ON A FUNNY NOTE

I don't know if fans in Wisconsin feel the same way that I do, but growing up in New York, I have a severe hatred of the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick and his dirty cheating ways have made me despise of that entire franchise. Not to mention Josh McDaniel's running a franchise quarterback out of town the second he got to Denver and sending him along to the Chicago Bears. That is why I find this, via FanIQ, absolutely hilarious.

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).

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.

RECENT ACTIVITY IN MINNESOTA

We all saw the Vikings trade for Sage Rosenfels, a career backup, last week. The sad thing for Minnesota: that is still an upgrade. Their next step was to get Rosenfels a quality receiver, so they pursued T.J. Houshmandzadeh. They lost out on the former Bengal receiver to Seattle (which could shake up projected draft picks, since many people expected the Seahawks to be taking Michael Crabtree). And now, this develops. Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that he would not be surprised if the Vikings have already inquired and made an offer to the Broncos for Jay Cutler. It has been well publicized that Cutler is not happy that his name was shopped around in Matt Cassel trade talks, and he may want out of Denver. For the Packers sake, let's just hope that Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels' (former Patriots offensive coordinator - see the Cassel connection) can get this all worked out, so we don't so Cutler in purple and gold next year. Cutler finished third in the NFL with 4,526 passing yards, and he also threw for 25 touchdowns. This would be a MAJOR upgrade over anything that's been in Minnesota since Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss were together and in their prime, and adding a passing attack to Adrian Peterson's already stellar running game could solidify the Vikings as a legitimate contender.

NOT FAR FROM TRANSITION TO 3-4?

Pat Kirwan over at NFL.com started a short series of updates he will be giving on the Packers transition from 4-3 to 3-4. And the title of his first article is "Packers not far off from making 3-4 defensive conversion work." Kirwan talks about how it took Dallas nearly 2 years, New England three first round picks on the line, and the Jets a few years to get the right personnel in place for the 3-4, and he argues that the Packers may be much closer than most people think.

At nose tackle, Kirwan thinks Ryan Pickett is more than adequate to get the ball rolling, but he believes he needs a young backup to rotate in and give him some rest. As for the outside linebackers, Kirwan says that Aaron Kampman is even more suited for the switch from DE to OLB than Greg Ellis was for the Cowboys. He states that Kampman should be the least of the Packers' issues in the conversion." I'm not fully on board with that idea yet. Brady Poppinga and Brandon Chillar are currently slotted to fill the spot opposite Kampman, but Kirwan suggests the Pack might look towards the draft for this spot as well, citing the names of Larry English, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, and Brian Orakpo (Brown and Orakpo would be converted DE's as well).

The defensive ends the Packers currently have for the 3-4 are Cullen Jenkins, who should fit in just fine, and Mike Montgomery, who is a question mark and has a lot to prove. Kirwan says that the Packers should make a play in free agency for the Cowboys' Chris Canty or the Chargers' Igor Olshansky. I guess he's not very optimistic about Julius Peppers coming to Lambeau. At strong inside linebacker, A.J. Hawk should excel, as long as Ryan Pickett can hold down the middle and keep demanding double teams. At weak ILB, Nick Barnett, as long as he recovers from his ACL injury, should be just fine.

Finally, in the secondary, this is where I truly question Kirwan. He says that there isn't much conversion from 4-3 to 3-4. It has been well documented that the Packers bump-and-run corners will need to learn to sluff off and play a lot more zone, something that Al Harris and Charles Woodson may struggle with. He believes that if the Packers make a free agent signing in the front 3 and draft a ready to play outside linebacker, they could make the transition in under one year. That is a VERY bold statement, and I'd like to see the green and gold make a few good moves and picks before I'm ready to jump to such a conclusion.