About halfway through the first half of the Packer game, I was wondering this: If the NFC North was a beauty contest, could the judges even declare a winner?
The Vikings looked rusty and ugly on Thursday Night in New Orleans. Neither the Bears nor Lions seemed capable of winning their game. And the Packers were disturbingly lackluster in their start at Philly.
When it was said and done, Green Bay had created a sort of moldy bread sandwich: they played great in the middle two quarters of the game, but on either side – 1st quarter and 4th – they were very disappointing. The offense wasn’t clicking early, and they weren’t able to grind it out and keep the ball away from the Eagles late. The defense got around to dominating the Kolb-led offense, but once Vick took over, you began to wish it was only a 45-minute game.
(If Vick had managed to pull them even and force the game into overtime, i don’t think our defense would have had enough gas left to stop them.)
On the other hand, when the Packers looked good – admittedly not the full 60 minutes – they looked great. The defense had that swagger (Clay Matthews is a beast!!), and the offense showed how potent it can be.
Even more encouraging than the flashes of brilliance on offense and defense, however, was the surprising performance by our special teams. The kick return game was just exactly what it is supposed to be – an explosive threat, regularly setting up the offense with a short field. And Mason Crosby – wow! When did he become all that?!
So the Packers come out of Week One with a big win: a road win, a Conference win, and a win against a competitive opponent.
Besides coming out with a big win, the Packers also come out of Week One with two big losses: both Justin Harrell and Ryan Grant have been lost for the season (Packer injuries). The Justin Harrell loss is more about depth than ability, but that’s no small issue along the defensive line. Meanwhile, the Ryan Grant loss is huge.
Grant has gained 1,200 yards for Green Bay in each of the past two seasons. He has also been our breakaway threat, often peeling off the big run that’s a drive-changer. He has demonstrated the toughness to run between the tackles, but he also has the speed, quickness, and moves to run outside and make guys miss in the open field. We don’t have a back-up who is close to Grant in speed, talent, and productivity. And while the Packer offense is probably a pass-first offense – and we are well-equipped for that – we need a complementary running game. At the moment, we may not have one.
So we enter Week Two with a 1-0 record. But deep inside we know that it’s one win with two losses.
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