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Could Alex Smith meet Aaron Rodgers in the NFC Championship game?

The Green Bay Packers haven’t hosted a playoff game at Lambeau Field since losing to the Giants in the NFC Championship on Jan. 20, 2008. After a 7-0 start, the Packers have some people whispering about going undefeated.

Barring injury, the Packers are more talented than any of their remaining opponents. But can they go undefeated? That’s a tall task.

The Packers toughest tests will come after the bye when they travel to San Diego, on Thanksgiving against the Lions, at the Giants and at home against the Bears and Lions.

Lets say the Packers end up 13-3. Would that be good enough for the No. 1 seed in the NFC and homefield throughout the playoffs? I think so. The Saints could give the Packers a run, but Green Bay already has the tiebreaker advantage. San Franscisco and Detroit are still…well, San Francico and Detroit. Both are improved, but not at the Packers’ level. The Giants only have two losses, but they face a brutal schedule down the stretch.

Packers fans should plan on skipping their January house payment. There’s a good chance that money would be better spent on NFC Championship game tickets at Lambeau.

49ers
Record: 5-1
Projected finish: 12-4
Even if you don’t think the 49ers are for real, they still could end up 12-4. I guess it depends how you define for real. If for real means beating the mediocre and bad teams on your schedule, the 49ers are for real. If it means rising up and winning a game or two that you’re not supposed to, I’m not sure the 49ers qualify.  Read more... (772 words + 1 image, estimated 3:05 mins reading time)

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How the Lambeau Field south end zone will look at the start of the 2013 season

The Green Bay Packers announced today their plans to expand Lambeau Field by 6,600 seats as well as adding a new entrance gate to the south and north end zones by the start of the 2013 season with groundbreaking scheduled for September 1 this year. Some of the funding could come from a new sale of Packers stock.

The seats will be added in four levels and the seats will contain seatbacks.    The project also includes a rooftop viewing area for club seat holders that will be available for special non-football events (like this year’s Kenny Chesney concert) as well.

Escalators and elevators are also being added to the north and south end zones to ease the flow of entry and exit of fans from the stadium.

The Packers are completely funding this project which will include some loans, according to the press release from the team.    A team stock sale is being considered and user fees similar to the 1999-2003 renovation of Lambeau Field is also being discussed.

Ticket prices are expected to be between the cost of a current bowl seat ($87) to club seat  prices (maximum $313).

Well, my first obvious thought is the more Cheeseheads to make noise at Lambeau, the better.  As you can see by the image, this isn’t truly “closing off” the bowl as there are gaps between the three sections of new seats.  Of course while noise is a good thing sometimes, you don’t want to become a Metrodome without a roof.  Read more... (508 words + 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

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In the lead up to the Packers and Cardinals preseason matchup, consider this: in two of the last three games between these two clubs, there has been some serious offensive fireworks—to the tune of  177 total points and nearly 2,000 total offensive yards.

Most remember (or would rather forget) the 2009 Wildcard Card game in Arizona—a back-and-forth affair in which the Packers and Cardinals engaged in one of the wildest shootouts in playoff history.

A week after the Packers dismantled the Cardinals in Week 17 of the regular season, Arizona jumped out to leads of 17-0, 24-7 and 31-10 before Aaron Rodgers and the Packers mounted two impressive comebacks.

With the score 31-10, Rodgers lead the Packers on four straight touchdown drives—all ending on Rodgers’ touchdown passes—to tie the game at 38.

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who threw for five touchdown passes and 379 yards, put Arizona back into the lead with 4:55 left when he hit Steve Breaston for a 17-yard score. Rodgers remained unfazed, however, as he led the Packers right down the field for another tying-touchdown. His 11-yard pass to Spencer Havner with 1:52 left helped send the game into overtime tied at 45 (of course, so did a Neil Rackers missed chip-shot 34-yard field goal on the Cardinals next drive).  Read more... (1386 words + 2 images, estimated 5:33 mins reading time)

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For a Wisconsin boy, not previously experiencing what I experienced this past Thursday borders on criminal.

It’s something I always wanted to do, but for whatever reason (work and before that, getting ready for school as well as my parents both working) I never got around to doing it.  This year however, after an extended NFL lockout, I decided I needed to do this……just a month shy of my 28^th birthday.

I decided to attend a Green Bay Packers training camp practice.

I have outgrown the age where Packers players could ride my bike. Well, I don’t even have a bike but if I did I’d still be over the age limit.   So instead I packed up the car and decided to make the trip to Green Bay alone for Thursday night practice.

It was a trip that almost never even left the driveway.

As I sat down in my 2005 Cavalier, I tried to start the car only to be greeted by chugging and sputtering.  I thought to myself, “This can’t be happening.  You are going to your first Packer practice about 20 years overdue and your car decides to take a dump. Unreal.”

However, much like the 2010 Packers, a little adversity was not going to get in the way of my ultimate goal.  I was going to be there for 7:00 practice if I had to hitchhike my way there.  Read more... (1095 words + 1 image, estimated 4:23 mins reading time)

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It had the anticipation, nerves and hype of a Green Bay Packer playoff game. There are just two problems with this scenario.

The NFL lockout remains in effect (although hopefully not much longer) and the date is June 16, not January 16.

The excitement was over the unveiling of the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship rings.  Tonight was a different kind of night, given that the players and coaches have barely interacted since they got back from Dallas, but it’s a night none of the players or fans who were following along on Twitter will likely ever forget.

Like a great movie, the occasion had it all: Drama, laughter, nervousness and an ultimately very sweet payoff.  Yours truly was even sucked into the drama of the evening thanks to one of my soon to be patented poorly timed and poorly worded jokes. More on that later.

Since the event was private, no media were allowed inside the Lambeau Field Atrium until after the event. This was a night solely for the players in coaches.  We were treated to some “pre –game” coverage on NFL Network but sooner than later the players were inside the stadium, ready for the festivities to begin.

Without any media, the obvious question on Twitter became “Which player would be the first to tweet a picture of the ring?”  The early favorite was tight end and new fan favorite Tom Crabtree with Nick Barnett not far behind.   Another thing that got a chuckle out of me were all the tweets that said Aaron Rodgers had arrived…..solo.  Read more... (1011 words + 2 images, estimated 4:03 mins reading time)

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