The Packer Pundit

SEASON AT A GLANCE:
The Packers finished strong, winning their final four games to conclude Mike McCarthy's first season as Head Coach with a .500 record (8-8). Green Bay narrowly missed clinching one of the NFC's six playoff berths and finished No. 7 in the conference standings.

-The Packers were 5-1 in the NFC North, which tied Chicago, Philadelphia, San Diego, Baltimore and Carolina for the best division mark in the NFL.

-In the final league rankings, the Packers finished ninth on offense (23rd in rushing, eighth in passing). Green Bay finished 12th on defense (13th against the run and 17th against the pass).

-In turnover ratio, the Packers concluded the season with a zero margin, the team's best total since it also finished even at the end of 2003.

PERCENTAGE POINTS FROM POSTSEASON:
Mike McCarthy kept his team in contention for the 2006 playoffs until only seven hours remanined in the NFL's regular season. The Packers were the final NFC?team officially eliminated. How close were they?

-In the final analysis, four tiebreakers and mere percentage points were needed to dub the New York Giants, not Green Bay, as the conference's final playoff seed.

-Four NFC teams - the Giants, Packers, Rams and Panthers - finished 8-8. Carolina and St. Louis were eliminated based on their 6-6 conference records, leaving the Giants and Packers (each 7-5).

-New York and Green Bay also finished even in the next tiebreaker - common games; both were 1-3 against the Eagles, Seahawks and Bears, thus inducing the fourth tiebreaker - strength of victory.

-That's where the Giants held the critical edge. And at 2:47 p.m. CST?Dec. 31, both the Texans and Panthers won their early games, allowing the Giants to clinch with an insurmountable lead in strength of victory.

-Later that night, at the conclusion of all games, the Giants (.422) had edged the Packers (.383) by the slimmest of margins.

VACANCY AT OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR:
With offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski leaving to become the head coach at Boston College, McCarthy has a major opening to fill on his staff. He said he will look at candidates both inside and outside the organization, and he expects to make the hire within the next couple of weeks.

-McCarthy said he's spoken to several people about the position, but he declined to go into specifics. Ideally, he'd like to find someone with knowledge of the zone-blocking scheme Jagodzinski brought to the offense this year, but he's also looking for a good person, a good teacher and a good leader.

-"It's a position of leadership, so those are qualities you're looking for in that position," he said. "And really, I'm more concerned about fit more than anything, because of the direction that's already been established with our offensive staff. I'm very comfortable with the operation we have there, the personalities we have there. With me calling the plays, I'm obviously very involved there. We have a lot of things in place, but it's my responsibility to look at every possible option, and that's the way I'm going about it."

FAVRE DECISION ON TAP:
McCarthy said he, General Manager Ted Thompson and quarterback Brett Favre talked before Favre headed home to Mississippi, and he and Thompson told Favre they'd like him to come back next season.

-As he has the past couple of years, Favre is contemplating retirement but hasn't made up his mind and said he plans to discuss it with his wife Deanna and his family. McCarthy and Thompson didn't set a timetable for Favre's decision, but McCarthy feels it will come sooner this year than last, when Favre waited until late April.

-"Brett more than anybody doesn't want to draw it out," McCarthy said. "I just felt it was important for Brett and Deanna to get away from here, take the emotion out of the decision, look at the facts on both sides of the ledger and make a 100 percent committed decision. And from our conversation, I think that's what he's in the process of doing."

-McCarthy said he doesn't think he'll talk to Favre any more about it or try to lobby him to return. Because this offseason doesn't contain the uncertainty last offseason did, when a new coaching staff was coming in, tweaking the offensive system and trying to rebound from a 4-12 campaign, McCarthy said Favre knows where everything stands. He added that he and Thompson aren't going to make any promises regarding offseason acquisitions to entice Favre to return, and he doesn't feel that would factor into Favre's decision anyway.

-"Ted Thompson and I both sat down with him, told him what we thought about him as a player - pure player evaluation, nothing to do with what he's accomplished in the past, where we felt he was at today - and we told him we wanted him back," McCarthy said. "So with that, he talked about some of the things that he was thinking through. He knows exactly how the organization feels about him."

-Favre did not have the minor ankle procedure he was expected to undergo on Jan. 1, and McCarthy did not know when that would take place. Favre's ankle has calcium build-ups or bone spurs that have caused him discomfort for several years and can be cleaned out with a minor arthroscopic surgery.

-"I guess this is Year 7 in a row that he has not gone through with it," McCarthy said. "It's really up to him."

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:
When asked who he thought was the team's most improved player in 2006, McCarthy singled out rookie offensive lineman Daryn Colledge.

-Colledge, a second-round draft pick out of Boise State, entered training camp as the starting left guard, lost his job after the first preseason game but then worked to regain it early in the regular season. He ended up starting 15 games -14 at left guard and one at left tackle in Miami when Chad Clifton was ill - and is a candidate for all-rookie honors.

-"You look at Daryn, what he went through in training camp, and I clearly thought out of our young players he was most improved and battle-ready," McCarthy said. "I was very impressed with his performance."

HEALTHY TEAM:
McCarthy said no one on the team needs major surgery in the offseason.

-Cornerback Charles Woodson, who played through a shoulder injury much of the year, is not planning to have surgery at this point and is hoping rest will help his shoulder heal.

-Favre's ankle is the only other potential procedure being discussed at this point, and there are others in a wait-and-see mode.

-"We're an extremely healthy football team," McCarthy said.






Packers might choose Hackett
Team in search of offensive coordinator
By TOM SILVERSTEIN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Jan. 10, 2007
As Mike McCarthy continues his search for a new offensive coordinator, the most logical choice should he go outside the Green Bay Packers' organization, remains Paul Hackett, his mentor in the West Coast offense. Hackett, who hired McCarthy at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 and took him along to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993, just finished the last year of his contract as quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is apparently seeking to be a coordinator again. McCarthy and Hackett, 49, remain close and, according to a league source, have spoken in the past few weeks. However, it's unclear whether it was the two exploring possibilities or a formal interview for the coordinator's job that opened up when Jeff Jagodzinski accepted an offer to be head coach at Boston College. Hackett's contract might not expire until the end of the month, but even if it does, it's more than likely Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden has given him the opportunity to pursue a coordinator's job. Gruden also served under Hackett at the University of Pittsburgh and has credited him with having a strong influence on his coaching career. A year ago, McCarthy explored the possibility of hiring Hackett, probably in a position other than offensive coordinator because he wanted Jagodzinski for that job. Still, when asked on the day he was hired if Hackett was a candidate to become coordinator, McCarthy said yes, although he knew it was unlikely Tampa Bay would let him out of his contract. "Paul Hackett has been a major influence in my coaching career," McCarthy said at the time. "He'd definitely be a candidate. Once again, how the staff shakes out is going to play a big part in that as far as what direction we go. But I have the utmost respect and owe a lot to Paul Hackett because he's the one that has taught me from Day One at the University of Pittsburgh in 1989 the basics of quarterback play and the foundation of the West Coast offense." -- More



Woman heads to court for alleged
Extortion letters to Bart Starr
The Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An 81-year-old Texas woman was set to appear in federal court Thursday following her indictment on extortion charges for an alleged scheme to get $2 million from Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr. Ruby Y. Young of Kerrville was ordered to appear at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Harwell Davis III on the two extortion counts. The indictment said Young mailed letters around Oct. 30 and Nov. 20 last year with the intent to extort money under “a threat to injure the reputation” of the recipient. The federal grand jury indictment, dated Dec. 28, did not identify the person to whom the letters were addressed or provide details of the alleged extortion. But authorities said last month that the letters alleged an encounter with Starr in 1960 and sought $2 million. No money was ever paid. Starr, 73, led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships in the 1960s and later was the team's coach. He denies knowing the woman, according to a criminal complaint affidavit he filed against Young in Birmingham, Ala., where he lives. Arrested last month, Young told a federal court in Texas that she understood the charges and that “it’s not true.” She was released on bond.



Construction Underway On
Lambeau Field's New Playing Surface
Packers.com
The makeover of Lambeau Field's playing surface got underway this week, a project that will bring the latest technology to the hallowed ground. The north end of field currently is the primary focus of the project as several machines worked to remove all levels of the playing surface. In addition to the front end loaders and shovel tractors chugging away, a nifty configuration of conveyor belts has been constructed to carry the refuse directly from the field out to the parking lot at the southwest corner of the stadium. The arrangement removes the need to truck the materials through the loading dock. In a project that will take several months to complete, DD GrassMaster, a natural grass surface reinforced with man-made fibers developed by Desso DLW Sports Systems, will be installed on top of a completely new drainage and heating system. The new surface and underlying systems represent the latest developments in field management. The new grass surface won't be entirely new for the players, though. It is identical to the surface on the team's Clarke Hinkle Field. That surface, installed prior to 2005 training camp, has garnered rave reviews from the players in its two seasons of use. "We feel we need to have the best natural grass field possible," said Ted Thompson, the Packers' Executive Vice President and General Manager. "We're confident this will serve historic Lambeau Field well. It's grass, so that remains true to the spirit of our stadium; players will get dirty and have grass stains, that kind of thing. It's worked very well the last two seasons on Hinkle Field." According to the Packers' field manager, Allen Johnson, the Packers have been following the evolution of the relatively new system for several years, going back to its development on European soccer fields. "We've had great success on Hinkle Field with the GrassMaster surface," said Johnson. "So we've been considering it seriously for Lambeau Field for about a year. Ted compared Lambeau Field and Hinkle Field last spring after several days of rain and it was a stark contrast. Lambeau was still soaked and wet and Hinkle was dry and firm. That final bit of first-hand experience set the wheels in motion." -- More




Cheerleader of the day --

Meet Ashley
New England Patriots
Cheerleader

Nick Name: : Ash, Deevs, or Muffin
Date of Birth : 04/22/1985
Birth State : MA
Hometown : Brookfield, MA
High School : Tantasqua Senior High School, Sturbridge, MA.
School : Worcester State College
Major : Early Childhood Education; graduating in 2008
Team Seasons : 3
Current Occupation : College Student and High End Jewelry Sales Associate.
Career Goal : Child Psychologist, Real Estate Agent, Actress, or to work in Public Relations.


Community Service : Dancing Benefits including finding the cure for Cancer and Cystic Fibrosis Dean College, Freshman English Peer Tutor Various programs with The New England Patriots Organization including: Raising funds for the 2004 Boston Heart Walk, Boston Children's Hospital, New England Patriots Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament and Junior Patriots Cheerleaders Camp.


Performance Background : 15 years of dance training, 10 years of competitive experience, Classical Training by The Ceccehetti Council of America, American Dance Awards Regional Teen Miss Dancer of the Year 2000, American Dance Awards Regional Miss Dancer of the Year, 2001, 2002., Semi-finalist of Teen Miss Dance Masters Of America, Chapter 5, 2000, Ballet Theatre of Boston, & The Hartford Ballet, Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, FL, Pre-game show with Singer/ Songwriter Lenny Kravitz 2005, NFL Action Magazine, Girls of the NFL Issue, CranBarry Cheerleading Catalogue, American Cheerleader Magazine, New England Patriots Game Day Magazine, and Pro-shop Catalogue 2005.



Hobbies : Traveling, spending time with friends and family, laying on the beach, and shoe shopping!
Pets : Gold Retriever(Wilson),Siberian Husky puppy(Ivan)
Favorite TV Shows : Sex and the City
Favorite Movies : Mean Girls, Goodfellas, and Home Alone
Favorite Actor / Actress : Sarah Jessica Parker
Favorite Animated Character : Betty Boop
Favorite Band / Musician : Mariah Carey
Favorite Song : I Will Always Love You, by Whitney Houston
Favorite Book : The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Favorite Quote : "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." -Les Brown
Favorite Foods : Pretzel Dog with Nacho cheese
Favorite Dessert : Mrs. Poirier's amazing Ice Box Cake!

Favorite Restaurant : The Harvest
Favorite Color : Hot Pink
Favorite Guilty Pleasure : Godiva Chocolate Truffles.
Favorite Season in New England : Fall
What is your dream job? : To work in NYC for Lizzie Grubman Public Relations.
What is your most prized possession? : An antique diamond ring my mother gave me for graduation.
What is the best gift you ever received? : A single red rose and a card.
What is your favorite sport, other than football? : Baseball, Go Sox!
If you could be anyone in the world for a day, who would it be? : Oprah, so I could have my own T.V. Show!
If stuck on a deserted island, what three items would you want to have with you? : A Cosmopolitan Magazine, my pillow, and my Versace sunglasses.
Do you have any hidden talents? : I write poetry.