SB Nation - Cullen Jenkins

Stopping The Steelers On Third Down

Brandon — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:00:37 -0000

by Mark Duncan - AP

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked for a loss by Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Corey Williams in the first quarter of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) The former Packer had 2 sacks against the Steelers, which doubled his sack total (4) for the season.

View full size photo »

From Tom Pelissero's tape review, about the Green Bay Packers new Psycho defense (1 lineman, 5 LBs, 5 DBs):

In all, DC Dom Capers ran "psycho" six times, all on third down, and the Bears converted only one — a 19-yard strike from Cutler to WR Devin Aromashodu a tick before a trio including Jenkins got home.

DE Cullen Jenkins was the one remaining lineman, and he was the most effective player in the Psycho package. But, as Football Outsiders pointed out, QB Jay Cutler was usually in a bind on 3rd down because of their struggles on 1st and 2nd down:

As a sign of how effective Matt Forte and the Bears' offensive line were on Sunday, here's the number of yards Cutler had to pick up to convert on third down, listed chronologically: 21, 8, 18, 9, 12, 1, 5, 10, 22, 11. That's an average of 11.7 yards to go; the average quarterback needs to gain an average of 7.7 yards on third down to get a new set to work with.

Overall the Bears were 5 of 13 on 3rd down, so they were a respectable 4 of 7 on 3rd down when the Packers were not in the Psycho package. That might be an indication that the Packers are not good on 3rd down in a base package, or that they only used the Psycho package on 3rd and very long. The Packers' opponents have only converted 34.7% of their 3rd down chances this season, which is currently 6th best in the NFL.

For the season, the Steelers are about league average on 3rd down, converting 38.1% of the time, but 3rd down was a disaster for them last week against the Browns. Again, from Football Outsiders:

How do you score six points in 60 minutes against the Browns? Drop back 11 times on third down and convert exactly one of them. Roethlisberger even failed to complete a pass on the first nine of those attempts, taking five sacks and throwing four incompletions.

I thought that maybe the Steelers were putting themselves into a lot of 3rd and long situations, but in the first half against against the Browns, the Steelers failed to convert on 3rd and 1, 3, 1, 7, 5, and 19. I didn't even look at the second half because the first half showed that they had a lot of 3rd and short opportunities on which they failed to pick up a 1st down.

John Harris of the Tribune-Review points out that the Steelers were able to convert on 3rd down when they ran the ball, but on their current 5 game losing streak, they have only converted on 3rd down between 20% to 38% of the time. So that's converting only 28% of their 3rd down chances over their last 5 games.

There seems to be a lot going wrong for the Steelers on offense at the moment.

Packers Monday Presser: Injuries And Offense

Brandon — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:00:31 -0000

For the Green Bay Packers, Mike McCarthy on the injuries:

Johnny Jolly, he will probably miss some practice time this week with his knee sprain. Ryan Pickett will test probably Wednesday, possibly Thursday, to see if he'll go later in the week. Brandon Underwood, he will be limited this week in practice. And B.J. Raji will also be limited this week in practice.

For the second week in a row, a number of defensive lineman are banged up. But he didn't mention DE Cullen Jenkins who was limited in practice last week.

He was also asked why fantasy star QB Aaron Rodgers laid an egg just as the fantasy playoffs started, and McCarthy said there were "two minuses for the offense":

Our two biggest failures were No. 1, giving the ball away, and No. 2, the third-down production.

The two turnovers, a fumble by TE Jermichael Finley at the end of the first half, and a fumble by Rodgers on the first drive of the second half, were both in Bear territory, and ended potential scoring drives. Obviously turnovers are always bad.

But the third-down production comment was surprising. The Packers were 5 for 13 on 3rd down, plus 1 for 1 on 4th down, against the Bears. That's either a 38% or 43% success rate, if you factor in the 4th down conversion. The Packers have the 5th best 3rd down conversion rate this season at 45.2% (the Colts are No. 1 at 51.6%). I understand a coach will always want push his players to improve, but it was odd for him to mention something that they've been good at this season. Maybe the two failed 3rd down conversions in the red zone during the first half are stuck in his mind.

On the continuing struggles of K Mason Crosby:

(Are you going to bring in any kickers this week or work any out?)
I'll just say this. I have all the confidence in the world in Mason Crosby. As far as what players, what position, we bring players in here all the time on Tuesday, and I've never commented on it in the past, and I won't today. But I have all the confidence in the world in Mason Crosby.

I've got no patience for the lousy special teams performance on kick and punt coverage (and returns...) this season, but I agree with McCarthy on this one. Crosby has a league leading 8 missed FGs, and has only made 75% overall. But it didn't look like QB Matt Flynn did him any big favors holding both of his misses in the last two weeks. He's only made 1 of 5 attempts beyond 50 yards. I wouldn't be expecting many kickers would do well from that distance. Three teams this season haven't even attempted a field goal beyond 50 yards this season. Pull out those 4 misses (and 1 made) and he's an average kicker (85% made). Not a ringing endorsement, but it's not time to find any guy off the street either.

Friday Injury Report: Packers at Bears

Brandon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:37:23 -0000

It's a fairly short injury report for the Green Bay Packers, only 9 players listed, but it includes the top 4 defensive lineman. The Bears report is even shorter, but it might expose their lack of depth at wide receiver.

For the Packers: the big story has been that their top 4 defensive lineman are listed on listed on the injury report. While technically true, the only player likely to miss the game is NT Ryan Pickett, who hasn't practiced all week as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the win on Monday night. NT B.J. Raji will slide into replace him, and he's already making friends with Bear C Olin Kreutz. Raji is listed too, but he was a full participant in Friday's practice. DE Cullen Jenkins and DE Johnny Jolly were both limited in Friday's practice, but I expect they'll go. Late in the Monday night game, DE Jarius Wynn was in on several plays, and I don't expect the coaching staff has any concerns going with the 277 lb. rookie, if necessary.

Everyone else was a full participant in practice, except backup LB Jeremy Thompson, as he tries to recover from a career threatening neck injury. One name not listed is rookie OL T.J. Lang, who missed last Monday's game with a concussion, which is good news since LT Chad Clifton did miss some practice this week, and Lang will also be available to spell RT Mark Tauscher, if he needs a break.

For the Bears: it looks like WR Devin Hester is unlikely to play. While he isn't the greatest receiver and he's no longer the best kick returner on the Bears either, but he's still their leading receiver. Their great kick returner, WR Johnny Knox, would be counted on more in the offense, alongside WR Earl Bennett. Their bigger problem is that they don't have any depth at receiver behind their top 3 (none of their other receivers have more than 2 receptions on the season). The Bears might rely on their 2 TE packages even more than usual. LT Orlando Pace could return this week, but it's not clear whether he would start even if healthy. LB Lance Briggs should return this week, but his replacement, LB Jamar Williams, did very well in his place with 18 tackles against the Rams last week.

The complete injury report is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Nick Barnett	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Full Participation	Probable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Knee	Limited Participation	Questionable
Ryan Pickett	NT	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Lance Briggs	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Tommie Harris	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Devin Hester	WR	Calf	Did Not Participate	Probable
Hunter Hillenmeyer	LB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Israel Idonije	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Questionable
Orlando Pace	T	Groin	Limited Participation	Probable

The Packers Deal With Bad Weather, And Injuries

Brandon — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:00:22 -0000

For the Green Bay Packers, the biggest problem this week might be the foot of snow and the wind advisory. Mike McCarthy said the team will practice inside this week. The Packers have been able to practice outside this season due to a new heated outdoor practice facility, but not this week due to the cold wind and that 35% of the outdoor practice field is frozen. The Bears will get at least one day of practice outside. That advantage helped the Bears over last two seasons, when they beat the Packers at Solider Field in cold conditions.

Another problem this week are the Injuries on the defensive line. The Packers' injury list isn't very long, but the top 4 defensive lineman are all on it. From Mike McCarthy:

(Do you have a better feel for Pickett's hamstring injury?)
It's going to take the week. He'll probably be a game-time decision. Really you could put all four of those guys, the d-lineman, I'm concerned about it obviously having all four of those guys miss practice, but it's probably going to take the week to really sort that out.

The Tuesday injury report said NT Ryan Pickett was out, while NT B.J. Raji, DE Cullen Jenkins, and DE Johnny Jolly were all limited. This will be something to watch this week.

Also, LB Jeremy Thompson spoke about the serious neck injury he suffered last week in practice. From the Press-Gazette:

"Hopefully there are none," Thompson said of the risks of continuing playing. "That’s what I’m going to find out, I’m seeking some second opinions. If there is something lingering then I probably won’t be able to play anymore, but if everything clears out fine then there won’t be any more risk."

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?

Packers Post-Game: Injuries and The Week Ahead

Brandon — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:16:06 -0000

More photos » by Daniel Mears - AP

26 days ago: Green Bay Packers' Charles Woodson intercepts a pass intended for Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson, second from right, and takes it in for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game at Ford Field in Detroit, on Thursday Nov. 26, 2009.(AP Photo/The Detroit News, Daniel Mears)

Browse more photos »

From Mike McCarthy's press conference:

(Did you have any injuries?)
Jermichael Finley has the wind knocked out of him; he did return. Chad Clifton had a hamstring; he did not return. Cullen Jenkins had the wind knocked out of him; he did return. Jordy Nelson had a shoulder injury; he did not return. Brandon Underwood had a hamstring; he did not return. And with that, I'll take your questions.

The only injury he didn't address above was QB Aaron Rodgers, who had x-rays after the game for an injured knee and elbow, but when asked specifically about it, Mike McCarthy said "Yeah he's fine. He'll be sore in the morning."

One thing that did surprise me was that Underwood didn't play a bigger role in replacing CB Al Harris, though he still got injured at some point. But now I see that the Lions don't play more than 3 WRs and they like to use multiple tight end sets. The Packer LBs were usually left in the game to cover the tight ends.

They didn't do a good job exploiting Harris's absence, in part because their No. 2 and No. 3 WRs aren't very good. WR Dennis Northcutt had one big 47 yard reception against CB Jarrett Bush, he dropped another one with Bush in coverage that should have been a 1st down, but then only caught 1 of the other 3 passes thrown his way for 5 yards. WR Bryant Johnson only had 1 reception for 17 yards on 3 pass attempts.

It will be a slow news period for the rest of the long Thanksgiving weekend. The Packers are treating this like a bye week, and the players have off until Monday. They don't play the Ravens until December 7th, so they'll have 11 days in between games. It also might give all the injured players time to heal, including LB Brandon Chillar who's been on the active roster but kept out to rest his broken hand.

Wednesday Injury Report: Packers at Lions

Brandon — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:57:16 -0000

UPDATE: From NFL.com:

Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford, who injured his non-throwing shoulder in last week’s wild win over the Cleveland Browns, will start Thursday against the Packers, reports NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson, who was listed as questionable throughout the week, is active and will also play Thursday.

As the season grows longer, so does the injury report. This week the Green Bay Packers have 13 players listed, and the Lions have 14.

For the Packers: I'm sure everyone knows that LB Aaron Kampman and CB Al Harris are done for the season with matching ACL injuries. But after them, only RT Allen Barbre and RB Ahman Green didn't practice on Wednesday because they are both recovering from injuries suffered last week in practice. While it would be nice to have them both available, I don't think anyone expects either to play a significant role in the offense. The only other major concern was C Scott Wells, who had his knee swell up bad on Monday and Tuesday, but apparently nothing is torn and he should play.

For the Lions: Their injury list is long and a problem. Neither QB Matthew Stafford or WR Calvin Johnson has practiced this week. Will Carroll discussed Stafford's shoulder injury:

The result is good, but a meaningless win against a bad team really doesn't mean much in the longer term. Stafford's non-throwing shoulder is being described as "mangled" and it's clear that it was a dislocation. This is much like the situation with Sam Bradford, but on the non-throwing side.

It's a good point in regards to Stafford and Johnson. Why risk either player's long-term health when the best outcome is a 3-8 record? Obviously their absence helps the Packers, but I don't see how they can push either player on a short week when neither was able to practice. Two safeties (Kalvin Pearson and Ko Simpson) are listed as out, and starting FS Louis Delmas is questionable (limited in practice on Wednesday). If Delmas can't play, their secondary might be literally without any depth. LB Ernie Sims is out too, but his replacement is former Badger LB DeAndre Levy and he shouldn't be much a drop off from Sims. RB Kevin Smith was limited in practice on Wednesday too.

The complete injury reports are listed after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Wednesday Participation	Wednesday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Ryan Grant	RB	Neck	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Al Harris	CB	Knee	Out	Out
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Knee	Out	Out
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Josh Sitton	G	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Scott Wells	C	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Wednesday Participation	Wednesday Status
Joe Cohen	DT	Ankle & Elbow	Limited Participation	Probable
Louis Delmas	S	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jordan Dizon	LB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Zack Follett	LB	Knee	Limited Participation	Probable
Grady Jackson	DT	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Probable
Calvin Johnson	WR	Not Inj. Related	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Daniel Loper	T	Quadricep	Limited Participation	Questionable
Kalvin Pearson	S	Not Inj. Related	Did Not Participate	Out
Ko Simpson	S	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out
Ernie Sims	LB	Back	Did Not Participate	Out
Kevin Smith	RB	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Probable
Matthew Stafford	QB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Dewayne White	DE	Knee	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Derrick Williams	WR	Knee	(Not Listed)	N/A

Friday Injury Report: 49ers at Packers

Brandon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:26:28 -0000

It's a long list for each team this week. The Green Bay Packers have 17 players listed, and the 49ers 13. But most of the injuries are not serious, and nearly everyone is expected to play.

For the Packers, it's been a rough week of practice. Both RT Allen Barbre and OL Evan Dietrich-Smith were injured during practice, and I'm not expecting either of them to play. C Scott Wells reported a concussion on Wednesday, though the injury likely happened during the game last Sunday. Mike McCarthy expects Wells will start. RB Ahman Green injured his groin late Thursday during practice, and it's not clear whether he'll play. Every other player should be available to play, including three guys who didn't play last week: LB Brandon Chillar, TE Jermichael Finley, and RT Mark Tauscher.

Tauscher will start the game, but he will rotate with OL T.J. Lang, depending on Tauscher's endurance.

For the Niners, only CB Nate Clements and LT Joe Staley are out. Those are two of their big name players, but they missed last week's game too. Fooch said their replacements have played really well. The only other player who could miss the game is LB Takeo Spikes who's day-to-day with a hamstring injury.

Overall, both teams are relatively healthy and injuries shouldn't play a major role. The complete injury list for both teams is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Allen Barbre	T/G	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Desmond Bishop	LB	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Not Inj. Related	Limited Participation	N/A
Evan Dietrich-Smith	G/C	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Ahman Green	RB	Groin	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Brad Jones	LB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Kampman	LB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
John Kuhn	FB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Clay Matthews	LB	Jaw	Full Participation	Probable
Brady Poppinga	LB	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Scott Wells	C	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Isaac Bruce	WR	Ankle & Elbow	Full Participation	Probable
Nate Clements	CB	Shoulder	Out	Out
Glen Coffee	RB	Concussion	Full Participation	Probable
Michael Crabtree	WR	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Demetric Evans	DT	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Aubrayo Franklin	NT	Not Inj. Related
Michael Lewis	S	Quadricep	Full Participation	Probable
Michael Robinson	RB	Not Inj. Related	Did Not Participate	Probable
Mark Roman	S	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Justin Smith	DT	Back	Full Participation	Probable
Adam Snyder	T/G	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Takeo Spikes	LB	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Joe Staley	T	Knee	Out	Out

49ers-Packers Final Injury Report

Fooch — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:08:35 -0000

We're two days away from a monstrous game for the 49ers and we've got our final injury report of the week. A whole lot of probable players, but not much beyond that. Barrows thinks we'll see Matt Wilhelm starting at the Ted linebacker spot over Takeo Spikes, who remains "day-to-day." Wilhelm was solid last Thursday as a mid-game replacement for Spikes, so let's hope it carries over to Sunday.

49ers
Out
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Questionable
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Probable
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
S Michael Lewis (quadricep)
RB Michael Robinson (stinger)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
DE Justin Smith (back)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Doubtful
OT Allen Barbre (ankle)

Questionable
G Evan Dietrich-Smith (ankle)
RB Ahman Green (groin)

Probable
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
DE Johnny Jolly (back)
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)
T Mark Tauscher (knee)
C Scott Wells (concussion)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

49ers-Packers Wednesday Injury Report and coordinators' transcript

Fooch — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:48:13 -0000

After last week's short week, we return to a fairly normal practice report (instead of Monday being the Wednesday injury report). The biggest non-practice info for the Packers is that defensive end Cullen Jenkins sat out practice today. He played last week and I think it's safe to say he's getting some veteran's rest. Other than that, the Packers had some limited guys, but most of those folks usually end up playing.

The 49ers get Demetric Evans and Glen Coffee back this week, but neither has been quite the impact player some folks might hope for. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. After the jump, I've posted both coordinators' post-practice transcripts.

49ers
Out (Definitely Will Not Play)
CB Nate Clements (shoulder)
OT Joe Staley (knee)

Did not Participate in Practice
DT Aubrayo Franklin (not injury related)
LB Takeo Spikes (shoulder)

Limited Participation in Practice
DE Justin Smith (back)

Full Participation in Practice
WR Isaac Bruce (ankle, elbow)
RB Glen Coffee (concussion)
WR Michael Crabtree (knee)
DT Demetric Evans (shoulder)
S Mark Roman (knee)
OT Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Packers
Did not Participate in Practice
LB Desmond Bishop (ankle)
DE Cullen Jenkins (ankle)
LB Brady Poppinga (quadricep)

Limited Participation in Practice
LB Brad Jones (concussion)
LB Clay Matthews (jaw)
CB Charles Woodson (hip)

Full Participation in Practice
LB Brandon Chillar (hand)
TE Jermichael Finley (knee)
LB Aaron Kampman (concussion)
RB John Kuhn (hand)
OT Mark Tauscher (knee)

After the jump we've got Greg Manusky and Jimmy Raye's post-practice transcripts...

Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky
Post-Walk Thru November 18, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the Packers offense:

"They have a good running back who makes some yards. He is a hard runner. They have good wide receivers and a quarterback that is very capable of making throws across the field. That's what I see."

On whether the defense is excited to go against an offensive line that has allowed so many sacks:

"Just going into the matchups all the time, we are trying to get the best matchups we have for the guys who are rushing. So, we'll see how the game goes on Sunday."

On whether there is extra pressure on the secondary this week:

"Yeah, from the quarterback position, he does a good job of reading coverages and throwing the ball where it needs to be thrown. He is having a good year throwing the ball. We need to cover the guys up on the back end and make sure we pressure him as much as we can."

On stopping Green Bay's receivers from gaining yards after the catch:

"I think the most important thing is tackling. For the YAC yardage they do accumulate, we need to make sure we do tackle in the open field. They are strong catching the ball, but they are also strong getting away from guys and we need to make sure we tackle well in the open field."

On whether the low sack numbers are a concern:

"I always say, ‘Do you want interceptions? Do you want sacks? What do you really want from a defense?' Last week we had opportunities to hit [QB Jay] Cutler, which we did. He released the ball and we made some good plays on it. I think it is give and take. I'd like to have five sacks and five interceptions, but sometimes you just get one or the other and that is just as good. The guys are competing hard and playing hard and doing the things we need them to do. Where do we want to be for the sack total is for the end of the year. I think you figure out that more than you do during the season. You address that each and every week, but we are just looking for victories and wins when it comes to Sunday."

On the difficulty of playing at Lambeau field:

"I was at Minnesota for a couple of years playing them. It is a great crowd up there. The weather sometimes changes around now and it is a good thing we have a chilly day today, at least that will get us in that chilly mode a little bit. Great fans, a great organization. They are doing everything they can to get a win and we are trying to do the same."

On the play of Tarell Brown:

"He is playing pretty good right now, consistent and up to the challenge each and every week. It is good to see that he is picking up his game. We assumed that when he was in training camp, but he got hurt early and kind of got knocked off. Right now he is picking up his game and he is doing a great job."

On whether consistency is the biggest concern with starting young players:

"Sometimes it is. I think with T. Brown, he has been in enough game experiences, so when we went into the game it was fine and I had no concerns with it. He is a confident player who goes out there and makes plays, which he did last week as well."

On the extra work LB Matt Wilhelm is doing this week for a potential start on Sunday:

"If TK [LB Takeo Spikes] can't go then Matt will be the starter. He is a pro. He has been in some big games himself and he will do well. If TK can get ready to go, I know he is studying film and doing the most he can to get ready for the game and we're expecting him to be ready."

On why LB Scott McKillop played immediately after Spikes was injured then Wilhelm played instead of McKillop in the second half:

"Matt has been in a lot of situations in San Diego and has played a lot of games and was a starter. We just felt comfortable with Matt being in there at the time. That's why we made the transition. Nothing against Scott, it is just that right now we felt Matt had a better feel for the game and we were confident in his ability to play."

On Wilhelm's play in the second half of the Chicago game:

"He played pretty well, which we expected. That's what backup players are in this league, and you are looking at one. When you get your opportunity, you have to go in there and make the most of it. That's what we expected him to do and he did it so it was great."

On whether the cornerbacks will match up against certain receivers or just play a side of the field:

"In that game and going into this game, it is going to be very similar. We are matching up against the guys we need to match up on. He is a good quarterback and they are good receivers, so we have to make sure we have our best guys on their best guys."

On whether he is satisfied with the quarterback pressures even though the sack total is low:

"Yeah, definitely. The pressure we have been maintaining on quarterbacks is pretty good. Even though the quarterback is not sacked, we are looking at that all the time. We want to get as much pressure on him as possible and sometimes those are just as good as a sack because sometimes he throws it not in the right spot, which is great for us."

Offensive Coordinator Jimmy Raye
Post-Walk Thru - November 18, 2009
San Francisco 49ers

On the objectives facing Green Bay's defense:

"I think the No. 1 objective is to make sure you take care of the football. They are plus-13 in the giveaway/takeaway ratio. They lead the NFL in takeaways and turnovers. So, the No. 1 thing you have to do is make sure you take care of the football, and you've got to account for [CB] Charles Woodson as a secondary blitzer, along with [LB] Nick Barnett. They do a lot of different things off of the stem of their 34 defense, which I think is where they're based. They'll game plan specific teams, so we'll have to see what their defensive plan will be for us."

On how a defense accounts for Woodson:

"It depends because they do it out of a couple of different packages. We'll have to scan with the back. The quarterback will have to ID him. We'll handle him with a visual break and we'll try to block him in the scheme of our protections based on what we have called when it comes up."

On whether the corner blitz is a staple of their defense:

"That shows up quite a bit in the games that we have. It depends on how they defend us, whether they use him as a safety or whether they use him as a corner in their nickel package. So, it's a couple of different looks that they have. When he plays safety, he adds on as a rusher. In the nickel package, he plays the position where he's inside as a safety. So, he becomes a fifth rusher in a lot of the things that they do."

On the play of LT Barry Sims:

"I think I said early on, back two or three weeks ago - whenever that happened - that the history that I've had with Barry from the past, I anticipated that he would be a pro and do a good job. And, to date, he has played well, solid back up in the role that he is playing, and we're very fortunate to have him play and be playing to the level that he's playing. It's helped us."

On whether facing the team's own 3-4 defense in training camp helps at all in preparing for the 3-4 defense this Sunday:

"Somewhat. It's been so long since we've played an odd front. It's a 34 defense. It's been so long since training camp because we've been playing so many over-front teams. They actually don't play 3-4. They give you the mirror image of that. It's what they want to do. And, they use [No.] 74, the defensive end, as a big, stand-up outside backer. But, then they have all the derivatives of that defense. They play over. They play under. They play Bear. So, the amount of 34 defense you get is small in comparison to all of the other gimmick - I wouldn't say gimmick - but all of the other variations that they have off of it because of the flexibility they have with No. 74, who is a true defensive lineman playing outside linebacker. So, they're able to get to a four-down version of what they do, over and under, and then jam the front and play Bear, and then get into their nickel package without substituting. It's a little bit of a hybrid of 34. If it was just 34 like we saw in the summer against our team, it would be a little bit easier transition."

On whether No. 74, Aaron Kampman, is miscast in that role:

"They don't think so. He's a matchup problem, obviously, for a back in your protections if he's the Sam linebacker or the base-side backer. They create a mismatch over there on that side with a back trying to block a defensive lineman off of a two-point stance. They do a good job of scheming up what they ask of him to do. He's mostly the rusher, so he's not dropping into pass coverage a lot, which makes it easier for the transition for him. But, as I've said before, they have a lot of variations off of it, and most of them involve him as a rusher as a defensive end."

On whether he began preparing for this game last week given the extra time following the Bears game:

"Yes, because we played on Thursday evening, I think it was. It's run together, but I think we started Friday. So, we had two extra days and started a direction with the tape that we had, and then all of a sudden, Sunday rolls around. They play Dallas and they look like a totally different team. From looking at it on the TV copy, they were borderline dominant in that game. I think it was way deep into the game before the Cowboys even had a first down in the game. So, as we started, then we had to include how they played Dallas in the game plan that was specific for Dallas and how they played that. So, we had to make some adjustments as we went along."

On whether they were different schematically against Dallas:

"Yes. They've been different against everybody they've played. Against the Rams, they only played with three defensive backs and five linebackers. They game plan every team that they're going to play, based on the strengths and weaknesses of that offense. Tampa Bay was different than Dallas. Minnesota, obviously with [QB Brett] Favre, was different than [QB Tony] Romo with Dallas. The Rams were different than all of those. Because of, as I've said before, the flexibility of the things they are able to do with their front seven people, you see a different style of defense based on the game plan they have in place. So, we'll have to see how they plan to treat - I would think they would start with us with stopping [RB] Frank Gore and [TE] Vernon Davis would be the two people that they would target because we're a little more throw than run with [QB] Alex Smith. We'll see a little bit different style of defense."

On whether that's part of the cat and mouse game, trying to figure out what adjustments they're going to make:

"It will be once the game starts, but we're going to go do what we do best after how many ever weeks this has been, eight weeks or nine weeks, and see how they adjust to stop what we do, what they're plan is personnel wise defensively. And, we'll make the adjustments as the game unfolds."

On where he was watching the Cowboys and Packers game last Sunday:

"I was at home watching it on the - I've got the biggest screen HDTV I could get. I was at home watching it on the TV and listening to the commentary. It's interesting to listen to the commentary."

On what about the commentary was interesting:

"Some of the comments of the people doing the game and the perception they have of the teams they were broadcasting. How they impose their vision on the teams and personnel that they don't know very much about."

On whether he has any good Lambeau Field stories:

"I've only been - I haven't been there very much. I was there with Steve Young, and they made a commercial out of that one. It snowed about 28 inches during the game. It snowed so deep, and that was when I had a broken leg. I had to be carried off of the field because I couldn't lift my foot high enough to walk in the snow. And Steve Young was playing for us at Tampa, and [Packers QB Lynn] Dickey was playing for them. It was a record snow fall during the game, so much that the tractors couldn't clean the field to play. And, the other time with the Jets, we played them up there two or three years ago. My only two times there. So, no, I don't have a whole lot of history with the place."

On why the team was successful running the ball out of the shotgun:

"I guess because they expected us to pass. I don't think it was any magic deal. We were in a situation in that game where we were using 11 personnel in the gun, and they were playing a defensive front that when we two-for-one the play, the run/pass to be announced at the line of scrimmage, they were giving us some opportunities to run, and Alex took advantage of those and Frank made some good runs."