A Memorable Start

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I grew up in the South — in the heart of what was Dallas Cowboys territory when I was young — but, as long as I can remember, I've been a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

My memory of watching football games on TV doesn't go back before I was in elementary school because we didn't get our first TV until I was in first grade. But I remember watching football games with my father on Sunday afternoons (there were no Sunday or Monday night games in those days — except on rare, special occasions), and I got to see Vince Lombardi in his last years as the Packers' coach — even if it was on our rather small black–and–white set.

(I've seen color footage of Lombardi, and it never looks quite right to me. Images of Lombardi only look right in black and white!)

Since that moment when I first saw the Packers play, I have been a Packers fan. You can believe me when I tell you there have been many painful seasons for Packer fans since Lombardi's day.

Modern fans probably look at today's Packers and see an organization that has been largely successful for the last 20 years. The Packers, after all, have been to three Super Bowls in the last two decades and won two of them, and they've come close on other occasions. They've only missed the playoffs a handful of times.

But that isn't the whole story, at least not for those of us who have been following the Packers longer than that. After Lombardi led the Packers to victory in those first two Super Bowls, the Packers went to the playoffs — wait for it — twice in 25 years.

Talk about a long dry spell.

The pendulum seems to have swung the other way. Not only have the Packers been enjoying success since quarterback Brett Favre came along in the early 1990s but his successor, Aaron Rodgers, has led Green Bay to a 5–0 start this season. That's a better start to a season than Favre ever had in Green Bay.

For that matter, the Packers haven't started a season 5–0 since the autumn of 1965 — the year before my family got its first TV — when I was in kindergarten. The Packers actually began that season 6–0 — which means Green Bay must defeat winless St. Louis this Sunday to match that gang from '65 and then must beat 1–4 Minnesota the following week to surpass them.

The Packers have their bye week the week after that, but if they beat the Rams and Vikings, they can go into their break with a record of 7–0 for the first time since 1962. They went 13–1 that year and won their first 10 games before losing to the Detroit Lions, who were pretty good in 1962 as well. The Lions were 8–2 on Thanksgiving 1962, the day they beat the Packers, and would have been in the playoffs if the NFL allowed anyone other than the winners of the two divisions that existed at that time to participate in the postseason.

That's kind of ironic because the Lions, who are also undefeated as they prepare to face the Chicago Bears tonight, will be hosting the Packers this Thanksgiving. And, to make things even more interesting, if the Packers are undefeated when they travel to Detroit in late November, their record will be — wait for it again — 10–0.

Just like that squad from 1962.

I don't know if the Packers will get through the season without a loss. In my lifetime, only one team has gone all the way through the regular season and the postseason without losing a game so you have to figure that duplicating that achievement is highly unlikely — especially since modern NFL teams play two more games in the regular season than they did in '62.

But I'm not even thinking about that right now. I guess I was conditioned too well by all those losing seasons. With the Packers, I take it one step at a time. First, secure a playoff spot. It's OK if it's a wild card. The Packers were wild cards last year and won it all.

If they can win the division, that's even better. And if their record is good enough to earn a first–round bye, that's better still. But just get into the playoffs. The late Al Davis used to say, "Just win, baby." I say, "Just get into the playoffs."

Once the Packers are in the playoffs, I focus on the immediate opponent, and I have to hope the Packers do, too. Sometimes they get ahead of themselves.

Don't look past anyone. If a team is in the playoffs, it is usually because that team has done something well during the regular season. I take all playoff teams seriously, and I expect my favorite team to do so as well.

Last year, the Packers remained focused and won it all.

When you combine their record so far this season with the four consecutive playoff wins that included their Super Bowl triumph and the two season–ending wins that got them into the playoffs last year, the Packers have won 11 games in a row. That's nearly as many wins as the Packers compiled in two or three consecutive seasons when I was growing up.

Times have changed, and I'm enjoying this flirtation with perfection while it lasts.

But I remember what it was like, and I don't want to go back there.

I want to see the Packers win the Super Bowl again.

The Power of Prayer

I can sympathize with Detroit Lions fans.

Really, I can. As I have written many times before, I have been a Green Bay Packers fan since I was a child.

If you aren't old enough to remember the time before Brett Favre came to Green Bay, there were many grim seasons for the Packers — occasionally interrupted by a season or two that transcended mediocrity — between the Vince Lombardi era and the Brett Favre era.

When I hear the phrase "long–suffering fan," I know precisely what it means. I've been one, and I probably will be one again, perhaps not with the Packers, perhaps with some other team that I follow.

It just seems to me that everyone, at one time or another, knows what it is like to support a team that never — or almost never — wins.

Your favorite team doesn't always win the championship; heck, it doesn't always make it to the playoffs. Football fans here in Dallas (who went into the season thinking the currently 3–7 Cowboys would become the first team to host a Super Bowl) have been coming to grips with that very reality this year.

I'm not talking about narrowly missing the playoffs, either. I'm talking about (seemingly habitually) finishing so far out of the playoff race that you feel like one of the jockeys who rode the horses that Secretariat left in the dust at the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

Around here, of course, football is king. But there are baseball fans here, and life has not been easy for them. Texas Rangers fans know all about that long–suffering jazz. It took them nearly four decades to reach the World Series. Winning one, apparently, is going to take awhile longer.

But even the Rangers' suffering pales when compared to the Lions'.

The Lions haven't had a winning season in a decade. They haven't been in the playoffs since 1999. They haven't won a division title since 1993. They haven't played for a conference championship in nearly 20 years. They haven't won one in more than 50 years.

They recently set a new standard for futility, losing their 25th consecutive road game. Fittingly, that milestone was achieved against a team that had lost all of its games this season.

The Lions' fans know how that feels, too. They went 0–16 a couple of years ago. Only one other team in modern NFL history has lost all of its games, and that was before the NFL started playing 16–game schedules.

When you consider their history, you have to wonder what could possibly entice anyone in Detroit to go to Ford Field where the 2–8 Lions will play the 8–2 New England Patriots tomorrow.

I mean, along with the fact that the Lions just plain stink, as usual, the temperature is supposed to be in the 30s tonight, and the predicted high temperature tomorrow is 48°.

The game is indoors, of course, but the elements won't be too pleasant, even if exposure to them will be brief — there's a 90% chance of rain in Detroit tomorrow, and, even if the only time one must spend in it will be the time it takes to get from one's car to the stadium, who wants to spend any time on Thanksgiving in a cold rain?

It is in just such conditions, however, that a couple of Christian leaders from Detroit are planning to hold a prayer vigil for the Lions.

Apparently, this began when Derrick Hills of the Communications Ministry called a sports radio show and "realized that something needed to be done to make a difference and to help our struggling team improve."

Anyway, tomorrow Hills and a Detroit–area Baptist minister are going to hold a prayer vigil for the Lions near one of Ford Field's gates. It's set for 11 a.m. local time, about 90 minutes before kickoff.

It's probably safe to assume that Detroit will not have reached its predicted 48–degree high by 11 a.m.; it is probably also safe to assume that it will be raining at that time. I'm thinking this prayer vigil could be a good test for the commitment of Detroit football fans to the local team.

"I believe that if we all can come together and pray that we can assist in making the Detroit Lions a truly competitive team who can one day become a Super Bowl champion," Hills said.

Now, I know that there are people who believe — some devoutly — in the power of prayer, but that seems improbable.

Who Will Be the No. 1 Pick?

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The NFL holds its annual draft this weekend, and observers have been speculating for weeks about who will be the No. 1 pick by the Detroit Lions.

The Lions, as you may recall, failed to win a single game last season. In fact, since the Lions lost their last regular–season game in 2007, they have now lost 17 consecutive games.

And it's even worse than that. The Lions' 7–9 record in 2007 was Detroit's best season since 2000 — when the Lions finished with a 9–7 record. They haven't been in the playoffs since 1999, and they haven't won a playoff game since 1991 (and that, incidentally, was Detroit's only playoff victory since winning the 1957 NFL championship).

Since 2000, Detroit has compiled a record of 40–104–0.

The consensus appears to be that Detroit has been negotiating with University of Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford. He's got a good arm, but Detroit has no line to speak of, which means Stafford (or whoever is calling the signals for the Lions next season) will have to throw on the run ... A LOT.

Stafford should be used to that, though. Georgia had little on the offensive line during Stafford's tenure there.

The best available offensive lineman appears to be Baylor's Jason Smith, and Sports Illustrated's Peter King thinks he will go second, when the St. Louis Rams make their pick. Smith seems like a good fit for the Rams, who cut the aging Orlando Pace last month.

But the team that could really use Smith is Detroit. Until the Lions get some big, strong linemen to provide protection for both the running and passing games, it won't matter how many marquee names the Lions put on their roster. The quarterback won't have time to look for the open receivers, and in the 10 years since Barry Sanders retired, Detroit hasn't found any running backs who can make things happen in spite of any weaknesses on the line the way he could.

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free–Press says Stafford is going to be a Lion, like it or not — even though, I believe, Detroit already has four quarterbacks signed to contracts.

"The Lions apparently believe Stafford will be a franchise quarterback," Rosenberg writes, "and when you are that deeply in love, you don't worry about the price of roses."

Still, a lot of unforeseen things can happen in the NFL draft. Mike Florio of The Sporting News provides a rundown on the top storylines heading into the draft, and he points out that trades, drama and risk are key factors.

But that's true every year.

Thoughts About the NFL Draft

All across America today, sports fans are filling out brackets in their offices' NCAA Tournament pools.

I usually watch a few of the games, but, unless my alma mater (the University of Arkansas) is participating, my interest level tends to be lukewarm at best. This year, I thought the Razorbacks were on their way to the NCAA tourney when they ended 2008 and started 2009 with victories over Oklahoma and Texas. But they proceeded to lose most of their Southeastern Conference games and went one-and-done in the SEC tourney.

So my attention is being drawn to the NFL draft in 5½ weeks.

I've been wondering, for example, what affect — if any — the tragic death of Detroit defensive end Corey Smith a few weeks ago might have on the Lions' No. 1 pick. Smith, as you may know, was a free agent when he was lost at sea.

It does not appear, however, that most of the people who have the responsibility for studying the available talent and assessing what each team is looking for believe that the Lions are shopping for defensive ends — although it can be argued that, if a team went 0-16, as the Lions did last season, it is in the market for just about everything.

But the smart money seems to be on the Lions emphasizing offense.

• Scott Wright of Draft Countdown likes QB Matthew Stafford of Georgia. "There are no sure things in the NFL Draft, especially when it comes to quarterbacks," Wright observes, "but Matthew Stafford is potentially the type of player you can build a team around and he has everything you look for physically along with top intangibles to boot."
  
  He concedes, however, that "[s]ome will make the case that it's senseless to draft a quarterback if you can't protect him," but he points out that the same argument was made last year by Atlanta fans about Matt Ryan — and Ryan had the 11th highest QB rating in the NFL in 2008.
  
  Wright goes on to point out that "[t]he Lions still have two more premium picks (#20 and #33) to beef up their offensive line and worst-case there is absolutely nothing wrong with letting the 21-year-old Stafford sit on the bench and learn for a year while they improve the supporting cast around him."


• Matt Thomas writes for Sports Central that "The easy pick here at No. 1 is quarterback, where there is value for the position and a real need to get a 'face–of–the–franchise' sort of player." His pick is also Stafford.


• Robert Ferringo writes for Doc's Sports Service that he, too, sees Stafford as the No. 1 pick, but he has some reservations. "I just think that they have too many needs," he says. "What is a rookie quarterback going to offer them?"


• James Alder writes, for About.com:Football that he sees offense as the most pressing need, but he favors offensive tackle Eugene Monroe of Virginia. "I would advocate taking a potential franchise quarterback in this position, but without major improvements on the Lions' offensive line, that could be a big mistake," he says.
  
  Monroe, Alder contends, will provide more bang for the buck. "Monroe is the best pass protector in the draft, and will be a fixture at left tackle for the next decade for whomever drafts him."


• At My Sports Rumors, Paul Raymond has climbed aboard the Stafford bandwagon. He says he doesn't agree with the pick, but asks, "[W]hat else are the Lions going to do?" Detroit needs a "complete makeover" and he concludes that picking a quarterback is a "mistake," but after their winless campaign, the Lions need to "make a statement and attempt to get some fans interested."


• Nevertheless, NFL Mock Draft Aces says Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry may be the Lions' No. 1 pick. Still, NFL Mock Draft Aces says the Lions' top needs are at QB, offensive line, middle linebacker, defensive line and defensive back and concedes that Stafford and Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith probably have the edge over Curry.

I gather, from what I've been reading, that the Lions are not likely to look for a replacement for Smith in the draft.

And, while most people seem to think a quarterback — probably Stafford — will be the Lions' first choice, the implied opinion is that Detroit feels it can get by with the defensive ends it has on hand — or perhaps trade for one.