Bleacher Report - Articles by Matt Strenz

Rodgers/Packers Looked Good in Week One

Matt Strenz — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:02:37 -0400

So Aaron Rodgers finally put behind him the biggest criticism every announcer in the NFL has used. He has started his first NFL game.

Not only did he start the game, he finished it unscathed and won. This is more than many expected and load off the backs of Packers fans across the nation.

Watching the game you got the feeling that every person on the field and in the stadium was willing him to succeed. Whether it was Greg Jennings catching the long ball, Corey Hall making sure he didn't drop that touchdown pass, or even the Vikings D giving him another shot at the end zone.

Even the announcers marveled at how Favre-esque the play was. The only thing I can really say I'd like to have seen him do different is to make a better Lambeau Leap when he was done.

One criticism that I do have after watching this game is with the coaching. Whether it was running the ball on first and 20, letting the clock run down at the half instead of making a play for the end zone, or the penalties (yes I put the blame on that squarely on the coaching), you got the idea that the coaches spent more of the preseason working with public relations than their players and game plan.

I hope to see as the season progresses that these are simply mistakes carried over from prior mistakes (see Favre) and not an indication of ones they have yet to make.

One thing that I have to admit, and it kills me to do so, is that I should have started Rodgers in my fantasy instead of Favre.

Packers GM Ted Thompson's Guilt Written on Face After Brett Favre Fiasco

Matt Strenz — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:59:22 -0400

The Green Bay Packers management held a press conference today to close the book on the entire Brett Favre saga. You needed only watch the body language of GM Ted Thompson to see him as the guilty party in all of this.

He is moving, scratching, etc., just as you'd expect a 5-year-old with a candy bar hidden in his pocket to act as you drill them in the grocery store on whether they stole it. He knows he has made some grave mistakes in this process, yet Tweedledee and Tweedledum on his left and right can't help but praise the guy.

You can manipulate words, but you can't deny the body language.

Packers Fans Should Thank Favre For Final Gift As a Packer

Matt Strenz — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:06:54 -0400

Brett Favre in his last moments as a Packer has given us a gift greater almost than his 16 years of domination as a quarterback in the NFL: He has shown us that the management is due for a change.

Whether you agree that he should have stayed retired or not, you should be able to agree that this whole thing could of and should have been handled differently. Whenever football coaches and GMs start sounding like politicians, I get a little worried.

I've been a Packers fan, as were my father and grandfather, and from the way Favre was treated to the way the fans were turned against him by management, I am finding it very hard to remain a true fan. I already have my Rodgers jersey and am ready to wear it proudly every Sunday, Saturday or Thursday, but the more I think about it the more I have to be honest with myself and realize the passion that was once there is no longer.

It's not hard for me to believe Favre when he says that things are beyond repair after the last few weeks. They may be for me as a fan let alone as a player.