The Packer Pundit

Jet Lag... duh!
Packers Humiliated... any questions?
Packer Pundit / Patrick Stuckey
As I write this blog the Packer game has just gone into halftime with the Jets up 31 to zip. I'm writing it now because I may not watch the 2nd half... see there's this really interesting debate on CSpan2 about an Agriculture Bill that is must see 'yawn' tv. Besides... I've seen enough to make an assessment.

First off... maybe we can get Verizon to sponsor our stadium because every time we play at home the Packers have a habit of 'phoning it in'! I have never in my 40 some Packer viewing years... seen such a horrid display of ANY team being OUT effin' COACHED like the Packers were. I don't blame the players... I mean c'mon... the Jet receivers are wide effin' open and that's because of the lousy defensive coverages we're calling. And c'mon... I'm sure we have a running play in our offense some where... don't we?

I seriously think Thompson needs to call McCarthy onto the carpet this week and kindly explain to him that his buds... Messrs Jagodzinski and Sanders... are in serious doo-doo as far as their careers in coaching are concerned. Seriously Mike... I can cut you some slack for rookie coaching mistakes... but for the love of God... RUN THE effin' BALL! Every week it's 'we can't give up on the run' and every week they pass the ball 8 of the first 10 plays. It's getting old Mike and if I can figure it out... guess what... the other teams can figure it out!

There is absolutely no reason to let Brett play in the 2nd half. Bring Martin in and let him get his feet wet. It's not like we're going to actually get back in the game... or kick a 40 yard field goal... or stop the Jets on 3rd down... or any down. Gaaaawd... that Agriculture debate is looking better and better!









Additional Stats -- Link






Jets cruise past Pack at snowy Lambeau
Associated Press
Chad Pennington and the New York Jets disassembled the Green Bay Packers' defense and stoked their hopes of an improbable playoff run. Pennington, who snapped out of a midseason streak of shaky performances in a victory over Houston last week, put together three touchdown drives of 70 yards or more in the second quarter and the Jets cruised to a 38-10 victory at Lambeau Field on Sunday. New York (7-5) built a 31-0 halftime lead as snow flurries floated to the ground and boos showered down from the grandstands. The Jets used frequent wide-receiver motion and occasional no-huddle offense to confuse a Green Bay defense that has been prone to miscommunication and susceptible to big plays all season. Pennington, who was 25-of-35 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, connected with eight receivers. The Packers (4-8) barely managed to avoid being shut out at home for the third time this season. Packers coach Mike McCarthy called for a field goal with his team down 31-0 midway through the third quarter, and Dave Rayner hit a 34-yarder - a move that elicited the Midwestern version of a Bronx cheer from Packers fans.
-- Story



Home Struggles Continue Vs. Jets
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 12/03/2006
The New York Jets lived up to their billing as an up-and-coming team on Sunday at Lambeau Field while the Packers inexplicably continued to struggle on their home turf. The Jets used a flawless first half to take an overwhelming 31-point lead and went on to win 38-10, keeping them in the thick of the AFC playoff chase at 7-5. Meanwhile the Packers lost their third straight game to drop to 4-8, including an unsightly 1-5 mark at Lambeau. Sunday's performance for the Packers came on the heels of a 35-0 shutout loss at home two weeks ago to the New England Patriots, and Green Bay has now won just four of its last 16 home games, dating back to December of 2004. After the game, several players said if they knew the reason for the struggles at home, they would have fixed it long ago. "I have no idea," center Scott Wells said. "It's unacceptable. Definitely coming into this year we had a goal to turn things around here at home because we weren't very successful last year, either. "Anytime you lose at home, it's tough, and to lose by that much is very tough. We've got to find a way to correct the mistakes and do it fast." The Jets were the ones playing fast on Sunday, employing a no-huddle offense to score on five straight possessions in the first half for a 31-0 lead. After settling for a field goal on its opening possession, New York scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives of 51, 83, 70 and 77 yards. The Jets piled up 340 yards of offense, 22 first downs, and went 6-for-7 on third downs. "They just caught a rhythm, and they just kept going and we couldn't do anything to stop it," defensive tackle Ryan Pickett said. "They had everything going, everything they were calling was working." -- More



Rushing Success Goes For Naught In Loss
By Nathan Hager / Packers.com
Posted 12/03/2006
With 12 games already in the books, it might be a little late for moral victories. However, after a 38-10 loss, the Packers certainly have to build off the bright spots and on Sunday perhaps the biggest positive came in the form of the team's rushing attack. Entering the contest versus the Jets at Lambeau Field, the Packers had three consecutive games in which Ahman Green and the run game failed to get untracked. Though the Packers picked up the win on the road over the Vikings in Week 10, they only accumulated 47 yards on the ground. Since then, in losses to the Patriots and Seahawks, Green Bay had just 44 and 51 yards rushing, respectively. Considering that Head Coach Mike McCarthy puts a strong emphasis on establishing the run each week, Sunday's accomplishments running the football are certainly a step in the right direction. On the day, the Packers finished with 149 yards on just 23 carries, good for an average of 6.5 yards per attempt. Because the Jets defense was playing with a big lead in the second half, one might figure that they would allow the Packers to run the ball as much as they wanted while focusing on stopping Brett Favre and the passing game. That, in turn, would clearly allow Green and company to rack up yards and skew the rushing results, or so it seems. However, that wasn't exactly the case Sunday as Green had 52 yards rushing in the first half on only five carries, including a 35-yard run to set up a field-goal attempt. Thus, the offensive line did its job when the team was still trying to establish the run. Yet the one regret Green and his blockers had after the game was the fact that they didn't receive a great deal of carries due to the large deficit. "We didn't get to rush the ball as much as we want," rookie left guard Daryn Colledge said. "When you fall behind that quick you get out of your game plan. We felt like we could have ran the ball most of the night, but unfortunately we didn't get that opportunity." -- More



Blowout loss to the
mediocre Jets 'infuriates' McCarthy
Packers fall to 4-8
'I'd have been booing, too'
By Pete Dougherty / greenbaypressgazette.com
A loss of this magnitude to a relatively middle-of-the-pack team this late in the season doesn't bode well for the Green Bay Packers' trajectory in Year One of coach Mike McCarthy's rebuilding program. The final third of the season is when the young Packers should be showing progress, if not victories, especially against a New York Jets team that came into Sunday with its own rookie coach a modest 6-5 record. It wasn't even a contest. In what had to be one of the Packers' worst single-half performances in history, the Jets pitched a shutout and hung 31 points and a full-game's worth of offensive statistics (340 yards) in the first half on their way to embarrassing the shell-shocked Packers 38-10 in front of 70,527 spectators at Lambeau Field. "I was trying to think of the words on the way down here," McCarthy said when asked about the first half, "and I don't have them, I really don't. I'm very disappointed and take full responsibility, because that's my football team out there. But you cannot perform like that, and to play like that at home, it infuriates everyone involved." -- More



Boo birds fly
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
Mike McCarthy didn't blame them. Not one bit. The final seconds of the first half were ticking away, and after watching his team completely embarrass itself - outscored 31-0 and outgained 340-97 - the natives were restless. So as the Green Bay Packers first-year coach and his players jogged toward the tunnel at the south end of Lambeau Field, the 70,527 let them have it. Oh, did they let them have it. The boos were loud - almost as loud as the four F-16s that buzzed the pregame airspace. They were passionate - at least, as passionate as the 2-degree wind chill would allow frozen lips to be. And, according to McCarthy, they were deserved. "Hell, I would have been booing, too," McCarthy said when the 38-10 loss was finally, mercifully over. "They should boo us. I have no problem with that. This is a man's league, it's a man' s business, it's a man's game, and you can't perform like that. "Shoot, we deserved to get booed." -- More



Ryan honors father
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
The ball cut through the frigid December air, its trajectory a perfect arc. It hung there beautifully, for more than 4 seconds, and when it came down 41 yards downfield, his teammates made sure it stayed right there. There were 3 minutes, 17 seconds left in the first quarter of the Green Bay Packers' 38-10 loss to the New York Jets when punter Jon Ryan kicked that ball. And the moment it left his foot, Ryan knew that the only person who'd watched that ball sail through the sky from above - his 54-year-old father, Bob, who died Friday morning - was proud. "After that first punt, I kind of came off the field with a tear in my eye," Ryan said. And if there was one thing Ryan knew about his dad - who suffered from a rare, cartilage-attacking cancer called chondrosarcoma - it was that he would have wanted his son to play on. "Not playing didn't cross my mind - not once. It wasn't even my decision. It was my dad's decision. He would have wanted me to play," Ryan said. "He had the best seats in the house today, and I definitely did feel him with me." On an otherwise disappointing day, Ryan was an inspiration. -- More



Jets' Ellis confronts Packers' Moll
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 3, 2006
It took until Game 12 for the Green Bay Packers' cut-blocking technique to really tick someone off. For years, the Denver Broncos, who run the same zone running scheme, have been called dirty and unscrupulous because of their use of cut blocks against defensive linemen. But up until Sunday at Lambeau Field, the Packers hadn't received many complaints. That changed when New York Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis became furious with Packers right tackle Tony Moll for a number of low blocks, including one that temporarily sidelined him in the third quarter. Ellis was so angry he sought out Moll after the game and was seen yelling at him as Moll headed for the tunnel to the Packers' locker room. Ellis had to be held back by a Jets official from getting to Moll. "You know, I'm not sure what it was," Moll said. "Obviously, he was heated about something. I'm not sure. It's pretty sad he had to go to that level." -- More



Favre - 'It's a character check for me'
By Jason Wilde / madison.com

"Where do we go from here? What does that say about this team? I don't know where we go from here. Hopefully up. I'd hate to think it gets worse, this is a tough test for me. It's a character check for me. If you won every game you ever played in, I don't think it would be a whole lot of fun. I would sure love to win them all, but I think if you looked back, you'd go, 'Hey, that's kind of boring.' I can honestly say this is not real boring. This is tough, but I think I made the right decision." -- Brett Favre

He stood there, for what seemed like forever, hands on his hips, a thousand different thoughts going through his helmet. Brett Favre had just thrown his second interception of the day, his team was behind by four touchdowns, and as much as the Green Bay Packers' 37-year-old icon knew coming into the season that there'd be days like this, he was hoping there wouldn't be this many that were this bad. So when he arrived at the Packers' bench, he sat down next to veteran long snapper Rob Davis, the only player on the roster older than him. "He said, 'Man, we never thought we'd see this, did we?' And I said, 'No,' " Favre said following Sunday's 38-10 loss to the New York Jets at Lambeau Field. "I'm glad I made the decision to come back, but this is difficult. I never thought I'd be part of a game or a season like we've had the last two years. But I'm as much to blame as anyone. I'm not going to say, 'We're a young team,' and all those things. We're a team. I never thought I'd see this, but it is what it is." -- More






Lost in the shuffle
Frustration grows for Jennings, Franks
By LORI NICKEL / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 3, 2006
Greg Jennings was trying to blot the bleeding gash on the bridge of his nose where the skin was torn away. Then part of his locker collapsed on his head while he was bending over to get his street shoes. To cap it all off, the once-so-promising Green Bay wide receiver had just two catches for 14 yards Sunday in an entirely humiliating 38-10 loss to the New York Jets. Yeah, it was that kind of day. A lot of folks employed by the Packers have been scratching their heads quite a bit lately when asked what has gone so wrong since the team pulled off an upset victory at Minnesota three weeks ago. After three straight losses, there aren't a whole lot of answers. But it became clear Sunday that Jennings and tight end Bubba Franks aren't producing the kinds of numbers the Packers need to score and win. Whether they are being overlooked or aren't making the most of what they have is up to the coaches to decide. -- More



Defense mechanism breaks down
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 3, 2006
If a number of Green Bay Packers are now playing for their jobs, as quarterback Brett Favre contended after another loss Sunday, so then defensive coordinator Bob Sanders is coaching for his. In yet another collapse of the Packers' defense, the New York Jets showed how much more prepared and in sync they were than their overmatched opponent, scoring on all five of their first-half possessions - the last four touchdowns - en route to a 38-10 laugher at Lambeau Field. The Packers (4-8) were facing a short week after traveling to the West Coast to face Seattle, and they had less time to prepare for the Jets than the Jets had to prepare for them. But when an opponent rolls up 340 yards and 31 points in the first half and neither the defensive coordinator nor his players have a clue about how to stop the hemorrhaging, something is wrong internally. The Packers aren't playing with the same amount of inexperience on defense that they are on offense, and with two good cornerbacks, three solid defensive linemen and three young, athletic linebackers, they have no excuse for giving up so much of the field to the National Football League's 27th-ranked offense. -- More



Defense reflecting poorly on Sanders
McCarthy won't say if staff changes
are coming after the season
By Rob Demovsky
greenbaypressgazette.com
The reasons for the defensive breakdowns may have been different than in past games, but after Sunday's debacle against the New York Jets, questions were beginning to arise about whether first-year coach Mike McCarthy will make significant changes on his staff. Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders was his usual contrite self after another poor performance by his unit, which allowed the Jets to score on all five of their first-half possessions on the way to a 31-0 halftime lead. Sanders took responsibility, as he has done throughout the season, saying it starts with him and it is his responsibility to get the defense fixed. But Sanders hasn't made much progress in that area during his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator. Coming into Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, his defense ranked 25th in the NFL in total defense and last in points allowed. After giving up 441 yards and 38 points, those rankings aren't likely to improve. "You can't win football games like that," McCarthy said. "I have to stay in the realm of reality. There's lots of emotions flying around right now. I'm very much in tune with that, but we need answers, because we have problems that are happening over and over again, and it needs to change." Don't expect McCarthy to do anything as strong as firing coaches before the season ends, because he said, "We're not sending anybody off the building or anything like that, no." But he wouldn't address questions about whether he might do so after the season. -- More





Defense needs change of direction
By Tom Oates / madison.com
It's one thing to give up four touchdown passes to New England's Tom Brady or 201 rushing yards to Seattle's Shaun Alexander like the Green Bay Packers did the last two weeks. It's quite another to be destroyed by the likes of Chad Pennington, Cedric Houston and Jerricho Cotchery. Actually, it's as embarrassing as it gets in the NFL. The Packers know the feeling after the New York Jets, led by Pennington's throwing, Houston's running and Cotchery's receiving, reduced their already-porous defense to rubble in Green Bay's 38-10 loss Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field. "There's no other word that's going to describe it better than embarrassing," Packers defensive tackle Colin Cole said. "We come out, we're professional athletes and we work every day to perfect what we do. To have a team come out and just pretty much exploit us like they did, it's embarrassing as a team, embarrassing as a defense and it should be embarrassing to each and every man that's on this defense." Cole will get no argument here. Or anywhere else in red-faced Wisconsin, for that matter. This wasn't the Patriots or Seahawks the Packers were playing, it was the Jets. While Brady and Alexander have MVPs and Super Bowls to their credit, the Jets have one of the NFL's least explosive offenses, a smoke-and-mirrors operation that has no running game, pedestrian receivers and a rag-armed quarterback. Yet, the Jets dropped 340 yards, 22 first downs and 31 points on the Packers - in the first half. Worse, they made it look painfully easy. -- More



There's no defense for this performance
By Chris Havel
Ten minutes into Sunday's onslaught, I had a feeling Jets-Packers might be the New England disaster all over again. I was wrong. It was worse. Thoroughly beaten and demoralized by halftime, the Green Bay Packers trotted off Lambeau Field trailing 31-0 with no solutions in sight. In a mostly regrettable and entirely forgettable game, that surreal scene endures as the season's defining moment. It was humiliation on parade. In the first half, the Jets scored on every possession, racked up 22 first downs, threw for 241 yards and rushed for another 99. They ran 47 plays. They gained 340 yards. They did what they wanted, when they wanted. No halftime adjustment exists for what ailed the Packers, and there isn't any way to sugarcoat it. The Packers' 38-10 loss is unacceptable. Changes need to be made in the defense's starting lineup and on the defensive coaching staff. If Bob Sanders were a player, rather than the defensive coordinator, a performance this substandard would get him released. To say the Packers have had four defensive coordinators in four years is incorrect. They have had only one: Jim Bates. The only way to ensure defensive continuity from last year to this year was to retain Bates. -- More




Meet Sharica
Houston Texans
Cheerleader

This is Sharica’s second season with the Houston Texans Cheerleaders! She is truly honored to represent the Texans organization for another year!

Sharica has a career in education, recruiting high school students for a local career college. She directly enjoys helping students prepare for life after high school. Sharica is also an AFAA (Aerobics & Fitness Association of America) certified fitness instructor and enjoys working out when she is not practicing. Her favorite part about being a cheerleader is performing in front of thousands of screaming fans. ccording to Sharica, the most challenging part about being a professional cheerleader is tryouts!

Sharica’s zodiac sign is Pisces and her idea of a wonderful evening is spending it with the ones she loves. She also enjoys seafood dinners, Honey Nut Cheerios and butter pecan ice cream. Sharica’s favorite color is turquoise and enjoys all types of music. Her favorite music artist is Beyonce and the song that describes her best is “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child. Her favorite television show is "Making the Band" and her favorite movie is "X-Men 3".

Sharica considers it an honor to be amongst the most talented, beautiful and intelligent women in the NFL! She definitely considers Houston her home away from home!