NFL Week 3

This season has been about as unpredictable as Brett Favre. The Chiefs are still undefeated, and they dominated the Top 10 Plays on Sports Center. Who would've predicted that?

There were numerous jaw-dropping plays this week, and many intense games. The Falcons defeated New Orleans in overtime, after the Saint's kicker missed an easy chip shot.

It is my sad duty to inform you that the Packers fell to the Bears on Monday Night, 13-10.

The game started out well, and after we scored 10, unanswered points, I thought the game would be a pushover. However, our arch rivals blocked a field goal and then marched down the field to score. Being the optimistic person that I am, my hopes were still high at halftime. My hopes were soon shattered when Devin Hester returned a punt for another touchdown. Robbie Gould knocked in a field goal several minutes later, and the game was even.



Aaron Rodgers quickly answered, running into the end zone with seven minutes left. When Chicago went 3-and-out, my hopes were fully restored, only to come crashing down when Chicago recovered a James Jones fumble.

The Bears waited until the waning seconds of the fourth quarter to kick the field goal, which sealed our loss.

Not only did our special teams fail miserably, we were penalized 18 times. That's a new franchise record.

Hopefully we can avenge our loss next Sunday, when we face 3-0 Detroit.

GO PACK GO!

Cousin Sarah's Confirmation

On Saturday, my family drove up to Valpo for Cousin Sarah's confirmation. We arrived shortly before dinner, and immediately began playing football across the street. After several epic touchdowns and interceptions, we headed back to Grandma's for dinner.

After tooling around on Aaron's new iPad, the older cousins walked to a nearby McDonald's for ice cream and pop. We then headed to Sarah's house, where Mike showed us Mexican rap music videos and Marine Recon Commercials (he intends on joining the Corps after high school).

The girls (Sarah, Ella, and myself) stayed behind, while the others walked back to Grandma's. Ella and I watched Airplane on TNT while Sarah showered. Afterward, we relocated to Sarah's room and straightened her hair. It took two straighteners to eradicate her stubborn curls, and once she was satisfied, Aunt Heidi drove Ella and I to the Klett's, where we spent the night.

We woke to a breakfast of Frosted Flakes and Honey Smacks, and after dressing in our Sunday best, we headed to Immanuel.

My mom, as Sarah's godmother, participated in the Confirmation Ceremony, placing her hand on Sarah's shoulders during her blessing, along with Sarah's parents.

After the long service, we changed into more comfortable clothes, and proceeded to the cafeteria. We set up a TV and, during our delicious, catered lunch, watched NFL. Tragically, we missed the Green Bay game, but Danny provided coverage from his laptop.

After devouring cake and admiring Sarah's Confirmation gifts, we shot hoops in the gym. Eventually, we formed teams, and after a spectacular, intense game, the Fort Wayne crew headed home.

Congratulations, Sarah!

NFL Week 2

The Vikings are 0-2. The Cowboys are 0-2. This season couldn't have started out better!

On top of these unexpected failures, The Mighty Pack steamrolled the suffering Bills in a 34-7 victory. The game wasn't exactly a nail-biter, but there were many big plays. Aaron Rodgers had 255 passing yards and Brandon Jackson performed admirably. As always, Clay Mathews played like an NFL veteran. My hopes continue to grow.

Ironically, the Jets' star cornerback, Darrell Revis, has injured his hamstring, mere weeks after his regrettable holdout. What's more, he was hurt while defending Randy Moss, who humiliated him by grabbing a spectacular, fingertip-touchdown pass. The Jets got the win, but they'll miss Revis.



For just the second time in NFL history, two brothers (Peyton and Eli Manning) faced each other in an NFL game, both as starting quarterbacks. The dynamic Colts' offense easily defeated the Giants. Peyton is now 2-0 against his brother's Giants.

If Atlanta had creamed Arizona a year ago, it would've been shocking. Today, it's not only unsurprising, it's almost expected. Arizona has enormous receiving talent in Larry Fitzgerald, but they just don't have the means to get the ball in his hands.

We play out oldest rival next Sunday: the hated Chicago Bears. The Bears are also undefeated, but I think we can manage them.

GO PACK GO!

NFL Season 2010

The 2010 NFL season officially kicked off on Thursday, when the defending Super Bowl champs, New Orleans Saints, defeated Benedict Favre and the Vikings. Just like last year's NFC Championship game, the Saints pressured Favre throughout the entire game. Favre was 15 of 27 passing, with a 71.7 passer rating.

Sunday's games were exciting, surprising, and - in Detroit's case - controversial.

Chicago was leading Detroit by 4, late in the fourth quarter. Shawn Hill - playing for the injured Matthew Stafford - apparently completed a pass to Calvin Johnson for a touchdown. However, after much review, the officials ruled the pass incomplete, and Chicago would eventually win the game. It definitely looked like a touchdown to me, and I'm disappointed that the Lions didn't get the win.

Sam Bradford did well in his first NFL start, but a late interception cost them the game. The Cardinals are still hurting from their quarterback fiasco, but they managed to win their season opener by 4.

Tampa Bay beat the much-improved Cleveland Browns, Seattle smashed San Fransisco, the Redskins beat Dallas, and - most surprisingly of all - Houston beat Indianapolis by 10.

Happily, the Mighty Pack won their season opener against Philadelphia. At first, my dad had his doubts, but I was confident the Packers could walk away with an easy win.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but Green Bay dominated in the second half, scoring 20 unanswered points. (Three of those points, I might add, were due to a 56-yard Mason Crosby field goal, which set the record for longest field goal in franchise history.)



The Eagles' starting quarterback was concussed by Clay Matthews, and Michael Vick, the backup, was impressive in the second half, rushing for over 100 yards. However, the Packers' running game did not fare as well. Ryan Grant, coming off a 1200-yard season, was disappointingly unproductive, and he was injured in the third quarter. Brandon Jackson performed better than usual, but we'll definitely need Ryan Grant to have a well-rounded offense.

The season is off to a great start. It's finally football season!

GO PACK GO!

Brenneman's Lake Visit

This weekend, my family (excluding my mom, who was studying algebra) spent Labor Day at our friend's lake house.

About 15 people were there, relaxing and enjoying the day off, including my friends Jessica, Ashley, and Alison. Many of my brother's friends were there also, and our many games of "King of the Raft" were intense.

The lake was choppy, but we all braved the stormy seas. The tubing was excellent, and Joe, our driver, whipped us around mercilessly, flinging many off their tubes.

The kids played football while hamburgers sizzled on the grill (for the record, Jessica and I connected for so many touchdown passes that it must be some sort of record).

After dinner, as the sun slowly succumbed to darkness, we all gathered around a blazing fire.

Finally, after a fun-filled day, we hopped in the van and headed home. Thanks, Brenneman family!

NFL Preseason 2010

First of all, I'm sorry for neglecting to write in such a long time. Honestly, nothing exciting or important has happened lately. It's been school, homework, bed, and so on for the past two weeks.

Anyway, the NFL preseason is just about finished up, and the regular season starts in one week. I am extremely excited, because this preseason was a very promising one for the Mighty Pack.

We started out slowly, losing by a field goal to Cleveland in our first game, but we slaughtered Seattle in our next game. Next, we easily defeated the Colts 59-24! We struggled against the Chiefs, but neither team played their starters.

If our O-line stays consistent, our run defense continues to dominate, and Ryan Grant keeps producing, we should go far. Many NFL experts agree, the Packers are serious Super Bowl contenders.

GO PACK GO!