STEVE SPURRIER IS NOT A GOOD PERSON

Remember Danny Wuerffel? He was on the Packers in 2000, but when I think of him, I think of the 1996 Heisman Trophy winning Wuerffel. At Florida, he played alongside the likes of Fred Taylor, Reidel Anthony, Ike Hilliard, and Jacquez Green, who were all great collegiate players in their own right. They won the national championship the year that Wuerffel won the Heisman. And they did it under Steve Spurrier. I rooted for Florida in those years; I loved the excitement of Spurrier's "Run 'N Gun" offense.
After twelve seasons at Florida, winning seven SEC championships and finishing in the top 10 nine times, he had compiled a winning percentage of .817. That meant he should go to the NFL, right? WRONG. But he did anyway. He signed the most lucrative coaching contract in the history of the league in 2002 with the Redskins (5 years $25 million). And that worked out very well for him. He went 12-20 in his two seasons before resigning, and lost his final three games by a combined score of 85-31. He decided a return to the college ranks would be in his best interest, and like Nick Saban has been so publicly criticized for, he returned to the SEC he once abandoned, but this time with another team, South Carolina.

I hate that. It's one thing in the NFL, where everything is a business, if a player or coach leaves one team for its rival. Unless there was a longtime relationship with the first team ::cough cough:: Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings ::cough cough::. But as much as the college game has turned into a business, you're still working with kids, and the amount of betrayal and lack of commitment by Spurrier and Saban does not set a good examples for the kids they are supposed to be setting in the right direction in life.
So why am I ranting about Steve Spurrier? Because now he brought a Packer into his miserable attempt at being a part of, AND respecting, the game of football. Apparently the Ol' Ball Coach wants to unretire former Packers star receiver Sterling Sharpe's number 2. Sharpe is one of FOUR numbers retired by the Gamecocks, and apparently there aren't like 95 other numbers between 1 and 99 that his players can wear. It's not like South Carolina is anything like the Yankees where every other freaking number is retired. There are 95 other choices Steve. When a number is retired, it is retired. And Sterling does not want that to change, understandably so.

Apparently Spurrier promised the number to a recruit and told the kid and all of his high school coaches that Sterling was fine with him wearing the number. Not so much Steve. You had nothing to do with Sterling's number being retired, you have never had anything to do with him during his time in Columbia, so who are you to try to take that honor away from him? You are nobody Mr. Spurrier. Especially since your teams in your first four years at SC (28 wins, 22 losses) have been mediocre at best. I hope your struggles continue, and I can only feel bad for the student athletes you are in charge of for being sucked into your way of teaching and being a role model.

THE RUNNING GAME

The running game in Green Bay has been a difficult one to try to dissect over the past 2 seasons. The 2007 season started off with absolutely no rushing attack. Short slants and screen passes essentially filled the void that the lack of a ground game had left. Then Ryan Grant came along, and was the savior of the Packers' run offense. In the ten games he saw significant carries (week 8 on), he was second in rushing yards and touchdowns only to San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson. That says a lot about the success Grant had. But still, the Packers finished 21st in the league in rush offense at just under 100 yards per game (1,597 yards - 956 of which were Grant).

In 2008, very big things were expected of the 25-year-old Notre Dame product. It began with a contract hold-out, however, and then when he was finally on the field, he was slowed by nagging injuries (hamstring and thumb). While his per carry average fell from 5.1 to 3.9, he finished the season ranked 6th in the NFC with 1,203 yards on the ground. The Packers moved up from 21st to 17th in the league (112.8 ypg and 1,805 yards), but we may have to look elsewhere besides Grant for the reason behind this progression.

Brandon Jackson, the Packers 2nd round pick in 2007, was a solid contributor in 2008. The plan for Green Bay from the beginning was for this guy to have a shot at being the number one back, but a few injuries in 2007 paved the way for Ryan Grant to take that spot. Jackson finished the 2008 season averaging 5.5 yards a carry (however only on 45 carries), and showed some very bright moments when given the opportunity. Don't forget, Aaron Rodgers was sacked 34 times this season, 14th most in the league, showing that the green and gold's front five struggled this season, primarily due to injuries.

Looking forward, if both the backs and line can stay healthy in 2009, the Packers should continue to leap-frog up the league rushing leaders. And with the season Aaron Rodgers had in 2008, that can only lead to more success.

A LITTLE HUMOR ABOUT KEVIN GREENE

So I just got done watching "The Wrestler," and wow, what a movie. I suggest it to everyone. It shows a whole different side of the professional wrestling world, and Mickey Rourke does an amazing job as Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Watching this movie triggered some memories of days long, long ago. Well, not really that long ago. But the late 90's, for me, is half a lifetime ago.

Kevin Greene came to mind. And for those of you who don't remember, I wonder how many Packers will be bringing this up to him.

Greene had a few brief stints with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) back in the late 90's, and his original partner, former bear Steve McMichael, became his biggest enemy after breaking up their tag team in favor of the "Four Horsemen." Greene defeated McMichael after returning from a brief time away from the sport, to get his revenge on his former partner. Check out this interview MouthpieceSports did with McMichael about his wrestling days. But isn't it only fitting that when the two faced off head to head, the Packer got the best of the Bear?

MUSIC TO MY EARS... OR EYES...

On Monday, Pete Prisco, a writer for CBSSports.com, wrote an article arguing an idea that seems to be lost in today's football media: The Packers are STILL the greatest football franchise of all time. After winning Super Bowl XLIII, he agrees with many that the Steelers are the best of the Super Bowl era. How can anyone argue, however, against 12 championships? One in the 20's, four in the 30's, one in the 40's, five in the 50's, and one in the 90's. That's double what the Steelers have won, and Pittsburgh's franchise has been around since 1933 (the Pack joined the NFL in 1921). The Bears are a "close" second at 9 championships, and that "close" is still only 75% of what Green Bay has won. So, all hail the Green Bay Packers... And fellow Long Islander Pete Prisco for knowing the best franchise in the history of American football.

WHILE ON THE DEFENSE

Another hiring that I'm personally very excited about is Kevin Greene as the outside linebackers' coach. I was relatively young for most of his playing career, but I remember being scared for my life of that guy. He played outside linebacker in the 3-4 for most of his career, so he should know inside and out the position he is coaching. Not to mention he had 160 career sacks, most ever for a linebacker. He says he has "high hopes" for Aaron Kampman's transition to his new position, and he should be able to give him a lot of help. Kampman is also known for his pass rushing, and Greene should be able to aid him in learning any changes needed to do it at the new position. If Greene brings half of the passion and intensity he brought the field as a player in his new job as a coach, his presence should ease the transition for the outside linebackers of Dom Capers 3-4. When being introduced to reporters Tuesday, the Greene Machine was quoted as saying, "You know what, I feel like head-butting someone right now, and you're the closest to me." I love it.

THE 3-4 DEFENSE AND THE DRAFT

I'm excited. The hiring of Dom Capers means that the 3-4 defense is coming to Green Bay. If my research is correct, that's the 3-4 defense that has been used by 6 of the last 9 super bowl champions; and everyone wants the Lombardi trophy back in Titletown USA. However, the Packers will face big challenges ahead in order to make the transition. The people over at PackerChatters did a size breakdown of the front seven (defensive tackles, defensive ends, inside linebackers, and outside linebackers) of the teams who currently emplore the 3-4. Aaron Kampman, arguably the Packers best front seven player, will not be able to play his traditional position in this defense. The lightest end on any team running this defense is 285 pounds, a full 20 pounds heavier than Kampman is listed on the Packers website. This means he will have to transition to a pass rushing outside linebacker in Capers' scheme, where according to PackerChatters he has the size of a starting strong side backer. Cullen Jenkins seems to be set in stone with a definite position already, as a defensive end. At 305, he is barely above average in size for defensive ends in the new system. Ryan Pickett weighs 322 pounds and that is average size for nose tackles. At the other end, it appears Johnny Jolly will have the best shot at the job, although it is being said there will be a competition. Justin Harrell, who the Packers invested so much in with their number one pick in 2007, is undersized for his position at tackle so he will have to put on some weight and begin to show why we put so much stock in him from the beginning. Nick Barnett, coming off of his ACL surgery, will start as one of the inside linebackers. One challenge he will face is having to learn the defense on the sideline because he is not expected to be ready physically for OTAs. The other inside spot is a question mark. AJ Hawk is a possibility, although if they cannot fill the outside spot opposite Kampman, he may have to make a move as well. This would open up the inside spot for Desmond Bishop, who the Journal Sentinel rumored will have a legitimate shot at starting next to Barnett.

Tom Silverstein, of the JS, spoke with Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler down in Tampa about what the Packers need to do in order to successfully transition into a 3-4 defense. It's in two parts. Part 1. Part 2. Butler thinks that the Packers offseason priorities need to be first in outside linebackers, then nose tackles, then safeties. Silverstein also believes that Al Harris may have trouble in the 3-4, because he likes to play man-to-man bump and run, while the 3-4 requires a lot of zone and run supports from its corners, two things that Harris is not known for. These issues lead into April's draft.

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN has the Packers taking Ohio State CB Malcolm Jenkins on his mock draft. This also seems to be a good idea because both Harris and Charles Woodson are beginning to age, and Woodson began to play safety at the end of the 2008 season. Pro Football Weekly also agrees with Kiper on Jenkins: "What better environment for a cornerback to be groomed than under the wing of a future Hall of Famer such as Woodson?" Sports Illustrated suggests the Pack take Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson. This, however, I'm not too sure of. While Johnson is a great end, and a great prospect at that, he would be very undersized for an end in a 3-4 at 260 pounds. That's 5 pounds lighter than Kampman. So, unless they can use him as an outside linebacker, while I have not heard much talk about his cover skills, this pick doesn't make much sense to me. Same thing applies for me with a suggestion I heard of Florida State defensive end Everette Brown. He's even smaller, at 252 pounds, but if the Packers have scouted his cover abilities (I have heard no word of this), his pass rushing ability definitely has potential. The latter two possibilities at the number 9 pick can make even more sense if their pass covering abilities are sufficient, because Aaron Kampman is a free agent at the end of '09, and with the switch to the 3-4, there is no guarantee he returns in 2010.

The 3-4 defense is something to be excited about. Very excited about. Mike McCarthy even admitted he hates having to plan against it. ''From an offensive standpoint, it creates targeting problems." It is a good run defense, it creates a good pass rush; there are so many upsides to it. It does take a legitimate transitioning, however, and that means the ball is in Ted Thompson's hands now. He needs to make the moves necessary in order to put the defense in the best possible situation to succeed.

TECHNOLOGY IS AWESOME

Ryan Corazza and my good friends over at MouthpieceSports had a very interesting post today, and they interviewed Aaron Rodgers while he was down in Tampa for it. It's about a product called Coach ID. Check out the link to the story and video. You know those wristbands that quarterbacks wear? The ones that have like 8 million plays on them and help the QB's understand all those crazy hand signals from the coaches on the sideline so they can actually make the calls? Apparently we're not very far from wristbands with LCD screens and the art of hand signals becoming ancient.

SHORT, BUT COMICAL

Michael Hunt posted a short but amusing piece about the 10 reasons why Brett didn't get back in touch with Aaron Rodgers on the Journal Sentinel site. Check it out.

SUPER BOWL REACTIONS

First off, what a game. Two years in a row, Super Sunday has lived up to its name with spectacular football games. Although the game started out slow, it sure picked up and was one of the best finishes I have ever seen from a Super Bowl. Admittedly, I was rooting for the Cardinals. I mean, how can you not root for Kurt Warner? (unless he's playing the Pack of course). Not to mention he once was a Packer, in 1994, fourth on the depth chart behind Brett Favre, Ty Detmer, and Mark Brunell. That was one pretty darn good group of quarterbacks.

Penalties and one very costly play call were the thorn in the side of the red birds last night. They were flagged 11 times for 106 yards, and many of the penalties either cost them drives or aided big drives of the Steelers. And that slant call on the goal line... WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TODD HALEY? You have the best receiver in football right now, who has proven that he can catch nearly anything you throw his way, and you decide to throw a slant: the most dangerous goal line play possible. If the pass is intercepted, there is no one to stop the player from taking it all the way back to the house, something Haley and the Cards learned the hard way. I know first hand the detriment that can be caused by such a play call. (In Turkey Bowl 2008, on the goal line, I intercepted a quick slant and returned it on a shortened field 80 yards for the touchdown haha) IT JUST DOESN'T WORK. Instead of possibly being ahead 14-10, or tied 10-10 at the half, Arizona trailed 17-7. That's possibly an 14-point turnaround. Give Fitz a chance Haley! Everybody saw later in the game what happens if you do.

Anyways, to get back to tying all of my ranting back to the Packers... According to my research on NFL.com, there are three members of the Pittsburgh Steelers who have once been part of the Green Bay Packers organization. First, tight end Sean McHugh was with the team in 2004 and played in one game. No official stats were recorded. Second, defensive tackle Scott Paxson, who after being signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2006, was let go and joined the green and gold for several weeks during the '06 regular season, only to return to Pittsburgh in January of '07. And finally, Dick LeBeau. The mind behind the newest version of the Steel Curtain. He was on the coaching staff in Green Bay from 1976-1979. Congratulations to these three former members of the Packers organization on becoming Super Bowl XLIII champions.