SB Nation - Korey Hall

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?

Friday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Tampa

Brandon — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:18:28 -0000

The week's list is long for the Green Bay Packers. While a lot has gone wrong for the Buccaneers during their 0-7 start, injuries have not been their biggest problem.

For the Packers, a couple players (Lang and Allen) were injured during practice this week. Chillar is out for a couple weeks after having surgery on his broken hand. Driver (neck stinger) and Rodgers (feet) were held out all week, until Friday's practice, but they're almost certain to play through the pain. Clifton was back at practice all week, apparently his practice on Friday was limited just as a precaution, and he should start on Sunday. Hall was back in practice, after missing a couple weeks, but he was still limited and a good candidate to be left inactive on Sunday. Maybe the same can be said for Martin. There was nothing written, at least that I read, about Woodson's injury, so it's apparently not serious and he should start on Sunday. Again this week, Finley, Nelson, and Spitz are all out.

For the Bucs, their starting WR Antonio Bryant is likely to miss the game due to the knee injury he aggravated while flying coach. Maybe they'll be without 2nd year CB Elbert Mack, but since he's only started 1 NFL game, he's probably not a key part of their defense.

The complete injury lists, for both teams, are after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Jake Allen	WR	Quadricep	Limited Participation	Questionable
Brandon Chillar	LB	Hand	Out	Out
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Limited Participation	Probable
Donald Driver	WR	Neck	Full Participation	Probable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out
Korey Hall	FB	Calf	Limited Participation	Questionable
T.J. Lang	G/T	Oblique	Limited Participation	Questionable
Derrick Martin	S	Concussion	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jordy Nelson	WR	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Feet	Full Participation	Probable
Jason Spitz	C/G	Back	Did Not Participate	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Antonio Bryant	WR	Knee	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Michael Clayton	WR	Wrist	Full Participation	Questionable
Elbert Mack	CB	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Aqib Talib	CB	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Zuttah	G	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable

Friday Injury Report: Vikings at Green Bay Packers

Brandon — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:57:32 -0000

It's a good sized injury list for both teams this week. For the Packers, they are missing players that have been out the past couple of weeks, while the Vikings might have a problem with depth at WR and LB.

Mike McCarthy spoke about the injuries at his press conference. Clifton and Tauscher were both listed as full participants in practice, but McCarthy said he and his staff will decide on Saturday who will start. Reading between the lines, LT T.J. Lang and RT Allen Barbre will remain the starters. He said Finley had a chance to play, but he hasn't practiced all week, so I expect he's out. I didn't know either Martin or Woodson was hurt, it must have happened last week in Cleveland, and while Martin is probably out, Woodson will almost certainly play. Matthews was knocked out mid-game against the Browns, but he should play against the Vikings. Rodgers has been bothered by a sore foot for a couple weeks, but it hasn't kept him out yet. Sitton must have gotten hurt this week in practice, but he should start. Hall, Nelson, Spitz and Wynn have all been out for at least two weeks, and none of them should be expected to play this week either. WR James Jones might play a big role as the 3rd WR this week as he should take all of Nelson's playing time.

For the Vikings, their big problem is that CB Antoine Winfield is out again. CB Karl Paymah is one of his replacements, they're rotating 3 different backs in place of Winfield, and he's battling a quad injury. 3 WRs are hurting. Even if Berrian does play, he won't be 100%. Harvin's injury has been undisclosed, but he's likely battling a migraine, which may or may not clear up by Sunday. Reynaud is their punt returner, and he was out for the Packers' game in Minneapolis too. I'm a fan of both Henderson and Leber, and while both starting LBs should play, neither will be 100%. Obviously Favre will play despite being listed on the injury report. It's not a critical injury report, but with 3 players listed from both WR and LB, they could run into problems if another player is hurt at either position.

The complete injury list is after the jump.

Packers:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Full Participation	Questionable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Korey Hall	FB	Calf	Out	Out
Derrick Martin	S	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Clay Matthews	LB	Jaw	Full Participation	Probable
Jordy Nelson	WR	Knee	Out	Out
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Foot	Full Participation	Probable
Josh Sitton	G	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
Jason Spitz	C/G	Back	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Charles Woodson	CB	Hip	Full Participation	Probable
Jarius Wynn	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable

Vikings:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Bernard Berrian	WR	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Jasper Brinkley	LB	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Brett Favre	QB	Hip	Limited Participation	Probable
Percy Harvin	WR	Illness	Limited Participation	Questionable
E.J. Henderson	LB	Knee	Limited Participation	Probable
Ben Leber	LB	Calf	Limited Participation	Probable
Karl Paymah	CB	Quadriceps	Full Participation	Probable
Darius Reynaud	WR	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
Naufahu Tahi	FB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Antoine Winfield	CB	Foot	Did Not Participate	Out

Friday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Browns

Brandon — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:15:14 -0000

The big news is the massive injury report from the Cleveland Browns. 24 players are listed on it, mostly due to the swine flu outbreak in their locker room. Although CB Eric Wright is listed on it because of his serious car crash. The good news is that only 2 players are listed as doubtful (TE Steve Heiden and K Phil Dawson), so they should have nearly everyone available.

While the injury list is shorter than it was last week, the Packers are certainly going to miss some players. From Packers.com:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Brandon Chillar	LB	Neck	Limited Participation	Questionable
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Korey Hall	FB	Calf	Out	Out
Greg Jennings	WR	Hip	Limited Participation	Probable
Quinn Johnson	FB	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jordy Nelson	WR	Knee	Out	Out
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Aaron Rodgers	QB	Foot	Full Participation	Probable
Jason Spitz	C/G	Back	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Limited Participation	Out
Jarius Wynn	DE	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Out

Some big names are listed, Rodgers especially. But he should play, along with Chillar, Jennings, Johnson, and Raji.

Clifton's loss is no surprise because it looked bad when he reinjured his ankle last week. Rookie 4th round pick LT T.J. Lang will start in his place. I don't expect he'll be great, but LG Daryn Colledge was so bad in Minnesota, and even Clifton struggled with penalties last week, that he might not seem so bad. But we should expect the rookie to have some struggles.

Hall has been out for a couple weeks, but Nelson was hurt last game when he took a shot to the knee. He's having a slightly better season than WR James Jones (Nelson has caught 58% of the passes thrown his way, while Jones only has caught 42%) but for almost the same yardage and 1 TD apiece. Jones has looked lost at times, but neither has been used much this season. CB Tramon Williams will replace Nelson on special teams as the return man.

Spitz has a bad back, and he's day-to-day. C Scott Wells will replace him, start at center for the 4th game in a row, and he's probably just as good.

I'm not sure what's up with Wynn, but the rookie has barely played this season so he shouldn't be missed. Tauscher is out again as the recently resigned veteran is still rehabbing from his ACL surgery. I'm surprised RB Ahman Green is not listed, apparently he's not hurt but still in questionable football shape. The Packers have never had more than 2 RBs active for a game this season, so Green should be inactive with RB Brandon Jackson as the backup to RB Ryan Grant.

Friday Injury Report: Lions at Green Bay Packers

Brandon — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:36:39 -0000

It's a brutally long injury report this week for the Green Bay Packers and the Lions. While it could be hitting the Lions hard, it's just long for the Packers.

FB Korey Hall and RB DeShawn Wynn are out, but FB Quinn Johnson will come off the inactive list for his first action and RB Brandon Jackson is back from injury for the first time this season. Recently resigned RT Mark Tauscher is out, but that's expected since he's practicing himself back into football shape. Although both centers (Jason Spitz and Scott Wells) are listed, Mike McCarthy expects them both to play.

The injuries have hit hard in Detroit. Obviously WR Calvin Johnson and QB Matthew Stafford are the two big names. At this point in their careers, QB Daunte Culpepper is just as good, so Stafford's loss won't matter much in this game. Except Johnson's absence is a tough loss no matter the QB. I'm not sure which other potential starters are missing, except LB Ernie Sims would start if he were healthy. RT Gosder Cherilus is a starter, but he'll play on Sunday. Even if they aren't missing any other starters, their depth is certainly being tested this week. On all the injuries, from Pride of Detroit:

All I can say is that I'm glad the Lions have a bye next week.

The complete injury lists after the jump.

Green Bay Packers:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Atari Bigby	S	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Limited Participation	Probable
Daryn Colledge	G	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Korey Hall	FB	Calf	Out	Out
Brandon Jackson	RB	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Quinn Johnson	FB	Not Inj. Related	Did Not Participate	N/A
Ryan Pickett	NT	Hip	Full Participation	Probable
Brady Poppinga	LB	Illness	Full Participation	Probable
Jason Spitz	C/G	Back	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Mark Tauscher	T	Knee	Limited Participation	Out
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Scott Wells	C	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Questionable
DeShawn Wynn	RB	Knee	Did Not Participate	Out

Detroit Lions:


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Gosder Cherilus	T	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable
Jordan Dizon	LB	Foot	Limited Participation	Probable
Jerome Felton	FB	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Questionable
Casey FitzSimmons	TE	Thigh	Limited Participation	Questionable
Sammie Hill	DT	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Jason Hunter	DE	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Grady Jackson	DT	Knee	Did Not Participate	Probable
Calvin Johnson	WR	Knee	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Maurice Morris	RB	Hip	Limited Participation	Questionable
Brandon Pettigrew	TE	Hamstring	Full Participation	Probable
Koe Simpson	S	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
Ernie Sims	LB	Shoulder	Limited Participation	Probable
Matthew Stafford	QB	Knee	Did Not Participate	Questionable
Dewayne White	DE	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Questionable

Friday Injury Report: Green Bay Packers at Rams

Brandon — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:50:41 -0000

The Packers full injury list is after the jump. Just a mess of an injury report with four starters listed, K Mason Crosby, and 2009 top draft pick NT B.J. Raji.

SS Atari Bigby will miss his 2nd straight game, while LT Chad Clifton will miss at least a couple weeks with a bad ankle. FS Nick Collins is listed, but his clavicle injury wasn't serious enough to keep him out on Sunday. Crosby is still battling a weight training injury from last week, but he'll play. LB Aaron Kampman wore a club on his hand in practice this week, but it was just precautionary.

Some injuries just happened this week in practice. CB/S Jarrett Bush should play through his injured ankle, but it will be SS Derrick Martin who will get his first NFL start at safety on Sunday. FB Korey Hall doesn't start anymore, but he'll be missed on special teams. I'm not sure when LB Jeremy Thompson injured his knee, I guess this week in practice, but he might be left inactive anyway.

I'm not sure when RB Brandon Jackson is coming back from his preseason ankle injury. Can we please, please, see the first action from NT B.J. Raji this week? He'll be a game time decision, and the run defense could use his help.

The Rams injury list is short, but they've got two big names on it. No. 2 overall pick, T Jason Smith, will miss the game with an MCL injury. It's believed that C Jason Brown also has an MCL sprain, which isn't as severe and he should be able to play on Sunday. Brown might not be a big name player, but he was the Rams big free agent signing this offseason.

From Packers.com:

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Atari Bigby	S	Knee	Out	Out
Jarrett Bush	CB/S	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Out
Nick Collins	S	Chest	Full Participation	Probable
Mason Crosby	K	Abdomen	Did Not Participate	Probable
Korey Hall	FB	Shoulder / Concussion	Limited Participation	Questionable
Brandon Jackson	RB	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Out
Aaron Kampman	LB	Hand	Full Participation	Probable
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Questionable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Questionable

Sir, Put Your Clothes Back On And Step Away From The Ledge

Mitchell_M — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:22:16 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

The fact that I can't tell if this is sack number one, two, three, four, or five says something.

Browse more photos »

After the second week of the season, Green Bay is tied with Chicago at 1-1 in the division. Minnesota predictably went up to 2-0 by beating the Lions, who seem destined to finish in 4th place, at least in 2009.

My point? This is exactly where everyone thought we would be. I'm surprised at the fashion in which Green Bay lost to Cincinnati, but I'm not shocked that the much-improved Bengals took the game. We are not a Super Bowl contender yet because we have to handle business during the regular season first. That means winning home games, beating beatable opponents, putting forth maximum efforts against high level teams, and most importantly, taking the division away from the rest of the NFC North. By losing to the Bengals, the Packers have shown that they're not quite ready for title contention. They could definitely beat the Rams next week and the Vikings after that, leaving them at 3-1 and a division lead, but even if they go 5-1 or 6-0 against NFC North teams, it won't mean much if they finish at 9-7.

I have been saying this for weeks now. I have been dropping words of warning left and right, about not to overlook opponents, not to be overconfident, and to not act like we've accomplished anything before the quarter mark of 2009. I've been accused of being negative, not having faith in the team, and not having a pulse as a fan. You can call me whatever you want, but I will never be delusional or fair-weathered. I think this team is capable of doing great things, but I doubt they're ready to truly show it yet. That's why you won't hear me talking Super Bowl after week 1 and top-5 draft pick after week 2.

That's why the title is what it is. People are losing their minds because the Packers lost to a team that wasn't as good as they were. But that's not what happened. What really happened was the Packers lost to a team that is much improved from the last few years of incredible suckitude, took advantage of weaknesses in Green Bay's roster, and out-pushed, out-ran, and out-played Green Bay on Sunday.

Since I didn't get a chance to actually see the game, I'm only going to hit on a few points. If you want a more in-depth review, check out Brandon's articles.

Youngest team in the league = penalties galore. No amount of coaching is going to be able to remove mistakes stemming from inexperience. Unless of course its Al Harris' aggressiveness or Jarrett Bush's complete ineptitude, which are different issues entirely.
Aaron Rodgers still doesn't have a turnover, which is remarkable. He's been sacked 10 times, hit several more, and he's only coughed up the football once, and it was recovered by Green Bay. Just imagine what he could do with some protection. If it were me under center, I'd have night terrors by now.
O-Line depth is a huge problem, and the blame lies mainly with GM Ted Thompson. Multi-position backups are fine to have, but you can't have them starting and/or playing at critical positions. Daryn Colledge is a prime example. He played LT in college and made the transition to LG in the pros, where he started on Sunday. But when Clifton went down, you simply MUST have a backup for him instead of relying on Scott Wells to take Colledge's spot while Colledge slides over to the outside. It's a bad strategy and it showed yesterday.

Here's why this is Thompson's problem: the guy drafts by ability rather than position. I like that approach to a certain extent, but you're eventually going to have to find someone who actually, you know, plays the position you're looking to upgrade at. Seriously, go back and look at how many players Thompson has brought in and compare the position they played in college to what they're asked to play in Green Bay. With some (Daryn Colledge from LT to LG, Korey Hall from LB to FB), it works. But with others (Breno Giacomini from TE to T, Jason Spitz from G to C), it doesn't work as well.
Want another Thompson criticism? Keeping 3 fullbacks when RB and S depth is an issue, and the special teams still aren't able to do their jobs. The coverage units were subpar yesterday, but the biggest thing is that, without Atari Bigby or Nick Collins, the pass defense is in major trouble. And who's left that can play safety? Aaron Rouse (backup), Derrick Martin (converted CB/backup), Charles Woodson (starting CB, failed safety in 2008), and Jarrett Bush (horrible).

I swear to God, if I see that Jarrett Bush steps on the field while Aaron Rouse or Derrick Martin is available the sideline, I will flip out.
Receiver depth means nothing if your guys can't catch the football. Seriously, somebody needs to check this out. There were at least three dropped balls yesterday, and I'd bet there were at least three more I didn't hear about.
Ryan Grant still not performing? Maybe if the playcalling were improved and the run game not abandoned in the second half, things might be different. He started out the game strong, but had 11 of his 14 carries before halftime. What gives?

Meanwhile, Cedric Benson had 29 carries for 141 yards, including 8 rushes of 6 yards or more. Ouch.
B.J. Raji can make or break the defensive line. His deactivation for the game was HUGE. It may be a baseless claim with no proof whatsoever, but I firmly believe that if Raji was in the game, Benson's yardage would have been cut down by half, and all those long gains would have been short-circuited quickly.

I do not understand what kept him from playing. Was his ankle injury that bad? If so, why was he practicing all week? Do the coaches think that a rotation of Jenkins-Jolly-Pickett-Montgomery is enough?

Again, having not watched the game, I can't really give any better impressions than that. Let 'er rip in the comments section.

A Packer Fan's Guide To Madden 2010

Mitchell_M — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:08:06 -0000

If you're anything like me, you're excited for the season opener at Lambeau on Sunday night. However, you're also looking for ways to extend the NFL experience beyond just the weekend. You might even look for something different on Sundays when Green Bay isn't playing. Face it, Green Bay is on Monday Night Football in Week 13, the Week 13 showdowns between Detroit and Cincinatti or San Francisco and Seattle likely won't be very exciting, and you won't have much of a choice of what games to watch. (Unless of course you have NFL Sunday Ticket. In which case, why not just give your money directly to Jerry Jones? He needs it to buy chrome plating for his pizza cutter.)

So whether you're looking to get some gridiron action on a Wednesday night or you just can't stand watching St. Louis and Cleveland punt back and forth, I highly recommend Madden 2010 to help supply your football fix.

Word of warning: this lengthy post is based on Madden 2010 for the XBox 360. If you have a different system, you can try to use the suggestions below, but they might not work the same. Unless you're using the Wii. Screw the Wii.

I was a sickly child growing up, meaning I often wasn't able to go out and play with the other kids in the neighborhood. Video games helped pass the time until I shook off my various ailments, but I never lost my love for sports sims.

Historically, the Madden franchise has delivered installments with mixed results. Either they simply repackaged the previous year's product with updated roster information and/or a few horribly misguided "innovations", or they come up with something that actually works. Madden 2010 is of the latter variety.

The online mode is much improved; there's fewer bugs in the system, meaning you won't lose your mind because some 11-year old from New Hampshire discovered a tackling glitch. There's always little blemishes here and there, but the best part is that it forces players to use the Online Rosters of all 32 NFL teams. No longer will you go into a game against the Raiders to suddenly discover that they have Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne.

The meat of the game, as always, is with the Franchise and Superstar mode. I've never been a huge fan of Superstar mode, mainly because I am horrible at it. Having played a mix of cornerback and safety in high school and college, I usually create myself as a cornerback, but I've never figured out how to effectively cover anybody in man coverage and I'm constantly giving up long TDs. However, playing Superstar mode as a QB, RB, WR, DE, or LB is usually a challenge worth a few tries.

As far as I'm concerned, Franchise mode is where it's at. Once upon a time, I had a dream of being a GM for the Packers. Franchise mode allows me to live that out, long after I realized that it simply wouldn't happen. (Even though it totally should. The moment Thompson retires/resigns, I'm sending an application.) In Madden 2010, Franchise mode remains essentially the same: pick your team, run through the preseason, play the regular season, play the postseason (if you made it), then go through offseason tasks like hiring coaches, scouting and drafting rookies, and resigning existing players.

My biggest gripe in Franchise mode has always been how unrealistic it is, especially where statistics are concerned. I don't care if Adrian Peterson gets cloned in a lab somewhere and the clones play for three other teams at the same time as AP: they simply cannot ALL run for 2,000+ yards in a season. What's worse is the statistics game-by-game. The default setting is Pro (medium) with quarter lengths of 5 minutes, which is just enough time to pass for 150 yards, rush for another 40, have five players with 3 tackles a piece, and win a game 24-0. These games are too short and too easy. So the obvious choices are to either up the difficulty or increase the time. But you can't do both, because then you either have 20 minutes of hellishly difficult gaming or 2 hours of even more hellishly difficult gaming.

EA Sports finally found a way to make longer quarters and higher difficulty co-exist: accelerated clock. Accelerated clock is so simple that it's genius: if you pick your play within the first 10 seconds of the play clock, it automatically runs anywhere between 10 and 25 seconds off the clock (depending on your settings). This allows you to play at a realistic pace: drives of 10 plays actually last 6 or 7 minutes of game time. It's an extraordinarily lifelike addition to the game, and I'm thankful for it.

* * *

Steps to setting up a realistic Franchise mode:

Set difficulty settings. The default setting is Pro, which puts all four categories (rush offense, pass offense, rush defense, pass defense) at 5 out of 20. The minimum setting should be All-Pro, which sets the categories at 10. Because it's so difficult to run the ball in Madden 2010, I usually set the rush offense category a notch or two lower than the other ones. For example, right now my difficulty setting is 13 for pass offense, 10 for rush offense, and 14 for pass and rush defense.

The reason it's important to up the difficulty is because at the default level, blowouts are perpetual. You will be hard pressed to play a game where you don't pass for 3 TDs, run for another 2, and return both a INT and punt return for six. Sure, it's fun every once in a while, but it's boring winning 63-3 every week.
Change Franchise setup options. The first thing to do is change quarter length from 5 minutes to 15. Then, go to the bottom of the menu and activate accelerated clock runoff. (I personally put mine at 25, but it leaves little time for audibles at the line, so 20 or even 15 might be a little easier to deal with.) Finally, toggle everything from "CPU" to "USER".

Like I explained above, the longer quarters combined with the accelerated clock and higher difficulty makes the game both more challenging and more realistic. For example, I just started a new franchise yesterday (when the new season rosters were released...goodbye Ruvell Martin, hello Brett Swain!), and I eked out a 20-17 win over Chicago. I was legitimately trying the entire game, and I was losing 17-13 for most of the second half. I've still managed to deliver blowouts against teams like Cincinnati and St. Louis, but I've actually lost to teams like Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. Getting the settings where they need to be make the Madden experience totally different from past years.
Fill out your roster. The newly-released Week One roster is exactly how the Packers are set up in real-life. However, Madden has minimum requirements at each position, and the new rosters are short on both offensive and defensive tackles. What I do is I sign Jamon Meredith and Anthony Toribio, simply because a) they won't play after the preseason ends and the depth chart is updated, and b) I have to sign someone anyway, or let the computer sign someone, and I'd rather have someone that's on Green Bay's practice roster. I also signed Brian Brohm, just because he's on the practice roster, the third QB never ever plays, and I can cut him outright after I find someone better in the draft or free agency. Sadly, Pat Lee and Justin Harrell were banished from Madden when they were put on IR.

After setting up your roster, you'll have to go through and manually set your depth chart. A few suggestions for those who want them: place DeShawn Wynn at RB2 over Brandon Jackson (better runner), Korey Hall at FB1 over John Kuhn (better blocker), Daryn Colledge as LT2 over Jamon Meredith (see above), and Jordy Nelson as both KR2 and PR2 over Tramon Williams (so Williams is fresher for nickel packages).
Set your audibles. There is nothing more irritating than running the 2-minute drill and having only one pass play that's in a formation suitable for it. Audibles should be set as the following for offense: one singleback inside run, two singleback pass plays (one short, one long), and two shotgun pass plays (one short, one long). It's even worse on defense, where the audibles are in the 4-3 alignment. Defense is obviously more open ended, but make sure that half of your options are 3-4 plays and the other half are nickel/dime packages with 4-man fronts.

* * *

Now that you have everything set up, it's time to sim through the preseason, right? Wrong! The preseason is extremely important for two reasons. First, it prevents bench players from regressing too far during the course of the season. If you sim through the pre-season and you don't play Quinn Johnson or Brandon Underwood, their ratings will degrade the following offseason. Even if they don't play much in the regular season, getting them reps in the preseason keeps them from losing points.

The second reason for playing in the preseason is much more important; for whatever reason, EA Sports removed the option to make substitution packages from the Franchise main screen. I personally hate this move, because without the option to sub players in specific formations, you barely get to use them. Get this, without the substitution option, Aaron Kampman simply won't play in nickel or dime packages. Let that soak in for a second, then read on.

The only way to sub specific players in or out in specific packages is to do so during the game. Whatever changes you make will be saved, so it only needs to be done once. After you determine who needs to be in or out in any given package, they will stay there until you move them.

Here's how to do it: play the first preseason game, but don't worry about calling plays. Instead, flip through the playbook and hit the RB button to bring up the substitution screen. This allows you to scroll through each of the 11 positions and sub a player for each play in that particular package. For example, if you sub Ryan Grant for Brandon Jackson in the Full House package, Jackson will be the RB for every Full House play. Be careful, though, because some formations have multiple looks (Singleback, I Formation, Shotgun, etc.) Each individual look has seperate subs, so you have to make sure that you're thorough with your substituting.

Here's the substitutions that I recommend for Green Bay:

Brandon Jackson for Ryan Grant in all Shotgun formations. Jackson is a far superior pass-catcher to Grant, and he's quicker in the open field. You should have him as your 3rd down back anyway, but this ensures that a swing pass doesn't end in a 2-yard loss.
Quinn Johnson for Korey Hall in Goal Line formation. Johnson can't run the ball, catch the ball, or pass block very well in Madden 2010. But boy, can he run block. Plug him in as the goal line fullback and watch him bowl over linebackers with ease.
John Kuhn for Korey Hall in Full House formation. The Full House isn't as heavy on power blocking, so it's ok to take out the slightly better Hall in favor of Kuhn, the slightly better receiver.
Jermichael Finley in most Single Back formations. Finley isn't a terrible blocker, but he's not great, which is why Donald Lee is still the starter. Any run plays you deploy while he's in the game won't be ruined by Finley's blocking...most of the time. He is, however, an outstanding receiver, meaning he should get the majority of the TE looks in most Single Back plays.
Aaron Kampman for Johnny Jolly in all 4-man front nickel, dime, dollar, and quarter formations. This one is self explanatory: Kampman > Jolly.
B.J. Raji for Ryan Pickett in all 3-man front nickel, dime, dollar, and quarter formations. This is important as it keeps Pickett fresh for base defense plays and uses Raji's pass rushing skills in pass defense plays.
Cullen Jenkins for Ryan Pickett in all 4-man front nickel, dime, dollar, and quarter formations. Again, self explanatory. Jenkins is an outstanding inside pass rusher, while Pickett is not. Putting Jenkins and Raji (the DT2) on the inside with Kampman on the outside gives the team an outstanding pass rush.
Jeremy Thompson/Brandon Chillar/Clay Matthews for Cullen Jenkins whenever Jenkins is moved inside. Don't let Mike Montgomery see the field unless you have to. He's awful.

Additionally, I would encourage mixing up the LB and DL rotation in any of the 5 base 3-4 sets. Put Bishop in for Hawk in a formation, and Thompson in for Matthews in another. Keeping your players in a rotation keeps them fresh and helps prevent them from getting beat or hurt. Again, you have to make these substitutions while playing in a game; you can't do it from the menu screen. I recommend focusing on one formation at a time, then running a play. Just keep track of who you moved and when so that you can finish anything you start. There's nothing worse than taking Cullen Jenkins out of a formation and failing to put him back in; then you're stuck with Montgomery and Pickett.

After setting up your substitution packages, you shouldn't have to worry about anything on the roster or depth chart unless there's an injury. As long as you do this during the first preseason game, you shouldn't have to make any changes for the rest of the year until you lose players and replace them with new ones.

* * *

After advancing to the regular season, hold off on playing the first game right away. The most important aspect of Franchise mode is not only improving your team, but sustaining it. The best way to do that is though the draft, but it's foolish to simply draft players based on their round projection. Scouting is imperative to this process, and you can only do it during the regular season.

Scouting in Madden 2010 is easy; you get a certain number of scouting reports per week (starting with 19, changing when you change scouting services in the offseason) to investigate college players. You tag the players you want information on, and the reports are back the following week. You can scout a player a maximum of 6 times before they are "fully scouted" and no longer provide you with new information on their skills.

Make sure you always scout players with high potential at positions you will need. For Green Bay, I put emphasis on LT, RT, DE, DT, and SS. Remember, the players with the highest potential are not necessarily surefire 1st round picks. For example, I found a safety whose potential meter was nearly full, and I intended on drafting him with my first pick (if he was available.) However, come draft time, I learned that he was projected to go in the 6th round. Naturally, this let me wait and use higher picks on higher projected players at different positions, and resulted in a more successful draft.

One important note about scouting; if a player has an injury rating of 70 or less, don't waste your time on him. He will ALWAYS be hurt, period. The same goes for any WR with a catch rating of less than 70 or any lineman with a strength of less than 70. Players will always improve their ratings on mechanical stuff (route running, footwork, etc.) But the more natural ratings like speed and strength rarely change.

* * *

Now that all the painfully boring stuff is done, feel free to take on all comers. Because I am feeling extra pretentious today, allow me to make some suggestions on Packer players to target, players to avoid, and plays to make it all happen.

Players who can help:

James Jones as a slot receiver. As long as he's not lined up outside, Jones is an absolute beast. The only defenders who can cover him are the elite LBs or CBs, and the corners are preoccupied with Jennings and Driver. Jones is best used running slants, drags, digs, and curls in 3-wide formations.
Jermichael Finley as second tight end. I know this isn't news to most of you, but Jermichael Finley is simply too big, too fast, and too skilled to be covered by most players. Running him in 2-TE sets opposite Donald Lee is usually a good idea, especially running outs to the sideline or seams in the middle of the field.
Charles Woodson as lockdown corner. Al Harris has lost a step in Madden 2010, but certainly not Chuck. Make sure he's covering the other team's best WR, and you should be safe.
Brandon Jackson as receiving back. I know I already mentioned this, but replacing Grant with Jackson in the Shotgun formations is critical. Nobody in Green Bay runs a flat route better than Jackson.
Will Blackmon as a return man. Again, not news here, but Will Blackmon is downright Hester-esque when returning kicks. He's not as fast as Hester (obviously), but he's stronger and able to break tackles better.

Players who can hurt:

Brandon Jackson as running back. He might be better in real life, but running a dive play with Jackson is absolutely absurd.
Aaron Kampman in man coverage. Blitz Kampman as often as possible, and leave him in zone coverage whenever he's not rushing. Do not, I repeat, do not let him cover someone man-to-man. He will let other teams eat the defense up on underneath routes.
Atari Bigby as long-term safety. Bigby is an excellent tackler, a strong player who forces fumbles, and can sometimes cover a receiver. But do not expect him to stay healthy. He's good for 2009, but I would look to draft a replacement as soon as possible.
Jeremy Kapinos as anything. Video games sometimes imitate real life, and this is proof. Kapinos' punts are awful. Find a replacement ASAP.

Plays to use on offense:

Strong I Slot Off Tackle: A solid run play that uses the FB as a lead blocker while the WR3 pulls a linebacker away from the box. Unless you run into a blitz, you should get no fewer than 5 yards with this play, and you'll often break longer runs.
Singleback Flex Inside Cross: A very reliable short pass play that features the TE and WR3 running opposite drag routes. Use this to pick up a short first down or, if the defense is in man coverage, to get a big play out of the receiver after the catch.
Full House Weak Zone: A safe run play that is best used away from the defense's strong point. If the LBs are loading up one side, simply switch the play to the other side. Good for running between the 20's.
Shotgun Doubles On HB Angle: On 3rd and long, this is the play to run. You have three main options: the RB running a check down route in the middle of the field, the slot receiver running a short china route to the weak side, and the tight end running an out on the strong side. If the defense is stacked towards the short zones, hit either receiver on deep routes for a big pickup.

Plays to use on defense:

3-4 Normal Strong/Weak Blitz: Either the Strong or Weak blitz works fine: the OLB and ILB on one side overload their half of the offense while everyone else is in man coverage with safety help over the top.
3-4 Over Trio Sky Zone: Very similar to the Strong or Weak Blitz, but this play offers a solid zone coverage scheme instead of man-to-man.
Nickel Normal CB Fox Blitz: Use the CB on either side to go around the offensive tackle and get to the quarterback quickly. The 4-man front helps keep any run plays in check while the corner blitzes.
Nickel 2-4 Cover 2 Sink: A very basic coverage scheme that offers decent pass rush: the DTs are flanked by both OLBs, who rush the edge. The other two LBs and all three CBs take intermediate zones, while both safeties split the field.

Well, that's really all I can think of for now. If you think I'm on to something, want to add something yourself, or you have criticisms of my strategies, or even if you hate Madden and want to rail against me for including it in a post, leave your love/vitriol in the comments section.

Just don't hate on my Madden skills. I will take on any and all comers. Challengers, step right up.

Analysis: Down to 53; Look Who Made The Roster

Brandon — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:28:57 -0000

by John Russell - AP

View full size photo »

The Green Bay Packers roster was at 75 players and they had to get down to 53, so 18 players were released and 4 placed on injured reserve.

I'll start by looking at the players who won the final spots:

WR Brett Swain. Maybe it helped him that he played some cornerback in the final preseason game. He was a star during practices, but he didn't have too many receptions during the preseason games. He did look good on punt returns. He was a 7th round pick last season and spent all of 2008 on the practice squad, so they've been watching him a lot over the past two years. He was the beneficiary of a poor preseason from WR Ruvell Martin.

CB Will Blackmon. He's played well as a punt returner, but never outstanding as a cornerback. His latest injury might have been the end for him, but apparently he'll be back soon, they won't find a better punt returner, and need depth in the secondary.

FB John Kuhn, FB Korey Hall, and FB Quinn Johnson. These three were watched for weeks because it seemed unlikely they'd keep three fullbacks. Instead of making a tough decision, they decided to keep all three.

CB Brandon Underwood. The 6th round pick wasn't outstanding this preseason, but they saw enough potential in the lanky 6'1" defender to keep him around.

S Aaron Rouse. After an injury filled 2008, and another injury this preseason, his roster spot seemed in danger. But he is another lanky defender (6'4") who GM Ted Thompson favors, so he keeps his spot too. Apparently his injury isn't too serious otherwise he should have been put on I.R.

TE Spencer Havner. After spending last season on the practice squad, I hadn't given him much of a chance this preseason, but his blocking is great and he's got good hands. It helps that he can play LB too, but he's better at TE. It also helped that three other TEs were placed on I.R. at various times this preseason to thin out his competition.

LB Brad Jones. The 7th round pick has played great this preseason, although I thought he would be squeezed out by the numbers. Instead they kept nine LBs, 10 if you include Havner. His pass rushing ability was a real eye opener.

C Evan Dietrich-Smith. I had no idea the undrafted rookie would earn a spot. He's the biggest surprise.

Position Analysis: Tight Ends

Brandon — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:00:12 -0000

The tight end position is very similar to the fullback in Mike McCarthy's offense. Both are required to block first, and catch the ball second. The fullback occasionally has a rush attempt, but there were only 8 such attempts in 2008, all to FB John Kuhn. Starting FB Korey Hall combined with Kuhn to only catch 11 passes last season, compared to 39 receptions by starting TE Donald Lee alone. So while the fullback is truly a blocking position, the tight end does have a role in the passing offense.

But it's usually only as a checkdown receiver. At first, the tight end will stay in to block. But if the primary target isn't open, and the play starts to take a few seconds, the tight end will release the block and turn back to the QB as another receiving option. As the team gets closer to the goal line, it's more likely the tight end will run a route right off the snap and attempt to use his big body to establish position over a smaller defensive back.

I've been hoping the Packers could get more production out of their tight ends throughout the McCarthy era, but he doesn't seem to expect a whole lot from them as receivers, and we shouldn't expect much from them either.

Donald Lee. He's been the starter for the past two seasons, and been surprisingly productive as a receiver. Since he only caught 10 passes in 2006 as the top backup behind TE Bubba Franks, I wasn't expecting much more than that in 2007. To my surprise, however, he managed to have 48 and 39 receptions in the past two seasons, respectively. He's always been known as a blocking tight end, that's probably how he won the job in the first place, so as long as he keeps blocking and manages to catch the occassional pass, he'll probably remain the starter.
Jermichael Finley. Although he's entering his second season, it's important to remember he just turned 22 years old. If he had stayed at Texas, and had two more great seasons catching passes from QB Colt McCoy, then he might have been a future 1st round pick. Instead, he was a 3rd round pick in 2008. I'm not really sure how good his blocking is. If it's a problem, then that might be the main thing holding him back. He could become anything from a star to a bust, but we might have to wait until the 2010 season to know for sure.
Tory Humphrey. The wild card. The starting tight end spot was wide open going into the 2007 season, and it seemed like Humphrey was the front runner. Unfortunately for him, he broke his leg during the summer and missed the entire season. By the time he was healthy again, Lee was established as the starter and Finley was selected in the draft. The Packers didn't offer him a contract back in February, but he resigned a month later after finding no better offers. They'll keep a 3rd tight end on either the 53 man roster or the practice squad, so he has a good chance at sticking around for another season.
Evan Moore. He got a chance to play last preseason, but took a helmet to his knee during the game in San Francisco and was placed on injured reserve. If he's healthy, he might be tied with Humphrey for the 3rd TE spot.
Devin Frischknecht. The undrafted rookie might appear to have no chance, but he's got the right size, about 6'3", 250 lbs., that would make him a good fit with the Packers. It looks like he's primarily a blocker, and only had some success as a receiver. He won't have a lot of chances, but if he can get off to a good start in the preseason, he could easily jump ahead of Humphrey and Moore for the 3rd TE spot.