The Packer Pundit

Losing Ugly
By Packer Pundit / Patrick Stuckey
The Chicago Bears spot the Arizona Cardinals a 20 point half time lead... wait... there's more. Rex Grossman throws 4 interceptions and fumbles the ball twice... in the first half... it's in Arizona... it's the Card's first Monday Night Football game in 7 years... and Big effin' Mo is clearly on their side!

So I go to bed.

When I woke up I turn the channel to espn2 to see the final Bear humiliation but much to my surprise... the Bears pulled one out of their.. Bear Butts... and won the game 24-23 when the Card's kicker (Rackens) missed a 40 yard game winning field goal attempt. Such is life in the NFL.

Now clearly the Bears had everything going against them yet they over came their early mishaps. The good teams always find a way to win. Oh... did I mention how they got 21 or their 24 points. Two defensive turnovers that were returned for TD's and an 80 yard punt return late in the 4th quarter for a go ahead score. Despite the odds being against them... the Bears found a way to win. They won Ugly... but an ugly 'W' is still a 'W'.

Auburn pulled this same trick against Florida last Saturday night. They beat a top 5 team without scoring a single offensive touchdown. It was ugly but it still counts as a win.

Lately the Packers have started a new trend I like to call 'Losing Ugly'. Be it Favre's fumble against the Rams or letting the Saints comeback from a 13-0 first quarter lead... the Packers have mastered the art of Losing Ugly. Let's Look at last years record --

The Packers lost 12 games. Eight of them (66%) by a touchdown or less. Five of them by 3 points or less. We seemed to be in almost every game but in the end... we found a way to lose. And we Lost Ugly. We outplayed the Bears and Vikings twice. Favre's meltdowns in both Bears games cost us dearly. The Vikes kicked two last second 'walk off' field goals to beat us. Remember the Pittsburgh game. We had them reeling... ready to go into halftime up 10-6 when Favre fumbled the ball and Troy Polamula ran it back for 77 yards? The Steelers went on to play and win the Super Bowl... by winning Ugly. I mean Bettis fumbling and Big Ben's shoestring tackle... then Vanderjoke missing wide right... Ug-A-LEE!

If the Packers have any hope of recapturing their past glory... they're going to need to start winning some of these games. Hey... I'll take and Ugly 'W' over a pretty 'L' any day of the week... especially Sundays!





Packers' Robinson
Suspended for a year
Wide receiver Koren Robinson, signed by the Green Bay Packers last month, has been suspended by the NFL for a minimum of one year for violating the league's substance abuse policy, the Packers announced this afternoon in a news release. Robinson came to the Packers on Sept. 12 under a cloud of controversy and legal troubles. His suspension by the NFL is partly a by-product of his drunken driving arrests in Seattle and Minnesota. Last week in Kirkland, Wash., Robinson was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating terms of probation for a drunken-driving case in May 2005, when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Robinson previously was suspended for four games in 2004 when he was with the Seahawks for violating the substance abuse policy. Today, Robinson pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving and fleeing police stemming from a high-speed chase in August in Minnesota, when he was a member of the Vikings. The Packers picked up Robinson after he was released by the Vikings. In his month in Green Bay, he had gradually assumed a bigger role, especially with wide receiver Robert Ferguson sidelined with a foot injury. Ferguson could miss the rest of the season. In four games with the Packers, Robinson caught seven passes for 89 yards. He returned 12 kickoffs for an average of 21 yards per return. In six NFL seasons with the Packers, Vikings and Seahawks, Robinson has caught 242 passes for 3,603 yards (14.8-yard average) and 13 touchdowns. He has returned 59 punts for an average of 24.9 yards. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2005 with the Vikings. Robinson will be eligible to be reinstated by the NFL no earlier than Sept. 18, 2007. Packers coach Mike McCarthy has scheduled a 5 p.m. news conference to address the situation. (See story and video below)




Robinson Suspended For One Year;
Passing Game Will Look At Other Options
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
posted 10/17/2006
With the suspension of Koren Robinson and the injury to Robert Ferguson, the Packers are prepared to look to other receiving options to keep the league's second-ranked passing attack going strong. Robinson was suspended on Tuesday for one year for a repeat violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The suspension is related to an incident during training camp in Minnesota, when Robinson was a member of the Vikings. Meanwhile Ferguson is expected to have more tests on his sprained foot to determine the extent of the injury, originally sustained on Oct. 2 in Philadelphia. He has not practiced or played since then. Head Coach Mike McCarthy indicated Tuesday another receiver could be signed from the practice squad, and the offensive staff may have to look at getting the tight ends and fullbacks more involved in the passing game in the coming weeks. The Packers are averaging 252 yards passing per game, ranked No. 2 in the league. -- More



McCarthy Comments On Robinson's Suspension
Associated Press / Posted 10/17/2006

"I really have never been involved in this process before, but my understanding is, we're not allowed to be involved as an organization. Just in respect to the NFL guidelines, we will follow those guidelines." -- Mike McCarthy

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Koren Robinson was suspended without pay Tuesday for a minimum of one year for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. The league's action came hours after Robinson pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving and fleeing police stemming from a high-speed chase in August. Robinson's agent, Alvin Keels, said in a telephone interview he was surprised the league didn't wait until after Robinson's legal issues in Minnesota had been resolved to issue the suspension. Keels said Robinson was disappointed by the decision. "He seems to be handling it well," Keels said. "I think he's in a state of shock right now. We thought the league would wait. But obviously, they're trying to make a statement." Robinson, who said Monday that he expected to play in the Packers' game in Miami on Sunday and didn't think his legal troubles would affect his playing status this year, did not immediately respond to a message left on his cell phone by The Associated Press. -- More









Packers 'Slim' Favorite Over Miami
The Green Bay Packers should be a slim favorite going into next Sunday's game despite their 1-and-4 record coming back from their bye week. They will face the Miami Dolphins, who are last in their East Division with a 1-and-5 record after losing 20-to-17 to the New York Jets yesterday. The Packers remain in third place in the North Division ... but they don't have much of a lead over the last-place Detroit Lions, who got their first win yesterday, beating Buffalo to improve to 1-and-5.

Packers lend helping hand
The New Community Shelter in Green Bay is this year's recipient of the NFL/United Way Hometown Huddle program. Seven members of the Green Bay Packers helped put the finishing touches on a storage shed, which will house new bicycles — often the only mode of transportation for shelter residents. Packers Jon Ryan, Brandon Miree, Ruvell Martin, Abdul Hodge, Ingle Martin, Ben Taylor and Rob Davis then served the community meal. The Hometown Huddle is an NFL-wide day of service in which players and coaches take part in community-service activities. In addition to the Packers and Brown County United Way, other organizations taking part were PKR Construction, ShopKo, Stock Lumber and Verhalen. (Pictured: Jon Ryan serves food to Beverly Williams at the shelter)





Turnovers mean so much
Packers well aware of the statistics
By LORI NICKEL / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 17, 2006
Win the turnover battle, win the game. That's the prevailing theory in the NFL. If you want one statistic that will most likely predict the outcome of a game, skip total yards and first downs, rushing average and time of possession. Go right to giveaways and takeaways, or interceptions and lost fumbles. This is not just an over-simplification cited every Sunday in post-game comments by coaches and players. It is an overwhelming likelihood. "Turnovers, in all the research that I have done, become kind of the backbone of all of football," said Mike Eayrs, director of research and development for the Packers. "They most often - not always - tell you who is going to win and lose." A notable exception occurred Monday night as the Chicago Bears had six turnovers compared to two for the Arizona Cardinals, but still won, 24-23. Counting every NFL game in the 2004 and '05 seasons, the team that had no turnovers in a game won 77% of the time (451 won, 134 lost). Conversely, a team that had three or more turnovers only won 21% of the time (172 won, 661 lost). -- More






Packers 'Delayed'
In Seeking Success Against Miami
By Lee Remmel -- Team Historian
Packers.com / posted 10/17/2006
As such things are reckoned, it took the Green Bay Packers a veritable eternity to pin a first loss on the Miami Dolphins. And that, in part, may be because the lantern-jawed Don Shula was Miami's head coach for the first two decades of the Dolphins' existence. Shula clearly was a major source of the Packers' problem. A man with a low tolerance for losing, he won more games (328) over his 33-year career than any other coach in pro football history. And he was never particularly cordial to the Packers. In fact, he retired as the Dolphins' field leader following the 1995 season with a perfect 8-0 record against Green Bay in that role. Don earlier had coached the Baltimore Colts and well may have been nursing a grudge against the Packers for a happening in a 1965 Western Conference playoff game at Lambeau Field. The game could have been behind his dominance in the series. On that playoff occasion, Shula's ire was aroused by a 22-yard Don Chandler field goal which sent the game into overtime, tied at 10-all. The former Colts coach insists to this day that the kick sailed wide right - and, further, he reportedly turns a deep shade of purple if anyone chancing to be around him maintains that the kick was good. Be that as it may, the Packers eventually prevailed at 13 minutes, 39 seconds of the overtime in that contest - on a 25-yard Chandler field goal - and went on to defeat the Cleveland Browns the following week, 23-12, to capture their seventh NFL championship. -- More






Cheer up, your team could be Arizona
By Mike Vandermause
It's been said you can learn a lot from losing. If that's true, the Arizona Cardinals are one of the most educated teams in America this week. The Cardinals (1-5) not only have a penchant for losing football games, they also possess one of the strongest gag reflexes in the NFL. Just when you thought you had seen it all, the bumbling, stumbling Cardinals come along and invent a new and creative way to lose. How can you blow a 20-point lead in the final 15 minutes when the opposing team fails to score an offensive touchdown? It had never been done in the history of professional football until Monday night, when the sad-sack Cardinals choked away a certain victory. The Cardinals' stunning collapse, which prompted coach Dennis Green to go ballistic in his postgame press conference and fire his offensive coordinator Tuesday morning, might be considered highly entertaining and almost laughable for its absurdity. That is, unless you're a Green Bay Packers fan. The beneficiary of the Cardinals' incompetence was the Packers' hated division rivals, the Chicago Bears, who had almost as many turnovers (six) as first downs (nine). The Bears remain unbeaten, untied and unbelievably lucky. Insufferable Bears' backers won't be shy about pointing out their charmed team is off to its first 6-0 start since 1985, when Chicago last won the Super Bowl. -- More

This first video (about 7 seconds) is just the most adorable little... umm girl I think... telling his/her daddy who is the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers.





This next video is from the Learning Channel's series... "When Coaches Attack" (as seen on TV). It's a 50 second clip of Cardinals coach Dennis Green just going ballistic. Warning! Contains profanity!!!








Meet Jaime

Miami Dolphins
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Sorry... no BIO on Jaime... just pics!
Ah c'mon... you'll get over it!