FanHouse Jon Ryan

After watching Owen Schmitt try to give himself a lobotomy with his helmet prior to Sunday's Jags-Seahawks game, it's clear that being clinically insane is a prerequisite to playing professional football.

And that goes a long way in explaining Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio, a former NFL linebacker, whose motivational tactics border on the certifiable.

Six years ago, in an effort to encourage the troops to "keep chopping wood," Del Rio placed a stump and an ax in the middle of the locker room. Not long after, punter Chris Hanson missed the stump, found his leg, and needed surgery to close up the gash. In retrospect, probably not the best idea.

Yesterday, Ciskie pointed out that the Packers were still without a punter. (Even though nobody pays them any attention, they are sort of important.) On Monday, they released incumbent Derrick Frost, who was signed just prior to the season opener to replace the inconsistent Jon Ryan.

Well, got some good news, Bruce: Green Bay inked former Nittany Lion Jeremy Kapinos, which means, barring an asteroid strike, the team will have a punter for this weekend's game against the Texans. And while I'll gladly admit that punters are seldom newsworthy, it was hard to overlook head coach Mike McCarthy's comments following the Kapinos signing:

"I want him to punt the ball in the right direction," McCarthy said. "I'm expected to win games. He's expected to punt the ball in the right direction." Then, McCarthy added, "I'm not trying to be funny."

Whoa, there, Mike. Let's try to keep expectations realistic here. You want this guy to not only kick the ball, but kick it in the right direction.

The Seahawks lost their best player 69 seconds into the first half. That was the last time Packers running back Ryan Grant fumbled on the day. His two turnovers, 57 seconds apart, led directly to a 14-0 Seattle lead. But the remaining 58:51 was all Green Bay.

The Packers tied a franchise playoff record for first-half points (28), and quarterback Brett Favre tied a personal playoff record with three touchdown passes. The team also set playoff franchise records for total points (42), individual rushing yards and total rushing yards (234).

Things were so one-sided that Jon Ryan didn't get punt until nine minutes to go in the game (snow he can handle; winds and freezing temperatures ... not so much). And the rushing record? Yep, Ryan Grant recovered nicely from his raging case of the early-game fumbles to finish with 201 yards on 27 carries, including three rushing touchdowns.

For a Seahawks defense has been stout against the run in '07 (ranking fifth, according to Football Outsiders), they were summarily abused against a Packers team that was without a rushing game for the first part of the season. Amazing what an undrafted rookie free agent can do to bolster the ground attack.

Offensively, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was a victim of at least eight dropped passes. Granted, the second-half conditions were awful, but even without the miscues, I'm guessing the Seahawks lose handily.

In the two games since taking over the starting job, Kyle Orton has completed 30 of 52 passes for 285 yards, with a touchdown and a pick. It's worth pointing out that his Week 16 effort was in bone-chilling conditions, and 50-mph winds. Orton was 8 of 14 and finished the day with a 103.6 passer rating.

His counterpart, Brett Favre, didn't make out so well (but better than punter Jon Ryan): 17 of 32, 153 yards and two interceptions (40.2 passer rating).

Orton's solid play will likely put him the Bears' starting quarterback mix for 2008. Head coach Lovie Smith had some nice things to say about the 2005 fourth-rounder who won 11 games as a rookie.

"You do remember the last things that go on in a football game in a season like this, and the memory I have of [him is] leading our team this past week," Smith said. "Hopefully I'll have another positive memory as we make decisions in the off-season after this game."

The starting job isn't guaranteed -- there's still a chance Rex Grossman is re-signed, and the Derek Anderson-to-the-Bears talk just won't go away.

The Packers' pathetic performance at Soldier Field yesterday has been attributed mostly to the inability of quarterback Brett Favre and punter Jon Ryan to manage the winds in Chicago.

But there's more to it than just that: Injuries have ravaged the Packers' defensive line, and Green Bay both failed to pressure Bears quarterback Kyle Orton and allowed Bears running backs Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe to pick up tough yards up the middle at key times.

The biggest problem is that two Packers defensive tackles, Johnny Jolly and Colin Cole, are on injured reserve, and a third, Ryan Pickett, was out yesterday. So how worried should the Packers be about the defensive line for the playoffs? Here's one answer:

"Worried for what? We ain't worried about that," defensive tackle Corey Williams said. "They executed, we didn't. Ain't nothing to worry about. Just get in the classroom and correct the mistakes. We ain't worried."

Actually, I think if you're a team with Super Bowl aspirations, you should be very worried that a sub-.500 team executed better than you did. The Packers didn't look like a Super Bowl team yesterday, and although Favre and Ryan will be fine as long as they don't encounter winds like yesterday's again, the defensive line isn't getting any better.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Jon Ryan, Packers
Here's all you need to know about the Packers second-year punter: Green Bay attempted to punt six times, and Ryan got off three of them. And one of the successful boots went nine yards. Nine. In chronological order, here's how Ryan's Chicago Adventure unfolded:

* Fumbled snap
* Blocked punt
* 47-yard punt
* 9-yard punt
* Blocked punt (returned for TD)
* 39-yard punt

It's worth pointing out that the wind chill was -1 in Chicago Sunday, and Packers quarterback Brett Favre didn't exactly help things; he tossed two interceptions, one a pick-six. The loss gives the Cowboys homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, which might be fine with Favre, who described the conditions in Chicago as the worst he's seen in 17 seasons.

Silver lining for Ryan: he manged to successfully hold for kicker Mason Crosby on the Packers' lone extra-point attempt. So there's that.
Sorry, No Photos

In the last frenzied hours of shopping before the kiddies ramble downstairs and start tearing the wrapping off their gifts, the Dallas Cowboys will have to venture to the mall and pick out one last present. The Chicago Bears are worthy of a new bike or a Wii after beating the Packers 35-7 and clinching home field in the NFC for the 'Boys. As strange as it sounds, though, it might have been a gift for Brett Favre as well.

Favre looked completely unable to handle the elements and completed just 17-of-32 passes for 153 yards. He had just nine yards in the first half and had a passer rating of zero halfway through the third quarter. He also threw a pair of interceptions in the blistering wind and bonechilling cold, two things that are more likely to rear up at Lambeau Field than at Texas Stadium in late January.

He wasn't the only Packer to suffer in the wind. If they had punter ratings, Jon Ryan's would be in negative numbers. He had two kicks blocked, fumbled a snap on a third and had a fourth travel nine yards in what will probably go down as the worst performance in the history of punting. Unlike Favre, through, Ryan doesn't really have much else to prop up his resume.