Before you even get a chance to think about it, it’s the first choice given.

Anyways, here is the captain’s photo from Sunday’s game, complete with an appearance of a new co-conspirator:

So Graham Harrell is a new partner in crime with QB1 for the weekly photobomb. He sure did this better than when he was actually in the game.

But that’s a topic for another post all together.

Go Pack Go!

This story continues to evolve, the latest report being that Gregg Williams instructed Saints players to injure opposing 49ers players before last year’s Wild Card playoff game. The audio states that Williams was encouraging his players to take out members of the 49ers, using a stream of profanity and graphic description of how to injure the opponent.

As horrible as these accusations are, I am here to tell you that Williams is not alone in using these tactics to motivate players. I was personally involved in something similar, only when I was part of it, I was not in the NFL. I wasn’t even in college or high school yet. Nope, for me, we have to go back to grade school, where I first learned how to play the game of football.

I first started playing football in 5th grade. As a pre-pubescent athlete, I was awkward at best. The team was coached by a trio, all of whom were coaching or had coached in high school at some point. Seeing as I was not very athletic, and sadly not very good, the coaches tended to pay more attention to the starters (mostly 6th graders, as the team was a 5th and 6th grade mix), hoping they would lead them to championship glory. In fact, my 5th grade team lost the championship by 3 feet, failing to score a touchdown as the clock expired which would have won the game. I remember getting that feeling of getting so close, but falling  just short. I never wanted to feel that again.

Things would be different two years later. Very different indeed.

By the time I was in 7th grade, I was ready. Having grown taller and stronger, I was ready to show that I belonged on the field with the starters, the seemingly invincible 8th graders. I was fortunate enough to win a starting spot on the defensive line as a nose tackle (yes, I was a nose tackle) as a 7th grader. I played with reckless abandonment, part of it due to my blossoming athletic ability, and part of it due to the coaching I received.  At the time I thought the coaching is what made the difference. As time as gone on, I have realized the coaching was not only wrong, but disgusting, especially when it was being taught to a child.

Imagine being 13 years old, and making a mistake on the football field. Now imagine your coach grabbing you by the facemask and screaming in your face, using every profanity available to describe how much you screwed up on that play. That was a fairly common occurrence in my world as a 13 year old. If you made enough mistakes, you got to do leg lifts for 10 minutes at a time, holding your legs in place 6 inches off the ground. I understand the coach was merely trying to motivate his players to do better, but as a 13 year old, the only thing it really did was put the fear of God into me not to make a mistake. As an adult, I might be able to  handle it. As a kid, not so much.

One of the ways this same coach tried to make me better was to show me some of the tricks of the trade of playing football, at least the way he wanted it to be played. I can still remember him telling me that if an offensive lineman tried to take out my knees, I had to throw him to the ground and stomp on him. “Aim for the back of his neck” was the direction I was given. And if I couldn’t get him on the neck, “Try to break his hand” was my secondary target. I was 13, and being told by a coach to try and break someone’s neck or hand. It is disgusting to think about this in retrospect, and I am thankful I never participated in these actions. We did win the championship when I was in 7th grade, but in looking back at how it was won, I cannot believe we actually celebrated the spread of unsportsmanlike conduct.

Gregg Williams is paying the price for his actions. Suspended indefinitely by the NFL, he should never be allowed to coach again. But it is not just him who believes that administering pain in an already violent sport is not only allowed, but encouraged. Coaches who think that this is an acceptable should be removed forever to prevent spreading the infection of unsportsmanlike behavior. My coach never coached again after his son graduated from grade school. I wonder if it had something to do with the way he coached. I certainly hope so.

[podcast]http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/26190/podcast.13.mp3[/podcast]

Here is this weeks uninspired and unusually short Podcast. Talkin’ Saints, talkin’ Panthers, and talkin’ Turkey.

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Video – Post-Game Numbers

[VIDEO] Aaron Rodgers – Endzone

The drunken thoughts by Dale Z on gameday are much sought after. Here they are!

- Deuce McCallister is as slow as Michael Myers in the early portions of the game.
- Don’t type “I love black men” when you mean “I love Blackmon” in the Tromadz lounge. Guys won’t let you hear the end of it.
- Atari Bigby isn’t the same player as last year. For whatever reason, be it injury, rust, or just new-found suckiness, the dude ain’t getting it done. Replace him.
- Kornheiser making issue on why McCarthy uses red or blue pens, is it a political statement? Or is Kornheiser just a moron? I vote moron.
- Is Greg Jennings human? Aaron has thrown him two bad yet catchable balls, but he dropped them. Rodgers was OFF, but still…they were catchable. Gotta make those.
- Never promise to do Packers Lounge touchdown shots ‘for someone else’ who can’t be there as well. That’s double the shots(at least)!
- Pierre Thomas solidifies my previous stance that I hate the French.
- Grant has a vagina. When he runs outside, he always tiptoes out of bounds short of the first instead of getting the first, resulting in more 3rd and shorts than we should have. Fruitcake.
- Every other word out of Tony Kornheiser’s mouth is “Favre.”
- Frost and ST Coverage has screwed us for 10 pts so far. Stock!!!!!!!!
{quick note: it’s halftime now and everyone is freaking out including my podcast partner Alex, who said that I SHOULD be “worried.” Oh Alex….}
- The refs just screwed the Packers for the third time tonight. First, was a timeout called then uncalled, then a penalty picked up, then the most generous balls spot ever (challenged and won), then a BS illegal touching by Nick Collins. The refs refuse to call penalties on the Saints. This is AWESOME!
- 30-21

[longtimefan] trom its nice and awesome to be optimistic, but
[longtimefan] stfu

- With 7:40 left in the third quarter, my blogger\podcast partner left the tromadz gameday lounge. This was the time I lost all respect for him. Maybe he can earn it back somehow. It will take time. Damn shame. He’ll say he had schoolwork, I’ll say otherwise. If you can’t stick with the Packers during the bad times, you might as well be a Falcons fan like Profizzle. I wouldn’t be shocked if he came back though.

- People will blame Aaron for this loss, which will make me giggle like a schoolgirl (how I missed those days). The truth is our pass rush sucked. He made ONE real bad throw and it got picked. The other two, as I pointed out, were catchable by Jennings. But hey, Brett had a good week, so let’s focus on the quarterbacks! Damn you, Rodgers!!!!
- We really need to cut Frost.
- The Saints celebrating HARD in the 3rd quarter. That ain’t smart.
- I’m doing a TD shot without Alex in the chat. You have no idea how much this bothers me. Cheers, Alex. CHEERS! EHOOO Cuz we ain’t quittin! Down 10, 20, 30, GB ain’t quittin, and I ain’t quittin! I’m drunk!
- The best CBs in the world mean nothing when you have the worst D-line in the world.
- Saints going for two when up by 2893729873. What a douchebag move. I hope they all get into car accidents.
- Favre talk by Kornheiser with less than 7 to play. Of course. This game is all Aaron’s fault, because Aaron plays on the D-line…
- Funny, when Favre threw it up, hoping for the best, it was courageous. When Aaron does it, it’s stupid. Interesting.
- Packers are ONE game out of first. Let the spaz outs begin.

Packers vs. Saints Defensive Highlights

Here is my initial thoughts on the supposed NFL game that was played this evening. Rest assured I am not overly thrilled with any of it.

1. Railbird Central, you were a week late. A.J. Hawk looked terrible.

2. Never tell me Mark Tauscher is replaceable.

3. We cannot get pressure on anyone.

4. Plenty of people can get pressure on us.

5. This game is not Aaron Rodger’s fault.

6. We play man, not zone. The entire earth knew we needed to bust these guys at the line. Classic fail.

7. I really think this is the season for us. I know we are by no means out of it, but even if we win the division who are we going to be able to beat in the first round? Most likely no one.

8. We are banged up again, and about to face a very physical Carolina team. If this isn’t a must win I don’t know what is. Yes, I know the Bears play the Vikes. Either way, don’t expect to be able to come back from two back and take the division.

9. If no one has realized that Frost sucks like the rest of us have, it’s time to take up a different profession.

10. I am very worried we are going to lose Greg Jennings next year.

11. We are too young to play disciplined smash mouth football on the road.

12. Sorry Dale, I have better things to do than watch a total rout. It’s just embarrassing. I am the world’s biggest Packer fan, but, hanging with a team that’s getting destroyed isn’t worth it. I’ll be back next week and the week after, but I’m not going to watch a blowout.

(Stay Tuned)

Time to get things ready for tomorrow.

Maybe this is the reason it has taken so long to finally get our act together. One thing is for sure, we’re definitely taking advantage of what teams are providing us.

Green Bay has scored 93 points off opponent turnovers this season, which is the most in the league of course.

Green Bay is +7 in turnover differential. That will happen when you are #1 in the NFL as far as interceptions go!

For a 5-5 team that says a lot about the offense AND defense. We take it away on defense and we don’t cough it up much on offense. Looks like we’re finding our identity.

These are not stats to ignore. Quarterback rating is a stat to ignore(which Rodgers is very high in btw, but still, QB rating sucks).

These are statistics of a hungry and intelligent team and coaching staff. A lot of teams get turnovers, but how many take advantage of it? The Packers make it look like an exact science instead of the art form it is.

The more I look at the numbers and our recent performances compared to the Saints, I am becoming more confident we will win.

It’s a two sided coin though because a lot of fans complain about conservative playcalling. They shouldn’t.

Nobody likes to punt the ball, especially with Frost, but looking at these stats give me confidence that when we put the game in our defense’s hands, they will come through more often than not.

Aaron put up better numbers against a better defense compared to Brees vs. the Chiefs. Amazing.  That’s it, I’m changing my prediction.

NEW PREDICTION
Packers: 48
Saints: 24

Green Bay is the better football team.

I want the Packers to win.

I think we have the talent to win.

I just don’t think we will. My prediction of a 38-28 Saints win seemed to have angered people. Whoever threw poop on my car needs to grow up(but I think that was my ex).

Our next two games will be tough and honestly I wouldn’t be shocked if we lost them both, which will be fun to see the reactions of some of the more…Packer “faithful.” I also think we’ll win the division because the Bears and Vikings are not going to be going on any winning streaks anytime soon. I’m getting off track here…The New Orleans Saints….

People keep saying they’ve got tons of reasons on why we got this game.

Tell me those reasons.

Talkin’ NFC North

[podcast]http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/26190/podcast.12.2008.mp3[/podcast]

Here is this week’s Podcast. Talkin’ Bears, talkin’ Saints, and talkin’ about Dale’s bold prediction.

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