15 Things To Watch Tonight
Every year, the main stream media shoves "5 Things To Watch" down our throats. As usual, we take their tired and stale meme and improve upon it.
By PackerAaron
Some things never change.
I wrote this back in 2007:
Did I miss a meeting? Is it a prerequisite that all outlets that cover the Green Bay Packers must produce a list of ’5 Things To Watch’ for every game the Packers play? I’ll tell you what, people. I’ll watch what I want to watch and you watch what you want to watch, alright?
Well, the tradition lives on. Five things to watch from:
I suppose I should restate our preseason mantra for those new to the site...
Preseason, by and large, does not matter. At all. What matters is watching individual matchups and how guys do in their one-on-ones inside a game situation. But winning and losing means less than nothing.
Corey pretty much nailed it last year:
Let’s be clear. These games are evaluation periods. The Bills and the Browns are NOT trying to win a game here…they are trying to evaluate players.
We can fully expect more of the same tonight.
Here's hoping we see you around the LIVE blog for tonight's game. :)
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Comments (34)
August 14, 2010 at 08:46 am
Anyone know where I can watch the game online besides the $40 espn thing.
August 14, 2010 at 09:19 am
Hey cole ATDHE.net is a great spot to go for the game. Yet sometimes it does have problems when your viewing but still great place.
August 14, 2010 at 09:24 am
p2p4u.net is another great one. I think they just changed the domain to firstrow.net, but both will take you to the same place.
August 14, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Or try Myp2p.eu. But they work with softwares, so you might have to download. But I've watched every preseason game so far in that site, and they usually link to veetle streams, with very good quality.
PackerAaron
August 14, 2010 at 08:49 am
Cole,
Check back on the live blog tonight - people always share links to the game.
August 14, 2010 at 09:39 am
Awesome thanks everyone!
August 14, 2010 at 05:02 pm
thank you mr.nagler
August 14, 2010 at 09:12 am
I'm hoping for a triumphant return for last year's "13 inch Philco Guy!" Bless that man!
August 14, 2010 at 09:48 am
Pre-season means nothing.False.The premise of it being only to watch the one on one's in game situation.False.Winning or losing means nothing.False.
Pre-season games are very important to evaluating team work against opponents and not your teammates.
Individual play(1on1)is important amid your team(OTA-CAMP) drills but the building of TEAM play is more so.A player who looks to shine for himself is and more likely will be playing with himself.To merely believe that pre-season games are nothing more than "individual stages" is a road to failure.
Only losers play at any level to lose.
Herm Edwards said it correctly"you play to win the game" every game.
Does any body have a copy of LOMBARDI saying he doesn't care if he wins or loses at anytime,in any type of game?
"There isn't anything in football that means nothing".
August 14, 2010 at 10:16 am
Neither offense or defense 'game plans' for pre-season match ups. They keep all packages vanilla for the express purpose of evaluating individuals. Yes, it's important to see how well each unit (comprised of individuals) understands the schematic installs, but neither team does any film study on the other prior to the matchup.
It's an evaluation period to generate coaches tape, trim the roster by 26 very talented players and have material for 'corrections' walk-thru the following week.
Is it nice to win, sure. Does it have even miniscule meaning compared to the regular season, no.
August 14, 2010 at 10:23 am
BTW - I'm all for Lombardi quotes, they can be inspiring. That being said, Vince never dealt with limited rosters, 16 game seasons, 4 pre-season games and the playoffs. He never felt the pressure of protecting what are now multi-multi million dollar contracts that are unfortuntaely tied to players and their relative health.
Pretty sure Vince's era involved guys leaving traing camp practice and walking directly to the pub for a beer and a smoke.
Apples and oranges when comparing eras.
August 14, 2010 at 11:16 am
I'm going to go ahead and expand on the above and perhaps tread into the realm of blasphemy:
Just because Vince said something, doesn't make it true or gospel.
Just because Vince didn't say something, doesn't mean it must not be pertinent.
Vince Lombardi is an all-time great football coach. He was a man who orchestrated teams within a certain time frame of professional football with precision and discipline, and he had wonderful results.
Many on the concepts he perfected are the foundation for modern coaching.. But the game has changed, it's complexity has changed. Concepts that were cutting edge in the 50's and 60's are considered base concepts at the collegiate and sometimes HS level now.
Pro athletes are also an entirely different, more advanced beast today as well- and as such, their training methods and drills are often at a whole new level of minutia than ever before.
Lastly, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I'd be willing to wager that Vince Lombardi had developed concepts and viewpoints on coaching that were vastly different on some topics than Knute Rockne or Red Grange. Moving forward sometimes means breaking tradition.. Ideas and concepts should be judged on their effectiveness and their own merit, not by whether they fall in line with the standard.
PackerAaron
August 14, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Tarynfor12, I've re-read my post several times now and I'm having trouble finding the line where I said the Packers should "play to lose". Could you help point it out?
What's that? You can't? OH! That's because I never WROTE that. Huh. Interesting.
August 14, 2010 at 01:41 pm
Nagler....
August 14, 2010 at 03:40 pm
I never said you stated "PLAY TO LOSE".Apparently you don't read as well as those you sometimes mention.
I was merely puting my 2 cents in about the thought of pre-season means nothing.Winning is probably not high on the list of things to do in a pre-season game,however the simplest feeling of success in any game does carry over to the next whether pre or regular and winning is the name of the game.
So unwrap your panties and try to understand that there are many who feel other wise than yourself and your beliefs of pre-season is not gospel.
As you have done,I have re-read my posts and cannot find your name mentioned anywhere in it or quoting you.
I have only been visiting here a short time and love the site,but at times I do believe you can scratch your head without lifting your hand from your ass.
With all respects to the bloggers and writers,love the work and can't wait for more.
August 14, 2010 at 10:55 pm
if preseason wins mattered.. the packers would have won the superbowl last year.. they won all 4 by a country mile... yet ended up having a average season by their standards.. yea we put up great numbers stat wise.. but this year we have basicaly the same team... this preseason is not about wins.. its about seeing if players improved where they needed to (chillar and hawk along with the corners) and if young guys can step up and contribute.. nothing more than that.. the coach isnt going to bring out stunts in order to win.. winning is nice.. but the only teams that care about the win or the loss are the teams that did terrible last year (browns lions bears bucs) those teams WANT to win.. and will try to win.. any other team is merely trying to figure out who is gonna contribute later in the year
August 14, 2010 at 09:57 am
Looking forward to seeing this Shields fella in a live game scenario. Heard about him all camp, I'll be interested to see what he's got.
August 14, 2010 at 11:35 am
Pre-season ia the time to watch the backups and see if the "Training Camp Hype" really means anything. According to MM the first teams will play no more than 20-25 snaps. After that it is all evalustion and looking at different combinations. Also, planning for the inevitable front line injuries.
I plan on watching the Oline backups, the Dline backups, LB's in general, and especially the ST's. Wins are always better than losses, but they won't make a difference when they open the regular season (See last year).
August 14, 2010 at 11:51 am
Also going to be watching Shields. Hope to see him in ST coverage and even on returns.
August 14, 2010 at 12:42 pm
great comments
August 14, 2010 at 01:36 pm
While Cleveland's O-line isn't an upper-echelon unit, they are a respectable one, and they seem to have a legit rushing threat.
That should be enough to give us a glimpse into what the loss of Johnny Jolly may mean to the Packers starting D.
Tonight will be a good opportunity to see how much penetration Raji can get up the middle and how stout against the double team he can anchor at nose.. In the same regard, will Pickett have enough mobility to make plays off the edge if need be?
How do Brandon Chillar and Brad Jones look at OLB when Clay Matthews isn't on the field to attract special attention?
Can Hawk continue to impress as he did in the scrimmage?
This should be a nice, easing-into-it indicator for our front 7 in general. Again, the Browns aren't a stellar blocking unit, but they are a good baseline group to get a gauge off of.
August 14, 2010 at 02:21 pm
NO INJURIES PLEASE!!!!
August 14, 2010 at 03:17 pm
I'm brand new to this site. Where do I find the live blog during the game? Thanks
PackerAaron
August 14, 2010 at 03:24 pm
moxieone - welcome! Just head to the homepage a few mins before kickoff. It will be in the center of the site. You can't miss it :)
August 14, 2010 at 05:11 pm
pat,pitts ferms witch one arron
August 14, 2010 at 03:43 pm
Slightly off-topic.....but just picked up The Maple Street Press Packer preview magazine. It greatly exceeded my expectations!
- Nagler....great write-up of the evolution of McCarthy's offense. You simply knocked it out of the park. That Charger game was truely the turning point and really illustrated McCarthy's intelligence on the offensive ball. The difference in game plans from the opening game against the Eagles and that game is remarkable. Really, really good article.
- Brian...more excellent work from you as well..even a nice shout out to bloggers around the Pack-o-sphere. Your write up off all the positions was great as well.... my daughter is already studying it much to the displeasure of my Saudi mother-in-law who usually is on the recieving end of my daughters Packer "teaching" lessons. My mother-in-law has never been out of Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, much less ever watched a football game. So it is always funny listening to my daughter with great enthusaism trying to explain Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson to her over Skype...and then seeing my mother in laws confused face :))
Cheesehead Tv keeps getting more and more interesting and better and better content. great new audio player and love that you guys are experimenting with new things
August 14, 2010 at 05:01 pm
great comment no injuries
August 14, 2010 at 05:08 pm
me
August 14, 2010 at 05:09 pm
I am going to watch and see if focus was on tackling and team blocking along with other basics that hurt chances of winning last year.
August 14, 2010 at 05:14 pm
Also I want to see if Mike Holmgren is making an impact on the Browns because I sure miss him. You know attitude via players attitudes and all the other "professionalism". I think Detroit and Cleveland mirror each other in quality!
August 14, 2010 at 05:54 pm
Don't know about that. The Lions have (in thesis) the QB of the future, the RB of the future, a solid young TE, a great WR, and a capable OL. Their new DL could be a force, thay have a good LB in Peterson, and a very good young S in Delmas.
Cleveland has Cribbs as a playmaker on offense, what seems like a good RB in Harrison, maybe Hardesty, and that's it on offense (unless you're a Colt McCoy believer). On D, they have their CBs set with Wright and Haden, a moster but lazy NT in Rodgers, and that's it.
August 14, 2010 at 05:26 pm
I remember Coach Lombardi chewing out the rookies down at the start of practice about giving out autographs. Sure and he would look at us kids and say young people they have not proven there skills to me yet so just ask the vets for autographs. He was so intimidating. After practice he would enjoy walking with the kids with his big smile asking how we thought practice went for the day. Boy and if one called Coach Lombardi "Vince" the rath would follow with many pro-nouns. Always Mr. Lombardi and he would rub your head and ask you if you will play for the Packers someday? I shall never miss him!!!
August 14, 2010 at 06:36 pm
game---- - time soon,hamburgers,brats, beer pop, green and gold, new jerzeys,hats,the crowd.let ride ride ride let ride GET READY TO RUMBEL.
August 14, 2010 at 07:16 pm
Try this to watch live:
http://www.justin.tv/sports4life69#