Look, I’m no expert. On anything. Most definitely not on writing or football. But then again, I’m not paid to be. Hell, I’m not paid period. But I would expect those who are paid, both to write and opine on football, to show a modicum of talent for one or the other. So it is with great wonderment that I present you with the last line from the latest blog post by the two time Wisconsin Sportscaster of the Year and the host of the pre-game show “Packers Game Day” on the Green Bay Packers Radio Network:

The NFC has yet to be defined. With 10 games left, neither has the Packers season.

The random meter has been set to: Fish.

…goes to our friend Pete Dougherty over at the Green Bay Press Gazette for his sprawling piece last Wednesday hyping the ‘rematch’ between Al Harris and Terrell Owens.

Might want to check those sources Pete…or start reading Cheesehead TV.

Loyal reader and Wausau resident PackOne informed me in the comment section below that his local CBS affiliate will NOT be showing the Packer/Bronco game tonight. I called the station to confirm, because I simply didn’t believe it. It turns out that it is true.

I am dumbfounded.

The blackout of last years Packer/Cowboy game for those residents that didn’t have NFL Network made perfect sense. For a local CBS affiliate to NOT show a Packer preseason game IN WISCONSIN makes no sense whatsoever. (The station in question, WSAW, is showing the nationally televised Cowboys/Texans game). The station manager could easily preempt the national coverage for the state coverage of the Packers game, but General Manager Al Lancaster is apparently refusing to do so. My JFK-conspiracy side thinks that Mr. Lancaster (who can be emailed at alancaster@wsaw.com) is making some kind of statement on the whole Favre debacle. I mean, what other possible reason could he have for NOT SHOWING A PACKER GAME IN WISCONSIN?

Dark days. Dark, dark days….
UPDATE: (sigh) Just when I got my juices flowing, I get this repsonse from Mr. Lancaster:

I wish we were.  The game is on WAOW at 8pm.  Go Packers!  Thanks for watching Ch 7!

Oh. But I was there for you PackOne!

Wow. Never have I seen a second preseason game cause so much consternation and overreaction from both the accredited Wisconsin media and fan bloggers alike.

I’ll be putting up some posts tonight after I get a chance to go through the game on the DVR, but as a general overall point – Does anyone remember a Seattle Seahawk team coming into Lambeau the second week of preseason last year and getting blown out by the Packers? Right. That team made it to the second round of the playoffs. It even won its division.

Also, does anyone remember what the Packers’ offense looked like in Week One of last season? It wasn’t pretty. They turned out alright. And it’s also not like the 49ers put up 34 points on the Packers’ starters. They made most of their hay against the second and third string, especially Jarrett Bush. (Who will be featured in his own post here on Cheesehead TV tonight, I can promise you that.)

I am by no means saying there isn’t work to be done. (And how) But the team is much better than todays press clippings.

Tom Pelissero has a great column in today’s Green Bay Press Gazette regarding the continuing Favre saga. He makes some great points, but I’d like to focus on one that I had been thinking about already.

In his piece, Pelissero notes the following:

It would be foolish for anyone to say publicly he doesn’t want Favre back, but there is a substantial faction of younger players who are eager to play with Rodgers.

This made me think of a piece from Bob McGinn from back in January (speaking of which – where is the guy? The biggest story to hit the Packers in forever and the best beat guy in the biz is AWOL – not that I don’t love getting my updates from Lori Nickel…) McGinn wrote:

The internal debate on Favre began late Sunday night and isn’t going to end any time soon, even if he decides to return for an 18th season. For perhaps the first time, there are advocates within saying it’s time to move on.

NFL people get very narrow-minded when Super Bowl berths are denied. In Green Bay, they know that Favre was awful in the second half and overtime (44.1 passer rating) and that Eli Manning’s passer rating was 118.5 in the same span. And people like Thompson undoubtedly wonder if the time is right to cut the cord and go with promising Aaron Rodgers, who entered the league just one year after Manning but now is 59 starts behind him.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t players and coaches that would love to have Favre back. I have not doubt there are many. But people need to remember that not everyone who coaches and plays for the Packers is just waiting breathlessly for #4 to come riding back through the door.

So the Jason Taylor rumors are back in full force this evening. I don’t have much to add to what I’ve already written except to say if you’re looking for a source to trust, Greg Bedard over at JS Online is your man. One year removed from extensive time covering the Dolphins, he knows all the players involved and their respective angles.

It must be hard to be the Sports Editor at the newspaper where the Green Bay Packers got their start. What with decades of tradition breathing down your neck all the time. A job like that could only be filled by the best and the brightest.

Which is why it is such a sad state of affairs that it is currently filled by Mike Vandermause.

Am I overly harsh on Mike? Perhaps. He’s nothing if not bland and unobtrusive in his writing. But when he foists columns like this doozy, stating that the Packers are in for a calm, boring training camp because of the lack of position battles, you just have to shake your head and start rooting around for instructions on how to apply for his job, because clearly he’s not very good at it.

Vandermause treats us to the following foolishness:

There are just two starting positions up for grabs. Upstart Allen Barbre appears to have an edge over incumbent Daryn Colledge at left guard, while Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar should wage a spirited fight at strong-side linebacker.

Really? So the fact that Aaron Rouse outplayed Nick Collins last year, followed by Collins being downright awful in both playoff games, leaves Collins as the undisputed starter? (McCarthy himself has all but said the starting spots are up for grabs) And I must have missed the quote from McCarthy stating that Jason Spitz’ job was safe. And what about Cullen Jenkins? Word is that he’s been seeing a lot more time inside at defensive tackle at the recent OTAs, after what can only be described as a disappointing season as the starting right defensive end. And while the starting position may be locked up, Vandermause conveniently forgets that the depth chart at running back is far from settled.

Competition is what Thompson and McCarthy’s roster is all about. To suggest that the roster is as settled as Vandermause makes it seem is foolish and downright naive. In fact, it’s a bit of a shock that the man is in charge of the Packers’ coverage at what can only be deemed as a historic institution for true Packer fans everywhere. Now, I have no doubt Mike is finding it hard coming up with things to write about here in the deadest of dead times for the NFL, but it is the man’s profession after all. If he needs help with column ideas, I suggest he visit our friends over at Railbird Central, who’s Brian Carriveau has more good posts in a day than Vandermause has quality columns in a month, or PackerGeeks who’s Andy and Stephen Hayes never want for good material.

So today we hear that Ryan Grant won’t report to training camp without a new deal. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s Pete Dougherty ‘breaking’ the news again via discussions with Grant’s agent. (I wrote about this previously.)

This is how the game is played. Splash some ink, get some headlines, sway public opinion. And the journalist, in this case Dougherty, gets to break ‘news’ which is nothing of the kind. No one doubts that Grant will get a new deal before the season, it’s just a question of what type and what the numbers are.

Grant is in a unique position, and I don’t begrudge he or his agent trying to get while the gettin’s good. But Thompson shouldn’t just throw money at Grant to make him happy. And with what we know of Thompson, he won’t. It will be interesting to see how Thompson plays it, especially after he chose not to renegotiate Javon Walker’s contract after a fantastic year. Grant has had one very good half year. So who says Thompson will feel compelled to ante up for a position most people feel is the easiest to fill on offense? (The Packers struggles in finding a starting runner last year notwithstanding) To his credit, Grant isn’t saying stupid things in public like Walker did and letting his agent make the waves, which is standard. Both sides will most likely find some common ground before July, but it’s always nice to have some new ‘news’ to read about in March.

UPDATE: Railbird makes a great point regarding Grant’s contract demands. Thompson could easily use a first day draft pick on a running back, bringing in serious competition for Grant. It fits with what the team has done as far as creating competition at most roster spots, and I would not be surprised at all, even though he used a second round pick on Brandon Jackson last season. Thompson follows his board, and if there’s a back he likes at the spot the Packers are picking, he won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.