Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi's name should be the only name affiliated with the trophy. Malcolm Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

I could never figure out why the NFL Network hired Michael Irvin as a commentator for its programming.

He talks like a hood; he looks like hoodlum; and we all know his past behavior is nothing short of criminal.

Today, any modicum of respect that I had for him (which was nil) was washed down his toilet like the turd he is.

He suggested in an interview today that the Lombardi Trophy should be named to include the hoodie man himself, Bill Belichick – or Bill Belicheat as many have come to know him.

Yes, he’s won a few Super Bowls and has been a perennial winner with the Patriots.

But to suggest that Patriots’ coach’s name be attached to the trophy that has become the highest symbol of excellence in all of sports is ridiculous, it’s stupid, and just plain idiotic.

Here’s what he had to say to the Boston Herald:

“I think the world of Belichick. I told him this, ‘Man, if it was up to me, that (Super Bowl) trophy would be called the Lombardi/Belichick.’ I don’t care what they think. It would be called the Lombardi/Belichick. That’s how good he is to do what he’s doing in this day and age, what the league is now. I would call it the Lombardi/Belichick.”

Obviously, the reaction was immediate and severe.

Here are some of the comments that I pulled off www.facebook.com/apackphan:

• Paula Rick No way.. No how Never.

  9 hours ago · Like
• 

  Cory Grassell other known facts: water is wet.

  9 hours ago · Like · 1
• 

  Patrick W. Steele People have no ability to put things in perspective… Chuck Noll won FOUR super bowls with Pittsburgh and did not lose one… Belichek is only 3-2 in the super bowl…. and he is a douche

  9 hours ago · Like · 1
• 

  Donnie BoeSr ABSOLUTLY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8 hours ago · Like
• 

  Sten Cantwell not only never, but never ever, billicheat should b e out of football forever and all his cheating wins erased! irvin should be fired, doper womanizer

  8 hours ago · Like · 1

  Need I say more? Consider this idea idiotic and done …

  Irvin is a singular enemy of the NFL.

  Michael Irvin, go back to the hood and take your stupid ideas with you.

When it comes to championship games, it always comes down to the team that plays the best defense – even in this day and age of the quarterback. Just ask Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

That’s why I have to go with the New York Giants over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XVLI.

Final score: Giants 33 Patriots 28

Here’s why: Though the Patriots are the sexier pick as Belichick and Brady go for their fourth ring together and the team is trying to play off the emotion surrounding Robert Kraft losing his wife, the Giants are the better team all-around. They have a running game, dynamite receivers, a top 5 quarterback AND a defense. Matchups make the difference is championship games and the Giants clearly have the upper hand in all categories.

Don’t get me wrong, the Patriots will make a game of it and it could come down to the final two possessions, but the Giants will come up with enough pressure on Brady to turn the tables. Throw in the fact that tight end Rob Gronkowski’s injury will put a dent in the Patriots’ offense and you have enough to give the Giants the edge in this one.

It should be a great game. That’s why everyone is split pretty much down the middle on predicting its outcome.

In fact, here’s the best prediction I could find:

Greg Easterbrook on ESPN.com has this prediction – Confusion about the new playoff overtime format reigns when the Giants onside kick to start overtime and the Patriots recover but run the wrong way. Final score: Giants 2 Patriots 0

After the jump, take a look at some of the picks by the experts … and take the time for a click over to Lombardiave.com on Facebook, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

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Former Head Coach Mike Holmgren will be inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame this summer.

It was announced just this morning that Packers former Head Coach Mike Holmgren, who is now the head man of football operations for the Cleveland Browns, will be inducted into The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame this coming summer.

The 42nd Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held Saturday, July 21, in the Lambeau Field Atrium.

We all know what Coach Holmgren brought to the City of Green Bay, the state of Wisconsin and all of Packers Nation. In addition to coaches Vince Lombardi, Curly Lambeau, and current Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Holmgren took the Packers to many NFL Playoff games, including two straight Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI.

The press release issued by the Packers Hall of Fame this morning offers this description of Holmgren:

Holmgren joined the Green Bay Packers in 1992 and enjoyed a spectacular run as head coach through the 1998 season, including a victory in Super Bowl XXXI following the 1996 campaign. Launching his success with a 9-7 record in ’92, a five-game improvement from the year before, Holmgren led the team to a 84-42 overall record (75-37 regular season; 9-5 postseason); seven consecutive winning seasons, the first such skein since the 1960s; a club-record six consecutive playoff berths; a 47-5 record, including playoffs, in Lambeau Field; a club-record 25 consecutive home-field victories, the second-longest such streak in NFL history; 13 regular-season wins in consecutive years (1996-97) for the first time in team history; three straight NFC Championship Game appearances (1995-97), including back-to-back wins (1996-97); and back-to-back Super Bowl appearances (1996-97), the last such feat by an NFC team.

His overall win total, 84, is the third most in franchise history, trailing only Curly Lambeau, 212, and Vince Lombardi, 98. His winning percentage, .667, is tied with Lambeau for the second best in team history, behind only the .766 mark of Lombardi. With at least one postseason win in five consecutive seasons (1993-97), Holmgren is one of only three coaches in NFL history to have achieved the mark, along with John Madden (Oakland, 1973-77) and Bill Belichick (New England, 2003-07).

His 1996 Super Bowl championship team led the league in both points scored (456) and points allowed (210), becoming one of only 12 teams in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since 1972.

Tickets for the banquet, which begins with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m. with a cash bar, and dinner and program to follow at 7 p.m., are $135 each. Tables of 10 also are available for $1,300 and are assigned in the order in which they are purchased. Early reservations are recommended. To purchase tickets, call Gwen Borga at (920) 965-6984, or e-mail her at gwenb@packershalloffame.com.

No refunds are available 30 days prior to the event.

Lombardiave.com offers our congratulations to Coach Holmgren and his family. We also welcome him back to Green Bay as a permanent member of the franchise’s family.

So, will Aaron Rodgers and the Packers notch win #14 easily in Kansas City Sunday or will the Chiefs give the Packers their best shot?

OK, so it’s that time of the week when we hear from the opposing camp about this week’s Packers vs. Chiefs game.

With just three weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, we asked Patrick Allen, the bigwig over at Arrowhead Addict, what is thoughts are heading into Sunday’s Packers vs. Chiefs match-up. He was so kind to take some time to answer our questions.

Enjoy! He’s brutally honest.

And don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Ready yourself for a different look at football from a guy who is part of a site that really likes to have fun.

Enjoy the ride and the laughs after the jump … and don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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“He has the necessary belief in his team to make bold changes and make them pay off. Last year, he dumped Brett Favre for Aaron Rodgers. This season, he moves his defense to a 3-4 scheme. He always is looking for ways to make the team better.”

If the Packers had not finished 6-10 last year, McCarthy would be a top 10 coach.  The team would also not be switching to a 3-4 defense, but that is a moot point.  Fact is, McCarthy is a much better coach than the 6-10 record and the 16th ranking indicate.  He gets the best out of his players in games and he handled the Favre saga extremely well for a young head coach.  Granted, the Packers did struggle last year which is the main reason for his low ranking, but he is much better than that ranking indicates.

The only NFC North coach ranked above McCarthy was the Minnesota Vikings Brad Childress at No. 11:

“The team has gotten better every year under his watch, and last season he got the Vikings to the playoffs without a viable quarterback.”

Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears was ranked at No. 20 while new Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz was ranked at No. 27.  New England‘s Bill Belichick was first overall.

The Raji pick was not a surprise for me.  I had had Raji at No. 2 on my draft board, behind Brian Orakpo, who ultimately went No. 13 to the Washington Redskins.  However, looking at it again, Raji is the right pick.  It’s hard to find mine 6-foot, 337 pound nose tackles that can move in the NFL Draft.  Outside linebackers are a dime-a-dozen throughout the draft.  There was no one else in the draft comparable to Raji.  So Thompson made the pick.

Sitting at No. 9 made me a little nervous.  There were three high quality players available at that juncture, in Raji, Orakpo, and Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree.  Right before the pick, I predicted that Thompson would end Crabtree’s unexplainable slide.  I could see Thompson taking Crabtree — the Jordy Nelson pick last year shows he’s not scared to take a wideout.  Crabtree to Green Bay could have caused an unbelievable amount of backlash among Packers fans, but imagine Crabtree, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, and Nelson at Aaron Rodgers‘ disposal.  Imagine that offense against the Lions defense.

But besides choosing Crabtree, I was looking for Thompson to trade down.  Thompson traded out of the first round last year when the Packers “needed” a corner and there were corners on the board.  At No. 9 yesterday, there was a scramble under them for teams trying to trade up for Crabtree.  However, Thompson stuck to his guns and picked Raji.

This signals a change in Green Bay.  Thompson had always been a “best player available” guy.  But I don’t see how he could have had Raji over Crabtree on his draft board, in any way really.  Thompson drafted for need here (and later with Matthews, but I’m getting to that).  Thompson knows this is an important year for the Packers.  They have multiple free agents coming up after the 2009 season and he needs to give them a reason to stick around.  The problem with the team in 2008 was the defense.  The offense will put points up on the board, but it cannot win without the defense.  Thompson knows his offense is fine, but his defense needs help.

This need on defense led to the Packers actually trading up back into the first round.  The Patriots had already traded back to No. 26 from No. 23 as the Ravens traded up to get Michael Oher.  The Packers then packaged the trade to get No. 26 and select Matthews, the son of former NFL player Clay Matthews, Jr. and the nephew of former offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.  Both had long careers in the NFL, setting up an impressive lineage for the younger Matthews.  Clay III comes from a USC program that had amazing linebacking talent, as he played along side Houston Texans‘ draft pick Brian Cushing and new Cincinnati Bengal Rey Maualuga, who inexplicably slid into the second round.  Matthews walked-on to USC and redshirted his freshman year, setting up a great storyline for the player.  He plays with intensity to match that of his fellow USC linebackers.

The Matthews pick shows why the Raji pick at No. 9 was a great pick.  By picking Raji, the Packers get a nose tackle who can take up three gaps on the offensive line and tie up multiple blockers, freeing up Matthews and the rest of the linebacking corps.  If the Packers pick Orakpo at No. 9, the Packers have Ryan Pickett at nose tackle, who lacks Raji’s size and athleticism.  With Pickett at the nose, the Packers linebackers would be assaulted every play by large offensive lineman, pushing the defense back.  Raji allows the defense to make plays.  He won’t be getting glory and sacking the quarterback every play, but he will do the dirty work in the trenches.

Matthews will stop the run, allowing Kampman to focus on rushing the passer, while if the Packers had picked Orakpo, they would have had a surplus of pass rushers, allowing the defense to get shredded by the run.  Pairing Matthews and Raji together gives the Packers one of the most successful Day 1′s of any team in the league.  They drafted two cornerstones of their defense that is going through a transition.  The two of them will make the transition into Dom Capers‘ 3-4 scheme that much easier.  Both will have a lot to learn, but both will contribute for years to come.

The 41st pick the Packers traded to New England was used to select Darius Butler from Connecticut, while New England traded the 73rd to the Jacksonville Jaguars who selected Derek Cox out of William & Mary.  The 83rd pick has been used by New England to select Brandon Tate, a wide receiver from North Carlina, who’s coming off a major knee injury.