SB Nation User Blog: Mitchell_M

Recap: Cavaliers 85, Bucks 83 (With Special Bonuses!)

Mitchell_M — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:17:37 -0000

about 17 hours ago: Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Jennings (3) runs into Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) on a drive to the basket in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 18, 2009, in Cleveland. Jennings scored 18 points in a 85-82 loss to Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

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Greetings, Bucks fans. Frank and Alex are both unavailable for the Bucks-Cavaliers recap, so you guys get me. Sorry.

Box Score

The last time ESPN showed the Bucks, the team saw by the nation (and myself) was a young team both struggling without Andrew Bogut as a centerpiece and unable to keep up with Oklahoma City's rampant athleticism. It was a disappointing showing, even bordering on embarassing. But the Bucks aren't that team, and ESPN is giving them another chance to show what they really are.

Unfortunately, they drew LeBron James and the Cavs, meaning the road to redemption on national television is that much harder. But who's to say they won't do it? After all, the Bucks have some advantages in this game (weird, right?), and it always helps to have a defensive stopper with the ability to cover James one-on-one. Perhaps they can do the inconceivable and topple the Cavaliers? I sure hope so, and I certainly think they can.

(Note: For those of you wondering why I'm talking in the future tense, or why I haven't mentioned the result of the game, it's because I didn't watch it live. I DVR'd the game and watched it after getting home from work at 9 AM. Third shift sucks that way.)

This recap will be a little different than those before it. We'll still have Three Bucks, Three Numbers, and the Good and Bad, but we'll have some bonus triplets after the jump, plus some actual game analysis peppered in. Think of it as a retroactive live-blog.

On to the game (most of you have already seen)!

Three Things I Noticed Before Tip-Off

Hubie Brown and Dave Pasch were just a tad friendlier to the Cavs. Sure, they're a perennial powerhouse and led by the premier player of his generation, but do we have to make it sound like that much of a mismatch?

These teams aren't really all that different. Think about it; they both are defensive teams that keep the game's score low and can light it up from deep, they both have two big foreign guys that play defense, take charges, and rebound, and they're both led by players that arrived somewhat unexpectedly (Cleveland with the surprising #1 draft pick despite the odds, Milwaukee with 9 other teams passing on Jennings (and his impromptu entrance after being picked at #10)). It's almost like the Bucks are a poor man's Cavaliers, but then you remember that the Cavs are from Cleveland, which is a poor man's everything.

Brandon Jennings' hair makes him look even more like Allen Iverson. The corn rows aren't quite as long as A.I's yet, but give it time. I'd be frightened if his assist (6.0 apg) and three-point numbers (44%(!)) were as Iverson-like as he looks. Have I gushed about how much of a man-crush I have on BJ yet? I'll wait 'til the game starts to go full steam ahead, but let's just say he's already become my favorite NBA player.

Three First Half Observations

A Great Start. A 17-7 start before Cleveland takes its first timeout is absolutely led by Young Money (3 points, 6 assists). He would have had 7 dimes had Ersan not had his fast-break layup blocked by Shaq. I saw some good shooting, great passing, and above-average defense during this run; this is the team that the Bucks are trying to be. But they have to do it for all 48 minutes, not just the first 6:23. Which is exactly when Cleveland closed the gap and forced Milwaukee out of its game.

Jennings had a pretty good first half altogether with 8 points and 6 assists, plus he was the only Buck really willing to attack the paint. When he gets older/stronger, he'll actually finish those trips to the rack (2/9 in the first half).

The Daniel Gibson "Foul". I didn't want to waste one of my three points on one play, but this infuriated me. Gibson drove hard, froze Kurt Thomas with a ball fake, and went up for the layup. Thomas' foot was very close to the one Boobie took off on, so much so that Gibson's reaction resulting in his right foot taking out his left, thus sending him to the floor. He made the shot nonetheless, and it was a great play with an outstanding effort to make the basket. Then came the whistle, and Boobie took the line for the and-one.

BUT THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT. NONE WHATSOEVER. Just because a player trips over his own feet while shooting and a defender just happens to be near him (BUT NOT TOUCHING HIM AT ALL) doesn't mean he should get a freebie. Now, I reffed college intramurals, so I know how calls can be almost impossible to truly see at certain speeds, angles, and whatnot, and that's magnified 1000x in the NBA, but c'mon. Then, of course, Hubie Brown went on a long diatribe about how you don't foul a player when you get out of position and give him the and-one, unless you foul his arms to prevent the layup attempt, blah blah blah, completely discounting the fact that it was a phantom call. Gah, basketball can be infuriating sometimes.

To prove my point, Boobie missed the free throw. Ball don't lie.

Bogut + foul trouble = complete inability to protect the paint. Andy's three quick fouls (one of which was legit, one was iffy, and one was downright ticky-tack) limited him to less than 6 minutes in the half and opened up the lane faster than you can say "massive free throw discrepancy". Oh, and there was a massive free throw discrepancy (CLE - 21 attempts, MIL - 5 attempts). Part of this was too much jump shooting by Milwaukee, part of it was bad calls here and there, but most of it was missing Bogut.

Three Second Half Observations

When Cleveland asserts itself, they're impressive. The Bucks have enough good shooters to out-gun teams that get caught up in a scorefest. Good teams avoid playing to their opponents strength. Cleveland is a good team, which is why they forced the issue inside while Milwaukee was content to stay along the perimeter. Of course, they're often better than good, considering they've got a bunch of shooters to go with their strong post presence.

LeBron's post defense. There was one sequence at the 3:30 mark in the 3rd quarter where Hakim Warrick tried posting James up...and Bron-Bron didn't go anywhere. Warrick actually lost the ball because he simply couldn't move James off the spot. The look (I thought I saw) on his face was half surprise, half amazement.

The last 4:35. Milwaukee was getting handled, but managed to stick around long enough to gain possession with 9.7 seconds left and a chance to force overtime with a three pointer. More on this later.

Three Bucks

Brandon Jennings. Jennings reversed his historical trends by starting off hot and cooling off near the end. However, his 18 point, 8 assist night was punctuated by his 7-7 performance from the free throw line. Attacking the basket is something Jennings will have to learn how to do, which will hopefully cut down on the 5-21 shooting nights.

Ersan Ilyasova. Ersan only got 31 minutes, but he generally made good things happen during those minutes. He tied Jennings' 18 points and was +6 in point differential, but his defense, rebounding, and relentless motor was the defining characteristic of the Bucks relatively competent outing and ultimately kept them in the game.

Charlie Bell. Charlie didn't do that much (16 points, 1 rebound), but he was serviceable on offense and as-good-as-the-situation-allowed on defense. If only Skiles would stop putting him on taller players. The dude's only 6'3", asking him to cover the likes of Kobe (6'6") and LeBron (6'8") is downright silly.

Three Numbers

.269. If you're a jump shooting team, make sure that you make more than just barely over a quarter of your three point shots. I know Cleveland has a superb defense, but anytime you take that many threes (22 attempts), try to make more than 27% (7 makes). I wouldn't harp on this so much if I didn't see at least three airballs (Bell, Ilyasova, and Jennings) over the course of the game.

17:09. Bogut played significantly more in the second half, but he was so timid after racking up three first half fouls that it was largely ineffective. He still managed 8 rebounds and 2 blocks, but when you're the only low-post threat on a team that needs a credible low-post threat, you need to bring it against an old Shaquille O'Neal and an older Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

-17. Free throw differential. And that's just attempts: the Bucks were -13 in terms of makes. 'Nuff said.

Three Good

The last 4:35. I said I'd come back to this. The fourth quarter was a statistical win for the Bucks (21-14), but from the start until the 4:36 mark, they let the Cavs do whatever they wanted. That's how Cleveland opened up a big lead and ultimately gave Milwaukee the W. But let's look at the results of Cleveland's possession during this timeframe:

Turnover
Missed jumper
Block
Missed jumper
Missed 3-pointer
Shot clock violation (off of a Cleveland offensive rebound)
Missed 3-pointer
Turnover

If you're going to go for the ugly win, stretches like this are exactly what you need on defense. A Bucks win would have certainly been ugly, and it's a shame they couldn't make it happen, but with the game on the line, they managed to pick themselves back up and turn it back into a competition with an elite Eastern Conference team.

Jennings' shot defense. Maybe it's because I'm a fellow skinny PG, but when I see Brandon bust his hump getting a hand in the shooter's face, it makes me happy. He won't be able to outmuscle anybody, but he can make shooters miss through sheer annoyance. I chalk it up to good coaching (thanks, Kelvin Sampson!).

This point is less about Jennings' use of the lost art of "hand-in-face" and more about his exceptional effort. He plays like a guy who flat-out loves the sport, and if he works in practice as hard as he does in games (which I hear he does), he's going to be huge.

Determination, swagger, and stick-to-it-iveness. Results aside, the most important thing about this game is that the Bucks showed a national audience that they can hang with the Eastern Conference elite. They play feisty defense, unselfish offense, and once they become more seasoned, they will be able to hang with any team on any night, if they aren't already. Shoot, they took the Blazers and Lakers to overtime and played a tight game against the Cavs. That's one very good team and two elite teams.

Most importantly, they didn't fold. Down 10 going into the fourth and 13 with six minutes left, they could have just let Cleveland keep hammering them, but they didn't go away. They held the Cavs scoreless in the final 4:35 and pulled to within three. That says something to me. Maybe the casual fan won't see it, but I can see it. This team is actually going to become something.

Three Bad

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's foot. While it may be healed, it clearly isn't 100% yet. Whenever Luc was matched up on LeBron James, good things happened. Whenever Bell, Delfino, or someone else was matched up on James, bad things happened very quickly. I cannot keep track of how many times I saw someone other than the Prince defending King James and immediately thought "This cannot end well."

Quite simply, if Milwaukee wants to be a serious team, they need Luc to lock down the other team's best non-center. I don't care if his range is minimal, his shot mechanics are off, and his post game is weak: when he's locking someone down, they become a non-factor.

Addiction to jump shots. The Bucks are a jump shooting team. We know that. But unless they're willing to at least entertain the notion of driving to the basket, they won't become anything special. I know that the makeup of the team lends itself to a jump shot oriented offense (Jennings, Ridnour, Redd, Ilyasova, Delfino, even Thomas and Gadzuric), and some of those guys can drive to the hoop, but they have to want to. Right now, Jennings and Warrick are the only players who want to earn free throws. Two of twelve isn't nearly enough to create balance on offense, and no offensive balance leads to sub-par seasons and early playoff exits.

Fouling. Too much by Milwaukee (22), not enough by Cleveland (16). There's no easier way to break it down. Physical defense is great as long as it isn't sloppy, and it was terribly sloppy this time.

Three Wishes (a.k.a. What I Want To See Happen No Later Than All-Star Weekend)

An increase in plays ran for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute resulting in a corner-3 attempt. I know I just decried the Era of the Jumper in Milwaukee, but Luc needs more minutes, and the only way he can do that is if he makes himself useful on offense. What better way to do that than harness the power of the corner-3, following the footsteps of longtime defensive ace Bruce Bowen? And what better time to do that than during a season where the team is overachieving and searching for offensive identity?

Redd inserted as a permanent 6th man. No, he's not effective yet. He's still recovering from that ACL tear, and he's going to be playing his way back into shape. The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can accept his new role as a bench scorer. A second string Big Three of Ridnour, Redd, and Warrick can be potent if all three figure out their best roles. Speaking of Ridnour...

Ridnour signed to a reasonable extension. Frank explored the anomaly that is Frodo's scorching start to 2009, and I tend to agree with the consensus that it's likely just a prolonged hot streak. But regarding the question of what to actually do with him? I'm all for keeping him.

Look, Brandon's the man, but I doubt if Iverson's doppleganger will emulate the 47 minute outings put forth by his predecessor. Jennings should play at a high level for as long as he's able, and I see that level being sustainable for no more than 35 minutes a night. If you have a chance to lock in a backup who can take the majority of the remaining minutes and still play effectively and meshes well with the starter in certain situations, take it! Unless Ridnour's agent is looking for ridiculous Danny G money, I say sign Frodo for as much Shire-money as he wants (but as little as it takes).

* * *

Thanks for having me, guys. See you next time I manage to catch the Bucks on national TV and both Frank and Alex are unable to do the recap. If that doesn't happen (which it probably won't), I'll see you in the comments.

Packers-Ravens Retroactive Live-Blog

Mitchell_M — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:45:44 -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?

A Quick Update on my Goings-On

Mitchell_M — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:53:00 -0000

I know this is a Packer site, and non-football news is generally discouraged. But since the volume of e-mails I've received regarding my absence is generally along the lines of "where the hell did you go?" I'll get you guys up to speed.

I work in the shipping industry. I'm a manager at a massive hub facility for an international shipping company (I won't say which, mainly because I'm not a fan of the company). Because the holidays are looming, we are in the midst of what is called "peak season".

Peak season, for salaried employees, is hell. I am literally working 70+ hours a week, and those hours are all overnights. Here's my typical schedule:

10:00 PM - Arrive at work
10PM-10AM - Work ass off
10-10:30 - Paperwork/nodding off in office chair
10:30 - Go home/nearly crash into oncoming traffic
11:00 - Collapse in heap on floor
11:07 - Get up, collapse in heap on bed
5:00 PM (if I'm lucky) - Wake up
5-9:30 - eat, run errands, read e-mails, work out, spend time with significant other
9:30-10 - Reflect on where I went wrong while driving

Needless to say, that 4.5 hour block doesn't leave me a lot of time to put into writing. Any articles I published then would be even bigger sacks of crap than my regular ones. And I take pride in my crap-sacks; they deserve all the time they need to get as verbose and frivolous as possible.

The good news is that this is a short-term deal (mid-December), so I should hopefully make a triumphant return around that time. Until then, bear with me, readers. And keep the "good riddance!" e-mails to a minimum; my psyche can't handle that kind of rejection.

Welcome to Green Bay, where EVERYBODY gets sacked!

Mitchell_M — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:26:50 -0000

Welcome to Green Bay, where EVERYBODY gets sacked!

Allegedly, coach Mike McCarthy and Lambeau maintenance employee Mike Wood got into a massive brawl that spilled out into the streets and engulfed two square blocks in their flames of rage.

Nah, just kidding. Wood said to McCarthy, "Don't lay an egg." At least, McCarthy thinks that's what he said. Regardless, McCarthy asked Wood's supervisor for his name, and Wood was terminated earlier that day. Say what?

I'm not sure what to make of this. Both sides stick to their story, and it's so bizarre that others have little frame of reference for it. A non-story getting blown out of proportion by poor team performance and a need for a scapegoat, or a sign of McCarthy's seemingly imminent departure? I'll let you decide.

And the inquiries as to my whereabouts are appreciated, but unfortunately I'm powerless to change my work situation (yet). But I'll figure out a way to make it all work.

Unacceptable

Mitchell_M — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:24:11 -0000

That's really the only word you can use to describe it. I mean, you can try to use other words like horrendous, awful, disgusting, or mind-blowingly-bad (hyphens count), but I like the way "unacceptable" rolls off the tongue.

I don't even mind losing to Tampa Bay so much as the fashion in which they lost. After all, "any given Sunday" is a mantra most NFL teams and coaches live by, so it's not inconvievable that a winless team gets its first victory against any opponent, be they great or terrible or horribly average.

What gets me is that it's the same thing over and over and over and over. I hate it when mistakes are repeated so many times. It's almost redundant to talk about how bad this team is in pass protection, special teams coverage, and playcalling.

There's actually a line in a rap song that acts as a good parallel to how I'm feeling right now. Track 17 on 'The Marshall Mathers LP' with D12 member Bizarre on the track:

I'm ripped, I'm on an acid trip/

My DJ's in a coma for lettin' the record skip/

Lettin' the record skip, lettin' the record skip/

(Damn!)

Bizarre clearly doesn't appreciate it when his disc jockey allows the song to get stuck in a certain repetitive groove. It ruins his evening, and it does not please him. In fact, he is so displeased that he wishes harm upon his disc jockey.

Well, if you substitute "song" for "2009 season" and "disc jockey" for "Coach McCarthy" and take out the whole drug thing, it sums up my (and some of your) feelings rather well.

Mike McCarthy, you are officially on the hot seat. Please find a way to get off of it next week against Dallas.

Well, This Is News

Mitchell_M — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:18:36 -0000

We knew Jason Spitz was out for Sunday with an unspecified lower back injury sustained in practice. His injury has taken a turn for the worse; Spitz was put on injured reserve yesterday.

One man who gains from this development is Scott Wells, the formerly-unseated starting center who now finds himself back with the first string. Most people believed that, while Wells is a superior technician and has more experience, his weak base and undersized stature made him an ill-fit at the center of the offensive line. Enter Jason Spitz, who is much bigger and stronger than Wells.

The move to I.R. is a shocker to me, as it leaves depth on the offensive line even thinner than before. However, if you're going to lose a starter, it may as well be at a position where you have a backup of Wells' caliber. Wells played relatively well against Minnesota (read: he was only tossed out of the way once), and Tampa Bay doesn't figure to challenge him much.

In any case, it's a shame that Spitz has to spend the rest of the year in street clothes. With all that free time, what will he do with himself? Aside from make conversation with Justin Harrell (who's been down this road before), let's hope he helps the line any way he can.

Well, La Dee Da

Mitchell_M — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:54:50 -0000

Well, La Dee Da

Brandon went after the NFL's policy of fining players for penalties during games, and he made some excellent points. However, in the case of Johnny Jolly's moronic headbutt, he got lucky to lose just $5k. Shoot, part of me thinks he should be docked double that for "conduct detrimental to the team."

Why Ryan Grant Isn't The Answer

Mitchell_M — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:37:48 -0000

Ryan Grant is an enigma of sorts. He is a starting running back in the NFL, yet he is widely regarded as a player with above-average skills at best. He is good at many things, but great at nothing. Even his Scouts Inc. profile from ESPN.com shows how he is simultaneously impressive and limited.

He doesn't have outstanding speed but runs well and has quickness and burst to hit the hole...He has good power to move the pile, but wouldn't be considered an explosive ball carrier...He has adequate hands as a target in the passing game but isn't dangerous in the open field after the catch.

To sum up Ryan Grant's career to this point: "meh." He doesn't have the size of Brandon Jacobs, or the elusiveness of Adrian Peterson, or the power of Michael Turner, or the agility of LaDanian Tomlinson, or the vision of Ronnie Brown, or the afterburner speed of Chris Johnson. He has those things in smaller amounts, but not enough to be considered special.

Despite his rather pedestrian profile, Grant has respectible numbers over his 3-year career: 2654 yards, 15 touchdowns, and a ypc average of 4.3. He has a reputation of being able to produce despite his physical limitations, and that reputation has dubbed him the main rusher on one of the few teams that does not employ a running-back-by-committee.

My question is this: Should Ryan Grant be the lone ball-carrier on the Packers?

In order to explore this question, we first have to look at the state of the running back position in Green Bay since 2007, when Grant burst onto the scene. In 2007, Grant was behind the likes of Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency, and DeShawn Wynn. It took all the way until Week 8 (the Denver OT game) for Grant to establish himself in the Packer backfield, and even then it was only due to injuries to those in front of him.

In 2008, Grant was the unquestioned starter, and Jackson and Wynn were contributors. That trend continued to this season, with a minor change in personnel. DeShawn Wynn managed to find his way onto the injured reserve list (again), so former Packer Pro Bowler Ahman Green takes his place. Despite his history, Green's addition does little to threaten Grant's job security; the starting job belongs to Ryan Grant until someone is added to the roster that can compete for the position.

While it might be remiss to dismiss Grant's 2007 campaign, I contend that he remained the starter simply because nobody else was good enough to take his place. Brett Favre's 2007 season was as stellar as it was unexpected; defenses had to focus more on the pass, thus opening up running lanes. Almost anybody could have put up decent numbers on that offense so long as they could run without getting winded.

While the story of the undrafted Notre Dame product breaking onto the scene is a popular one, players don't (or at least shouldn't) get paid based on backstory. They get paid for performance; sometimes past, but more often projected. Ryan Grant's major payday during the summer of 2007 was somewhat understated compared to the media frenzy that followed the team (and still does, as we saw from Sunday). But make no mistake, Grant's new contract was based more on the past and less on the future.

From a PR standpoint, I understand why they gave Grant his money. With all the tension pervading the Green Bay fanbase before the 2008 season, the organization needed to do something that the fans could agree upon. What better way to ease that pressure than to extend the contract of a player who had just gained nearly 1,000 yards in half a season? But from a talent and, more importantly, a projected performance standpoint, I think Grant is vastly overpaid.

Let me be clear that I like Ryan Grant and want him on the team. However, I don't think he is being properly used in the offense and the offense is being held back as a result.

Obviously, there's no way I can make these claims without at least attempting to back them up with factual evidence. Therefore, I submit Exhibit A: Ryan Grant's career statistics, supplied by NFL.com. NFL.com has a wonderful feature called "Situational Stats" that breaks down a player's numbers by more in-depth metrics than just per-game or per-carry. These different metrics really show what kind of running back Grant is and why he's being mis-used.

* * *

The first one is dividing Grant's production by the number of attempts he receives. NFL running backs typically carry the ball 20 times in a game. The best way to break down a running back's production is to look at how many yards he gains on attempts 1 through 10, then how much he gains on 11 through 20, and finally anything above carry number 21.

	Attempts	Yards	Average	TDs
1-10	352	1624	4.6	9
11-20	241	992	4.1	8
21+	75	298	4.0	1

As you can see, Grant's numbers start to take a dip once he gets past his tenth carry in a given game. While I like to see coaches stick with the run throughout a game in order to get the back into a rhythm, Grant hasn't demonstrated the ability to maintain a consistent ability to get yards as the game wears on. Another way to show this is to divide Grant's yardage totals by his career number of games.

Carries	Yards per game
1-10	46.4
11-20	28.3
21+	8.5

No wonder Mike McCarthy doesn't stick with the run. Anytime Grant carries more than ten times, his yards gained for the second decuplet of carries is halved. Halved! For a back who's known for explosive gains throughout a game, it sure seems like he can't do much after his tenth attempt.

* * *

The second metric is simpler: it compares Ryan Grant's numbers in the first and second halves of games. While it's more rudimentary, it better shows how consistent (or inconsistent) a back is throughout a game.

	Attempts	Yards	Average	TDs
1st Half	367	1634	4.5	15
2nd Half	300	1278	4.3	3

Surprisingly, this breakdown doesn't show as big of a drop off in any category besides touchdowns. He has fewer yards on fewer carries in the second half, which might be a result of the trailing team focusing more on the pass to ignite the offense. By dividing his totals by his total number of games, however, the discrepancy is a bit more visible.

	Attempts/game	Yards/game
1st Half	10.8	48.1
2nd Half	8.8	37.6

The carries per half are nearly even, but the yardage is not. Again, this might be a result of the Packers being forced into passing on offense, but conventional wisdom suggests that there would be more available on the ground. Grant has not found that room in the second half, even though he's getting the same opportunities.

* * *

The third metric is not available directly on NFL.com, but I went and dug up the stats from each individual box score from 2007, 2008, and 2009 to compile the numbers. I don't have an official name for it yet, but it measures Grant's production based on what percentage of the team's carries he is responsible for. I tried to quantify how well Grant performed when he received a minority of the carries (< 50%), a significant share (51-74%), and a majority (>75%).

% of team carries	Games	Attempts	Yards	Average	TDs
< 50%	5	36	215	6.0	1
51-74%	14	247	1118	4.5	6
> 75%	16	345	1351	3.9	8

While the discrepancies in sample sizes skews the numbers somewhat, it's clear that whenever Grant is more responsible for the rushing offense, he is less effective. Workhorse backs often produce the best whenever they get the bulk of the carries from their offense, and that's how Grant has been treated. However, the numbers simply don't support the notion that Grant needs a large amount of touches to be effective. This is more obvious when you divide the statistical totals by the number of games played.

% of team carries	Games	Attempts/game	Yards/game	Average/game	TDs/game
< 50%	5	7.2	43.0	6.0	0.2
51-74%	14	19.0	86.0	4.5	0.5
> 75%	16	21.6	84.4	3.9	0.5

As you can see, whenever Grant's carries push him into the third category of team carry %, he actually gains fewer yards per game despite the additional opportunities. Conversely, whenever Grant gets minimal opportunities, he seems to do the most with them. He gains yards more efficiently with fewer carries, and he clearly starts to wear down after his twentieth attempt.

* * *

I'm no statistician, but even I'm shocked at how much the numbers back the argument. Ryan Grant simply isn't consistent enough to be the running back that McCarthy wants him to be. Is he effective? In certain situations, yes. But I don't think that he should be a 20+ carry workhorse; he simply isn't that kind of player.

Ted Simmons Speed Camp said it best in response to the question "What happened to Ryan Grant?"

The rest of the league realized he's really a complimentary back.

Shortly thereafter, ktenreb summed up Ryan Grant's football career, how he arrived in Green Bay, why he succeeded, and the circumstances that led to his big payday:

He was a part-time starter in college on a bad Notre Dame team. TT’s plan for finding a f3eature running didn’t work (surprise!), and so at the beginning of the 2007 season it looked like the team needed some depth. TT spent a 6th round pick for what he assumed would be a third-string back who had decent hands (yes, he actually did). Jacobs didn’t work out, Wynne got hurt and lacked toughness, so Grant got his shot. His timing couldn’t have been better, because by that point of the season McCarthy and Favre had abandoned any chance of running the ball (remember, we were so bad on the O-line that we were playing with a gimmick zone-blocking scheme, to cover the lack of talent) and were killing opposing defenses with a 5 WR formation. Defenses adjusted by dropping 5 and 6 into coverage in nickel and dime defenses — against those defenses, Grant was able to run. He killed opposing defenses, and when they countered with putting more men in the box, Favre went back to killing them with slants.

After that season, Grant was a hot commodity to fans, but "real" GMs knew that it was a fluke. In fairness, Thompson knew it too, but he still stubbornly sat on his hands and took no steps to bring in a truly first-rate running back. Grant held out, and Thompson ultimately was forced to give him the big payday.

During that same summer, there was something about a quarterback/GM feud in Packerland that also was prominent, the result being that the quarterback who could run the 5 WR sets was no longer around. As the season began, Grant was not 100 percent healthy as a result of his contract holdout. He seemed to get healthier as the season progressed, and he gained over 1,000 yards, but it was pretty clear that he did not have the vision that first-rate running backs possess. Still, he was the best option on the roster and he got his carries, but at the rate of under four yards-per.

This year is the same as last year, except that Grant doesn’t have an injury excuse (at least not that I know of). The offensive line has regressed from last year, but Grant still does not show that he is truly a feature back. That was the knock against him in college, and that’s why the Giants were happy to dump him for a 6th round pick. 2007 was a fluke occasioned by a perfect storm of opportunity. It won’t happen again, and Ryan Grant is not going to turn into a genuine feature back in the NFL (unless he plays a very bad team with horrible injuries at a time when its roster is decimated by the flu).

That, my friends, is a great comment that should have been turned into a FanPost. But is he right?

For what it's worth, I think so. I think Grant can be very effective as a member of a committee, instead of a lone workhorse. Remember how the Giants used Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Derrick Ward with great success? That's the type of setup I'd like to see Grant in, with Brandon Jackson playing the role of the change-of-pace back. Then again, this is all assuming that the real problem isn't with Grant, but with his blocking, which is a very real possibility.

Man, the Thompson haters are going to have a field day with this one...and the sad thing is that they may have a point.

Worse Than A Blowout

Mitchell_M — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:18:52 -0000

They were so close. So very close. I had already written them off, and then they started coming back, and started getting some calls, and when Jennings caught that touchdown, I really started believing.

It didn't take long to crash back to reality.

I'm feeling pretty numb right now. I might do a recap tomorrow. I might not.

A bit melodramatic? Absolutely. But I'm going to wallow in my sports-self-pity for a little while.

Thank You, NFL Schedulemakers

Mitchell_M — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:50:43 -0000

Going into this week, I was tired of not having the ability to watch Green Bay play in non-nationally televised games. Except for the opening game against Chicago, the Minnesota game, and the Baltimore game later this year, the most Packer football I get to see most Sundays is during halftime shows and highlight packages on NFL.com. Considering a fair amount of my free time goes into writing for this site, not being able to see what the readers are seeing is a severe handicap.

It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't live in the New York TV market, leaving me to choose between Giants and Jets games. Don't get me wrong, both teams are fun to watch, but it feels almost...wrong.

Going into this week, I decided on a whim to check the New York teams' schedules. Originally, the Jets were scheduled for 1:00 PM and the Giants were slated to play at 4:15 PM. I had forgotten about the announcement earlier this season that the Giants game (at Philadelphia) would be moving up to 1:00 PM...and the Green Bay-Minnesota tilt was pushed to 4:15.

But it couldn't be that easy, could it? It has to be too good to be true, doesn't it? That was my attitude when I woke up this morning (at 2 AM...working third shift during the week is a bitch). I decided to check the TV schedule for the day, just to further my misery.

At 4:00 PM, CBS is showing bull riding. Awesome. On FOX, immediately following the Giants game, they're showing Minnesota at Green Bay.

...Wait, what?

Awesome.

Consider this your pre-game live thread until Brandon publishes the real game thread. Enjoy your morning, gents. I know I will...because at 4:00 PM (3:00 central)...it's on.