Tag: Green Bay Packers

Noontime Football, Professional Sports News

Noontime’s NFL Conference Championship Predictions

By Matt Noonan

Welcome to the conference championship weekend – are you ready for another exciting weekend of National Football League (NFL) playoff football?  

Last week, we were treated to some exciting football – I can’t say it was the cleanest football, but it was fun.

This week, we should be treated to not one, but two great matchups, so without further ado, allow me to share my predictions for the conference championships.

Enjoy the games and best of luck to everyone in the snow tomorrow!

Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, January 30 at 3 p.m.): I picked the Bengals last week to beat the Tennessee Titans. I even predicted they would win their opening-round matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. But as much as I would like to pick them again this week, I just don’t think their offensive line will be able to contain the Chiefs’ front seven. It would be a great story to see Joe Burrow in his second season leading the Bengals back to the “big game,” but I think Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will make one, two, or three extra plays to secure a spot in next month’s Super Bowl. PREDICTION: Kansas City 31, Cincinnati 26

San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (Sunday, January 30 at 6:30 p.m.): It’s hard to pick against the 49ers – they have a great deal of momentum on their side. And while they appear banged-up and tired, especially after two hard-fought postseason contests with the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, I think it would be hard for me to pick against them this weekend. San Francisco has been playing some inspirational football, which started earlier this month when they defeated Los Angeles in their regular-season finale. PREDICTION: San Francisco 27, Los Angeles 23

Noontime Football, Professional Sports News

Getting To Know Nathaniel Hackett (Denver Broncos)
Nathaniel Hackett, who oversaw the Green Bay Packers offense for the last three seasons, has been named the head coach of the Denver Broncos. (PHOTO COURTESY: Green Bay Packers)

By NoontimeSports.com

The Denver Broncos have a new head coach. And his name is Nathaniel Hackett.

According to various reports, Hackett, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, will become the new coach of the Broncos — he takes over for Vic Fangio, who guided the Orange and Blue for the last three seasons.

Hackett is the first coordinator or assistant coach to fill one of the National Football League’s (NFL) head coaching vacancies — others will be named over the next few days and weeks — but before he inks his name on a new contract, let’s learn about the new leader of the Broncos.

  • Nathaniel is the son of Paul Hackett, a former professional and collegiate football coach that was born in Burlington, Vermont. Paul held numerous coordinator or assistant roles in the NFL but was a head coach twice for the University of Pittsburgh and University of Southern California.

  • Hackett played football at the University of California, Davis. He earned the George Belenis Award as a co-scout team player of the year in 1998 with Trae Milton before earning the Bob Foster Aggie Pride Award in 2002.  
      
  • His coaching career began in 2003 as the UC Davis assistant linebacker’s coach before earning additional roles with Stanford University and Syracuse University. He spent two years at Stanford – he was a specialist/recruiting coordinator in 2005.

  • In 2006, Hackett made his NFL debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their offensive quality control coach before accepting the same duties in 2008 and 2009 with the Buffalo Bills.

  • Most recently, he was spotted on the sidelines with the Jacksonville Jaguars as both their quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator before joining Matt LaFleur in Green Bay to oversee the offense the last three seasons.  

Our “Getting to Know” series, a first-ever in the history of Noontime Sports, will introduce our football fans and friends to new head coaches in the NFL. Be on the lookout for future posts once more teams announce their next coach for the upcoming 2022 season.

Professional Sports News

Noontime’s Super Bowl Prediction

By Matt Noonan

So we have finally made it to the Super Bowl – please breath a sigh of relief, Roger Goodell.

Of course, we need to play the game, which we will tomorrow evening, but like I have over the past few weeks, allow me to share my “two-cents” on the 2020 National Football League (NFL) postseason with a Super Bowl prediction!

Enjoy the game, everyone – tomorrow’s match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be a great contest.

Get ready for Super Bowl Sunday with some insight – and yes, some thoughts and predictions, too – by listening to the Football Friday Podcast with myself, as well as Andrew Pezzelli and Zach Weiss.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor!

Noontime’s Postseason Record: 9-3

Conference Championship Picks | Divisional Round Picks| Wild Card Picks

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: This is the match-up the NFL wanted – if it had been Kansas City and the Green Bay Packers that would have worked, too – but Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes seems like the ideal way to cap a pandemic season.

Sunday’s meeting will mark the fifth time Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have tangled on the gridiron since 2018 – Brady won the first two meetings while Mahomes has captured the last two, including one when the current Buccaneers quarterback was under center for the New England Patriots.

Tampa Bay enters the contest with a great deal of momentum. They have scored three-straight postseason wins, but really found their grove at the end of the regular season with a pair of victories against the Atlanta Falcons, along with a statement win against the Detroit Lions.

The Bucs will be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium, and will be the initial team to secure a victory in the ‘big game’ on their own turf.

It will be a bit closer than many may anticipate, but in the end, Tom Brady will lead the Buccaneers on a game-winning touchdown drive to secure his seventh Super Bowl championship. PREDICTION: Tampa Bay 31, Kansas City 27

Daily Noontime

Daily Noontime: Monday, February 1, 2021

By NoontimeSports.com

Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome to the first day of February!

We’re expecting a nor’easter to arrive in our neighborhood shortly, so please make sure your car is parked on the correct side of the street as we certainly don’t want complaints of parking tickets flooding our email inbox tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday.

Yet, before the snow, rain, and slush arrive, allow us to kickstart the day with a brand new Daily Noontime for Monday, February 1, 2021.

As usual, be well, stay safe, hold the line, and smile – we’re almost there!

Monday’s Headlines & Links (February 1, 2021)

  • Let’s start the day with perhaps the biggest news blast (and update) in our email this morning: Theo Epstein, who guided both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs to World Series victories as en executive for both ball clubs, has joined Arctos Sports Partners, which is a firm that buys minority shares of pro clubs.

    Today’s announcement comes just one day after an SB Nation shared an interesting post (and read) from The Athletic, which asked the following question: who should be the next Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner?

    As we all know, Rob Manfred is the current MLB Commissioner, but putting Theo Epstein in charge may not be a bad idea as the sport could certainly use his help with being just as innovative as the other professional leagues.
  • Welcome to Super Bowl week, which promises to be quite different due to the coronavirus pandemic. But as one sports writer – Jay Mariotti – wonders (and writes), is reaching the championship game a win for the National Football League (NFL) or perhaps a sign that our country has turned a blind eye to this deadly virus?
  • College basketball conference championships are on the horizon, which seems crazy, right? But as one west coast reporter write, the Pac-12 is not planning to cancel its conference tournament next month.

    Similar to NCAA D-I college football, the college basketball season has not been pretty – we have seen a lot of starts and stops, along with some programs calling it quits, but don’t be surprised if you see some teams or conferences pull the plug on their respective postseason.
  • The Los Angeles Rams apparently have a new quarterback for the 2021 season as they sent Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford. But prior to acquiring Matthew Stafford late Saturday evening, the Rams tried to trade for Aaron Rodgers, but the Green Bay Packers said, “no way!”

Monday’s Podcast Alert 🚨

  • Today on the Noontime Sports Podcast, Matt Noonan welcomes Scottie Rodgers, who is the director of communications with the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas.

    Noonan and Rodgers discuss how the sports communication world has changed due to the pandemic, including how Zoom press conferences could be part of the “new normal.” Rodgers also discussed his role (and involvement) with the Racial and Social Justice Initiative Planning Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
  • You can listen to today’s interview, as well as past shows by visiting our Anchor page!

We’ll be back with more later today, but for now, be well, stay safe, and smile, everyone!

Daily Noontime

Daily Noontime: Monday, January 25, 2021

By NoontimeSports.com

The Daily Noontime is officially back – yay!

Yes, we’re back – we missed you, but we’re excited to kickstart your mornings (and sometimes early afternoons, too) with some news and links from the sports and tech world.

As usual, we hope this post finds everyone doing well, staying safe, and holding the line – we’re almost there, we promise!

Alright, let’s get after it with today’s Daily Noontime – have a great day, everyone!

Enjoy a brand new Noontime Sports Podcast featuring Seth Cantor and Kevin Tuve. Seth and Kevin, who work for the New York Boulders baseball team in the Frontier League, share some early thoughts on how both the team (and players, coaches, and front office staff) are preparing for a return to play later this spring and summer.

Listen to our Monday show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify – you can also find other outlets that carry our show on Anchor.

Monday’s Headlines (Jan. 25 2021)

In case you missed it (ICYMI): Did you miss our Noontime’s Sunday Thoughts column from Sunday, January 24? If so, hop here – you will want to read Matt Noonan‘s thoughts from the weekend!