Hey, Another Monday, Another Post

(In fairness, this blog is being underwritten because of my slightly higher focus on Action Football!)

The Badgers picked up their first Big Ten win, 27-17 over Illinois in Madison. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Wisconsin. They're now one (small) step closer to some crappy December 27th bowl game. I'm sure most Badgers fans, like me, had at least a tiny sigh of relief: the offense, while not spectacular, didn't have any crippling mistakes, and the defense finally looked like I was expecting them to look all year.

It's never too soon to start looking ahead, and while Sherer played better - and is just a junior - and, apparently Tolzien - a sophomore - had moved into the two spot on the depth chart, I'm kind of hoping red-shirting freshman Curt Phillips has a great spring and fall camp and gets himself into position to start as a red-shirt freshman. Think about getting four years out of a starting quarterback. Pair that with another three from John Clay, a handful of young receivers, big linemen on (hopefully) ready to emerge.... Maybe the year after next Wisconsin will have a team worthy of a top 10 ranking.

One thing that I noticed watching the game, that I don't really remember hearing about, is how consistent kicker Phillip Welch has been; 14/16 field goals including 1/2 of 50+. Add to that he's a red-shirt freshman, and we're likely looking at the next great Badgers kicker. It would be nice if he could get kick offs through the endzone, but I'm willing to accept less than booming kick offs for accurate field goal kicking.

No update since last Monday, huh?

Well, last Monday's "Packers, Badgers 1-1 This Weekend" is still spot on. So's the first line: "But, holy cow, what a loss Wisconsin's was." I could only stomach about half of the game. The Badgers seem out of sorts in all phases, and it doesn't look possible to get it sorted out. I'm not going to start the "almost basketball season" line because I like college football more than college basketball, and no matter how rationally gone this season is, I'm still irrationally hoping that Wisconsin will turn a corner and at least get bowl eligible....

The Packers, on the other hand, sound like they gave the Colts what for. I've seen the highlights, but have yet to read anything about the game. Perhaps I'll have something more to write after I've read the coverage.

And perhaps not.

Packers, Badgers 1-1 This Weekend

But, holy cow, what a loss Wisconsin's was. I was in Athens for the Georgia/Tennessee game, but managed to find a bar (and pizza! and pitchers!) to watch the Wisconsin game with my buddy.

The two of us have a habit of finding bars a million miles away from Wisconsin that, somehow, have a table full of opposing fans to sit behind. This happened in Chapel Hill in for the 2003 upset of Ohio State and again in 2007 for the Badgers hoops squad short-lived #1 ranked loss to Michigan State. Of course the trend continued Saturday and we were sitting behind a half dozen Nittany Lions fans.

Seriously, I don't feel like talking about the game in any capacity. This team is going to have to get it together and fast.

The Packers won, apparently, but I have neither seen highlights nor read recaps. I do know they're tied for first in the division, though. (Thanks, Bears!)

This Weekend in Awful Wisconsin Sports News

Okay, I'm not going to lie to you. I saw neither the Badgers nor Packers game. My wife scored free tickets to the Carolina/U Conn game, which is why I missed the former, and I'm out of region and not about to pay for Sunday Ticket which is why I missed the latter. I'd actually dvr'd the Badgers game, but since I was keeping track of the score on my phone, I only would have watched it if they'd won. Kinda counterintuitive, I know.

Anyway, from what I've read, both games were decided because the defenses didn't hold tough enough. Oh well.

Add to that the fact that the Brewers exited their first post-season appearance since Reagan's first term early (but not as early as the Cubs; enjoy that next 100 years, a-holes!), and it was a pretty crappy weekend all told.

Still, though, Wisconsin could still stay in the mix if they can beat Penn State in Madison next weekend (a scenario that seems increasingly unlikely, unfortunately). Green Bay is at Seattle, which could (should) be a win. Even with a 2-3 record, with two division wins already, the Packers are still relevant in the NFC North hunt.

Plus, the Scott Skiles era is right around the corner. Imagine how weird it'll be to see the Bucks playing defense.

Buckeyes and Falcons

Wisconsin has got Ohio State in Madison Saturday night. According to The Daily Cardinal, the defense is...ready? Forgive my skepticism, but not only do I remember Wisconsin's struggles against spread attacks and mobile quarterbacks last year (UNLV, Illinois), I remember Steven Threet's 40+ yard scamper last week. And from the looks of things, Tyrelle Pryor can throw better than Juice Williams and run better than Threet. Basically, I'm going to keep my expectations really low for this week and, hopefully, won't come away disappointed. Say what you will about Wisconsin's defense, Ohio State's going to get their points. The critical aspect in this ballgame is Wisconsin's offense getting something going. Three-and-outs last week prevented Wisconsin's defense from getting any rest in the second half, and I shudder to think what Pryor and Beanie Wells would do against a tired Wisconsin d this week.

Green Bay is home against the Falcons Sunday. Not only is Rodgers's status still up in the air, it's looking increasingly like he won't start. If Rodgers is out, Matt Flynn will probably get the start. Now, it's distinctly possible that Flynn could take the world by storm with a limited playbook. After all, the Falcons' staff has very little film on him. However, you'd think that, even if Rodgers plays, it's going to be imperative that the Packers get their running game going. For what it's worth, I had a dream last night in which Grant had a monster game; I mean, like 160 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. So here's hoping I prove to be some kind of football psychic. (I almost nail the number of points South Florida put up on NC State over at Action Football! last week....)

Oh, great.

Cullen Jenkins is done for the season. Apparently, the Packers have signed 6'4" 248 lb. Kenny Pettway. Just what Green Bay needs, another undersized pass-rush specialist. Ugh.

In Badgers news, Paul Chryst's daughters are sticking it to him for his play calling. I wonder how old Katy and JoJo are, because they sound pretty great. Hopefully they can get him back on track for the Ohio State game. Speaking of which, the Buckeyes coaches are getting the team prepped for the atmosphere by showing them clips of the "Jump Around" tradition. And apparently, some former Buckeye told corner Chimdi Chekwa that Badgers fans throw batteries and nickels in marshmallows. Which is the dumbest shit I've ever read on the interenet. Which is saying something.