This Monday night, Melissa Stark comes to visit Lambeau for the first time this year, unfortunately so will the Vikings. Like most Packer fans I am still in shock over the last Monday night game against the Vikings at Lambeau. There is a strong possibility the same thing will happen again this year. The Vikings have added Duante Culpepper to their offensive machine, to go along with Moss, Carter, and Robert Smith. If the Packers have any hope of making this a ball game, they must make plays and control the time of possession. The Bucs seemed to have success last week by taking the deep pass away from the Vikings. By showing the Vikes a two-deep coverage the Bucs forced the Vikings to sustain drives, instead of making the big play. Using this style of defense, the Buccaneers forced Culpepper and company to self-destruct.

   If I was Dennis Green, I would not care how deep the Packers secondary lined up, I would still go deep to Moss and Carter. This could get really ugly Packer Backers, so be ready for it. It is almost impossible to have an optimistic attitude when speaking about the Packers this year. Nothing has changed at all; it is the same as last year. No toughness, poor tackling, bad penalties, and turnovers. Some of the media in Green Bay are making excuses for the team’s poor performance. These are the same people who were all over Ray Rhodes last year. They had every right to be all over Rhodes, but the same things should be written about Sherman. Freeman gives some lame excuse for not reporting on time, and Sherman starts him in the game against Miami. He is not a take-charge coach or a disciplinarian. Warren Sapp and Terrell Owens missed playing time for their conduct. So why not Freeman? It was like he wasn’t playing anyway, but that is beside the point. If you are blaming the punt coverage last week, look at that play again if you can. Bidwell kicked a short, line drive punt, with a hang time of 3.1 seconds. Bidwell under kicked his coverage badly on that play. Well at least Bidwell was able to catch the snap from center, two weeks ago he messed that up. If you think I am too critical of the Packers at times, I am sorry, but that is the Pack-Like It Is.

    There are some positives on the team; the rookie tackles were very impressive. The most impressive thing was they played well against the Dolphins, not just the 49ers or Cardinals. Ryan Longwell has been the very consistent with his field goals every week. If he could only get the ball deeper on his kickoffs, he would be a big weapon for the Pack to have. For those Packer fans that are hoping they make the playoffs, take a minute and think how bad they would get embarrassed on national television. Let’s face it, the Packers are not going to beat Washington, Tampa Bay, or Minnesota and go to the Super Bowl. It might be best to just see what kind of talent they have with Warren, Lee, Bradford, and Donald Driver. If they make a mistake they can learn from it and get it corrected for next time. They can only get better, just look at the play of Tauscher and Clifton. They are a perfect example of the point I am trying to make. They will never know what they have unless they give them a chance to play. Freeman and Schroeder are not going to get any better, especially Freeman. I hope we see more Melissa and less Moss and Carter on Monday night. Just for fun trivia: Who is the only man to be elected to the CFL and NFL halls of fame?