woodbuck27
09-17-2006, 01:16 AM
Posted September 16, 2006
Dan Kohn column: Game preparation sure has changed
Scouting opponents in the NFL sure has come a long way from even just a few decades ago.
Even as late as the 1970s, some teams would send spies to other team's practices. Others would pick up the local newspapers.
It was all in an effort to get an edge on the competition.
A while back, the NFL Network had run an old NFL Films special on a week in the life of the New Orleans Saints. It was from the first week of November in 1976.
The Saints were coming off of a 23-20 Halloween Day loss to the Atlanta Falcons and were now getting set to face the Green Bay Packers in Milwaukee.
Hall of Famer Hank Stram was the Saints' coach and he spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday of that week going over game film of the Packers' 27-6 loss to the Detroit Lions that past week.
Stram kept harping on his players to dress warm for the trip and many of the Saints' players didn't even know the game was at County Stadium in Milwaukee instead of Lambeau Field.
Stram also worked the phones, trying to find out every little nugget that could help his team against the Packers.
He scoured Wisconsin newspapers, particularly papers such as The Green Bay Press-Gazette and The Post-Crescent. He liked those because they had beat writers. He was looking for injury updates and maybe clues to what the Packers were working on for the upcoming game against the Saints.
The team flew into Milwaukee on Saturday and Stram continued to look over newspapers and watch the evening television sports report in preparation.
Despite the long hours, the Packers beat his Saints 32-27. And so the long process began again.
The piece wasn't dynamic, but it was a great slice of what the league was back then.
Now teams have access to a database and has access of all the game film it wants. They may not have access to other team's practices but, thanks to the Internet, getting information to game plan is much easier.
Here are the Week 2 picks. Harrah's no longer provides odds to The Associated Press.
Buffalo at Miami: Both teams looked good at times in opening game losses on the road, but the Dolphins have the better talent and are at home. Dolphins 21, Bills 10.
Detroit at Chicago: The Bears and Lions defenses both played well in the opener. The Bears got a win, however, while the Detroit offense struggled mightily in new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's system. The second coming of the Greatest Show on Turf is still a couple years away. Bears 10, Lions 3.
Houston at Indianapolis: On paper, this looks like a mismatch. In reality, it is a mismatch. The potent Colts offense should have its way against Mario Williams and the young Texans defense. Colts 42, Texans 17.
Carolina at Minnesota: The Panthers struggled in their opener while the Vikings were impressive in a Monday night win over the Redskins. Carolina needs to rebound and will do so despite Minnesota feeling all warm and fuzzy over its opening day success. Panthers 20, Vikings 16.
Oakland at Baltimore: Oh my. Can you imagine what the Ravens defense can do to the Oakland offense, especially after seeing San Diego destroy it? The Raiders must find a way to give Aaron Brooks some time to throw or this one will be over before it starts. Ravens 20, Raiders 0.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta: If the Buccaneers are going to contend in the NFC South, this is a must win. Last week, the Falcons defense dominated Carolina, many people's favorite to win the Super Bowl. Chris Simms must step it up if Tampa Bay has a chance this season. Falcons 24, Buccaneers 14.
New Orleans at Green Bay: Going into this season, this game was penciled in as a Packers win. After last Sunday's pathetic performance, Green Bay must improve in all facets or the Packers will be staring at 0-2. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister are a good one-two punch and may be enough to knock the Packers out early. Unlike last year's game where the Saints suffered the effects of Hurricane Katrina, this team is focused. Saints 28, Packers 24.
Cleveland at Cincinnati: The Bengals may be the team to beat in the AFC North. While the Browns may be improved, they don't have the weapons to stay with Cincinnati. Bengals 35, Browns 21.
New York Giants at Philadelphia: There is no such thing as a must win this early in the season. But this one comes close for New York. The Giants can't afford to start the season 0-2 if they are going to contend for the NFC East title. Eli Manning played well Sunday night against his brother's Indianapolis Colts. He'll need to do the same in a very hostile environment against an improved Eagles team. Giants 22, Eagles 20.
Arizona at Seattle: If the Cardinals are for real, this would be a good time to show the football world. The Seahawks are coming off of a poor performance in Detroit, albeit a victory. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Mike Holmgren coached teams rarely have back-to-back bad games. Seahawks 35, Cardinals 14.
St. Louis at San Francisco: The Rams defense looked very good against Denver last Sunday while the 49ers offense kept them in the game at Arizona. Both teams need more of the same this week. San Francisco has a slight advantage being at home. 49ers 17, Rams 14.
New England at New York Jets: The Patriots may not have as potent of an offense as they once had, they are still much better than New York. Tom Brady's patience will pay off once again. Patriots 28, Jets 6.
Tennessee at San Diego: The Chargers are going to make a serious run at the Super Bowl this season, while the Titans are more concerned with building for the future. San Diego starts off the season 2-0. Chargers 31, Titans 3.
Kansas City at Denver: The Chiefs will be without Trent Green and it will cost them, especially on the road at Mile High. The Broncos will rebound strong after a tough opener in St. Louis. Broncos 33, Chiefs 14.
Washington at Dallas: The loser of this game starts off 0-2. Both teams were inconsistent in their openers but this is the Redskins versus the Cowboys. Mark Brunell looked old Monday night in a loss to the Vikings. It won't get any easier this week. Cowboys 24, Redskins 21.
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville: The Steelers are still searching for a replacement for Jerome Bettis in short-yardage situations. The Jaguars rallied nicely to beat Dallas in their opener. Jacksonville gets the homefield edge. Jaguars 17, Steelers 14.
Last week: 7-8.
Dan Kohn writes for The Post-Crescent. He can be reached at 920-993-100, ext. 305 or at dkohn@postcrescent.com
Dan Kohn column: Game preparation sure has changed
Scouting opponents in the NFL sure has come a long way from even just a few decades ago.
Even as late as the 1970s, some teams would send spies to other team's practices. Others would pick up the local newspapers.
It was all in an effort to get an edge on the competition.
A while back, the NFL Network had run an old NFL Films special on a week in the life of the New Orleans Saints. It was from the first week of November in 1976.
The Saints were coming off of a 23-20 Halloween Day loss to the Atlanta Falcons and were now getting set to face the Green Bay Packers in Milwaukee.
Hall of Famer Hank Stram was the Saints' coach and he spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday of that week going over game film of the Packers' 27-6 loss to the Detroit Lions that past week.
Stram kept harping on his players to dress warm for the trip and many of the Saints' players didn't even know the game was at County Stadium in Milwaukee instead of Lambeau Field.
Stram also worked the phones, trying to find out every little nugget that could help his team against the Packers.
He scoured Wisconsin newspapers, particularly papers such as The Green Bay Press-Gazette and The Post-Crescent. He liked those because they had beat writers. He was looking for injury updates and maybe clues to what the Packers were working on for the upcoming game against the Saints.
The team flew into Milwaukee on Saturday and Stram continued to look over newspapers and watch the evening television sports report in preparation.
Despite the long hours, the Packers beat his Saints 32-27. And so the long process began again.
The piece wasn't dynamic, but it was a great slice of what the league was back then.
Now teams have access to a database and has access of all the game film it wants. They may not have access to other team's practices but, thanks to the Internet, getting information to game plan is much easier.
Here are the Week 2 picks. Harrah's no longer provides odds to The Associated Press.
Buffalo at Miami: Both teams looked good at times in opening game losses on the road, but the Dolphins have the better talent and are at home. Dolphins 21, Bills 10.
Detroit at Chicago: The Bears and Lions defenses both played well in the opener. The Bears got a win, however, while the Detroit offense struggled mightily in new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's system. The second coming of the Greatest Show on Turf is still a couple years away. Bears 10, Lions 3.
Houston at Indianapolis: On paper, this looks like a mismatch. In reality, it is a mismatch. The potent Colts offense should have its way against Mario Williams and the young Texans defense. Colts 42, Texans 17.
Carolina at Minnesota: The Panthers struggled in their opener while the Vikings were impressive in a Monday night win over the Redskins. Carolina needs to rebound and will do so despite Minnesota feeling all warm and fuzzy over its opening day success. Panthers 20, Vikings 16.
Oakland at Baltimore: Oh my. Can you imagine what the Ravens defense can do to the Oakland offense, especially after seeing San Diego destroy it? The Raiders must find a way to give Aaron Brooks some time to throw or this one will be over before it starts. Ravens 20, Raiders 0.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta: If the Buccaneers are going to contend in the NFC South, this is a must win. Last week, the Falcons defense dominated Carolina, many people's favorite to win the Super Bowl. Chris Simms must step it up if Tampa Bay has a chance this season. Falcons 24, Buccaneers 14.
New Orleans at Green Bay: Going into this season, this game was penciled in as a Packers win. After last Sunday's pathetic performance, Green Bay must improve in all facets or the Packers will be staring at 0-2. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister are a good one-two punch and may be enough to knock the Packers out early. Unlike last year's game where the Saints suffered the effects of Hurricane Katrina, this team is focused. Saints 28, Packers 24.
Cleveland at Cincinnati: The Bengals may be the team to beat in the AFC North. While the Browns may be improved, they don't have the weapons to stay with Cincinnati. Bengals 35, Browns 21.
New York Giants at Philadelphia: There is no such thing as a must win this early in the season. But this one comes close for New York. The Giants can't afford to start the season 0-2 if they are going to contend for the NFC East title. Eli Manning played well Sunday night against his brother's Indianapolis Colts. He'll need to do the same in a very hostile environment against an improved Eagles team. Giants 22, Eagles 20.
Arizona at Seattle: If the Cardinals are for real, this would be a good time to show the football world. The Seahawks are coming off of a poor performance in Detroit, albeit a victory. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Mike Holmgren coached teams rarely have back-to-back bad games. Seahawks 35, Cardinals 14.
St. Louis at San Francisco: The Rams defense looked very good against Denver last Sunday while the 49ers offense kept them in the game at Arizona. Both teams need more of the same this week. San Francisco has a slight advantage being at home. 49ers 17, Rams 14.
New England at New York Jets: The Patriots may not have as potent of an offense as they once had, they are still much better than New York. Tom Brady's patience will pay off once again. Patriots 28, Jets 6.
Tennessee at San Diego: The Chargers are going to make a serious run at the Super Bowl this season, while the Titans are more concerned with building for the future. San Diego starts off the season 2-0. Chargers 31, Titans 3.
Kansas City at Denver: The Chiefs will be without Trent Green and it will cost them, especially on the road at Mile High. The Broncos will rebound strong after a tough opener in St. Louis. Broncos 33, Chiefs 14.
Washington at Dallas: The loser of this game starts off 0-2. Both teams were inconsistent in their openers but this is the Redskins versus the Cowboys. Mark Brunell looked old Monday night in a loss to the Vikings. It won't get any easier this week. Cowboys 24, Redskins 21.
Pittsburgh at Jacksonville: The Steelers are still searching for a replacement for Jerome Bettis in short-yardage situations. The Jaguars rallied nicely to beat Dallas in their opener. Jacksonville gets the homefield edge. Jaguars 17, Steelers 14.
Last week: 7-8.
Dan Kohn writes for The Post-Crescent. He can be reached at 920-993-100, ext. 305 or at dkohn@postcrescent.com