Tevye Talks Football

In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye is famous for his ability to see both sides of every situation.  “On the other hand,” he reasons to himself on several occasions, always coming up with another point of view.

I feel like Tevye about this past week of NFL action.

On the one hand, it was a disastrous week for the Packers.  The Bears beat a tough NFC opponent while the Packers lost to one. 

On the other hand, both Philly and Tampa Bay lost, which suits our cause just fine.

On the other hand, with Sunday’s loss in Atlanta, we went from the possible position of controlling our own destiny and home field advantage to clinging to the edge of the NFC playoff picture. 

On the other hand, we have lost 4 games this season, and all of them have been lost by a mere field goal.  That means that no one is good enough to dominate us, to wipe us out, to run us off the field.  It means we genuinely could have beaten anyone we’ve played.

On the other hand, it also means that our bend-but-don’t-break defense is better designed for games we can dominate than the close games.

On the other hand, Las Vegas typically assumes that home field advantage is worth 3 points.  By that logic, we are just as good as Atlanta, and we would have beaten them at Lambeau. 

On the other hand, one dramatic way that we obviously were not as good as Atlanta was on the ground.  The absence of an effective running game was embarrassingly apparent on Sunday.  (If only the Packers could run it like the Badgers!  Brett Bielema’s team is proving that a punishing offensive line and grind-it-out running attack is good enough to swamp opponents and put up a ton of points.)

On the other hand, the fact is that we substantially outgained Atlanta, and if it hadn’t been for Aaron Rodgers’ fumble in the Falcon end zone, we would have won. 

On the other hand, we simply cannot afford to stumble again down the home stretch of the season.  We are in a neck-and-neck race, not only for the NFC North title, but also for the two NFC Wild Card berths.

And at that point, Tevye would grimly conclude, “There is no other hand.”

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Atlanta Falcons,Chicago Bears,Fiddler on the Roof,NFL Playoffs,NFC North

Week Twelve Preview

A great line-up of football awaits us on this Thanksgiving weekend!

It starts at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Detroit.  The Lions are almost as much a traditional part of Thanksgiving as turkey -- and they fare about as well.  Their losing ways are likely to continue as the Patriots come to town. 

The second game on Thanksgiving Day is the most important one of the day for us.  The 7-3 New Orleans Saints are listed just ahead of us in the Conference standings, and so we’ll be rooting for the resurgent Cowboys.  The game will be in Dallas, and it will be an interesting test for Jason Garrett’s team.  The Cowboys are playing for pride; the Saints are playing for playoffs.  New Orleans doesn’t seem quite as dominant as the 2009 squad, and so I think Dallas stands a chance here.  ‘Should be good Thanksgiving Day viewing!

(Meanwhile, there’s also lots of good college football to watch on Friday, but that’s not our chief concern here.)

On Sunday, the Vikings visit the Redskins.  Minnesota is no longer a realistic threat to our ambitions within the Division, so we don’t really have much reason to care how they fare from this point on.  Still, it’s an interesting story line to watch…  Will their new coach achieve the sort of immediate turnaround in attitude and performance that Jason Garrett achieved in Dallas?  And how will the embattled and aged Favre handle these final few weeks of his storied career?

I’ll be rooting for the Ravens (which I have seldom done in my life) when they host the 7-3 Buccaneers this Sunday afternoon. 

Another late Sunday game of interest to us is the Eagles’ visit to Chicago.  The truth is, of course, that if Philly were playing anyone else, we’d be rooting against them.  In this case, however, we’d like them to come in and trip up the Bears for us.  Still, given the Eagles’ place in the NFC playoff picture, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for them to lose this game. 

Of course, the game of greatest consequence this weekend -- and what Don Banks calls “the glamour matchup of the week” -- is the Packers’ trip to Atlanta.  He observes that these two clubs share the longest current winning streak in the NFL at 4 games each. 

For the Falcons, those four games have included a 39-32 victory over the Bengals, a 27-21 win over Tampa Bay, a 26-21 win against the Ravens, and a 34-17 defeat of the Rams.  Only the last of those games was on the road.

The Packers, meanwhile, have beaten the Vikings twice in that same stretch, plus a drubbing of the Cowboys and a gritty win in New York against the Jets. 

Through 10 games, the Packers and Falcons have nearly identical offensive productivity, with Atlanta averaging 25.6 and Green Bay 25.2 points per game.  On defense, meanwhile, the Packers have been considerably more stingy, allowing a measly 14.6 points per game, compared with the Falcons’ also commendable average of 19.2. 

The Falcons boast an NFL-best 8-2 record.  And unless we win this game, we can almost guarantee that we’ll have to go back to Atlanta at some point during the playoffs.  Now I’m comfortable with our team’s dome performance, but I’d much rather see a team from Georgia have to play at Lambeau in January. 

Whoever wins this game will be the flavor du jour in sports talk and national media attention.  And, more significantly, whoever wins this game will have grabbed the inside track on home field advantage in the NFC.

This will be a great test for the Packers.  They have played three masterpieces in a row.  On the other hand, two of those three have been against teams that, arguably, have not really played -- so much so that both coaches were fired shortly after those games.  A win against the Falcons on the road, therefore, would be a definitive statement.

Finally, the folks at ESPN got hosed this week.  The Monday Night Football match-up is hardly a crowning touch on the great football weekend.  The 3-7 49ers visit the 3-7 Cardinals.  Yuck!  The only thing that keeps this game from being a complete irrelevancy is the fact that the pathetic NFC West is actually still within reach for both of these losers. 

Okay, so predictions for this eventful football weekend…

Packers, Eagles, Vikings, and Cowboys all win, and the Badgers secure their trip to Pasadena.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Dallas Cowboys,Atlanta Falcons,Minnesota Vikings,NFL playoffs,Chicago Bears,Philadelphia Eagles,New Orleans Saints

Neck-and-Neck with the Bears, v. 2

Well, both the Bears and the Packers pulled off impressive wins on the road in Week 11, and so they enter Week 12 virtually tied atop the NFC North.  And with the Vikings falling like a stone, it truly is a two-team race for our Division.

While sharing an identical record with Green Bay, the Bears have the edge on us by virtue of beating us head-to-head.  Of course, we’ll be able to even that score on the last week of the season on the Frozen Tundra. 

As you can see in the chart below, our roads ahead are also nearly identical.  Both teams have 3 road games and 3 home games left.  And both teams face 4 winning records and 2 losing records in the weeks that remain. 

Week	Packers (7-3)	Bears (7-3)
12	at Falcons (8-2)	Eagles (7-3)
13	49ers (3-7)	at Lions (2-8)
14	at Lions (2-8)	Patriots (8-2)
15	at Patriots (8-2)	at Vikings (3-7)
16	Giants (6-4)	Jets (8-2)
17	Bears (7-3)	at Packers (7-3)
Records	(34-26)	(35-25)

Week 12 is going to be a tremendous challenge for both of us.  The Falcons and Eagles are both Division leaders.  And they’re both NFC teams, which matters in terms of both tie-breakers and playoff seeding.  Green Bay has to play the Falcons in Atlanta, while the Bears get to host the Eagles. 

We’ll give more specific attention to the Week 12 match-ups later in the week.  For now, just this about the horse race in the Division…

I sincerely believe that that Packers are better than the Bears -- better coach, better quarterback, better receivers.  Defenses are both good.  Chicago probably has the edge on special teams, though we seem to have improved somewhat in that area. 

In any case, given my assumption that we are the better team, and given the fact that we have identical records and nearly identical schedules, I believe that the Packers will win the Division in the end.  Accordingly, the head-to-head match-up with the Falcons is all the more important, for NFC playoff seeding and home field advantage are at stake.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Chicago Bears,Atlanta Falcons,Philadelphia Eagles,NFL playoffs

Coach Killers

The last two teams that the Green Bay Packers have played (and beaten badly) have fired their coaches in the following week.  First it was the Cowboys releasing Wade Phillips after the way they were embarrassed by the Packers on Sunday Night Football.  And now the Minnesota Vikings have unloaded Brad Childress in the wake of their humiliation at the hands of the Packers on Sunday afternoon on their own home field.

At the same time, we also note that the last two coaches Brett Favre has played for (Eric Mangini with the Jets, and now Brad Childress with the Vikings) have been fired. 

So who is the real coach killer?

The Childress story is the really remarkable one, of course.  On the one hand, this week’s news was a surprise to no one.  The hometown crowd was audibly calling for his firing on Sunday afternoon!  (Can you imagine what it would feel like to stand there while tens of thousands of people are yelling for you to be fired?!) 

But rewind the tape only a few months.  The Vikings were a play or two away from the Super Bowl last January.  Just last January!  In the long history of the NFL, I suspect that few teams have fallen so far so fast as the Minnesota Vikings have during the calendar year 2010.  It’s a remarkable story.  And it’s hard to imagine a much more pathetic ending to Brett Favre’s career -- especially considering the several times in recent he could have gone out near the top. 

If only he had retired at the end of the 2007 or 2009 seasons, he would have fulfilled the classic counsel:  Leave ‘em wanting more!  As it is now, however, I don’t think anyone will be knocking on his Mississippi door this offseason, and that may be the strangest change of all for him. 

Technorati Tags: Brad Childress,Minnesota Vikings,Dallas Cowboys,Green Bay Packers,Brett Favre

A Quick Look Back at Week Eleven

The Cowboys are 2-0 since making Jason Garrett head coach.

The Titans are 0-2 since adding Randy Moss to their roster.

Wade Phillips was the first to go.  Who is next?  Brad Childress?  Perhaps Mike Singletary? 

What the lowly Cleveland Browns managed to do, the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers and perennially productive Indianapolis Colts could not: beat the New England Patriots. 

SI.com is now flirting with the possibility that Favre is done for good:

Among the questions surrounding the Vikings -- Will Brad Childress be fired? Is the team coming apart? -- is whether Brett Favre just up and retires. It sure sounded like it Sunday. ... If he's going to come back, then he's going to have to talk himself into it. When he left Sunday, it was for good. That was not "see you later." It was goodbye. Twice he was asked if he's committed to finishing the season. He would not make promises. "I came back for a Super Bowl," he said. "But also, I knew there was a chance it wouldn't happen." What do you mean you're going to re-evaluate? "I have no idea," he said, smiling. "That was just an answer."
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/morning-jolt/11/22/brett-favre-morning-jolt/index.html#ixzz161vz4enA

Wouldn’t that be something if the final game of his career was a loss to the Packers?!

Speaking of the Packers, they have allowed a total of just 10 points in the past three games combined.  Peter King is wondering if they are perhaps the best team in the league.  That first page of his MMQB is a good read for Packer fans -- I recommend it. 

And one quick college football note… How ‘bout them Badgers?!  Ever since their 10-point loss to the Spartans in East Lansing, Wisconsin hasn’t missed a beat.  This week, they went into Michigan and put a real beat-down on the Wolverines.  A writer for CBS Sports has written an effective tribute to this year's Badgers and their coach: a very satisfying read.  Still some sorting out to do in the Big Ten and the BCS. 

Between Thursday in the NFL and Friday in the NCAA, it should be a great Thanksgiving weekend of football!

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Brett Favre,Wisconsin Badgers,Randy Moss,Dallas Cowboys,Brad Childress,Peter King

Week Eleven Preview

The Packers are back from their bye, and the rooting begins for us on Thursday night again this week. 

The Bears travel to Miami to play the quarterback-less Dolphins on the NFL Network.  Chicago (as we unpacked in an earlier post) is our chief competition in the NFC North, and so we are Miami fans this week.  It’s a short week for both teams, and so the Dolphins’ home field advantage might be magnified a bit.  Also, the Bears are perfectly set for a letdown game after that triumphant at-home performance against Division-rival Minnesota.  On the other hand, the Dolphins are reeling after watching their first and second-string quarterbacks go down last Sunday, one of them for the rest of the season.  Added to Miami’s woes is that Chicago is a top-flight run defense, and so the game will rest heavily on the arm and performance of their 3rd-string quarterback. 

Still, Miami has a highly-ranked pass defense, and you know that Mike Martz and Jay Cutler want to pass the ball.  I’m counting on the Bears to turn the ball over more often that the Dolphins, and that is my basis for giving Miami at least a little hope.  

Meanwhile, we’re beginning to pay more attention to other teams around the Conference, conscious of the imminent Wild Card race and playoff seeding methods.

Specifically, this week we’ll be rooting for the surprising Rams to upset the visiting Falcons.  That’s somewhat unlikely, but it’s more likely than the Seahawks upsetting the Saints at home.  We’re also hoping to see the 49ers prevail over the visiting Buccaneers. 

The Giants at Philadelphia should be a great game this week on Sunday Night Football.  They are coming off dramatically different Week Ten performances against Division foes.  Since we haven’t played New York yet, it’s hard to say which way to lean on this one.  My own inclination is to root for New York so that the Eagles will be suitably focused when they travel to Chicago the following week.

The Colts in New England will also be a fascinating game.  It has no impact on the Packers’ fate, of course, but it has become a regular season classic.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Lions go to Dallas to play the Cowboys.  Both teams are wallowing at 2-7, but the Cowboy fans will likely be welcoming their team like conquering heroes this Sunday.  I’m guessing they’ll keep Jason Garrett’s record perfect.

Finally, and most importantly, the Packers head to Minnesota this Sunday afternoon.  While I am not worried that the Vikings will overtake us in the Division this year, I am worried that they will beat us this week and thereby give the Bears another leg up on us in the NFC North race. 

We have the advantage of the bye week, of course, and I think we’re more suited to playing in a dome than we used to be.  Also, the Vikings are a mess with little to play for.  Plus, there has to be such disarray and lethargy in a locker room where everyone knows that neither the coach nor the quarterback will be there next year. 

On the other hand, they’ve got talent.  They probably have pride.  And I’m guessing that they hate the Packers enough to get up for this game. 

As I mentioned earlier, I think the key to the game for us is to get up early on the Vikings.  If we can get them demoralized, I believe the part of them that has nothing to play for may take over and give us something resembling the Cowboys’ effort of a couple weeks back.  So I’ll pick the Pack, though I’m very nervous.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Minnesota Vikings,Chicago Bears,Miami Dolphins,Philadelphia Eagles,New York Giants,Atlanta Falcons,Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A Quick Look Back

The NFL Week Eleven begins on Thursday Night this week, and so we’ll have to post our preview tomorrow.  That gives us a quick chance tonight to take a quick look back at Week Ten…

It's funny to see what winning and losing do to perceptions... 

The Cowboys surprised everyone with their upset win over the Giants, and suddenly Dallas is in the hunt.  The Vikings, meanwhile, lost to the Bears on Sunday, and now they're toast.  Yet the Cowboys are 2-7, while the Vikings are 3-6.  And they play in the same Conference.  And the Vikings won their head-to-head battle.

I do think the Cowboys and Vikings are comparable stories.  Both talented, both entering 2010 with high expectations, both grossly underachieving, and both with inadequate head coaches.  The Cowboys finally cut loose their poor leader, and they got a rather astonishing win to show for it.  How long before the Vikings make the same move?

While it is hard to see Chicago climb back into the lead in the NFC North, and while it is tiresome to hear the giddy Chicago sports talk radio this week, I am so glad that they beat Minnesota.  When the Vikings were down by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, I was so worried that Favre would do it again -- as he had the previous week against the Cardinals.  And if the Vikings had come back to win again, and if they had beaten a Division foe on the road, and if they had tightened the Division race, I would have been truly anxious about our visit to Minneapolis next Sunday.  As it is now, however, I feel some degree of confidence that the Vikings are not a team that will care enough to try for a full 60 minutes.  If we can get a jump on them early, therefore, I think they'll fold and we'll win going away. 

Green Bay is now tied with four other 6-3 teams for the second spot in the NFC Conference Standings.  Atlanta stands alone at 7-2.  Yet a closer look at the standings and stats reveals that the Packers outshine everyone else in the Conference -- no, everyone else in the league -- on the matter of point differential.  The Green Bay Packers thus far in 2010 have outscored their opponents by 78 points!  The next best case in the NFC is the Saints at +50.  Meanwhile, the best stat in the AFC is the Titans at +62.

It is worth noting that the Packers' offense has underperformed so far this season -- at least in terms of expectations.  Our point differential advantage, therefore, is not because our offense has outscored everyone by so much.  Rather, it's because our defense has performed so superbly.  The Packers rank #1 in the "Points Against" column for the entire NFL, allowing just 143 points through Week Ten.  The next best score?  The Chicago Bears at 146!  Not to worry, though, for while the Bears have put up 175 points, the Packers have scored 221. 

Also, Peter King says of the Bears:  “I don't know any contender with a tougher last seven weeks: at Miami (on a short week), Philly, at Detroit, New England, at Minnesota, Jets, at Green Bay.”

Elsewhere around the league… The Bills finally got their much-deserved win, the Jaguars got incredibly lucky, and the Giants got embarrassed.  The Falcons looked impressive, so did the Patriots, and Michael Vick on Monday Night looked unbelievable.  Meanwhile, Favre is now finally looking like a guy who has stayed too long, while Colt McCoy is suddenly appearing as a rising star on the NFL stage.

Finally, my dislike for Randy Moss requires me to give a moment’s attention to his debut with the Titans.  He played for them this past Sunday against the Dolphins.  He caught one pass and drew one interference call.  The Titans lost. 

Peter King reports it this way:

Randy Moss' first catch of his Tennessee career came two hours and 53 minutes into Sunday's game. So much for a guy being quick to pick up the offense.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Chicago Bears,Michael Vick,Randy Moss,Colt McCoy,Brett Favre,Minnesota Vikings,Dallas Cowboys,Peter King,point differentials

Neck-and-Neck with the Bears

With Chicago’s rather dominating win over the Vikings last Sunday, it seems that the NFC North is now officially a two-team race.  If Minnesota had won, I think they could have made it a three-team struggle, but they seem too far gone now for that scenario to unfold.

And so our focus will be on the Bears -- beating them out to win the Division.  If, in fact, that is the plot line for the second half of our season, then you couldn’t ask for a better Week 17!

I have created a chart below that reflects, side-by-side, the Packers’ and Bears’ remaining schedules.  As you can see at the bottom, both teams have four road games and three home games left.  Also, you’ll observe that, in terms of opponents’ records as of this day, Chicago has a slightly more difficult schedule. 

A closer look at the two schedules reveals a lot of overlap.  In addition to playing each other on the final week of the season, we both face the Vikings, the Lions, and the Patriots.  Meanwhile, Green Bay faces the Giants, 49ers, and Falcons while the Bears get the Dolphins, Eagles, and Jets. 

In terms of the weekend just ahead of us, it’s hard to say who has the more difficult task.  We both hit the road.  They play a team with more to play for, but one that is badly hobbled.  We play a team in disarray without much to play for, but a talented team that knows us and knows how to beat us.  Also, beating the Packers is about all Brett Favre has left to play for now.  Sad stuff.

In the end, it’s certainly more of a must-win week for the Packers, for a win against the Vikings is more useful to us in tie-breaking scenarios than a win against the Dolphins would be for the Bears. 

Week	Packers (6-3)	Bears (6-3)
11	at Vikings (3-6)	at Dolphins (5-4)
12	at Falcons (7-2)	Eagles (6-3)
13	49ers (3-6)	at Lions (2-7)
14	at Lions (2-7)	Patriots (7-2)
15	at Patriots (7-2)	at Vikings (3-6)
16	Giants (6-3)	Jets (7-2)
17	Bears (6-3)	at Packers (6-3)
Records	(34-29)	(36-27)

Finally, Don Banks (at SI.com) has given his first handicapping of the playoff race.  He notes, on the one hand, that if the playoffs began today, the Packers would not make the cut in the NFC.  On the other hand, of all the teams in the Conference, he regards Green Bay as the “Team Most Likely to Surge,” while he labels the Bears as the “Team Most Likely to Fade.”

Team most likely to surge: Green Bay -- The Packers' three-game winning streak means the surge has already begun. Green Bay's Dom Capers-coordinated defense is becoming a factor again, and only trips to Atlanta and New England look like games that might be beyond the Packers' reach in the final seven weeks.

Team most likely to fade: Chicago -- The Bears have got miles and miles to go before they have anything to truly celebrate this season. Five of Chicago's final seven games are against winning teams, including trips to Miami and Green Bay, and there are tough home games looming against Philadelphia, New England and the Jets.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/11/16/nfl-playoff-picture/index.html#ixzz15Td4l2yt

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Chicago Bears,NFL predictions,NFL playoffs

Week Ten Preview

Week Ten is the Packers’ bye week in 2010, but we still have plenty to cheer about this long football weekend.

Now that the season is past the halfway mark, and given the Packers’ standing within the Conference and within the NFC North, perhaps it’s time to expand our rooting interest.  While we reasonably root against our Divisional rivals from the start of the season, it is hard to know how to cheer in other NFC games.  Now that the teams are starting to sort themselves out a bit, however, we have a better sense for who our competition might be when it comes to the matter of playoff seeding.

With that in mind, then, our relevant cheering begins this Thursday Night!  The Ravens visit the Falcons on the NFL Network -- a good inter-conference match-up of a couple of 6-2, Division-leading teams.  The Falcons are a half-game ahead of us in the NFC standings, and so we’ll be Raven fans on Thursday Night.

Likewise, we now have a rooting interest each time the New York Giants take the field.  Specifically, we’re rooting against them, for they too are a half-game up on us in the NFC.  Unhappily, while the Falcons get a real opponent this week, the Giants get the Cowboys.  I know that anything can happen in the Division, but it’s hard to imagine the Giants losing this one, given how both these teams have been playing of late.

Finally, we are also tied with the defending-champion Saints in our quest for NFC supremacy.  I expect them to gain a half-game on us this weekend, as we’ll be sitting at home, while they’ll be beating the 1-7 Carolina Panthers.

Meanwhile, within the Division, the Lions/Bills match-up has a certain appeal to it.  I think both these teams are better than their records suggest -- or at least each deserves more wins than they have actually achieved.  I believe the Lions have the greater talent of the two clubs, however, and so I predict a Detroit victory.

And, elsewhere, I am honestly torn about the Vikings’ trip to Chicago on Sunday.  It’s hard to root for either team, of course, and yet the match-up does have the advantage of assuring us that one of our Division rivals is sure to lose ground during our bye.  Still, the practical question remains: whom do we want to see win this game?

On the one hand, the Bears are the team with whom we are currently neck-and-neck.  They are also the one team within the Division to whom we have lost.  Logic suggests, therefore, that our allegiance is with the visiting Vikings in this contest.

On the other hand, I believe the Vikings are a better team than the Bears, and for as dysfunctional as they are I am more afraid of them in the long run.  In that respect, therefore, I would rather see them drop to 3-6 and become permanently despondent about the 2010 season.  Otherwise, you see what happens… They get this heroic, come-from-behind victory against the Cardinals this week, they go into Chicago and beat a Division foe next week, and then they welcome in the Packers the following week -- riding a win streak, at 4-5, having tightened the Division race considerably, and feeling pretty good about themselves.

Bottom line?  I am rooting for the Bears, though I think the Vikings are better, and I think the Vikings will win.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Falcons,New York Giants,Detroit Lions,Buffalo Bills,Minnesota Vikings,Chicago Bears

Pretty Ugly

Seldom has such an ugly game looked so beautiful.

It’s hard to trace precisely the line… Where did the Cowboys’ ugliness leave off and the Packers’ prettiness begin?  I believe both were on display in abundance on Sunday Night Football.

It was a great broadcast, start to finish.  I already felt that NBC had put together the best package in the NFL this season, and their quality combined with the Packers’ dominance to make for several hours of truly enjoyable viewing.

Two quick words about the broadcast…  First, Bob Costas’ smirking portrayal of the 2010 Minnesota Vikings as a soap opera was classic.  It felt like a skit from the old Carol Burnett Show.  Second, the 3rd quarter conversation between Michaels and Collinsworth about how the Packers have risen above their staggering injuries to excel and win was both insightful and gratifying.

As to the Cowboys’ ugliness…  Boy, where to begin!?  Lousy tackling, low energy, vanilla and ineffectual defense, an offense that never got on track, too many turnovers, too little passion.  The 2010 Cowboys are half mystery and half embarrassment.  And you can’t see those sideline shots of poor Wade Philips without feeling sorry for him. 

And then there are the Packers…

They’ve logged three consecutive wins now, and they have all been quality wins.  Now, admittedly two of the three have come against losing teams, but not because they are bad.  Both the Vikings and Cowboys are talented clubs -- troubled, to be sure, but plenty talented.  Moreover, one’s a Division win and both are Conference wins, which is worth a ton.  And, in between, there was the road win against a strong AFC opponent in the New York Jets.

The Viking game was more of a shootout.  The Jets game was the classic gritty win, and arguably their best defensive performance of the season. And the Cowboy game was a complete demolition of another NFL team.

In a day or two, we’ll put together some statistics to try to capture just how dominant the Packers were on this night.  For now, though, we simply savor where we stand: a half-game lead in the Division, just a half-game off the pace in the Conference, and heading into our bye week.  The team that heads off to Minnesota in two weeks will be healthier than the team that pulled off these three excellent wins. 

The Packers are 6-3.  When we were 3-3, it was easy to feel very discouraged about this team and this season.  But at this stage, it is worth noting that we have only lost 3 games, and each of those by only 3 points.  Meanwhile, we have allowed only 7 points in the past 8 quarters of football. 

Maybe we are going to be as good as everyone expected coming into this year.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Dallas Cowboys,New York Jets,Minnesota Vikings,Sunday Night Football

Banged Up This Year, But Better Than Last Year

NFL.com is reporting that offensive lineman Daryn Colledge is injured and may miss tonight’s game against the Cowboys. In the midst of that article, they report the considerable continuity the Packers have enjoyed along their O-line this year:

The Packers have made only one change to the starting five on their offensive line with the season halfway complete. That happened after four games, when Bryan Bulaga, this year's first-round draft pick, took over at right tackle for veteran Mark Tauscher, who suffered a shoulder sprain and isn't fully recovered.

They also made an interesting comparison of this year’s offensive line performance with last year’s at this same point in the season:

Rodgers has been sacked 16 times through eight games. At the same point last season, Rodgers had been sacked 37 times as the Packers were preparing to start a sixth different offensive line in their ninth game, also against the Cowboys.

Finally, in addition to all the guys who have already been permanently benched on the IR list, look at the list of walking wounded we have on our squad going into this week’s game:

Notes: Rodgers (ankle), LB Clay Matthews (shin), DE Cullen Jenkins (calf) and LT Chad Clifton (hamstring/knee) also are probable to play Sunday, the Packers' last game before their bye week. Rodgers was a full participant in practice every day after he twisted his left ankle late during the shutout win over the New York Jets on Sunday. The team played it safe with Matthews, who has an NFL-high 9.5 sacks, and didn't have him practice much this week. "He'll be ready to go Sunday," McCarthy said. ... DE Ryan Pickett (ankle) is questionable, but he felt optimistic after going through all portions of Friday's practice that he will be able to play after missing the last game. ... McCarthy said rookie TE Andrew Quarless (shoulder) had a setback after trying to practice Thursday, and the team listed him as questionable. If Quarless can't play, the Packers will be down to Donald Lee and Tom Crabtree at tight end.

Technorati Tags: Daryn Colledge,Green Bay Packers,injuries

Week Nine Preview

The Packers go into Week 9 with a half-game lead over the Bears in the NFC North, and with the Lions and Vikings wallowing at the bottom.  Quite a difference from last season at this time (a la Don Banks):

Last year through eight games, the Packers were 4-4, trailed Minnesota by three games plus the head-to-head tiebreaker in the NFC North, and couldn't protect Aaron Rodgers longer than two Mississippi's per pass play. Green Bay then proceeded to go 7-1 in the second half and make the NFC playoff field. By comparison, the Packers, for all their injuries, are on easy street at midseason this year. They're a half-game better than the Bears, comfortably ahead of the Vikings, and have the closest thing to a double bye coming up -- home against Dallas, then off in Week 10. (Yeah, I said it, Cowboys. Like you don't deserve that one?)
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/11/03/nfl-power-rankings-week-9-2/index.html#ixzz14Kq5DlEx

All the rest of the Division will have played their games by the time we kickoff against the Cowboys at Lambeau.

The dysfunctional Vikings will be hosting the troubled Cardinals.  Both these teams have fallen unimaginably far from their 2009 playoff form.  The Cardinals can’t decide which quarterback is the lesser of several evils.  And the Vikings -- wow!  Where to begin?  Suffice it to say that Minnesota has to win this home game, otherwise I have to think that everything is going to come crumbling down around them.   

The Bears, meanwhile, head to Toronto to play the winless Buffalo Bills.  By all rights, this should be a “W” for Chicago, but if I were a Bears fan, I’d be very afraid of this one.  The Bills are better than their record, and the Bears are not as good as theirs.  If Buffalo (and newly acquired Shawn Merriman) can get any pressure on Cutler, I can imagine this one going the Bills’ way. 

The Lions, fresh off their big win against the Redskins -- a game which has evidently spurred many troubles in Redskin-land -- get the toughest draw of the week in the NFC North:  they have to host the angry New York Jets.  I would be willing to say that the Lions are the least troubled team in our Division right now (not the most talented, but the least troubled).  Still, I don’t think they have enough of what it takes to beat the Jets.

Finally, the culmination of a Sunday of football will be the Cowboys’ trip to Lambeau Field.  Dallas and Minnesota are neck-and-neck in the race for most disappointing team in 2010, though I think Dallas holds a slight edge in that race.  First, they lost to the Vikings head-to-head.  And, second, the conventional wisdom is that the players have quit.

If I thought that there was cohesion and pride in that locker room, I’d be afraid of this game.  As it is, I feel pretty confident that, if we just do our job, we’ll win this game. 

Bottom line…?

I’m looking for victories by everyone in the Division except the Lions.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Minnesota Vikings,Chicago Bears,Detroit Lions,Dallas Cowboys,New York Jets,Buffalo Bills,Arizona Cardinals

A Word About Randy Moss

So the news has come out that Randy Moss has been claimed off of waivers by the Tennessee Titans.  I wasn’t necessarily glad to see him back in the game, but I was very glad to see him back out of our Division.  Indeed, out of our Conference!

Meanwhile, in the wake of his abrupt release by the Vikings, several stories (and a TON of speculation) has come out about him -- the kind of person he is and the kind of player he is or can be.  One particular story involves a recent outburst at a Vikings team meal.  The story is worth reading just to get to the Matt Birk quote at the end.

I have disliked Randy Moss for years.  It would be nice to see him redeemed.  For as long as he is a jerk, however, it is satisfying to see him fail. 

The fact that he is the Hall of Fame talent that he is but is now, at the age of 33, going to his fifth team speaks to what a problem child he is.  Teams don’t let go of that kind of talent unless the accompanying baggage is simply not worth it. 

Tennessee thinks the talent is worth it.  We shall see.

Technorati Tags: Randy Moss,Tennessee Titans,Matt Birk

Of Effects and Causes

In the wake of this past Tuesday’s elections, I am struck by the variety of interpretations I’ve heard of just what happened across the country.

The interpretations, predictably, are very supportive of whatever the individual interpreter is eager to believe.

“It’s anti-incumbent anger.”

“It’s a repudiation of Barack Obama.”

“It’s a Republican mandate.”

“It’s the usual off-year correction.”

“It’s the reaction of a center-right country to governance of a left-leaning President and Congress.”

And so on.

I mention it because I was dismayed on Monday by much of what I read and heard about Sunday’s triumph over the Jets.  Specifically, this: rather than hearing (what my Packer-fan heart was eager to hear) that Green Bay is a good team that played a gritty game on the road, I heard a lot about the Jets not being very sharp following the bye.

Hmmm…

Now as I recall, the Jets coming of the bye was one of the reasons frequently mentioned as to why they would beat us.  Now it’s the reason why they lost to us?

I’m not buying it. 

I believe the Packers have shown much more discipline in recent weeks.  I believe that if it were Bill Belichick at the helm, the coach would be receiving national adoration for how he has led such an injury-decimated team to the top of their division.  I believe Dom Capers is showing his defensive genius, flexibly working with whatever he has to get the job done.  And while it was not a pretty victory, I believe that gut-check win on the road against supposedly one of the best teams in the league was a real statement by our Packers.

Contrary to some of the discontented talk I heard from fans, I think McCarthy did a good job of trying to play-call our offense into a more balanced attack.  I think Tim Masthay had a Pro Bowl punting performance.  I think our defense was amazing, pitching a shut-out in such a close game on the road. 

And I think we need to apply some sort of adhesive to our receivers fingers.

I have my own opinions, of course, about the rhymes and reasons behind Tuesday’s election results, too, but this is not the place for such partisanship.  Here,I am only a Packer partisan.  And I believe Sunday’s victory was every bit as much about the Packers playing well as it was about Jets playing poorly.  Well done!

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,New York Jets,Tim Masthay,Mike McCarthy,Dom Capers

Wow!

Did you see the news about the Vikings releasing Randy Moss?!

I will readily admit that he hasn’t made a huge impact yet in his brief return to Minnesota.  And clearly his nutso postgame comments on Sunday were beyond the pale.  But, still…

In the history of sports, has a player so talented been sent packing by two different teams in so short a time?

And while the Patriots parlayed the Moss trade into some future value for themselves, the Vikings simply waived him.  They got nothing for him.  Is there no market for this guy? 

How bad a guy must he be for both the Patriots and the Vikings to decide, within a few weeks of each other, that they would be better off without him?

And as though there weren’t enough issues swirling around the 2-5 Vikings this year, now this…  Wow!  Favre was so eager to have Moss, even dating back to his days with the Packers.  How does he feel about this decision by Minnesota management? 

Crazy stuff.  One of the truly unbelievable parts of this football weekend, and one of the most stunning stories of the 2010 season.

Technorati Tags: Randy Moss,Minnesota Vikings,Brett Favre,New England Patriots