It was about as uneventful as they come. There was a heavy dose of scrub city all night long, and for the most part is showed. I don’t know if anything is any clearer than it was this morning.

Packers Titans

Watch Game Highlights by clicking HERE.

The Water Cooler

 
Not a thing to note from the first stringers.

Nick Barnett looked a little bit hesitant. I would think they ease him in a little slower than he might want.

Brian Brohm was a little sharper, but seriously, he won’t win us anything. There are better options out there.

Wynn was nothing special, he made a couple okay runs. Certainly not a lock at this point.

Raji hurt his foot or ankle. He had a pretty noticeable limp. Let’s hope it’s not too bad.

The middle of the field will be a weakness against the run.

Mason finally makes a couple, but still misses one.

Matthews showed hustle but did not have a grasp of the defense yet. I think Poppinga starts against the Bears.

Sutton seems more explosive than Wynn, he is the only guy who made a solid case at running back tonight.

Lumpkin looked like he was a goner, then he turned it on. It’s anyone’s call between him and Wynn.

Jordy Nelson looked good all night.

Brett Swain probably made the practice squad at the least.

Pat Lee was back, but outside of one hustle play didn’t show me anything. Then he got hurt, again.

Desmond Bishop continues to play solid.

Trevor Ford sucks, he’s gone.

Tony Moll sucks, let’s hope he’s gone.

Jarrett Bush didn’t suck as much as usual.

Looking at Dave “unibomber” Redding still freaks me out.

There is still no answer in the return game beyond Will Blackmon.

Injuries

Looked Bad: Raji

Not as Much: Smith, Underwood, Lee

Grades

Offense: C-

Defense: D

I don’t think anyone but Sutton made a statement to make this squad. Let this buzz kill bring out the critics for the next ten says. I say bring on the Bears, this team is so ready.

We have finally arrived upon the last preseason game of the year. Although it’s my least favorite game, it’s nice to be one step closer to opening day. Here is what I’m watching for.

Brian  Brohm

This game might be meaningless to me, but Brian Brohm is playing for his future. Can Brohm step to the plate? I think Brohm is going to make the team unless he really looks horrible. Either way, here is his chance to dispel all the critics against the Titans.

DeShawn Wynn

It sounds like DeShawn Wynn will get the bulk of the work tonight. Is this an audition for a trade, or merely the team giving Wynn a shot to make his case for a backup role? I think if Wynn shows any kind of promise this evening he locks up a spot on the 53 man roster.

Terrell Sutton

I know Sutton has been the feel good story of the year. Honestly, regardless of his performance, I think he finds his back against the wall. His ineffectiveness on punt returns may have sealed his fate on the final roster. Unless he flashes brilliance, I think Sutton walks his away onto another squad by Monday.

Nick Barnett

It is time for Nick Barnett to squash the haters. Does he still have it? Is he fully recovered from the knee injury? These are questions that still need to be answered. There is little doubt in my mind that Nick Barnett is still the emotional leader on this team. Can he translate that leadership onto the field? Tonight is his chance.

Pat Lee

Time for Pat Lee to shine or dine somewhere else. We have seen flashes from Lee in the past, although few and far between. Lee may see more playing time than he has in his career. Does he make the most of it, or are the hopes for Pat Lee all but finished. Lee, just as much as Brohm, is fighting for a job tonight.

Clay Matthews

Well, what has the guy got? We will find out tonight. The staff seems pretty high on the kid, and others seem pretty low on Poppinga. Who’s it going to be?

Kick and Punt Returns

With Will Blackmon out, I will be watching to see who gets inserted to pick up the slack. Tyrell Sutton was ineffective, and no one else has displayed the flash I am looking for. Since we can’t count on Blackmon to stay healthy, who can we count on to take his place? This actually concerns me more than anything else, it’s our heel and we need to fix it.

Aaron Nagler

How will Nagler respond to the verbal lashing he took this week? I know I hit him kind of hard, but you guys nearly crucified the poor man. Just so you know, Nagler and I had a good laugh over the whole thing a couple of days ago already. Here I thought I was bad, but you people chained him to the wagon and drug him through the dirt. I thank you for that, but let’s give the guy some slack. He is kind of emo.

Let’s just hope Kampman, Barnett, Poppinga, and Hawk all don’t play tonight.

Make sure and check out Gameday Chat sponosored by Mark at PackerHQ. Also, make sure and check out the Cheesehead Nation LIVE blog. I will once again try to drag myself away from the TV and check out both. Tune in after the game for the Packers Lounge Quick Hits.

I would like to give Albert Haynesworth some credit today. After an emotional victory for the Titans yesterday, Albert had some post game comments that I think are spot on.

Following the game Haynesworth was asked for his take on the victory, and more specifically his take on the Packers. For a guy who often gets a bad rap, he had some surprising things to say:

“You ask anybody on this team and the coaches, we think [Green Bay] was the best team that we’ve faced so far. The Colts do have Peyton Manning, but I think that was a complete team there. They’re only a few plays away from being undefeated or 7-1.”

Unlike most of the Titan fans flooding this blog today, Albert realizes just how lucky the Titans are to escape with a win. He also echoes my sentiments that this team is much better than their record shows at this point.

Be it a combination of youth, discpline issues, or the adaptation of a new quarterback, the Green Bay Packers should be in much better shape than they are right now.

We may be a complete team, but if you can’t put it together consistently, it hardly matters. Let me be the first to call next week’s game against the Vikings a must win. You might as well toss a wild card spot out of the window at this point.

Win the divison or go home. The whole thing is really that simple.

(Stay Tuned)

Could’ve Would’ve Should’ve

One thing I will not tolerate this week is any talk about the non-call against Greg Jennings. The Packers had the ball on their own 35 with 3:31 left on the clock. Aaron Rodgers finds Greg Jennings streaking …

…down the sideline with an obvious step on cornerback Cortland Finnegan. Finnegan clearly hits Jennings before a catch-able ball slides through his hands. Bad call? Yes. Excuse for losing, hardly.

Even Greg Jennings will tell you as much acknowledging, “That’s a play that I should make. The way I play the game, I make that play. Those emotions were moreso that I thought it was pass interference. But at the same time I was more upset about still not coming out with the ball.”

There were bad calls on both sides of the ball this afternoon, but hardly as important as the bad calls by the coaching staff and players. Silly penalties by Poppinga, questionable calls by McCarthy, and hasty throws by Aaron Rodgers did far more damage than any calls the refs might have missed. There is no one person to pin the blame on, but rather a sequence of poor execution and poor decision making. Not to mention a complete meltdown by Nick Barnett.

We took the number one team in the NFL into overtime today. We should have beaten them by ten. They are a tough team, but hardly the juggernaut people seem to think they are.

We had ‘em, and we pissed it away.

Charles Woodson summed it best when he said, “We’re a good team. But the reality is we’re 4-4.

That’s the bottom line, and if we don’t win the division outright, we don’t get in. Period.

(Stay Tuned)

LP Field in One Minute

Preview – Packers vs. Titans

Here is the weekly insider from the Press-Gazette. Enjoy.

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

Here is the week nine podcast Halloween edition. Talkin’ Titans, talkin’ healthy, and talkin’ Halloween of course.

Problems? Click here.

Pre-Season Highlights Titans vs. Packers

Remember the Titans – not only a good movie, but something we should keep in mind for the rest of the week. Why you ask? Well simply put, come next weekend that is all they’ll have…the memories.

As the 1972 Dolphins begin their annual sweat fest, I say calm down, get the champagne on ice, and get ready to bust the cork after Green Bay’s thrashing of the 7-0 overachievers.

I didn’t see anything last night that warranted a whole lot of concern. I’m sorry, but Indy is not an elite team this year. They can’t run the ball, and Peyton Manning is a shade of what he was last year.

The Titans, although stout on defense, are simply a one trick pony. Take that pony down, and that one dimension becomes non-dimensional.

The Packers on the other hand, have never been in a better position to meet a team on what can only be described as a curious roll.

The Packers bye week came at the perfect time. On Monday, all but four players practiced, and two of those four will still be ready for the game. An injury report of fourteen now stands at four.

Let’s see – we have Al Harris returning, Bigby is back, and James Jones finally feels like he can take the field.

Let’s see what the Titans answer to eight in the box is. They don’t have a receiver that can’t be handled by Woodson, Harris, and Williams. We all know that Kerry Collins couldn’t throw the ball forty yards if he tried - so worrying about over the top help shouldn’t be a concern either.

Let’s throw our guys across the line of scrimmage and force them to beat us through the air. As we all know, that game plan doesn’t work against the Pack and I don’t expect that to change.

Get ready to break out the bubbly Don – seven weeks is all the longer you will have to wait this year.

(Comment Below)

Monday Night Preview

[podcast]http://dl-client.getdropbox.com/u/26190/Podcast.8.2008.mp3[/podcast]

Here is the week eight podcast. Talkin’ bye, talkin’ Woodson, and talkin’ Pro-Bowl.

Problems? Click here.

Maybe it’s the dreads, maybe it’s something in the Green Bay water. Whatever it is, even after physicians told him he was bleeding internally, Al Harris knew he’d be back.

“That’s the last thing I thought was that it was an internal injury just from getting hit in my side, then to come in the locker room and I would be gone for six weeks, I never felt my season was over. It’s not what they say, I just believed I would not be done for the year,” Harris said.

Perhaps the dread effect is infectious. Atari Bigby will be back, Charles Woodson’s toe is healing, and AJ Hawk will be ready to go.

Maybe the story about a former Packer quarterback traitor might actually be a blessing in disguise. With everyone paying attention to the Motor City conspiracy, there is a good chance no one will notice that even Aaron Burr err…sorry, Rodgers is going to be one hundred percent as well.

(Stay Tuned)