Fourth & Forever: Previewing the Packers and Vikings game

  Fourth & Forever: Previewing the Packers and Vikings game

The Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings are headed in two different directions. The Packers are on a three game winning streak, and sit atop of the NFC North, with a record of 4-2. The Vikings are at the bottom of the division, and look to dig themselves out of a three game hole against the division rival. This Sunday night will be the first of two games between these two teams. The division is still up for grabs, while the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, still try and find their grooves. The Bears and Packers are dealing with some key injuries, and the Lions are looking to get a grip on their defense. The division is still winnable for the men in purple, therefore the Vikings have to dust off their two last embarrassing losses and move on. The Packers are looking to get another win in the division, before their Monday night game in two weeks against the Bears.

The Vikings are in total disarray. The quarterback, the coach, and the consistent losing, I don't know where to start! Last year this team finished 10-6 and made the playoffs, this year the Vikings have started the season 1-5. Through six games, they are one lost away from matching their total number of losses last season. Starting quarterback Christian Ponder lost his title after three games. His backup Matt Cassel, lost his, after two games. The Vikings sign throw away Josh Freeman, who was released two weeks ago by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The result, Freeman threw 53 times, while all-pro running back Adrian Peterson, only carried the ball 13 times. He had only been with the team for 12 days before he made the start. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he wasn't ready, than say he is a very bad quarterback. The lost to the New York Giants was the second straight ugly game produced by the Vikings. The week before, the Carolina Panthers blew out the Vikings 35-10. No ball movement, no moving the chains, and the defense gives up more points than a pinball machine. At this point, coach Leslie Frazier is looking like he doesn't know what to do. Maybe that's why he has used three quarterbacks in six games. Its the quarterback, its the defense, its the coach, its the whoooole team! Read coaches in the hot seat!
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The Viking and Packers are always going to be linked to each other, just because the Packers like to throw away people, while the Vikings like to take them in and give them a home and feed them. Players in the past such as Darren Sharper, Ryan Longwell, and Brett Favre. This year it has been players such as linebacker Desmond Bishop and receiver Greg Jennings. "Silly Vikings, tricks are for kids." Obviously Green Bay knows what their doing. Bishop was signed and then made two starts...eventually tearing his ACL. Now he is on injury reserve, for the second year in a row. Then there is Greg Jennings crybaby self. "Oh oh  Aaron Rodgers was never a leader, oh."  It sounds like Jennings is missing that good ol Wisconsin home cooking. Not only is Jennings having a bad year, but his team is terrible. He doesn't look like a number one receiver at all. Through five games, he has 20 catches, for two hundred and eighty six yards...with a pair of touchdowns. That doesn't sign like a number one receiver, who just signed a five-year $47.5 million contract in the off-season. The money was going to be nice, but it wasn't going to be the same quarterback or coaches, helping him return to his pro-bowl years. I hope the money was worth it!

The short-handed Packers, are running out of playmakers. The Packers are going to be down two starting receivers, and their big physical tight-end, Jermichael Finley. Both Randall Cobb and James Jones, will be side-lined for Sunday nights game, due to injuries. Cobb was placed on Injury Reserve-designated to return a week ago, due to him breaking his fibula two weeks ago at Baltimore. He is out at least 6-8 weeks. Jones was also hurt in Baltimore, with a sprained PCL. He is out two to four weeks. Finely got hurt in Sundays win against the Cleveland Browns, win a contusion to his spinal cord. It has not been determined if Finely will continue his career, with such a scary injury. Nevertheless, the games have got to be played and Rodgers is soon going to be throwing it to himself.  But with the emergence of rookie running back Eddie Lacy, the Packers finally have a two dimensional game. Lacy leads the league in rushing yards over the past three weeks, with 301 and Kansas City Chiefs running backs Jamal Charles is second with 272. That's right, he has more yards than Charles. Now that is impressive for a rookie. With receiver Jordy Nelson demanding attention, defenses can no longer play two deep safeties every time, because the Pack now have an top tier power running back. I maybe getting ahead of myself, but the future looks bright for Lacy.

Regardless of the injuries racking up, the Packers are still going to be dangerous. Lacy takes pressure off of A Rod, as well as the back-ups catching the ball at the end of Rodgers passes. Back-up tight end Andrew Quarless and back-up receiver Jarrett Boykin's will have to step up to replace these playmakers. Boykin's a 6 ft. 2 undrafted second year receiver proved last week he is up for the task, catching eight passes for 103 yards, and a touchdown last week. Packers are now in first place, and will not be looking back. The Vikings are starting starter Christian Ponder against the Packers. Apparently Josh Freeman has an concussion and won't play. Sounds like the Vikings are not looking to be embarrassed again in a primetime game. Ponder gives the Vikings a better chance to win games, as long as Adrian Peterson stays healthy, this team can win. Ponder torched the Packers last year in the regular season match-up, throwing three touchdowns. That win sealed a Vikings playoff berth. They played the Packers the following week in the first round and lost that game 24-10. Ponder didn't play in that game due to an injury. I have the Packers winning this game, but not by much. Ponder has something to prove, as well as Greg Jennings. The Packers defense is banged up, so I expect AP to rebound from last weeks blunder. In the end its to much Rodgers and Lacy overpowering the Vikings.

FOURTH & FOREVER: Previewing the NFC North

Johnny J

The NFC North is becoming one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. All of the teams can be playoff contenders and with each of them getting better within the past year, this division can be considered up for grabs:

• The Green Bay Packers have won the division title the last two years. Now with the help of a potential backfield, they can extend their streak to three. 
• The Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2009. With Adrian Peterson coming off a 2,000 yard season after a serious knee injury, the Vikings are looking very promising. 
• The Detroit Lions have so much talent around them, but fell short of the playoffs. With the addition of Reggie Bush, I believe they can see the middle of January . 
• The Chicago Bears fired Lovie Smith in hopes of returning to the promise land. With an aging defense and a contract year for quarterback Jay Cutler, this is a make or break year for the Bears.

As a Packers fan, I like the way the 2010 Super Bowl Champs are headed. They extended contracts for their best players on both sides of the ball, in QB Araon Rodgers and Linebacker Clay Matthews. Right now, they are the highest-paid players at their positions. In the offseason, defensive coordinator, Dom Capers and the rest of the defensive coaches went to Texas A&M to learn how to stop the read-option. Colin Kaepernick and the San Fransico 49ers ran that very effectively against the Pack as they made their way to Super Bowl XVLll. It still makes my stomach hurt. The Packers have a team who can compete for a Super Bowl every year thanks to GM Ted Thompson.  He added two good running backs, in Alabama prospect in Eddie Lacy in the second round and UCLA's Johnathan Franklin, the future mayor of Los Angeles. Alex Green, now third year running back out of Hawaii, had a team high 464 yards and a 3.4 average. That won't do. Defenses didn't respect the running game, as they played 2-deep shell safeties, concentrating more on Rodgers and the Packers' passing game. Eddie Lacy is going to require defenses to "RESPECT HIS GANGSTA!" With the Packers switching their whole offensive line to protect Rodgers' blindside, this offense should be unstoppable.

The Vikings are constantly picking up Green Bay throwaways. They signed wide receiver and former Packer Greg Jennings and Linebacker Desmond Bishop. Both have a lot to prove after being injured in 2012. Obviously, money is more important than winning, right Jennings? The Vikings are coming off a playoff year and look to build on that success. As long as Adrian Peterson is in the back-field, they should have been trying to build a team around him. They're starting to learn, I think. It just took them about five or six years and some areas on offense can still be questioned. Coach Leslie Frazier is trusting quarterback Christian Ponder who showed some growth in his second year, throwing for almost 3,000 yards and throwing 18 touchdowns. Plus his promising tight-end, Kyle Rudolph made the Pro Bowl in 2012 and even won the game MVP, so he was able to show off his game against the very best. Now if they can just get Ponder to get him the ball. With Rudolph, Jennings, and first round pick Cordarrelle Patterson (First Team All-SEC), this offense may have a promising passing game. With this being a contract year for defensive end Jared Allen, I'm expecting another big year from him after totaling 34 sacks the past two seasons. The Viking should be smart to extend him now, before someone else comes along. At the end of the day, they are just a playoff contender and nothing else. They show a lot of promise though.

The Detroit Lions missed the playoffs last year. It's hard to believe as they're equipped with a good, young passing duo in quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson.  Stafford has thrown over 10,000 yards in the past two seasons. Oh, and he has played in all 16 games the past two years as well (still, he throws like Tarzan and acts like Jane).  Johnson broke Jerry Rice's all-time record of receiving yards. He now holds the record at 1,964 yards. "Megatron" is an elite receiver as well as the the top receiver in fantasy football. He is definitely living up to being picked number two overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. Now with the addition of running back Reggie Bush, this should help keep defenses honest. As long as Kim Kardashian isn't in the building, he should be explosive. This offense is dangerous.  Bush is a three-down back. He runs, catches, and blocks. Now staying healthy, for him, is another issue, as he has battled knee, groin and fibula injuries. The only thing stopping the Lions are off-the-field issues. From possession of drugs to assault, there have been problems for the Lions, not to mention their play on the field. They also have one of the dirtiest players on the field in Ndamukong Suh. We won't talk about coach Jim Schwartz getting in the action with the controversial handshake between him and 49ers' head coach, Jim Harbaugh. Overall, this team can be a deep playoff contender, if they could only act like regular, upstanding citizens.

The Chicago Bears are looking to rebound after winning the division in 2010. They haven't made the playoffs since, which led to the firing of Lovie Smith and the hiring of new coach Marc Trestman. "In Trestman we trust." We'll see if the Bears' current practice of hiring cheap people in hopes of getting the job done actually works for them this season. If you remember, the Bears didn't even want to make the field conditions better for their own players at Solider Field. "I don't know what else to say. We complain about it all the time. I prefer playing on grass, but the Field Turf stuff is pretty awesome," said former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. When your star player complains about field conditions, that's when you know the organization you root for is cheap. They just signed D.J. Williams for cheap after he failed a drug test, lost his starting job in Denver, and then got released. They expect this guy to replace Urlacher! (the Bears bought low on Williams if you ask me--Ed). Another one of those, "we'll see" moves. Trestman said that he may implement the read-option in the offense. That's one-way to get Cutler on the season-ending injury reserve list. Enough about the bad, here's the good. Matt Forte has to stay healthy. He is the focal point of the Bears' offense. Cutler has a great arm and his accuracy could be decent, but when you have a top five receiver in Brandon Marshall, you're going to get your numbers in a passing game. Well not in fantasy football, but you get your numbers (when it comes to Jay Cutler, not really--Ed). This is a make or break year for Cutler or he will be replaced. He has the talent around him, but the defense has to get younger. Julius Peppers, Charles Tillman, and Lance Briggs are all over 30. All I can say is this is a team fighting for the playoffs.

This season is going to be tough for the NFC North, as they play the AFC North and NFC East. The Lions have the second toughest schedule. The Packers have the sixth toughest and the Vikings have the 10th toughest. The Bears have the 16th toughest. Even though they have the easiest schedule out of the division, I really believe they are going to have a hard time winning games. I only see the Packers and Lions making the playoffs, with the Packers winning the division. Now with a running game, Rodgers should pick defenses apart. Just avoid the sacks my friend (51 in 2012). The Lions will make the Playoffs, just as long as they stay out of trouble. Suh needs to perform like he did as a rookie because he had 10 sacks, compared to just 14 the last two years. Help that offense secure wins.

Adrian "All-Day" Peterson will do his thing, but he needs help. Ponder has to be the one, to use that play-action to his advantage, because right now he doesn't get respect. If Bishop is healthy, that defense just got a whole lot better.

Finally, the Bears are very close to a rebuilding era. Cutler has to avoid being hurried out the pocket and stop throwing clumsy INTs. Forte will get his carries, just stay out of the training room during games. The defense is old, enough said. It maybe a long year for them.

More NFL content can be read here.

KOBE, MJ, and TWITTER: A Weird Mix

Outside of the United Center where Michael Jordan is permanently
dunking over people.
(photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)

Felipe M

We asked our sports' panel about live tweeting.  Here are their thoughts.

Kobe Bryant was live-tweeting his 81-point performance which was re-aired last week on NBA TV. Which sports’ figure, past or present, would you like to see live tweet their paramount, career event?

Here’s what the panel wrote:

• “Keeping it current, I would love to have Raul Ibanez live tweet his game tying HR & Walk-off HR against the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 ALDS.”—C. McLain
• “Marshawn Lynch—“Beast Mode” against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.”—Dan P
• “Araon Rodgers’ 2010 Super Bowl run.”—Johnny J
• “I would love to have seen Michael Jordan live tweeting about the D.C. Wizards at MSG vs the New York Knicks on March 9 2003. A 39 year-old Jordan scored 39 points in 43 minutes of action.  The Wiz were battling for a playoff spot in Jordan's final year. He out-played the combined effort of everyone in that game.  I watched this game while it was happening on NBC, MJ wanted to win the game so bad, but Latrell Spreewell & the Knicks ended up winning.  The most impressive effort I have watched during a basketball game.”—Donny R

Very interesting choices and Dan's choice is one of the funniest videos out there.  Is it racist?  That's for Daniel Tosh to decide.  

I had a hard time coming up with one event I would have liked to have seen be live-tweeted.  So I will share five instead:

• Michael Jordan playing with the flu at Utah in the NBA Finals.
• Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeout game.
• Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis playing a game of chess… or at least live-tweeting the last game they will every play against each other. 
• Patrick Kane live-tweeting the game-winning goal to clinch the Stanley Cup Championship for the Chicago Blackhawks.  Also, live-tweeting how he celebrated afterwards would be just as, if not more, interesting.
• And staying in the NHL, the greatest hockey game I have ever watched was on March 26, 1997 between the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings.  Not a fan of the goonery, but one can’t deny the raw emotion and the venom that was spewed throughout this hockey game.  Just figuring out who would be best qualified to do a live-tweet is proving to be difficult.  Do we go with the captains, Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman? Or do we ask guys like Kris Draper  and/or Darren McCarty to give us their take while countering with Claude Lemieux for the Avalanche?  How about the goalies, Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon who most likely had the best, on-ice view of the whole scene before they got involved with the fighting?  What about the coaches?  So many potential candidates.   

Speaking of Kobe, the Los Angeles Lakers, fan or hater question: how happy/mad are you about their season so far?

The Lakers are so bad, that even "die-hard" superfan,
Jack Nicholson is leaving games early and getting
ready for baseball.
(Source: Mike McCann, Field of Fotos)

No one has gotten more glee out of the Lakers’ struggles this season than me.  I’m a Laker-hater and thinking about them literally makes my blood boil.  Yes, Kobe Bryant has back-to-back games of 14 assists, but with all that talent, it is an absolute joke that they’re not living up to the hype.  With that being said, let’s see what everybody else thinks of the Lake Show this season.

“I’m mad!  I wanted to see some competitiveness in the playoffs. It won't be as intense if Kobe's not in it.”—Johnny J

I think these playoffs will be more competitive than ever.  It is almost near unpredictable to forecast what will happen tomorrow in the NBA, let alone what will happen in the playoffs.  One thing is for sure, however, and that is that come playoff time, the stakes are raised a bit higher and the games get more intense.  Besides, there’s plenty of storylines in the NBA outside of Kobe and the Lakers.  The playoffs will be fine.

• “They were purple and bold, but now about to fold--in 2013.”-- Dan P
• “Hater and happy because, like in actual chemistry, when you mix elements that don’t sit well with each other, the whole experiment explodes.”-- C. McLain
• “If I cared any less, it'd still be too much.”-- Donny R

So the panel was harsh on the Lakers and rightfully so.  It was reported by David Schuster on WSCR THE SCORE 670AM that Kobe was still sitting an hour-and-a-half after the game against the Chicago Bulls by his locker stall, just pondering and trying to figure out what to do with the Lakers.  We give it up to Kobe: he’s a true professional, he cares about winning, and he tries every game.  

But knowing his past as a spoiled, child-like, NBA player, all of these recent struggles couldn't have happened to a more qualified person. 

So it’s safe to say that PATHOLOGICAL HATE will continue to hate on Kobe and the Lakers.

How do we fix the Lakers besides making Kobe Bryant the team's de facto point guard? Dan Plotsky has the answers.  Read Part I and Part II. 

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KAEPERNICK GOES WILD: Packers v. 49ers

The following is part of our continuing coverage of the 2012 NFL PLAYOFFS.

Johnny J

Colin Kaepernick grew up a Packers' fan; so when the date was set for the Green Bay Packers to come into Candlestick Park, Kaepernick wanted to make his presence known. He wanted to prove that he could carry his team to a playoff victory. The second year quarterback showed up Aaron Rodgers by carrying the San Francisco 49ers to a  45-31 win over Rodgers and the high-powered offense of the Packers.

"It feels good. We're one step closer to where we want to be," Kaepernick said. "I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people doubted my ability to lead this team."

And lead he did; Kaepernick out-rushed the Packers team 181 yards to 104, Breaking Michael Vick's previous record of 173 set back in 2002.  Kaepernick played his first playoff game and accounted for 4 touchdowns: throwing for two and running for two, including a 57 yard touchdown scramble that left the Packers defense unsure of who actually had the ball.

Kaepernick, who took over for Alex Smith after Smith sustained a concussion  never handed back the starting role to the veteran. Instead, he was the one who continued to run the ball and hand it off to Frank Gore.

   

"The execution for the 49ers on the read option was excellent, but our issues were bigger than that," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "We did not do a very good job of keeping him in the pocket. He was able to get out of the pocket for a number of big conversions."

That is the reason why Kaepernick took over the starting job for the 49ers. When you have a quarterback that can out-run defenses, the threat becomes more of a guessing game. The defense might be leading one-way toward the running back and when the quarterback reads it, he keeps it, and just takes off running. Pro bowl linebacker Clay Matthews was caught looking confused on the field, unsure of who had the ball, and when he finally saw the ball, it was half-way down the field.

Credit head coach Jim Harbaugh for bringing his Offensive Coordinator, Greg Roman with him from Stanford. The coaching duo brought some of the college plays to the big stage. Harbaugh may lose Roman as it is rumored that he may get a head coaching job elsewhere (Roman and Alex Smith to Jacksonville?  What?--Ed).

Back in 2005, Rodgers was asked about how disappointing it was for the 49ers to pass him with the first pick. He replied, "not as disappointed as the 49ers will be that they didn't draft me."

The 49ers did not feel any remorse or regret on Saturday night. Rodgers returned to his home state

just to get out-dueled by Kaepernick. Rodgers had a good game throwing for 257 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a pick, but he couldn't do it alone. He needed help from his defense whom seemed like they couldn't stop the run or the pass. In fact the Packers gave up a total of 579 yards.

 "We expected them to try to get him out on the perimeter. But we didn't expect to let him do what he did. Give him a lot of credit. He played a great game. He made a lot of great plays out there today. It was hard to swallow," said safety Charles Woodson.

When Kaepernick was in 4th grade, he wrote himself a letter stating that he would go to the pros to either play for the 49ers or the Packers. "I remember growing up watching Brett Favre every Sunday," said Kaepernick. He dind't get a chance to play against Favre, but Kaepernick beat Araon Rodgers who I believe will be a better quarterback than Brett Favre. He beat the reigning MVP at his own game: with his arm and his legs. The 49ers have beaten the Packers in the playoffs for only the second time in 6 meetings dating back to 1996.





2012 Dick Butkus Division Champ

                   

I would like to take a moment to reflect on yesterday when I received my trophy for winning my division in my Fantasy Football League. I lost in the first round of the playoffs because my first three picks were all hurt, (LeSean McCoy, Rob Gronkowski, Jordy Nelson), but I was happy to go home with something. 

It looked like a promising season, especially after our draft in August when Yahoo left a message on the league's homepage that my team, Black Sunday, was projected to win the whole thing based on my picks. It didn't happen, but I'm eager to finish off what I start next season. 

2012 Dick Butkus Division Champ!

Why the Green Bay Packers Scare Me

Felipe M.

The Packers go into Sunday's NFC title game as 3 point favorites. The way I have observed these two teams playing, the Packers might be able to win by at least 7. Here are some reasons why the Packers might make this Sunday another huge disappointment in Beasrs' playoff history:

• That defense is ferocious. Especially against the Bears, who last I checked, only scored one offensive TD against this team in both of their regular season games. Many experts would say that the Bears were lucky to win the first game and should have lost by more in the second game. Also, it seems that the Bears don't do very well against 3-4 base defenses where Dom Capers' complex zone-blitz schemes seem to confuse and rattle an already suspect Bears' offensive line. Plus add that Mike Martz really hates succumbing to a short pass scheme to counteract said blitzes, and Jay Cutler's stubborness and tendencies to make questionable throws and this game might get ugly really quickly.

• Let me ask you this; which coaching staff would you trust more? Lovie Smith's or Mike McCarthy? Last January, the entire city of Chicago wanted Lovie to be terminated from his head coaching position and a lot of the coaches who call the offensive and defensive plays were Lovie's desperate hires after all of his first choices snubbed his offers to coach for this team and move on to greener pastures. I personally like Lovie Smith, but he sometimes seems to be overmatched in terms of scheme and strategy, especially in the 2nd half of games.

The Bears defense has been great, but a lot of weaknesses were exposed against Seattle, mainly that Tampa 2 defensive base that Lovie continues to stubbornly use despite getting burned in games against the top-passing teams in the NFL. Lovie's 4-3, cover 2 defense works fine when all 11 players are highly talented and are in sync with each other. However, they face the hottest QB in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers and he is packed with healthy weapons at receiver and at running back. The Packers also have a porous offensive line, but the Packers have killed the Bears in the past (no matter who their QB is) with screen plays to counteract a highly aggressive, Bears' front four that is lead by Julius Peppers. Even more worrisome, the Packers no longer have to set up screen plays to mimick a lackluster running game because their running attack has been finally established at the right time with James Starks running the ball enough to keep opposing defenses honest and giving Rodgers more time in the pocket to make big plays.

So that is why the Packers scare me for this Sunday's game. I've been burned before by other Bears' teams hosting playoff games before and I have a really bad feeling about this one. Lucky for all of us, my "bad feelings" are usually valid 50% of the time. Please feel free to comfort me as I go to bed with nightmares of Aaron Rodgers mutilating the Bears' zone defense.



GO BEARS!!!!!