The unkindest cut of all

"CP" Chris Peppas Posted: Sept. 8, 2009

“Coach wants to see ya…oh and, uh, bring your playbook.”

Those cruelest of words uttered by the Turks in locker rooms around the country this past weekend said it all. You’ve just been cut by…the fill-in-the-blanks of the NFL.

In the case of the Green Bay Packers, 2008 2nd round pick QB Brian Brohm was given the Sweeney Todd treatment. That was somewhat surprising as was a stiletto to the jugular of wideout Ruvell Martin, safety Anthony Smith and halfback Tyrell (No Cuttin’) Sutton.

The axe that fell on Smith made the least sense. He made nothing but plays this preseason, was well-steeped in Dom Capers’ 3-4 defense and gave much needed depth at safety, especially with Aaron Rouse being as injury-plagued as he has been thus far.

It may end up being the unkindest – for the Packers’ sake – cut of all…2009’s Abdul Hodge, only worse. Smith got snapped up by the St. Louis Rams.

Martin became expendable when Brett Swain showed his versatility and prowess on Special Teams and Martin couldn’t hold for Mason Crosby. If I were the Minnesota Vikings GM, I’d bring Martin in post-haste. He knows the offense, he’s a tall target for Brett Favre and they have a familiarity with each other. It’s a no-brainer.

Sutton was intriguing and not just because he provided that often needed change-of-pace runner. He was un-drafted and outplayed guys with tons more experience. The Packers’ loss is the Carolina Panthers’ gain, I feel.

But I guess it’s better than being Brohm. What’s worse getting waived by the Pack or NOT drawing even tacit interest and returning to the practice squad? At least he still has a job. He’s got another chance to advance and recapture what made him so highly sought after when he came out of Louisville.

PRESEASON IS PREHISTORIC

The time has come for the NFL to do away with the preseason as we know it. There is too much at stake for the players and the cost if too high for the fans to have to endure, especially when you consider the quality that they trot out for much of these meaningless games.

All you have to do, NFL, is eliminate the bye week and start your camps and scrimmages a week earlier to evaluate the talent pool. The season would be 18 games long and you could add a wild card team to make the Super Bowl that much more super.

OOCH, EECH, OUCH!

In order by temperature (with the hottest ones listed first), here are the hottest seats in the top positions of authority from the pro and college teams around the state. For our purposes here you can use either the Fahrenheit, Kelvin, Celsius or Centigrade scales.

1. Wisconsin Head Football Coach Bret Bielema…hands down (see Hades). He’s running out of Barry Alvarez coattails to hang on to. It’s a down year for the Big 10 and Bucky.

2. Milwaukee Brewer Manager Ken Macha…swept in Pittsburgh and at home by Cincinnati…’nuff said. And Willie Randolph is waiting in the wings. I think it would be too soon to pull the trigger on this one…Macha has a steady way about him and the players seem to respond to him.

3. UWM Men’s Basketball Coach Rob Jeter... Bruce Pearl did too good a job whetting the appetite for post-season success. Jeter will have to get there soon.

4. Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach Scott Skiles.... He is tough-minded and defense-oriented. Another season of injuries to key players and he could be toast. Bucks in danger of becoming the Clippers, matching their years of futility and number of coaching changes.

5. Brewer General Manager Doug Melvin…quietly and systematically has brought, along with owner Mark Attanasio’s checkbook, the club back to the national conversation. He has a longer leash than Macha.

6. Marquette Men’s Basketball Coach Buzz Williams…Tom Crean’s Big Three are gone and Williams did a great job of morphing them into his style of play...he has to perform in the always tough Big East with “his guys.” Buzz has shown considerable chops as a recruiter.

7. Green Bay Packer Head Coach Mike McCarthy…from 9-7 to 13-3 to 6-10 to ?-?...has gone from anonymity to an OT-INT from the Super Bowl…he looks to have the moxie to be here for a while.

8. Packer General Manager Ted Thompson…his seat is barely warm…call it room temperature. He has made the tough calls (was there any tougher call than the one on #4?) and his methodology, which at times seems inscrutable, flat out works.

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The unkindest cut of all