The Cleft Crusty Ongoing Season Blog

[Gunakor]

Is it just me or did Ted focus on improving special teams more than any other aspect of this team this offseason? Did Mike Stock gain greater influence on personnel decisions or what?

We kept three players on the roster : Bush, White, and Kuhn, who are special teams gamers but arguably worse at their position than three guys who were released: Culver, Hodge, and Herron. Also, we got rid of our power kicker to replace him with a finesse guy that Stock has had his eye on for over five years.

Did we always emphasize special teams this much in personnel decisions or is this something new? Our ST better kick ass, or this will really have been a wasted offseason.

Well Kuhn is a backup fullback, a position that Herron can't play. If they felt confident that one of thier TE's could play fullback they might not keep 2 of them, but it was Lumpkin that pushed out Herron. The right choice IMO.

Hodge was just a numbers victim, as there were too many talented LB's for us to keep them all. White has been a ST's beast for a few years now, and since they kept a heavy hitting MLB in Bishop to back up Barnett they had more use for a ST'er like White than they do Hodge.

Bush I may have released, but the Packers didn't release a better player at his position to keep him. Culver would have been the emergency safety, just like Bush is going to be the emergency corner, so with thier value about equal on defense they kept the guy who offered bigger value in special teams.

[Cleft Crusty]

Is it just me or did Ted focus on improving special teams more than any other aspect of this team this offseason? Did Mike Stock gain greater influence on personnel decisions or what?

We kept three players on the roster : Bush, White, and Kuhn, who are special teams gamers but arguably worse at their position than three guys who were released: Culver, Hodge, and Herron. Also, we got rid of our power kicker to replace him with a finesse guy that Stock has had his eye on for over five years.

Did we always emphasize special teams this much in personnel decisions or is this something new? Our ST better kick ass, or this will really have been a wasted offseason.

Well Kuhn is a backup fullback, a position that Herron can't play. If they felt confident that one of thier TE's could play fullback they might not keep 2 of them, but it was Lumpkin that pushed out Herron. The right choice IMO.

Hodge was just a numbers victim, as there were too many talented LB's for us to keep them all. White has been a ST's beast for a few years now, and since they kept a heavy hitting MLB in Bishop to back up Barnett they had more use for a ST'er like White than they do Hodge.

Bush I may have released, but the Packers didn't release a better player at his position to keep him. Culver would have been the emergency safety, just like Bush is going to be the emergency corner, so with thier value about equal on defense they kept the guy who offered bigger value in special teams.

Guns, I have to say I agree with what you write, but don't tell my editor, or I'll be out of a job. Even though I'm semi-retired, I still need the 3.55 an hour in wages (not counting tips) that the UrinalScented sends my way. Just a note that Bush was worked at safety during camp and preseason games. It seemed to me that he could cover more ground than Culver - so in essence, he fills a roll as fifth corner and fifth safety - as well as being important on special teams. For Packer fans that have been around a while, I'd remind you of a Packr by the name of Marcus Wilson. He played very little at his actual position, but was great in coverage on special teams. And yes, Thompson is probably listening to Stock. That's a good quality in a GM, no?

[Badgerinmaine]

Cleft:
When the moment is right... (to watch the Packers)...will you be ready? Or will your liver-spotted butt be stuck in a bathtub somewhere?

[Cleft Crusty]

Badgerinmaine,

I'm always ready, even if I have to take my IV bag with me. The bonus of being semi-retired is that if I want, I can watch the game on the tube like the rest of you know-nothing fans. I'm not even sure they will still let me in the stadium, let alone the press box anymore. In any case, if I go, I make sure to take my prescription meds with me. You know how some folks have their weekly meds distributed in those plastic cases with one section for each day of the week? Well, mine looks like a tackle box. But at least I have everything I need to last through an NFL game, even if it goes overtime.

[MadtownPacker]

Cleft -What are your thought on Grant getting shown the money but now holding back on the honey? Is he playing week 1?

[Badgerinmaine]

Badgerinmaine,

I'm always ready, even if I have to take my IV bag with me.

I'm just glad it's not a colostomy bag. Or do you have one of those, too?

You know how some folks have their weekly meds distributed in those plastic cases with one section for each day of the week? Well, mine looks like a tackle box.

I think I've seen it...

[retailguy]

Fixed it for you badger.... that was a tough one!


edit - then you changed it! but whatever. I like that one too!

[Badgerinmaine]

My bad--I'll bring the old one back...thanks for helping out!

[Cleft Crusty]

Cleft -What are your thought on Grant getting shown the money but now holding back on the honey? Is he playing week 1?

Do you really think Grant was holding back by not playing in PRESEASON? Preseason! What the hell is wrong with you and other Packer fans who think they are somehow entitled to see real football in the preseason? Coaches are trying to fill out their roster and make decisions basically on positions at the bottom of the depth chart and trying to give valuable playing time to guys who need it. Grant doesn't need it. The last thing the Packers need is for their blue chip guys to get hurt 'giving the honey' in a meaningless game. Now if Grant looks like garbage in the regular season, get out your torches and pitchforks and head to Lambeau.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Cleft, were you at M3's new conference yesterday? I wondered who asked Mike this question (I thought it was the dumbest question every asked):

(What do you think this week would have been like if Aaron hadn't played well?)
I haven't thought about that. You can have that one on your own. Hypothetical, right?

I was wondering the same about the question below asked the day before:

(Are you less concerned about Aaron going on the road now after everything he went through for this home opener?)
See, I apologize, because I don't think of that stuff like you people do. I didn't say that properly. I don't think that way. I don't worry about Aaron Rodgers' mindset based on everything that goes on outside the building. I'm aware of it. It's a secondary focus. Dealing with the media is a secondary focus. I don't want to insult anybody, but we're here to play football, and that's what we focus on. We have to deal with it. I shouldn't say deal with it, it's part of our job. Media access is great. We love being around everybody, and it's hunky-dory sometimes, not lately. It's important. But I understand the pressure that's trying to be applied to him, and we're going to have a day where the pressure may increase, and I'm aware of that and he's aware of it. But we just need to stay focused on what we can control.

Sounds to me like M3 told you guys in the press what for!

[Cleft Crusty]

Maxi,

I don't think Mike McCarthy likes hypotheticals. Like I asked him before the Viking game: "Mike, if you win, will you have 5 meatball subs instead of the normal 4 after a loss." He just gives the standard answer: "Cleft, we try to prepare our meals the same way, eat the same way, sleep on the same side of the bed. Keep an even keel. Now I could give you a menu of what we have after a win and a loss, but that's not what we're focused on. We're focused on the team in front of us and fixing things that didn't work last week. Though I really like that Quiznos meat sauce."

Now, Clefty never approves of eating at a chain restaurant, but that's beside the point. It's my job to ask the questions that tell the fans what is going on in the heads of the players, and what they have in their stomachs and intestines on gameday. And I'll keep asking. That's my job - or at least it was.

[Cleft Crusty]

Hi Folks,

Clefty is here to answer your questions about the season. Since Blogs and Twittering - or Tweeting seem to be all the rage, Crusty will try to pretend he has ADD or ADHD and write short, incomprehensible blurbs, filled with disinformation.

About Favre: Some folks think Favre isn't any good any longer. Probably true, but it's likely Favre has a few games left in him. Clefty bets Favre's best games will come against the Packers - if he survives that long.

[Fritz]

Cleft, there's a thread that contains a raging debate on the role of the press in creating perception about the Green Bay Packers. Do you feel you've used your incredible powers responsibly over the years, or were you just meeting deadlines so you could get to your meatball sub?

[Cleft Crusty]

Cleft, there's a thread that contains a raging debate on the role of the press in creating perception about the Green Bay Packers. Do you feel you've used your incredible powers responsibly over the years, or were you just meeting deadlines so you could get to your meatball sub?

Fritz, everyone has an ego - except maybe Kevin Federline. All reporters have a perspective and point to make, and some actually get emotionally involved in the outcome of games. Clefty is an oddball - I don't care one whit about the outcome of games. In fact, I pretty much hate watching games. I only care about doing my job better than every other chump earning minimum wage + tips. Crusty protects and supports his opinion, but only with facts and rational thought. Meatballs taste terrible when they were purchased with personal vendettas and out of control hubris. Still, I didn't mind giving Starr a tough time - he was a real vindictive bastard as coach.

[Fritz]

Do tell, Crusty. I was a Packer fan back then but lived in Detroit so I never got to hear that. How was Starr a vindictive bastard as coach?