OFFENSIVE TACKLES

Both Cheesehead TV and Acme Packing Company have been talking about the offensive tackle positions today. CTV quotes a Pro Football Weekly article that talks about Mark Tauscher pretty much being out of the mix because of surgery, and that the coaching staff is looking at moving bodies around and putting them out of position again. I don't like how the team has moved around so many lineman to different positions in recent years rather than just trying to put a solid depth chart together. It appears, however, that will be the case again in 2009.

Acme talks about the line in a different approach, saying that the team should take care of the problem with the first round pick. I disagree with this, unless they plan on trading the pick away and moving down in the first round while also acquiring an additional pick. Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe will both be off the board by the #9 pick. Andre Smith is a complete headcase that I do not wish upon any NFL franchise right now, although I feel for him and hope he can get his act together because he is a great talent. Michael Oher is a solid possibility, but not at number 9 overall. If the team sticks with the ninth pick, they should go defense, preferably front seven. If they trade down, offensive tackle is a definite need and possibility, and there is the talent to take.

AN UPDATE ON GEORGE KOONCE

In an earlier post, I blogged about how former Packers linebacker George Koonce was one of the candidates for the athletic director position at my mother's alma mater, UW-Milwaukee. Yesterday, Koonce was named to the position, a job he has dreamed of having for a long time now. He had been working as senior associate AD at Marquette since 2007, but now he will be moving across town to become a Panther as of April 1st. Check out the Journal-Sentinel's article. Koonce really has a good head on his shoulders, and great things should be in the future for UWM.

A COUPLE MORE PRESENTS FOR ST. PATTY'S DAY

Mike Montgomery and Jason Hunter both resigned yesterday as well. Two more non invigorating moves. It adds depth to the front seven, something the Packers definitely need to work on, but only in the reserves. Neither will start barring a multitude of injuries, but Montgomery is a tweener and the coaching staff will have to decide whether he will play end or outside linebacker. Expect special teams to be Hunter's biggest contributions.

AND AS A PRESENT... WE GET...

Jarrett Bush. While he isn't an amazing player and keeping him isn't a very exciting move, I don't see how matching the Titans offer sheet can be knocked. He was second on the Packers in special teams tackles in '08, and special teams was obviously a weak spot. It can't hurt to keep your second best special teams tackler, even if his role changes. Bush is only 25, so there is still a ton of time for improvement, and while many people don't see much change in his future role, the kid gets it done on kick and punt coverages.

I mean, it's not a crazy rah-rah exciting present for St. Patrick's Day, like that Super Nintendo was for Christmas in the early 90's, but it's like that underwear that you opened after it. You weren't crazy about getting it, but you know it would definitely be of use. So while it's not a splash move that some Packers fans have been hoping for, it's something. I mean, it's not like Julius Peppers is now being shopped for a second round pick (reportedly).

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

According to a 2000 Census Report on the state of Wisconsin, 10.9% of the state's population is Irish. Behind German at 42.6%, that is the second highest percent of ethnic origin. That surprised me. I knew German would be number one, but I assumed that Polish and possibly Norwegian would both be ahead of Irish. Ah, but what a wonderful surprise!

I come from a pretty interesting Irish background, so it is the heritage that I celebrate and associate with most. So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we shall celebrate the Irish and "Irish" members of the Green Bay Packers!

Matt Flynn - origin: Irish. shortened Anglicized of Gaelic O Floinn 'descendant of Flann', a byname meaning 'red(dish).' surprisingly to many has exceeded Brian Brohm's play through current times.
Ryan Grant - played at the University of Notre Dame.
Nick Collins - origin: Gaelic. From Cuilein, darling, a term of endearment applied to young animals, as Catulus, in Latin. 2008 Pro Bowler.
J.J. Jansen - played at the University of Notre Dame.

And again, thanks to my calendar, I will mention Carlyle Holiday, because he played at the University of Notre Dame. He was a quarterback with the Fighting Irish, but became a wide receiever in the NFL. He caught the pass from Brett Favre that broke Dan Marino's career completions record.

Other notable Irish Packers:
Curly Lambeau - Notre Dame. He chose blue and gold as the Packers original colors after wearing them at ND and playing for Knute Rockne.
Hugh Devore - Notre Dame.
Dan Devine - coached at Notre Dame.
Paul Hornung - Notre Dame. NFL Hall of Famer.
Jimmy Crowley - one of Notre Dame's famed four horsemen. Played at Green Bay East High School and after Notre Dame played for the Pack in 1925.
John McNally - Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Fhailghigh ‘son of the poor man’. NFL Hall of Famer.

Interesting Irish Packers facts:
The jersey colors as mentioned above.
Three of eleven of the Packers starters in their first game played at Notre Dame.
After playing for the Packers, Jimmy Crowley became a coach and coached Vince Lombardi at Fordham.
The Packers have drafted 27 players from Notre Dame, and 51 players from South Bend have played for Green Bay, the most of any college.

FAN FEST

While most people are talking about how the attendance of Fan Fest was down this year, and about how it did not sell out, it has brought about another reason while I love the Packers. What other team would have their coaches sit down and talk X's and O's with fans? The relationship between franchise and community in Green Bay is like no other in professional sports, and while I'm many miles away, I appreciate it and it keeps my love affair with the green and gold in tact year after year.

WHAT A GREAT CALENDAR

I flip my calendar every day hoping to learn something interesting about the Packers. Most times, I know the fact or the answer to the trivia question. This morning, I learned something new, and something that could be very important to the Packers defensive success in 2009. Aaron Kampman's move from defensive end to outside lineback might not be as big of a transition as most people think. He was a linebacker for his first two seasons at Iowa before being switched to end for his last two. This came as a surprise to me; I thought that I would have read it somewhere else a long time ago when the switch to the 3-4, and Kampman's move to OLB, was announced back in January. As far as my memory can recall, I don't think that anyone has talked about this or brought it up.

So I did a little bit of searching of the internet to try to find some statistics of Kampman's first two years at Iowa. Unfortunately, the only thing I could come up with was on wikipedia. So, while we cannot trust that it is true, this is what is said about his first two seasons as a Hawkeye:

"Kampman played nine games as a true freshman in 1998, recording 49 tackles... As a sophomore, Kampman started all 11 games for Iowa at linebacker, and he finished second on the team with 103 tackles. He had five games with ten or more tackles in 1999."

Those are some pretty good years for a kid playing as a freshman and sophomore in the Big Ten. While he has been lined up with his hand down for the last nine years of his football career, I find it hard to believe that an athlete of his ability, and who has made it to his level, has forgotten how to play a position that he has played in the past. Especially if he played it well enough to attain the numbers stated above. Ah, now if only Ted Thompson can find a some quality helps on the market who he won't be forced to overpay for, things can definitely be looking up in 2009.

BUS COOK DOES IT AGAIN

Ahhh, and it's back to blogging for me. And while this story doesn't directly link to the Packers, Jay Cutler wants to be traded out of Denver. He and Broncos' rookie head coach Josh McDaniels have not gotten along ever since Cutler found out that he was being shopped around for Matt Cassel. Today, Cutler did not attend the first team meeting since McDaniels has taken over or participate in activities with the team. Why does this have any business being on a Packers blog? Bus Cook is Cutler's agent. Yes, that Bus Cook. Brett Favre's agent. And while I love Brett, this is another quarterback client of Cook who seems to feel that he is bigger than his organization, and that just can't keep happening. I understand Cutler is upset that McDaniels wanted to acquire Cassel, whom he coached in New England, but the NFL is a business, and not every player is going to agree with every business decision it's organization makes or looks into.