SB Nation - Daryn Colledge

Packers-Ravens Retroactive Live-Blog

Mitchell_M — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:13:49 -0000

It's been two months since I've really been active on the site. For some of you, that is a terrible tragedy. For many, many more, it is a source of endless joy. But today I decided to cater to the minority and make my presence known by throwing a mini-fiesta with my DVR, a bowl of Reese's Puffs, and a strong pot of coffee.

Before we get going with the retroactive live-blog, let me just share some of the knowledge I've gained over the course of working for 80 out of a possible 168 hours in a week:

There are few things more traumatic than the transition from college-life to real-life. I imagine it's somewhat like being born, except you're slightly more conscious and slightly less sticky.

Unlike most co-eds, I worked my way through and avoided drinking my way out of school, but nothing can truly prepare you for the real world. There's chores? You have to do them, otherwise you're living in filth. There's bills? You have to pay them, otherwise a large Italian gentleman will break your ribs. There's family gatherings you'd rather not attend? You have to go to them, because you don't have the homework excuse anymore.

Real life blows, I'm going to grad school.
Trying to keep in shape? Don't work overnights. You will have no energy whatsoever during the daytime hours. I play basketball to keep myself in shape and satisfy my over-competitiveness, and I love it. But I haven't played in two months, and I've gotten noticably soft. Amazing, considering I've lost weight.
Dry spells. Guys, when women say that they're too tired, it's generally a toss-up between them actually being tired and not wanting to deal with you. When a guy says it? Definitely tired.
Caffeine has an odd effect after consuming too much for it. The most noticeable symptom is when you're lying down after finally getting home and you get the ringing in the ears. It keeps me up for at least half an hour, and my mom (who worked 3rd shift for over a decade) says it doesn't go away. Awesome.
Watching sports is a major hassle. Not only do I miss the majority of my Sunday NFL-watching, but working nights has ruined any chance I have of watching any NBA games during the week. DVR has been my best friend, but it somehow isn't enough.

On to the live-blog! I DVR'd this last night and watched it immediately as I got home. I did not check the score at any time on Monday night, and I have no knowledge whatsoever of the outcome. Enjoy!

Pre-game observations:

I forgot how cool of an environment Lambeau is on national TV at night. Other cities have their stadiums surrounded by other big buildings with big, bright lights, but Lambeau sort of stands alone in the still-tiny Green Bay. It's kind of cool, even though it's quaint.
Another thing I forgot? Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski are still in the MNF booth. Let's put it this way: it took roughly two minutes for Gruden to make the first (of what I predict will be many) "Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood" jokes. Ugh.
Ed Reed is announced as inactive for the game. Good timing to get the Ravens without their ball-hawk extraordinaire, not to mention good time by ESPN's cameras, who immediately cut to Reed spitting an enormous loogie. Between that and the beard, he looks like a homeless guy (who makes roughly 100,000x my salary).
Ray Lewis may have lost a step or four, but he's still quite the motivational speaker. It's like if Lil' Jon was coherent and dread-less.
The Nike Kobe and LeBron puppets are back. Frowny-face.
And here comes the Ray Rice love. Am I pleasantly surprised by my alma mater's best football product? Yes. Am I ecstatic to have drafted him (against my then-better judgement) in the ninth round of my keeper league? Yes and yes.

Alright, enough of that. Let's play some ball, gentlemen.

First Quarter!

15:00 - Green Bay receives, and Jordy Nelson avoids both tacklers and fumble-itis all the way to the 43-yard line. Decent start.

14:34 - A play-action draw pass? Sounds terrible, but it gained 7.

13:59 - So that's why we still have Brandon Jackson. Excellent scramble by Rodgers to find Jackson in the flat for the first down.

12:44 - Ravens call a timeout (symptom of missing Ed Reed #1), and the next thing we see is Jimmy Football. If someone were to kick him in the groin, I would not object. Extra points for wearing a Billy Mays mask and demanding royalties from Budweiser.

12:32 - ESPN shows a graphic illustrating Aaron Rodgers' awesomeness on 3rd down, and he promptly finds James Jones for a first down. Outstanding blitz pickup by both Chad Clifton (the blocker) and Scott Wells (the center).

11:22 - Korey Hall and Josh Sitton pancake Ray Lewis, opening a hole for Grant to gain a first down. In other news, Did you know that Ryan Grant is 8th in the league in rushing yards? When did that happen?

10:08 - ESPN continues the Rodgers love-fest by displaying his red-zone stats. Apparently, he has 30 TDs and 0 INTs over the past two seasons when inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Yikes.

9:17 - Mark Tauscher comes up with a tipped pass and gets tackled for a loss. I'd criticize his decision to catch it versus batting it down, but whenever linemen get the ball, they seem so damn happy. I can't ruin it for him.

8:41 - Mason Crosby nearly shanks a 28-yarder. The Green Bay offense stalls in the red zone again, settling for the "easy" 3. Sadly, neither are surprises this season.

8:30 - Le'Ron McClain's smile is hilarious. Mark Clayton looks like 50 Cent. I can't wait to see the offensive linemen.

8:30 - And for good reason. Not only is Marshal Yanda's name funny, but he looks like an uncomfortable 7th grader who hasn't gotten used to his new body yet.

7:40 - Good containment on Ray Rice in the flat, but not good enough. First down, Baltimore.

7:01 - Flacco tightropes for a just-barely first down after being flushed out of the pocket. He may have looked like an idiot doing it, but it was probably better than getting pasted by Cullen Jenkins. I'll make fun of him either way.

5:05 - Bad decision by Nick Collins to go for the pick instead of batting down the ball. Another first down for Baltimore.

4:18 - Well, a fumble recovery certainly absolves Collins of any wrongdoing on the previous play. Clay Matthews is closing in on the "if a huge defensive play happens he must've had something to do with it" status currently held by Charles Woodson.

4:08 - Ryan Grant tries to return the favor, but his right knee looked like it could be down. Maybe. Possibly. Could go either way. This time, it goes the Packers' way.

3:48 - A great play by Dominique Foxworth that was (un)fortunately flagged as interference. The replay shows a grab or two, but probably

3:39 - No matter, Rodgers throws it directly to Tom ~~I-can't-spell-his-last-name-unless-I-check-the-recap-which-will-ruin-the-ending~~ Zbikowski.

2:06 - Now that's how you commit pass interference! Thanks ~~Atari Bigby~~ Tramon Williams! /facepalm

1:52 - Nick Collins makes everyone forget about Williams' transgression by picking off an ill-advised flea-flicker pass into quadruple coverage. Yeah, Flacco shouldn't have done that.

0:00 - An underwhelming first quarter filled with above-average defense and one boneheaded interception for both sides. 3-0, Green Bay.

Second Quarter!

14:52 - B.J. Raji sheds a block and drops Ray Rice for a big loss. Lucky he didn't get called for face masking, but a good play nonetheless.

14:12 - Derrick Mason just barely misses a catchable ball to force 4th down. I thought veteran receivers were supposed to make that play? I guess having Donald Driver on your team gives you a skewed expectation for aging wideouts.

13:14 - Great adjustment by James Jones to come back and grab the ball for a first down. He's definitely taken control of the 3rd WR spot on this team lately.

11:59 - By my count, that's three catches in this game that Jennings should have had but failed to come up with. This troubles me.

11:55 - Punting inside the 50-yard line? Greg Easterbrook would be appalled, then proceed to write a 10,000 word article about it. Shoot, if I included random interstellar factoids, referred to certain teams by ridiculous self-coined nicknames, and added superfluous cheerleader facts that allowed me to post their photos, I'd be Greg Easterbrook.

11:13 - Trey Wingo informs us that Jimmy Clausen will be entering the 2010 NFL Draft. Brady Quinn advises him to stay in school.

11:06 - Charles Woodson gets busted for mauling Derrick Mason. The groping wasn't necessary, Chuck.

11:01 - Clay Matthews asserts himself all over Joe Flacco. Jared Gaither doesn't know what just happened.

10:21 - Offsides on Clay Matthews? Jared Gaither claims to know what happened on the previous play.

9:48 - I know Jordy Nelson was dynamite at Kansas State, but I haven't seen enough promise out of him to merit keeping him on punt returns. Then again, it's more important to keep Woodson and Williams fresh, and Will Blackmon made his yearly trip to I.R. early this season.

8:30 - Haloti Ngata owns Daryn Colledge to drop Ryan Grant at the line. I wonder how long until Colledge loses his spot?

7:51 - It's plays like this that got Frank Walker traded. Thanks for the yardage!

7:42 - Ahman Green exhibits remarkable blitz pickup to spring Jermichael Finley on a big gain. Mike Tirico noted this, and Gruden promptly refers to him as Brandon Jackson (twice!) before correcting himself.

5:08 - Jermichael Finley makes another big play, thanks to another great third down throw from Rodgers. First and goal, Packers.

4:35 - I'm no psychic, but as soon as I saw Finley split out wide, I saw the quick fade coming. Fantastic throw, outstanding catch, b-e-a-utiful play. 10-0, Packers.

4:35 - I just remembered my fantasy football situation. Going into this week, three teams in my division were 7-5, with me among them. I play one of them this week and the other next week, and the other already has his victory wrapped up. I'm up 130-24 in a game I need to win to move into a tie for first place and help secure a playoff spot next week (the final week of the season). My opponent has Aaron Rodgers, Jermichael Finley, and the Packers defense playing. I have Ray Rice. Man, am I glad that his other players (Adrian Peterson, Reggie Wayne, Ricky Williams) all laid eggs.

2:00 - The two-minute warning comes up, and Mike Tirico just got done "highlighting" the Packers' 38-28 loss to Tampa Bay. In the team meeting the described, he said that the offensive line stood up and said something to the effect of "hey, you have to help us out too". I hope I misheard him.

1:50 - Rodgers gets the first on a sneak, and a fight nearly breaks out because Brandon Jackson is protecting Rodgers from what he thought was a late hit. Whether he was right or wrong, it is nice to see that kind of fight in your team.

1:24 - Donald Driver goes flying, earning Baltimore its 11th pass interference penalty on the year, leading the league.

1:18 - Green Bay ruins the momentum by giving up their first sack of the game. /facepalm

1:09 - And Rodgers gets it right back with a 20-yard scramble right up the middle. I take back my /facepalm.

0:38 - Rodgers delivers a Jon-Gruden-Quarterback-Fraternity-Approved LASER to Greg Jennings' back shoulder. Nice, except for Gruden's rambling.

0:32 - Rodgers connects with Donald Driver for a score, punctuated by two acrobatic leaps by Driver (one into the end zone, one into the stands). The Packer fan in me is ecstatic: the fantasy football owner is frantic.

0:00 - A solid defensive stand by Green Bay keeps the shutout alive. 17-0 Green Bay, at the half.

Halftime observations:

None. I have to be at work again in 8 hours (as of 1 PM), and I haven't slept yet. But the score doesn't lie. This game is totally worth staying up for.

Third Quarter!

14:07 - I don't know how they practiced for the past week and a half, but Green Bay is absolutely starving Ray Rice. He's trying his damndest, but he can't make anything happen. Why'd I start him against the #1 defense again?

12:31 - Brad Jones notches a sack from the strong side. Rookie 7th round pick? No matter. Boring name? Who cares? Buried on the depth chart? Not for long, I hope.

12:05 - Ryan Grant doesn't gain a ton of yards on this play, but it looks as if he's churning his legs and fighting for extra yardage more than I'm used to seeing from him. Did anyone else notice this?

9:57 - Rodgers gets time in the pocket, makes even more time, dances around, and finally gets sacked. Somehow, the play is negated by an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty. It seems like one of those games for Green Bay tonight.

9:30 - Then Scott Wells gets called for holding. Yep, it's definitely one of those games for Green Bay tonight, even if the score doesn't reflect it.

9:04 - Wow, I'm going to stop complaining about stupid penalties. I almost feel bad for Ravens fans. P.I. number twelve on the year for Baltimore.

8:27 - Jermichael Finley re-injures his knee. Not at all happy to see that.

8:23 - Nice connection to Driver that results in a fumble that quite possibly could be ruled an incompletion, if it was reviewed. Blah, a 17-0 lead in the third quarter shouldn't be this frustrating.

8:01 - Jon Gruden: "Somebody has to rescue the Ravens' offense right now." Yeah, that's Ray Rice's job, and he didn't come in today.

7:50 - As if on cue, Ray Rice rips off a big run. Jon Gruden gets to feel smart, and I lose a little bit of my soul.

6:07 - Jon Gruden praises Charles Woodson's ball-raking ability. The adolescent-me giggles uncontrollably.

5:18 - "Nobody strips a ball like Charles Woodson!" Adolescent-me is now crying with laughter.

5:13 - Todd Heap drops a sure-fire 1st and goal, then Tramon Williams forces Mark Clayton to drop one in the end zone with a slightly-more sneaky arm bar. Illegal? Yes. Effective? Absolutely, that's why it's illegal.

3:35 - I don't know what the refs were talking about before this drive, but they are letting the defense play. You don't see many drives last this long against a defense that's getting away with everything.

3:28 - A free play and a Kelley Washington touchdown deflates the stadium. The play gets challenged, but I'm skeptical.

3:28 - Modern Warfare 2 commercial, set to Eminem's "Til I Collapse". Best 30 seconds of non-football I've seen today. Get that game, if you can handle it.

3:28 - Turns out that I was right; the score stands. Green Bay is out of challenges for the game, unless of course they used the item cheat and got one for free. 17-7, Packers.

3:22 - Evan Dietrich-Smith comes up with the kickoff. My immediate thought: "This cannot end well." Of course he fumbled, but Green Bay was lucky enough to regain possession.

3:14 - Jared Johnson gets an interception off of Driver's shin. I'm not liking this third quarter. Too much bad mojo.

3:07 - More bad mojo with Tramon Williams' P.I. in the end zone. Actually, this one is relatively tame compared to other plays the refs have allowed tonight (today?).

2:58 - Willis McGahee pushes his fantasy-irrelevant self in from the 1. Makes my Ray Rice decision feel even better. 17-14, Packers. /double facepalm

2:43 - Jennings manages a nice gain on a 3rd and 10 slant. I was just about to start considering wondering whether or not Green Bay was possibly maybe starting to lose it.

1:52- Ray Lewis nearly decapitates Greg Jennings, and the flag takes forever to come in. But it does, which is all that matters.

0:42 - A Mark Tauscher hold takes Green Bay out of the red zone the same way they got in: on the yellow cloth road.

0:00 - I knew this game seemed too sloppy to be a blowout. 17-14, Packers, but our guys are in scoring position.

Fourth Quarter!

14:50 - Mason Crosby shanks a field goal, leaving the drive with nothing to show for it. Same score, same story. I sure hope the defense can regain its first-half composure.

13:53 - Flacco unleashes the dragon deep, Derrick Mason gets past Charles Woodson and makes the catch over him, but somehow got called for offensive pass interference. At this point, I don't know which team is trying to give the other team more breaks, honestly. And an unsportsmanlike penalty on Mason is tacked on at the end of it. A huge gain turns into a huge loss in a heartbeat. 3rd and 32 (!).

13:05 - So of course Baltimore decides to run the ball and Ray Rice nearly fumbles. Green Bay gets the ball back with decent field position.

12:30 - And here comes the replay of the Mason interference/unsportsmanlike penalties. There was definitely a hook-and-push around Woodson's waist, and Mason follows up that number with a plea for leniency to the referee. Pretty standard, right? Nah, just kidding, he pretty much shouted in the ref's face, "What the f--- was that, man?" Yeah, that's a flaggin'.

10:31 - Jermichael Finley gets another touchdown after a couple of nice short passes to get within 20 yards. Aaron Rodgers' red-zone stats improve, Jermichael gets the "Mr. Monday Night" nickname, my fantasy team starts to quiver in terror, and the score jumps to 24-14, Packers.

10:21 - Ah, Green Bay special teams, you never cease to disgust me. A massive kick return puts the Ravens deep into Green Bay territory. Then again, how hard is it to juke out Mason Crosby? The goalposts do it to him on a weekly basis.

9:46 - Tramon Williams earns yet another pass interference flag in the end zone. I thought there was a cap to how many times a player could get flagged for the same thing over and over?

/conveniently forgetting the Ahmad Carroll era

9:30 - How? How? How does a cornerback make that play? Tell me how Charles Woodson just stopped McGahee when he had a massive opening to go through? Between that and flustering the Ravens to the point of calling a timeout, I'm pretty sure Charles Woodson should gain an edge for the DPOY award after tonight.

8:47 - Joe Flacco rolls nearly 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage, avoids a sack, and tosses it nicely into Tramon Williams hands. Mike Tirico exclaimed "That is terrible!" as the ball was still in the air! I cannot believe Flacco made that throw. Downright Bad Favre-esque. Kudos to Williams for not retreating into the fetal position after all the penalties tonight.

8:38 - Still trying to figure out the last three plays of that Baltimore drive. Tackle for loss, timeout, interception, all from within the 5-yard line. When's the last time Green Bay came up with that kind of stop?

7:12 - Baltimore's defense forces a 3-and-out as the King of Third Down and James Jones miscommunicate on a fly-stop route.

6:48 - Yeah, Joe Flacco's having a bad day. This time he throws it right into the hands of A.J. Hawk, who was quietly having another solid game (which is EXACTLY WHY WE DRAFTED HIM! FOR QUIET, SOLID GAMES!) before this play. Back-to-back interceptions for the Unibrow, and I'm almost sad to see it. Remember, my fantasy team is up 130-24, but I'm playing Rodgers, Finley, and the Packer defense while starting Ray Rice. The offense I can deal with, but this stifling defense is killing me!

6:00 - Ahman Green smashes his way to gain a short first down, and the running out of the clock commences. How much time can they milk from the clock?

2:56 - Turns out they can burn a whole lot of time. Interesting graphic on Green Bay receivers, going from Sharpe to Brooks to Freeman to Driver to Jennings.

2:15 - "Hey Coach Gruden, I found a pair of your old practice shorts." If there's a better setup for a pasty white guy wearing green-and-gold short-shorts in below-freezing weather, I've never seen it.

1:56 - Crosby avoids the shank-osaurus and makes it 27-14, Packers. Solid lead.

1:52 - Gruden brings up the possibility of a Vikings-Packers rematch in the playoffs. I say, don't get ahead of yourself, but the prospect of facing what might be a slowly-fading Favre, a possibly nicked-up Peterson, and a banged-up defense in Minnesota isn't nearly as terrifying as it seems.

0:29 - Fittingly, Clay Matthews chases Flacco down for his second sack of the day. Ted Thompson deserves all the slack in the world for having the stones to trade up for this guy. He could draft Jimmy Clausen next season and I'd still like him.

0:00 - The sack is the last play of the game, and the Packers earn the win, 27-14.

Post-game thoughts:

Not many, again due to my exhaustion. But I will say this: the offense played relatively well, Aaron Rodgers carried the team with his passing. The defense was stifling for much of the game, and Charles Woodson should be the front-runner for DPOY, and even in the conversation for defensive-players-who-deserve-the-MVP-but-won't-get-it-because-they're-not-a-quarterback-or-running-back (if he wasn't already). The playcalling was really well thought out on both sides of the ball, and the execution of many of the plays was awfully impressive.

But two things stand out as glaring negatives. First was the penalties. So many penalties. If Baltimore didn't flag it up more than we did, it would stand out more. Tramon Williams has a lot of talent, but he cannot ~~get caught using~~ use that armbar anymore. It simply costs too much yardage. And Chad Clifton needs to get his business together, because he's smarter than he's playing.

The second thing was the final score. 27-14 seems like a solid win, but with all of the opportunities that the Ravens gave up, it should have been a much wider margin. Playoff teams win games like this soundly, which the Packers did. They should, they're a playoff team. But championship teams beat their opponent senseless when they come up with as many takeaways as they did (4).

All that said, this is Green Bay's fourth straight win after falling to 4-4. You can't ask for a better setup for the final quarter of the season.

And my fantasy team? They hung on for a 137-80 victory, largely because I had actually started Rashard Mendenhall instead of Ray Rice. See what working third shift does to you?

Saturday Injury Report: Ravens at Packers

Brandon — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:03:13 -0000

The Green Bay Packers have 11 players on the injury report including a few starters. It's even worse for the Ravens: several starters are among the 15 players listed.

The report includes CB Charles Woodson, QB Aaron Rodgers, and RB Ryan Grant, but all three players fully participated in practice on Saturday and should start on Monday. The most important player listed this week is LT Chad Clifton, who was limited in Saturday's practice, though Mike McCarthy said he did some team reps. I expect Clifton will play, but if he can't then his backup, OL T.J. Lang, is unlikely to play due to a concussion suffered in practice on Thursday. If neither Clifton or Lang were available, I thought LG Daryn Colledge would slide over to tackle, but McCarthy would rather leave Colledge at LG and start either OL Allen Barbre or OL Breno Giacomini at LT. The idea of Barbre at LT, after his disastrous stint at RT, is scary. LB Aaron Kampman is still listed, but there is no chance he'll play after tearing his ACL against the 49ers. LB Jeremy Thompson won't play after he spent Friday night in the hospital due to a neck injury suffered in practice on Friday, but McCarthy expects he'll be fine.

The Ravens have listed four key defensive players: S Ed Reed, LB Terrell Suggs, LB Ray Lewis, and DT Haloti Ngata. Reed wasn't able to practice until Saturday, but he expects to play. Suggs was expected to miss a month, but he said there is a chance he can play on Monday. Lewis might be slowed by his foot injury, but I haven't read anything to suggest he'll miss the Packer game. Ngata will play, but ankle injuries and defensive lineman are bad combinations, so he won't be 100%. The only other players who could miss the game are former practice squad S K.J. Gerard, and former Titans' practice squad player CB Cary Williams. TE L.J. Smith will miss the game too, but I think the Ravens can find a way to replace the 2 catches he's recorded so far this season.

The complete injury list is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Ryan Grant	RB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Knee	Out	Out
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
T.J. Lang	G/T	Concussion	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Ribs	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Saturday Participation	Saturday Status
Matt Birk	C	Ankle & Elbow	Full Participation	Probable
Prescott Burgess	LB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Joe Flacco	QB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Jared Gaither	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
K.J. Gerard	S	Shoulder	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Jarret Johnson	LB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Ray Lewis	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Le'Ron McClain	RB	Not Inj. Related	Full Participation	Probable
Haloti Ngata	DT	Knee	Limited Particpation	Probable
Ed Reed	S	Back	Limited Particpation	Questionable
L.J. Smith	TE	Shoulder	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Terrell Suggs	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Kelley Washington	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cary Williams	CB	Knee	Limited Particpation	Questionable
Demetrius Williams	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable

Friday Injuries: T.J. Lang and Jeremy Thompson

Brandon — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:00:22 -0000

Green Bay Packers OL T.J. Lang was absent from Friday's practice because he suffered a concussion during Thursday's practice, according to Mike McCarthy.

The more serious injury was the neck stinger suffered by LB Jeremy Thompson on a hit during practice. An ambulance responded to the practice facility. Mike McCarthy didn't have any further information during his press conference, but the Journal-Sentinel reported that Thompson will be kept overnight in the hospital. Hopefully it's just precautionary and Thompson will be back to 100% soon.

As far as the team on the field goes, Lang is the more serious injury. LT Chad Clifton is, according to the Press-Gazette, still struggling with a hamstring injury and it looked like Lang would start on Monday night. According to Jason Wilde, if neither Lang or Clifton can play, undrafted rookie LG Evan Dietrich-Smith would start, and Daryn Colledge would start at left tackle. From Jason Wilde:

"We just talked about this," Colledge said after taking left tackle repetitions with the first team in practice Friday with Lang and Clifton out. "I’m ready to move if I have to, but I truly believe it won’t be a situation like that. I fully expect Chad to play, and I fully expect T.J. to be ready. He’s doing whatever he’s doing right now, but I expect him to find a way to be there on Sunday.

Wilde did report some good news: Clifton seemed better on Friday then on Thursday, and the previous Press-Gazette article was published on Thursday. With Clifton starting, and Colledge at left guard, the o-line will be as it has been for the past couple weeks. I don't have much faith in Colledge's statement about Lang's concussion, and I don't know how it will be handled in light of the NFL's new concussion policy.

One more practice on Saturday, and we'll see who's likely to play on Monday.

49ers-Packers: 5 questions with Acme Packing Company

Fooch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:12 -0000

The 49ers and Packers will be squaring off in a couple days in a battle of two teams battling for a playoff spot. The 49ers have a better shot than the Packers at winning their division, but it doesn't make this game any less important. Acme Packing Company is the SB Nation Packers blog, and Brandon runs things over there. Big thanks to Brandon for taking a few minutes to answer some of our questions.

Fooch: The Packers lead the league in sacks allowed. Can you explain this problem and how (or even if) the Packers are working to solve it?

APC: The offensive tackles have been the problem. Veteran LT Chad Clifton has only played about half the snaps, and he's not as good as he was a couple years ago. Unfortunately his replacements, either LG Daryn Colledge has slid over or rookie OL T.J. Lang, have been beaten badly. Lang has shown some promise, and played well last week as the starting right tackle, which he may do again this week, but he's still playing like a rookie. RT Allen Barbre started the first 7 games, but he's currently buried deep on the bench. The Packers recently resigned veteran RT Mark Tauscher, who tore his ACL last December, but he reinjured that same knee. He could be back as soon as next week. Once Clifton is finally over the bad ankle that's been bothering him this season, and Tauscher returns, the pass protection should improve.

Fooch: The Packers are fourth in the league in defensive interceptions, thanks in large part to Charles Woodson and Al Harris. Some folks have come over to NN and said Woodson would likely cover Vernon Davis. Is that accurate, and if so, do you know the best ways for teams to beat the Packers secondary?

APC: Woodson doesn't play like a conventional corner. While Harris will always lineup opposite the outside receiver, Woodson is often in the slot. Against the Cowboys, Woodson lined up mostly against Jason Witten, and the Packers played a lot of nickel. But that alignment was unusual for them and probably designed specifically for Witten. I expect they'll cover Davis with a linebacker or safety. However their best LB in pass coverage is Brandon Chillar, who hasn't played at all the last two weeks due to a broken hand. He can play with a cast, and he was active last week, but they didn't use him.

Fooch: How good (or not) exactly are the Packers? The two best teams they've beaten are Dallas and Chicago, both of whom have big flaws (not to say the 49ers have been any better). So what do you make of this Packers team 9 games in?

APC: The Packers are playing outstanding in a lot of areas. They've outscored their opponents by 53 points, outgained them by 755 yards, and are +13 in turnovers. Their run defense and pass defense have been outstanding, although they've had trouble in pass coverage in the red zone. QB Aaron Rodgers has a QB rating over 100, and RB Ryan Grant is at 4.2 yards/carry with only 1 fumble and on pace for over 1200 yards. But where the team is bad, they are really bad. They lead the league in penalties, allowed 41 sacks, and have worst special teams unit in the NFL. They are getting killed in what Mike Tanier called "Hidden Yards".

Fooch: Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are the big names among the receivers for outsiders. Is there someone else who the 49ers should pay close attention to among their receivers/tight ends?

APC: Jennings is playing through a bruised knee, but he didn't make it on the injury report this week. The other 3 players who have been dangerous are: TE Jermichael Finley, who is 6'5" and fast, but has missed the last 3 games with a knee/shin injury; TE Spencer Havner, who is a converted practice squad LB who's become Rodgers' favorite target in the red zone with 4 TDs in the last 4 weeks; and WR James Jones, who only has 14 receptions on the season, but 3 TDs and 3 receptions over 40 yards.

Fooch: Ryan Grant seems to be flying well under the radar, even as he puts up some quality rushing totals. I honestly don't know enough about Grant to analyze his game. What kind of running back is he (power back, between the tackles but requiring a solid OL, better outside the tackles, etc.)?

APC: Grant is big and tall, he's listed at 6'1", and he seems to be the type of back Mike McCarthy prefers. When McCarthy was the 49ers OC back in 2005, he stuck with 6'1" Kevan Barlow, so I often compare Grant to Barlow when people wondered why he stuck with Grant last season despite his early troubles. You'll see Grant run off tackle, just inside or just outside on either side. They usually run a couple screen passes per game to him. But he doesn't have the big play ability, so I doubt he'll have any carries greater than 10 yards.

Preview: 49ers at Green Bay Packers

Brandon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:15:21 -0000

by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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Despite the big win last week, it would be easy for the Green Bay Packers to suffer a let down. The 49ers have an outstanding defense, and it won't be easy to run the score up against them. If the 49ers can keep the score close, and then come up with a big play or two, they could easily pull off the upset.

The league rankings, by yardage, from NFL.com:

Team	Run Offense	Pass Offense	Run Defense	Pass Defense
Packers	12	11	4	6
49ers	22	25	3	29

Those rankings are fair, except as to the 49ers pass defense. They are not that bad, and are actually one of the better units in the NFL. Their opponents have attempted 338 passes against them, currently tied for 3rd most in the league, but they've only allowed 9 TDs and grabbed 11 INTs. Though their INT stats are inflated by the 5 INTs surrendered by QB Jay Cutler last week. On the other hand, the Packers have 13 INTs on the season and only 4 of those came from Cutler.

RB Ryan Grant should not be expected to do much on the ground against the 49ers excellent run defense. The Packers have played a collection of mediocre to awful run defenses this season, with the notable exception of the outstanding Vikings run defense. In his 2 games against Minnesota, he combined for 81 yards on the ground and he wasn't given the ball often, though the Packers were playing from behind. The bigger problem is that C Scott Wells may miss the game due to a concussion, and rarely used G Evan Dietrich-Smith may take his place. He'll be lined up NT Aubrayo Franklin, who's having an outstanding season as the anchor of their run defense. It's hard to see how Grant will have a big game.

The Packers' passing attack has struggled lately. Rodgers threw 3 INTs against the Buccaneers, and the offensive line has allowed 10 sacks in the past 2 games. WR Greg Jennings was limited last week by a knee contusion, which appears to be bothering him again this week, though he isn't listed on the injury report. The news that RT Mark Tauscher will return, in a rotation with rookie RT T.J. Lang, is good since it keeps RT Allen Barbre on the bench. I wish they would bench LG Daryn Colledge too. The inexperience of Dietrich-Smith won't help here either. The 49ers have only managed 17 sacks this season, but the pass protection hasn't held up against any team. For example, the Buccaneers have only managed 11 sacks in their 8 non-Packer games, but they had 6 sacks against them two weeks ago. The return of TE Jermichael Finley should add some firepower, but it seems unlikely Rodgers will have a big game either. Unless the pass protection finally shows up, and he has time to throw.

RB Frank Gore has a gaudy 5.2 yards/carry this season, but his success rank according to Football Outsiders is only No. 27 overall, which indicates he's a boom-or-bust back. He's tied for 2nd in the NFL with 3 carries over 40 yards, but he's only averaging 78 yards/game. If the Cowboys couldn't run against the Packers last week, I doubt the 49ers will do much either.

But Gore is also a dangerous receiver: he's 2nd on the team with 26 receptions. Their leading receiver is TE Vernon Davis, but he's been unpredictable this season. His big games came against the Vikings, Texans, and Titans, but he's been held to 51 yards or less in the other 6. Also, those big games came against teams with poor to awful pass defenses. WR Michael Crabtree has been productive in his last 3 games, but his lengthy holdout must mean he's still learning the offense. Former No. 1 overall pick QB Alex Smith has emerged from Mike Nolan's doghouse and regained the starting job. He was outstanding in relief of QB Shaun Hill four weeks ago, but his QB rating the last 2 weeks has been under 70, despite playing against the awful Bears and Titans pass defenses. The Packers have held their opponents to a QB rating of 76.2. Still, the 49ers should have some success throwing the ball, so long as they can protect Smith.

The X-factors of the game are penalties and special teams. Though the Packers still lead the league with 74 penalties, the 49ers are not perfect either, and they've had 60 penalties. The Packers continue to have the worst special teams in the NFL, currently ranked No. 32 by Football Outsiders, but the 49ers aren't great either, ranked at No. 22 overall. P Andy Lee is having another outstanding season, he currently has a net average of 41.7 per punt, which is hiding how awful the rest of the 49ers special teams have been. Neither area is a place where the 49ers should expect a major advantage.

A key to the game will be whether the Packers' pass rush can sack the QB. When the rush was getting to QB Tony Romo last week, their offense did nothing. But once their protection improved in the 4th quarter, their offense was able to move the ball. If they can't protect Smith, I don't know how the 49ers can expect to score. But the Packers can't expect anything more than 2 or 3 good drives against the 49ers defense.

It should be a low scoring game, but the Packers' advantages on offense should give them the victory. Packers 20, 49ers 10.

The Day After Dallas: Injuries, Challenges, Punting, and Brad Jones

Brandon — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:15:17 -0000

Injuries, Injuries, injuires...from Mike McCarthy:

Cullen Jenkins had some ankle swelling. He'll probably miss some practice time this week. Desmond Bishop also had an ankle sprain. He'll probably miss some practice time. Greg Jennings had a knee contusion. He'll miss some practice time. And John Kuhn had a broken hand, and we'll see what he'll be able to do this week. With that, I'll take your questions.

The only injury he mentioned in his post-game press conference was LG Daryn Colledge's ankle bruise, but Colledge returned to the game at few plays later. The three guys who missed the Dallas game, RT Mark Tauscher, TE Jermichael Finley, and LB Aaron Kampman, are all expected back at practice this week. A lot of guys are banged up, and there's still 7 regular season games to go.

According to Rob Demovsky, the Packers should have been assessed a 15 yard penalty after McCarthy tried a 3rd challenge. I admit I hadn't noticed. The Cowboys got down to the 1 yard line anyway, and were stopped when QB Tony Romo threw a INT to CB Charles Woodson, so I'm not sure it would have mattered.

P Jeremy Kapinos is a great punter, in practice, says special teams coach Shawn Slocum. Slocum better be careful, praising P Derrick Frost's practice skills didn't help Mike Stock keep his job after last season. I haven't been a big critic of Kapinos because he's not as bad as Frost and I doubt they'd find anyone better at this point. Still, he's one of the worst punters in the NFL and the Packers will have to bring in some serious competition next season. For the remainder of this season, Greg Bedard suggested P Sam Paulescu, but he was bad last season in Dallas with a 41.8 yard average, compared to a 44.2 yard average for Kapinos. His net average is even worse, but the punt coverage deserves a lot of blame for it.

In his 1st NFL start, LB Brad Jones had 7 tackles and 1 for a loss. I'm a big fan of his, but I was disappointed he couldn't bring more of a pass rush against the Cowboys' backup RT. A good game, but those are LB A.J. Hawk type numbers. So I'm surprised that the comments are praising Jones, McCarthy has been asked whether Kampman remains the starter, and Tom Silverstein writes about Jones's emergence.

Mike McCarthy On The Packers Offensive Line

Brandon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:37 -0000

by Steve Nesius - AP

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During his Monday press conference, Mike McCarthy said RT Mark Tauscher may play on Sunday against the Cowboys, or he may be out a couple weeks. Obviously former starter RT Allen Barbre would play in his place, but he hasn't played well all season.

McCarthy said he wouldn't switch the coaching responsibilities for the offensive line or special teams at this point. As much as James Campen's and Shawn Slocum's units have struggled, it's not like he can go out and sign Bobby April and Alex Gibbs right now to replace them. The only coaches apparently available at this time of year are in semi-retirement and calling bingo.

Though it does look like T.J. Lang is set to replace Daryn Colledge at left guard, according to the Journal-Sentinel. Of course it would be great if Jason Spitz could step in, but he's unfortunately done for the season. It's about time for Colledge's benching. He gave up a lot of sacks for a guard in 2008, and I've been hoping for his benching since the game in Minneapolis. Actually I don't know how he got his job back after he was benched in 2007.

McCarthy was pretty clear about what needed to be done:

We don't need wholesale change. We may need to adjust some things and that will be our focus. But as far as going outside the building, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I have all the answers, but I'm very confident in the issues that we've had in pass protection, that they are correctable.

Which is fine, but I wonder if he meant correctable this season. Or with the players currently on the roster. Contrast that statement to something he said after the Bengals game when DE Antwan Odom had 5 sacks:

At some point, you have to win the one-on-one battle with the help being secondary instead of a primary focus.

They were losing one-on-one battles back in week 2, and it hasn't looked much better since then. If your players can't win the one-on-one battles, the only thing would seem to correct the problem is new players.

Winning with Seneca Wallace Part 2: Idiot Proofing

John Morgan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:04:40 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Building a roster around Seneca Wallace is a kind of idiot proofing. Instead of adding the quarterback and building around his talent, Seattle will add the talent and hope it can find a quarterback that can fit.

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Why Seneca? Does Seattle have a choice?

Matt Hasselbeck has entered that agonizing phase of his career where injuries are around every hit. Seattle could sign Jason Campbell, but maybe they can't. Campbell is a restricted free agent in an uncapped season. If the NFL hashes out that problem and Campbell becomes an unrestricted free agent, there's still no certainty he signs with Seattle or Seattle signs him. Seattle could draft a quarterback, but developing a quarterback is a lengthy process. One reason Detroit selected Matthew Stafford is that should Stafford develop, he will be entering his prime just as the Lions are finishing their rebuild.

Wallace, for all his flaws, is learning the Greg Knapp system, has game experience in the Knapp system, is developed or as developed as he'll be (and a good bit better than Stafford or Mark Sanchez) and has a certain floor. Wallace has a certain expected minimum performance.

Why Seneca? Because like it or lump it, Seneca Wallace might be the best quarterback available in 2010.

A player like C.J. Spiller adds new dimensions to the offense and reduces Wallace's burden. It won't work if Spiller is regularly fighting his way out of the backfield. That means Seattle needs to add primetime talent to their line. It doesn't need a full rebuild of its line, but it does need better, healthier depth and another premium talent to play alongside Chris Spencer. Adding a left tackle improves depth, improves the right tackle position, where Sean Locklear can play, and actually saves the team some scratch.

It's a lucky coincidence that what Seattle needs to run the ball is exactly what Wallace needs to protect himself from himself. The infinity drops won't stop, but a long limbed, natural left tackle that can mirror his man and continue to control the edge all the way through the back end can help shield Wallace's abysmal pocket presence. We're not talking a road grader. Seattle will be in the market for a Charles Brown, Selvish Capers type. Someone that can kick out, cut and has the foot speed to keep up with our loony tunes signal caller.

Adding a tackle is a start, but Seattle needs to improve its depth and specifically, depth that can excel in Knapp's system. The Seahawks should pursue Daryn Colledge, Marshal Yanda, Chris Kuper or even someone like Khalif Barnes and Alex Barron, two players that have flunked out at tackle but could improve as guards.

The idea is to turn Seneca Wallace into a David Garrard by improving the talent around him and creating a system that is run first, strict, and powered by play action. You do not create the Wallace system because it's ideal, but because it satisfies basic needs and deemphasizes the quarterback. Ideally, the system that can work with Wallace can work with Mike Teel, Zac Robinson, Case Keenum or Tim Tebow, allowing Wallace to be the crash test dummy, and the kid Seattle drafts, the driver. Wallace keeps the team competitive enough to add free agent talent and avoid the high stakes pit of perennial top ten picks. Teams do not win Super Bowls with Seneca Wallace, but Wallace could be Seattle's Jim Harbaugh or Drew Bledsoe.

That's More Like It

Mitchell_M — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:15:11 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

So this is what it's like to have open lanes.

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Last week's blowout of Detroit was the least exciting 26-0 victory I had ever studied. There were numerous miscues, stupid penalties, awful pass protection, and reaggravated injuries.

This week's 31-3 blowout of Cleveland? Much more exciting.

As usual, I'm going to start off by analyzing the negatives. Yeah, yeah, simmer down, there weren't that many this time. Once again, what follows are all impressions that I got despite not watching the game. (Sidenote: If anyone has a problem with me breaking down the games using NFL.com's video packages, play-by-plays, and box scores, please e-mail me for information on my favorite charity, Mitchell's DirectTV Fund.)

8 penalties for 70 yards. While they cut the yardage lost to yellow flags from last week by 50%, this is still far too many flags. Some of them were just downright sloppy (Al Harris' facemask of Mohamed Massaquoi, 12 men on the field, Atari Bigby's unnecessary roughness). Others were fairly normal calls (Brady Poppinga's defensive holding, Donald Lee's offensive holding and offensive pass interference, Al Harris' illegal contact).

I can live with the holding penalties (provided they occur at lower rates), but the sloppy mistakes really bother me. Especially Harris' facemask, where he overran the receiver and reached back to grab whatever he could, despite having help on the tackle.
Jermichael Finley's short day. Before the game, one of my friends was debating whether he should start Finley or Owen Daniels in fantasy football. I was adamant that Finley was going to have a career day against Cleveland and that Daniels would struggle against San Francisco's linebackers. Had he listened to me, he would have gotten the dreaded double-whammy of a starter getting hurt and the benched player going off for a point explosion.

Finley has looked really good in 2009, and has shown improvement each and every week. Seeing him in street clothes before halftime was not an encouraging sign, even if they didn't need him against the Browns.

I have yet to see any news regarding Finley's diagnosis and how much time he will miss. As soon as I do, I'll post an update. Especially since one of today's problems was...
Stalled drives. I know I shouldn't complain about a day where the offense gets both a 1-yard run and a 5-yard pass for touchdowns. But in the early going, the Packers had their first drive stall at the Cleveland 32-yard line. Later, on the first drive of the second half, they had a drive stall at the Cleveland 37-yard line, and followed that by settling for a field goal after getting 1st-and-goal from the Cleveland 8-yard line.

While this might be considered nitpicking (mainly because it is nitpicking), the fact that the offense had three drives stall in the opponent's territory is somewhat worrisome. Against Cleveland, you can get away with it, but heading into the toughest part of the 2009 schedule, the offense needs to sustain every drive it possibly can.

If Jermichael Finley is healthy, this will probably be a lesser problem going forward. A big target like that is a major asset, especially deep in enemy territory. However, if he's going to miss significant time, it's up to the rest of the offense to step up and make scores happen whenever they cross midfield.

See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Now let's talk about the positives.

Donald Driver and the Fountain of Youth. When I was in grade school, my favorite subject was social studies. Social studies was a fancy way of combining history and political science, which ended up being my concentration in college. One of my favorite stories in this subject was Ponce de Leon searching for the fountain of youth in Florida. Clearly, he was looking in the wrong spot, since Donald Driver has evidently used it in the Midwest.

While Driver only had 2 catches for 84 yards, his 71-yard touchdown came off of a beautiful hot read by Rodgers, who saw the seam in coverage and zipped it between the defenders and into Driver's chest. From there, Driver showed off the acceleration, angular running, and body control that made him the franchise reception leader. He might not be AP, but he can still get it done in the open field. Just ask Eric Wright.

At 34, Driver is leading the team in catches (27), yards (479), and touchdowns (3). While this is awesome in so many ways, it's curious that Greg Jennings' numbers are not at the same levels. Jennings had another relatively quiet day (5 catches, 52 yards), and his stats for the season are modest by his historical standards.

Some readers attribute this to the new development of defenses double-covering Jennings to prevent big plays. I tend to agree with this assessment, especially since Jennings hasn't seen consistent double-coverage in his career yet. Plus, it explains why Driver has been able to make so many big plays; he has less defenders in his way.
Aaron Rodgers' short day. Anytime your starting quarterback has a line of 15/20 for 246 yards and 3 scores by the middle of the fourth quarter, it's time to give the backup some reps. That's exactly what happened today, and it is a welcome sight.

It helps that Rodgers was able to avoid what little pressure Cleveland managed to throw his way and come away unscathed. Today's zero sack performance by the offensive line lowered the per-game average from 5.0 to 4.1. We can build on this!
T.J. Lang = LT of the future? If you would have asked me in September where Lang would have ended up this season, I would have told you that he would either be on the bench or in the rotation at RT. I never would have thought he would have made such a good case for starting at LT. Chad Clifton's ankle injury will likely keep the mainstay tackle sidelined for a few weeks, and we already know that Daryn Colledge can't handle the position.

Lang, however, has looked solid in his three week audition. He gets excellent force behind his initial punch, but more importantly, he follows through by creating contact with the defender. While Detroit and Cleveland are not defensive stalwarts, keeping a man of that size at bay is impressive, and Lang now has the inside track towards starting against Jared Allen next week.

Will T.J. Lang be able to protect Rodgers' blindside from the best pass rusher in the league? I don't know. But I do know that he will give Rodgers a much better chance than a gimpy Chad Clifton or Daryn Colledge, who clearly belongs at LG.
Ryan Grant earning his paycheck. Raise your hands if you're happy to see Grant put up a dominating rushing performance (27 carries, 148 yards, 1 TD).

OK, now raise your hands if you're irritated it took this long to happen.

While Grant's struggles are well-documented on this site, I place myself in the "better late than never" camp when it comes to success on the ground. A consistent run game gave Green Bay a 10-minute edge in time of possession, and the workload allowed Grant to get into a rhythm and bust off some good carries.
Red zone defense. The Browns had an abysmal offensive showing, but they still were able to move into striking distance (inside the Green Bay 5-yard line) on two seperate occasions. The fact that the defense held them to no touchdowns and only one field goal speaks volumes of the defensive effort yesterday.

Charles Woodson again showed why he deserves to at least be in the conversation for DPOY (even if he won't win it) with a pick and a forced fumble. Aaron Kampman got good pressure all day, and came away with a sack. Cullen Jenkins and B.J. Raji consistently got penetration, which opened up plays for the linebackers. Jenkins also recorded a sack and a forced fumble. A.J. Hawk and Nick Barnett registered seven and six tackles respectively, and generally looked like they belonged on the field.

All in all, the defense looks active and aggressive, creating pressure from various positions and angles, flowing to stop the ball, cutting off running lanes from ball carriers, and forcing quarterbacks into bad throws. Sounds like a good recipe going forward to me.
Scoreboard watching. It's not even close to playoff time, but many of us were keeping tabs on the other teams in the NFC North that were in action. Seeing Chicago getting blown out by Cincinnati did wonders for some Packer fans' confidence, as it shows just how much the Bengals were overlooked at the beginning of the season. Likewise, seeing the Vikings' luck run out in Pittsburgh was equally therapeutic, even if the two biggest plays in the 4th quarter (Favre sacked, stripped, and the fumble returned for a TD and Chester Taylor's inability to snag a short screen pass that was thrown a bit too hard) were somewhat fluky.

The most important result from the weekend is Green Bay improving to 4-2 while Minnesota falls to 6-1 and Chicago to 3-3. Moving into second place in the division and only 1.5 games behind the leading Minnesota Vikings isn't the ideal scenario we imagined back in September, but it's a far sight better than it could be.

Rant: What Is The Point of NFL Fines?

Brandon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:29:25 -0000

At the bottom of this post from the Press-Gazette is an update about the fines handed out from the Lions game:

Daryn Colledge was fined $5,000 for unnecessarily striking an opponent late. Donald Driver was fined $5,000 for an illegal blindside block to the head and neck area. Nick Barnett was fined $7,500 for a facemask. Spencer Havner was fined for a horse-collar tackle.

I don't recall if Havner was flagged for that tackle, but I know the other 3 players all were flagged for a 15 yard penalty. I'm not trying to sound like a union rep. or an agent, but why are they getting penalized twice?

The only good reason I've come up with is that's it's a second reminder of the unnecessary conduct. Maybe every player clearly sees it on his paystub, or has to sign an acknowledgment. But I would expect a clear second reminder is when the player is chewed out by a coach during film review during the week.

This isn't some big revenue source for the NFL either, all the fines are donated to charity.

I don't see how a $7,500 fine is going to stop facemask penalties from happening. It's also not a big blow to most of the NFL millionaires, although Havner's poor by NFL standards. It just seems like a pointless PR exercise by the NFL.

It's also possible that fines make bad actors act out. So says Mark Cuban:

"Getting fined for pulling out a pen, or fake mooning is only going to bring more visibility and marketability to the person who did it," Cuban wrote. "Players know it and that's why they do it. Dennis Rodman was the expert at it. It's not about whether the fine will have a negative financial impact, it's about whether the fine can have a positive impact."