It was the marquee match-up of Wild Card weekend, with particular attention being paid to the two big-name quarterbacks: Michael Vick and Aaron Rodgers.
Before the season began, many were picking Rodgers to win the NFL MVP. Halfway through the season, many were picking Vick to to win it. In the end, neither one is likely to win that award, but at least Michael Vick is going to the Pro Bowl.
And Aaron Rodgers is going to the Divisional Round of the playoffs!
I think that if he had to choose between the two, he’d pick the trip that he is making.
President Kennedy famously observed, “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” That is probably more true in politics than in sports, however, for the genealogy of Philly’s defeat is pretty easy to trace. David Akers left 6 points on the field in a game that his team lost by 5. And Michael Vick, driving down the field for the winning score, threw an interception in the end zone with half a minute left in the game.
(Winston Justice is a bit of a sorry goat, too, but his two-play, three-penalty ordeal did not ultimately contribute to the loss.)
Meanwhile, James Starks didn’t do anything to bump Marshawn Lynch’s run from the weekend’s highlight reel, but he performed marvelously on the road, doing everything the Packers needed him to do. Starks carried the ball 23 times for 123 yards, which calculates out to a 5.3 yard per carry average. How about that?! This was the Packers’ glaring weakness -- no balance in the offense, no running attack. But when you’ve got a back who can put up a hundred-yard-game, especially with that kind of per carry average, you’re giving the opposing defense something to think about.
Specifically, something for the Falcon defense to think about.
The Packers head to Atlanta on Saturday night, where they lost a close one (but I repeat myself) in Week 12. That was the Rodgers-goal-line-fumble game. I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who dwells on past failures or mistakes, but I do suspect that he relishes the prospect of going back in there and getting a different result.
‘More about that as the day approaches…
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