I've had a lot on my mind lately. So much in fact that I am taking a break from it and am going to get away from it all for a little bit. So, you may ask, what are you going to do with this new found time? Well I'm glad you asked. I am going to preview the upcoming NFL season division by division, team by team. I'll tell you what's good, what's bad, and how each team will finish. So without further adieu.........
NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers -- 10-6
The Packers are a team that is very much under the radar this year. The only time that they are going to get super media coverage is when Brett Favre and the Vikings come to town, which will be the ultimate in "player vs. former team" matchups.
What's good: Aaron Rodgers. The Packers QB busted out in a big way in his first season as a starter. He did everything right and has played incredibly well in the preseason. He just might establish himself as the best QB in the NFC this season.
What's bad: The running game. Ryan Grant came out of nowhere two years ago to help lead the Packers to the NFC championship game. Actually, the running game isn't exactly bad, it's just a question mark. Grant needs to return to his 1300 yard form this season so that there isn't so much pressure on Aaron Rodgers.
What to watch: The defense. The Packers switch to the 3-4 scheme of new coordinator Dom Capers has been much publicized, including the transition of Pro Bowler Aaron Kampman from defensive end to linebacker. If that transition goes as planned the Packers defense should be a solid unit.
2. Minnesota Vikings -- 10-6
Obviously the story in Minnesota this season is Brett Favre and whether he is the missing piece to the puzzle. While my childhood hero is a big name and will sell thousands of tickets and jerseys I'm not convinced that he is a better option than Sage Rosenfels or Tavaris Jackson. More on that shortly.
What's good: The running game. Adrian Peterson is the NFL's best running back and Chester Taylor is a solid spell back. The offensive line is also good and that running game will be hard to stop.
What's bad: The team chemistry. The Favre saga has divided the Vikings lockerroom. They are going to all have to get on the same page if this is going to work. If Favre comes out and throws three picks in the first game the Vikings won't stand a chance this season.
What to watch: The Favre saga. Two years ago Brett Favre put in one of the hardest offseasons of work in his career. The result? One of his best seasons, a 13-3 record, and a trip to the NFC title game. Last year he had no offseason workouts, threw as many INTs as he did TDs and flopped in December. This year he got an even later start. You tell me what's going to happen.
3. Chicago Bears -- 9-7
The most interseting thing the Bears did this offseason was make a blockbuster trade for the starry Jay Cutler. The last time the Bears had a QB witht his clout was Sid Luckman. That was also in the 1940s.
What's good: Matt Forte. The Bears running back put together an outstanding rookie season last year. I think he's only going to get better.
What's bad: The receivers. Quick, name a receiver for the Bears. That's what I thought.
What to watch: Who is Jay Cutler going to throw to? Devin Hester? Well yeah, but Hester is not exactly Randy Moss. I'd expect tight end Greg Olsen to get the majority of Cutlers passes thrown his way.
4. Detroit Lions -- 3-13
The Lions had the best worst season in NFL history last year going 0-16. They can only go up from here. And they will.
What's good: Hope. After a winless season last year, hope is about all the Lions have. Kevin Smith is a pretty good running back and Calvin Johnson is a stud at receiver. After that there's not much good to talk about. So the fact that the Lions can't get any worse has to be a good thing right?
What's bad: Everything.
What to watch: Matthew Stafford. The first overall pick from Georgia will likely be starting sooner rather than later. I would expect him to be starting by midseason. It'll be interesting to see how much he develops in his rookie year.
NFC South
1. Atlanta Falcons -- 11-5
The Falcons had a surprising season last year. Michael Turner proved to be a beast at running back and then rookie Matt Ryan was proficient in the offense. Roddy White also had a coming out party (have to give a shout out to my fellow UAB Blazer).
What's good: The atmosphere. Before last season the Falcons were among the NFL's laughing stock. Michael Vick left the franchise in shambles. Now after last season they have a winning attitude, a model citizen to lead the team at QB, and a real chance to do some damage in the NFC this year.
What's bad: The pass defense. I can only name one member of the Falcons secondary, that being Arkansas alum Chris Houston. And he's not really a lock down corner.
What to watch: Tony Gonzalez. The all pro tight end finally got his wish and got out of Kansas City to play for a playoff contender. He provides a safety net for Matt Ryan and should make an already solid offense that much better.
2. New Orleans Saints -- 10-6
The Saints have what is maybe the most prolific passing game in the NFL. If Drew Brees had Patriots-like receivers then there is no doubt in my mind he would shatter all of Tom Brady's records. This pick may surprise some people, but I'll tell you why it will happen shortly.
What's good: The passing game. The Saints have the NFC's best passer in Drew Brees. Brees flirted with Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record last year, mainly because they couldn't run the ball. Then again neither could Marino's Dolphins teams.
What's bad: The defense. Why did the Saints passing game put up such great numbers last year? Because they were always playing from behind.
What to watch: History. Since 2002 the team that finished last in the NFC South has made the playoffs the next year. The Falcons did it last year. The Saints will do it this year. Why? Just because.
3. Carolina Panthers -- 9-7
The Panthers were one of the NFC's best teams a year ago as DeAngelo Williams and then rookie Jonathan Stewart provided a two headed monster in the backfield.
What's good: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Arguably the best running back duo in the NFL Williams and Stewart provide constant headaches for defensive coordinators.
What's bad: Inconsistency. Jake Delhomme is usually really good or really bad. The Panthers need him to be really good if they want to succeed. He'll be wishy washy again and that will hurt the Panthers.
What to watch: Jon Fox. The Panthers coach has gotten close several times but has never been able to get to the top. If he can't do it this year his seat might get much hotter.
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 6-10
The Bucs aren't really a threat to anybody this year. The defense is really their only strength.
What's good: Ronde Barber. The Bucs cornerback has been a staple of the franchise for more than a decade. He'll be good again this year.
What's bad: The wideouts. They're top two guys are Michael Clayton and Maurice Stovall. The former is a George Clooney film and the latter sounds like some kind of oven cleaner.
What to watch: The running backs. They have three pretty good ones in Cadillac Williams, Ernest Graham, and newly acquired Derrick Ward. Those guys should be able to keep thim in the game. On another completely random note, when will see rookie QB Josh Freeman? Probably next year.
NFC East
1. Philadelphia Eagles -- 11-5
Last year the Eagles came out of nowhere to reach the NFC Championship game. This year they are considered among many to be the favorites to reach the Super Bowl.
What's good: Speed. Wide receivers Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are two of the fastest in the game and are great after the catch. Throw Michael Vick into the mix and speed becomes a super strength of the Eagles.
What's bad: No go to guy. The Eagles have some good wideouts but they are all speedy and small. They lack a bigger possession receiver and they probably need one.
What to watch: Michael Vick. This is a no-brainer. If Vick comes out and is the Vick of old then the Eagles will be a force to be reckoned with. If he doesn't have the burst he used to then he won't be much help. He won't hurt them, but he won't help them either.
2. Dallas Cowboys -- 10-6
Last season Dallas flopped down the stretch. The Roy Williams trade didn't do what it was intended to do, Tony Romo missed a month, and Dallas missed the playoffs.
What's good: Tony Romo. Romo has alot of critics but I am not one of them. I think that he is going to be exponentially better this season because he doesn't have to be the pacifier in Terrell Owens's mouth.
What's bad: The wideouts. While TO whined alot he was the best wide receiver the 'Boys had. They don't need TO but they need another receiver who plays like him.
What to watch: Less is more. Like I said before Tony Romo should be much more relaxed this season. He should be able to scan the entire field and throw it to whoever is open now that he doesn't have to try to please TO.
3. New York Giants -- 8-8
The Giants were great last year. Then Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg.
What's good: The defensive line. Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck serve as two of the best DEs in the game. With Osi back and healthy the Giants pass rush will be brutal for opposing tackles.
What's bad: Pass catchers. Who on earth is Eli Manning going to throw the ball to? The Giants WR corps is made up of 6 number three receivers. Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks, David Tyree, Sinorice Moss, Dominik Hixon. How many of those guys do you want on your fantasy team?
What to watch: Eli Manning. How good is he without Plaxico Burress? We will find out.
4. Washington Redskins -- 6-10
The Redskins are always one of those teams that everybody thinks is going to do well but then flops. Last year they started 6-2. Then they missed the playoffs.
What's good: Chris Cooley. Cooley is probably the Redskins' best weapon. He can lineup in a variety of places and do a variety of things.
What's bad: Jason Campbell. Don't get me wrong, I love Jason Campbell and what he did for my Auburn Tigers in 2004, but he has not lived up to the hype since coming to the NFL. You know he was drafted one pick behind Aaron Rodgers? He has not lived up to his first round billing.
What to watch.: Jason Campbell. If he doesn't play well this year the Redskins may start looking for another QB.
NFC West
1. Seattle Seahawks -- 9-7
I know you're thinking "WHAT?! How can he not pick the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald?" Several reasons I like the 'Hawks. 1) Matt Hasselbeck is healthy; 2) T.J. Houshmanzadeh has arrived; 3) Jim Mora Jr. has something to prove; 4) The defense is good; 5) Nice trio of running backs [Julius Jones, TJ Duckett, Edgerrin James]; 6) Super Bowl losers rarely make the playoffs the following season.
What's good: Matt Hasselbeck. Last season was an injury laden one for Matt Hasselbeck. This year he is healthy and has a brand new Pro Bowl receiver to throw to in T.J. Housmanzadeh.
What's bad: Mediocrity. Despite the fact that I am picking Seattle to do well, I still think they will be a very mediocre team. They will benefit more from being in a weak division than they actually will being a good football team.
What to watch: John Carlson. The Seahawks' tight end could bust out in a big way this year.
2. Arizona Cardinals -- 9-7
The Cards shocked the world by making it to the Super Bowl last season and ALMOST upsetting the Steelers.
What's good: Wide Receivers. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston all had 1000 yards receiving last year.
What's bad: History. Since 2000 only ONE team that has lost the Super Bowl has made the playoffs the next year, that being the Seattle Seahawks. I predict that something will happen to keep the Cards out. Someone will get hurt, the Madden curse will kick in on Fitz, somthing is going to happen.
What to watch: History. See "What's bad"
3. San Francisco 49ers -- 7-9
The 49ers made news last season by firing Mike Nolan and going with Mike Singletary as coach. Singletary is back this year and is looking to turn things around.
What's good: Coaching. Singletary did well last year handling his quarterbacks and the seemingly whiney Vernon Davis. I'd look for San Fran to be decent in Singletary's first full year.
What's bad: Quarterback. Shaun Hill is going to be the starter. He's not good but he's better than former first overall pick Alex Smith.
What to watch: Michael Crabtree. Crabtree has been holding out during training camp because his cousin of all people told him to. Man up and get with the game Crabtree. You've got talent but you are not God's gift to the world. Why do wide receivers have to be such divas?
4. St. Louis Rams -- 4-12
How bad are the Rams? So bad that I almost forgot to include them in this preview?
What's good: Steven Jackson. He's the only weapon they have.
What's bad: Everything else.
What to watch: Second year players. Defensive end Chris Long disappointed his rookie season and WR Donnie Avery had flashes of greatness. How will they develop?
To summarize --
NFC North: Packers, Vikings, Bears, Lions
NFC South: Falcons, Saints, Panthers, Bucs
NFC East: Eagles, Cowboys, Giants, Redskins
NFC West: Seahawks, Cardinals, 49ers, Rams
Who's in: Packers, Falcons, Eagles, Seahawks, Vikings, Saints
Tune in next time for the AFC preview.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Perspective from a Packfan
By this point in time the fact that Brett Favre has joined the Minnesota Vikings is old news. However, being a huge Favre fan and an even bigger Packers fan I would be amiss if I didn’t address this situation. This is obviously a conflict of interest for me. Brett Favre is my hero. He has been ever since I was a little kid. Last summer when he and the Packers filed for divorce I had mixed feelings. I still loved him but I didn’t really want him back. I wanted him to stay retired. Management told him they wanted him back right after he threw that fateful interception in overtime of the NFC Championship game against the Giants; the same interception that lead to the greatest upset in Super Bowl history. But he didn’t want to come back. He opted to retire so the Packers moved on with Aaron Rodgers who appears to be a budding superstar.
To be quite honest though I don’t think Packers GM Ted Thompson really handled the Favre debacle in the best way possible. Thompson’s theory on Brett Favre last off-season appeared to be “he’s not good enough to play for us, but is too good to play for a division rival.” Personally I think that Thompson should have had the gumption to trade Favre to Minnesota last off-season. He should have had enough confidence in the team that he assembled himself to let Favre go to the Vikings without fear that he would lose to them. Rather, he traded Favre to the Jets for a conditional draft pick that the Packers would eventually use to trade back into the first round and draft linebacker Clay Matthews Jr.; but I digress. The trade that put Favre in a different shade of green even included a clause stating that the Jets would give the Packers two first round draft picks if they turned around and traded Favre to a division rival of the Packers. The point is that Ted Thompson was terrified that Favre would terrorize the Packers if traded to a team on the Packers schedule. The whole thing made both Favre and Thompson look foolish.
Meanwhile Favre had a solid start with the Jets, leading them to an 8-3 record, including setting a career mark for touchdown passes in a game (6) against the Arizona Cardinals. However, Favre struggled mightily over the last five games of the season going 1-4, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, and missing the playoffs.
In Green Bay Aaron Rodgers was making Ted Thompson look smart. He out-Favred Favre as he started all 16 games, played through the pain of a separated shoulder, and threw more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Favre. However the Packers stout defense of the season before fell apart and Green Bay finished with a 6-10 record. So who won the battle of egos between Favre and Thompson? Aaron Rodgers, that’s who.
So now Favre is back again after another summer of “Will he or won’t he?” It was a summer in which Favre retired, thought about coming out of retirement, decided to stay retired, and then came back again. The majority of the sporting world thinks that Favre has forever tarnished his legacy with his indecisiveness and wishy-washiness. Fans grew weary of the continuous coverage of the Favre saga. I’m not sure why he came back, but I there are several plausible theories.
Theory One: He wants revenge on the Packers.
I think that this is only part of the reason why he came back. I am of the belief that the only member of the Packers organization against which Favre harbors some type of resentment is Thompson. I think that there is not a player on the Packers roster that Favre dislikes. I still think that Favre has an enormous amount of respect and admiration for the Packers and their fans. So does he want to stick it to Ted Thompson a little bit? Probably. But I don’t think that’s his main motivation for coming back.
Theory Two: He doesn’t want to go out the way he did.
Again, this is probably only part of the reason. I think that part of the reason he came back last year was because of the interception he threw against the Giants even though he denied that was the case. I also think that he didn’t like retiring after a collapse of historic proportion last season. I remember watching his final plays of last season against the Miami Dolphins as he threw around the ball just trying to make something happen with lateral after lateral. It was actually semi-pathetic. I think that he would like to leave the football field itself with some dignity even if he’s lost all of it off the field.
Theory Three: He wants to win another Super Bowl.
This is a big reason why he wanted to come back. He wanted to play for Minnesota last season because he thought they had a chance to go all the way and all they needed was a quarterback. If he really believed that he could win a championship with the Jets he’s lying. The Vikings have the best running game in the NFL with Adrian Peterson, a solid defense, and he already knows the offense having run it for 16 years with the Packers. Why wouldn’t he want to play quarterback for the Vikings? All Favre is going to have to do is hand the ball off to Peterson or Chester Taylor and throw enough to keep defenses honest. He has a much better chance to win a championship this year than he did last year. He got so close with the Packers two years ago that he got the same feeling that he had 13 years ago when he beat the Patriots and then lost to the Broncos in the big game. He really wants a second ring and that’s a big reason why he came back with Minnesota. He thinks he can win with them.
Theory Four: He doesn’t know what to do with himself.
In my opinion this is the main reason he wanted to come back. For the past 18 years all he’s known is football. He doesn’t know how to be anything other than an NFL quarterback. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. There’s only so much grass to be cut and golf to be played. He gets bored. He doesn’t know how to live in the real world. He sits on his leather sofa watching preseason games and training camp coverage on his 60+ inch plasma HDTV and wonders “what if?” So rather than wondering “what if” he does something about it and comes back so that he doesn’t have to wonder “what if.” That is something that I admire. He has the courage to realize what he wants and go get it.
Theory Five: All of the above.
THIS is why he wants to come back. He wants a little revenge on Ted Thompson, he wants to go out in a respectable manner on the field, he wants to win a championship, and he doesn’t know how to be anything other than Brett Favre. That’s why he’s coming back to the Vikings.
So how does this affect Packer nation? I am a firm believer in team over player regardless of who the player is. If you are a true fan you stick with your team regardless of who suits up for them. Favre said in his press conference yesterday that “If you’re a true Packers fan, you understand.” Well Brett, you’re right. I completely get it. I know you want to play so you did what you had to in order to make that happen. Sure, you take your time to make your decision, but you’ve earned that right. You are the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. I know that you want to make sure that you’ve made the right decision before you make it, which is why you go back and forth. There is nothing wrong with taking your time to make important decisions. I wish more people would think before making decisions.
So is it going to be weird when Favre comes out of the visitor’s locker room at Lambeau Field wearing a purple helmet? Yes. Is it going to make some Packers fans resent him? Probably. But is it the end of the world? No. As a Packers fan I am excited to see Favre play again. I am going to buy a purple Favre jersey and hang it on the wall next to the two green ones I already have. But as excited as I am about Favre I am more excited about Aaron Rodgers. He is going to be great and has learned a lot from Favre. The atmosphere of the two games between the Packers and Vikings is going to be unbelievable as Favre faces off against the young QB that I know he had a positive influence on. I hope that Brett Favre succeeds this season and I will always stick up for him. Having said that, I hope the Packers beat him twice in the regular season and then again in the playoffs. It is certainly going to be interesting to watch all of this play out. Welcome to football season. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
To be quite honest though I don’t think Packers GM Ted Thompson really handled the Favre debacle in the best way possible. Thompson’s theory on Brett Favre last off-season appeared to be “he’s not good enough to play for us, but is too good to play for a division rival.” Personally I think that Thompson should have had the gumption to trade Favre to Minnesota last off-season. He should have had enough confidence in the team that he assembled himself to let Favre go to the Vikings without fear that he would lose to them. Rather, he traded Favre to the Jets for a conditional draft pick that the Packers would eventually use to trade back into the first round and draft linebacker Clay Matthews Jr.; but I digress. The trade that put Favre in a different shade of green even included a clause stating that the Jets would give the Packers two first round draft picks if they turned around and traded Favre to a division rival of the Packers. The point is that Ted Thompson was terrified that Favre would terrorize the Packers if traded to a team on the Packers schedule. The whole thing made both Favre and Thompson look foolish.
Meanwhile Favre had a solid start with the Jets, leading them to an 8-3 record, including setting a career mark for touchdown passes in a game (6) against the Arizona Cardinals. However, Favre struggled mightily over the last five games of the season going 1-4, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, and missing the playoffs.
In Green Bay Aaron Rodgers was making Ted Thompson look smart. He out-Favred Favre as he started all 16 games, played through the pain of a separated shoulder, and threw more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Favre. However the Packers stout defense of the season before fell apart and Green Bay finished with a 6-10 record. So who won the battle of egos between Favre and Thompson? Aaron Rodgers, that’s who.
So now Favre is back again after another summer of “Will he or won’t he?” It was a summer in which Favre retired, thought about coming out of retirement, decided to stay retired, and then came back again. The majority of the sporting world thinks that Favre has forever tarnished his legacy with his indecisiveness and wishy-washiness. Fans grew weary of the continuous coverage of the Favre saga. I’m not sure why he came back, but I there are several plausible theories.
Theory One: He wants revenge on the Packers.
I think that this is only part of the reason why he came back. I am of the belief that the only member of the Packers organization against which Favre harbors some type of resentment is Thompson. I think that there is not a player on the Packers roster that Favre dislikes. I still think that Favre has an enormous amount of respect and admiration for the Packers and their fans. So does he want to stick it to Ted Thompson a little bit? Probably. But I don’t think that’s his main motivation for coming back.
Theory Two: He doesn’t want to go out the way he did.
Again, this is probably only part of the reason. I think that part of the reason he came back last year was because of the interception he threw against the Giants even though he denied that was the case. I also think that he didn’t like retiring after a collapse of historic proportion last season. I remember watching his final plays of last season against the Miami Dolphins as he threw around the ball just trying to make something happen with lateral after lateral. It was actually semi-pathetic. I think that he would like to leave the football field itself with some dignity even if he’s lost all of it off the field.
Theory Three: He wants to win another Super Bowl.
This is a big reason why he wanted to come back. He wanted to play for Minnesota last season because he thought they had a chance to go all the way and all they needed was a quarterback. If he really believed that he could win a championship with the Jets he’s lying. The Vikings have the best running game in the NFL with Adrian Peterson, a solid defense, and he already knows the offense having run it for 16 years with the Packers. Why wouldn’t he want to play quarterback for the Vikings? All Favre is going to have to do is hand the ball off to Peterson or Chester Taylor and throw enough to keep defenses honest. He has a much better chance to win a championship this year than he did last year. He got so close with the Packers two years ago that he got the same feeling that he had 13 years ago when he beat the Patriots and then lost to the Broncos in the big game. He really wants a second ring and that’s a big reason why he came back with Minnesota. He thinks he can win with them.
Theory Four: He doesn’t know what to do with himself.
In my opinion this is the main reason he wanted to come back. For the past 18 years all he’s known is football. He doesn’t know how to be anything other than an NFL quarterback. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. There’s only so much grass to be cut and golf to be played. He gets bored. He doesn’t know how to live in the real world. He sits on his leather sofa watching preseason games and training camp coverage on his 60+ inch plasma HDTV and wonders “what if?” So rather than wondering “what if” he does something about it and comes back so that he doesn’t have to wonder “what if.” That is something that I admire. He has the courage to realize what he wants and go get it.
Theory Five: All of the above.
THIS is why he wants to come back. He wants a little revenge on Ted Thompson, he wants to go out in a respectable manner on the field, he wants to win a championship, and he doesn’t know how to be anything other than Brett Favre. That’s why he’s coming back to the Vikings.
So how does this affect Packer nation? I am a firm believer in team over player regardless of who the player is. If you are a true fan you stick with your team regardless of who suits up for them. Favre said in his press conference yesterday that “If you’re a true Packers fan, you understand.” Well Brett, you’re right. I completely get it. I know you want to play so you did what you had to in order to make that happen. Sure, you take your time to make your decision, but you’ve earned that right. You are the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. I know that you want to make sure that you’ve made the right decision before you make it, which is why you go back and forth. There is nothing wrong with taking your time to make important decisions. I wish more people would think before making decisions.
So is it going to be weird when Favre comes out of the visitor’s locker room at Lambeau Field wearing a purple helmet? Yes. Is it going to make some Packers fans resent him? Probably. But is it the end of the world? No. As a Packers fan I am excited to see Favre play again. I am going to buy a purple Favre jersey and hang it on the wall next to the two green ones I already have. But as excited as I am about Favre I am more excited about Aaron Rodgers. He is going to be great and has learned a lot from Favre. The atmosphere of the two games between the Packers and Vikings is going to be unbelievable as Favre faces off against the young QB that I know he had a positive influence on. I hope that Brett Favre succeeds this season and I will always stick up for him. Having said that, I hope the Packers beat him twice in the regular season and then again in the playoffs. It is certainly going to be interesting to watch all of this play out. Welcome to football season. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Kickoff
Hello and welcome to my first ever blog post! It's GREAT to have you with us...er, me. I have no idea what this blogging thing is all about, but I had some free time on my hands and started one at the suggestion of Amy. Basically I will use "Memoirs of a Cheesehead" for musings both personal and professional. "Personal" referring to whatever I want to share or in some cases let out; "professional" referring to articles that I may write when I'm bored about whatever happens to be happening in the sports world. Maybe Mike Greenberg will come across this and get me a radio show. Or maybe not.
Thus begins my first actual blog post...................
Classes start tomorrow and I have mixed emotions about it. The first day of classes are always exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. You'd think by now I'd have gotten used to it, but there's just something weird about the first day. Maybe it's the fact that teachers generally just want to read the syllabus to you and then let you go, which makes for alot of downtime between classes. Or maybe it's not knowing who you're going to sit by. Let's face it, the first day of class is incredibly crucial. Most of the time people always return to the seat that they sat in on the first day, so you've gotta make sure you get a good seat next to somebody you're gonna like sitting next to for the next four months. Or maybe it's just the fact that on the first day you find out what assignments you're going to have to make the semester way longer. Take International Marketing for example...I know that on the first day we're going to be split up into groups of people that we don't even know and are going to be given an enormous paper/project to do. Stuff like that makes me sick. You know the belief that some people have that hell is a representation of your least favorite things in this life, only to a much larger degree? Well my personal hell would likely consist of snakes, being tickled, and having to do group projects for the rest of eternity. I'll take the fire and brimstone.
But as irritating as the first day can be, it does represent a fresh beginning, a new start, and new experiences to come. However, I'm not sure I want something new. If I could do last semester again, I would. I got to know some really cool people, became more involved, and I think I really grew as a person. I also had my best collegiate semester to date, totalling 4 A's and a B. Then over the summer I grabbed another of each, so now there's the added pressure of reproducing those numbers. I hope that this semester is even better. I want to continue making good grades and I want to keep or extend the extent of my social life. I've made alot of good friends over the past several months and I want to keep those relationships strong.
So now the professional musings.....This time of year is one of my favorites. Football is starting up and baseball is winding down. The Packers gave me a good first showing in week one of the preseason by blanking the Browns 17-0. Aaron Rodgers looked particularly good throwing for over 100 yards and a TD in limited action. The touchdown came on a scramble followed by a 53 yard bomb to Donald Driver. I watched the replay over and over. It gave me goosebumps. Just hearing the announcer yelling about what had just transpired was enough to excite me. I love football.
In the baseball world the Braves are right about where I thought they'd be. Thankfully we've been pretty hot since the All-Star break *knocks on wood*. If we can keep it going we just might end up in the playoffs if the cards fall right. Gotta get run support for our pitchers and Kawakami can't allow 6 runs per start.
I guess that'll wrap up blog post #1. Let the games begin.
Thus begins my first actual blog post...................
Classes start tomorrow and I have mixed emotions about it. The first day of classes are always exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. You'd think by now I'd have gotten used to it, but there's just something weird about the first day. Maybe it's the fact that teachers generally just want to read the syllabus to you and then let you go, which makes for alot of downtime between classes. Or maybe it's not knowing who you're going to sit by. Let's face it, the first day of class is incredibly crucial. Most of the time people always return to the seat that they sat in on the first day, so you've gotta make sure you get a good seat next to somebody you're gonna like sitting next to for the next four months. Or maybe it's just the fact that on the first day you find out what assignments you're going to have to make the semester way longer. Take International Marketing for example...I know that on the first day we're going to be split up into groups of people that we don't even know and are going to be given an enormous paper/project to do. Stuff like that makes me sick. You know the belief that some people have that hell is a representation of your least favorite things in this life, only to a much larger degree? Well my personal hell would likely consist of snakes, being tickled, and having to do group projects for the rest of eternity. I'll take the fire and brimstone.
But as irritating as the first day can be, it does represent a fresh beginning, a new start, and new experiences to come. However, I'm not sure I want something new. If I could do last semester again, I would. I got to know some really cool people, became more involved, and I think I really grew as a person. I also had my best collegiate semester to date, totalling 4 A's and a B. Then over the summer I grabbed another of each, so now there's the added pressure of reproducing those numbers. I hope that this semester is even better. I want to continue making good grades and I want to keep or extend the extent of my social life. I've made alot of good friends over the past several months and I want to keep those relationships strong.
So now the professional musings.....This time of year is one of my favorites. Football is starting up and baseball is winding down. The Packers gave me a good first showing in week one of the preseason by blanking the Browns 17-0. Aaron Rodgers looked particularly good throwing for over 100 yards and a TD in limited action. The touchdown came on a scramble followed by a 53 yard bomb to Donald Driver. I watched the replay over and over. It gave me goosebumps. Just hearing the announcer yelling about what had just transpired was enough to excite me. I love football.
In the baseball world the Braves are right about where I thought they'd be. Thankfully we've been pretty hot since the All-Star break *knocks on wood*. If we can keep it going we just might end up in the playoffs if the cards fall right. Gotta get run support for our pitchers and Kawakami can't allow 6 runs per start.
I guess that'll wrap up blog post #1. Let the games begin.
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