During his playing days in the NFL, current Tennesse Titans Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil was regarded as one of the most vicious hitters in National Football League history. The October 11, 1993 issue of Sports Illustrated featured his picture and the question: “Is Chuck Cecil Too Vicious for the NFL?” on the cover.

During his days with the Green Bay Packers, Cecil earned the nickname “Scud” because of his hit-or-miss approach to tackling opponents. He often left his feet and led with his helmet, and much like the infamous missiles launched during the Gulf War – would occasionally miss completely or arrive late. However, whenever he made direct contact, devastation and human carnage were the result.

The hit-or-miss adjective could very well apply to the defensive unit Cecil leads today in Nashville. When Cecil was promoted from DBs Coach to Defensive Coordinator in the ’09 offseason, the Titans picked him over a few other, more experienced candidates, and the results weren’t pretty. Obviously criticism of Tennessee’s decision then arose.

By Paul M. Banks

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During Cowboys camp Sunday, rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant broke a rookie tradition by refusing to carry the shoulder pads of veteran wide receiver Roy Williams, who is  in a competition for playing time with Bryant, ironically enough. “I’m not doing it,” Bryant said. “I feel like I was drafted to play football, not carry another player’s pads. … I’m saying that out of no disrespect to (anyone).”

Monday afternoon, Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers continued his summer-long journey of exercising his first amendment rights (i.e. his interview with Homer). When asked by one of his followers via Twitter, “Dez Bryant won’t carry teammates pads when told too. What would you say to a rookie who won’t do what a vet tells him to do?” Rodgers responded, “I’d tell him he needs to pay his dues n fall in line.”

By: Justin Mertes-Mistretta

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Remember when we learned about homophones in grade school? Words pronounced the same, but different in meaning. And homophones that are spelled differently (like Erin and Aaron) are also called heterographs. So you see where I’m going with this!

I also brought up middle school because I feel like I’m back in it because I’m devoting a whole post to a romantic rumor. But this is no ordinary rumor, this one involves Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, and Queen of all Sideline Princesses Erin Andrews, the second most blogged about (Evan Turner is #1) individual in TSB history.

By Paul M. Banks

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By Jake McCormick

Come 6:30 tonight, we officially wake up in Green Bay Packer GM Ted Thompson’s Christmas morning.

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By Jake McCormick

The Packers’ season ended a week later than it did in 2008, but the playoffs have a way of magnifying the cracks in a team that the regular season can’t do. Between the missed field goal and overtime turnover flashback to the 2007 NFC Championship game and deja vu scoring of the Packers/Steelers game earlier this year, Green Bay’s offseason begins on a bittersweet note.

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By Jake McCormick

There is a guaranteed difference in competition levels between the Pro and All-Pro difficulty levels in Madden. Anyone who has ever binged on that game (as I currently am) could tell you blowouts are much more common against a terribly average computer. Thankfully, the real life Green Bay Packers have hit a stretch of games against Pro-level teams that has allowed them to return from the deathly hallows of underachievement.

With that said, it’s hard to believe that the Green Bay Packers have already eclipsed their 2008 win total and occupy a Wild Card spot that is theirs to lose. A couple weeks ago I was about ready to write off their season, and now I’d argue that they are favorites for a playoff spot.

With an offensive line problem that was more rampant than pork barrel spending in Washington, a defense that bought into the 3-4 about as fast as newspapers bought into online news, and a couple of bad losses to Brett Favre, it looked like Skip Bayless, Bill Simmons, and every other bandwagon follower of Saint Vincent were already drowning with the ship.

But each successive week since the loss to Tampa Bay, the Packers have improved their pass protection and tweeked the playbook to account for the holes in the line, have refocused their defense on winning their side of the battle without worrying about personal statistics, and rattled three wins in 12 days.

I would even say that Green [More …]

By Jake McCormick

Typically, sports rivalries between states are cyclical, and right now, Minnesota is making me glad I’m still not going to college an hour and a half from their border. But this past weekend gave me a little needed confidence in Wisconsin sports.

Brewers GM Doug Melvin is stockpiling money like Bazooka Joe comics to cash in on some pitching, Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings (to which I was a witness) became the youngest player in NBA history to tally 50+ points in a game, and Wisconsin football is a step closer to double digits wins and a January bowl. Of course, this state lives and dies by the green and gold, and the Packers’ win would’ve been all it took to get Wisconsin’s blood pressure back to stable levels.

It was a win in arguably the most important game of the 2009 season for the entire organization, against a Cowboy team that had rattled off four straight wins and was beginning to put a season of relevancy back together. But as significant as this win might be for the rest of the season, it is almost as confusing as the loss to the Buccaneers.

Until the 17-7 win against the Cowboys on Sunday, the Packer defense had been doing its best Carrie Prejean impression of increasing ineptness against the Vikings and Buccaneers. Just when you thought she couldn’t make herself look even dumber, she opens her mouth on national television and makes Sarah Palin look [More …]

By Jake McCormick and Andy Weise

As of roughly 3:13 p.m., Sunday, October 25, the Brett Favre Ball dropped in Minnesota and Wisconsin, prompting the inevitable, yet excruciatingly redundant conversation about Favre’s return to his former 16-year winter home in Green Bay. His first game against the Packers went as well as he could’ve hoped, but returning to the scene of the crime in Northeastern Wisconsin is really the more interesting game of the two for obvious reasons. As much as The Sports Bank’s Andy Weise and Jake McCormick LOVE talking about the most polarizing quarterback since Tom Brady, they also realize that a game of football involves more than the play of one man. Welcome to the second, and barring a playoff matchup, last Packer/Viking exchange!

Jake McCormick: First off, I would like to apologize for 16 years and 32 games of being on the opposite side of the Brett Favre slopfest from every network’s television announcers. My revelation came about halfway through the Monday night matchup when Jon Gruden started welling up with tears of joy that he coached the honorable, distinguished, Jesus Favre for a season or two. I feel closer to Viking/Bear fans than I ever have. Going into this weekend, I will promptly mute the television after I get goosebumps from an entire stadium booing so loud they are hoarse before the first quarter even starts. With that said, I couldn’t ask for a better situation for the Packers going into this [More …]

11:30 AM — Hey everyone, welcome to our NFL live blog for Week 7 of the NFL!  This is the first of three straight weeks with 6 teams on a bye, so hopefully, even if YOUR favorite team isn’t playing this week, you’ll still come in to chat us up.  Learn more about those other teams! Analyze those matchups for later in the season!

But until the games start, check out some of these great stories from the week gone by…

Looking for some NFL pick advice?  Tom Lea talks Halloween in his picks, and there’s a picture at the top of Where The Wild Things Are…if that doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will.

Paul Schmidt takes on Vegas and the spread again this week, looking for redemption after last week’s 0-4 debacle. His bank account would also appreciate the reprieve…

How about notes from on of the more pure football experiences you could have?  That’s right, Melissa Wollering is back with “Sidetracked” again, and she talks Wisconsin High School football.  Friday night lights, baby!

It’s like an early Christmas present here at The Bank, with our Fantasy Football Advice!

Finally, Wanda Sykes gets abused by a racist dolphin.  Presumably not Greg Camarillo.

The Sports Bank NFL Live Blog

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By Jake McCormick

Have you ever been disappointed in a 26-0 shutout before last weekend? Better yet, has the Packer offense ever been the lighter fluid doused on your fires of frustration in those seemingly lopsided wins? Lost in Mike McCarthy’s inept playcalling in the red zone, a broken condom of an offensive line, and a lack of a consistent running game is the fact that the Green Bay defense has quietly made steady improvements and now ranks in the top 10 in the league in many statistical categories. Sure it’s early in the season and the Packers have played a mostly mediocre schedule, but do I need to remind you of last season’s defense under Bob Sanders? More predictable than a James Bond movie.

The Packer defense is currently ranked 10th in points per game (18.6), 8th in yards per game (298), 10th in passing yards per game (192.6), 16th in rushing yards per game (105.4), and 3rd in interceptions (10). They outrank the Minnesota Vikings in all of these categories except rushing yards per game, sacks, and forced fumbles. And the Packer offense deserves some credit for making the defense look good, as they have managed to limit their turnovers to two fumbles and interceptions apiece to make sure the defense’s turnovers are not in vain.

I’m not saying the Packer defense is on par with the Vikings’, but it has taken steps forward to get to that point against nearly identical opponents. This weekend’s [More …]