Clifton's a Packer for Life

After it appeared our only left tackle was gonna hit the road, the team got a deal done with Chad Clifton on the first day of free agency. While the team is still likely to draft the 'tackle of the future' this April, we here at MPU are extremely pleased that Chad will be coming back to shore up the line the next few seasons, and that he will be finishing his career as a Packer. For $7.5 million guaranteed, the deal is a good one all around. And a great way to start the weekend!
- FG

This is March

Howdy Folks,
Sorry about that last column. I was in a weird mood.

The Brewers are on the radio today and I am planning for at least two more weeks of ice fishing. This seems like an impossibility, but as my Father taught me, Ice takes a long time to form, and a long time to melt. Late ice is some of the best fishing of the year, and it is often so nice out in March that a pale Wisconsin fellow like me must be careful or risk a severe sun-burn. This is a welcome change from early- and mid-ice, when you have to worry about wind burn.  Late in the season, it's time for a nifty pair of sun-shades, a dedicated fruity drink sled, and rubber boots to work through the slush.

This is March. I love March. Ice fishing on the brain and green things poking up in the garden beds.

March means free agency is here, and that the combine is complete. Where do the Packers stand today?

Well, I doubt Ted will toss any money around even with an un-capped salary year on deck. The Packers, I am told, will act as though a cap is in place, which I am told is smart business, since the cap will likely be back in 2011. We'll see.

I'd sure like to see them get a deal done with Chad Clifton. We can't afford to have offensive line problems again like last year, and even though I think they'll grab a tackle in the first round, it would be worth every penny they will pay to keep the veteran.

Good luck to the Packers and all ice fishermen this month,
may we all 'ice the big one!'

Until next time, then, 
FG

Off-season Horse-head

Well, readers, it's been several weeks since my failed prediction of a Colts victory in the Super Bowl. I've been laying low the past few weeks, getting the most of the end of ice fishing season here in Wisconsin. It has been nice getting away from the blog, thinking about things other than football. I'm sure most of you feel the same way.

It's that special time of the calendar year when it's OK to let you mind settle into a pro-longed off-season horse-head-ish-ness. Yes, dear readers, I'm currently horse-headed. This is a phrase my Cousin Walter uses a-plenty. Does this mean I have grown a mane and only eat carrots and sugar cubes? Does this mean I have taken a liking to feats of mammal-racing?

No, dear readers. The Off-season Horse-head is simply a derivative of general horse-headed-ness. Lackadaisical-ness, if you will. You see, during the regular season I get so wound up about the Packers than I cannot relax, even when doing non-Packers things, like canning pears or chopping wood. The mind is ... a thrashing sea-squall.

But you've seen horses, controlled by their horse-brains. The horses, for the most part, are a calm creature, nibbling and grazing and whinnying about. So in this respect, the label of Horse-head is some-what a compliment. The kids may have their yoga and their scented candles, but when I need to relax, I try to think like a horse. I put my-self out to pasture on a sunny day, even in the middle of a god-awful gray February.

Horse-headed-ness can also signify a general foolish-ness, and I believe this is what Walter mostly is talking about when he utters those words. And maybe I've been being a bit stir-crazy the last few weeks, too.

I suppose I should say something about the Packers, now that the scouting combine has begun: Draft a beast of a tackle! Draft one as big as a horse!

Until next time, then,
FG

Brees is best

I didn't give Drew Brees or the Saints enough credit. Their defense played outstanding, and a few key plays bounced their way. Congratulations! - FG