Say it ain't so....

[Patler]

Maybe if Hawk has to go through chemo therapy to fight cancer and his hair and eyebrows are gone. Can't have him around the team being an unusual looking distraction. All for one AJ. Just the logistics and distraction of having you around is too much. Sorry. You can't play, can't show.

Just saying, this is how it feels, like a low blow to them.

Your analogy is way extreme for what has happened here. The IR players have been excluded from one thing, the photo, so they can stay on their rehab schedules. They have been included in everything else that should be important to them, like being at the game and on the sidelines. Some past SB teams did not allow IR players on the sideline. MM has included them in the game itself to the extent they can be. Would they prefer to be in the picture, then exiled to the stands for the game itself?

[VermontPackFan]

Just have the pictures thursday. Problem solved.

My thought exactly!!!!!! If that is truly not possible, the organization should charter a small jet and fly the 16 down for the picture and back to Green Bay for therapy. How much could that cost? 100K? Well worth the bad PR and players (those active and on IR) feelings.
I do understand the thought the team does not want the distraction down in Dallas.

[Patler]

Just have the pictures thursday. Problem solved.

My thought exactly!!!!!! If that is truly not possible, the organization should charter a small jet and fly the 16 down for the picture and back to Green Bay for therapy. How much could that cost? 100K? Well worth the bad PR and players (those active and on IR) feelings.
I do understand the thought the team does not want the distraction down in Dallas.

I suspect the schedule for things like this is preset by the league, and the Packers really have no control over it. Beside, Monday is normally on "off" day for the players and Tuesday is a lighter day practice-wise, sometimes even "off". Thursday is a full practice and game prep day. I doubt the players or coaches would want to waste time later in the week going somewhere for the photo, which by the time you get everyone there, organized and back will take a fair amount of time.

I do like the charter jet solution. It would give the players what they want, but meet the teams stated objective to maintain rehab schedules. It's an accommodation for both and a concession by neither.

[sharpe1027]

It's a damn picture. Teenage girls would cry less about not being in a damn picture. Waaaah! So sad.

Finley is gunning for T.O. 2.0.

[VermontPackFan]

It's a damn picture. Teenage girls would cry less about not being in a damn picture. Waaaah! So sad.

Finley is gunning for T.O. 2.0.

But its a picture these guys can show their grandkids 30-40 years from now. I imagine its a big deal, there are only so many people who can say the were part of a team that went to the Super Bowl.

[denverYooper]

Nick does a pretty good job describing why it's important to him here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Aioq6mU1DYKbqVsHx3q7nbFDubYF?slug=ms-twoquestions012611

“In our team meeting room, there are pictures of past championship teams that line the wall, and we stare at them every day,” Barnett explained Tuesday. “There’s a spot there that’s empty – that was for us, this year. We’d go in there and visualize being on that wall, and think about the effort it would take to get there. You’d see guys like Ray Nitschke up there, and that’s motivation. So, now that we’ve gotten to the Super Bowl, to not be on that wall … well, it’s disheartening.”

The article in general is one of the better discussions I've seen on it.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Just get them in the picture and be done with it. I can't imagine it's a logistical nightmare that can't be resolved.

[Patler]

But is it THAT picture on the wall, or one taken after winning it? For some reason, I would expect the picture on the wall for a championship team will be one taken by the team with a team related background the Lombardi trophy in front of the team. I doubt it is one taken before the game is even played, but I could be wrong.

[denverYooper]

But is it THAT picture on the wall, or one taken after winning it? For some reason, I would expect the picture on the wall for a championship team will be one taken by the team with a team related background the Lombardi trophy in front of the team. I doubt it is one taken before the game is even played, but I could be wrong.

I know what you mean. The article made it seem like that picture was the NFC Championship team picture but was not exactly clear.

[gbgary]

Just get them in the picture and be done with it. I can't imagine it's a logistical nightmare that can't be resolved.

THIS!

[Cheesehead Craig]

How can the IR players then get their pictures signed by their friends then? Finley won't have any way of knowing that he and Barnett are BFFs forever!

[denverYooper]

Just get them in the picture and be done with it. I can't imagine it's a logistical nightmare that can't be resolved.

Apart from logistics, Silver (and Wilde yesterday) surmised that the Packers didn't want some of the IR guys partying and possibly being a distraction while their teammates were preparing.

[sharpe1027]

But its a picture these guys can show their grandkids 30-40 years from now. I imagine its a big deal, there are only so many people who can say the were part of a team that went to the Super Bowl.

I can understand wanting to be in the picture. I can't understand crying about it to the media like a little girl. That is a disrespectful put-yourself-first act. Barnett has to back-pedal and provide explanation for his actions because he seems to realize his mistake. Finley, not so much.

I stand by my opinion. Right or wrong, the team made the decision with the express purpose of trying to win the Superbowl. We can debate whether we think perhaps they could have done something else. Either way, crying to the media about it is a classless and selfish act. I say they invite the other IR guys and leave Finley out.

As to the discussion of the pictures of "championship teams," if they actually end up being a championship team, they'll all be there for the photo.

[Deputy Nutz]

It is a bad media relations issue. Guys like Barnett, Chillar, and Tausch all contributed this year and for several years as Packers. Tausch and Barnett have played their whole careers in Green Bay and have waited their whole lives to be members of a Super Bowl team. They should be recognized as such. Plus they can make a little money on this as well in the future at signings.

I think it is sad.

[Scott Campbell]

Apart from logistics, Silver (and Wilde yesterday) surmised that the Packers didn't want some of the IR guys partying and possibly being a distraction while their teammates were preparing.

Good point. It's all fun till Eugene Robinson gets picked up for solicitation.