Welcome to Metrodome, and today’s Packers-Vikings blog.  As before, the most recent comments will be posted at the top.  Happy reading, and feel free to post your comments below.

WILL THAT DO IT?
I’m heading downstairs for postgame coverage.  Thanks for reading along.

REDISCOVERING THE RUN GAME
Just when I thought the game would be on Aaron Rodgers’ shoulders, the Packers start feeding James Starks,  and the combination of Starks, good blocking, and poor tackling has the Packers moving the football on the ground, and salting this thing away.

THEY’RE NOT SAYING “KUHN”
Minnesota fans aren’t too happy with Leslie Frazier’s decision to punt the ball away with a little more than 2:30 remaining.

PICK PLAY
Beyond being a great interview, here’s why I like Ryan Pickett: he’s the guy that toils way in the trenches, seemingly not doing a whole lot, but when a play needs to be made at a crucial time, he absolutely stuffs Peterson in the hole.

SO HE’S NOT PERFECT
Rodgers misses an open Jennings on 3rd down.  Packers have to punt.  Vikings have life.

DID WE MENTION IT’S NOT OVER YET
Ponder had rediscovered the guys in purple jerseys.  After getting dominated in the 3rd, Minnesota’s scored all the points in this 4th quarter.  Packers need a drive to respond after the Vikings drove 93-yards for a TD.

NOT OVER YET
Adrian Peterson has not packed it in, so to speak, his 54-yard jaunt to end the 3rd quarter will likely keep the Minnesota fans in their seats just a bit longer. Peterson now has 163 yards on 17 carries, an average of 9.6 yards/carry.  He is good.

HATE THE DOME?  LOVE THE DOME!
After Rodgers makes his 1st mistake of the game (taking a sack), Mason Crosby nails a career-long 58-yard field goal.  The 2 Woodson INT’s have produced 6 points, but the mountain keeps getting higher for the Vikings to climb.

VET 2, ROOKIE 0
Remember when some Packers loyalists complained about the acqusition of Charles Woodson because he was a “troublemaker?”  The only trouble he’s caused in his time in Green Bay is trouble for opposing offenses.  Then again, some loyalists would have stuck with the previous QB…

THAT WAS INTERESTING
The Packers ran twice in the red zone, for little success, and then on 3rd down, lined up in a 5-wide formation.  Even so, Green Bay tacked on 3 more points, and burned 4:44 off the clock.

A MATTER OF TIME
Ponder, who’s played awfully well in this game, commits a rookie mistake, by locking in on TE Visanthe Shiancoe, even while Charles Woodson was undercutting the route.   A Green Bay TD off the turnover could go a long way to ending this thing, although I don’t know it’s time for any “dagger” comments.  I leave that up to Wayne Larrivee.

SLICING AND DICING
Aaron Rodgers is well on his way to putting up even more absurd numbers in a dome: with 10:29 left in the 3rd, Rodgers is 20 -23 passing, for 305 yards, and 3 TD’s.  What was the name of that guy who he replaced?

PLAYMAKER DOWN
Percy Harvin of the Vikings will not play in the second half.  Harvin’s been bothered by a rib injury even prior to Minnesota’s game with Chicago.

ATONEMENT
Randall Cobb’s 2nd punt return worked out much better than his 1st, although GB could have been whistled for a block in the back.

THAT DIDN’T TAKE LONG
The Packers score on their 2nd play of the half, as a complete bust in the Viking secondary leads to an easy toss from Rodgers to Jennings for a  79-yard TD.  Just like that, the Vikings fans have piped down considerably.  But I’m keeping the ear plugs in for now.

SOME STATS STICK OUT
Namely, the Cobb fumble, which is the only turnover of the game, and is basically the difference in the 1st half.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF
A Matthews speed rush enabled the GB LB to get around Loadholt, and trip up Ponder.  1st sack for the Pack, and it helps keep the Vikes out of the end zone.  A decent tradeoff, since Green Bay has some time on the clock remaining in the 2nd quarter, plus the Packers get the ball to start the 3rd.

OW…
Mason Crosby’s FG was only the 2nd-best kick on that last play….Brian Robison’s Das Boot to the groin of T.J. Lang might get replayed a few 100 times on highlight shows.

PRESSURE VS. NO PRESSURE
If there’s a difference in this game so far, it’s that the Vikings can pressure the QB with their front four.   The Packers need to blitz, and as long as Clay Matthews is getting double-teamed, and as long as Ponder rolls away from Matthews’ side, the rookie QB will have time to make throws.  Look to see if Dom Capers flips Matthews to the other side to avoid having to match up with RT Phil Loadholt.

MIXED BAG
Green Bay’s positives through one quarter: Aaron Rodgers is locked in, receivers are catching balls, O-line has done well in run-blocking, defense is doing a better job putting pressure on Ponder.   Negatives: the aforementioned Newhouse blocking issues, and Cobb’s misplay of a punt.  The result is that we have a game through one quarter.  Regarding the perspective from the other side, I can see why Minnesota made the QB change.

REMEMBER THAT 108-YARD KICK RETURN?
I agree that Randall Cobb has skills in the return game, but am I the only one who thinks he’s become a bit of a liability in terms of his decision-making?

NEWHOUSE NEEDS HELP
Packers LT Marshall Newhouse, who had blocked well early on, whiffed on a block that enabled Jared Allen to stuff James Starks in the backfield, then Allen beat Newhouse en route to a sack of Rodgers.   It’ll be worth watching whether Green Bay lets Newhouse work through these issues on his own, or whether they bring blocking help via a TE or RB.

INJURY UPDATE
GB running back Alex Green suffered a knee injury on the Packers kick return, and he is out for the remainder of the game.

EASY PICKINGS
The Packers marched 91 yards against the Vikings defense, and made it look fairly easy.  The veteran QB in this matchup, Aaron Rodgers, was 6-6 on the 91-yard, 9-play drive, which took 5:24 off the clock.  From my perspective in the baseball pressbox, Green  Bay had open receivers on every single pass play.  Rodgers was on the money with each throw, although he did take a shot on the TD pass to Kuhn.

JUST TO CLARIFY
It’s not technically Ponder’s debut, since he got some garbage time last week at Soldier Field.  Still, it shows what a mobile QB with some arm strength can bring to the table .

CAN’T HAVE A BETTER DEBUT THAN THAT
Christian Ponder rolls left, and finds a wide-open Michael Jenkins down the sideline.    Tramon Williams got sucked in by the play action, and was then turned around by a Jenkins double-move.  The result: a 72-yard pass to the GB 1.   Two players later, Ponder tosses a TD pass to Visanthe Shiancoe, as Morgan Burnett was unable to keep his feet in coverage.

LET’S SEE WHAT THE ROOKIE QB BRINGS TO THE TABLE
The Packers win the toss, but defer to the 2nd half, meaning the Vikings will take the ball.  Christian Ponder vs. Dom Capers, Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, et. al.

WIDESPREAD PANIC
John Bell of the musical group of that name sings the anthem.  As long as the dome stays inflated, there should not be widespread panic inside today.

AUDITORY ASSAULT UNDERWAY
Former Vikings DE Chris Doleman blows a horn, which had not been pitch-tuned to the usual  incessant Viking horn sound that gets blasted through the PA system 40-50 times per game.  The PA system is cranked up to uncomfortable levels, which means my ear plugs have gone in.

DOME & SHIP INFLATED
The Metrodome is still a major league dump, but it looks better than the last time I was here…when the dome was deflated and melting snow was dripping onto the field.  It’s quite a bit brighter in here, thanks to the new roof panels.   Decibel level isn’t too bad, but that may change, as the Skol Line (known to some as a drum line) has now taken the field.  Fans are still filing into the place.   And, the Vikings ship has been inflated–so the Minnesota players can run through a faux tunnel as they take the field.

Posted under Hometown Sports

I’m going to be an unabashed homer here, but I’ll admit that bias up front.  Still, in my opinion, this is one of the stronger pools of local football teams heading into the postseason that I can recall.

Division 1

Level 1: Hudson over Rapids, Kimberly over Preble, ECM over DCE, Appleton North over Bay Port

Level 2: Kimberly over Hudson, ECM over Appleton North

Level 3: ECM over Kimberly

Level 4:  Germantown over ECM

State Finals: Waukesha West over Germantown

Division 2

Level 1: Tomah over Wausau East, Antigo over Holmen, Marshfield over Merrill, Menomonie over New Richmond

Level 2: Tomah over Antigo, Menomonie over Marshfield

Level 3: Menomonie over Marshfield

Level 4: Waunakee over Menomonie

State Finals: Waunakee over Monona Grove

Division 3

Level 1: Mosinee over Seymour, GB Notre Dame over Northland Pines, Rice Lake over Medford, West Salem over Ellsworth

Level 2: Mosinee over GB Notre Dame, Rice Lake over West Salem

Level 3: Rice Lake over Mosinee

Level 4: West De Pere over Rice Lake

State Finals: West De Pere over Big Foot

Division 4

Level 1: SCC over B-W, Durand over Northwestern, Spooner over SCF, Somerset over Unity, Bloomer over G-E-T

Level 2: SCC over Durand, Somerset over Spooner, Bloomer over Omro

Level 3: Somerset over SCC, Bloomer over Nekoosa

Level 4: Bloomer over Somerset

State Finals: Bloomer over Wrightstown

Division 5

Level 1: Colby over Elk Mound, Stratford over Grantsburg, Cumberland over Cameron, Stanley-Boyd over Rib Lake/Prentice, Necedah over
O-F, Cuba City over Mondovi, Whitehall over Westby

Level 2: Colby over Stratford, Cumberland over Stanley-Boyd, Necedah over Cuba City, Lancaster over Whitehall

Level 3: Colby over Cumberland, Lancaster over Necedah

Level 4: Colby over Brillion, Lancaster over Cedar Grove/Belgium

State Finals: Colby over Lancaster

Division 6

Level 1: Athens over Marathon, Spring Valley over Northwood/Solon Springs, Regis over Boyceville, Hurley over Shell Lake, Edgar over Mel-Min, Blair-Taylor over Iowa-Grant

Level 2: Athens over Spring Valley, Regis over Hurley, Edgar over Kickapoo/La Farge, Blair-Taylor over Bangor

Level 3: Athens over Regis, Edgar over Blair-Taylor

Level 4: Athens over Coleman, Edgar over St. Mary’s Springs

State Finals: Edgar over Athens

Division 7

Level 1: Frederic over Lake Holcombe, Florence over Siren, Wausaukee over Luck, Clayton over Turtle Lake, De Soto over Cashton, Assumption over C-FC, Owen-Withee over Pepin/Alma, Greenwood/Granton over Elmwood

Level 2: Frederic over Florence, Clayton over Wausaukee, De Soto over Assumption, Owen-Withee over Greenwood/Granton

Level 3: Clayton over Frederic, Owen-Withee over De Sotoa

Level 4: Clayton over Owen-Withee

State Finals: Clayton over Randolph

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports

Greetings,  NFL fans, and welcome to Lambeau Field on this sunny, October afternoon.  As before, I’ll be posting during the game, with the newest observations at the top, so keep refreshing your browser.  Enjoy the game.

WILL THAT DO IT?
There’s time on the clock, but this one has been over for a while.  It’s time to shut down the computer, and head to the locker room for postgame coverage. Look for that report tonight on the WQOW News 18 10 PM Report.

THAT’LL HELP RODGERS’ & DRIVER’S STATS
The QB tosses his 4th TD pass, and in the process, sets a personal high of 408 passing yards.  Rodgers has had a hand in all 6 Packers offensive touchdowns.  Driver catches his 1st TD pass of 2011, the 54th of his career.  Didn’t think we’d see him back in the game after he was taken off on a cart in the first half.

THAT TOO, WILL HELP THE DEFENSIVE STATS
Sam Shields, after appearing to be burned by Brandon Lloyd, recovered nicely to pick off a Kyle Orton in the end zone.  Shields, then, flashed his speed and moves by returning the interception all the way to the Broncos 45.  While Shields gets credit for good technique by locating the ball in the air, a better thrown ball by Orton would have resulted in a TD.

A NEW DEFINITION OF QUESTIONABLE
Donald Driver, whose return to the game was said to be “questionable,” returns to the game early in the fourth and catches a pass.

NUMBERS GAME
Plenty of time left in this one, and the Packers have hung 45 points on the scoreboard.  Thorough four games, Green Bay has 141 points, which is a franchise record.  The 1945 Packers had 140 points through their first four games.

ZIP
The Packers cash in on the turnover, as Rodgers leads a 5-play, 86-yard drive.  Very few NFL QB’s could have made the two key tosses on that drive, the dart to Randall Cobb that resulted in a 61-yard gain, and the 16-yard laser to James Jones for the TD.

THAT’LL HELP THE DEFENSIVE STATS
Desmond Bishop, after getting burned by Daniel Fells, strips Fells of the football, which was recovered by Morgan Burnett.  Another instance of the Packers giving up plenty of yardage on a drive, but then making a play to keep an opponent out of the end zone.

BREAKING THE PLANE, BREAKING THE WILL OF THE BRONCOS?
Aaron Rodgers scores his 2nd rushing TD of the game (he’s never done that before in  his NFL career).  FYI, Rodgers is Green Bay’s leading ground gainer, with 7 carries for 30 yards.  He hasn’t been half-bad throwing the ball either: 21-27,  289 yards, 2 TD’s.

MORE NOISE IN GB, LESS IN MIL
Within moments of Paul Goldschmidt’s solo HR off Zach Greinke to quiet the Miller Park crowd, the Lambeau Field has arisen after a very tidy 10-play, 80-yard TD drive, using 2:57, and culminating in a Rodgers to Greg Jennings TD pass.

BACK TO THE MALAISE
The complete lack of buzz is back at Lambeau.  Perhaps no one has heard about Ryan Braun’s 2-run, 1st-inning homer a few hours to our south.  Here, after that flurry of activity late in the 1st quarter that had the Green Bay faithful excited, the Broncos have been a buzz kill.  The weather is nice, however.

LACK OF PRESSURE
Green Bay’s front is not getting any push against the Broncos o-line, and Clay Matthews was a non-factor on that most recent Denver TD drive.   The one time Matthews did get a hit on Orton, the QB was able to get the ball off in time…and that ball wound up in the hands of Eric Decker, who just happened to be open in the end zone.

OOPS
A complete bust in the GB secondary allows Brandon Lloyd to run free…the only thing preventing a 49-yard TD pass was an  underthrown ball by Orton.  However, the QB finds former Minnesota Gopher WR Eric Decker on a pick play along the goal line, and the Broncos have a semblance of life with 10:27 to go in the 2nd quarter.

DRIVER UPDATE
Donald Driver was carted off to the locker room, but received a nice ovation from the fans in the south end zone stands.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Rodgers runs for a TD, but Donald Driver is down on the field with an apparent left leg injury.

NOW THE FANS ARE INTO IT
It was kind of quiet here at Lambeau for a chunk of the 1st quarter, but three huge plays in the span of the last 2:15 (Rodgers to Nelson TD pass, Woodson INT TD, & Nelson recovering the ensuing onside kick) have got the faithful in much better spirits.

21 FOR 30
Speaking of lulling people to sleep, Charles Woodson has just suckered Orton into throwing an out route to Eric Decker.  Woodson, as he’s known to do, jumps the route and waltzes into the end zone.  For Woodson, it’s his 50th career NFL interception, his  11th TD return, which ranks him 2nd all- time (tied with Darren  Sharper and 1 behind Rod Woodson).

NO 4TH DOWN DECISIONS NECESSARY
The Packers find the end zone on a perfectly thrown ball by Rodgers to Jordy Nelson, for a 50-yard TD.  It’s the kind of play you really appreciate from the a high view, watching Nelson lull a couple of defensive backs to sleep, before turning on the speed after a sharp cut.

FIND THE FAN IN THE TEBOW JERSEY
Tim Tebow makes an appearance in the Broncos 2nd drive, and promptly loses a yard on a quarterback draw.   Only people happy about that substitution and subsequent play call are Denver-area sports radio talk show hosts.

MUST HAVE BEEN A PAD LEVEL ISSUE
A promising Packers opening drive, which included a sweet 43-yard toss from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings, ends on downs at the Broncos 12, as Brian Dawkins drops James Starks for a one-yard loss.

INACTIVES
No real suprises for the Packers:  Ryan Grant, Nick Collins, Jamari Lattimore, Frank Zombo, Brad Jones, Bryan Bulaga, and Mike Neal.

Posted under Hometown Sports

Greetings, college football fans, welcome to the Camp Randall Stadium pressbox.  We’ve been hyping this Nebraska-Wisconsin game for quite some time, and it’s finally here.  As in previous football game blogs, I’ll be posting the newest items at the top.  Enjoy!

IT’S NOT OVER BUT IT IS
I am leaving the pressbox to deal with postgame duties.  Check out tomorrow’s 10 PM report for a story by News 18′s Mike Joyce.  I’ll be back in the car tomorrow to cover the Broncos-Packers game at Lambeau Field.

JUMP AROUND
81,384 in attendance today at Camp Randall, and they are making this place shake.  Hope none of my press box bretheren are prone to motion sickness.

WRECKING BALL
Montee Ball barrels off several tackles and waltzes his way into the end zone, and this is turning into a rout.  A 14-play drive, covering 81 yards, and eating up 7:06 has to be absolutely demoralizing for Nebraska.

GOOD CALL ON THE MUSIC
For a change, the PA system is not blaring music during a timeout.  Instead, the UW band is playing “Ring Of Fire,” which is appropriate for the men in black.  Now, if we could just get the 35-member Nebraska band to pipe down…

I MAY HAVE TO REVISE A PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRY
Fine…let’s all start hyping Russell Wilson for the Heisman.  After tonight’s nationally televised game, there should be no shortage of hype.  Better than anyone else in college football?  We shall see…it’s a political award, as I think we’re all aware.  But he’s very, very good.  Fun to watch in person.  Probably a nightmare to prepare for if you’re a defensive coordinator.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
Clearly, no one in the Nebraska locker room told Taylor Martinez to stop throwing passes to the other team.  If the coaches did, then the QB wasn’t listening.  If the Badgers can cash in with a TD after the INT, it’s nail number one in the black coffin of the Cornhuskers.

HALFTIME STATS
The team numbers are fairly even, with some major exceptions.  Wisconsin has 233 passing yards to Nebraska’s 153.  The Cornhuskers have turned it over twice; the Badgers once.  Wilson (12-16, 233 yds., 2 TD) is clearly winning the QB battle with Martinez (9-17, 153 yds., 2 INT).  Martinez is a threat running the ball, however, he has 44 yards on 14 carries.  Nebraska’s Rex Burkhead hasn’t been much of a factor: 6 carries, 18 yards.  On the other side, Montee Ball has 51 yards on 12 carries.

AND WHAT WE JUST SAID ABOUT RUSSELL WILSON
He’s good.  A perfectly thrown ball to Toon, who had gotten separation from the Nebraska secondary.   Once again, the Badgers cash in on a Martinez mistake.

WHAT WE JUST SAID ABOUT TAYLOR MARTINEZ
“T-Magic” was anything but magical on pass that wound up right in the arms of Aaron Henry.  Unfortunately for Martinez, Henry plays for Wisconsin.   A crucial, crucial mistake that thwarts what had been a promising Huskiers drive, and gives the Badgers another opportunity to put points on the board.

YOU ARE FORGIVEN FOR THE FUMBLE
Jared Abrederis makes a highlight reel catch for a Wisconsin touchdown…on a well-designed play that isolated Abrederis over the middle.   A great play-fake by Wilson got the Nebraska secondary peeking in the backfield, allowing Abrederis to get open.   Both teams have now cashed in on an opponent’s turnover.

THAT’S THE TAYLOR MARTINEZ WE KNOW AND LOVE
The same QB who was very efficient through 1 1/2 quarters throws an inexplicable ball across his body, over the middle, that gets picked off by Mike Taylor.  No wonder Nebraska fans have a love/hate relationship with the guy.

WATCH THAT TIGHT END, AS WELL
Jacob Pedersen pulls down a high pass from Wilson to put the Badgers in the red zone.

DAD WOULD BE PROUD
Nick Toon makes a NFL quality catch.  Scouts, take notice.

GET THAT FIXED
Martinez may have a funky throwing motion, but his accuracy so far has been better than advertised.  Combine that with some blown coverages in the Badgers secondary, and Martinez is 5-7 for 89 yards, and has led a pair of TD drives.

THAT’S A GOOD MOVE
Wilson leads the Badgers on a 91-yard drive to tie the score.  Key plays: a 18-yard toss to Abrederis, a gift pass interference penalty, and a 21-yard scramble by Wilson, who left defender Cameron Meredith in his wake.

YOUR MOVE, MR. WILSON
Taylor Martinez scores the game’s 1st TD, after leading Nebraska on a 9-play, 39-yard drive,  following the Abrederis fumble.

BIG SHIFT
In momentum and field position….as Jared Abrederis loses the football after what looked to be a promising punt return.  That’s Wisconsin’s first lost fumble of the season.

BOHLIG & MACK AGAIN
A nice moment at Camp Randall, as Gregg Bohlig and Jeff Mack are honored via a fine video board presentation.  Gregg claims he couldn’t make that pass now, but I think he could…maybe not as far, but probably a spiral.

THOSE BLACK-SHIRTED FANS CAN MAKE NOISE
When a blitzing Lavonte David did what few have done this year: sack Russell Wilson.  Now time for the UW defense to take the field against a Nebraska offense led by QB Taylor Martinez & Rex Burkhead.

DESERVING OF THE HYPE
Russell Wilson makes a play not many previous UW QB’S could have, evading a rush, and tossing a 22-yard pass on 3rd down to keep the opening drive alive.

WE WANT THE BALL AND WE’RE GONNA SCORE!
Badgers win the toss.  Time to see what Russell Wilson and the offense can do against a bona-fide Division 1 FBS defense.

PRESSBOX ALREADY ROCKING
During the videoboard introduction of the Badgers….

EC IN THE HOUSE
UW Board of Regent Ed Manydeeds is enjoying the action in a box across the way, along with his fellow muckety-mucks.  Recent EC North grad and former Huskies QB Brett Bodenburg is here in the pressbox helping out the UW stats staff.  ECN alum Evan Anderson and his UW men’s basketball teammates will be introduced during the game.  Also to be introduced, EC native Gregg Bohlig (his story is elsewhere on this website), who tossed the game-winning TD pass in 1974 to Jeff Mack that beat Nebraska.   Allegedly on Breese Terrace: recent ECN grads Tyler Brown & Nate Robertson.

FESTIVE PREGAME
I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I roamed Breese Terrace prior to a Badgers game, but today’s scene was rocking up and down the street.  Fans of all ages, and a decent number (10-15%) of black-shirted Nebraska fans walking about.

 

Posted under Hometown Sports