End of the 1st Quarter

It was a perfect day for football this past Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field!  What an atmosphere!  The sky was clear and blue, the air warm (for late September), and the crowd absolutely jazzed.  Lots of excitement in the air, and a palpable eagerness to see the Packers bounce back from the previous Monday Night’s injustice. 

By halftime, our emotions were as hopeful and bright as the sky.  The Packer defense had ably kept a lid on the vaunted Saints offense, and Green Bay’s offense had shown some of its old efficiency and explosiveness.  It wasn’t a question whether we would win; it was only a question of by how much.

In the end, I was surprised by how much.  One point. 

The third quarter was a disaster.  So much so that even the part that was going well for us turned into a disaster!  Rodgers led a beautiful drive down the field that looked so much like the move-the-ball-at-will offense of 2011.  We were unstoppable on the way to the end zone.  And then that freak injury to Rodgers’ eye.  And then the simple handout that Graham Harrell was expected to transact.  And then the fumble, the recovery, and the drive going the other direction.  Ugh!

The late missed field goal by New Orleans near the end of the game was an appropriate symbol for the feeling of the game.  We had not won; we had escaped.  We had gone from robust cheers to something more like sighs of relief. 

Still, the “W” in our column counts just as much as the “W” in, say, the 49ers (34-0 over the Jets) or the Broncos (37-6) over the Raiders.  As they say, there are not style points in the NFL. 

So, after the first quarter of the season, the Packers are 2-2, and the NFC North is nearly upside down.  Weren’t we and the Lions expected to be playing king of the hill in our Division?  But we are a mere .500, while the Lions are licking their wounds at a disappointing 1-3.  The 3-1 Bears, meanwhile, have looked good in every game except the one against us, and the Vikings are arguably the biggest surprise of the first quarter of the 2012 season.  They are 3-1, including wins over the 49ers and Lions.  Who are these guys?!

Elsewhere, the Browns lost again, thus keeping the Saints company at 0-4.  The Patriots proved that they are good enough to play well for only half a game and still wipe you out.  The 49ers showed that you don’t want to have to play them the week after they lose.  And the Rams beat the Seahawks, which on the playground we used to call “Cheater’s Proof.”

Finally, one of the biggest takeaways from Week 4 – especially at Lambeau – was the fans’ short honeymoon with the real refs.  Green Bay was victimized by two patently awful calls.  The first was the unnoticed offensive pass interference that led to the Saints first touchdown.  The other was the uncalled Saints fumble on a kick return in the fourth quarter.  It was all very apparent to us on Lambeau’s big, beautiful scoreboards (see sample below), and the Green Bay fans were worked into a justifiable froth over it all.  But the scoreboard is not the replay booth, and the NFL (as well Green Bay) is fortunate that the Packers didn’t lose in the end.