Not only for the 4 interceptions by Cutler, but how about that fake punt? Wow.

You never thank a man name Lovie

To lift a Chevy Chase line, you never thank him, you just introduce yourself: "Hello Lovie, Bend Over."

(For those whose youth has been deprived by missing the Fletch movies, in the scene, Chase is locked in a cell with a giant tattooed ape of a man. He introduces himself, "Hi, I'm Fletch" at which the guy stands up intimidatingly and says, "Bend over!" To which Chase replies, "Bend over, eh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Bend". Or something along those lines...)

Or was is Ben Dover?

I really think the challenge on the fake punt was that was the first thing Lovie <snicker> could find to throw at his players. Then he had to come up with some reason to challenge.

Did Smith make the fake punt call or did the LS screw up?

I thought the LS made that call.

Either way, what a gift that was.

The LS made the audible apparently....that was NOT Lovie.

It looked like Wolfe didnt even know it was coming.

It's a horrible gaffe for many reasons...11 yards to go, in your own territory, defense playing REALLY well.

Note to self if I'm ever a head coach of a football team: don't give audible authority to a LONG SNAPPER!

Wolfe pointed to the right toward the sideline Matthews was trying to reach before the snap. Then, as he is looking around the LS pointed back at Wolfe just before he snapped the ball. I almost think he misread Wolfe and you could tell he was surprised to have the ball hit him in the stomach. It was good to see Swain stay heads up on the play and prevent a terrible decision from becoming a big play. As a guideline I wouldn't try that play unless you could pick up the 1st down with the penalty and your at least near or beyond the 50 yard line. What shocking lack of judgment made by a veteran. Maybe the lack of judgment from the refs was contagious, but it most likely originated from one Jay Cutler. Go Pack

If he snaps the ball when the thought entered his mind, he would have caught the Packers with 12 on the field. But the inexplicable part of the whole play ,is that even if he gets the penalty they still don't get a first down,and 11 yards is a pretty fair distance to expect to make on the fake.

Doubt you'll ever see him call that on his own ever again.

Yeah, but it's a free try for the 1st, the same reason a QB will just chuck it downfield if he thinks he has a free play. If they don't make it--oh, well, re-do the down and get the five yards. It's a good move if the Packers actually have 12 men, but they didn't and who knows why he thought they still did. Maybe he saw that Packer come in late and missed Matthews running off. Somehow, Lovie took the blame for it in the post-game news conference, but I think it was clearly the LS decision.

I am sure that the team is giving the LS the call. If not, they would have not done it.

That kind of play would work if there were under 5 yards to go for a first down tho. Even if we had 12 on the field at the snap the yardage for that kind of infraction wouldn't have given them a first down anyway. I have a sneaking suspicion that LS will not have that kind of freedom in the future.

I think the idea was "Ok, they have 12 on the field. Quick snap for the fake punt. If we get the first down, great, if not, take the 12 man penalty, move 5 yards closer and actually punt it." Logically, it seems like a no-lose situation. Of course, it requires the other team to actually have 12 men on the field, though

OTOH, if Swain doesn't make the tackle he probably gets the first down and perhaps a lot more.

I'd like to thank Al Harris. Bragging Rights!!! my fav player made a big play, but i suppose i should also be thanking jay for throwing him that pass.

Or the WR for being a complete p^ssy. Harris just took away the slant and the guy just stopped right there and let Harris have the ball. That's what I've been saying all offseason. Who is Cutler going to throw the ball to? Inexperienced WRs can make a QB look flat out terrible. All anybody remembers is Cutler throwing it right to a WR. Not to make excuses for Cutler but the reason Harris was right there is because the WR gave Harris a clear path to the ball. He didn't fight for it at all. The guy looked like he didn't even belong in the NFL. Al Harris looked like a man playing among boys there. The Chicago WRs looked flat out silly in that game. Sure they burned us a few times with their speed but for the most part they got dominated at simple fundamental football. Cutler can throw for as many yards as he wants as long he ends up turning over the ball to us over and over again. I saw this in Denver though. My Dad and I would be baffled about the Broncos routinely getting 400+ yards yet many times failing to score 20 points. If you really look at the stats last year. Denver had the #2 ranked offense yet was #16 in points scored. I really don't know how that team managed to finish with a 8-8 record. Then again they did get a complete gift from the officials against SD at home. They also got extremely lucky the next week against the Saints. That team didn't deserve to win more than 4 games last year.

I think Swain's play was absolutely huge. Other than him, nothing was between Wolfe and a first down if not much more.

And you just have to love the kid. Ruvell Martin was...I mean is...a great guy and I feel bad to see him go, but Swain seems like he's the kind of guy fans can really latch on to. Always willing to do an interview, always seems genuine, maximum effort guy, etc.

If he [the LS] snaps the ball when the thought enters his mind, he risks a fumble and if he's wrong about the 12 men, that's even worse.

In one of the video clips, viewed from the Bear backfield, it certainly struck me that the guy who got the ball was surprised - he jumps up a fraction and brings his feet together suddenly. Still, one has to credit his reaction time, because he got moving PDQ.


That's right, that's right!! LOL... I forgot. Thanks for the reminder! Yeah, "Hi Ben..." Oh man, that really brought it back, I'm sitting here laughing at that scene all over again.

Not to take anything away from Swain, because I agree with you, but there was someone else in on that tackle a fraction after Swain. It's unlikely the guy would have made the 11 yards from a plunge up the middle like that.

Aside from the obviousness that no one is going to call a fake punt in that particular situation, I thought the kind of run it was made it doubly obvious that it wasn't planned.

Speaking of which, remember when the Packers were considering a fake punt, but then called it off - except the punter didn't get the message and ran it anyway? And made it to boot!? Was that in '07? I think so. Please remind me of that punter's name - I kind of liked having him around because he could also run.

A graduate of Bill Schoeder's Receivers Camp?

I like the way Mannelly manned up to his fake punt error. Took full responsibility and called it 'a dumb play on his part' that he wouldn't have done if he saw the 12th guy go off the field. Props to him for owning up.

When he was shown on the sideline shortly after the play, he was making animated gestures with his arm...point his index finger out with his arm outstretched...saying something. Replays showed Garrett pointing his finger with arm extended prior to the snap. I would interpret this to mean...maybe...that Mannelley was saying on the sideline that Garrett indicated 12 on the field (by pointing)...and so he snapped the ball.

C'mon, the LS isn't surveying the opponent's backfield milli-seconds prior to snapping the ball to see if he's off the field, he's focused on getting a good snap off. In addition, he's getting his read from another player (in this case Garrett) as to whether the 12th guy got off the field or not.

I think Garrett indicated "hey, 12! (by his own pointing)" but probably was too slow (or didn't) say "never mind, he's off the field now" to Mannelly. Instead, Mannelly pointed to Garrett (perhaps confirming a short snap coming?) and with no contra-indicator, Mannelly snapped it to Garrett. Garrett completely missed this piece of the communication - confirmed by the ball hitting him unawares in the midsection.

Mannelly never said this, just my interpretations. But my guess would be that Garrett also blew it, not Mannelly alone. Communication is a 2-way street!

Wasn't that Jon Ryan?

Yes, thank you! Right before Stock convinced everybody to dump Ryan for Derrick Frost. I was sorry to see him go, albeit that he had had some punting difficulties. I found this little wiki excerpt:

In January 2006 he signed a contract with the NFL's Green Bay Packers. He is only the third Saskatchewan native to make it to the NFL (the other two being Arnie Weinmeister and Rueben Mayes).

During training camp in 2006 he found out his father, Bob, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he persevered through a tough season, which included punting in a game two days after his father's death. His teammates voted him as the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 2006 for his display of courage and sportsmanship, and for being an inspiration in the locker room.

On September 30, 2007 against the Minnesota Vikings he became the first Packers punter to rush for a first down since David Beverly did so against the Houston Oilers on December 14, 1980. His rush attempt that resulted in a gain of 7 yards came on a fake punt that was originally intended to be a pass, however, he did not hear the coaches call it off at the last minute. He ran with the ball when he realized he had no one to throw to and ran into several of his blockers in the process because they did not know he was running with the ball.

On December 23, 2007 Ryan had two of his punts blocked by the Chicago Bears, including one that was returned for a touchdown. He also had a nine yard punt during the game and bobbled a snap on another that lead to a turnover on downs. Before this, the Packers went 929 punts without a blocked punt, dating back to September 11, 1995.

On December 30, 2007 during a 34-13 victory over the Detroit Lions, Ryan kicked a 72-yard punt in the fourth quarter, the longest punt at Lambeau Field since 1965. The punt tied for the longest in franchise history - set by Sean Landeta September 20, 1998 at Cincinnati.

During the 2007 season, Ryan posted a net average of 37.6 yards, 12th in the NFL and the finest in Green Bay since 1969. His gross mark of 44.4 was the fourth-best in club history.

Ryan was released by the Packers on September 1, 2008, a move that was considered by many Packer fans to be a mistake and bewildering as Ryan boasted the best punting statistics the team had seen in years.

...and sadly (for us):

Following Week 1 of the 2008 regular season, Ryan signed with the Seattle Seahawks on September 9. In Week 8 against the San Francisco 49er's, he kicked a 63 yd punt, a 60 yd punt and a 55 yd punt. He had a great 2008 season and finished with 78 punts averaging 45.6 yards.

Props also to Matthews for getting his butt off the field in a dead sprint on that punt. It seems like a small thing, but how many times has Peyton Manning gotten himself a free play because a defender took his sweet time getting to the sideline?