Chargers Will Be Too Much for the Pack

[Fritz]

That's just my feeling. McCarthy's teams struggle mightily against 3-4 defenses, and San Diego's is good, very good.

This will put too much of the onus on Favre, and if SD gets some pressure on him, he'll be more likely to toss a few int's.

Add to that the league's best running back, a great play-making TE, and the phenomonal number of injuries the Pack has suffered, and it seems to me that the result will be a loss for the Pack.

I sure hope I'm wrong.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

I think you’re wrong.

I actually think we match up very well against them. There biggest strength on there team is LT, our biggest strength on our team is the talent and depth on the d-line.

There biggest weakest on defense is there secondary; our biggest strength on offense is our passing game.

I'm not saying it will be easy, but I'm predicting a win this Sunday.

[Bretsky]

Our offense does not match up well at all with San Diego IMO; the Patriots exposed their weaknesses but have a ton of talent at WR. They have better RB's, a better OL, better TE, better WR, and a more effective QB at this point. At least three of their WR's would start for us and possible four. And then a pass receiving TE. We just don't have the firepower to expose them like NE did.

I think their defense will at least control our offense; I can't see a win but hope I'm wrong

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Our offense does not match up well at all with San Diego IMO; the Patriots exposed their weaknesses but have a ton of talent at WR. They have better RB's, a better OL, better TE, better WR, and a more effective QB at this point. At least three of their WR's would start for us and possible four. And then a pass receiving TE. We just don't have the firepower to expose them like NE did.

I think their defense will at least control our offense; I can't see a win but hope I'm wrong

Your probably right if Jones and Jennings don't play, but if have Driver, Jennings, and Jones we can do some damage.

[mmmdk]

Last season Chargers win 9 out of 10 games vs. Packers - this season is more unpredictable but I'd say Chargers win 7 out of 10 now. So I'm saying there's a chance 8-) but when I put my money on the bet I'd go with Chargers. Bad matchup for Packers.

[Zool]

You cant forget the X-factor of Norv Turner. How he keeps getting HC jobs is a mystery.

[Ballboy]

Injuries are killing us

[Merlin]

I guess I am in the "not sure" camp about San Diego. They haven't really played all that well on both sides of the ball. The 3-4 defense doesn't worry me as much as it did in prior years. I actually think our OL can handle that better then a 4-3. Our DL has to step it up against the run and if they can accomplish that, look for this to be a very tight game because we have a good secondary and Rivers doesn't look like he is in the zone right now. Although the past two years, the Packers seemed to be the cure for struggling teams.

[4and12to12and4]

Last season Chargers win 9 out of 10 games vs. Packers - this season is more unpredictable but I'd say Chargers win 7 out of 10 now. So I'm saying there's a chance 8-) but when I put my money on the bet I'd go with Chargers. Bad matchup for Packers.

Well put, there's already a thread similar to this we can predict final scores in. BTW, bragging rights here, last week I predicted a win 28-13. Only 7 points off on one side. 8-) This week, unfortunately, I see us losing. My prediction is in the other thread. They have too much talent. But, that's why they play the games. I thought the Eagles were going to annihalate us. We won ugly, but we won. I'm just glad this one is in GB!!

[The Leaper]

Our offense just doesn't have enough right now to expose SD's weakness. I think our defense can keep us in the game, but ultimately our offense won't be able to score enough to win this game.

[cpk1994]

Amazingly, on ESPN FirstTake today Skip Bayless of all people picked the Pack to win this weekend.

[Zool]

Amazingly, on ESPN FirstTake today Skip Bayless of all people picked the Pack to win this weekend.

Well we're screwed then. Eyebrows McScream knows as much about football as the yellow lab down the street from me.

[PackerBlues]

I think that what is going to hurt us more than anything against the elite teams of the league this year, is the inability of our receivers to stretch the field. Opposing teams can afford to double team Driver as much as they want, because the other receivers taking the field for GB, so far, simply do not get open enough to pick up the slack.

I am hoping that Bubba and Lee can contribute enough to make a difference. I would expect to see a lot of short passing plays, and perhaps the return of the screen play to get yardage against SanDiego. If we had some help "stretching the field" though, it would also help our run game out considerably.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

[MJZiggy]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

Well put. I will never look at any game against anyone and assume that there is no way we can win it. I don't care who they have on the team, those are individual players. If our boys can rally together as a team, they can play with anyone.

[Freak Out]

All I know is our O-line is going to have their hands full this week. Williams is the best DT in the game and Merriman is a maddog out there. If our D can find a way to keep LT from controlling the game and #4 can stay on his feet we have a chance.

[MJZiggy]

What if they handle LT the same way they did Westbrook?

[Harlan Huckleby]

the Patriots exposed their weaknesses but have a ton of talent at WR.


I think that what is going to hurt us more than anything against the elite teams of the league this year, is the inability of our receivers to stretch the field.


He just won't go away! Sorry, I just felt like being an ass. :)

http://www.collegecharlie.com/p1_moss_moon_all.jpeg

[PackerBlues]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d29/trickyblue/shit/mosswantstheballs.jpg

lol :D

[Freak Out]

What if they handle LT the same way they did Westbrook?

That would be fantastic and because of the speed we have at LB and how well our DL has been playing we have a good shot at containing him but Merriman scares me.

[Partial]

Amazingly, on ESPN FirstTake today Skip Bayless of all people picked the Pack to win this weekend.

Well we're screwed then. Eyebrows McScream knows as much about football as the yellow lab down the street from me.

Yeah, but Yellow Labs are cute.

[Partial]

All I know is our O-line is going to have their hands full this week. Williams is the best DT in the game and Merriman is a maddog out there. If our D can find a way to keep LT from controlling the game and #4 can stay on his feet we have a chance.

And it just so happens that Scotty Big Dog Wells is playing like a man posessed and well on his way to a pro-bowl birth. Chad Clifton is a pretty good pass blocker as well.

Merriman is a liability if he isn't wreaking havoc in the pass rush. I'd personally go U-71 and run right at him.

[Partial]

you drew a chocolate ass. ridiculous :lol:

[hoosier]

I think that what is going to hurt us more than anything against the elite teams of the league this year, is the inability of our receivers to stretch the field.

By stretch the field I'm assuming you mean a deep threat. If so, I don't agree. Since the Brett Favre era began the long ball has never been a big part of their arsenal. Brooks, Rison, Freeman, Schroeder--none of them were scary deep threat. Schroeder was certainly fast but couldn't put it together. Javon Walker might be the exception. The big difference between the 1997 and 2007 Packers is that the 2007 version has two or three receiving weapons, whereas in 1997 they were putting four or five out there on each play. Our TE's either can't run or can't catch, and our running backs don't seem to be receiving threats either. Adding a deep threat would only play to the weakest part of Favre's game, IMO.

[Freak Out]

All I know is our O-line is going to have their hands full this week. Williams is the best DT in the game and Merriman is a maddog out there. If our D can find a way to keep LT from controlling the game and #4 can stay on his feet we have a chance.

And it just so happens that Scotty Big Dog Wells is playing like a man posessed and well on his way to a pro-bowl birth. Chad Clifton is a pretty good pass blocker as well.

Merriman is a liability if he isn't wreaking havoc in the pass rush. I'd personally go U-71 and run right at him.

Can we even run a U-71 offense anymore?

Has Favre ever lost to the Chargers?

[BEARMAN]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

Kool-aid drinker for sure ! :roll:

[retailguy]

but that will only mean we ran out of time.

wouldn't that be true of every NFL game?

[retailguy]

What if they handle LT the same way they did Westbrook?

ANOTHER IF? Ok, whatever. 8-)

[MJZiggy]

There's no if about how they handled Westbrook, RG. The fact that they've already done it proves that it's possible. I'm just reminding those who for some reason believe that LT will definitely be impossible to contain.

[Charles Woodson]

Btw i thought that it was impressive that 3 out of 5 of the espn experts picked us over SD

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/notebook?page=sundaycountdown07&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

[MJZiggy]

Btw i thought that it was impressive that 3 out of 5 of the espn experts picked us over SD

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/notebook?page=sundaycountdown07&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

That scares me more than the whole SD roster and their record from last year...

[Maxie the Taxi]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

Kool-aid drinker for sure ! :roll:

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I've seen the label "Kool-aid drinker" bandied about here quite a bit. I have a problem with it. Since when is positive thinking or believing in yourself (or in this case your team's fighting spirit) the equivalent of a mindless follower of Jim Jones drinking Kool-aid? Was Lombardi a Kool-aid drinker when he took over the Packers and believed they could be winners? Was Lance Armstrong a Kool-aid drinker when he believed he could beat testicular cancer and be a winner again?

Read the following article from Pro Football Weekly and tell me if Bob Long is a Kool-aid drinker or just a person who refuses to quit...

-----
A stroke of bad luck

Bob Long keeps bouncing back from unlikely setbacks
By Ron Pollack, Editor-in-chief

Aug. 8, 2001

The second in a series

Former NFL WR Bob Long was having a stroke, which seemed about as misdirected as a wrong number.

Long was only 50 years old at the time, which might sound ancient to a teenager but isn’t that old in the grand scheme of things. It certainly wasn’t the age typically associated with stroke victims.

Even more baffling was the fact that Long’s weight was good, he didn’t have vices and he exercised regularly. It was as though he mistakenly had been given someone else’s stroke.

The date was January 16, 1991. Long hadn’t been feeling well for about a month. Two weeks earlier he broke out in hives. Long’s wife insisted he go to the doctor, who checked him out and made the hardly life-threatening proclamation, "Yes, he has hives."

You don’t call in sick because of hives. You don’t clear your schedule. So Long went about his business.

On the day that would change his life forever, Long went downtown to close a business deal. Everything seemed fine. Looks were deceiving.

At 1:00 that afternoon, a secretary called Long’s wife and said, "Your husband doesn’t feel well, and there’s nothing more going on today. Why don’t you come in and get him."

This didn’t set off any alarm bells for Bob’s wife, Joan, but when she arrived to his office and learned that he was lying down she started to get concerned. Warning bells started going off for her when she saw the door to his office was closed, something he almost never did.

Joan knocked and called Bob’s name. No answer.

She opened the door and saw Bob lying down, still wearing his overcoat and a scarf.

"It looked like he was dead," she says.

She again called out his name. Loudly. No answer. Joan shook Bob and yelled in his ear.

He responded, "I don’t know what’s wrong. I don’t feel well."

Bob was slurring his words and one side of his face did not look right. Joan knew immediately that Bob had suffered a stroke. She screamed for someone to get an ambulance.

When they got to the hospital, Bob started having major seizures.

Bob was placed in intensive care. His situation kept going downhill.

"I was in shock," Joan says. "I was in shock that this could happen, and it was unbelievable because he was such a vital, active person."

The days kept passing, and Bob kept getting worse. It looked like there was nothing more the doctors could do for him. It looked like he was going to die.

Joan told Bob’s doctor, "(My husband is) such a wonderful person that even if he’s only 75 percent of what he was before, that’s fine. I’ll take it."



Flashback: This was not the first time that Bob was virtually given up for dead. Back in 1968, Long was having the season of his life for the Falcons. Nine games into the season, he already had what was at the time a career-best 22 catches and was averaging an impressive 22.0 yards per reception.

"I was on my way to an All-Pro season," he says.

Then disaster struck as unexpectedly as a 50-year-old man suffering a stroke.

The morning after the Falcons’ game against the Rams, Long was sore and decided to head toward the stadium for a hot tub and a massage. The teammates he normally drove to the stadium with had been out late partying the night before and weren’t up to a 9:30 a.m. trip to the stadium, so Long drove alone. It was the first time he had made the trip by himself.

He drove through downtown Atlanta. Just as Long was coming out of a traffic jam, it was raining lightly. Then Long looked up and couldn’t believe what he saw.

"I saw this car hurling through the air right at me," he says.

The airborne car had come off the ramp from the opposite side of the road, went across the freeway and flipped up in the air.

Long’s car was going 55 miles per hour. The other car was going 70. They met head on. Long’s car would later be taken to Georgia Tech where a study said it looked like a car that had been going 125 miles per hour and hit a brick building. The block of Long’s engine was driven back through the front seat.

Long would lose a kidney and suffer injuries to the lumbar vertebrae in his back. The lacerations and stitches on his body would total 200.

"I got beat up pretty bad," he says.

Initially, it looked even worse than that.

Long was unconscious for a minute or two. When he came to, he saw blood all over himself. A state patrolman was standing outside the car and said, "We’ve got another dead one over here."

Long called out, "Wait a minute, I’m not dead yet."



Fast forward to January 1991 and Day Six of Long’s stroke.

"(That) was the day I thought he was going to die," Joan says.

Bob wasn’t responding to what the doctors were trying. His breathing was slowing down. He’d go for what seemed like much too long without taking a breath.

"You’d have to make him breathe by yelling at him or pushing at him to get him to take a breath," Joan says. "It was very scary."

The doctors were running out of ideas, running out of time. One doctor said, "We don’t know what to do for him. He’s fading fast."

Finally, a doctor said, "There’s only one thing I can think of to do, and that’s give him a massive dose of cortisone."

This was a very dangerous course of action. Too much cortisone can kill you, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Either this would work or Bob was going to die anyway.

Bob was given the massive dose of cortisone. It saved his life. Within six hours, he came out of what Joan calls the "semi-coma" he was in. Three days later he was out of intensive care.

Very shortly after that was that season’s Super Bowl. Giants vs. Bills. The Giants were coached by Bill Parcells, who just happens to be a former college teammate of Long’s.

The day of the Super Bowl was the first day Long really seemed to be making a concerted effort to rally. He wanted to watch Parcells and the Giants play in the Super Bowl. The problem was that Long was seeing triple. One eye had to be blocked and he couldn’t look directly at anything or he’d get sick. Still, Long wanted to monitor Parcells’ team in the worst way.

"That was the day that I felt he might have a chance to make some kind of comeback," Joan says. "But I tell you, this was a man (who) could not walk, could not talk, could not open his eyes. It was unbelievable."

Bob was unable to watch the game, but he listened. His family was with him, telling him what was happening in the game.

And what a game it was. One of the most dramatic Super Bowls of all time, it went down to the wire with Parcells’ Giants winning 20-19 when Bills PK Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard FG attempt with mere seconds remaining.

"Stroke victims get so emotional (and) he just sobbed," Joan says of Bob’s reaction to the game’s final outcome. "It was really hard to see him crying."



Walking and talking were going to be the biggest challenges to Bob after his stroke. Lessons learned in the past would carry him through the rehab he faced.

Flashback: From 1964 to ’67 Long played for the Packers. This was during the Packers’ glory years. Long was part of three championship teams during his time in Green Bay, where he came under the watchful eye of coaching legend Vince Lombardi. Lombardi had a philosophy in those years that would serve Bob well during his recovery from his stroke.

"The team never gave up," Bob says. "That was one of our sayings. Lombardi used to say to us, ‘We didn’t lose, fellas, time ran out.’ That was his theory. He’d say, ‘We never lose, time ran out.’ If we lost, time ran out. If it would have been overtime, we would have won the game. If we had more time. So that was the kind of approach we took to the games."

Lombardi was not the only person to teach Bob how to attack a difficult situation. Bob also learned this lesson from his father Bernard. Bernard worked in the Pennsylvania steel mills when Bob was growing up. Specifically, Bernard worked for U.S. Steel outside of Pittsburgh.

"He worked in the open hearth," Bob says. "These big, open-hearth blast furnaces where they used to melt the metal and steel and iron. It was hard work. Imagine your body temperature in front of a blast furnace. That’s where all the flames were."

It takes a tough man to do a tough job. This was no mismatch.

"He was a tough guy," Bob says. "He demanded discipline. There were rules in the house. He expected us to follow the rules. My father was really tough."

How tough? Well, consider an exchange Bob once had with Lombardi. The Packers’ head coach had just chewed out Bob during the 1965 season. Afterward, Bob went up to the coach and said, "Coach, please don’t yell at me again. You know, my dad was tougher than you are."

Lombardi, a hard-nosed, tough-talking, tornado of a coach, responded in surprising fashion. He laughed.

Bob had learned toughness from the best of them. He would need every ounce of this trait as he rehabbed from his stroke.



Fast forward to the start of Long’s rehab after his stroke: "He had to learn how to do everything all over again," Joan says.

As Bob did just that, he kept hearing a voice in his head: "Never, never, never give up," he’d hear Lombardi say.

He heard the voice. He listened to the voice.

"That was kind of the mark of our football team," Bob says. "As it turned out, that’s been the mark of my life. Never give up."

Over and over Bob heard Lombardi’s voice tell him that a Packer never lost. Time just ran out. If there had been more time, the Packers would have won.

Long was only 50 years old. He had more time. He never gave up.

"I told people, ‘I’m going to get pretty close back to normal,’ " Long says. "So I kept fighting to get back. I never gave up after my stroke."

A lesser man would have. The road to recovery was long and bumpy.

Six weeks after his stroke, Bob was in his hospital room and was given soup to eat. He was a disaster.

He lifted the soup spoon. Whack. He hit himself in the forehead with it. He tried again. Splat. He hit himself in the cheek with it.

"He couldn’t even feed himself," Joan says. "It was pretty bad."

"Never, never, never give up," said the voice in his head.

There were other indignities to endure.

"Trying to learn how to tie his shoes again and put his shoes on was so frustrating for him," Joan says. "I had to give him showers for a very long time, because he couldn’t stand in order to take the shower, which was one of my more sad moments," Joan says.

"Never, never, never give up," said the voice in his head.

"You’re 50 years old and you have to learn to talk and walk again," Bob says. "You feel like you’re a little kid. So I had to overcome some of that, realizing I had to go through these small tasks and simple games. They gave us simple games to play, which I hadn’t played since second grade. That’s part of the rehab. Mentally I had to overcome that, saying, well you have to go through this stuff to get better. So that’s what I did."

What he did was he battled. He scrapped. He clawed. He never gave up. Never, never, never. Lombardi would have been proud. Heck, even Bernard "tougher than Lombardi" Long would have been impressed by the effort.

"He was determined he was going to be able to do it," Joan says. "He was so driven to be able to take care of himself.

"He fought, fought, ohhhhhh did he fight.

"It has to be that athletic training. That drive to just do the best that you can. I’m amazed. Amazed."

Bob’s battle to walk again on his own two feet started in a wheelchair. Then one day he was given a walker. He didn’t much care for the walker.

"I felt old when I used that walker," Bob says. "I threw the walker away and told them to give me a cane."

Eventually, Bob was allowed to leave the hospital and return home. That first day home his family looked for him. Bob was nowhere to be found. He’d gone out.

When he finally returned home, he said, "I just wanted to go for a walk."

This was a good news/bad news type of situation.

The good news: "It was a good thing," Joan says. "He was making himself do this."

The bad news: "The problem was he couldn’t walk very well at all, and he’d fall down or he was out playing, wanted to play frisbee with his sons, but he’d fall down constantly," Joan says. "But he insisted on doing it. That’s compulsive without thinking of the consequences."

Perhaps, but it brought about rewards. Two and a half months after coming out of his semi-coma, Bob was walking on his own. To this day his balance is not the greatest, but he is walking.

His speech took longer to come around. He couldn’t speak at all for about a month.

"Never, never, never give up," said the voice in his head.

Gradually, his ability to speak improved. Just a few words here and there at first.

"Never, never, never give up," said the voice in his head.

Then more words. And more.

"He sounded like a robot for a long time," Joan says.

To help Bob, Joan would play oldies music, his favorite, in the car as they drove to rehab each day. Bob wasn’t much to listen to in the singing department even before the stroke, so imagine the assault on Joan’s ears.

"He was so bad after the stroke," Joan says. "But I felt he loves that music, and he would sing with it back and forth to the hospital. That really helped him. That helped him regain his speech."

It took Bob six months to get the bulk of his speech back, and he went through 10 months of rehab. These days he gets hoarse if he talks too much and says he stutters every now and then, but someone talking to him for the first time probably wouldn’t notice anything unusual about his speaking pattern.

Bob is not back to where he was before his stroke, but he is closer than anyone would have originally imagined.

"His doctors were calling him their miracle patient," Joan says. "He had this drive to come back."

Bob says, "I think I’ve done pretty well. I never gave up. I think one of the reasons I was able to come back so fast was because I was pretty young when I had my stroke. Regardless, I’m very thankful it wasn’t worse. That it was only my balance and my speech that were damaged. I’m very fortunate that my mind wasn’t damaged, because I still have my memory and whatever intelligence I have."

Frank Woschitz, director of the NFL Players Association Retired Players Organization, says, "I think it’s very inspiring. It would have been easy for him to say, oh, the heck with it and just let it go and let somebody take care of him the rest of his life. He wouldn’t do that."



Actually, it’s very difficult to imagine Long letting someone take care of him. He’s the kind of guy other people turn to for help. Even after a serious medical problem.

Flashback: Even after the car wreck during his playing days, people were constantly asking Bob to help them out.

During his first training camp after recovering from the car wreck, Bob was still in a lot of pain. A friend of his in Philadelphia had cancer and would die soon thereafter. Before the friend died, Bob left training camp — a no-no — to see his friend before the cancer took his life. When Bob returned to training camp, the Falcons’ head coach, Norm Van Brocklin, gave him a hard time about leaving. Bob tried to explain that his friend was dying, but Van Brocklin would hear none of it. Fed up, Bob said he was retiring and left training camp.

One night, Bob was in his Atlanta apartment when the phone rang. Bob answered and heard the voice on the other end of the line say, "Bob, this is Coach Vince Lombardi."

Long: "Hi, coach."

Lombardi: "How are you feeling?"

Long: "Pretty good. Why are you calling?"

Lombardi: "I’ve been just named the head coach of the Washington Redskins."

Long: "That’s right. I knew that. What about it?"

Lombardi: "Bobby Mitchell, my All-Pro, Hall-of-Fame receiver is retiring. I need a receiver to replace Bobby Mitchell."

Long: "Coach, I can’t replace Bobby Mitchell. He’s one of the all-time greats."

Lombardi: How do you feel? How much of a player are you now than you were in Green Bay."

Long, aware that he had lost some of his speed from the car wreck: "Probably 80 percent."

Lombardi: "That’s good enough for me."

Long gave in and played for Lombardi and the Redskins that season. Long had done a lot of running and weight lifting after his car wreck in order to get off of crutches, start walking again and toughen himself up for football.

"But nothing could prepare me for the hits," Long says. "That was really a painful year."

Nonetheless, it was his most productive season as a pro. He caught 48 passes that season, more than twice as many as his next best year as a pro. Even coming back from serious medical problems, Long was someone who came through for other people.



Fast forward to how Long keeps himself busy these days: Just as he came through for Lombardi in the aftermath of the car wreck, Long is coming through for others in the aftermath of his stroke.

He comes through for Wisconsin-based members of the National Football League Players Association.

Long is the president of the NFLPA Retirees for Wisconsin. He started doing that in the late 1980s.

Shortly after Long’s stroke, someone asked Woschitz, "Do we have to replace him?"

Woschitz responded, "No, we don’t need to replace him. Give him a couple of months, and he’ll be back."

Reflecting on this story, Woschitz says, "And by gosh, he came to the next meeting in a wheelchair."

Long has been off and running for the NFLPA’s Wisconsin retirees ever since. He acts as the liaison between the NFLPA’s Washington D.C. office and the NFLPA members who live in Wisconsin. He sees the retired players on a regular basis and reports to them on key NFLPA issues such as pensions and health issues. He also answers whatever questions they have.

He doesn’t get paid for the work he does. At least, he doesn’t get paid money. There are other rewards, however.

A couple of years after Long’s stroke, he was at a charity golf tournament when a former NFL player named Pat O’Donahue came up to him. O’Donahue was a pre-59er. He played in the NFL in the early-to-mid 1950s. As such, he is designated a pre-59er. For a long time the pre-59ers did not receive any benefits from the league after they retired. Finally, in the late ’80s and early ’90s, benefits were negotiated and then increased for the pre-59ers by the NFLPA from the league.

So it was that O’Donahue went up to Long at the golf tournament, introduced himself and said, "I want to thank you and the NFLPA for getting the pre-59ers a pension."

Long may not get paid for his NFLPA work, but he felt like a million bucks that day.

"I don’t care if I get any remuneration," Long says. "It’s not that important. That’s what is important to me — him saying that to me."

A couple of former Packers recently thanked Long for a rumored pension increase. Long explained that he really had nothing to do with such things, that they were handled at the national level, but a certain sense of pride was still felt.

"It feels great," Long says. "I’m proud. I’m very proud to tell people and ex-players that I’m the president of the Wisconsin chapter of retirees. That’s a big deal. That’s becoming bigger and bigger as the years go on."

Woschitz says, "His energy level is as high as any that I’ve known. He’s honest. He’s enthusiastic. He goes further than he really should because of his medical condition, but he likes it. He likes to do it. That’s half the battle. He’s one of the outstanding ones.

"He’s an idea person. He’s very cooperative. If we need people for something, he’ll get them.

"He’s the guy that (the Wisconsin retirees) look up to, and he’s gotten into organizing charity golf tournaments for our players up there. He takes the message (from national conventions) back to the players. He’s done a wonderful job of getting those people up there involved in our programs."

Long does more than help former NFL players through the NFLPA. He helps charities through his own efforts. He is in charge of fund-raising for his local Rotary club. A couple of years after his stroke, he got the idea for The Long Journey to the Super Bowl. Every year, two Super Bowl tickets are raffled off along with a trip to the Pro Bowl and other prizes. The program has spread to other Rotary districts throughout the state like wildfire. More than $600,000 has been raised through these raffles, the proceeds of which go to a variety of charities.

"I was so grateful that I got better (after the stroke) that I do whatever I can for charity and other people to make their lives better," Long says. "That keeps me real busy."

Long always seems to be helping individual people in small ways since his stroke.

Initially, the people he helped were others in rehab. When he would arrive for rehab, it would take Bob and Joan an extra 10 minutes to get where they were going, because Bob was constantly shaking fellow rehab patients’ hands and asking them how they were doing or offering encouragement.

"I don’t feel either hospital wanted (Bob) to leave because of all the good he was doing with patients who were in such terrible situations, and he was bringing a lot of happiness," Joan says.

Bob continues in this role to this day. Call him the Ambassador of Goodwill. Or perhaps the Dear Abby of his neighborhood.

"A lot of his friends call him and talk to him about their problems," Joan says. "And he tries to help out.

"He is very positive and very uplifting to be around, and people love talking to him. I always call him a chatty Cathy, but since the stroke he’s even worse. He’ll talk to anybody, and they end up telling him their life story. They definitely relate to him, knowing that this football player had this terrible thing happen to him.

"They’re drawn to him now because he’s human. Yes, this person does have Super Bowl rings and played in the Super Bowl and was part of this fabulous team and went through this tragedy, and it makes him more approachable."



Bob always knew how to prioritize matters. He could always cut to the chase.

Flashback: Long had just been drafted by the Chargers of the AFL and the Packers of the NFL in 1964.

The Chargers flew Long to San Diego. He went out to a team practice and saw a little receiver jumping all over the field, displaying speed and great hands. Taken aback, Long asked who the player was.

It was Lance Alworth, who would go on to have a Hall of Fame career.

Then Long looked at a Chargers program and saw that the team had a bunch of young receivers.

When Long went to visit the Packers, he looked at a game program and learned that Green Bay’s top receivers were getting up in years.

"I said (Green Bay) is the place for me," Long says. "I said my best chance to make it is Green Bay, because they have older receivers. That and Lombardi. That’s how I made my decision. I mean, who wouldn’t give a chance to play for the greatest football team I think of all-time and probably the best coach?"

You can’t knock the logic. Avoid competing with a future Hall of Famer for playing time when you can be coached by a future Hall of Famer.

The decision to play for the Packers allowed Long to play on three championship teams. Now that is prioritizing extremely successfully.

"Just to play with that team, the experience of playing on that team was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life," Long says.



Fast forward to Long’s life since his stroke: He still prioritizes with the best of them.

"My lifestyle has really changed," he says.

He had enjoyed an extremely successful business career before the stroke. He’d always been a family man, but the stroke gave him the opportunity to enjoy his family even more. A receiver to the end, he didn’t drop that pass.

"He’s got the time to talk to his children and sit down on the back deck and laugh with the kids when they come home," Joan says. "And he depends on me a great deal, so he feels closer to me — I think because he knows I help him in so many ways."

Bob says, "I appreciate my family and my kids and the fact that I survived. That’s what it really meant to me. When you’re an athlete, sometimes you think you’re indestructible. This proved to me that I wasn’t indestructible whatsoever. I appreciate much more what I have — my family and my kids. That’s really the whole bottom line of the stroke. That’s what a stroke did for me."

There is a saying that when people die, nobody ever says, "I wish I had worked harder and longer hours at my job."

Sure the stroke took some things away from Long — although his fierce competitive nature kept those losses to a minimum.

The stroke didn’t take away Long’s most prized possessions. The love of his family. A love of his fellow man. A love of life.

It enhanced them.

http://archive.profootballweekly.com/content/archives2001/features_2001/happily_long_080801.asp

[retailguy]

There's no if about how they handled Westbrook, RG. The fact that they've already done it proves that it's possible. I'm just reminding those who for some reason believe that LT will definitely be impossible to contain.

Westbrook and LT are two different animals. But, hey, we'll see, won't we?

[Bretsky]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

Well put. I will never look at any game against anyone and assume that there is no way we can win it. I don't care who they have on the team, those are individual players. If our boys can rally together as a team, they can play with anyone.

Was it our house last year ? When is the last year we were unbeatable at home ? Hopefully we begin to establish the home field advantage this year again.

And I don't think most would say there is "no way" we can win. If you play the same team 100 times, even the worst team will probably win once.

[the_idle_threat]

Amazingly, on ESPN FirstTake today Skip Bayless of all people picked the Pack to win this weekend.

Well we're screwed then. Eyebrows McScream knows as much about football as the yellow lab down the street from me.

Yeah, but Yellow Labs are cute.

Taste like chicken. :!:

[wist43]

I seriously doubt that the Packers can move the ball very effectively against the Chargers... Favre and co. aren't Brady and co.

To have any chance, the offense and ST's are going to have to contribute by winning TOP and field position... even if it's just a couple of first downs per possession, and killing a punt inside the 10.

Ya gotta figure Williams is just going to beat the snot out of Wells, Colledge and Coston all day... they're very stout up front. And then there's Merriman.

I just don't like the matchup of a our OL trying to block a 3-4 as formiddable as the Chargers... I don't see us winning those battles up front.

That said, I think our DL is good enough to return the favor... so even though SD will likely win, we at least have a shot. It'll take some lucky bounces, and the Chargers will have to play down to us, but if the stars align, we could have a shot.

[b bulldog]

I agree wist, we need the breaks to go our way. I'm afraid that with our lack of a running game, our Oline will get eaten up.

[CaliforniaCheez]

The Raiders are blacked out. So instead of getting the game the substitution is the Denver/Jacksonville game.

Apparently the station feels that Raider fans at home would rather watch division rival Denver than division rival San Diego.

So I'll be having breakfast at the sports bar again.

[Tony Oday]

ROFL that is all I have to say. We are going to win this one and it will be one sided from the opening kick.

They cant pass the ball Rivers is in his real sophmore slump right now and wont break it against this team. LT can be contained to two TDs...Gates is a stud but nobody is home on their WR corp.

The SD defense doesnt scare me at all actually. I want to see deshawn wynn get the majority of the carries and watch the Pack run 4 WR set and smoke the bolts.

I mean some of you guys sound like Vikings fans ;)

[The Shadow]

I think the Pack will win in an upset.
The Chargers will come into Lambeau after 2 emotion-packed games, and expect to face a team that the national media has consistently looked down upon.
Our defense & special teams will prevail.

[woodbuck27]

Come on, guys! It's our house! Football is about more than who's better than who. All that stat stuff is is paper hanging. We both play with 11 guys on a side. The difference is which guys want it more than the other guys. I guarantee you that the Packers' young guys want this more than Norv Turner's prima donnas. I further guarantee that the Packers will not lose Sunday. We may come up on the wrong end of the score at the end of the game, but that will only mean we ran out of time.

Well put. I will never look at any game against anyone and assume that there is no way we can win it. I don't care who they have on the team, those are individual players. If our boys can rally together as a team, they can play with anyone.

My GOD mjziggy your a GENERAL too. :)

[Fritz]

Maxie the Taxi: "Since when is positive thinking or believing in yourself (or in this case your team's fighting spirit) the equivalent of a mindless follower of Jim Jones drinking Kool-aid?"

Mindless follower of Jim Jones? I thought we all hated that pick when TT grabed him in round three.

[mission]

bump 8-)

[Lurker64]

Mindless follower of Jim Jones? I thought we all hated that pick when TT grabed him in round three.

I didn't hate the pick. TT makes two kinds of picks from where I sit: picks that I like and picks that baffle me. I was baffled by the JJ pick, but I didn't scout the guy so I didn't have much to say about it.