Packers

Sports Buffet for 06/03/10

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NFL

The Browns have announced that Hall of Fame RB Jim Brown and WR Paul Warfield will no longer serve as an advisers to owner Randy Lerner. Given the history of the Browns since the team returned in 1999, the leadership of the team needs all the advice they can get. Both will be missed.

Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger’s biggest test of the suspension is not now going back with the team and participating in the OTAs. The biggest test will be how he completes what the league has asked him to do to reduce the suspension from 6 games to 4. The other half of that test will be how he behaves or misbehaves during the time from the end of the last preseason game until he gets reinstated by the league. Under NFL rules he can have no contact with the team at all during that time except for medical staff as prescribed by the terms of the suspension. If he has another incident like the ones that got him suspended in the past, there could be games added to his “unpaid leave.”

The talk around Dolphin land at their OTA last weekend was all about the passing … Read more at FryingPanSports

Brett Favre is messing with his legacy.

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By Bill Smith

Several sources are reporting that Brett Favre is going to meet with the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff this week. It is a stupid move for Favre because it is the one thing he could do that will damage his reputation. Favre has seen Dr. Andrews and is considering surgery that would enable him to be ready to play in training camp. This is another signal that he is considering a comeback.

If he decides to come back and play, he will have again un-retired. But this time it is different. At the beginning of the 2008 season, it was the Packers and not Favre that decided that his services were no longer required. If he come back to play again, he will have broken his word to his fans and the media. His greatest fans will be hurt but will forgive him. The media will be less forgiving.

When he came back he hurt the Jets and it took a gift by Cleveland to get the team out of the mess that signing Favre created. The Jets had a QB that fit Coach Mangini’s offense perfectly. Chad Pennington was extremely accurate in the short and medium throws … Read more at FryingPanSports

NFC Draft grades

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By Bill Smith

The grades for the NFC seem to be a bit higher than the AFC.

Winners:

Bears: Getting QB Jay Cutler alone would make the Bears a winner. Adding Juaquin Iglesias (WR Oklahoma) in the 3rd was outstanding. DJ Moore (CB Vanderbilt) in the 4th, and both Johnny Knox (WR Abilene Christian) and Marcus Freeman (ILB Ohio State) in the 5th made this the top draft in NFC. Grade A++

Falcons: The Falcons got great value with their early picks. Peria Jerry (DT Mississippi ) is outstanding. William Moore (FS Missouri) would have been a first round pick last season had he come out. Lawrence Sidbury Jr. (OLB Richmond ) is the best pure pass rusher in the draft. If he ever learns how to play the run, he could be all pro for years. GRADE A

49ers: Michael Crabtree (WR Texas Tech) was a gift from Oakland at the 10 pick. Glen Coffee (RB Alabama) is solid. The 49ers got 2 of my sleepers in Scott McKillop (ILB Pittsburgh) who is a beast inside in the 5th round and Bear Pascoe (TE Fresno St) in the 6th. GRADE A… Read more at FryingPanSports

Changing Defensive Fronts is usually a bad idea.

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Fryingpan Sports

Changing Defensive Fronts is usually a bad idea.

By Bill Smith

The NFL is a copycat league. The Ravens and Steelers had the best defenses in the league. They both play a 3-4. Last year there were 7 teams that played the 3-4 as their base defense. There are 9 new head coaches in the NFL this year and you can bet that some of them are going to change their D fronts to match their own style of play. Josh McDaniels, the new coach of the Broncos has already said he is going to switch to a 3-4. Packer coach Mike McCarthy isn’t new but he is changing to the 3-4 as well. While it may make the job of the new 3-4 based coaching staff easier, very seldom is that a good idea. The requirements of a 4-3 defensive front and a 3-4 are very different.

The hardest thing to find in the draft beside a starting quality NFL quarterback is an NFL quality nose tackle for a 3-4. The key to a 3-4 defense is the NT. He has to cause so much havoc on the line that the opponent has to dedicate at least … Read more at FryingPanSports

A tale of 3 QBs.

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Fryingpan Sports

A tale of 3 QBs.

By Bill Smith

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Technorati Tags: Jets, Favre, NFL, NFL Draft, Packers, Dolphins, football, college football, Mangini, Giants, playoffs

Late in training camp in 2008 the Packers traded Bret Favre to the Jets. That trade ripped throughout the NFL like the explosion of a stick of dynamite used by lazy fishermen in a small lake.

Green Bay:

The Packers had a problem. They drafted Aaron Rodgers, the QB from California, in the first round in 2005. As of the beginning of 2008 football year, they had paid him a little over 6 million and were required to pay almost 2 million in 08. They drafted him because Favre began to play spin the bottle to determine if he would come back to play each year or not. As the preseasons rolled by, it took him more and more time to spin that bottle.

In January of 2008, the team decided that it was time to “move beyond” the Favre era and make Rodgers the starter. It looked like Favre would retire to everyone except Favre. When he came back there was more coverage of his arrival than there was of the OJ Simpson … Read more at FryingPanSports