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Packers return to Monday Night





Five things to watch Monday
By Bob McGinn / jsonline
Posted: Nov. 26, 2006
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Packers haven't given up a 100-yard game to a wide receiver since Miami's Marty Booker caught seven for 110 yards in Week 6. However, of their last four opponents, the only two top wide receivers that they've faced were Arizona's Anquan Boldin and Buffalo's Lee Evans. The Seahawks will confront Green Bay with two explosive wide receivers, Deion Branch and Darrell Jackson, as well as dangerous backups in D.J. Hackett and Nate Burleson. "Jackson is very dangerous," said an executive in personnel for a recent Seahawks opponent. "He's a go-to guy who's highly competitive. He's one of those guys that can overachieve on this level, which doesn't happen very often. He makes key big plays all the time. He's the guy the quarterbacks look for. But Branch is better. He's a game-killer. He will score two on the Packers. He's so quick in and out of the breaks and he can burst to separate. If you make one mistake and he's going up field on you, he's gone."

LOOKING FOR NO. 1: Matt Hasselbeck returns to the lineup tonight after having missed the last four games with a knee injury. It will be the fourth start for Hasselbeck against the Packers, his old team. Hasselbeck lost to the Packers twice in 2003, including a playoff game, and again in Week 16 last season when he played only the first half. "You can count on one thing," one scout said. "He'll play good. He is good. The only thing he can't handle is pressure, especially now that he's coming off that injury. You get to blitzing him and he'll throw it up and get shook up mentally. I'd go after him 100%. I'd run-blitz on first down and pass-blitz on every other down." Said an opposing defensive coach: "He's one of the top quarterbacks in the league for a reason. He's very smart. He's very confident. He's very poised in the pocket. He goes through his progressions very quickly. Knowing that his back side is covered (by Walter Jones) gives a guy a tremendous amount of confidence."

ANOTHER THREAT: The Packers had problems covering tight ends early in the season but appeared much improved in Weeks 7-9. Last week, New England's Benjamin Watson broke free for 74 yards in five receptions. Seattle's tight end, Jerramy Stevens, is one of the most talented in the league. What has caused the Seahawks untold consternation during Stevens' five-year career is his erratic performance. "Got a world of talent but who knows what you're going to get with this wacko?" one scout said. "He'll drop easy passes and catch hard ones. He'll make a bonehead play in every game. He's unstable. He's got enough ability to be as good as anybody in the league but you can't count on him." Despite ideal stature, Stevens isn't much for the rough stuff, either. "I think he's a pretend tough guy," an opposing defensive coach said. "Put him out in space and let him run fast and catch balls. That's what he likes to do. But he don't want to get his face in the mix. He's not a physical kid. He's an edge trash-talking guy with a very high skill level in the passing game."

SCHEME SWITCH: The Seahawks' defense is coordinated by John Marshall, who served as an assistant in Green Bay from 1980-'82. Former Packers coach Ray Rhodes serves as a defensive consultant. Under Marshall, the Seahawks have had problems stopping the run since losing DT Marcus Tubbs in Week 6 with a season-ending knee injury. "They've changed their style," said an offensive coach for a recent Seahawks opponent. "They basically have changed from a small stay-at-home defense to an attack mode. They're using fire zones, they're slanting (Bryce) Fisher. Power football is what will hurt this defensive front. They're not the biggest guys in the world. Tubbs gave them some inside run-stopping ability. But it's hard to zone-block them. They grab the (expletive) out of your guys on the way up to the linebacker level. So their linebackers get free because the defense does a great job of holding and not getting called. That's what's wrong with this league. There's no experienced referees anymore and nothing is getting called that used to get called by experienced referees."

POTENTIAL MISMATCH: Aaron Kampman will want to make amends for his subpar pass-rushing performance last week against New England RT Nick Kaczur. His opponent, RT Tom Ashworth, has been subbing for injured Sean Locklear since Week 7. "Ashworth can't play dead," one scout said. "They'll have to keep somebody in there to help him. It'd be a mistake to ask him to go one-on-one against Kampman." Ashworth, 29, did start 30 games off the bench for New England from 2002-'05. "He's the weak link of their front," an opposing defensive coach said. "He's pretty much just a guy. He's stiff. He does work hard and does try to finish. He is long. He's a little below average strength-wise compared to right tackles in the league. He's an effort guy. I think he's a lot like (Mark) Tauscher."






Mike McCarthy column:
It's gratifying to see grads of 'QB school'
By Mike McCarthy
As we get ready to play Seattle this week, it looks like their quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, will return from a knee injury to play. As much as I hope our defense can shut him down or that he has an "off" performance on Monday night, it is gratifying to see the success Matt has enjoyed since the one year I worked with him here in 1999. He had just spent his entire rookie year on the practice squad, and as Green Bay's quarterbacks coach in 1999, our first extended time together was during QB school in the offseason. Matt really used that time to learn the foundation of the offense, and we worked together on a lot of things, particularly studying defenses and protection schemes, and improving his mechanics and fundamentals. You can never say just how good a player will become, but you could see the potential Matt had for this offense. He was real raw, and he's added some muscle mass to his body since then, too, but you could see he was very bright. He's from a football family, so the game is very important to him, and he has a charisma about him, a natural leadership quality that gave him command in the huddle, and he never lacked for confidence.

Those qualities served him well when he got thrown into the fire in the preseason. When you work with young quarterbacks, you always remember their NFL baptisms, and Matt's came when we were playing Denver in a preseason game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. Brett Favre injured his thumb on linebacker John Mobley's helmet, and Matt was thrown in there. We didn't miss a beat, and Matt threw for a couple of touchdowns. He went on to be the highest-rated preseason quarterback in the league that summer. He clearly won the No. 2 job, and we ended up trading Rick Mirer to the Jets for a sixth-round draft pick. Even though it was just the preseason, Matt handled that unexpected entry into the game really well. As coaches, you don't adjust the game plan and you try to keep rolling along, and Matt did a great job with that. That's the approach we took with Aaron Rodgers this past week against New England, when Brett hurt his elbow. That was a tough spot for Aaron to be in, down 21-0, but you can't step back. You keep plowing forward. -- More







Hurts so good:
Wounded Favre is a dangerous Favre
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Mike Holmgren knows better. After Brett Favre injured his right elbow and throwing hand in last Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots, it would be easy for the Seattle Seahawks' coach to think his team might be playing the Green Bay Packers at the most opportune time. But Holmgren knows better. "Would I be surprised if he wasn't 100 percent? I don't think that's really the key thing here," Holmgren said. "I've seen him get hurt worse than that. And he comes back and plays." Nobody knows that better than Holmgren. He was the Packers' coach in 1992, when Favre had his left shoulder separated but stayed in the game. "He had a shoulder separation he got against Philadelphia in the first half of a game. Reggie White caused the separation," Holmgren said. "He returned to the game, played in the game and we won the game in the end." When Favre was knocked out of last Sunday's game, it marked just the sixth time in his illustrious career that an injury prevented him from finishing a game. In the games that have followed those injuries, Favre has proven he may be at his most dangerous when he's far less than 100 percent. In the previous five games, the Packers have a 4-1 record. "If it was anybody else, people would say we're in a lot of trouble with an injured quarterback," Packers receiver Donald Driver said. "But it's Brett Favre. Teams know better than to think they're going to see anything other than his best." Holmgren said that in the seven years he coached Favre, there only was one time, during the 1995 season, where he thought Favre would be unable to go. "I had to take him out of a game against Minnesota. He hurt his ankle pretty good, and then the next week we played the Bears, and he didn't practice all week. We listed him on the injury report as doubtful," Holmgren said. "He said he could play, and practiced on Saturday, kind of gingerly. I said, 'If I'm looking out there and you're at risk or something, then I'm taking you out.'" Favre made his 56th consecutive start, and responded by throwing for 336 yards on 25-of-33 passing. -- More



McCarthy would love to have Favre back
But it's way too early for QB's decision
By ROB REISCHEL / Special to Packer Plus
Posted: Nov. 22, 2006

"It does help, dealing with these young guys and seeing a bright future, I think, for a lot of guys. And so I think this team has already up to this point proven what we're capable of doing. There's some competitive guys in this room and I think that the sky's the limit. So that does make it easier to think about coming back and the positives and things like that. But I really haven't thought much past that." -- Brett Favre

Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy wanted to close the door. Sorry, coach. That's not quite how it works. When the entrance into the annual Brett Favre soap opera - the topic of 'Will He or Won't He Return?' - is left even slightly ajar, Packer Nation begins to stir. And that was certainly the case over the past week. McCarthy told "Sports Illustrated" that he'd love to have Favre back in 2007 and that the future Hall of Fame quarterback "has plenty of gas in his tank, and he could play another couple years if he wants to." McCarthy immediately tried putting that fire out, saying it was a topic for the post-season. But talk of Favre's future in Wisconsin is a 12-month discussion. "I like Mike and his direction," Favre said last week. "I think he's already proven what he's capable of, but I haven't really put much thought into what's happening after tomorrow." Favre began hinting at retirement all the way back in 2002, and has taken more and more time each off-season to decide whether to return. After the 2004 season, Favre took until March 11, 2005, to say he'd be back. This past off-season, Favre took it to Roger Clemens-like lengths when he didn't inform the Packers until the week of the NFL Draft in April. To date, Favre's decision to return has been a huge positive for the Packers. -- More



Mirror Image
Careers of Green, Alexander remarkably similar
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 27, 2006
Since the day Ahman Green departed the Pacific Northwest and Shaun Alexander arrived, the two running backs have run a parallel course separated only by the 1,700 miles between them and the style with which they run. When the Green Bay Packers visit the Seattle Seahawks tonight at noisy Qwest Field, their paths will meet with the weight of their teams' offenses squarely on their shoulders, the way both running backs like it. Their careers closely linked, Green and Alexander will enter the game with uncannily similar career numbers and a desire to regain the form that has made them among the most productive runners this century. Green, returning from a torn thigh tendon that limited him to five games last season, is coming off two subpar performances in which he was held to 28 rushing yards against New England and 55 against Minnesota. Alexander, coming off a 37-yard performance against San Francisco, missed seven weeks with a broken foot before his return last week. One of them could be due to break out, but who will it be? -- More





Coverage on the money
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Al Harris knew exactly what he was getting into. From the moment the Green Bay Packers veteran cornerback decided he wasn't going to show up for any of the team's voluntary offseason workouts, minicamps or organized team activities to demonstrate his desire for a new contract, he knew he was opening himself up to a maelstrom of criticism if he didn't play well this season. After 10 games, Harris doesn't have the precious statistical evidence to support his always-ongoing Pro Bowl campaign - he enters tonight's game against the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field with just one interception and 12 passes defended - but he has backed up his talk with solid play. "I said what I had to say, and that was that. I knew people were going to be more critical, but that's all right with me because I've been fighting an uphill battle since I've been in the league," said Harris, who still has three more years remaining on the $18.635 million extension he signed in September 2004. "I play man-to-man (coverage) damn-near 95 percent of the snaps. The pressure is on the field, which I can handle. Anything off the field, as long as I'm on their top dude and he's not catching the ball, I don't care what people say. Even if I didn't say this or say that in the offseason, the pressure would be there regardless." During a 15-minute interview last week, Harris was careful not to bring up his contract situation. In fact, afterward, he called to double-check that he hadn't said anything controversial during the conversation. Asked directly if he thinks general manager Ted Thompson will rework his deal, Harris said, "Maybe, maybe not. I look at it like this: You audition every week, every team you go up against. GMs are watching the games. I love Green Bay, I love playing here, I love the atmosphere. I want to be here. Business is business, and I think Ted is an extremely wise businessman. If it happens, it happens. If it don't, it don't. That's the point I'm at." -- More



Don't call Shurmur's widow on game days
She's often busy, watching Packers
Press-Gazette correspondent
Peggy Shurmur checks her watch to make sure it isn't noon. She explains ESPN will be giving an update on Brett Favre's condition and she doesn't want to miss it. The wife of the late Fritz Shurmur, the Packers' defensive coordinator from 1994 to 1998, Peggy says if she is home, ESPN is on, and if the Packers are playing, her loved ones know not to call the house. "Favre has always been one of my favorites," said Peggy, who still lives in the Green Bay area. "If anyone questions why he is still playing, all they have to do is look at the picture from a couple of weeks ago, when he threw Donald Driver over his shoulder." "Fritz would say, 'He calls himself a quarterback, but I know he is a linebacker. Toughest son of a gun I ever saw.'" Peggy was by her husband's side throughout his career. Green Bay was the fifth of six jobs Shurmur held during a 25-year career as an NFL assistant coach. Shurmur's defense yielded the fewest points and yards in the NFL in 1996, and the Packers beat New England in Super Bowl XXXI following that season. "We loved it in Green Bay," Peggy said. "There was something to like in every city that we lived in, but this is where Fritz fulfilled his lifelong Super Bowl dream. It's every coach's dream." The darkest moment in his career came a year later, when the Packers lost Super Bowl XXXII to the Denver Broncos. After the following season, Mike Holmgren was on his way to Seattle, and Shurmur was not ready to retire. "I almost wish we hadn't gone to that Super Bowl, because the outcome was so horrible," Peggy said. "People have accused Fritz of being disloyal, but he wasn't offered a job here and he just wasn't ready to quit. He wanted to keep coaching, and Mike (Holmgren) wanted his help." Shurmur followed Holmgren to Seattle in January 1999 to serve as the Seahawks' defensive coordinator. A few months later, doctors told him the cancer in his esophagus was spreading beyond control. He died on Aug, 30, 1999. It is hard for Peggy to listen to criticism of players she thought of as her sons. When she attended Reggie White's induction into the Packers Hall of Fame, she was thrilled to be reunited with the defensive linemen her husband helped mold. "I feel like their unofficial house mother," she said. "They were so great to me, and that group was very special to Fritz." -- More







What's Barnett's value? We'll find out
By Chris Havel
Nick Barnett will miss his first start in 50 games tonight at Seattle. In that time, and despite all those tackles, I haven't decided whether the Green Bay Packers' middle linebacker is overvalued or underappreciated. That is a statement in itself, I suppose, but it isn't meant to be negative. It's just how I feel. Barnett, 25, has a broken hand to sideline him, and everything it takes to be a star when he returns. He is intelligent, thoughtful and articulate. He is passionate, dedicated and committed. He is really fast for a 6-foot-2, 232-pound man, and he relishes football's physical side.

Here's the problem: Barnett's stardom has been so slow in the making, I wonder if it will be realized in Green Bay. For all his attributes, one of which is a lifetime supply of charisma, Barnett has been "The Man," but not necessarily in demand here. It isn't for a lack of trying. Barnett took the initiative to integrate into the community and invest in it. He purchased and renovated the Historic West Theatre in downtown Green Bay and reopened it as Five-Six, a restaurant and nightclub. Subsequent legal wrangling with the city seemed to suck a great deal of Barnett's joy from the venture. He claims to have no hard feelings, and I believe him. That doesn't change the fact that he was treated shabbily by people who should know better. Barnett's contract expires after the 2009 season, and I'm sure the Packers will be seeking a salary cap-friendly contract extension. I'm thinking sooner than later. The problem is trying to decide Barnett's worth. -- More








Meet Alayna
Indianopolis Colts
Cheerleader

Alayna is in her second season with the blue and white. As a graduate from Indiana University; she earned a bachelor's degree in Public Health Education and Public Policy. Alayna currently works as a Community Development Director for a non profit organization and hopes to continue her education and receive her master’s degree in Epidemiology and Health Administration.

Alayna’s dance experience includes tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical and gymnastics since she was three years old. She has received numerous awards and titles in competitions, dance teams and cheer squads over the years as well. During her time as a Colts Cheerleader, Alayna has had the opportunity to travel to Ft. Lewis Military Base in Seattle, Japan, Okinawa and Hawaii to perform for the troops. Alayna also serves as a captain for the Junior Cheerleaders this season. Alayna states, “Becoming an NFL cheerleader has been a life long dream and to live out this dream cheering for the best team in the NFL is definitely a dream come true and more!”