Reader Q&A

Today I have decided to do something a little different.  I have been receiving emails with questions from some of my readers.  I am going to answer some of those questions to the best of my ability.  Here goes.

Our first question comes from Kenneth in Iowa City, Iowa.
Kenneth writes:  I have one of the best jobs in the world!  I really enjoy the people I work with.  The problem I’m having is my boss doesn’t let me use my creativity to its fullest potential.  I know I have a lot more potential and would like to put it to use. What should I do?

Well, Kenneth, I know that the job market is somewhat bleak right now but I’m sure that, with your creative talents, you should be able to find a job elsewhere.  I strongly suggest you begin looking for a new job sometime after the beginning of the year.  I am not able to promise that any jobs will be available as I do not know what field you are in but you should still take a look.  Experience may help a lot too.  If you’ve held your position for, let’s say, 10 or 11 years you should have very little problem moving on.  Good luck in your search!

 Jim from Keokuk, Iowa writes:  Hi.  I’m in the second year of my position and last week I was told that I will be taking over a huge project that will last two weeks.  I guess my first assignment this week will have huge implications for the team I’m on.  People are saying that there is no way I will be able to handle the pressure that will come my way.  I got some training last week but I don’t know if that will help.  Do you have any suggestions?

Congratulations on you’re new opportunity Jim!  That’s great that your boss thinks you are ready to handle an assignment of this magnitude.  I suggest looking over all of your data and notes leading up to the deadline for your assignment.  I assume you will need to do some sort of presentation.  Hopefully you aren’t the only person from your team to take part in the presentation.  Sometimes it helps to have someone to “hand off the ball to” and let them run with it.  That should help take the pressure off you so that you can perform to your best ability if things start falling on your shoulders.  I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope that this week makes things easier for next week.

Blaine from Des Moines writes:  I am having strange feelings about a co-worker.  We spend some time together outside of work and during these "outings" I get very excited.  There are times that I need to excuse myself from the area so that my excitement doesn’t burst.  What should I do?

Well Blaine that can be kind of touchy.  There are a lot of variables out there that you need to get a firm grasp on.  First I want to assure you that these feelings are fairly normal and natural for a person like you.  I assume that you would like to start a relationship with this co-worker.  If that is the case you will need to make sure that the co-worker is open to a relationship.  Let the person know how you feel but be gentle as it may cause some unwanted friction that could lead to some uneasy feelings at the work place.  Otherwise I’d say ‘go for it’!  What do you have to lose?

Eugene from Auburn, Alabama writes:  I spent two years of my life living in Iowa.  My family loved it there but I couldn’t stand it.  The people are idiots.  How can you stand living in a state that smells like hog s*** and that has nothing but corn.  Winter is terrible too!  I hate snow and ice.  There’s nothing to do in Iowa either.  I was extremely happy when another job came calling and I could get out of there.  Another great thing about getting out of Iowa is being able to watch REAL college football where the teams score 40 or 50 points a game!  I have been able see, first-hand, a lot of those types of games.  SEC rules!

I really don’t know how to respond to Eugene’s rant against the great state of Iowa.  Something terrible must have happened to him while he was here in order to drive these emotions that he has built up.  I wonder if he was living and working in an area that works with a lot of livestock because the air doesn’t smell bad all of the time (or maybe I’m just used to it).  The winters aren’t as bad as they could be (again I might be used to it).  I’m not going to comment on his ‘REAL college football’ remark as I’m sure he knows what he’s talking about.  I bet he’s a “fan” that thinks he can be a highly paid college football coach that can field a winning team every year.

Bobby from Tampa, Florida writes:  I remember prior to the start of the 2008 college football season that a true freshman offensive lineman was arrested for getting naked in public.  Can you remind me who that was and if he has kept out of trouble this year, assuming he’s still on the team?

Bobby, that was Reily Reiff, and yes he is still on the team.  He had to fill in for Bryan Bulaga as Bryan battled an undisclosed illness for a few weeks.  Since then he has moved to guard as Dace Richardson suffered yet another injury.  So far Reily has done a good job and he has, in fact, kept his clothes on.  There was a point of time after the victory at Penn State where a man was seen without a shirt on.  Originally it was thought to be Reily but it turned out to be a fan.

Hayden from Minnesota writes:  What is the deal with Iowa struggling against teams that wear purple?  Beating Northern Iowa by 1 and then losing to Northwestern (for the 5^th time in 6 years even)?  That never happened when I coached against them.  They were always an outstanding team and played well against us.  I’ve been away from the game for a while and would like to know what has changed.

I saved the best question for last.  I have no idea why the Hawkeyes struggle against teams that wear purple.  My favorite NFL team (Green Bay) lost both of their games against a team in purple as well.  It truly is baffling when I think about it.  Maybe our coaching staff is mesmerized by the color and can’t focus on anything else.  Regardless, I really hope Iowa doesn’t get to play Kansas State in a bowl game anytime soon!

Thanks to my readers for the great questions!  I apologize to those of you who sent questions in and they went unanswered.  Please keep sending them and you might see an answer soon!

The 130

For the first time this season (and in a calendar year) the Hawkeyes did not score more points than their opponents.  Not surprisingly the loss came to the Northwestern Wildcats, who have beat Iowa 5 of the last 6 games and have not lost in Iowa City since 2002.  This truely is the biggest game of the season for them, and Pat Fitzgerald always has the team ready to play.  Unforturnetly the loss wasn't just a loss in record.  QB Ricky Stanzi left the game with an ankle sprain early in the 2nd quarter.  As he laid on the field I thought he hurt his shoulder as I wasn't able to see his foot get rolled.  Some people are saying his facemask was grabbed and that the fumble that resulted in a NW touchdown shouldn't have happened.  From the replays the ball was out before the facemask occurred.  All the penalty would do is push NW back 15 yards on either the PAT or the kick off, and I doubt either one would have mattered much in the outcome.  One positive thing is that we got to see how back-up QB (and red shirt freshman) James Vandenberg handles Big Ten play.  Critics are saying that he wasn't prepared, that he made bad throws, he was indecisive.  What I saw was an outstanding arm, excitment, nervousness, and good decisions.  It has been pointed out that he threw the ball away, which Stanzi doesn't do very often, when nothing was there.  Maybe he was being called indecisive because he was scanning the field and looking off his WRs, again something Stanzi doesn't do very well right now.  I'm not saying that Vandenberg is better than Stanzi.  Each one has strengths and weaknesses. Stanzi is much better at leading the team and bouncing back from adversity.  Vandenberg will need to step into the leader role and take command of the offense.  I do not envy him for being in the position he is in this week.  Playing at Ohio State for a trip to the Rose Bowl would be tough for any college QB, yet Vandenberg gets to be in that situation for his first colligate start.

Luckily he still has the outstanding defense behind him.  The Iowa defense has been phenominal this year.  The system isn't flashy but it gets results and it has gotten results consistently for years.  There are the critics of "bend but don't break" but so far it has worked and that makes an argument against it tough.  The entire defense has been consistent all year long.  Everyone is doing their jobs and even the reserves are stepping it up a notch.  Joe Conklin has been filling in for Brett Greenwood at free safety very nicely since the Michigan State game.  Conklin made a nice diving interception in the endzone to end a NW drive.  There is a chance that Greenwood will play at Ohio State but that is not 100% yet.

Everything has fallen into place nicely for the Iowa vs Ohio State game this weekend.  The winner of the game (and their fans) get to pack their bags for Pasadena on January 1 while the loser gets to (most likey) get ready for Florida.  I can see the loser of this game having a let down on November 21 in their last game of the season.  There is a lot at stake in this game and I know that the coaching staffs at each school will have their team ready to play.  I don't think it's going to get out of hand and I think that Vandenberg will be prepared and ready to go.  I'm hoping that I will be making my plans for Pasadena on Saturday night!

The 130

Wow.  Two more weeks, two more wins.  Iowa has now set a school record with 9 consecutive victories to start the season.  Say what you want about the margin of victory but the bottom line is Iowa is 9-0 (5-0 in the Big Ten) and has a one game lead in the Big Ten race.

The Michigan State game was one of the hardest hitting games I have ever seen.  Michigan State's program was built to model Iowa's and that always makes for a close game.  In 2007 Iowa won in OT; in 2008 Michigan State won by 3, and in 2009 Iowa needed a last second 7 yard TD to win, 15-13.  It was one of those magical moments that you will remember for a very long time.  Even my wife, who is not a huge football fan, was jumping around the living room screaming.  Surprisingly we didn't wake the kids.  Even in defeat Iowa suffered some major losses.  On offense Dace Richardson broke a bone in his lower leg and is done until the bowl game, Adam Robinson sprained an ankle and is out for a while, Brandon Wegher took a shot to the ribs, and Colin Sandeman got laid out by a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit that drew the ire of the Michigan State "faithful" (I really hope they were booing the penalty and not the injured player, although multiple sources, say they were booing the loudest when Sandeman walked off the field).  On defense Brett Greenwood was laid out by a friendly fire helmet-to-helmet hit that was delivered by Tyler Sash.  Luckily Sandeman and Greenwood were not seriously hurt; Greenwood was carted off while Sandeman walked off on his own.  I, personally, feel the worst for Dace.  Luckily he didn't hurt his knees as he has spent a lot of time trying to come back from knee injuries that were thought to be career-ending.  He will be missed over the next few weeks but Iowa has linemen that are more than capable of filling the void.  Dace's injury makes Bryan Bulaga's illness earlier in the season look like a blessing in disguise as it gave Reily Reiff some playing time.  When all was said and done, the offense finally showed up with 97 seconds left in the game and was able to score the winning touch down with no time left, on a 4th down no less.  This was also Iowa's first victory in East Lansing, MI since 1995.

Out of the players injured against Michigan State only Wegher and Greenwood started against Indiana.  Unfortunately Greenwood only lasted a few plays before taking himself out.  Wegher was able to play the entire game and had a career day as the primary back.  He gained 118 yards and had 3 touch downs in the big victory over Indiana.  The Hawks started slowly again, falling behind 21-7 at the half.  After halftime Ricky Stanzi went off, in a bad way.  Stanzi threw 4 interceptions in the 3rd quarter, but Indiana could only muster 3 points in the quarter.  Tyler Sash grabbed a batted Ben Chappell pass and returned it 86 yards for an Iowa touchdown.  At the end of the 3rd it was 24-14 Indiana.  Prior to Sash's return Kinnick Stadium was dead quiet.  The pick got the crowd, and the team, back in the game.  Iowa took over in the 4th quarter, scoring 28 unanswered points to pull away.  Stanzi hit Marvin McNutt on a intermediate crossing route that McNutt turned into a 92 yard touch down.  At this point I noticed Indiana's defense was tired.  On the next Iowa possession a similar play was called and Derrell Johnson-Koulianos caught the pass and went 66 yards for a touch down.  Brandon Wegher then added his second and third touch down runs to put the game away.  Iowa committed 6 turnovers on the day and only forced 3.  The big difference is that Iowa capitalized on those opportunities while Indiana did not.  The Iowa defense stepped up big time in the second half allowing only 3 points.  One of these days Iowa will put a whole game together and we will all see what they can do.

I got to thinking about how the last few games have gone.  I don't know if it's more about adjustments made during the game or halftime as much as it is conditioning of the players.  It seems that Iowa is always fresh later in the game than the other teams.  Today's game was a great example of that as Indiana couldn't do anything and looked fatigued.  The first part of the body to be affected is the mind (blown coverage, penalties) and then the body.  Indiana couldn't do anything in the 4th quarter this week, or last, and I really think it came down to conditioning.  Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Doyle has done a marvelous job with this team and should be given a lifetime contract, along with Coach Kirk Ferentz and Coach Erik Campbell.

Up next are the Northwestern Wildcats.  Last year NW came into Iowa City and left with a victory after forcing 5 Iowa turnovers and holding Iowa out of the end-zone (after a 1st and 8) to win the game.

The 130

Three weeks ago I ended with "This is shaping up to be a special season. I'm glad I'm along for the ride!" What a ride it has been. In the three games (read: victories) since that statement it has been a wild roller coaster during the games. The Hawkeyes are 7-0 (3-0 in Big Ten Play, 4-0 at home). For whatever reason the Hawks have played their best football away from Iowa City. I don't know if they are trying to get people to visit the University hospital for blood pressure and heart related ailments after the games or if Kinnick is losing some of it's luster as a tough place to play. What it all comes down to at the end of the day is Iowa is 7-0 for the first time since 1985 and is ranked in the top 10 in the major polls and #6 in the initial BCS ranking.

I knew that the Michigan and Wisconsin games would be tough, especially with going to Madison, but I didn't think the Arkansas St game would be as close as it was. I'm not blaming it on Iowa turnovers because there was only one mistake and, while it lead to 7 Ark St points, doesn't mean that they wouldn't have scored 7 points on that drive had it not been returned. All it did was get their 100 fans cheering for a minute. Too bad Iowa gave them more to cheer and hope for later on in the game. Luckily a win is a win no matter if it's by 1 point or 100 points; style points don't matter. One thing that really struck me as odd was how out of the game the crowd was. My area of the stands is always loud but when Iowa crosses the 50 we usually quiet down and let the south end do some of the work. When that happened it got quiet, almost eerily quiet. Iowa just came off a big win AT Penn St and everyone forgets how to make noise? Made no sense to me, however.....

For only the 4th time in the history of Kinnick Stadium a true night game was played (true as in i started in the evening rather than ended in the dark but started in the afternoon). This game was billed as the biggest home game of the season and the opponent was the Wolverines of Michigan. The last time Michigan was in Iowa City the game went to overtime and Michigan won. I will go on record as saying the officials had a rough game and helped with the outcome. That game also ended a 30+ game home winning streak for Iowa. After a 2 year break from each other the series started back up to an electrified crowd dressed in black and waving gold poms in the air. It wasn't the most electric crowd I've been part of, but it was fun (my vocal cords and throat beg to differ). This game also put Iowa at 6-0 and bowl elidgible for the 9th consecutive season (8 bowl apperances during that span). The defense made Tate Forcier look like an 18 year old and the Iowa offense made the Michigan defense look good. Michigan has some good athletes (Forcier is the next Tebow, and I don't mean that in a good way) and is a decent team, but I don't think the game should have been that close. The Hawks left with a close victory and started the most grueling two week stretch of the season with trips to Madison and East Lansing.

Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin is a rough place to play for most college football teams. However, Iowa usually goes in and plays well. Even in 2007 (the season that shall not be discussed more) Iowa lost 17-14 with Andy Brodell destroying his quadricep muscle and Tony Moeaki losing his arm. Wisconsin was ranked at the time and was rolling along. That game was the coming out party for Derrell Johnson-Koulianos who stepped up big time. This year it didn't seem anyone in particular had a coming out party. The real Ricky Stanzi finally showed up. He was throwing perfect passes both from the pocket and on the run and he didn't have any interceptions (although he did lose a fumble, Wisconsin missed a field goal after the recovery). I still think he throws one of the best deep balls in the nation. Tony Moeaki makes the offense 1,000,000 times better when he's in the game, DJK is Stanzi's go-to guy, and the two-headed running back approach seems to be working for one of the two every game. The biggest weakness is the offensive line. The perrenial strength of a Kirk Ferentz team is the o-line but this year they have been terribly inconsistant. Thankfully it looked as destructive as ever in the second half against Wisconsin. On the other side of the ball the defense has been getting run on a lot this year. I'm surprisingly ok with that as most college teams pass a lot more than run this year, and Iowa has done a great job in the pass defense department. Like the offensive line, the defense appeared to take the first half off but really came to life in the second half. The line was getting better penetration and the back 7 were doing their jobs nicely. 3 more interceptions (lead the nation) helped tremendously. I was sweating in the first half but I have now come to realize that Iowa is 7-0 this year when having to come from behind. If the team can start showing consistency from the offense and defense for 60 minutes it will be a scarry thing.

The outlook is starting to look Rosy for the Iowa Hawkeyes. All alone at the top of the Big Ten standings sure feels good but there are still 5 tough contests coming up. Iowa has not won at Michigan State (Oct 24) since 1995 and have not won at Ohio State (Nov 7) since 1991. Those are the last two road games of the season and could be stumbling blocksl; I don't see Iowa losing to Indiana, Northwestern, or Minnesota. If Iowa makes it through those two road games the road to Pasadena will be paved with Black and Gold. The only thing that will need to be determined is the day Iowa will play their bowl game; it will either be January 1, 2010 (Rose Bowl) or January 7, 2010 (BCS title game).

Thoughts from the 130 (aka My Couch)

Sadly I had to spend my weekend at home rather than travel to Pennsylvania. The good thing is that HD TV is available and I was able to watch the rain come down in Hawkeye Valley from the comfort of my living room couch. The weather appeared to affect the game a little bit but not quite as much as I expected at first. I had a feeling the team that could run the ball effectively would win. That feeling almost went out the window within the first few minutes of the game.

As usual for this season, the offense didn't look like the well-oiled machine of 2008. Of course it doesn't help when impact players are not available (graduation, injuries, etc) but I still think the offense is much better than it was 2 years ago. Ricky Stanzi didn't have his Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde routine going. Instead he was Capt Game Manager, which is what he is supposed to do. His final stats don't look great, but he didn't give the game away. A lot of the incomplete passes were on the WRs (dropped balls) and the first interception was from a dropped ball. The second interception looked more like Ricky's fault but the DB also made a great play after the ball was tipped. "Big Play" DJK was back in the lineup and was much needed. It seems that he and Ricky are on the same page and that they complement each other very well. The running game got off to a slow start but then started taking off behind Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher. The offense had 163 yards on the ground, which I found fairly impressive. I am left wondering right now what will happen to Jeff Brinson and how will the running game look when Jewel Hampton returns. The line also did a decent job, but it will be nice to get Bryan Bulaga back.

For all of the shortcomings of the offense, the special teams play made up for (some) of it. Ryan Donahue continues to be the most effective punter in the Big 10 (if not the nation). At one point ABC showed a comparision of the punters. PSU's punter had a 50-some yard average while Ryan had a 30 some yard average. What they didn't show was probably (read: in my mind) the biggest punting stat that is never shown: opponent's average starting position after a punt. Ryan put a punt right inside the 10 and PSU started on their own 3 yard line. This led to the safety that got Iowa on the board. He has been doing that consistently all season. The kicking game got the job done as well. Daniel Murray (aka The Lion Tamer) booted a couple of field goals (missed one terribly) and did a fair job on kickoffs. I couldn't help but wonder what the PSU players were thinking when Murray lined up for the FG attempts...

Once again (the theme for the season) the defense won this game. Thankfully 1 play doesn't decide a football game. After getting behind 10-0 I realized that we are 3-0 after being behind so far this season. The defensive line were animals! Todd McShay (an "expert" for ESPN) said in a video preview that Iowa doesn't have a very athletic defensive line; oddly enough that preview was removed right after the game while other previews were left up. You could tell that the national media hasn't paid much attention to Iowa, especially the defense, yet this year. That all changed. Adrian (Predator) Clayborn truly is showing how much of a beast he is. That kind of scares me as he may be enticed to go to the NFL a year early. Broderick Binns assaulted the linemen on his side. Karl Klug was a monster, and Christian Ballard made some nice plays. This line is getting up there with the 2004 line as the best ever. Strong line play sure helps the LBs and DBs. There were 2 decent length pass plays (79 and 39) for PSU but that was it. The running game never had much consistency (109 yards total), and Daryll Clark was clearly frustrated. I have a feeling that he is glad he will never have to face Norm's boys again. Clark was picked off 3 times, and the Hawks had at least 2 players in the back field all game long (so it seemed). All 3 LB played fairly well too. They were swarming the ball (as usual), picking off passes, and forcing fumbles. Pat Angerer made the pick that put the game away; 39 yard return and set up Adam Robinson's TD to make it 17-10 (PAT made it 18-10) after PSU had a 10-5 lead at the half. The play of the game didn't officially come on defense but it was the normal defense that was on the field. PSU had a punt formation and Iowa called "Punt Safe" (leaves the base defense on the field in case of a fake punt attempt) and Adrian Clayborn bull rushed his way to the punter, stuck his hands up and blocked the punt, and then scooped up the ball and glided in for the go-ahead TD.

Saturday night was a great all-around effort from the Hawkeyes. The coaches had the team prepared very well, and the players executed very well (minus the dropped passes). You could tell the demeanor of the team was very relaxed as they were cracking jokes all week, even the coaches were joking with the media.

The Hawks were "rewarded" with the number 13 ranking in the AP poll. Two Hawks also received Big 10 POW honors: Pat Angerer for defense (which I thought should go to the whole team but I'm still ok with it) and Adrian Clayborn for special teams.

This is shaping up to be a special season. I'm glad I'm along for the ride!

Thoughts from the 130

I was planning on doing a recap of every Iowa Hawkeye football game during the 2009-2010 season (that's right, Jan 1 bowl game here we come). Sadly the UNI game left me less than enthused and the "I State" game spoke for itself. Luckily Arizona provided to be more of a challenge than "I State" did and less resistance than UNI did.

I'll start by looking at the offense. Coming into the season I had very high hopes for the passing game as I knew the running game would take a hit with Jewel Hampton being hurt early in the summer and Ricky Stanzi really came on strong in the latter part of 2008. It also helps to have a great receiving corps like Iowa has. That being said, Stanzi needs to figure out how to be a lot more accurate in the first half of the game. He is like night and day (or day and night would be more accurate) during the game. First half he is off but he turns it on in the second half. I think it helps that the offensive line has started opening holes for the running game so that the pressure doesn't fall completely on Stanzi. It was nice to see Brandon Wegher go over 100 rushing yards against "I State" and then Adam Robinson get over 100 yards against Arizona. Our running game seems to be hitting its stride just in time for Big Ten season. If Stanzi can start connecting on passes in the first half (and keep it going into the second half), and the offense can limit turnover to, let's say, none per game I think they will be unstoppable. The line needs to get some sort of continuity but that will come (fingers are crossed).

As the story has gone the last 10 years special teams have been key to Iowa victories. Daniel Murray is starting to show the he can consistently make field goals making Trent Mossbrucker stay on the sidelines. It's my hope that TMoss takes a redshirt this year so that he will be around an extra season after Murray is gone. The kick off coverage has been less than stellar this year, as have the kick and punt return teams. It's hard to believe that Iowa has not had a kickoff return for a TD since the 2002/2003 Orange Bowl. I have a feeling that it will happen sometime this season. The punt coverage has been really good this year, in part to the great punts by Ryan Donahue. He has to be the best punter in college football right now. He has been very consistant this year, with both accuracy and distance. So far Donahue is the team MVP.

The best unit is undoubtly the defense. They held a team averaging over 300 rushing yards per game to 148 rushing yards (85 came on two plays). The longest rush of the day was 58 yards, but helped by an Arizona WR holding Shaun Prater and the Linesman not knowing how to call a penalty (the first dozen or so rows of sections 130 and 129 let him hear about it all game after that). Thankfully the defense buckled down and kept Arizona from punching it in from the 1. 3 points is a lot easier to take than 7, or even 8. I still think the defense gave up 0 points when it mattered. The first 7 came from Stanzi throwing a pick-6, the 3 came from the non-call on the long run (credit the points to the officials), and the last 7 was in garbage time. Player of the game was Adrian Clayborn; he was destroying that poor left tackle for Arizona. Iowa's moto for defense is 6 seconds of hell. Clayborn must not have gotten the memo because he was giving Arizona 3 seconds until he was making a play. Best play was when Clayborn chased down Arizona's RB from behind and brought him for a loss. It wasn't a straight ahead run either, it was a run to the outside, opposite Clayborn. I have to give a mention to the secondary as well. Tyler Sash (The Vulture) made another great play on his 4th interception of the year and the rest of the defensive backs played extrememly well (thank you to Shaun Prater for being off suspension). The linebackers also played a good game but I don't think they were needed to often and the line was controlling the flow of the game.

I am very happy with a 3-0 start to the season. UNI was a close one and I still think they are a top 30 Division 1A team. Weird things happen when Iowa goes to Ames, yet it was like the good old days when Iowa could do no wrong and "I State" could do no right. Arizona seemed like an unknown since we haven't played them in a fairly long time. It felt good to walk out of Kinnick knowing Iowa dominated the game (it wasn't nearly as close as the 27-17 final showed).

To be 4-0 heading into a two game homestand would be ideal. Winning at Penn St is a challenge for almost every college football team except for Iowa. Coach Ferentz seems to own Coach Paterno and Penn St. The game is set for Saturday night and there will be a "White-out" in Happy Valley. No doubt Penn St will be looking for revenge for last year's loss in Iowa City, but Iowa will also be wanting to show that it wasn't a fluke and that they are for real.

Wow it's been a long time

Today's blog is in regards to what some consider an act of treason in an industry that has become big business. If the CEO of AMD became the CEO of Intel it would look weird. Unfortunately the NFL has become a big business more than entertainment.

As a fan of the Green Bay Packers since the mid-90's, when I really started to understand the game of football, I watched Brett Favre lead the team to the playoffs, and a couple of Super Bowls, year after year. I saw 3 MVP seasons in a row, numerous "how'd he do that" type plays, and numerous "why'd he do that" plays. For the last few offseasons I also saw a teetertotter of "do I play or do I retire?". Yes he has the right to make that decision when he wants to. The problem is the team has executives and coaches that need to start working on making the team better right as March 1 hits. It wouldn't help the improvement process when you have a franchise player who can't make up his mind. It is especially concerning when that player is a QB. If he can't make up his mind about playing or retiring how do you know he will be able to make up his mind on the playing field?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the Packer fans who is angry that he went to Minnesota. In fact I don't blame him. Minnesota has coaches that he is familiar with, they have a pretty good defense (wouldn't be as good without Chad Greenway of course), and the top RB in the NFL (assuming he doesn't get hurt). It also gives him 2 shots at beating the only team that he has yet to beat, the Green Bay Packers. He has said repeatedly that he's not playing to break records. If that is the case I want to know why he is still playing. His shoulder is still ripped up (yesterday he disclosed that his rotator cuff has a tear) and he isn't 26 anymore. It was evident in the NFC championship 2 years ago that he didn't want to be playing anymore. He looked done as the game went into the 4th quarter, and then overtime. I really hope Minnesota realizes what they are getting: a legend who is on his last legs, or shoulder tendon in this case.

What I don't like are the "fans" who are changing their alligence from Green Bay to Minnesota because he is on the team and they feel he was done wrong by the front office in Green Bay. I always say the player is not greater than the team. Was he forced out? Not really. He was given a timeframe to make a decision and he made one. The team moved forward. That is what you are supposed to do. There is no reason to think otherwise. Aaron Rogers is poised to become a great QB in the league. He has plenty of young weapons around him. There will be growing pains but it appeared they were gone last year. The bad record last year was on the defense and the injuries to the defense. The offense didn't miss a beat. Prior to the defensive collapse the offense was, again, one of the best in the league. I have no doubt in my mind it will be the same thing this year. This shows that, while Brett was an integral part, the team still had success without him. It was only a few years ago that he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and cost the team some games.

I wish him well, but I will still enjoy watching the green and gold knock him around on October 5 and November 1.