The bottom line in football is "How many points?" The Vikings bested us there by 7 (though it felt like more). Above that bottom line, however, are some other "how manys."
How many penalties?
How many turnovers?
How many sacks?
Those are the killer numbers from last night. And while we can't go back and change the "how many points" part of the game, we sure better address those other numbers before we get back on the field following our bye week.
I'm not sure that I can call last night's game a disappointment. I didn't really feel disappointed, for frankly I didn't go in with high expectations. Don't get me wrong: I was rooting, I was into it, I was all there. But I didn't expect the Packers to beat the Vikings, and so in that sense I wasn't disappointed by their 7-point loss.
In some respects, I was actually pleased by Green Bay's performance. Most notably, I was very pleased to see us neutralize Adrian Peterson. I am weary of all the Peterson hype, and I honestly feared that he would run all over us. But our defense kept him very well contained, making Brett the real hero for the Vikings last night.
And that was the other thing I was pleased about. I'm glad that, if Green Bay had to lose, it was because Favre had a brilliant night. For while I am a die-hard fan of the Packers, I am not a fan of Ted Thompson, and my jury is still out on Mike McCarthy. I was glad, therefore, to see Brett vindicate himself right under their noses.
Speaking of Thompson and Mike McCarthy, they were so confident that they were making the right decision by "moving on" to Aaron Rodgers. Well, now, I have no beef with Aaron Rodgers -- in fact, I think he's terrific, and I think he does a great job with what he's got -- but it's clear to all observers that the Packers would not have suffered by welcoming Favre back when he wanted to unretire last summer.
On the contrary, it is Favre who would have suffered, for the Thompson-McCarthy brain trust has not provided even average protection for their quarterback. Green Bay has surrendered 20 sacks so far this year -- most in the NFL -- and they are on pace to give up a scandalous 80 sacks on the season!
Speaking of the Manchurian offensive line, did you see the play late in the 4th quarter when Jared Allen got flagged for being offsides because he was "unabated to the quarterback"? It's too bad the Vikings couldn't be penalized for being "barely abated to the quarterback." That would have been a real boost last night.
Jared Allen earned four-and-a-half of the Vikings' 8 sacks on the night. Because of his stellar peformance, they kept showing him on the sidelines, which was unfortunate. He doesn't look as good on the sideline as he does on the field. He was wise to choose a sport that includes a helmet and facemask.
Well, the season is still young. Being a field goal behind at the end of the first quarter of a game is no cause for panic; neither is being two games behind at the end of the first quarter of the season. We've got a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and plenty of time to make up ground in the Division. But we've got to solve those "how manys" that we identified above.
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