Holy Peter King Batman!

For the uninitiated, Peter King is the head NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Every Monday morning during the NFL season, and most Monday mornings during the off-season, Mr. King writes a column entitled "Monday Morning Quarterback." I encourage Packers nation to check out Mr. King's analysis on the top 32 teams in the NFL, where he wrote the following:

1. Green Bay. It's not just the maturation of Aaron Rodgers. It's the carryover from a fluky end to 2009 (the weird playoff loss at Arizona) and the fact that only one team in football -- New Orleans -- had a better point differential than the Pack's plus-164 last year. I like Jermichael Finley to become a great player in his second starting season. I don't trust the pass-rush (where Clay Matthews is the only real thing), and I worry about two of the top three corners coming off ACL surgery, and aging. But the defensive front is formidable, and a very good match for the good run teams of the AFC North. I also like Weeks 2 through 5 on the schedule (Buffalo, at Chicago, Detroit, at Washington), which sets up for a strong start.

I don't mean to alarm anyone, but that #1 in front of our team? That means he's ranking us #1 right now. To which I respond, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa???" I mean, really? We're the favorites now? Aaron Rodgers hasn't won a playoff game. Donald Driver hit the age (35) where he really should start slowing down (I mean that literally - he'll be slower this season). We don't have a pass rush (which Mr. King notes). Our CBs are old and coming off injuries. Ryan Grant is serviceable, and a top 12 running back, but he isn't going to dominate a game by himself. How are we the favorites? What happened?

Well, the long and the short of it is Peter King is very good at writing about things that happened during a football game. His is not good at predicting what will happen on a football field (he had Pats over Bears at the beginning of last season).

Nonetheless, we should still be excited: the Aaron Rodgers Era is getting national attention. While that won't help us win any games, it will help with the bandwagon fans if we CAN manage to win games. With an uncapped year and a potentially uncapped future, the Packers will need all the additional fans they can find to help drive team revenue. So, Mr. King, thank you. Keep over-hyping the Green Machine...

The NFL Offseason Sucks

The offseason is so long, not even that picture of Governor Palin can handle it (though it looks like she could handle 3 other things). The offseason sucks so bad, this is your Packers' news from the last week:

• The Packers re-signed Daryn Colledge for next season. He was a restricted FA. The deal allows him to become an unrestricted FA at the end of the season.
• Greg Jennings was on CBS's Criminal Minds.
• We've got a punter "Duel" going on.

That's it. That's what we have to sustain ourselves right now, Packers fans. But cheer up. We could be Bills fans. (Just click the link, sort by position, scroll down to QB, and laugh away!)

Let's Be Objective About This...

When I look back at The Teddy Drafts, one thing is easy to deduce: Mr. Thompson is an all-or-nothing kind of guy in the First Round. Let's take a look, shall we:

2005: Aaron Rodgers. Completely useless for three years (why doesn't anyone else cry havoc on this point?) but irreplaceable now. No one is upset we have him - just that there was a void for 3 years... and we completely cut ties with the face of the franchise because he was waiting in the wings.

2006: A.J. Hawk. Gah! Total bomb. Your argument is invalid if you argue otherwise. Linebackers picked in the top five need to be Junior Seau or Derrick Thomas. They cannot be Mike Walter.

2007: Justin Harrell. That was fun.

2008: /slices wrists

2009: B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews. Well, I gotta say, those two talked me off a ledge. Raji looks like he will be an above-average NT for a long, long time. And as the banner indicates, I'm in love with Matthews.

So what's the final tally? 2 perrenial Pro Bowlers (Rodgers and Matthews), one above-average NT (Raji), and 2 completely worthless bodies (Hawk, Harrell). Feels like I should give Mr. Thompson the benefit of the doubt.

The newest Packer, Bryan Bulaga, fit a need. He may also have the chops to be our LT for 10 years. We needed a LT of the future (TJ Lang wasn't the answer). But this pick might be a little too much like the Rodgers pick in 05: we've got someone at the position who is more than adequate now, and could be for another 2-3 years. WHICH MEANS! Mr. Bulaga might not give this team anything for awhile. That's the part I don't like. And that's why I didn't want Charlie Brown, either.

On the other hand, no less than the Great Peter King of Sports Illustrated thought Mr. Bulaga would be the 5th overall pick. As Kiper would say, "Great Value There!" The jury is out, but after last year, I don't have any basis to get all worked up over what a horrible pick this is. Let's leave it at that...

The best news of the night? The Vikings traded out of the first round, passing up Sergio Kindle and Taylor Mays (I don't want to live in a world where we'd have to face Purple Jesus AND Purple Mays... /cues Jimmy Hendrix). They've got the 2nd pick in the 2nd round, probably choosing the slight trade-down to ask God what he wants them to do.

In other good news: the Bears still haven't taken anyone (no pick until round 3) and the Lions took Suh and Best. Packers fans, bare with me here: yes, Suh and Best will be good. And they'll be fun to watch. But they went to the best possible team: THE LIONS... We aren't losing to the Lions anytime soon - so at no risk of getting an "L", we get to see two of the top 5 most exciting prospects in this years' draft, twice a year for the foreseeable future. Not too shabby...

One last note: Mays, as stated above, is still on the board. Please Mr. Thompson, give up a 3 and do what you need to do to acquire this fine young man. Packers fans need us some stealth mode...

Hits Like Hayes, Runs Like...

The gentlemen over at the National Football Post are doing the Lord’s Work. And, just like every sport’s website in America, they have a Mock Draft up. In fact, this is Mock Draft 5.0 (the 5th version, I presume). While no mock draft will ever be close to being correct, they are great at sparking a conversation.

So, who does Wes Bunting have going to the Greatest Professional Sports Team In The World? Drumroll:

23. Green Bay Packers: Charles Brown, OT, USC
Maybe a bit of a surprise here with Maryland product Bruce Campbell still on the board, but I just think Brown is a better fit for what the Packers want to do in the run game.

Charlie Fucking Brown? You have GOT to be kidding me. (Shouldn’t he go to Cleveland?)

With all due respect to Mr. Bunting, Old Teddy ain’t drafting no 3’5” offensive lineman. He’s going to draft a MAN. And that man is Taylor Mays. A 6’3”, 235 pound wrecking machine of a man. When he arrived at USC 4 years ago, everyone said he would be Ronnie Lott. Well, he isn’t Ronnie Lott. He’s Ronnie Lott 2.0. Some fans may remember he was the Bad Mother Fucker who knocked out two players on one play (though one was his teammate) during the 2009 Rose Bowl.

You may also know that Mays ran a 4.3 40 yard dash at the combine this year. It was the fastest time for any defensive back. Remember, he weighs 235 pounds. Mike Singletary played at 230. Mays is an absolute beast, with plus cover skills and the ability to run down everyone.

Last fall, Badgerstyle and I got into it over Eric Berry v. Mays. Even after a remarkable year by Berry, there remains no question in my mind that Mays is the superior pro prospect (Mr. Bunting has Mr. Berry going to Kansas City at pick 5). The Packers have a gaping hole at safety. Paired with Mr. Collins, the base defense would appear as if we had 3 lineman, 6 linebackers, and 2 cornerbacks. That unit could become the most physical unit in the League, but Mays is the key. Every great defense had a player opposing teams truly feared (not because of their skill, necessarily, but because they would hammer you). Easy examples include Lewis, Lynch, Atwater, Lott, Butkus, and, of course, Nitschke. A.J. Hawk was supposed to be that guy. He isn’t. He really, really, isn’t.

So I think Teddy will do the right thing, again, this year. (Despite my many concerns, getting Raji and Matthews earned his a lot of respect in my book). He’ll take another USC product (no, NOT Charlie Brown), grab a glass of Alambic Brandy, and call it a draft. So, without further ado, let's meet our next Packer:

Whither Aaron Kampman?

Where has Aaron Kampman gone? The once-proud warrior Packer has gone to the NFL's version of "Grandpa's Farm": the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It was only 3 seasons ago that Mr. Kampman was enjoying a second consecutive Pro Bowl campaign, the heart of a defense on a team an OT away from the Super Bowl. Now? The Packers' brass didn't even consider resigning him. He's been banished to the league's worst pass-rush defense (14 sacks last year - for the WHOLE TEAM). Not only that, the city can't even get the Super Bowl right. What happened?

The Packers switched from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4 base defense last season. And they drafted Clay Mathews (a man who shoots lightning bolts out of his arse). There was no longer a use for Mr. Kampman, even though he was the Packers 3rd most popular player for about 6 straight years (Favre, DD). This is all understandable, from a football perspective. But not a whimper from the fans? Their silence this offseason has been deafening. So, in just over 2 1/2 years, we lost the closest thing we'll ever get to a player-god and then the 3rd most popular player on the team? Really? And these two individuals could still play. Where is the outcry? Who demands justice?

You see, I thought part of the novelty of having an NFL team in a city of 100,000 people was that the team meant something to the residents. That for all the competitive flaws, we wouldn't allow our heros to be tossed aside in favor of newer models.

I'm joking, of course. That's what this fanbase does. One day, we're very old-school. The next? "GET WITH THE TIMES!" But this isn't a complaint. It is only meant to illustrate that this fanbase, moreso than any other, will rationalize whatever the team is doing, and then go out and support the heck out of it. We are loyal beyond reproach. If only they gave awards for that sort of thing...

Terrell Buckley Does Not Want Your Lump Sum

According to the NYT, a vast majority of NFL vets give up their lifetime medical coverage in favor of a lump-sum settlement. The noted exception: former Packer Terrell Buckley. Buckley's worried that his chronic headaches and short-term memory loss aren't going away anytime soon.

One of the relatively few players to avoid the temptation to settle was Terrell Buckley, the former star defensive back who played primarily for the Green Bay Packers and the Miami Dolphins and retired in 2005. Buckley testified in his workers’ compensation deposition in March 2009 that, beyond many orthopedic issues, he experiences painful headaches and short-term memory loss. He turned down the insurance company’s settlement offers — in part, he said, because of the unanswered questions surrounding the long-term effects of football head injuries.

“You see what’s happening to some guys, and it’s pretty scary,” said Buckley, now a strength and conditioning coach for his old college program at Florida State. “I pray and hope that I’ll never have to use it for that, but it’ll be there.”

Perhaps Buckley has a few more brain cells left than most of his colleagues.