10/17/2006
At What Point is it Proper
To Hope for a Loss?
By Packer Pundit / Patrick Stuckey
"And now... with the first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft... the Green Bay Packers select..."
Did anybody notice that with Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Detroit all winning this week end, that only leaves the Oakland Raiders without a win. Furthermore, if the season were to end today Green Bay would have the 3rd to 5th round pick in this years draft. (Detroit would choose 2nd due to their loss to the Packers in week three).
So this leads me to today's question. At what point of the season, do we as fans, hope for a Packer loss??
Now the team and coaching staff have it easy. They need to play for a win each and every week. We as fans, would accept nothing less. However, had they of 'pulled back a bit' in last season's finale' against the Seahawks... We'd have been looking at the 3rd over all choice instead of the 5th. Hey... I still would have selected A. J. Hawk with that pick... but at least we'd have had the choice of shopping that pick around and dropping down a notch or two. Lots of teams craved D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Vince Young (both of which would have been available) and with a little Thompson subterfuge... we may still have gotten A. J. and picked up a couple extra pickies along the way. Not to mention that the value of every pick from the 2nd to the 7th round would have had a higher value had we'd of lost that last game.
Now I will admit, rooting for a Packer loss gives me an 'icky' feeling and goes against every fiber of my green and gold being. But on the other hand... come the end of next April... I could easily get over it.
Rest Helped Green
While the weekend off was a good time for all the Packers players and coaches to get away and get refreshed, the player who benefited the most from the bye might have been running back Ahman Green. Nagged by hamstring troubles that have forced him to miss the last two games, Green practiced just once last week to heal up. He came back to practice on Monday looking like his old self, and Head Coach Mike McCarthy expects him to be ready to play on Sunday at Miami. "The way we handled him last week - rehab Tuesday and Wednesday and practicing on Thursday - I think more mentally it let him feel like he knew he was back and he could push the hamstrings," McCarthy said. "I think it gave him a little more sense of relief mentally going into the bye week."
Woodson questionable; Blackmon may play
Cornerback Charles Woodson missed practice on Monday to rehab his sore knee and ribs, and McCarthy indicated he could return to practice later in the week. In his absence, rookie cornerback Will Blackmon worked with the nickel defense as a fifth defensive back and returned punts behind receiver Greg Jennings. Blackmon is back at practice full-time for the first time since May and hopes his broken foot is finally fully healed. McCarthy said he'll have to see Blackmon get through a full week of practice before deciding on a possible role for him against Miami, but the early signs are encouraging. "Right now I don't know exactly what my role is, so that's why I'm taking reps everywhere -- at returner, at corner and at nickel," Blackmon said. "I'm trying to educate myself on all three positions and just be prepared wherever they want to put me. "Right now I feel pretty good, so we'll see how it plays out by the end of the week. If I feel pretty good by the end of the week, then hopefully we can give it a go."
Miami heat
In preparation for the heat and humidity in Miami, the training staff is making sure the players remain hydrated throughout the week and they'll be watching things closely once the team arrives in Florida. "The emphasis on hydration obviously started today and it will be really important in the middle of the week," McCarthy said. "We'll have the fruit table out in front of the meeting rooms, and we'll take steps. Obviously substitution will be key." McCarthy knows all about the heat and humidity in the southeast, having lived and coached in New Orleans for five years. So does tight end Bubba Franks, who played collegiately at the University of Miami. "You can't really prepare for the weather, but we're going to need pretty much everybody we have on this team because we're going to have to sub," Franks said. Franks was in Miami during the players' weekend off and described the weather as "pretty hot." Temperatures were in the low 80s there on Monday and the forecast calls for high 80s on Sunday. "It's kind of like our elements -- ours are cold and theirs are hot, so you go from one extreme to the other," Franks said. "You're just going to have to adjust somewhere in between, get hydrated, get plenty of fluids and get ready for a barnburner."
Hairy issue
Cornerback Al Harris and linebacker A.J. Hawk hadn't seen the play, but both had heard about how Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu was tackled - legally - by the ponytail during Sunday's game against Kansas City. Hawk, whose wife, Laura, just gave him a trim, said his hair isn't long enough to be tackled by it, but Harris' long dreadlocks would be if he intercepted a pass and was caught from behind. "You can't grab a guy by the shoulder pads, but you can grab a guy by the hair? That's a little wishy-washy," Harris said when asked if the rule was unfair. Asked if he would change his hairstyle if he were an offensive player, Harris said, "No. Not at all. I'd still do my thing."
Robinson Absent
The Packers returned to practice on Monday after their bye week but were without receiver Koren Robinson. Robinson was meeting with his legal team in advance of his court appearance in Minnesota tomorrow. He was scheduled to leave Green Bay on Monday in order to appear at a preliminary hearing on his alcohol- and traffic-related charges near Mankato, Minn. McCarthy said despite some players experiencing travel delays, all the players returned from the bye weekend in time for Monday’s practice.
New Packers book
By PackerReport.com
Posted Oct 16, 2006
Here is an excerpt from the new book "Brett Favre: A Packer Fan’s Tribute." The book is by lifelong Packer fan Tom Kertscher, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel news reporter who authored Cracked Sidewalks and French Pastry: The Wit and Wisdom of Al McGuire. Tribute captures all the highlights of Favre’s career and features dozens of behind-the-scenes photographs.
Ferguson could miss rest of season
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 16, 2006
Wide receiver Robert Ferguson has been diagnosed with a dreaded Lisfranc injury to his right foot and conceivably could miss the rest of the season. Ferguson got the news Monday from Patrick McKenzie, the Green Bay Packers' team physician and an orthopedic surgeon.
Always on his mind
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Bob Ryan grew up in Canada loving the Green Bay Packers. Vince Lombardi, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, Willie Davis - he followed all the legends. So when the 53-year-old psychologist got to see his son, Jon, punt for his favorite team in an Aug. 19 preseason game against Atlanta, well, you could say Bob Ryan's life was complete. But that wouldn't be fair. Because his life isn't complete, and it isn't fair. It isn't fair that a man with so much more to do, a man who has given so much to his community, a man with so much life still left in him, is running out of time as cancer spreads throughout his body. And yet, every time he watches his two sons play football - Jon with the Packers and Steve at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan - Bob Ryan feels a little bit better. "He tells me how proud he is of me," Jon Ryan said as he stood in the Packers locker room Monday. "Sometimes, when times have been tough, it's been a bit of an escape to watch me play football and watch my brother play football. So football's kind of a medicine for my family right now." -- More Rookie Moll a quick study
Offensive lineman impresses coaches
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 16, 2006
During his six-month career in Green Bay, rookie guard Tony Moll has functioned at a level his coaches never dreamed was possible. His shortcomings are obvious. So is his potential. For now, at least, Moll is a backup behind left guard Daryn Colledge and right guard Jason Spitz. The Packers have no plans to rotate. If Colledge and Spitz keep functioning and stay healthy, Moll might not be heard from much the rest of the season. But don't bet on it. Moll has come so far so quickly and from such humble beginnings that to count him out of any competition would be foolhardy. "We thought he'd be a developmental guy this year," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said Monday. "Really, the ceiling is unlimited for all those young guys." The Packers took a fifth-round flier on Moll in April even though he played tight end during his first four seasons at Nevada and didn't become an offensive lineman until 2005. They like his athleticism, disposition and intelligence, but after the off-season never expected him to contribute as a rookie. "In June, I would have said he was a year and a half away from playing," offensive line coach Joe Philbin said. "This kid has come a million miles in a very short period of time." -- More 
Meet RachelWashington Redskins
Cheerleader
Dance/Cheerleading Experience: Eighteen years of studio dance (jazz, lyrical, tap, musical theatre, ballet/pointe), three years of Junior Performing Arts at studio, six years at Burke Civic Ballet, five years of studio at Dance Company, one year of high school cheerleading and three years on high school dance team (Varsity captain my senior year), Universal Dance Association All-Star dancer and DMI Dance Ambassador in 2001. I was also a dance instructor at Buffa's Dance Studio in Burke, Va. (1998-2002), member of the nationally-ranked James Madison University Dukettes Dance Team from 2002-2005 (traveled to perform in Dublin, Ireland) and other dance classes and courses in college. From middle school until college, I competed and performed Irish dancing (6 years) up to championship level and competed regionally in the United States until 2001.
Acting Experience: None
Pageant/modeling Experience: None
Why did you become a cheerleader? After college, the big question was "Are you still dancing?" When I started to say, "Oh, I used to be a dancer," that made me pause and realize I HAD to continue! This opportunity gives me the chance to let my hair down (literally) from my job, and remember my love for entertaining and performing. I missed being on a team and being on the field on game day--plus, football season was always my favorite!
What do you like about being a cheerleader? Being a part of this wonderful team of talented women--we are all a part of either the student or working world, plus we know how to switch "superman style" to our role of being role models and entertainers of the community. What could be a better combination than that!?!
What was your most exciting moment as a Cheerleader? For the third cut of auditions, my number wasn't called. Then they came back and called a bunch of numbers accidently unread--including MINE! It made the moment I made finals that much more exciting!
Countries visited as a Washington Redskins Cheerleader? Dominican Republic
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing, James Madison University
Hobbies: Cross-stitching, anything crafty, cooking, watching movies, reading, anything having to do with kids and working out.
Future Goals: I hope to continue with my current job as both my parents did for their first careers. I would like to possibly moonlight in pediatric oncology--it's a passion of mine. I definitely want to pursue higher education in the next few years, perhaps as a nurse anesthetist. I hope to have lots of kids and a happy and healthy family with my fiance--that's No. 1 on my list!
Favorites!
Food: Peanut butter! Or anything sweet! I love trying foods from all cultures.
Music: Pop, Rock, Country, Hip-hop, R&B, Celtic... EVERYTHING!
Band/Singer: Rascal Flatts, Jo Dee Messina, The Cranberries, Martina McBride
Book: "A Time for Dancing," by Davida Wills Hurwin
Redskins Player: Renaldo Wynn and former Redskin Darnerien McCants, for their community outreach.
Movie: "Grease" and "The Sound of Music"
TV Show: "Grey's Anatomy" and "Medium"
Cartoon: Family Guy, Looney Tunes
Saying/Quote: "The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own."
Describe your perfect date: I always love the classic dinner and a movie (even just at home!), and then love any crazy fun out-of-the-ordinary activity--or basically any time spent with my amazing fiancé!
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not at practice? Relaxing when not at work, hanging out with friends, visiting my family and spending quality time with my fiancé. We're both very busy, so we make sure to make time for each other.
Who is your role model and why? My parents--they taught me the ways of life and always put their children at the top of the list; my fiancé has shown me I should take every opportunity and live life to the fullest; and my patients at work--we care for the injured marines and navy servicemen and women from overseas. Injured at such a young age, their determination is inspiring.
Published by PackerPundit On Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 5:59 AM.
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