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For some reason I’m feeling particularly stifled tonight.  Drawing now seems like some long lost art, I don’t write enough, and I haven’t touched a guitar in far too long.  I look around and realize I’ve been placed inside an upper middle class suburbia where the walls are too steep to climb; I know there’s something on the other side, but how do I get there?  Oh well.  At least I have an excuse to stay up late since the Badgers are playing in Maui tonight and the game just started.

Packers aren’t on TV here this week so that means I’m watching the game down the street at my local Packer bar, Tiffany’s. Rob and I decided to try the Summit Slam, which is a one pound burger, fries, and a 24 oz beer. If you can finish it you get a tshirt. Mission accomplished!

What a great weekend.  We were in Madison for the Michigan game, which the Badgers won handily, improving to 8-2.  Before the game the Sports Illustrated/Nissan Heisman Tour was set up on the practice field and it was awesome.  The Heisman was there in all its glory and Dan Patrick and Ron Dayne were there to sign free autographs.  The previous week my ears kept perking up during Dan Patrick’s show as he was continuously ending a commercial with the information “see me in Madison on Nov. 14 as Michigan takes on Wisconsin”.  The problem is that I was never paying attention to the beginning of the commercial and only paid attention when I heard him say he would be in Madison.  On Friday night after doing some Google searches I finally figured out what was going on.  I of course made it a point to get down there early, missing most of the chili breakfast at the Field House, but it was totally worth it.  I got a picture with Ron Dayne and his autograph.  I don’t know if I can think of a piece of Badger memorabilia that I’d rather have.  The Packers are shaping up to win against the Cowboys with eight minutes left in the game, too.  Great Wisconsin weekend!

I haven’t been a big fan of the NFL draft for a number of years while some people I know froth at the mouth in anticipation of it.  Why don’t I care?  Because half of the players won’t make it and in this day and age of free agency the draft isn’t as important as it once was.  Don’t misunderstand me, it’s necessary in order to fill the NFL with players, but it’s not as critical to a team’s success as it once was.  Anyone know what Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf are up to these days?  I rest my case.  You know who is a huge fan of the draft, though?  Ted Thompson!  In fact, he relies almost solely on the draft to stock the Packers.  Turns out it’s not working out so well.  Rob Reischel has a good writeup on this in the Journal Sentinel, which can be found here:  http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/69701807.html.  But hey, at least when Ted Thompson does make trades he goes all out and gets rid of one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.  Maybe Teddy can do us all a favor and make one more big trade:  he and Mike McCarthy for Mike Holmgren.  That would be a Ted Thompson move I could live with.

I’m interested to know what you think Packer Nation. Is it time to slam on the giant red panic button? A loss against a superior Vikings team in week 7 might not have been a surprise to anyone, but against the winless Bucs starting a rookie quarterback? Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions and was sacked and took contact almost too many times to count. (Ok, sacked six times). The O-Line might be the worst in the NFL and at this rate Rodgers might be within reach of becoming one of the most sacked quarterbacks in a season. Things won’t get any easier as we face the Cowboys who are tied for sixth in the NFL with 21 sacks. The problem is, what can be done about our offensive line? The Packers have tried swapping guys around and nothing has worked so far this season. I say bring back Holmgren!

Here are some fun facts about Holmgren’s tenure with the Packers, courteous of Wikipedia.

Holmgren was head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, which became one of the most successful coaching stints in NFL history. As head coach of the Packers, Holmgren posted a 75–37–0 (67.0%) regular-season record, a 9–5 (64.3%) postseason mark, and two Super Bowl appearances, including a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. By winning at least one game in five consecutive postseasons (1993–1997) Holmgren joined John Madden (1973–1977) as the only coaches in league history to accomplish the feat. Holmgren’s Packers posted an NFL-best 48–16 (75.0%) record, finished first in the NFC Central Division three times, second once, and set a 7–3 mark in the playoffs between 1995 and 1998. By taking the Packers to six consecutive postseasons (1993–1998), Holmgren set a franchise record with a team that had had just two winning seasons in the 19 years before he was hired.

Many of Holmgren’s 1992 assistant coaches, including Andy Reid, Steve Mariucci, Dick Jauron, Ray Rhodes and Jon Gruden, would go on to head coaching careers in the NFL. Marty Mornhinweg, an assistant hired later in Holmgren’s tenure at Green Bay, also became an NFL head coach, but is now the offensive coordinator under Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles.