A Boy Named Suh… and Other Hits

Well, some highly regarded teams can go on the road and beat 7-3 opponents, and some can’t. 

The Packers’ game was a thing of beauty.  I was admittedly tense throughout the first half, and yet I began to feel a strange sense of calm during halftime.  As I reflected back on the first half of play, you see, I reasoned it this way:  which of those two teams had significant room for improvement in the second half?  Without a doubt, it was the Packers. 

The Lions had played a really solid first half, but we hadn’t seen the Packers play like the Packers yet.  And yet, even so, Green Bay led the game 7-0.  I didn’t think Detroit could play a lot better in the second half, but I knew Green Bay could, and so I felt certain that in the end the game would be ours.

And it was.

Rodgers and the offense found the gas pedal, while the defense continued what has been their standard M.O. during this grand winning streak:  ball-hawking opportunism, and a bend-but-don’t-break mindset. 

Dom Capers’ crew doesn’t force enough three-and-outs for my taste.  And yet, somehow, it doesn’t matter.  They keep getting the job done, and there seems to be this synergistic recognition that the offense can always score more points than the defense is giving up.

The Lions managed some garbage yardage and points at the end.  And perhaps the true believers in Detroit thought that this was going to be yet another miraculous comeback.  In truth, however, I suspect that if the game had been 30 minutes longer, we just would have beaten them by more.  Because guess what:  We really are the better team!

One of the ways that the Packers are better -- and I believe you have to give a lot of credit to Thompson, McCarthy, Rodgers, and Woodson for this -- is because we have better guys.  I don’t just mean better athletes, better players.  We have better people.  Character guys, and a pervasive team atmosphere that produces a kind of cool professionalism which is clearly missing in Detroit.

We can illustrate the point this way…  When people around the country think of the Packers, who comes first to their minds?  Aaron Rodgers.  But when people around the country think of the Lions, who comes first to their minds?  For a lot of folks, I’m guessing the answer is Ndakumong Suh.  Suh is increasingly the face -- and the reputation -- of the Lions.  And therein lies a critical difference between Green Bay and Detroit.

The Suh incident in the 3rd quarter is getting a lot of attention.  And for as bad as his on-field actions were, his post-game nonsense may have been even worse.  Even my 8-year-old understood what she was seeing.  “A little anger management,” she remarked as the Suh episode was replayed.  And the pundits are all over Suh today for his unwillingness to own up to his errors or his problem. 

What happens next in Detroit will be a real reflection on the principles and leadership of Jim Shwartz.  And what happens next in the league office may be devastating to Detroit’s playoff chances.

Meanwhile, those chances were dealt a serious blow there at Ford Field on Thursday.  They are now 4 games behind the Packers -- a separation no one could have imagined when both squads were 5-0.  Add to that the facts that the Lions have lost 4 of their last 6 games, that they go into this Sunday a half-game behind the Bears in the Division, and that they’re heading to New Orleans to play the Saints next Sunday Night.  Things look pretty grim right now for the team that was shaping up to be 2011’s Cinderella story.

The other 2011 Cinderella also came out of Thursday looking a little smudged.  Things aren’t nearly so bad for the 49ers as for the Lions, of course.  They’ll make the playoffs.  But their 6-point effort in Baltimore definitely takes some of the bloom off their rose. 

The writers and talkers keep trying to find some team to treat like a threat to the Packers.  At the beginning, of course, it was the Saints, but we dispatched that pretty quickly.  Likewise the Falcons.  Now the Lions.  And the 49ers have removed themselves from that conversation a little bit now, too. 

I suppose they’ll start talking about the Giants now.  Not because the Giants are really better, but because the Packers have to play them next, and they have (ironically) developed the reputation of being giant killers. 

And Packers will start talking about the Giants now, too, as they take aim at their next goal: 12-0.  

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Detroit Lions,Ndamukong Suh,San Francisco 49ers,Aaron Rodgers

Week Twelve (and beyond): A Look Ahead

For the past two weeks, I have been slow about looking at the upcoming match-ups, for I have missed the Thursday games.  But that’s not going to happen this week!

The Packers kickoff Week 12 in the NFL with their much-anticipated trip to Detroit.  Not long ago, the Packers and Lions were the only undefeated teams in the league, and the expectation was that this might be a battle of unbeatens on Thanksgiving Day. 

Well, we held up our end of the bargain.

In a sense, the dynamics of this particular match-up are more dangerous for us now than if both teams had come in at 10-0.  For as it stands now, the Lions need it even more, and the Packers need it somewhat less.  Also, I think the Lions are an angrier, more resentful, more emotionally motivated team than they would have been at 10-0.

Which brings us to a consideration of the larger landscape: the larger landscape of our own remaining schedule and of our closest competitors in the Conference. 

Let us assume that the Packers will win the NFC North.  It’s not a given, but the odds are heavily in our favor.  Also, we’ll concede that the 49ers will win the NFC West -- and will be the only team from that loser division to make the postseason.  The Giants and Cowboys are both vying for the NFC East title.  The Saints and Falcons are going at it in the South.  And the Lions and Bears are leading the wild card hunt.  I don’t mean to discount the Eagles, Bucs, and others prematurely, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll say that there are eight legitimate teams trying to earn six spots.  Which of those teams would you like to see miss the cut?  Which ones would you rather not face in the playoffs?  I’ll stick a survey on the right side so we can take a poll.

Meanwhile, here is a chart that reflects the remaining schedules for all eight of those teams. 

TEAM	12	13	14	15	16	17	%
GB 10-0	DET 7-3	NY 6-4	OAK 6-4	KC 4-6	CHI 7-3	DET 7-3	.616
SF 9-1	BAL 7-3	STL 2-8	ARI 3-7	PIT 7-3	SEA 4-6	STL 2-8	.416
DET 7-3	GB 10-1	NO 7-3	MIN 2-8	OAK 6-4	SD 4-6	GB 10-1	.650
CHI 7-3	OAK 6-4	KC 4-6	DEN 5-5	SEA 4-6	GB 10-1	MIN 2-8	.516
NO 7-3	NY 6-4	DET 7-3	TEN 5-5	MIN 2-8	ATL 6-4	CAR 2-8	.466
ATL 6-4	MIN 2-8	HOU 7-3	CAR 2-8	JAX 3-7	NO 7-3	TB 4-6	.416
DAL 6-4	MIA 3-7	ARI 3-7	NY 6-4	TB 4-6	PHI 4-6	NY 6-4	.433
NY 6-4	NO 7-3	GB 10-0	DAL 6-4	WASH 3-7	NYJ 5-5	DAL 6-4	.616

As you can see, the Packers have one of the toughest rows to hoe.  Also, you’ll note that the Bears have an edge on the Lions in terms of strength of schedule, although now that Jay Cutler is down and out, the advantage is small comfort to Chicago fans. And, finally, the 49ers have an unforgivably easy schedule, which will keep the heat on Green Bay if we want to keep home field advantage.

We’ll return to our date with Detroit in a moment.  Meanwhile, the other two Thanksgiving Day games are also real winners. The Dolphins play in Dallas and the Ravens host the 49ers.  Great stuff!

A few weeks ago, no one would have cherished a Dolphins-in-Dallas game, but both teams have gotten hot, and now it should be a pretty interesting contest.  The Cowboys are tied for first with the Giants, and so they’ve got that unique brand of urgency and intensity at work for them.  The Dolphins, meanwhile, don’t have any realistic postseason hopes.  Yet, still, they seem to be a remarkably motivated team.  I’m not sure what they’re playing for, but they’ve been playing fairly well all season.  And now they’re winning, which makes them a threat to the Cowboys’ ambitions. 

The Thursday night match-up on NFL Network, meanwhile, will also be a real beauty.  It’s the first meeting of the Harbaugh brothers, which has a certain fascination.  But even without that factor, it’s an important game for each and a great test for both. 

The Ravens are in a hotly-contest divisional battle, which the 49ers are not.  But San Francisco has their eye cast on a higher goal, and they are in the same one-game-behind situation in the Conference that the Ravens are in their division.  Neither team can afford to lose a step. 

Furthermore, the question is just how good each team really is. On some days, the Ravens look like they could beat anybody.  On other days, yuck.  And the 49ers have rolled up an impressive record in 2011, to be sure, but they’re in a lousy division and I still wonder if they can really be that much better than they were in 2010. 

Naturally, I am a Ravens fan on Thursday night, and I like their chances at home.

Come Sunday, the Bears’ trip to Oakland is an interesting prospect.  The Raiders seem reborn, and they appear to be the best team in their year’s AFC West (which is a complete surprise to me).  The Bears, meanwhile, are going to have to learn to win without Jay Cutler.  And in the tight race for NFC wild card berths, they can’t afford to stumble. Tough moment for Chicago. 

Meanwhile, speaking of the AFC West, the Broncos head to San Diego in the next weekly installment of the Tim Tebow jury deliberations.  And the Chargers, on the other hand, have to move quickly in order to salvage a terribly disappointing season.  A divisional loss at home at this stage of the game would be devastating.

Perhaps the best game of a very good week (apart from the Packers-Lion, that is) is the Giants against the Saints.  New York is coming off a tough and surprising loss at home to the Eagles, but still they have a share of first in their division.  The Saints are also atop their division, but with the Falcons close behind.  And, of course, beyond their individual divisional races, this game has postseason implications for playoff seedings and home field advantages.  I’m not sure for whom to root in this contest.  I don’t expect either team to catch Green Bay; if I feared that, I’d root for the Saints since we already have the head-to-head over them.  Perhaps that will be my default.  Whatever the case, we face the Giants next, so perhaps what I’m really rooting for is a long, grueling, draining, physical, overtime game. 

But the piece de resistance of Week 12 is the Packers’ trip to Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.  The Lions not only beat but beat up the Packers there last year.  Things seemed pretty ominous for Green Bay after that Sunday. 

I have no doubt that the Lions are capable of beating the Packers, but I am not convinced about just how good a team they are, top to bottom.  If football were baseball -- and I’m glad that it’s not -- I would have no doubt that Green Bay would take a 5 or 7 game series from these Lions.  Just one game, though, in Detroit, on Thanks-giving, with the Packers coming to the end of a tough three-game stretch…?  I’m a little worried. 

On the other hand, I was fascinated to see how a whole bevvy of experts at NFL.com have ranked all the teams in the league.  The Packers are the unanimous #1, which is fun to just sit and contemplate.  Interestingly, though, no one ranks the Detroit Lions higher than #10!  Also, two of the Lions’ three losses have come at home, so it’s not like they are invincible there. 

The only thing, in my judgment, that could cost us this game is inadequate O-line play. If they can’t establish the run or protect Rodgers, then we’ll be in trouble. But if the front line can do a respectable job, I earnestly believe that our offensive weapons will produce big points, that our defense will make plays, and that our special teams will come up with what’s needed at key points along the way. 

As I have expressed before, this Packers squad seems to be a team of consummate professionals. They just go about their business; and their primary business is winning. For all the apprehension I feel about Thursday’s game, therefore, I can tell that I expect the Packers to win, for I will be genuinely surprised if they lose. 

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Detroit Lions,NFL playoffs,San Francisco 49ers,Baltimore Ravens,Dallas Cowboys,Miami Dolphins,Chicago Bears,Oakland Raiders,Denver Broncos,San Diego Chargers,Tim Tebow,New York Giants,New Orleans Saints

A Riddle

What destination has been reached, is nearer, and is a very long way away?  Think about it, and we’ll return to the answer in a few moments.

It’s hard to know how to characterize Sunday’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Was it a great accomplishment?  Aaron Rodgers finally beat a team that he hadn’t been able to yet.  We endured another ‘best effort’ from a team for whom we are their Super Bowl.  Rodgers added another 3 TDs to his already gaudy stats, Tramon Williams got a couple of picks, and Randall Cobb continues to develop into a marvelous weapon. 

Or, on the other hand, was Sunday’s win a narrow escape?  The Packers were ahead by just two points with less than three minutes to play.  And we wouldn’t even have had that two-point cushion if it hadn’t been for a barely excusable drop in the end zone by Winslow.  The Bucs managed to absorb our first big blows, spotting us an early 14-point lead, and yet they didn’t wilt.  They hung in, kept coming back at us, and gave the defending champions a scare at home. 

Or, on yet another hand, was it a one-arm-tied-behind-my-back sort of a victory.  The Packers were playing on a short week, with an even shorter one ahead.  This was a team -- and a game -- they had reason to look past.  One sensed that the Packers were not playing with a full 60 minutes of energy and intensity.  And yet, with a minimalist effort, they dispatched another NFL team to run to 10-0, equaling the win total for all of the 2010 regular season.

Whatever you and I make of Sunday’s strange win, evidently our quarterback was not happy with it.  I admire his high standards. And I imagine that that is precisely the serious attitude that is setting the pace for the rest of the team. 

I think, too, that Lombardi himself would have appreciated Rodgers’ post-game grimace.  According to stories I have heard, he was often hardest on his team after a victory, identifying what could have been done better and demanding that it be better next time out. 

Meanwhile, as the Packer quarterback takes us back to the late 1950s, the Buccaneer quarterback takes us back to the mid 1970s.  What’s the deal with Josh Freeman’s hair?  Did you see him on the sideline with his helmet off?  He looks like he should be in Mr. Kotter’s class -- he’s one of the Sweathogs!

Well, back to our riddle.  What destination has been reached, is nearer, and is a very long way away?  The answer:  16-0.

With Sunday’s win, the Packers have now won sixteen consecutive games, dating back to last season.  And, with that win, we are also one step closer to the other 16-0 that everyone is talking about: the perfect season in 2011.  And yet, for as well as we’ve played and as much as we’ve accomplished, the remaining schedule is a beast.  Six more games, and only one of those opponents does not have a winning record. 

We’ll give more thought in our next post to the comparative difficulty of several key teams’ schedules heading down the stretch.  And when we see it, it will likely cool our optimistic talk about 16-0.  In the meantime, we’ll adopt the sobriety of McCarthy, Rodgers, & Co., being content for now to achieve 11-0. 

Technorati Tags: Aaron Rodgers,Green Bay Packers,Tampa Bay Buccaneers,Josh Freeman,Vince Lombardi,Tramon Williams,Randall Cobb

Week Eleven: A Look Ahead

Once again, I did not start looking ahead until part of the week was behind me.  The Jets and Broncos met in Denver on the NFL Network on Thursday Night Football to kickoff Week 11.  And it was a fine start to the weekend’s slate of games, as once again Tim Tebow managed to play badly and win the game. 

Tebow is something of an enigma for both his advocates and his opponents.  The former can’t argue that he is a good quarterback by any standard definition.  Yet the latter are having a more and more difficult time denying that he is a winner. 

He’s not my quarterback and the Broncos are decidedly not my team, but I do know this from a distance: in the final analysis, it’s about wins and losses.  And thus far into the 2011 Tebow experiment, Denver is 4-1. 

Now looking ahead to Sunday, the most interesting match-up is probably the Bengals’ trip to Baltimore.  Both teams are coming off losses, and both are chasing the Steelers.  The two teams sport identical records yet inverse expectations.  Everyone knows the Ravens are good, but they have been painfully inconsistent.  The Bengals, conversely, are credited with having a good season, but have not yet persuaded the world that they’re actually a good team. 

The other interesting game (apart from the teams that actually matter to us, that is) is the Bills-Dolphins.  They are not only divisional rivals, but they are two teams heading in opposite directions.  A few weeks ago, you’d have said this was no contest.  Now?  We shall see.

In terms of teams and games that do matter to Packer fans, we start with the 49ers.  It would be nice to see them lose a game, but they do play in the high school division of the NFL.  Cardinals have a little momentum, but it’s hard to imagine them upsetting the 49ers in San Francisco.  Still, on any given Sunday….

The Vikings will try to regain their dignity as they host the Raiders.  Oakland is looking good this season, and I expect it will be yet another “L” for Minnesota.  How long ago must the 2009 NFC Championship Game seem for Viking fans?!

The truly interesting story in our Division is the race-for-second between the Bears and Lions.  Chicago is on a

game winning streak, while the Lions have dropped 3 of their last 4. 

The Bears look to continue their winning ways as they host the struggling Chargers.  I’m not sure Chicago is actually better, but they are certainly playing better.  I expect them to advance to 7-3.

The Lions are also playing at home, hosting the Carolina Panthers.  I’m quite sure that Detroit is better.  I’m not sure, however, that they’ll win this game.  This year’s Lions strike me as an immature team -- more passionate than professional.  I think that they’re struggling with a lot of distractions, and I can imagine them looking past the Panthers because of the big match-up with the Packers just four days later. 

Those Packers, meanwhile, face exactly the same challenge.  They, too, are playing at home against an inferior opponent.  And so it’s easy to imagine Green Bay looking past Tampa Bay because of the important of Thursday’s game in Detroit.

No, let me qualify that.  It’s easy to imagine some Green Bay teams looking past Tampa Bay because of Thursday’s game.  But not this year’s team.  I believe this squad is focused, professional, and businesslike.  Honestly, they remind me of the Patriots at their best a few years ago.  The Packers are coming off their best all-around performance of the season on Monday Night against the Vikings, and I expect them to build on that at the Bucs’ expense. 

So I’m going to go out on a limb here… I think that when we meet the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, we’ll be four games ahead of Detroit in the NFC North. 

Technorati Tags: Denver Broncos,Tim Tebow,Baltimore Ravens,Cincinnati Bengals,Detroit Lions,Carolina Panthers,Minnesota Vikings,Oakland Raiders,Buffalo Bills,Miami Dolphins,Arizona Cardinals,San Francisco 49ers,San Diego Chargers,Chicago Bears,Tampa Bay Buccaneers,Green Bay Packers

What, Me Worry?

I must confess that as I made my way to Lambeau Field on Monday Night, I was apprehensive.  Anything can happen in the Division, I thought to myself.  Ponder looked awfully poised and confident the last time we saw him.  Minnesota has had an extra week to prepare.  This is their Super Bowl.  Adrian Peterson might gash us with runs, and that will set up the pass against our porous backfield.  Aaron Rodgers has to have an off-night sometime, doesn’t he? 

And so on and so on.

I rode the bus from near my residence out to the stadium, and I tell you that Green Bay is a happy place these days!  (Happy to the point of tipsy in some cases.)  And the excited fans are coming here from all over.  Next to me on the bus was a couple who drove over from Eau Claire, and across from me was a couple that had driven up from Racine. 

The stadium was packed and raucous.  No one else seemed to be haunted by the doubts that I was having.  Rather, there was a grand confidence in the air, right down to the sassy signs people were sporting (e.g., “No real man looks good in purple,” and such).

And it turns out that that air of confidence was well-justified.  The Packers absolutely dominated the visiting Vikings.  From Randall Cobb’s early punt return for a touchdown, the game never felt close.  Starks ran the ball with determination, the special teams play was solid, Rodgers was characteristically precise, and the defense… oh, my! 

This looked more like the defense that we saw down the stretch last year.  They held the Vikings to a measly seven points -- and even those only came because Cobb accidentally gave Minnesota the ball inside the Green Bay 15 yard line.  I was very encouraged by the play of our defense this week.  And Charles Woodson was a monster.

The fact is that the only real grief I felt during the game was how much pressure Minnesota was getting on Rodgers and how often he was getting hit.  But future opponents will take small comfort in that seeming vulnerability, for even with all of that harassment, Rodgers still threw 4 TDs, no INTs, and completed over 70% of his passes.  Amazing.

So now we’re 9-0.  We are the defending champs.  And we are the undisputed best team with the almost embarrassingly best quarter-back in the league.  All the arguments are about second-best; but no one doubts who is #1. 

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Monday Night Football,Lambeau Field,Aaron Rodgers,Randall Cobb,Christian Ponder,Adrian Peterson,Charles Woodson,Minnesota Vikings

Sunday Survey

It was the NBA that coined “I Love This Game” as its marketing motto a few years ago.  It was catchy, but I could never really get behind it, ‘cause I don’t love that game.

But on this November Sunday afternoon, watching NFL games and their highlights, I’m thinking to myself, “Now this game I love!” 

Did you see the end of the Saint-Falcon game?  Mike Smith is not as mature as his hair color suggests.  I suppose you can make that kind of decision during the course of a game; but not in overtime.  Now his Falcons -- Peter King’s preseason pick to win it all, you recall -- are two games behind the Saints.  And if the season ended today, they’d be on the outside looking in.

Speaking of teams that are only going to make the playoffs in the August predictions, how ‘bout them Eagles?  The same team that absolutely had their way with the Cowboys on national TV a couple of weeks back managed today to lose at home to the Cardinals. The Cardinals!  They haven’t been any good since Kurt Warner retired.  Arizona came into the game at 2-6, and they beat Michael Hype and the Dream Team in Philly.  Amazing. 

Look at the standings.  Do you see any way that the Eagles can make the playoffs now, short of a handful of other NFC teams inexplicably surrendering?  When the sports writers hand out their end-of-the-year awards come January, Andy Reid & Co. will be frontrunners for “Most Disappointing.”

BTW, the Eagles have won only one more game than the Miami Dolphins so far in 2011. 

Elsewhere, the much-maligned Tim Tebow completed just two passes on Sunday.  And won!  He threw just eight times and gained only 69 yards through the air.  Meanwhile, his Carolina counterpart, Cam Newton, threw the ball 40 times and lost at home to the Titans.

The Tebow-Newton comparison is an interesting one.  They were both winning quarterbacks in college who had question marks on their games coming into the NFL.  Both are mobile quarterbacks who are given more credit for their legs than their arms.  Right from his impressive Week One debut this year, though, Newton caught the pundits’ imagination, and he has enjoyed good publicity and great expectations ever since.  Tebow, however, is mostly ridiculed, and his fans are forced to defend him.

But Tebow has started 4 games this season and won 3.  Newton has started 9 games and won 2.  

Make no mistake, the Broncos stink.  But at this moment, they are tied with the Chargers and Chiefs, just one game behind the division-leader Raiders.  I won’t pretend that that’s because of Tebow’s arm, but I do believe that it’s because of Tebow.

And then there were the Bears and the Lions.  For the second week in a row, I was a Bears fan, and for the second week in a row they came through for me in impressive fashion.  Chicago is looking pretty tough all of a sudden.  I’m glad we’ve already played and beaten them in Chicago this season.

The Lions, meanwhile, looked like delicate hothouse flowers there in the Soldier Field environment -- especially Bobby Brady Stafford.  Fortunately for Jim Schwartz, Lovie Smith is too much of a gentle-man to give the kind of over-the-top handshake that Schwartz endured from Harbaugh a few weeks ago.  But it was the same sort of defeat for the Lions, nonetheless. 

So we’ll go into tomorrow night’s game against the Vikings with the possibility of taking a 3-game lead in the Division.  And the Lions, meanwhile, have lost 3 of their last 4.  It wasn’t long ago that people were talking about a match-up of 10-0 teams on Thanksgiving Day, with the winner claiming first place in the NFC North.  Instead, however, the Lions are all tangled up with the Bears in a surprising battle for second place. 

This is no laughing matter for Detroit, by the way.  Take a look at the Bears’ and Lions’ remaining schedules: Which one would you rather play?

WEEK	BEARS	LIONS
11	Chargers	Panthers
12	@ Raiders	Packers
13	Chiefs	@ Saints
14	@ Broncos	Vikings
15	Seahawks	@ Raiders
16	@ Packers	Chargers
17	@ Vikings	@ Packers

Take out the common remaining opponents, and the Bears face the Chiefs, Broncos, and Seahawks where the Lions will play the Panthers, Packers, and Saints.  The team that was noted for ending 2010 so strong must be wondering if 2011 will be the year of the late-season collapse.

Finally, the Ravens.  Who can explain the team that blows the doors off Pittsburgh in Week One in Baltimore and then also manages to come back to beat them in Pittsburgh in Week Nine, only to suffer bad losses at the hands of teams like the Jaguars and Seahawks?  We have seen how great they can be, but they have not managed to show up every week.

This is the great virtue of the 2011 Packers.  They do show up every week.  At home and on the road; against good teams and bad; in the division and out of the conference; whether close or lopsided, the Packers have shown up week after week. 

And we’re counting on them to show up again on Monday Night.  With just two wins, the Vikings have nothing to play for but this.  This is their Super Bowl.  That fact and Adrian Peterson are the only things that worry me.

Technorati Tags: Detroit Lions,Chicago Bears,New Orleans Saints,Atlanta Falcons,Tim Tebow,Denver Broncos,Kansas City Chiefs,Philadelphia Eagles,Arizona Cardinals,Andy Reid,Michael Vick,Cam Newton,Carolina Panthers,Minnesota Vikings

Week Ten: A Look Ahead

The byes are over and the NFL starts playing on Thursday nights now through Week 16.  This week’s NFL Network special featured the Raiders in San Diego, marking the end of a brutal stretch for the Chargers.  It was brutal on paper before it began, and it turned out to be brutal for them in fact, as well.

My apologies to the AFC West for not thinking to write in advance of their big prime time game.  But, alas, we turn our attention to Sunday.  And Monday!

Now that the Dolphins finally broke through and got a much-deserved win, the Colts are the lone winless team in the league.  Perhaps they’ll get that elusive victory this week at home against the lousy Jaguars.  If they don’t, then the same team that was threatening to be perfect just two years ago will be seriously flirting with a different sort of unblemished record this year.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins will go for two-in-a-row this Sunday, and they may get it.  They’re playing at home, and they get to play the underachieving Redskins. 

Lots of fascinating divisional games on tap this week…

The Broncos head to Kansas City in an important AFC West contest -- the next chapter in the never-ending referendum on Tim Tebow. 

Meanwhile, the AFC North features a truly fascinating match-up as the Steelers visit the Bengals.  The whole division is all knotted up (well, the Browns aren’t really tied into that knot, I’m afraid), and so the winner of this game takes the lead.  The Steelers are coming off their home-field, prime-time disappointment against the rival Ravens. The Bengals, meanwhile, are waiting to prove that they’re as good as their record.  And they’ll have plenty of opportunity in the next several weeks, including a trip to Baltimore and two games against Pittsburgh. 

And a great AFC East battle enjoys the spotlight of Sunday Night Football.  It’s the Patriots at the Jets.  They are both tied with the Bills at 5-3, and New England seeks to regain its equilibrium after two consecutive losses.  Tough venue in which to do it, though.

On the NFC side of the ledger, the NFC South features a major face-off this Sunday as the Saints go to Atlanta.  The Falcons are just a game behind New Orleans, and I can imagine them taking advantage of the home game to even the score.

Meanwhile, in one of the most interesting and important games of the weekend, the Giants are in San Francisco.  No, not the baseball team.  The 49ers host the New York Giants this Sunday afternoon in a game with terrific playoff implications. San Francisco is not feeling any pressure within their own division, while the Giants are in more of a battle for NFC East supremacy.  On the other hand, the 49ers surely have their eyes on a first-round bye, and perhaps even home-field advantage throughout, should the Packers stumble. 

This game is an important one to the Packers, though it’s not entirely clear which way we should root.  In the short term, the on-paper answer is to cheer for the 49ers to lose.  But we have to go to New York to play the Giants, and if we happen to lose to them, then we’d be glad if the 49ers had notched an extra loss in New York’s record. 

Of course, as long as we just keep winning, it really doesn’t matter what the rest of these guys do.

Finally, we come to the all-important NFC North.

I am really curious to see the Lions in Chicago.  The Bears looked so good in Philadelphia the other night, but Detroit beat them rather handily earlier in the season.  I’m definitely a Bears fan again this week, and I’m pretty hopeful about their chances there in Soldier Field.

And Week 10 plays its finale at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football.  Christian Ponder made a reasonably impressive debut against us a few weeks ago, and he has since led his team to a win in Carolina.  The Vikings are coming off their bye, they are 4th in the league in rushing offense, and everyone can pass against the Packers.  Honestly, I’m a little bit worried. 

I don’t have any doubt that we’re the better team, mind you.  I just wonder whether one of these days our offense won’t be able to keep up with the points our defense is giving up.  Or whether that defense won’t get the pivotal end-of-the-game stop that has characterized so many of their efforts in this long winning streak.

Still, for all of that, the Packers are in a zone right now.  They’re as cool, as professional, and as versatile as the quarterback who leads them.  Plus, I think McCarthy is a fixer, and I think Capers is a genius.  I expect us to get better, not worse.  So I’m looking for another “W,” a 9-0 record, and still more talk about the possibility of a perfect season.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Minnesota Vikings,Chicago Bears,Detroit Lions,San Francisco 49ers,New York Giants,New Orleans Saints,Atlanta Falcons,Pittsburgh Steelers,Cincinnati Bengals,Miami DolphinsDolphins,Denver Broncos,Indianapolis Colts,Tim Tebow,New England Patriots,New York Jets

Morality Tale

You could watch ESPN, listen to sports talk radio, or surf assorted sports web sites this past week, and you’d find that a remarkable percentage of the ink and talk was devoted to two off-the-field stories: the NBA labor dispute and the Penn State scandal.

As to the first matter, that’s a real yawner for me.  I don’t usually begin caring about the NBA until May anyway, and I haven’t missed their absence a bit so far in this season that wasn’t.  It’s possible that the basketball situation would be getting more attention if it weren’t for the epic events in Penn State.  As it is, though, one story -- or set of stories, really -- is eclipsing all others in the sports world.

The events themselves are almost hopelessly sad.  What happened in the past is tragic, and what is consequently happening in the present is inevitably awful.  But it is the coverage of that past and this present that strikes me as the truly fascinating cultural phenomenon.

Even though Jerry Sandusky is the chief culprit and some group of anonymous little boys are the victims, Joe Paterno is the most famous and most compelling figure in the story.  And he occupies our attention because he is a little of both: that is to say, Paterno is both culprit and victim.

Joe Paterno’s picture is in the dictionary next to the word “iconic.” There really is no one else quite like him in sports.  And even though he had some idiosyncrasies, they were mostly harmless and charming.  But his overall reputation for morality, character, and a clean program was legendary.

Just last month, Joe Paterno set the record for most wins by a Division I football coach.  He has been coaching at Penn State since the Truman administration.  He is an institution.  And now he is fired.  It is an almost unbelievable development, and it embodies in reality a principle that people sometimes resist in theory: namely, that one ‘bad’ can trump many ‘goods.’ 

We live in such a relativistic age.  And in the present climate, the idea of being “basically a good person” claims to be a sufficient achievement.  But not so.  Joe Paterno was “basically a good person.”  Indeed, a very good person, who had a tremendously positive impact on untold numbers of young men.  But now he exits in disgrace.  All of the good, it seems, is overwhelmed by one bad.

And the nature of that ‘one bad’ is yet another revelation.  For at least this brief moment, the sports-world slice of our culture is rediscovering a much-neglected concept: “sins of omission.”  Jerry Sandusky is the one character who is at fault for what he did.  Joe Paterno and everyone else involved at Penn State, however, are being called to account for what they did not do. 

And then, finally, there is this.  Perhaps the most astonishing cultural phenomenon in this whole sordid matter is the rare sense of moral clarity and outrage about a sexual act. 

For decades, our culture has been steadily shedding all of its sexual taboos.  From the free-love movement of the 60s to the “consenting adults” paradigm that followed; from the mainstreaming of the GLBT community to the “it’s not the sex, it’s the lying” refrain of the Clinton era, we have dramatically redrawn most of the old foul lines. 

In fact, I am suspicious that it may be exactly the lack of clarity about sexual morality, as well as the general air of non-judgmental permissiveness, that contributed to this Penn State tragedy.  Perhaps we have so handicapped individuals’ natural capacity to recognize what is right and wrong, or made people so timid about calling some behavior aberrant, that we have both left room for the sin of commission and cultivated the sin of omission. 

Meanwhile, at the rate we are going, it may be that the whole situation would play out differently twenty years from now.  Perhaps by then NAMBLA will have won the day; Sandusky, Paterno, McQueary, and the rest would keep their jobs; and all the stuff that people are outraged about today would be considered a non-event. 

Technorati Tags: Joe Paterno,Penn State,Jerry Sandusky

Recalling a Remarkable Week 9

I actually like the state of Pennsylvania.  I have spent a lot of time there, and I cherish a thousand fond memories of the place.  So I’m not sure why it is that I bear such malice toward their two football teams.  But I do.

The Steelers are, at any point in time, one of my two least favorite teams in the league.  The other least favorite is a kind of variable -- that may change from one season to another.  It has been the Vikings, the Patriots, the Broncos, and others.  But the Steelers are always there.  Consequently, I couldn’t have been more delighted by Super Bowl XLV: to see the team I love most beat the team I hate most?!  Great stuff!

And while I feel no great affection for the Baltimore Ravens, I was similarly delighted to see them beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh this past Sunday evening.  What a game!  There was so much talk about the proud and angry Steelers getting their pound of flesh after their Week One humiliation at the hands of the Ravens.  And in the wake of beating the Patriots, the Steelers were being heralded as the best team in the AFC.  But, no.  The Ravens went into Pittsburgh, endured the slugfest, and came back at the end to break those Steel hearts.  Beautiful.

And then, on Monday Night Football, the other Pennsylvania team got it handed to them at home, too.  My disdain for the Eagles is not remotely as strong or as constant as for the Steelers, but 4th-and-26 will always stick in my craw.  Plus, I’ve never been a Michael Vick fan, and I’ve been repelled by all the “dream team” hype of the 2011 season.  When they took the field against the Bears, therefore, I actually found myself cheering for Chicago!  It was not a calculation on my part -- a “what’s best for the Packers?” thought process.  It was just visceral.  I wanted to see the Eagles lose. 

It, too, was a great prime time game.  I was impressed by how the Bears handled the Eagles’ many weapons, as well as the hostile environment. 

So now the “dream team” is 3 games out of first in their own division.  And at 3-5, it’s hard to do the math and figure how they could squeak their way into the playoffs.  But, they’ll beat the Cardinals this coming Sunday, and the Eagle-lovers and Vick-hypers will no doubt begin to draw the line that leads from 4-and-5 to February.

Elsewhere, I am also relishing this week all the post-mortem conversations about the New England Patriots.  The first time they’ve lost at home in several seasons.  The third consecutive game that they have failed to exceed 20 points.  Their second consecutive loss.  And a bitter reminder of their perfect season gone awry against those same New York Giants three-and-a-half years earlier.

Miami got off the proverbial schneid this week, while the Colts continue to redefine the schneid. 

And, back in the NFC, the Eagles are no longer the flavor-of-the-day; now it’s the 49ers and the Giants.  Who, serendipitously, play one another this coming Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.  Outstanding!

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers,Baltimore Ravens,Philadelphia Eagles,Chicago Bears,Michael Vick,New England Patriots,New York Giants,Miami Dolphins,Indianapolis Colts,San Francisco 49ers

Bend But Don’t… Oops!

Well, that was more excitement (read: anxiety) than I expected. Strange game.  I suppose we should have known it was going to be strange when we saw it raining in San Diego.

Even though Aaron Rodgers and the Packer offense get all the publicity, attention, and love, this game was about defense.  In the first quarter, it was a play-making defense with two pick-sixes.  But in the fourth quarter, it was an unnerving defense, inexcusably letting the opponent back into the game after having a 21-point lead. 

How good does the closing pitcher feel when he entered the ninth inning with a 6-run lead and ended with a 1-run win?

Dom Capers’ defense has been notorious for its bend-but-don’t break success.  But they broke a ton on Sunday afternoon, giving up a ridiculous 38 points.  Thirty-eight!  How many games can you expect to win in the NFL when you give up 38 points?

Still, it’s hard to argue with success. It’s hard to complain when you’re 8-0.  Hard to criticize a team that has achieved the longest winning streak (including playoffs) in franchise history. Yesterday was the same script we saw a couple of times in last year’s playoff run -- the opponent driving down the field late in the game, gaining alarming chunks of yards at a time, only to get picked off in the end.

Nevertheless, I do trust that our defense will get “coached up” a bit this week.  I fear that some upcoming opponent will learn from this game film how to score a boatload of points against us. 

On the other hand, they haven’t yet shot the game film that shows teams how to stop Aaron Rodgers for a full 60-minutes.  He was a maestro again today, with 4 TD passes, only 5 incompletions, and no interceptions.  On the year, Rodgers has 24 TDs and just 3 INTs.  The guy just doesn’t make mistakes. 

It’s only halfway through the season, so we know that it’s premature to project out the statistics in order to imagine all the records he’d break at the current pace.  But halfway through the season, we can say at least this: there is no doubt which team, which offense, and which quarterback are the very best in the NFL. 

Technorati Tags: Aaron Rodgers,Green Bay Packers,San Diego Chargers,Dom Capers

Week Nine: A Look Ahead

At the halfway point in the season, one undefeated team and two winless teams remain.

The Packers are undefeated.  More about their game below.  Meanwhile, the close-but-no-cigar Dolphins hit the road to face the Chiefs, while the not-even-close Colts host the Atlanta Falcons.  I give Miami more hope.  Their opponent is poorer, and so far their effort seems far better.

The New Orleans Saints are fresh off their embarrassing loss to the formerly winless Rams.  They hope to bounce back against the Buccaneers.  I’m sure the Saints are the better team, but the Bucs can pull an upset, and clearly New Orleans is capable of being upset.  Furthermore, a share of the division lead is on the line, which adds intensity to the Bucs and pressure to the Saints.

The Jets no doubt fancied themselves the Patriots’ chief competition in the NFC East.  Little did they know that the Buffalo Bills would come of age this year.  Buffalo is tied with New England atop their division, though the Bills hold the head-to-head edge.  Amazing. The Jets are a game behind both, and they need this win.  It’s a 3-team race in the AFC East, but it’s easy to imagine New York emerging from this weekend two games back.

Which brings us to the Patriots game against the visiting New York Giants.  These two teams will always be associated with one another because of the way the 2007 season ended.  Meanwhile, in 2011, people are speaking very highly of Eli Manning’s play, and some folks smell another Giant upset.  Personally, I do not.

Nor do I expect an upset in DC this Sunday, much as I’d like to see one.  I’m growing a bit weary of the media’s newfound love for the San Francisco 49ers.  I’d like to see them stumble, but I don’t think the Redskins are the team that can trip them up. 

In truth, the 49ers pose a real threat to the Packers.  They are only one game behind in the Conference standings, but they have the advantage of playing in a cushy division. 

The best game of the weekend promises to be the Baltimore Ravens in Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football.  It’s already a great rivalry, plus they’re the top two teams in their own division, as well as two of the best in the entire AFC.  And then, to make matters still more tantalizing, they met in Week One, and the Ravens annihilated the Super Bowl-losing Steelers.  The talk began about Pittsburgh being old and slow.  Well, now they are fancied as one of the the second-best team in the NFL, they’re playing at home, and it’s going to be on national TV.  I’m glad I’m not a Ravens fan!

Meanwhile, back home in the NFC North, half of our Division is on vacation this week.  The Viking and Lions both won big last Sunday, and now they are sitting home rooting against the Bears and the Packers.

The Bears are featured this week on Monday Night Football as they head to Philadelphia.  When last we saw the Eagles, they were undressing the Cowboys in front of a prime time audience.  They showed some of their “dream team” potential, and I fully expect them to take care of business against the Bears.

For a fleeting moment in the wake of Detroit’s two-game skid, the Bears looked like they might climb back into the NFC North race.  I think by the end of this weekend, Chicago fans will come back to reality.

Finally, we come to the Packers big game.

Green Bay is playing on the road -- a long road -- but they are coming off their bye. The Chargers, meanwhile, are coming off a short week after their disastrous and unnecessary loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football.

Peter King thinks San Diego will rebound:

Just when you think you've got it all figured out, the Chargers find a way to steal one from the last unbeaten team in football. My reasoning: San Diego will run the ball well and hold Aaron Rodgers to eight or nine possessions. In the last four games, the Pack has allowed 138 rushing yards per game, and the Chargers have rushed for 130 yards a game. Mike Tolbert, this is your moment.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/11/03/week.9/index.html#ixzz1clEPf3xv

Personally, I don’t see it.  I think the greatest threat to the Packers is the kind of team that gets stronger toward the end of a game: the team with the mental toughness and passion that does their best work in the fourth quarter.  Closer types.  But that’s not San Diego.

Green Bay comes into the game a perfect 7-0. The Chargers, meanwhile, bring a disappointing 4-3 record. Also, consider the four teams that the Chargers have beaten.  In order of appearance, they defeated the Vikings by 7, the Chiefs by 3, the Dolphins by 10, and the Broncos by 5.  Their conquests have a combined record of 8-21.  And their average margin of victory has been less than a touchdown.  That’s horrible!

I feel bad for both Norv Turner and Philip Rivers because I think they’re both quality guys.  And conventional wisdom is that this is an exceedingly talented team.  So far, though, I’d say that the 2011 Chargers stink. 

Still, on any given Sunday…. Just ask the New Orleans Saints!

Technorati Tags: Buffalo Bills,New York Jets,San Francisco 49ers,New England Patriots,New York Giants,Philadelphia Eagles,Chicago Bears,Pittsburgh Steelers,Baltimore Ravens,San Diego Chargers,Green Bay Packers

Irony in Indy

In 2010, the Indianapolis Colts won the AFC South by two games with a 10-6 record.  In 2009, they were flirting with perfection into December, and ended the season with an NFL-best 14-2 record.  And it was just 2007 when the Colts won the Super Bowl.

Now the once-proud team is an embarrassing 0-8.  They are 5 games out of the lead in a division that they have owned for a decade.  And halfway through the season, they are arguably the worst NFL team in 2011.  To wit, the second-worst point-differential in the league belongs to the St. Louis Rams at -105.  The Colts, meanwhile, own the worst score in that department at -131 -- almost a full 25% worse than the Rams.

If they had been steadily declining, gradually worsening, we could point to a variety of factors.  But no one seriously doubts the cause of Indianapolis’ precipitous demise: Peyton Manning isn’t playing.

Has one player’s absence ever been so sorely felt?  Remember, after all, how bravely the Patriots fought their way to a winning record the year that Tom Brady went down in Week One.

And so, by doing absolutely nothing on the field, Peyton Manning is proving his worth like few ever have or ever could.  If ever there was a doubt before, the Colts’ organization and fans must surely know now how utterly invaluable to them Manning is.

So what’s all the talk regarding Indy these days?  More and more people are discussing the Colts’ inside track in the rush to draft Andrew Luck, as well as what to do about Peyton Manning’s big 2012 contract obligation.  Incredible.

In a weird alignment of NFL planets, Manning’s unavailability has both proven his value and jeopardized his pay.  It has shown that he is irreplaceable, while prompting very real speculation about his replacement. 

One year ago, Peyton Manning was unanimously regarded as one of the three best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he was projected as the eventual heir of every QB record in the books.  One year later, he’s on the sidelines, and his team is ogling a 22-year-old from Stanford.

Technorati Tags: Indianapolis Colts,Peyton Manning,Andrew Luck

A Weekend Without Packers

I wonder when the last time was that the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints, and the Indianapolis Colts all lost on the same Sunday.  I’m thinking that it’s been a few years.

And a Mike Shanahan team getting shut out?  Well, apparently that has never happened before.  But that absolute shellacking of the Redskins by the Bills prompts me to ask permission to revise and extend my remarks of a week ago.

When Carolina beat Washington in Week 7, I said that Cam Newton had finally gotten a quality win.  I thought that he had been getting an awful lot of love for a guy who was 1-5.  But beating the Redskins seemed to me to be a more substantial achievement.

Now, after the Redskins got pasted by Buffalo and Newton lost to the Christian Ponder-led Vikings, I have changed my mind.  The win over Washington was perhaps not a quality win, after all, and I am back to thinking that Newton is being disproportionately admired and prematurely praised.

This past weekend’s slate of games lacked the Packers, who were on their bye.  Consequently, it was a less interesting weekend for us.  On the other hand, it gave other quarterbacks a chance at winning NFL.com’s FedEx Air & Ground Players of the Week.  Aaron Rodgers had been awarded the “air” half for Weeks 4, 5, 6, and 7!

Speaking of our incomparable quarterback, I like what Boomer Esaison had to say about Rodgers.  And I also liked hearing his thoughts about Green Bay going 16-0.  He thinks we can do it, he thinks McCarthy would go for it (unlike Tony Dungy), and he said he would personally like to see it happen.  You and me both, Boomer!

In spite of the Packers’ absence from the scene, Week 8 did have some interesting developments.  The Colts continue to stink, and the Dolphins continue to get their hearts broken.  The Ravens almost got stunned by the Cardinals, only to stage a monumental comeback to win.  The Saints -- lately thought to be the Packers’ primary competition in the NFC -- got ambushed by the formerly winless Rams.  The Lions bounced back from their two-game skid to embarrass Tim Tebow and the horrible Broncos.  The Eagles manhandled the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football -- something of a pleasure to watch, given the insufferable Rob Ryan, the Cowboys’ blowhard defensive genius.  And the nice-guy Chargers lost a heartbreaker in the division on Monday Night Football.  An incredible game, with a most improbable ending.

We’ll talk much more about San Diego in the next post, for they are Green Bay’s next opponent.  Folks around the NFC who would like (or need) the Packers to fall (e.g., Detroit, San Francisco, New York, New Orleans) hold this Sunday’s match-up as one of their best hopes.  A west coast road trip against a reputedly very good team -- perhaps this is Green Bay’s week to stumble.

More about that in a couple of days.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers,Aaron Rodgers,Cam Newton,San Diego Chargers,New Orleans Saints,Detroit Lions,Tim Tebow,Boomer Esiason,Miami Dolphins,Rob Ryan,Philadelphia Eagles,Dallas Cowboys