Frustrating news for Packer Fans today as embattled defensive linemen Johnny Jolly was arrested again on drug charges. Jolly, a 6th round pick by Green Bay in the ’06 draft, was still serving a one year suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for similar charges dating back to a 2008 arrest.

The Packers, known as a “high-character organization,” had taken a risk in remaining in contact with Jolly during his suspension. Green Bay GM Ted Thompson had hoped to keep the star lineman out of trouble, and aid in a smooth transition back into the Pack’s roster.

This likely spells the end of Jolly’s tenure as a Packer. It will also likely put the Packers in a tough spot on the defensive line, where they are also expected to lose stellar DE Cullen Jenkins to free agency.

Johnny Jolly, 28, played in 48 games at DE  for Green Bay, amassing 113 total tackles and 77 solo tackles.

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Welcome back to another thrilling edition of ‘Overhyped Super Bowl XLV Storylines: Part 2.” In this installment, we examine Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and his Pennsylvania upbringing…

2. Mike McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native

Hard to believe, but some people who play on or work with the Green Bay Packers weren’t born in Wisconsin. I know, very surprising. Mike McCarthy is one of those people, and because he happens to be the head coach, a good amount of press coverage has alluded to the fact that McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native.

Ohmygosh! Do you think he secretly wants the Steelers to beat the Packers?!

How quaint. Also, how utterly boring.

I saw a local newscaster report live from McCarthy’s hometown, Greenfield, PA. The guy sought out McCarthy’s boyhood home, interviewed a local tavern that hangs pictures of McCarthy on it’s walls, and talked to a few clueless locals who pretended like they cared.

If this is what TV sports journalism has become or is becoming, I’m in the wrong profession. Sure, the story has a “unique” angle, in that its about as unique as the story that it’s really cold for some reason in Arlington. The story pretty much begins and ends there.

So yes, Mike McCarthy was born near Pittsburgh and most likely grew up a Steeler fan, but there’s nothing more to the story than that. This story is almost as played out as the “Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews went to USC together” story that was especially popular after this weeks NFL Defensive Player of the Year debate.

Stay tuned this week for part 3 of “Overhyped SB XLV Storylines”

WST Podcast (2/2/11) Part 1

Duration: 16:21

Topics:

• Story lines preceding the Super Bowl

• Is Aaron Rodgers to blame for the team photo/Twitter controversy

• Defensive Player of the Year award– Should Clay Mathews have won the award?

WST Podcast 1.24.11 (Packer Section)

Duration: 16:11

Topics:

• The WiscoSportsTalk Crew is joined by Dave from SteelersDepot.com and the Terrible Podcast.

• Dave and the WST guys talk about the confidence level of the Packer and Steeler faithful.

• Dave and the guys break down the weaknesses of their respective teams.

• Predictions for the big game.

It wasn’t Aaron Rodgers’ best statistical game, but chalk it up as another road playoff victory on the growing resume’ of the young QB. Bears QB Jay Cutler played terribly, and was yanked in the third after suffering a “knee injury,” giving way to Todd Collins, perhaps the worst backup quarterback in the league. Needless to say, after a few gangly, errant throws, Collins quickly begat 3rd stringer, and rightful 2nd stringer, Caleb Hanie. Hanie’s performance was cute, but he was largely stifled by the smothering Packers defense.

With the win, the Packers are NFC Champions and have earned a Super Bowl berth for the first time since Super Bowl XXXII, a loss to the John-Elway-led Broncos. For young fans like me, whose oldest Packer memories dates back to about 94/95, the victory signifies a return to greatness. The Packers will face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who dismantled the New York Jets last night in the AFC Championship game. The Packers last played the Steelers late last season, an epic shootout that ended in heartbreak with a Ben Roethlisberger game winning touchdown pass.

GB – 10:50 – Aaron Rodgers 1 yd TD run – At the 1-yard line, the backfield resembled a short-yardage TD from last week’s divisional game, with defensive nose-tackle BJ Raji lined up as a fullback and extra blocker. But instead of a hand-off up the gut, Rodgers rolled out to the left on a play action, found the angle, and hustled to the pylon. Credit coach Mike McCarthy with some degree of trickery or reverse psychology, and a risky play-call executed to perfection. GB 7 – CHI 0

GB – 11:13 - James Starks 4 yd TD run – From four yards out, Starks pinballed his way toward the goal line, reaching out at just the right moment to break the plane of the end zone. GB 14 – CHI 0

CHI – 12:02 – Chester Taylor 1 yd TD run – After Caleb Hanie found his nerve, and consequently his throwing rhythm, the Bears found themselves 1 yard away from the score. They called upon former Viking Chester Taylor, who was acquired for just such an occasion. Simple, concise, touchdown. GB 14 – CHI 7

GB – 6:04 – BJ Raji 18 yd INT/TD – Yes, you read that right. Deep in their own territory, Bears QB Caleb Hanie tossed up a nice, fluffy loaf of bread, and a hungry BJ Raji, who had quietly backed off the line and dropped into coverage, nabbed the interception, and chugged his way to a touchdown. He then donned Rodgers’ invisible belt, and proceeded to celebrate in his own unique way. GB 21 – CHI 7

CHI – 4:43 – Earl Bennett 35 yd TD catch – Hanie delivered a well placed zinger into coverage down the near sideline, and WR Earl Bennet took care of the rest. A little delay from Bennet – not quite a stutter-step – and the WR quickly froze and shook off the Packers secondary, trotting in for the score. GB 21 – CHI 14

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WST Podcast 1.18.11 Part 1

Duration: 21:45

Topics:

• A look back at Aaron Rodgers and Packers’ perfect performance in Atlanta last Saturday.
• Packers vs Bears NFC Championship preview

• What factors are key to a Packers victory?

• What match-ups will be key?

• Is Soldier Field’s poor condition a cause for concern?

WST Podcast 1.13.11

Duration: 28:35

Topics:

• The guys break down the good and the bad against the Eagles last weekend.

• Can/will James Starks repeat last weeks’ performance?

• Preview of the Packers v.s. Falcons Divisional playoff game.

• Key match-ups to watch for.

• Are Wisconsin sports fans the most knowledgable fans in America? T  he way they question Mike McCarthy’s decsions would suggest otherwise…
• Score predictions.

In just a few days, the Green Bay Packers will square off against the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round of the NFC playoffs. It’s a fitting way to cap off a turbulent 2010 campaign for both squads.

The two teams met in the first week of the season – a 27-20 Packer victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

Much has changed since then. Due to a myriad of injuries in title town, Green Bay’s roster only loosely resembles the lineup in week 1.

Out east, the Eagles have also needed to adjust. Having spent the entire offseason building the team around QB Kevin Kolb, it’s been QB Michael Vick who has seen most of the starts.

Ironically, all that began on opening day, when LB Clay Matthews delivered a walloping sack on Kolb, knocking him silly and forcing Michael Vick under center. The rest, as the cliche’ goes, is history.

Michael Vick’s redemption song has been music to the ears of Eagles fans all year long, as his crazy legs and improved pocket passing have typically kept defenses on their heels, Green Bay included. In order to come up with the win, and advance to the divisional round of the NFC playoff tournament, the Packers will need to neutralize the Eagles’ many athletic threats. This includes, but is in no way limited to Michael Vick…

QB Michael Vick: His strengths are well advertised. He is without a doubt one of the most athletic players in the NFL. As a fundamental QB, his game is much improved since his days with the Atlanta Falcons. Whether it’s the tutelage of Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, or the penal system, Vick is now completing 62.6% of his passes, and has curbed the interceptions that marred his Falcons stat sheet. His passer rating this season was 100.2 – over 20 points higher than his previous career average. On the ground, Vick is as dangerous as he’s ever been. His ability to go from 0-60 in an instant, sometimes gaining upwards of 30 yards at a time, has given defensive coordinators fits all year. But as daunting as it sounds, the key to stopping Michael Vick is pressure, specifically from the left side. Vick, a left-handed thrower, has struggled when forced to scramble to his right side. He either throws a poor pass, or takes off running when there may not be a lane for him to do so. Packers CB Charles Woodson spent much of last week’s Bears game blitzing the QB. Look for the game plan to be similar on Sunday. The word of the day is “pressure.”

RB LeSean McCoy: A thousand yard rusher in just his second season, McCoy excels at making defenders miss, and then gunning it. He’s shifty and quite fast and will pose a real challenge for Green Bay’s rush defense, which ranks 18th in the NFL. With the Packers depleted defensive line, they’ve been playing a lot of nickel coverage, leaving just 2 defenders on the line. If oft-injured linemen Cullen Jenkins gets the nod, look for a beefier line bent on collapsing the pocket. However, with Jenkins questionable, the Pack may have to rely on their linebackers to keep an eye on both Vick and McCoy, which could translate to big plays for either Eagle.

WR’s DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin: This WR duo represents a big threat. They’re collective speed, and good hands allow for big plays at any point. Maclin is the lesser of two evils, but worth noting nonetheless. He had 10 touchdowns on 70 receptions this season, and is very dangerous with space. DeSean Jackson is a whole different animal. A former teammate of QB Aaron Rodgers at Cal, he’s small, agile, and painfully quick. While not putting up big receiving numbers, it’s on special teams where Jackson really makes his name. Think Devin Hester, but smaller and faster. Rendering the return game moot will be a tall task for punter Tim Masthay and the special teams unit, but given last week’s stellar outing against Hester and the Bears, it looks like the Packers are well prepared for that task.

TE Brent Celek: At 6-4 and 255 lbs, Celek has deceptive speed. Slow out of the gate, he accelerates and separates well, and averaged 12.2 yards per reception this year. While only scoring 4 touchdowns this season, he has deadly fundamentals and has never fumbled the ball. He’s also a qualified blocker. It will be important not to let Celek sneak into the open field.

Defense represents the real weakness for Philadelphia. The Eagles allowed 31 passing touchdowns this season, which ranked 29th in the league. A young secondary, and a banged up CB in Asante Samuel, has spelled big play disaster for Philadelphia all season long. If the Packers are to be successful, they will need to continue this trend. None of this will be possible, however, without the play-action game. The Eagles defense ranked 15th in the league against the run, giving up 110.4 yards per game on the ground. Packers coach Mike McCarthy has said that, when it comes to the ground game, it’s not about yardage, but rather attempts. Namely, as long as you show that you are committed to rushing-attempts, the opposing defense will have to respect that possibility. With Philadelphia’s average-at-best run defense, it’s plausible that RB’s Brandon Jackson and James Starks could reach that magic number of 4+ yards per carry, but as long as they each have about 15 attempts, the long bomb will remain an imminent threat in the Packers arsenal.

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Fresh coming off yet another four point loss, which easily could have been won with a handful of plays, the Green Bay Packers stand at 8-6, a terrible record considering the team could easily be a one loss team. That is not the only bad news, unfortunately for the Packers with their victory over the Minnesota Vikings Monday night, the Chicago Bears have won the division. Fortunately, however, playoff hopes rest solely on the Packers own shoulders. With victories in their last two games, the Packers will clinch the final wildcard playoff position.

Playing the New York Giants this upcoming Sunday will be no walk in the park. However, the results will be different than the last time the Packers played the Giants in that devastating NFC championship in 2007.

The Packers can be a mildly bi-polar team, losing 7-3 to a mediocre Lions team and then the next week with a backup QB lose 27-31 to what many consider the best team in the NFL the New England Patriots. But with playoff implications on the line, the Packers will not come out a flaccid team as they did against the Lions. McCarthy will set a fire in the players belly and whether or not Aaron Rodgers is able to return this week the Packers will methodically pick apart the Giants.

The Giants also have playoff hopes on the line and it could be that they come out to play at a top level too. However, after last weeks horrifying and embarrassing loss to the Eagles after having such a large lead so late in the game, the Giants will not have the emotional capacity to fight as the Packers will. The Packers lost too last week, but the manner in which each team lost was incredibly different. The Packers were large underdogs whom many experts considered would be blown away by the always powerful Patriots, but that was not the case. The Giants on the other hand were up by three touchdowns fairly late in the game and it was obvious they were going to win, yet they managed to lose.

Emotions are the not the only advantage that the Packers have coming in to Sunday’s match up. The Packers are 9-1 in their last 10 home games, which is second in the NFL only to the Patriots. Cold hard statistics too play a role in the Packers advantage on Sunday.

By now most people know that the Packers have one of the better ranked defenses in the NFL. Even after giving up 31 points last week, although two touchdowns were arguably not their fault, the Packers are currently tied for number one in least points allowed at 15.7 per game. The Packers are also number four in the league in interceptions which bodes well for the upcoming game because Eli Manning has thrown 20 picks this year.

The Giants do have a pair of good receivers in Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham. But these two should not be a challenge for Tramon Williams and Charles Woodson. A formidable running attack that ranks fifth in the league could certainly present a challenge. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs are both excellent backs. But if the Packers can jump out to a quick lead, it should eliminate that aspect of the Giants game and make it incredibly difficult to win for them.

In two and a half weeks the Packers should be sitting pretty preparing for their playoff game. To do so the Packers must win this week, and they will.

My prediction: Packers 34 Giants 17

WiscoSportsTalk Podcast Part 1

Duration: 16.14

Topics:

- Can you be upset about the loss?

- How good is Matt Flynn?

- What are the chances Rodgers plays this week?

- Preview of Giants @ Packers, with and without Rodgers.