Former Green Bay Packers strong safety Charles Woodson is all smiles today. Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

With the announcement that Charles Woodson signed with the Oakland Raiders today, the outpouring of sentiments was strong, both good and bad – especially on Twitter tonight.

With that in mind, we’ve put together some of the tweets to and about Woodson for your review.

We hope for the best, Sir Charles. Others, but not all, do too.

Here’s a sampling:

Nicely done! #broncos Report: Raiders Sign Charles Woodson to 1-Year Deal (via ble.ac/teamstream) bleacherreport.com/articles/15577…

— Randy Dissler (@ThaDizz09) May 22, 2013

Lol Charles Woodson is a dumbass. Lets sign with probably the worst team in the nfl.

— Brandon S. (@xPAYDIRTx) May 22, 2013

“@sportsnation: Charles Woodson is BACK in the Raider silver and black! twitter.com/SportsNation/s…” should’ve won a SB but no, tuck rule…

— Faiza Abdi (@thefaiza25) May 22, 2013

“@saucebossjosh: RAIDERS GOT CHARLES WOODSON BACK OMG IM SO HAPPY” really?!

— Jacob Outland (@Jacob_Outland_) May 22, 2013

Nooooo! Chuck! say it ain’t so! RT: @raiders: The Oakland Raiders have signed free agent defensive back Charles Woodson.

— Vince Vitrano (@vincevitrano) May 22, 2013

RT @raiders: The Raiders fans still at headquarters for the Charles Woodson announcement. #RaiderNation #dedication twitter.com/RAIDERS/status…

— ANTHONY DORSETT, JR. (@DORSETTJR) May 22, 2013

Peyton Manning is gonna have a field day making Charles Woodson look like a bum this season

— Kevin Brown (@PlayaKB) May 22, 2013

HAHAHAHA at Broncos fans thought they were getting Charles Woodson! Y’all know where his heart be!

— Mr. Frankie P. (@frankiep2096) May 22, 2013

I’m gon cryyyyyy RT @sportsnation: Charles Woodson is BACK in the Raider silver and black! twitter.com/SportsNation/s…

— Young Savage (@Rogue2Riches) May 22, 2013

I like Charles Woodson, I wanted to see him make one more run at a ring. Too bad he signed with the #Raiders.

— steveparkhurst (@SteveParkhurst) May 22, 2013

I like Charles Woodson with the Raiders both from storybook perspective as a viewer. For him, though, why not a contender? Broncos?

— Megan Armstrong (@meganKarmstrong) May 22, 2013

There it is RT @raiders: The Oakland Raiders have signed free agent defensive back Charles Woodson. twitter.com/RAIDERS/status…

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2013

Congrats Wood! RT @jayglazer: Charles Woodson is returning to the Raiders. He’s agreed to a one-year deal

— Donald Driver (@Donald_Driver80) May 22, 2013

Charles Woodson greets fans at fence, holding up a #Raiders jersey. Does that mean anything? (photo: @kevinprofit_c ) twitter.com/goldenbaysport…

— Golden Gate Sports (@goldenbaysports) May 21, 2013

Madness. RT @victafur: Charles Woodson arrived at #Raiders HQ with a big smile. twitter.com/VicTafur/statu…

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 21, 2013

After three months of inaction, frustration and sitting around waiting for the phone to ring, former Green Bay Packers CB/S Charles Woodson is heading back to the team with which he started his pro career – the Oakland Raiders.

NFL.com’s Ian Rappaport reported the details of the deal:

On Charles Woodson’s new deal with #Raiders: I’m told it’s for one year. $4.3M max. $1M base. A win-win.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2013

Woodson, who was selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Raiders, spent the first eight years of his career with the team and appeared in one Super Bowl. However, it wasn’t until he arrived in Green Bay in 2006 that he found real success. He was named the defensive player of the year in 2009 and followed that up with a championship with Green Bay in 2010.

However, Woodson’s career in Titletown started to slide when he broke his collarbone in Super Bowl XLV and then broke it again last season, causing him to miss nine games.

When the Packers had to decide on whether to pay him $9 million to keep him around in 2013, the team waived Woodson and his contract. Woodson received little interest between February and last week. Though he visited the San Francisco 49ers last month, that was about the only interest he received until last week. That’s when he was invited to visit the Denver Broncos, but left that visit without a contract. His agent said before that visit that the Raiders already had a contract offer on the table. When Woodson visited the Raiders today, he signed, ending his search.

Woodson insisted earlier that he wanted to go to a contender. Maybe he feels the Raiders are that team. We’re not so sure, but we’re glad that a great player like Woodson doesn’t have to sit around waiting for someone to call.

As Packers fans who appreciate all he has given the franchise, we wish him the best.

Where will Charles Woodson land and do the Packers have any interest in bringing him back?
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Former Green Bay Packers CB/S Charles Woodson might have been headed to a new team by this weekend had he not been such a nice guy.

That’s because after paying a visit to the Denver Broncos earlier this week and leaving without a contract, he may have gone straight to Oakland for a visit – a team that reportedly has an offer waiting for him on the table.

Charles Woodson has teams interested in his services.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

But instead, Woodson flew back to Michigan for a charity appearance he had on the books at Mott Children’s Hospital. The charity work may have held up his day job search, but it seems like it won’t be long until Woodson signs somewhere – at least the interest level is heating up and it appears a handful of teams have called him.

That’s a different scenario than Woodson faced the past few weeks as he sat on the couch awaiting a call – the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year even went so far as to say publicly that teams were probably seeing him as an “ancient” player.

His agent, Carl Poston, told the Associated Press today that Woodson’s visit to the Raiders will be held Tuesday if he doesn’t sign with Oakland. The New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers, as well as two other unnamed teams,  have also expressed an interest.

One of the caveats for Woodson, at least previously, was that he wanted to sign with a contender. Of the teams named, it seems only the Giants would fit into that role. Could one of the unnamed teams be the Packers?

That’s a possibility, but of course Packers team brass have indicated that if Woodson were to be brought back to Green Bay the price would have to be right.

Charles Woodson may be headed to either Oakland or Denver.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Mid-afternoon tweets today, Tuesday, May 14, are indicating that former Packers S/CB Charles Woodson has already been offered a contract to return to the team where his professional career began, the Oakland Raiders.

Earlier today, it was reported among several sources that Woodson had been invited to a visit to the Denver Broncos and it seems that is still on, but according to other tweets, Woodson had already been offered a contract by the Raiders.

Here are a couple of the tweets:

#Breaking: Per his agent, the #Raiders have made a contract offer to former #Packers DB Charles Woodson, he will also visit the #Broncos.

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_RealUpdates) May 14, 2013

Charles Woodson’s agent says Raiders have offer on the table wp.me/p14QSB-8VY1

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 14, 2013

This has got to be good news in the Woodson camp. Earlier this spring, Sir Charles couldn’t keep his disappointment from showing when he said that teams had not been calling and that he thought many around the league thought he was “ancient.”

So, today’s developments have got to be an encouraging sign for the longtime Raider and Packer.

No doubt the Raiders’ Reggie McKenzie, a longtime Packers front office guy, has had an influence in the pursuit of Woodson. Also of note, you can bet that Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson, though they made the decision to part ways with Woodson, are probably counting their blessings that he is considering a move to the AFC West and not a team in the NFC.

We will keep on top of the situation and report any other news as it becomes available.

Stay tuned …

Former Green Bay Packers Director of Pro Personnel Reggie McKenzie is bringing a new attitude and some of the tactics he learned while in Green Bay to the Raiders.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Teams over the past decade have been known to throw money like confetti at any hyped prospect or free-agent, but recently a Green and Gold philosophy has inhabited an organization known to shred money like Nixon thugs – that team being the silver and black, the Oakland Raiders, under the guidance of one Reggie McKenzie.

Under former Packers Director of Pro Personnel Mckenzie, the team has abandoned the futile recklessness of former owner/general manager, Al Davis.

From former head coach Tom Cable knocking out assistants to senior executive John Herrera calling sportswriter Mike Silver a pot-smoker and challenging media members to a fight, the Raiders have been cursed, to say the least.

It must be one of those gypsy curses.

Ted Thompson’t influence on Raiders Reggie McKenzie has been important.
Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

JaMarcus Russell comes to mind as the biggest blunder in Davis’s reign. Instead of following then-head coach Lane Kiffin’s advice, Davis undercut his talented coach for a rocket-armed man-child with a penchant for stuffing his face with Devil-Dogs.

They eventually passed on the record-breaking wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

Compounding the problem, Davis dragged his Oakland fans through a divorce more messy than a Kardashian’s.

Holding an unneeded press conference, Davis began by lambasting Kiffin, praising the failure of Russell, and ultimately torpedoing any prospect of interest for any player in the league to join his circus.

Unless they wanted to be overpaid.

Tommy Kelly, Javon Walker and Carson Palmer are all pieces who have come and gone with atrocious sums of money, leaving devastating craters from their presence. Kelly was an unmotivated mess, Walker had mentally and physically checked out, and Palmer … well … did not care in the first place.

Ask the Bengals ….

With head coach Hue Jackson being handpicked by Davis in 2011, and substituting the future for a bleak shot at the playoffs, the Raiders threw a first round pick for quarterback Palmer in 2011.

Davis had finally found stability in Bengals castoffs, but the kind that last for as long as a paper airplane in flight.

Passing away Oct. 8, 2011, as deviantly as he lived, Davis never realized the costly roll of the dice he put his team through.

Choking at the end of the season, the Raiders squandered their chance at the dance against the San Diego Chargers, 38-26.

Now the ominous cloud of indecision they had caught finally rained on the team. No Al, no playoffs and no future.

A change was in order.

Ever wonder what kind of experience it must have been working under the dominating force of Davis and subsequently carrying his legacy?

Matt Flynn, another product of the Green Bay Packers system, has been penciled in as the starter in Oakland.
Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Try being his son, Mark Davis.

Besides the horrible atrocities done to his own hair, beneath the lid contains a great passion to fix a team consistently drowning under its own rancor and with the assignment of Mckenzie the ability to reverse course is not far off.

Namely with quarterback Matt Flynn - another product of the Green Bay Packers system.

There has not been a competent quarterback in the Oakland area since Rich Gannon swept up the MVP in 2002, but now with Flynn known for his stable demeanor and execution, the Raiders finally have the franchise’s future set.

Under Packers’ GM Ted Thompson, McKenzie learned patience through the draft while cutting ties to destructive forces within the franchise.

Linebacker Ronaldo McClain was a perfect example of the Davis regime, by his constant insubordination to McKenzie’s coach Dennis Allen.

Instead of coddling the talent of McClain, (as Davis had been famous to do) the axe fell quickly and the shockwave effect has righted the wayward ship.

Another trait passed on from Thompson included the art of the draft. Rather than reach or overvalue talent, McKenzie traded his spot in the draft from the third overall pick, (to former Packers offensive coordinator-turned-Dolphins-Head-Coach, Joe Philbin) to the 12th overall pick and for talented defensive back, D.J. Hayden.

Wielding picks and refocusing attention toward team fundamentals has done wonders for the Green and Gold, and from the looks of it the Raiders might return to their legendary owners mantra.

“Just Win Baby.”

Greg Jennings has stringent guidelines for the city and team with which he would consider moving to … we hope he finds it.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Eric He, our colleague over at Golden Gate Sports, makes a good point and slams to a close the door on any thoughts that soon-to-be former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings will end up in Oakland playing for the Raiders.

Any news about Jennings, one of the top five wide receiver free agents on the market, has been nearly nonexistent.

But in a recent interview with USA Today, Jennings was asked about what he was looking for in a team – and considering his answers, he would like to transplant everything that he had in Green Bay.

Here’s how Jennings answered:

”Coaching means a lot, the dynamic of the team. To me, the quarterback means a lot, if they have one or not, and I have to make sure my family is comfortable.”

He, who covers the Raiders through his fansided.com website, assures his readers that Jennings will not be headed to Oakland anytime soon. We’re sure there will be plenty of other teams that may fall into the same category, but some of the reasons He said Jennings wouldn’t be a Raider anytime soon were that the team didn’t have an established coach, there were no dynamics to the team, quarterbacking for the Raiders was questionable at best, and living in Oakland is, well, I’ll let He say it: “Oakland isn’t exactly the best place to live.”

Jennings obviously has some stringent guidelines and that’s a good thing. We want him in the best possible situation as he makes his move to a new team … we just don’t want him in Detroit, Chicago or Minnesota.

Mike Holmgren, who is being considered for a position with the Oakland Raiders, won a Super Bowl with Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in 1996.

Rumors and the National Football League go hand-in-hand as well as peanut butter and jelly, Laurel and Hardy, and Abbott and Costello – that’s why today’s most recent rumor about former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren going to Oakland to work in the Raiders’ front office is intriguing.

He would be joining Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie – they worked together in Green Bay before Holmgren moved on to be coach and general manager for the Seahawks. Holmgren just finished up a stint as the president of the Cleveland Browns.

Just exactly what role Holmgren would play in Oakland has not been released, and Raiders officials aren’t even saying Holmgren is being considered for a job.

Here’s what the Raiders had to say in a statement to NFL.com: ”as a general policy, the Raiders don’t comment on personnel matters, so the team isn’t able to confirm or deny the report. If the organization has more to say in the future, I will let you know.”

After leaving his job in Cleveland, Holmgren said that he was open to any offers from any team. This is the first offer that’s been presented or at least come to light involving Holmgren.

Most reports have indicated that Holmgren would be considered for a front office job in charge of football operations.

Jan 14, 1968; Miami,, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oakland Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson (83) in action against the Green Bay Packers during Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl. The Packers defeated the Raiders 33-14. Mandatory Credit: Dick Raphael-US PRESSWIRE

I learned something new today about the Packers – you learn something new every day … that’s what they say.

Well, today I did learn something new and it applies to Ben Davidson, that 6-foot 8-inch monster whose mustache was nearly as famous as the way he played with the Oakland Raiders in the mid- to late-60s.

Davidson had ties to the Packers going back to the early ’60s, something of which I was not aware. He also left Green Bay for Washington before actually landing with the Raiders.

Here’s the brief from the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

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.

Ted Hendricks as a Packer in 1974

Ted Hendricks – his time in Green Bay is a simple blip on his Hall of Fame career. After spending the 1974 with the Packers, Hendricks decided to look elsewhere for employment – a fact that is highlighted in today’s Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame “Today in Packers History.”

After blocking seven kicks for the Packers in 1974, Hendricks was one of those itinerant players in the 1970s who considered Green Bay the last outpost in the National Football League. He may have seen the writing on the wall and wanted out. Those were disturbing times for Packers fans as the franchise really struggled on and off the field. It’s good to be able to look back on those dark days with the past 20 years of success in hand.

Anyway, here’s what the Packers Hall of Fame wrote about Hendricks:

Ted Hendricks Looking Elsewhere

June 13, 1975 – The business agent for Ted Hendricks, the towering, 6-foot-7 inch linebacker who blocked seven kicks for the Green Bay Packers in 1974, acknowledges he is looking at other teams to employ his client in 1975. “I talked to the Dolphins last Tuesday,” Miami businessman Tony Roberts says. “But we’re actually further along in our negotiations with some other teams. Three other NFL clubs and one in the WFL (World Football League) have entered pretty seriously into the picture.” Hendricks eventually signs with Oakland where he enjoys a nine-year career with the Raiders. In 1990, Hendricks is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This is a story that few know about. It might surprise you that head coach Dan Devine wasn’t such a screw-up after all. At least he got things right when he made this move.

Lane and John Brockington would go on to form one of the best running back tandems in Packers history.

Enjoy this piece …

Reggie McKenzie

Peter King, Sports Illustrated’s football guru, released his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback posting where, in one segment, he has nothing but good things to say about former Green Bay Packers executive Reggie McKenzie.

The newly-hired Oakland Raiders’ general manager has a huge mountain to climb to bring the Raiders back to respectability and an even larger climb in getting the team back to playoff status.

But according to King, he feels that McKenzie is well on his way.

Here is a segment of King’s interview with McKenzie:

I asked McKenzie if he wished he could have the Carson Palmer trade back. Last October, then-coach Hue Jackson dealt first- and second-round picks to Cincinnati for Palmer. “You can beat that doggone story ’til it’s worn out,” said McKenzie. “But I know this: We’ve got a quarterback we think can win the division and take us to the playoffs. Losing a one and a two doesn’t bother me one bit.”

McKenzie did a great job in Green Bay, so there’s no reason why he can’t do the same out West.

Here is the entire piece that King put together:

…we start out west, with one of those draft-pick-poor teams, and what the Oakland Raiders are doing about it.

The Raiders are actually doing things right, and Reggie McKenzie’s the reason why.

When the Raiders hired McKenzie as general manager in January, he took over a team with the most decimated draft board in recent history. No first-, second-, third-, fourth- or seventh-round picks because of prior trades or Supplemental Draft picks. McKenzie inherited a team that, in late February, was $26 million over the salary cap and had two draft choices — the 148th and 189th overall — before the annual compensatory picks were awarded. Think about it: An 18-year scout finally gets his chance to run a team and pick the players he wants … and he’s hamstrung by the worst cap situation in the league, and one of the worst draft-choice pools in NFL history. And one more thing: Peyton Manning just walked into his division.

“Never thought, ‘Woe is me,’ ” he said the other night from his office in Oakland. “Not once. Never thought I shouldn’t take the job because of things like that either. It never entered my mind. I just figured, ‘We’ll find players.’ I know how to find players. I’ve been in Green Bay when we found Mark Tauscher and Donald Driver late in drafts, and found Tramon Williams on the street, and signed Charles Woodson in free agency. It can be done.”

If McKenzie’s right, it will be done this year with low-cost free-agents starting at three positions (Shawntae Spencer and Ron Bartell at cornerback, Philip Wheeler at linebacker), and one well-paid (five years, $20 million) starting right guard, Mike Brisiel. Help also came in the form of three of the top 10 compensatory picks awarded last month in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Oakland’s first pick will be the first compensatory choice awarded by the NFL, the 95th overall choice, which means McKenzie will sit around all night Thursday on day one of the draft, and all night Friday through rounds two and three, till the end of the third round.

I asked McKenzie if he wished he could have the Carson Palmer trade back. Last October, then-coach Hue Jackson dealt first- and second-round picks to Cincinnati for Palmer. “You can beat that doggone story ’til it’s worn out,” said McKenzie. “But I know this: We’ve got a quarterback we think can win the division and take us to the playoffs. Losing a one and a two doesn’t bother me one bit.”

McKenzie said he feels honored to be the first person in almost half a century other than Al Davis to be running the Raiders’ draft. “This is a new day in the Raider organization,” he said. “Coach Davis, he knew football. I relish the chance to follow him and get this team back where it belongs.”

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NFL Network announcer Warren Sapp has declared bankruptcy. Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The news today that seven-time Pro Bowler and NFL Network loudmouth Warren Sapp has filed for bankruptcy. The Associated Press says he owes more than $6.7 million to creditors, also owing back child support and alimony.

Wow!

How does this happen to a highly successful player who spent years making millions of dollars? In fact, his MONTHLY income is reported to be $115,000. Among the assets he lists? Lots of shoes and a lion skin rug.

According to published reports, here is a description:

Sapp’s $6.45 million in assets includes 240 pairs of Jordan athletic shoes worth almost $6,500, a $2,250 watch and a lion skin rug worth $1,200. He also reported losing his 2002 Super Bowl ring with the Bucs and his 1991 national championship ring from the University of Miami.

Remember his blindside hit on Packers offensive tackle Chad Clifton and his face-to-face showdown with then-head coach Mike Sherman? Those incidents, his continued head-butting with Brett Favre and many other run-ins with players and coaches throughout his career were only superseded by his flapping lips – something that he’s carried into the NFL Network’s studios. He most recently got himself into hot water when he called tight end Jeremy Shockey as the “snitch” responsible for the New Orleans Saints’ Bountygate.

According to the bankruptcy filing, his NFL Network contract is up in August. We wonder if he will be renewed.

He was a great player, no doubt. He recorded 96.5 sacks in a career in Tampa Bay and Oakland, but that doesn’t matter now.

Sapp’s situation is a sad, sad statement on our society and an embarrassment to a supposed superstar who can’t support his children and former mate … consider all those in the world who don’t have a roof over their heads nor food in their stomachs. It’s pretty difficult to be feeling sorry for Mr. Sapp.

In fact, his last name says it all … yes, he is a sap.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Seneca Wallace (6) looks to throw during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium. The Steelers won 13-9. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

Not every team in the NFL has a franchise quarterback.

Ok, MOST NFL teams don’t have a franchise quarterback.

They’re difficult to find and even more difficult to develop. Just ask the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Redskins, the Oakland Raiders, and the Kansas City Chiefs, to name only a few.

Another team one could add to the list is the Cleveland Browns. Not only has this team never made it to the Super Bowl (though they have been close, right, John Elway?), this team has been void of a quarterback who had any chance of leading the Browns to the promised land.

With last night’s announcement that the Washington Redskins had given away the farm to trade for this year’s first round second pick that once was the St. Louis Rams’ there were many fans in the league whose hearts sunk and minds raged.

What you will see below is one of those fans. His rant speaks for itself and should be viewed, if not for the entertainment value, but to understand what it might be like if your favorite team probably had a shot at pulling off what the Redskins did last night.

Packers fans who live with the security of a healthy Aaron Rodgers and years of success into the future have a difficult time understanding. But remember, we have also gone through the decades of failure brought on by a trade that involved John Hadl; we have played on through the years that included Scott Hunter, Jerry Tagge, David Whitehurst, Anthony Dilweg, and Blair Kiel.

So, yeah, many of us can understand.

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Joe Philbin is now the former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator, having accepted the head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

With the announcement last night that Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin will be taking the helm as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, huge decisions now face Packers coach Mike McCarthy about how to fill the vacancy and what other coaches and players may follow.

The announcement isn’t a shocker for the Packers given the fact that Philbin interviewed twice with the Dolphins and has certainly earned the right to become a head coach – helping to build and develop the Packers’ vaunted offense behind the play of star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Philbin is ready to make the move. He’s been with the Packers for nearly 10 years and has earned his stripes. And without question, his move comes at the right time. Surely he enjoyed his time in Green Bay, but the loss of his son to drowning two weeks ago probably gives him good reason for a new venue for himself and his family. There’s something to say about getting a fresh start in a new situation.

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It was 10 years ago today that he hit Tom Brady on a snow-covered field in Foxboro Stadium, causing the New England Patriot quarterback to fumble the football. What ensued was the recovery of the ball by Woodson’s teammate, Greg Biekert, which seemingly put the Oakland Raiders in a position to run out the clock and give them a win in the playoff game.

That was before the game’s referee, Walt Coleman, went under the instant replay hood and came back to overturn the decision on the field utilizing a little known rule, the tuck rule, to give the ball back to the Patriots. New England went on to tie the score on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri and later won the game in overtime with another kick by Vinatieri.

How many times the rule has been used since then couldn’t be counted but it’s become one of the most well-known, and most misunderstood rules in the books.

Since that day, Woodson has gone on to win a world championship with the 2010 Green Bay Packers and that particular day is a distant memory for him.

Here is how the rule reads:

NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2. When [an offensive] player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble.

According to Wikipedia, the rule isn’t appreciated by all. Here’s an excerpt:

While the NFL has defended the call, not everybody has agreed. Bruce Allen, who ran the front office for the Raiders at the time of the game, still believes it was a fumble. “The rule itself doesn’t bother me,” he said. “But the way the rule is written, it was a fumble.” Nevertheless, when the NFL’s Competition Committee re-examined the rule after the 2001-2002 season, they made no changes to the rule; Mike Pereira, the former director of officiating of the NFL, notes that attempts have been made to revise the rule, but such revisions have always proven to be more difficult to enforce than the current rule.

In honor of that particular day, here is a video from the day.