the running game would work today, but the coaches were smart enough to realize that against a team like San Diego you can't throw possessions away just in the name of establishing the run. Especially when the passing game was working like it was. Did I mention that Favre is absolutely amazing? -Tim

I don't think a win over #10 is enough to erase the embarassments against ASU and Oregon in the eyes of the voters. I know it wouldn't be enough for me to put Michigan back in my top 25 if I had a vote. They're going to need to run off a few more in a row to get back in there. I think they can win today. PSU is 3-0 but they've played three of the absolute worst teams in D-1A. Quite honestly, we don't know a damn thing about either team except for the fact that Michigan can't stop a mobile QB or a spread offense, neither of which PSU has. I wish we had Henne for this one, but if they can give Mallett time, we should be ok. I expect them to ride Hart again, and that's never a bad thing as long as he doesn't get dinged. They should also be able to get after Morelli. The best part is if we win today, we get to hear all the conspiracy theories come out from the PSU fans again, which is always a trip. I love those guys.

Truth be told, not really...apart from JM Liles, because he went to State and he's on the Avs now. I'm pretty sure that makes him the Anti-Christ. I miss the rivalry. I don't want to NOT hate the Avs...

I'm sure glad we took a checking-line player and a Swede we never signed instead..... I'm prettiest much the biggest Michigan hockey fan you'll find. I love Hensick. The kid was a huge Wings fan...it sucks that he's playing for the Heavealunch now. But I wish him all the best. He deserves better than to play for that team though. As much as I hate to admit it, the Avs have done a great job with the draft the past couple of years. They've gone really heavy with college guys and they've gotten some studs.

Good thing the Kings traded a 2nd rounder + for him instead of just signing Manny Legace when they had the chance.... How did they think that acquiring Cloutier was a good idea. He was pretty much the reason Vancouver was never really a threat in the West...

Not bad for someone who is apparently not better than Byron Leftwich or Daunte Culpepper.

Well this is a different attitude than he's had the past couple of years: Asked the inevitable question about his future during Wednesday's national conference call, quarterback Brett Favre acknowledged that he could be back in 2008, depending on how this year goes. "I know where you're going. First of all, we're 2-0 right now, but there are 14 games left. Who knows what happens?" said Favre, who was named the NFC offensive player of the week, the 11th time he's been so honored. "I do know this, (if) for some unforeseen reason we go 4-12 or whatever, (the Packers) are going to go in a different direction, whether I like it or not. That's just the facts, especially at 17 years and my salary. "But if I play at a high enough level and we, meaning this team and organization, come close or get into the playoffs, have some success, but are just a little bit away, (and the Packers) still feel like I can play, want to pay me what they're paying me to lead this team, and I still felt like I have it left, yes, I see no reasons why (I wouldn't come back)."

Hey, what happened to your "advice" thread? I swear to God it's gone, unless I'm completely blind. Any updates?

Here's another fun stat: ND has now lost 5 straight games by 20+ points (and 16 since 2000). Michigan has lost 6 games by 20+ points since 1970.

149. I'll have more tomorrow, but yeah. Most wins in NFL history.

Because that's not the dumbest statistic in sports or anything....

Knock 'im dead tomorrow!

You mean "The Shermanator" right?

I'm honestly just really curious to see how Michigan's defense fares against a team that runs a conventional offense. At this point, nothing would shock me. It wouldn't shock me to end up 0-4 after the next two games, and it wouldn't shock me if Michigan continued their mastery of Penn State (a win this year would really push their fans off the deep end I think). Honestly, I think the best thing that Lloyd could do would be to take the kid gloves off Mallett. You can't treat this like a Tecmo Bowl offense (two passes, two runs) and expect to be successful. You have to give the kid a chance to use his immense talent, and hopefully limit his mistakes. When the guy has an arm like that, you can't just have him throw 5 yard outs and screen passes the entire game. He might make mistakes, but you still have to attack the defense like you normally would. You know Weis is going to have some tricks up his sleeve to try and exploit what he's seen in our defense the last couple of weeks. And they're in the same boat as us. Mallett has been here since the bowl practices. He should have a better grasp of the offense than a typical freshman. If he effs up, he effs up. But both teams are starting true freshmen quarterbacks and I think ours is better. It'd be a mistake to reign him in so much that it makes our ultra-predictable offense even more predictable.

I have Dish Network and we've got the "overflow" channels as well, which basically means that we get all the Regional games that the BTN is showing on four separate channels. It was sweet. I had OSU/Akron, MSU/BGSUcks, Northwestern/Nevada, and Minnesota/Miami (OH). The Big Ten Classics could end up being very cool. Plus getting the BTN means I get at least 2 more Michigan hockey games this year than I would've gotten otherwise...so I should be able to see 16 or 18 games. Very cool.

What a nice start to the season! Even though the offense was junk, they knocked off one of the best teams in the NFC. And a team that has completely OWNED us the last 5 years (31-9 last year or something like that). Despite no TD passes, Favre actually was pretty good. The plays he made on the drive where GB hit the tying field goal were vintage Favre. And they're the reason that even if GB went 0-16 I was happy as hell that Favre was coming back for another season. The defense and special teams were why we won this game though. The defense gave up under 300 yards and 13 points to an offense that was #2 in yardage and #6 in scoring last year. They held McNabb under 50% completions, and when they needed a stop when Philly started with the ball on GB's 38 needing a FG to take the lead, the D pushed them back and forced a punt. Then the special teams: 2 fumble recoveries, a touchdown, and our friggin incredible rookie kicker hitting from 37, 43, and 53 yards out, including the game winner. I absolutely love it. I'm as big of a homer as there is, and even I didn't think they would beat Philly. Especially after I heard Morency and Jennings were inactive. This is the happiest I've been after a pro football game in a long, long time. If they find any semblance of a running game, this is a playoff team.

Ooooook, Kenny.

Maybe he's the guy that can finally push Lilja into the ranks of "healthy scratch". For most of this decade he's been a solid 25-40 point guy. And if nothing else, he fetched a nice bounty at the trade deadline last year. If our defense is solid all year (meaning Kronwall stays healthy and becomes close to the defenseman he's supposed to be) maybe we can swap him to recoup some of what we'll give up in a deal for the top-six forward that we still badly need.

Sopel wouldn't be a bad pickup at all. He played 20+ per night for the Kings and still managed to be a plus, which is no small feat on that team (most of their D were -10 or more). 28 points in 64 games isn't too shabby either. Kronwall only had 22 in 68 games, roughly the same ice time, a worse +/- on a better team, and we're paying him $3 million a year. I actually really like this addition. We're not big on veteran depth for when Kronwall inevitably gets injured. And apparently he's got a good shot from the point, which we lost in the Schneider/Rafalski exchange. If nothing else, he fetched a 2nd and a 4th at the trade deadline last year. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't hooked on somewhere. You'd think a crap team would be looking to bring him in if for nothing else than to get something for him at the deadline....

That is a really good point about the high school talent in state. Michigan's decent in that regard, but nothing compared to the four states you mentioned. Thankfully we pull our share of players out of OH and PA, but that is an advantage for some of those other schools. Also--and OSU has the same problem--we have to deal with the weather. Hard to talk a teenage kid into coming to play football at your school when schools like USC can show them 80 and sunny with gorgeous girls in bikinis. Quite honestly, it's amazing that we get as many recruits as we do. If I was a potential college recruit, I'd be Blue all the way, but you bet your ass I'd take my other recruiting visits to Texas (those girls in chaps....mmm!), USC, UCLA, and one of the Florida schools.

Just in time too, so I didn't have to watch the debacle last weekend Of course they're re-airing it right now. I'm pretty geeked. I'm a big fan of a lot of non-rev sports (particularly field hockey and volleyball) so I'm sure I'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it.