Posts filed under 'Charles Woodson'
January 20th, 2008
The Patriots finally pulled away, winning 21-12 a few seconds ago, but Packer fans needn’t fret too much. I’ve re-thought my earlier Super Bowl position that Green Bay stood no chance against New England’s unbeaten juggernaut. The Patriots are obviously better, but sometimes being better doesn’t matter. It’s how you match up, and the Packers match up well with New England.
How important are matchups? Well, Green Bay was obviously better than Chicago this year, but the Bears beat the Packers twice. In college, Oklahoma beat Missouri twice, by 10 points and by 21. Clearly better, right? Uh, no. Oklahoma also lost to Colorado and Texas Tech, teams Missouri walloped by 45 and 31 points. Missouri just didn’t match up well with Oklahoma.
But Green Bay does with New England. The Chargers’ defense stood up to the Patriots, intercepting Tom Brady three times. The reason: former first-round draft picks Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie are the Chargers’ two starting cornerbacks. Cromartie was second in All-Pro voting (24 votes) to New England’s Asante Samuel and had 10 interceptions this year. Both Jammer and Cromartie intercepted Brady. The Chargers led the NFL with 30 interceptions this year. The Colts tied for second with 22 interceptions, and also gave New England a tough time, leading until the fourth quarter.
Here’s why this matters. Green Bay corners Al Harris (8 votes) and Charles Woodson (6) ranked fourth and fifth in Pro Bowl voting. In other words, they are two of the best five cornerbacks in the entire league, and perhaps the best starting tandem. Couple that with Green Bay’s No. 2-ranked offense — unlike the Chargers, Brett Favre and Ryan Grant could keep Tom Brady and Randy Moss off the field — and Green Bay matches up well. Even better, Harris and Woodson play more pure bump-and-run defense than any team in the NFL. There’s two ways to cover Randy Moss — double and triple-team him, which leaves other receivers open for Brady to dink and dunk you to death — or get in his face and bump him. Green Bay has the perfect defense to disrupt the Patriots. … That may not work, because the Patriots are still better, but they are better than everybody. Green Bay’s style gives the Packers a better puncher’s chance to beat the Patriots than any team New England has yet faced except for Peyton Manning and the Colts. — Matt Trowbridge
January 19th, 2008
Charles Woodson didn’t get an invite to this year’s Pro Bowl. It’s too bad. He deserved a bid. The corner says he isn’t bothered by it. I believe him. I am glad he came to Green Bay. I know he wasn’t so sure.
January 17th, 2008
Two full days of interviews with Packer people, 3,000 questions about playing in cold weather. Enough already! I’m sure the players just want to play the game by now.
You can tell game day is approaching. Walking into Lambeau Field by the docks, there were a couple huge semis there already from TV stations. The production that goes into those productions is immense, and impressive.
We learned today that Nick Barnett has a gold streak down his hair, like a Mohawk, because he couldn’t cut his hair after the last game but he wanted to — but you can’t after you win.
We learned why the linemen don’t wear sleeves here — Frank Winters told Chad Clifton you just don’t way back when Clifton was a rookie. DT Ryan Pickett said the rule is if you’re over 300 pounds, you can’t — and a lot of guys are over 300 pounds, he said.
It’s been snowing all day here, mindful of the Seattle game. Packer weather, midweek.
January 16th, 2008
The Packers are getting the pub, as they say in the business.
Favre, McCarthy, Grant, Driver and Jennings all met with the media for at least 10 minutes each Wednesday. Thursday, it will be McCarthy, both coordinators and special teams coach plus Barnett, Clifton, Hawk and Pickett.
The nation can watch McCarthy, Favre, Driver, Harris and Kampman live this Friday at 2:40 p.m. CST on the NFL Network.
FYI — I’ve got a motel room for $61 tonight on Oneida St. It will cost more than $200 per night this weekend, with a two-night minimum.
January 16th, 2008
We have heard from the Packer players, and now we know — Charles Woodson did not want to come here.
He said so.
He hoped Jacksonville or Tampa Bay showed interest. Only Green Bay did, so here he is.
He quite frankly said he heard from other players this was not a town for a black player. He said he would tell other players now that that is not the case.
Interesting stuff.
Also was fun hearing Brett Favre talking about the need to be believable for head coaches. He said he didn’t hear Mike McCarthy talk about the Super Bowl until late last year, while McCarthy said he has been preaching it since he took the job three years ago.
Donald Driver, of course, said he throws better snowballs than Favre. The Packers are loose, and that’s a good thing.
Ryan Grant seems to be such a genuine person. People tried to get him to say something about his former team, the Giants, but all he kept saying is he was happy for them. He says he stays on an even keel — I believe he is as good at it as any athlete I’ve met.
