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.
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1 comment:
What an impressive game by Green Bay last night over Dallas! Wow!
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