Packer487

That's the way you cover somebody in the last minute of a playoff game! -Tim

Eh. It's different, but I meant "******* stupid"....describes it a lot better. -Tim

It's not that big of a deal, but that looks ******* stupid.... -Tim

The Bears didn't pull any of their starters til after they started getting it in the pooper. I don't buy that that team didn't get up for a game against their big rival. Having the division clinched didn't make Rex Grossman complete as many passes to the Packers as he did to his own team. The first game of the season, the Bears backups would've killed GB anyway. It was an embarrassment. The tide swung the other way by the end of the season. Does that mean I think that GB was 20 points better than Chicago or whatever they won by? No. But they belonged on the same field with the Bears and had they gotten in the playoffs on that tiebreaker, they would've challenged anybody in the conference. Stats aren't everything and depending on fantasy football to rate a player is pretty much retarded. I mean, Jon Kitna is probably going to be a pretty darn good fantasy QB this year. But we all know he kind of blows. The Packers biggest problem last year was that they sucked in the red zone. The offensive line improves, that allows the TEs to start working the middle of the field again and maybe Bubba Franks can get back to doing what he used to do. Add in what I think will be a very nice red-zone threat in James Jones, and they should improve in that area. The reason Favre's stats are down is largely because his supporting cast has been down the past few years. Put him on Indy or Cincy and he's putting up huge numbers. Put him on Chicago and they probably win the Super Bowl last year. I'm not saying GB will win more games than Chicago. I'm saying it's possible. And it is. Chicago isn't that good. They weren't last year, and dumping Jones in favor of Benson is going to hurt them. GB needs a lot of things to go their way to pass Chicago, but it's within the realm of possibility. A look at the standings from year to year in the NFL will tell you that. Our defense is right in the ballpark with theirs now. Favre's a helluva lot better than Grossman. Neither team has a proven running back, but Morency's numbers stack up very nicely next to Benson's. Driver's better than any receiver they've got. Chicago has the better tight ends. And I'll have to see if/how much GB's line has improved to comment on that. GB may not be better than Chicago this year, but the gap has closed. There's so much that goes into a team's finishing position in the league...I said earlier that depending on injuries, how the teams on their schedule end up being, the development (or lack thereof) of key youngsters, general luck, the Packers could be anywhere from 6-10 to 10-6. There's a lot of good young talent on that team though. It's just a matter of how quick they start playing up to their potential. -Tim

As the youngest team in the league, with three rookies on the offensive line getting 10+ starts, another first year starter at center, a new blocking scheme, and a new defensive coordinator they only missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker and currently hold the longest winning streak in the NFC (4 games). It's reasonable to expect improvement in the offseason by the young players, including those offensive linemen. Which will, in turn, allow them to actually let TEs run patterns again (and should alleviate a lot of the problems they had in the red zone last year, which is what really held that team back). Once they figured out what they were doing on defense (I think they had 6-7 new defensive starters last year as well) they actually got pretty good by the end of the season, and I expect that they'll be solidly in the top 10 on defense this year (maybe top 5 if they can get improved play at the safety position). If the offensive line has improved as much as I expect they have, there's no reason that this team can't contend for the division title (remember, they whupped the hell out of Chicago in the last game last season). Chicago's still undoubtedly the favorite, but the Packers should be right in the hunt for the division crown, and failing that, the wild card. People who say Favre is washed up are only reading the stat sheet. 2 years ago he threw an assload of picks, but nobody talks about how he had just eight of them 7 games into the 2005 season. Then everyone got hurt, they were playing from behind all the time, and he started chucking em up trying to make a play. He could've played conservatively and made his stats look better, but that's not who he is. And I'm fine with that. -Tim

Yup. It COULD have been a good column, if he stripped out all the "this is only because U of M is arrogant" stuff. This is the problem with a guy like Harbaugh getting up on his soapbox. People take his baseless accusations as the gospel truth and it just gives all these hacks like Drew Sharp and Mike Valenti ammunition for their agendas. -Tim

He had 18 picks last year. But when you take into account that he threw over 600 passes, his INT percentage actually ranked him smack in the middle of the pack. I've got another rant about how Favre gets s*** for his INTs but his numbers really aren't much different from the guys like Marino, Elway, and some of the other greats. But that's for another day. Most of his picks the last couple years have come with the Packers trailing...usually by 2+ scores. The guy can still play the game.... -Tim

That's funny that you bring up Communications. Harbaugh called Michigan out for "steering" him into that degree, and yet it's the second most popular major on his own team. Yes, you read that right. Stanford football players are 10x more likely than the average student to major in that VERY Communications major that Harbaugh has disdain for. And while he's in his glass house in California throwing stones at his alma mater for having a little known degree that has a heavy concentration of football players, what's this? A degree at Stanford called Science Technology & Society (Which ALSO allows for a high degree of flexibility and is ripe for exploitation) which has 58 students in it TOTAL. 9 of which are football players. So Stanford football players with declared majors are something like 20x more likely to be an STS major than a normal student. Harbaugh ripped the General Studies degree for one reason. There are a lot of football players in there. He knows nothing about it and I don't know where he gets off saying "it doesn't prepare you for the real world". How would he know? Does he have a bunch of examples of guys who majored in it and can't find jobs? Does he even have experience in the working world outside of football? Meanwhile, he's got a degree at his school with a higher concentration of football players in it than Michigan has in General Studies (they make up what? 10% of the General Studies population?). I also love all the comments about the Michigan fanbase not being able to get into school there. Since when did that become a requirement? I'm sure MSU has a decent number of fans that didn't go to school there as well. It's just another case of the Sparty inferiority complex trying to justify a smaller fanbase. Yawn. It's no secret that Michigan lets in some dumb players. In the age of the internet, these kids' ACT scores are all over the place. I'm not sure why this is such a shocker. Harbaugh is just trying to build in an excuse in case he keeps going 1-11 (like his predecessor did last year) and needs to look for a new job somewhere. Only letting in the best students to play football is a nice ideal, but the schools that traditionally do so (Stanford, Duke, Rice, Vandy maybe?) suck at football. It's really not the worst thing in the world that these "Borderline" kids get in, and if they end up graduating they've got a degree that carries significant weight, no matter what Harbaugh thinks. No one would've cared if he had a Comm degree vs. a History degree. Most people don't do what they major in anyway. A degree opens the door, the person has to do the rest. One example: That General Studies degree that Harbaugh "doesn't give you the skill set necessary to succeed in the working world" is working for Pat Massey. He just got hired on at KeyBank as a mergers analyst, right along side one of my buddies who is a Business School grad. Seems like he's pretty prepared..... Hart was over the line by saying that Harbaugh isn't a Michigan man and that he wishes Harbaugh hadn't played here. But as insulting as that may have been to Harbaugh, it was nothing compared to him knocking the academic accomplishments of students in three separate disciplines at Michigan (Communications, Sports Management, and now General Studies). When he makes those comments, he's not just making a (misguided) statement about the football team, he's insulting thousands of students that have come through that school, including myself. -Tim

It's hard to get a read on this team. They went 8-8 last year with an incredibly young team, and it's reasonable to expect improvement by most/all those young guys. If someone steps up at Running Back, and someone steps up as the safety opposite Collins, they could end up having a really good year. The defense should be solidly in the top 10 in the league. Kampman was 2nd in the league in sacks last year, Jenkins was a beast once he moved outside, KGB is a pass-rush specialist again, and they've got a great group of DTs to rotate including Corey Williams (who in a part-time role put up numbers comparable to Detroit's highest paid DT in the league). The LBs should be stout. Hawk had 155 tackles as a rookie and started to flash his play-making ability toward the end of the season. Barnett's a happy man now that he's got his extension and Poppinga really improved throughout last season. Then they've got one of the best CB duos in the league in Harris/Woodson. I love the defense. The offensive line should be MUCH better than they were last year. They've got a full year in the system now and all those rookies from last year now have double-digit starts under their belts. If the line has improved, that should get out tight ends back into the mix since they won't have to stay in and block. And I love the depth at WR as well. Failing to get Moss was a blow, but they've got enough good receivers that they're going to have to cut some solid players. Driver, Jennings and Jones are locks. Then you've got Martin, Holiday (who I love), Bodiford, Ferguson (cut him please), Robinson and Clowney fighting it out. Bodiford really helped himself during the scrimmage. He broke a couple of lonnng returns, and if he can do it in the preseason games, he might hook on a la Desmond Howard. I'm rooting for him. Mike Martz was really unhappy when the Lions had to cut him. I'm excited to have Jennings back healthy again as well. I think the Bears are going to come back to the pack (see what I did there?) somewhat. They're going to miss Jones more than people think. Everyone hypes Benson and says the Packers have a major question mark in Morency, but Morency has the same number of 100 yard games and 2 less 50 yard games (despite the fact that Benson has carrying the ball double digit times 13 times in his career to 3 for Morency). Morency's YPC are better, he converts first downs and scores touchdowns at a higher rate. He's a much better receiver out of the backfield than Benson. He's got the same number of 20+ yard carries, despite carrying the ball 82 times less in his career, and his career long is higher. Plus he did it behind Houston's line and a very green line with the Packers. The Lions will be improved, but that defense is going to be God-awful. I'm a huge NFL fan and I can't name their starting CBs. Bly was the only good one they had and they traded him. The OL isn't very good either. And none of those Denver running backs that have gone to other teams have really done anything (Portis has been the best, and he's been disappointing in Washington). The Vikings are going to be horrid. I have no idea why they're considering going into a year with Tavares Jackson as their starting QB. He's God-awful. Depending on injuries and the factors I mentioned above (RB, S) I could see the Packers going anywhere from 6-10 to 10-6. Their schedule looks fairly tough on paper. If they come through the first six games of the season at .500 or better, I think they're a playoff team. If they go 1-5 or something like they always seem to, they won't be able to overcome it. And to whoever said Favre is washed up, Give him the supporting cast that most of the "top" QBs have and he's putting up numbers right with any of them. He's had to deal with the receiving corps and offensive line being revamped the past two seasons, and Ahman hasn't really been the model of health there either. He threw a lot of picks 2 years ago because they were always behind, usually by double-digits. It's hard to play QB when the other team knows you're passing on every play. I'm just excited that football's back and I live in WI now so I get all the games! -Tim

It's pretty fun. It's just one price for all 3 games. Get there for the 50+ game....it's worth it just to watch Berenson play. That guy can play at half speed and still put up 6 points. I honestly don't think he'd look THAT out of place in the 35 and under game. Obviously he wouldn't be able to skate as fast as those guys, but he's still got skills (and that vicious backhand). It doesn't look like as good of a group as they've had in years past. The list I saw didn't have Turco or Comrie or some of the others that are usually there, which is a bummer. But who knows who will end up showing up. It's well worth going to... -Tim

God, getting Cammalleri here would be enough for me to STFU for a good long while about Ken Holland. I still don't really see how it'd be possible to have him, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom and Rafalski at the same time two years from now, but if it can be done I would love to see it. Then again, I'd have to shell out for another jersey, since Cammy would immediately become my second favorite on the team behind Hasek. Interesting idea Eva pitched about him and Hilbert teaming up again. Hilbert put up pretty decent numbers when he got to play with Crosby (then again, I probably would have too), and those two were DYNAMITE together in college. What's John Shouneyia up to? -Tim

I honestly don't know why LA would trade a 2nd Round pick + for him last offseason when Legace was sitting out there waiting. I mean, Manny isn't God's gift or anything, but he's a solid enough goalie. And they could've had him without giving up anything. That move never made sense to me. Why give up picks for a worse goalie than you could just sign via FA? I'd chalk it up to bad GMing, but this is the same guy who fleeced Carolina out of Jack Johnson for absolutely nothing of value.... -Tim

Really though, what's Babcock going to say? I mean, he just said that Columbus is going to have a shot, for cryin' out loud.... Like Flip-Check said....the offseason wasn't anything to write home about. I think they improved on defense with Rafalski, even if they don't bring Markov back. I like Drake (though his signing would make more sense if we hadn't resigned Maltby), but they need a top six forward. Badly. They'll win the Central, but they need someone else up front. Maybe Flip or Grigs turns into that guy, but they'd be smart to land someone else by the trade deadline. The WC is so tough.... -Tim

I remember seeing that back in the day when I was using AOL. I want to say they were lowering it for maintenance when it fell. I'm sure they were real happy about it...... -Tim

KICK THE TABLE!! -Tim

I really like the dark ones. The number up in the corner looks stupid, but the style that Dallas has on the dark one is an old-school design. I know Michigan's jerseys used to be that was back in the Berenson days (and maybe even when Turco or Shields were around). The all-over star was better (I loved that jersey from the minute they made it their third) but the dark ones look really nice. Just so long as they got rid of that God-awful third jersey they had (I know, I know...no more 3rds). -Tim

Silly. It's $10 extra a month to get Versus--on which you get what? Like 5 Wings games? Drop back down to the lower tier and you'll save yourself $120 (or like $100 if you just have it for hockey season). I think it's $130 or so for the Early Bird special on Center Ice or $160 overall. Not too much of a price difference. Then, eat out maybe six times less over the course of the year, and viola, you've saved enough to justify upgrading to Versus again for the playoffs and paid for the difference b/w Center Ice and having Versus. Edit: I should've read down about 2 posts before responding. -Tim

Having Center Ice next year, I'm most looking forward to watching the Kings because of JMFJ and Cammalleri. I'm also looking forward to some Penguins games since I didn't get to see Sid The Kid enough last year--and I won't see him play against the Wings this year. But yeah, I'm liking that I'll get the Kings games... -Tim

The Packers are 4-2 in the last six games in Detroit... Though with Kitna breaking records left and right this season, and Calvin Johnson going for 600 catches for 10,000 yards, it could be one of the 14 games that the Lions win. -Tim

I will say this much about Hartigan's college career. He is the only college player that I've ever seen in person (that wasn't on Michigan) that scared the hell out of me every time he stepped on the ice. I was convinced that he was going to score on every shift. The guy was that good. And he's got an absolute BOMB of a shot. I'm actually pretty surprised that he hasn't turned into anything in the pros (though 16-10--26 over essentially the course of a season isn't THAT bad). I like the signing. He's definitely worth a look-see, and if nothing else, he'll help the Griffins. -Tim

Wings vs. the Lions? I'll take the Wings by a touchdown. -Tim

Heh, he's gotta actually be on the ice to be reliable. Shoulda traded him for Jack Johnson when we had the chance...... -Tim

I'd enjoy it just because it would REAAAAAAALLY piss off the Avs fans. I'd be in favor of it because he could help us. But part of me would just feel dirty every time I saw him in a Red Wings jersey. And I'll never stop calling him Floppa. If that's the plan, then I can see leaving the cap space. Otherwise, it makes no sense not to go after Yashin....especially if what Eklund says is true--that $2 million could possibly land him. -Tim

Pair him with Datsyuk, and hope that being a part of a winning organization that gives him the chance to win the Cup for the first time in his life along with having a great group of veterans around him could shape him up. It definitely wouldn't be the first time it's happened.... And failing that, I'd still take a guy that could slack his way to 50 points in 58 games, who kept his +/- positive, and who despite playing only 58 games had more SOG than all but 3 guys on our team, over only having 5 forwards in my top 6. If the plan is Forsberg, then fine. But otherwise, you can't take this cap room with you. How much money do you really need at the deadline? Overpaying slightly is fine if it's not a long-term contract and you've got the cap room anyway. -Tim

I completely agree, don't get me wrong. Guys that slack drive me absolutely nuts. Especially for the coin the Islanders were giving him, he should've been busting his ass every night. But I really do think there's something to playing on a good team for the first time in your career (Vince Carter is an example off the top of my head...granted he's an NBA guy) and having a veteran core around you who won't let you get away with that crap. I guess I just keep looking at it this way: If he could slack and still put up 50 points in 58 games on a decent--but certainly not great--team, what could he do playing with Datsyuk? (And he was +6 on a team whose +/-s in general were all over the board, so he must've been at least decent defensively as well). To me, it's idiotic to have "zero" interest in the guy. If he wants a multi-year deal, then fine. Move on. If he wants an absurd amount of money, that's cool too. I still don't know what kind of top 6 forward you're going to find for 1 year and 3 million bucks, but so be it. He's an option worth exploring though....I mean hell, the guy put up similar numbers to Lang in 25 less games. How would he not be an upgrade? He can't have WORSE of a work ethic, right? -Tim