Clay Matthews, who is closing in on a long-term deal with the Packers, has his sights on last year’s Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

With all the focus on Aaron Rodgers and his potential bank-breaking extension, the Green Bay Packers are also reportedly close on extending another one of its superstar players, Clay Matthews.

According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, the Packers and Matthews are close to a deal that would pay Matthews around $13 million annually.  The potential new contract would make Matthews the highest paid pass-rushing linebacker in the NFL. The deal will reportedly eclipse the previous deal of six-year, $78 million contract that the Dallas Cowboys and DeMarcus Ware agreed on a few seasons ago, which made Ware the highest paid pass-rushing linebacker in the NFL.

The Milwaukee Journel-Sentinel reported last week that the deal between Matthews and the Packers is “in place” and the “finishing touches” will be worked out shortly.

Obviously for Ted Thompson, the hope is for the Packers to have all of its must-sign veterans locked up before the NFL Draft rolls around in just more than 20 days.

A number of Packers fans, me included, have been skeptical about extending Matthews to such a large deal because of his injury history.

Matthews has missed a handful of games over the last couple of seasons with a nagging hamstring injury, and for a pass-rusher that is particularly alarming.

There is no debate that when healthy and on the field, Matthews is worth every penny of this potential deal. He is a gamer and arguably the best defender to come to Green Bay since the minister of defense himself, Reggie White.

Nonetheless, Matthews and the Packers are closing in on a deal that would make the “Claymaker” the highest paid pass-rusher in the game.

Oct 14, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson (21) against the Houston Texans in the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Packers defeated the Texans 42-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Former Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, who was released by the his former team last month, may have a new home – the Dallas Cowboys.

That statement in itself is rather revolting in that a classy guy like Sir Charles being recruited by the antithesis of fair play, Jerry Jones, makes me ill. However, little can we do. Woodson, who would probably fit well with the Cowboys because of their need at safety, may find himself sitting in Jerry Jones’s office sometime within the week. With the hiring of Monty Kiffen as the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator taking over for Rob Ryan, the Cowboys are looking for a new identity and it could start with Woodson.

Though the names of Dashon Goldson, Jairus Byrd and Ed Reed have been bantered about in Dallas, those guys are probably out of reach even for Jerry Jones, but Woodson might be in his price range. Considering that Cowboys’ officials have gone on record as saying they feel Woodson still has a lot in the tank, Jones might be convinced that the 36-year-old potential Hall of Famer could be a great addition.

Whether Woodson wants to go there is another matter. Upon his release from the Packers one of the first things that Woodson said was that he wanted to go to a contender. Would he consider the Cowboys in that category?

Well, it might take some convincing by Jones, but we’ve seen the old snake oil salesman work his pitch in the past. It will be very interesting to see where Woodson lands, whether it’s Dallas or some other team.

Like an old friend, we wish Sir Charles the best and hope he finds what he’s looking for … as long as it’s as far away from Green Bay as possible.

Canty, 30, was cut by the New York Giants last week in a cap space saving move. Canty has gotten a lot of early interest from not only the Packers, but the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguares, Tennessee Titans (who have reportedly offered him a contract already) and the Seattle Seahawks. According to NBC Sports, Canty has also given the Carolina Panthers the impression that he would give them a “home town discount” in order to sign there. Canty, of course, was a high school football star in Charlotte, N.C.,  he’s been on record saying he would like to return home and play in Carolina.

There’s no secret that the Packers have struggled on defense the last few seasons, particularly on the defensive line.

The 6-foot-7, 317 pound Canty would give the Packers tremendous size up front and would naturally be able to clog up holes, making Desmond Bishop, A.J. Hawk and the other linebackers’ jobs much easier.

Canty, of course, has experience playing in the 3-4 defense, as he played with the Dallas Cowboys for four seasons where he had 102 tackles and 10 sacks while not missing a single game.

If you remember, the Packers were interested in signing Canty back in 2008. However, Canty was searching for more money than the stingy Packers were willing to give up, thus he signed in New York.

It’s early in the offseason process, however, according to Pro Football Central the Packers are the favorite amongst the interested teams to land the services of Canty.

If all goes well on Wednesday and Thursday, you could see the Packers offer Canty a contract.

Bart Starr is chased by Dallas players during the Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field.

With football Sunday several days away, it’s time to take a Tuesday look back at Green Bay Packers history – and what better way to begin this weekly series than by kicking it off with the greatest of great games in not only Packers history, but probably the biggest in National Football League history.

With apologies to those traditionalists who still feel the 1958 NFL Championship game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts is the Greatest Game Ever Played, I still feel The Ice Bowl is the most well known and honored. It was the elements, the teams, the venue and its iconic value to the league that defines its greatness.

And in celebration of its importance to every football fan, we bring you this NFL Films look at the game that features the likes of just about every principal character involved in that game. From the late great Ray Scott and Steve Sabol, to the players who endured the most brutal conditions to play the biggest football game of that year and one that many, including myself, will consider it the defining moment of the league’s and the team’s history.

So, take a look and enjoy this masterful piece by NFL Films …

The Packers will face Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens next year, as well as all the teams from the AFC North. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

While it’s not a good thing to look too far ahead when it comes to the National Football League, we caught this quick snippet on CheeseheadTV – the home and away schedule for 2013.

I’m saying it right now – the Packers better make hay this year because when they enter the 2013 regular season, they will be playing a schedule that will be be tough – very tough.

The Packers will be facing teams from two of the roughest divisions in the entire league – the AFC North and the NFC East. In addition to that, they will play opponents from the NFC South and NFC West with similar records from 2012 – those opponents are to be determined.

Throw in the North Division opponents, Bears, Vikings, and Lions – well, you can see where I’m going.

Here’s the home and away schedule:

Home

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers

NFC South opponent

Away

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

NFC West opponent

We all know what the NFC brings, but even tougher still will be the opponents from the NFC North – Pittsburgh and Baltimore play a style of game that’s both brutal and just plain mean. Throw into the mix a much-improving Cincinnati Bengals squad and the who-knows-what-team’s-going-to-show-up Cleveland Browns and we see contests where the Packers will have to bring their A-game week-in and week-out.

In addition, having to face the NFC East Eagles, Giants, Cowboys and Redskins will make for an interesting season. IMO, there isn’t a weak opponent anywhere in sight.

But that’s next year. We all know that it’s the now and present that is important as training camp is a mere four days away. The team’s focus is on opening day against the San Francisco 49ers, followed four days later by a tilt with the Chicago Bears – that’s a pretty brutal start to a season right there.

We’ll worry about 2013 next year. I just thought I would throw it out there for you.

Herb Adderly: One of the best

Herb Adderly.

The name brings back memories – usually in black and white – of one of the greatest, if not THE greatest cornerback in Green Bay Packers history – Herb Adderly.

He played his greatest games with the Packers as part of the Vince Lombardi-led squads of the 1960s, though he also moved on to the Dallas Cowboys where he was also a Super Bowl champion.

But take a look here of some of the best photographs of Adderly during his days with the Packers.

And check out the posting at The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame website pasted below or go here.

You won’t be disappointed.

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Herb Adderley: Candid and In Action

Green Bay Packers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Herb Adderley has provided us with a collection of his photos. The collection offers a candid glimpse behind the scenes, from Adderley’s time as a star at Michigan State through his fantastic Green Bay Packers career.

The gallery also contains plenty of action shots, including Adderley’s interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl II. To hear Adderley discuss the play, along with a number of other things, check out our interview with him here.

Herb Adderley returning an interception in Super Bowl II

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Will the stadium experience become a thing of the past?

There are tremors – no, rumblings – no, violent quakes coming out of the NFL league offices these days.

That’s because league officials are scared. They’re frightened about the future of the game and their ability to fill 70,000 seat stadiums. They should be scared. They should be petrified.

That’s because the technology that has given rise to the most profitable sports league on the planet could, ironically, could be its downfall.

Throw in all the other computing technology with that old standby, television, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster – the downfall of the National Football League’s ability to make billions of dollars per year.

The technology has overtaken the league. Staying at home on the couch with your pizza, beer, chips, barbecues is much more comfortable than spending hundreds to fight traffic, crowds and weather for the game day experience.

That’s what many are saying about the issue of the league’s ability to draw fans to the game.

Watching Aaron Rodgers throw passes over the middle to Jermichael Finley, like the fans in this photograph, may become a thing of the past if the NFL doesn't make changes to its game day experience. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

While a visit to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, may be the best ticket and experience for football fans, it may all slowly slip away unless the league continues to improve the experience. Yes, attending iconic Lambeau Field is a lifetime experience, but the league is quickly discovering that attracting fans in many other cities is becoming increasingly difficult.

Consider how the Minnesota Vikings will handle the task of trying to attract fans to their decrepit Mall of America Field the next three years while they build their billion dollar behemoth in downtown Minneapolis. No doubt, even when the new stadium is built, it will also be difficult to fill that as well – especially once the novelty wears off.

So, how is the league responding? Well, some of the response has been a direct attempt to implement more of the technology right into the experience. For instance, the league has announced its move to outfit each stadium with free wi-fi to allow fans to not only watch highlights from the game they are attending but to have direct and immediate availability to watch full games and highlights and to keep up with scores from other teams. In addition, there is a move afoot where fans could also tune in to miked up players and coaches on the field.

Another direct response by the league has been to relax the rules surrounding the blackout regulations.

In addition, teams, such as the Packers, are adding more seats and state-of-the-art sound and video systems to their stadium experience to draw fans. While that is a luxury for a profitable team like the Packers, making such improvements in an NFL city such as Jacksonville is problematic at this point, especially when they are one of the several teams eyeing a move to Los Angeles.

It’s an issue that may come to a head for the league sooner than later. If Roger Goodell and company want to increase their $10 billion per year venture they are going to have to adapt.

Just exactly how those adaptations will look is anyone’s guess at this point.

But they need to do something soon or the fan’s experience won’t be at a stadium – it will be sitting at home on the couch with their brats, hamburgers, chips and beer.

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Lionel Aldridge's story is that of a spiraling demise and rise back.

Brain injuries caused by persistent blows to the head is the topic of the times. Dozens of former NFL players have filed a lawsuit against the league for not helping them understand and deal with these injuries.

However, for one former player, the late great Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Lionel Aldridge, his suffering was brain-related, but not football-related.

Aldridge began suffering from the effects of  paranoid schizophrenia in his early 30s, a chronic mental illness that would eventually cause him to spiral into despair and a life on the streets. He lost everything, his family, his money and even his Super Bowl ring.

But his life didn’t end tragically. He eventually got the diagnosis and help he needed to turn his life around. When he died at age 54 in Shorewood, Wisconsin in 1998, he had come full circle and was helping others.

The story of his life was chronicled on the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame website by Scott Schalin, who gives an honest recounting of the man known as a giant teddy bear. Read it here or below.

The Mad Ride of Packers Hall of Famer Lionel Aldridge

Sometimes you have to go through hell to get to heaven. In the case of Lionel Aldridge, he took the reverse path.

Aldridge was born on February 14, 1941, in Evergreen, Louisiana, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1963 draft after a standout college career at Utah State.

While Packers coach Vince Lombardi was always wary of starting rookies, Aldridge cracked the vaunted Green Bay lineup in his first professional year. He quickly became a cornerstone of the staunch and stingy defenses of the 1960s playing right defensive end opposite fellow Louisiana native and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis.

Although the NFL didn’t log official stats for tackles during Aldridge’s era, he was renowned throughout the league as a solid tackler that helped anchor that stout Packers’ defensive line.

With the Packers, he played prominent roles in three straight NFL championships with wins over Cleveland in 1965, and Dallas both in 1966 and ’67. Perhaps it was that 23-12 victory in the 1965 title game that epitomized the smothering Green Bay defense of the era, as the Packers held legendary Browns’ running back Jim Brown to just 50 yards rushing in what would be the future Hall of Famer’s final game.

Aldridge continued contributing to the team’s historical run of championships, helping Green Bay to victories in Super Bowl I (a 35-10 dismantling of the Kansas City Chiefs) and Super Bowl II (a 33-14 shellacking of the Oakland Raiders).

Aldridge enjoyed an 11-year pro career, playing his first nine seasons in Green Bay and his final two with the San Diego Chargers. The six-foot-three, 255-pound beast was named an All Pro in 1964 and was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1988.

Still, even a physical shell as imposing as Aldridge’s could not protect life’s most fragile wonder: the brain.

After retiring in 1973, Aldridge turned to broadcasting. He became an analyst for the Packers and then for NBC, where he would work Super Bowl VII following the 1973 season.

Things were seemingly going as well off the field as they had on it.

But then, something changed. Something suddenly didn’t seem right.

His longtime friend Jim Irwin, who had broadcast Packers games for 29 years before retiring after the 1998 season, told the New York Times, “Lionel was a terrific success story that had some holes in it. He was a big, friendly teddy bear,” who experienced mood swings as a player. “He’d be ‘up’ one day and then the next day he’d snap at everybody.”

Irwin recounted an instance after Aldridge retired and was doing the color commentary on a Packers’ broadcast. “I asked him the first question of the day, and he stared straight ahead,” Irwin recalled. “He never took his eyes off the 50-yard line for the next three and a half hours and never said another word.”

Unbeknownst to Aldridge, his family or his friends, the former defensive star for the Packers was experiencing the beginning phases of paranoid schizophrenia. The Mayo Clinic describes paranoid schizophrenia (PS) as a chronic mental illness in which a person loses touch with reality.

The most prominent PS symptom is auditory hallucinations or “hearing voices” along with severe delusional behavior, the fear of persecution and sensing usually irrational things that others don’t. There is no specific cause as to what triggers PS in adults, but both genetics and environment likely play roles. Football has never been blamed for Aldridge’s PS.

PS symptoms are more common and severe primarily because they attack a person in the later years of life, usually after the age of 30.

Aldridge was barely into his mid-30s when the episodes began. By the early 1970s, he began to hallucinate. Then, the voices started echoing through his brain.

On the website Guideposts (www.guideposts.org) Aldridge wrote frankly and frighteningly of his illness.

One of the most frightening signs that there was something seriously wrong with me was the voices I began hearing in 1974.

At first, they were just stray, nagging worries that dogged me through the day; self-doubts that we all have from time to time. They seemed to rise up out of nowhere—vague thoughts with an accusing edge, ‘You really don’t work very hard, do you?’

The voices were very scary and confusing. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want anyone to find out the terrible things happening inside my head. As an athlete, I’d been trained to be tough; it was not my nature to seek help. I wanted to be strong.

At first I tried to ignore them. But the voices grew more belittling and threatening; more real. I’d be standing in front of the mirror shaving when I’d hear from the next room, ‘You don’t take very good care of your family.’ “That’s bull!” I’d shout. I’d search the house for my tormentor. I’d mutter, as my wife, Vicki, shook her head in dismay. There never was any intruder.

His marriage, which had produced two daughters, Michelle and Angela, collapsed. So did his job. Quickly the situation grew worse.

Aldridge chronicled the events on Guideposts.

Rumors flew around town that I was on drugs. That was completely false, but I was in no shape to prove otherwise. I was getting worse.

Soon that feeling of being watched wouldn’t let up, even on the air. Looking into the camera, I could barely hold my composure as I reported the nightly sports scores. The wide camera lens zooming in on me was a glistening, all-seeing eye that could plumb the farthest, most hidden reaches of my soul. Everyone who was watching on their TV sets, I was convinced, could see right inside my brain, where laid bare for all to look on in disgust were the grimmest secrets of my life.

I was sure there was a far-flung conspiracy to destroy me. I fought with total strangers on the street. I lost my job, (my family) and my friends. There was nothing left but the voices shouting in my head, as real to me as an opposing 260-pound pulling guard on a goal line stand back in my playing days.

My life spun out of control.

Aldridge was convinced by voices that he needed to leave his Milwaukee home.

He crisscrossed the country in an unruly wilderness of twisted interstates, sleeping in hotels and ultimately seedy flophouses. Once his savings were mostly exhausted, he started living in his car. In Florida, he ditched the car for a $100 and hit the streets with nothing more than a battered satchel on his shoulder.

Occasionally I hung around a town for a while doing odd jobs, living on the streets and eating at soup kitchens. Quite naturally, people would stare at me, and that would only make my delusions of persecution worse. I never held a job for long… I’d become one of those lost, devastated souls. There were a lot of them out there with me, crippled by mental illness, but as I wandered the country I was only aware of my own haunted, unhappy world a million miles from the life I once had.

One night I slept in a field off an interstate near the Great Salt Lake. I didn’t notice when I woke up, but, while I was sleeping, my jewel-encrusted Super Bowl ring must have slipped off. Those rings are not easy to come by, and I’d hung on to mine as a kind of symbol of who I’d once been.

When I discovered the ring missing, it was as if I’d been stripped of one final link with my past. I sat in the middle of a sidewalk and wept into my hands.

‘Help me!’ I cried out. The sweat and tears streaked my dust-caked face. ‘Help! I’ll accept help from anyone.’

Turning to a well-worn Bible for guidance, he found the strength and courage to return to Milwaukee where, while still living on the streets, he was brought back into contact with old friends. He was, not without difficulty, committed to a hospital where he was diagnosed with PS.

“Slowly the doctors hit upon some drugs that helped,” he rejoiced. “Little by little my condition improved, and the voices gradually subsided. At first it was horrifying. It was an awful thing to face, like seeing a crazy man on the street and suddenly realizing that you are looking into a mirror.”

Although there is no cure for PS, Aldridge was able to recover and learn to live with the debilitating disease.

“I did recover,” he admitted. “Not without setbacks and relapses, not without moments when I thought I could never again face life, but I did get well with the help of friends, doctors who found the right medication to help me and the voice of a loving God.”

He discovered new strategies to cope with the world, including turning the voices around and convincing himself that, instead of negative things, the voices were actually preaching positive attributes about him. “I figured, maybe they’re saying good things like, ‘Hey, there’s Lionel Aldridge. He used to play for the Packers and then he got sick. Look how good he’s doing now.’ ”

In time, the voices went away thanks to medication and his faith in God’s master plan. He began traveling the country speaking to groups about mental illness and recovery. “It’s vital,” he said, “for patients, families and even doctors to see someone who has actually made it back.”

In January 1985 — the 18th anniversary of the Packers’ first Super Bowl win – Lionel received yet another gift. A group of his old teammates had commissioned an exact replica of the Super Bowl victory ring that Aldridge had lost.

“I knew that day that I had returned,” he surmised. “Even when you think you’ve lost everything in your life, there is always hope of finding a way back, sometimes to an even better place.”

Aldridge passed away on February 12, 1998, in Shorewood, Wisconsin, of congestive heart failure at the age of 56.

After a meteoric rise to fame and glory, and then a whiplashing plummet into darkness and despair, this gentleman of the game and Packers’ legend can now, finally, rest in peace.

Scott Schalin is the former editor of PackersHallofFame.com and is currently writing a book with NFL on FOX insider Jay Glazer.

Do you think it matters to this young Packers fan, or any other Packers fan for that matter, that the most recent ESPN poll shows the Dallas Cowboys are the most popular team in America? Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Sometimes a poll is slanted toward a specific segment of society. Sometimes the numbers are simply fudged to get the results wanted.

Though I have no evidence whatsoever, I simply can’t believe this most recent poll set out by ESPN, that network that historically has been tilted toward Dallas. In fact, for every poll like this one that shows the Cowboys are America’s Team, I could probably find another that shows the Packers or the Giants or the Steelers are the country’s favorite football team.

I’m not a Cowboys hater or a Skip Bayless naysayer most of the time, but when I see polls like this it just turns my crank. First of all, polls like this mean absolutely nothing. Fans are fans and loyalty to a team isn’t something that is going to be swayed from one week to the next. If you’re a Cowboys fan, fine. Congratulations. If there are more of them than there are Packers or Giants fans, then that’s fine, too.

Just don’t go puffing out your chest … take a look at the scoreboard. The last time the Cowboys were in the Super Bowl was 1995. The Packers, Giants and Steelers have all dominated Super Bowls since then. And all of those teams have histories filled with tradition and championships.

Championships are what count … not how many claim to be a fan.

Anyway, Check out the site if you want to see where your team stands in this recent poll. BTW, if you’re a Jaguars fan you will probably be really disappointed.

The results are also below:

OLB Erik Walden was re-signed Monday by the Packers. Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

In somewhat of a surprise move, the Green Bay Packers announced Monday the re-signing of OLB Erik Walden.

It’s surprising for a couple of reasons: First, Walden’s play on the field started at an even keel the first half of last season and then nosedived after the incident with his girlfriend in their apartment last Thanksgiving eve. He was arrested, spent the weekend in jail and was eventually sentenced to complete a number of community service hours.

While the public perception of Walden sunk after the incident, it was his play on the field that was most disconcerting last year. After showing great promise at the end of 2010 in helping to solidify the position as the Packers made the run to the Super Bowl championship, Walden seemed to plateau and then pretty much disappeared from the landscape as the 2011 season wore on. Clearly, his play on the field was tied to his personal troubles.

But another thing is clear: The Packers like the guy and are willing to give him another chance.

I like that …

Walden now gets his chance to compete for a spot on the team.

Here is the press release issued by the Packers’ PR department announcing Walden’s re-signing:

PACKERS RE-SIGN LB WALDEN

The Green Bay Packers have re-signed LB Erik Walden. The signing was announced Monday by Executive Vice President, General Manager and Director of Football Operations Ted Thompson.

 In 2011, Walden appeared in all 16 contests and made a career-high 15 starts. He finished fifth on the defense with a career-best 86 tackles (50 solo), along with three sacks, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. Walden originally signed with the Packers as a free agent in October 2010 and went on to play in nine contests with two starts that season, along with another three starts in the postseason.

Walden was drafted by Dallas in the sixth round (No. 167 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Middle Tennessee State. After being waived by the Cowboys in the final roster reduction, he was claimed by Kansas City and played in nine contests for the Chiefs in ’08. He also appeared in 19 games for Miami from 2008-10. For his career, Walden has played in 53 games with 17 starts and has recorded 117 tackles (69 solo), six sacks, two passes defensed, a fumble recovery, and 28 tackles on special teams.

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) will meet in next season's opener Wednesday, Sept. 5. Chris Faytok/The Star-Ledger via US PRESSWIRE

The National Football League had its chance for 2012 season opener with a bang. League schedulers had a no-brainer on their hands and they proceeded to fumble the snap.

They could have set the schedule to open the season (this year on a Wednesday) featuring the past two Super Bowl-winning teams, the Green Bay Packers vs. the New York Giants, a game that would feature arguably the two best quarterbacks in the league and pit the David (Packers) against the Goliath (Giants) when it comes to overall market share.

But no. What does the league do? Just when the league is poised to land a game that would bring together two teams that have faced off in epic playoff battles twice in the past five years, they book the Cowboys.

Say what?

Yes, money does talk and so does that loudmouth, arrogant moneybags himself, Jerry Jones. This has his fingerprints all over it and given that Commissioner Roger Goodell is deep in Jones’s pocket, this game seemed inevitable – even though Packers vs. Giants was the sentimental choice.

Giants vs. Cowboys is so 20th century and 27 seconds ago. The league must have seen that.

But that doesn’t matter. Now we can all slumber in our loungers watching Tony Romo screw up another game and Eli Manning marching his team down the field to a winning score. We can all slumber with visions of Packers running for touchdowns and Lambeau Leaps dancing in our heads. We won’t have to worry about how to spend the following 12 days before another Packers game when we should all be engrained with the seven-day football itch.

We would have all loved to get juiced for the prime time appearance that could have featured the Packers and Giants, but we must wait for another day.

That’s OK. Instead we’ll be able to get in a bit of shuteye between Tony Romo miscues.

It will take a whole lot more than "momentum" for the Giants to pull out a win against the Green Bay Packers this coming Sunday.

The “M” word, momentum, has been thrown around as much as the football off the hand of Aaron Rodgers this season – but the word as of late has been associated with the New York Giants because they have won a few games in a row – having beaten the despicably bad Dallas Cowboys and the New York Jets over the past month.

Really?

Ok, so the Giants have played pretty well lately. They have a defensive line that’s healthy, they have a quarterback who has a Super Bowl ring and has been impressive as of late, and their pounding running game is enough to knock any good defense on its heels.

However, do they have the “momentum” they will need to blow into Lambeau Field and down a Green Bay Packers team that has known nothing but winning the past 20-plus games.

Read more about what changes games in the NFL after the jump … and don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Kevin "It is Time" Greene has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here he encourages linebackers Clay Matthews and Frank Zombo. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Mike Spofford of Packers.com posted the story below about Kevin Greene and the fact that for the first time he has made the cut as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Green Bay Packers’ linebackers coach who has brought enthusiasm and a player’s attitude to the coaching ranks for the Packers, has been in Green Bay for the past three years and is probably most well known among the general public for his comments in last year’s Super Bowl that were caught on tape when he told linebacker Clay Matthews that “It is time…” Matthews consequently went out and forced the game-changing fumble by the Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall.

Spofford’s story spells out the full field of finalists and gives us a look at the personal bio of Greene’s.

Greene named Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist

Posted by Mike Spofford on January 7, 2012 – 3:27 pm 

A semifinalist three times previously, Packers Outside Linebackers Coach Kevin Greene for the first time has advanced to the finalist stage for potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

See more after the jump, like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead were jamming at Winterland on Dec. 31, 1967, the same day the Packers were defeating the Dallas Cowboys in The Ice Bowl.

Today is a special day in Green Bay Packers history.

Dec. 31, 1967, was Vince Lombardi’s final game at Lambeau Field … It was also the day the Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship in what is now known as The Ice Bowl.

Everyone was there, if not in body, certainly in spirit.

We all know what transpired on that day. We know about the turf that flash froze into something that resembled an ice skating rink more than a football field; we know about how the Packers took a quick lead, but lost it when Dallas’s defense came to play in the second half and then used a halfback option pass for a touchdown to take the lead; we know about the Packers final drive of the game that concluded with Bart Starr’s plunge across the end zone line behind the blocks of Jerry Kramer and Ken Bowman.

It’s the stuff of legend. We love it and will never forget it.

But there was also much more happening that day.

Take the jump for events that were changing the world on Dec. 31, 1967, and don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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It was Dec. 31, 1967, and we all know where we were.

Me?

I was at George Steffen’s house … with my Dad and my brother, Francis.

It was damn cold outside … I don’t remember if our red Pontiac station wagon ever warmed up during the 1.5 mile ride into town to watch the NFL Championship Game that day … you remember the one – it featured the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys and has gone down in league lore as one of the best ever.

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The game, which will determine the winner of the NFC East Division was originally scheduled as an afternoon tilt.

For the complete story, visit HERE …

The Green Bay Packers are undefeated for many reasons ... One of which is Aaron Rodgers.

Think back to the 70s, 80s, and very early 90s, if you are old enough like me … Or if you can’t, get out some books check out Wikipedia or some other resource and look up the record of the Green Bay Packers.

Then take a look at the most recent article posted by Bob McGinn over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

What you will find is something just short of astounding.

And I’ve wondered why I’ve been so much happier on Monday mornings than my Bears, Lions and Vikings friends.

The statistics that McGinn posts to support the reasons why the Packers have rolled to 18 straight wins is both a fabulous study in excellence, but is also a template for the entire league to follow.

I beg you to look at McGinn’s piece. It will literally blow your mind and certainly give you good reason to smile ear-to-ear.

Will the train be stopped any time in the near future? It’s difficult to say, but I will say this: it’s going to take a mighty locomotive or maybe John Henry to slow this behemoth.

You can jump directly to McGinn’s story here or take the jump just below for the complete story without leaving Lombardiave.com.

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Aaron Rodgers and Jared Allen were both named as October Players of the Month in the NFC. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Good gosh, is it no doubt why the Packers have been the best team in the NFL during the first half of the season and Aaron Rodgers the best quarterback?

Just take a look at the NFC North Division … The Lions and the Bears are close behind the Packers, while even the Vikings have shown vast improvement the past couple of weeks.

In essence, it’s the competition that ultimately makes a championship team and the Packers play, without question, the toughest competition within its own division.

Clearly, it makes them better.

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Deion Sanders thinks it will be the Packers and Bears vying for the NFC North Divisional crown ... not the Detroit Lions.

It was interesting listening to Deion Sanders yesterday during the post-game sessions that run nonstop on the NFL Network.

 Aside from his continued love pats toward the Packers … “I just love the Packers” … Deion left watchers with an interesting tidbit about how he feels about the 3-0 Lions and how he feels things will turn out by the end of the season.

 While also saying the Lions were a good team and that he loves how they play, he doesn’t feel Detroit is ready to take the next step as a contender or even win the division.

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Well, not enough to keep the team from winning the Super Bowl.

How much value do the two bring back to the team this season? 
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