Sutton Says: Happy Homecoming For Katula

It’s not only a big night for the Packers but for Ravens longsnapper Matt Katula. He’s facing his childhood team for the first time at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. Katula is a Brookfield native who went to high school at Catholic Memorial. After four successful seasons playing ball for the Wisconsin Badgers…Katula was signed by the Baltimore Ravens in 2005 and has been their longsnapper ever since.

More than 50 of Katula’s family and friends…including his mom and dad who still live in Brookfield…are at tonight’s game in Green Bay. Plus, Katula’s younger brother Sam…who plays college basketball at UW-Parkside…will get the chance to see his brother play professional football live for the first time. Matt Katula has been to only one other Packers game before as a fan. And tonight he gets to run onto the field as a player.

I just think it’s wonderful that a hometown athlete has made it big in the NFL. And even though he’s not a household name because of the position he plays…it’s great to see him have a lot of success in the NFL.

Katula is a lifelong Packers fan and that fact that he’s getting to play at Lambeau Field tonight…even though it’s on the opposing team…is a memory I’m sure he and his family will never forget.

Needles Notes: Packers Lead NFL In Total Defense, And Other Random Facts

I could write about Notre Dame firing football coach Charlie Weis, but everyone knew that was coming. I could write about Tiger Woods withdrawing from his own golf tournament this upcoming weekend, citing injuries from a car crash near his Florida home early Friday, but I would have to bite my tongue and not make any jokes. Besides, everyone in the free world is chiming in about Tiger.

 

Instead, I will write about four interesting facts I came upon today, involving the Packers, the Bucks, NFL wide receivers and Major League Baseball salaries.

 

Which team leads the NFL in total defense? That would be your Green Bay Packers, who have allowed an average of 281.5 yards per game through 11 games. That number has certainly been helped by playing four games against the Lions, Browns and Rams, who have combined to win four out of 33 games this season. However, that defensive ranking will certainly be tested in the final five games, playing without former Pro Bowl players Aaron Kampman and Al Harris.

 

Which injured player returns to the Bucks lineup Monday against the Bulls? If you guessed Michael Redd or Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, you are wrong. The answer is Andrew Bogut, who was supposed to be sidelined for two-to-four weeks with a leg injury, but returns to the court in less than two weeks. A very welcome sight for a Bucks team that has lost their last four games.

 

We all know Jerry Rice is the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards, but who ranks second? If you guessed Tim Brown, Chris Carter, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss or Marvin Harrison, you are wrong. The answer is Isaac Bruce, now a backup with the 49ers, who has 15,208 receiving yards in his career. He’s some 7,000 yards behind Rice, but has moved past Brown for second place. I know trivia pretty well, but Isaac Bruce would have been about eighth on my list of guesses.

 

And finally, which position had the highest average salary in major league baseball in 2009? If you answered starting pitcher or shortstop, you are wrong. First basemen averaged $7,385,135 in 2009, slightly ahead of designated hitters. Starting pitchers ranked fourth, shortstops were sixth, and relief pitchers bring up the rear with an average salary of “only” $1,782,084.

Needles Notes: Almost Worst To First For Marquette

Buzz Williams was wrong, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind admitting that. During an interview Wednesday in Orlando at Marquette’s practice before the start of the Old Spice Classic, Williams said his Marquette squad was the worst team in the tournament.

Buzz never worked under Lou Holtz, the master of downplaying his own team’s abilities, but he does like to “sandbag” a bit when talking about his team, so I doubt he really felt Marquette was the worst team in the tournament.

However, his squad came into this season receiving very little national respect after losing three of the top eight scorers in school history (Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews), so there may have been an element of truth in Buzz’s statement. Well, Marquette certainly opened some eyes with their play in the Old Spice Classic, knocking off a highly-regarded Xavier team in the opening round, then dominating 15th-ranked Michigan in the semifinals. Sunday night, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a 17 point lead against Florida State in the championship game, and that’s when their Achilles heel was exposed.

They finally ran out of gas against a much taller and deeper team, losing 57-56. In that championship game, Lazar Hayward, Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom combined for 48 of Marquette’s 56 points, which means the rest of the team combined for a total of eight points.

The average height of the Golden Eagles six leading scorers is 6 feet 2 inches tall, which means they will struggle against taller, physical teams in the Big East conference.

However, Marquette’s strong showing against quality competition in Orlando proved they were not the worst team in the tournament; they aren’t the worst team in the Big East; and they will have a legitimate chance to play in the NCAA tournament, as long as they can avoid injuries to their top six players.

Needles Notes: Hutson Was Not In Packers’ First Class

While doing some research on the Packers Hall of Fame, I came upon a startling fact: Don Hutson was not among the first class of inductees into that hall in 1970.

 

Don Hutson was considered the greatest player in Packers history (at least until Brett Favre came along), and was a member of the first class of inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, but he wasn’t inducted to the Packers Hall of Fame until 1972?

 

Here’s the men who were inducted ahead of Hutson in 1970: Bernard “Boob” Darling, Curly Lambeau, Lavvie Dilweg, Verne Lewellen, Jug Earp, Johnny (Blood) McNally, Call Hubbard and Mike Michalske.

 

Lambeau, McNally and Hubbard were also members of the first class inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963, and Michalske was inducted one year later. Darling, Dilweg, Lewellen and Earp are not members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but were given the honor of entering the Packers hall before Hutson? Maybe guilt from that oversight is part of the reason why the Packers named their indoor training facility after Hutson when it opened in 1994.

 

Don Hutson was the first star wide receiver in NFL history. When he retired in 1945, he held every important NFL receiving record, and he still holds several NFL scoring and receiving records, more than 60 years after he retired.

Needles Notes: Packers To Induct Mark Chmura Into Hall Of Fame

The Packers will induct three new members to their Hall of Fame next July. Mark Chmura, a three-time Pro Bowl player for the Packers in the 1990s, has been elected, along with Marv Fleming, a tight end who played on three championship teams in seven seasons in Green Bay, and Greg Koch, an offensive lineman who playedfor Green Bay from 1977-85.

 

Chmura is clearly the headliner of this group. One of Brett Favre’s close friends and favorite targets in the 1990s, Chmura was one of the top tight ends in the NFL during his career, but a neck injury ended his career prematurely, and a much-publicized trial tarnished his image, even though he was acquitted on all charges. Chmura has worked hard to repair his reputation, and along with other ventures, he has hosted a radio show each Sunday morning on 540 ESPN in Milwaukee since 2005.

 

I interviewed Chmura regularly during his playing career and have gotten to know him better over the last few years. The image most people have is not at all consistent with the man I know, and this honor is overdue, coming 10 years after his career ended.

 

Only 21 players in the history of the Packers have been selected to more Pro Bowls than “Chewy.” Two (Favre and Ahman Green) are still active, and not eligible for induction yet; 14 of those players were elected to the hall within nine years of the end of their career; four players finished their careers more than a decade before the Packers Hall of Fame opened in 1970; and only Bill Forrester (11 years) took longer to get into the hall, and his career ended seven years before the hall opened. In other words, Chmura should have been inducted a few years ago.

 

Take away the off-the-field issues, and you could argue that he should have gone in before former teammates Robert Brooks, Gilbert Brown, Frank Winters, Antonio Freeman, and Dorsey Levens. No matter what your opinion of him is, Mark Chmura is deserving of this honor and I congratulate him, and I congratulate the Packers for finally embracing him back into the “family.”

Needles Notes: Injuries Overshadow Victory

Here we go again. The Packers win, and the fans are complaining.

Green Bay hung on for a 30-24 victory over San Francisco Sunday, running their record against the 49ers since 1995 to 12-and-1, and keeping the Pack near the front of the pack of wild card contenders.

However, Green Bay completely dominated the first half before letting their foot off the gas in the second half, which has some fans howling. However, this is not like the Detroit game earlier this season, when Green Bay pulled out a win that was asthetically un-pleasing against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

The 49ers have a very good defense, and when they take the shackles off their passing game, they can post the kind of numbers they put up in the second half against Green Bay.

Lets look at some of those first half numbers:

Total yards: Green Bay 362, San Francisco 57.

First downs: Green Bay 17, San Francisco 1.

Time of possession: Green Bay 22:32, San Francisco 7:28.

Score: Green Bay 23, San Francisco 3.

That’s complete domination, and yes, it would have been nice for them to remain on a pace to gain over 700 yards for the game.

But teams do make halftime adjustments, and give the 49ers some credit for that. However, the bottom line is that the Packers made some plays late in the game, keeping the ball for the final 5:50 when they were clinging to a six point lead.

This would not be a repeat of the collapse at Tampa Bay two weeks ago. Instead of complaining about the way they won, worry about how the Packers defense will fare without a pair of Pro Bowl players, probably for the rest of the season.

Brad Biggs of the nationalfootballpost.com reports Packers cornerback Al Harris will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, according to league sources. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports linebacker Aaron Kampman has a torn ACL and will also miss the remainder of the season. The Packers will have to count on untested rookies Brandon Underwood at cornerback and Brad Jones at linebacker.

Needles Notes: 2nd Round Picks In NFL Draft Nothing To Ignore

Ted Thompson was in charge of the last five drafts for the Packers. His first round picks have graded out pretty well, with Aaron Rodgers, A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews starting, and B.J. Raji being a key reserve in this, his rookie season. Only Justin Harrell can be considered a bust, but he will get another chance.

 

Thompson has also plucked a number of key players from the mid-to-late rounds of the draft, such as Brady Poppinga, Jason Spitz, Will Blackmon, Johnny Jolly, James Jones, Allen Barbe, Korey Hall, Desmond Bishop, Mason Crosby, Jermichael Finley, Josh Sitton, T. J. Lang, and Brad Jones.

 

However, the most-overlooked round of the draft, in my opinion, is the second round. Plenty of Hall of Famers and Pro Bowlers were selected in the second round (for example, Green Bay selected Jim Taylor, Forrest Gregg, LeRoy Butler and Darren Sharper in the second round).

 

These are the players Thompson has selected in the second round:

 

2005: Nick Collins (2009 Pro Bowl)
2005: Terrence Murphy (out of the league due to injury)
2006: Daryn Colledge (starter)
2006: Greg Jennings (starter)
2007: Brandon Jackson (key reserve)
2008: Jordy Nelson (key reserve)
2008: Brian Brohm (Buffalo)
2008: Pat Lee (reserve)

 

Of that group, only Brohm and Lee can be considered busts, and the Packers have not given up on Lee yet. However, they have given up on Brohm.

 

On Thursday, the Buffalo Bills signed Brohm off the Packers practice squad after he turned down an offer from Green Bay to be activated to the 53-man roster.

 

Brohm was the 2003 national high school player of the year, and before his senior season of college at Louisville, he was considered by some as a candidate to be a top-5 pick in the 2008 NFL draft. But despite a sterling college career, Brohm never grasped what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, and was beaten out for the backup job as a rookie by seventh round draft pick Matt Flynn.

 

Maybe he will turn his career around in Buffalo, but it’s rare that a team would give up on a second round pick after just one season, especially a quarterback. it just goes to show what an inexact science scouting players is.

Needles Notes: Packers Dominate 49ers In NFC

MILWAUKEE — Since the start of the 1995 season, the Packers have dominated the 49ers like no other NFC team except the Redskins, which is timely because the Packers host the 49ers Sunday in a game filled with playoff implications.

 

Some might find that hard to believe, because the 49ers were the “gold standard” in the NFC from 1981 to 1994, but the Packers dominance of the series coincided with the 49ers fall from prominence.

 

Starting with a playoff game in San Francisco in January of 1996, Green Bay has won 11 of the 12 meetings; they are 6-0 in Green Bay, 5-1 in San Francisco, 7-0 in the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs (the only loss was in January of 1999 in what turned out to be the final games for Mike Holmgren and Reggie White with the Packers).

 

Here’s Green Bay’s records against their current NFC opponents since the start of the 1995 season:

 

Arizona (3-1)
Atlanta (3-3)
Carolina (7-4)
Chicago (20-9)
Dallas (3-6)
Detroit (22-7)
Minnesota (17-14)
New Orleans (2-3)
New York Giants (4-2)
Philadelphia (4-6)
St. Louis (5-4)
San Francisco (11-1)
Seattle (6-2)
Tampa Bay (11-9)
Washington (4-0)

 

Right now, Green Bay is tied for the fifth best record in the NFC at 5-4, while San Francisco is tied for the ninth best record at 4-5.

Needles Notes: Incredible Weekend For Wisconsin Sports

What a weekend for Wisconsin sports. The Badgers rip apart Michigan in a way I have never witnessed, winning 45-24 at Camp Randall Stadium on senior day. Four touchdown passes from Scott Tolzien leading an offense that was unstoppable in the second half. I know this is not your father’s Michigan, but anytime you can kick the Wolverines when they’re down, you do it, and they did it. Wisconsin is a longshot to win a share of their first Big Ten title since 1999 (they would have to win at Northwestern while Ohio State loses to Michigan), but Bucky moved a step closer to a New Year’s Day bowl game.

 

How do you top that? How about 55 points in three quarters by Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings. The favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year did not score in the first quarter, but dropped 29 points on the Warriors in the third quarter, which has to be a Bucks record. This we do know: The 55 points were the most ever by a Bucks rookie (breaking the record of 51 set by Lew Alcindor in 1970), the most by an NBA rookie since Earl “The Pearl” Monroe scored 56 for the Bullets in 1968, and just two points shy of the Bucks record of 57, set by Michael Redd in 2006. By the way, the Bucks won the game 129-125 to remain in first place in the NBA Central Division.

 

Then on Sunday, with their back against the proverbial wall, with fans screaming for the scalps of Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson, the Packers nearly pitched their second shutout of the season. A masterful defensive performance against the Cowboys: five sacks, three turnovers forced, and a 17-7 victory over the NFC East leaders. Winning a game they absolutely had to have is one thing; doing it one week after a humiliating loss to the lowly Buccaneers is another. Allowing just seven points after giving up 76 in the previous two games provides a sliver of hope for a playoff berth, and it was the perfect ending to a marvelous sports weekend in Wisconsin.

Needles Notes: Aging Rock ‘N Rollers Taking Center Stage At Super Bowl

Do you think the NFL is still stinging from Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004?

 

The league has gone out of its way to make sure there would not be a repeat during any Super Bowl halftime shows since then, featuring a “who’s who” of finely aged, rock and roll Hall of Famers during the marquee entertainment event.

 

Besides enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, what else do these entertainers have in common? Each performer (or the lead singer of the band) was born before the Super Bowl era began.

 

• 2005, Paul McCartney (born in 1942)
• 2006, The Rolling Stones (lead singer Mick Jagger, born in 1943)
• 2007, Prince (born in 1958)
• 2008, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (lead singer Tom Petty, born in 1950)
• 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (lead singer Bruce Springsteen, born in 1949)

 

Now, the halftime performer for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami has been announced. Who is it? Why, it’s “The Who,” featuring 65-year-old lead singer Roger Daltrey.

 

Who is on deck for 2011? My guess is the halftime performer will come from this group: Billy Joel, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys or Bob Dylan.

 

All of them seem to fit the “mold” (pun intended).