PACKERTALK: Please don't let this Journey end!

The day we have all been waiting for is here. Round 2 of the playoffs where only the NFLs Elite 8 get to play. Last year after the Packers had a 15-1 season and a first round bye, the Giants came to Green Bay and spoiled the party. A year later the Packers get to go down to San Francisco and spoil things for the 49ers. 

Beating the 49ers in San Francisco is a tall task. If only the Packers had beaten San Francisco in Week 1 when they came to Green Bay, or if there were not replacement refs in Seattle, or if the Packers had just won in Week 17 at the Metrodome, this could have been a home game. As it turns out it was good to play last week and the Packers are a good road team so no more looking back, we are here. The 49ers were the better team when the season started and proved that but who is the better team now?

Coaching: Both Mike McCarthy and Jim Harbaugh are 49 years old. Jim is just 1-1 while Mike is 6-3 in the playoffs (including a Super Bowl Win)... ADVANTAGE PACKERS

Special Teams: Both teams are solid on Kick and punt coverage and have good Punters. The 49ers return game is slightly better. Both kickers, Mason Crosby and David Akers, have been terrible. This might be a game where both teams go for it on 4th downs and maybe we will see a fake...ADVANTAGE 49ERS

Secondary: The Packers are young and getting better and having the veteran Charles Woodson back is huge but the 49ers secondary has some GREAT players...ADVANTAGE 49ers

Linebackers: The Packers have Clay Matthews and a lot of other good linebackers like A.J. Hawk but the 49ers have Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and much more...ADVANTAGE 49ers

Defensive Line: The Packers are good but the 49ers are very strong. The biggest key to this game is that the Packers OL is able to keep San Francisco DL from taking over the game...ADVANTAGE 49ers

Offensive Line: The Packers now have the best five guys out there and playing well and have a bit of a running game. They must play well and protect Aaron Rodgers if the Packers are to win this game. Still, the 49ers have more talent at this position as well...ADVANTAGE 49ers

It is often said that games are won and lost in the trenches yet the Packers beat the Vikings in Round 1 of the playoffs even though the Vikings are also stronger on both sides of the line. It's a 5-1 advantage for the 49ers so far but stay with me here to find out why the Packers do have a chance.

Wide Receivers: Now only do the Packers have four OUTSTANDING ones but the 49ers have lost guys to injury and have the old Randy Moss starting for them...HUGE ADVANTAGE Packers (worth 2 points)

Running Backs: I love DuJuan Harris but with Frank Gore and more...ADVANTAGE 49ers

Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers vs. Colin Kaepernick (the very best vs. the very inexperienced) In addition to that Aaron Rodgers is playing the team that he grew up rooting for AND the team that passed him up in the draft. Colin Kaepernick grew up in Wisconsin and was a big Packer fan but this is bigger for Aaron now because the game is in California, a bit of a homecoming for Rodgers...This is a TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE for the Packers (worth 3 points)

My rankings finish in a tie 6-6: This game could end in a tie, maybe like 28-28 or something and go into overtime, maybe two overtimes. I hear the field is not in good shape, which team benefits from that? I don't know who knows? It is the NFL, where anything can happen. I'd rather see the Packers play in a dome!

The 49ers (11-4-1) had a tie with the Rams (7-8-1) this season and then when they played them again they lost. This was a bit shocking because most people agree that San Francisco had a much better team than St. Louis. Did the Packers (now 12-5) lose to any inferior teams? It would seem like they did but NO, they did not. The Packers lost to last year’s champion New York Giants (9-7) and the other four are all playoff teams.

When I look at that and add in the fact that the Packer players overall have more games of playoff experience, it gives the Packers the very slightest edge.

I hope to see the Packers try the kick return throw back play that was did not work against the Bears.

I hope to see the fake Field Goal that worked so beautifully in the earlier game against the Bears.

I hope to NOT see the Packers need to try an on-side kick but it is good to know they are good at it in case they need to use it.

I hope all Packer fans really enjoy this game and appreciate some long time Packers who have been great for years but might not be Packers next season because of money. This is a business after all, we need to accept that and say Thank you to this "Core Four" who could me playing their last games as Packers:

Greg Jennings...Charles Woodson...A.J. Hawk... Donald Driver.

My final thought: IF (and it is a big if) the Packer Offensive Line can play well enough and the Packers don't commit any turnovers in this game (or at least win the turnover battle) I think Aaron Rodgers will lead the Packers to a victory we will all remember for a long time: Packers 35 49ers 28 (that's right, no Field Goals) Like I always say: "The Journey is the Reward" and this Journey has been so much fun that I can't stand the idea of seeing it all end! 

The Green Bay Packers are NFC North Champs!

Packers 21 Bears 13

In the NFL it is about the Quarterback first, everything else comes after. The difference in this game is obviously Aaron Rodgers over Jay Cutler. The Packer QB is the reining league MVP who won't win the MVP this season but team goals are always more important to him anyway. The Bears QB is the best one they have had since Jim McMahon but that is not saying much. The 20+ guys that have tried to play QB for the Bears in the past couple of decades were so unsuccessful that Jay Cutler looks good by comparison but simply is not very good. Worse yet he is not a leader and his body language makes him hard to like. As the Bears Defense gets older it looks like the Packers will be the better team for many years to come. The Packers Defense played great today and is young. Casey Heyward could be the Defensive rookie of the year in the NFL and Clay Matthews came back after missing more than a month and made an instant impact. 

I must mention that Randall Cobb had another great game but my MVPs of this game are James Jones (3 Touchdowns) and Mike Neal (1.5 sacks) there impact needs to be noticed. They might not be the big stars of this team but they were amoung them on this day.

This was a total team effort and they was some bad as usual:

As Mike McCarthy said after the game "Excellent Team Win" and yes, he also took the blame for an ill-advised trick play on a return when Randall Cobb's throwback was miss-handled by seldom used Jeremy Ross.

This may be the game that forces Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy to find a new kicker. Mason Crosby missed a pair of field goals Sunday. His 43-yard attempt sailed wide left and his 42-yarder hit the left post. It appeared Crosby may have turned a corner the last two games at Lambeau Field. Yet in Chicago, the funk continued. His second attempt could have given the Packers a two-touchdown cushion with 10:16 to play. 

However on the opening drive of the second half, the Packers drove downfield and faced a fourth and 6 from Chicago’s 26. Rather than kick a field goal, Green Bay went for it and Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for 12 yards. Soon after, Jones caught his third touchdown and the Packers were ahead, 21-7. A lack of confidence in the kicker paid off.

The Packers made a real statement today and now tonight if the New England Patriots take down the San Francisco 49ers (and I think they will, just look at the Quarterbacks) the Packers will move into the #2 spot in the NFC which at season's end can give us the first round bye and then a home game in the second round of the playoffs. The Falcons made an even bigger statement as they shut out the defending champion Giants. As I have been saying all season long, I look forward to the NFC Championship game at Atlanta in the Georgia Dome.

One more fun fact: The Vikings are now in second place in the NFC North and the Bears fall to third. The Bears and Vikings are both 8-6 now and would not even make the playoffs as it stands right now. If they sneak in I would love to play them but they would be knocked out in round 1 anyway while Green Bay is enjoying a playoff bye week!

The Journey is the Reward and we should all celebrate this newest title in Titletown!

The New York Nightmare!

I am not upset about the loss, I knew it was a tough task going into the home of the champs without Greg Jennings, Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson, and Sam Shields just to name a few BUT I disagreed with nearly decision that Mike McCarthy made after the game started poorly. Running the ball as often as you pass it in a game where you lose 38-10 can only be considered giving up.

It is clear to me that even though the Defense the Kicker are problems, the biggest problem is the Offensive Line. It needs to improve NOW!

MVP’s to Jordy Nelson for the nice long TD play and Dezmand Moses for his sack of Eli Manning.

Without Clay Matthews the Packer Defense Sacks the Lions playoff hopes!

Green Bay 24 Detroit 20

Maybe not what we expected but again, a win is a win is a win. All is well that ends well and in the end Aaron Rodgers threw his second touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with 1:55 to play to lift visiting Green Bay to its fifth consecutive victory.

I knew the Offense could struggle a bit vs that Lions front four without Bryan Bulaga. We continue to try to run the ball but can only muster 3 yards per carry even with James Starks back. Thankfully we did enough to win and nobody else was injured. Still, we are so thin on the OL that another injury there could spell doom.

When it came down to the drive with just minutes left down 20-14 there was no doubt in my mind that Aaron Rodgers would find a way to win it, and he did. Therefore he gets my game MVP over Randall Cobb who deserves it again. It seems like Rodgers deserves it almost every week and does not get it, therefore this one goes to Aaron.

The Special Teams gives us a lot to be happy about yet again EXCEPT for Mason Crosby who nearly lost the game for us. The Packers won't be replacing him so we must just all hope that he gains back his confidence in time to help the Packers win these big upcoming games. I never thought Jarrett Bush would become this good of a player but please Packers, keep him on Special Teams where he knows what he is doing.

The Defense flat out won this game for us. Without Clay Matthews and still no Charles Woodson, the Defense held a good Offense to just 20 points and at the end when forced to stop Megatron one more time they did it!  There is a lot of deserving guys again this week for the Defensive game MVP but M.D. Jennings brought back one of the picks 72 yards for a score. When you get a pick 6 you usually win, he really picked up the slack for the Offense in this one.

With the 49ers blowing out the Bears tonight as I expected, here are the Current NFC North standings: 

Packers 7-3 

Bears 7-3 

Vikings 6-4 

Lions 4-6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Saints March out of Lambeau winless at 0-4!

James Jones and Clay Matthews are my MVPs today. This 2-2 Packer team looks better on Offense but the Defense had trouble today. The Special Teams unit has become the most dependable of the three. Greg Jennings is maybe in his final season as a Packer and can not seem to stay healthy so I guess it is time to move forward at the position with Nelson, Cobb, and Jones. It is good to have Donald Driver available for the rest of this season in case more injuries happen.

2-2 is not a great start, no matter how this record came about. I still think this is a 11 or 12 win team so the Packers will win the division and be in the playoffs. Much improvement is needed however before the 2012 Packers are at that Super Bowl level. The Saints are not the same without Sean Peyton and Jonthan Vilma so they might not be in the playoffs this season. They are still good however and will still win 7,8 or 9 games I think.

It should be fun next Sunday as the Packers go to Indy to play the Colts and get to go after rookie Quarterback Andrew Luck. I expect sacks and Interceptions aplenty!

Packers prove the haters wrong!

The National media and the Packerhating fans were trying to make Packer fans push the panic button by saying things like:

• The Defense looks the same and still sucks
• The Offense is no longer explosive
• Jay Cutler has Brandon Marshall now
• If Green Bay goes 0-2 with both losses at home the season could be over
• That Bear Defense is still solid and Rodgers wont be able to throw

The list goes on and on and they were wrong on every point. The truth is:

• This new Packer Defense will get better as the season goes along and Jay Cutler was not able to find Brandon Marshall or anyone else open very often as the Packer pass rush was all over him. Jay Cutler was mopping around, blaming others, and just being all non-professional again.

• The Packer Offense showed signs of life when Donald Driver scored a TD and danced. Better yet the Packers found a running game and even more ways to score, Masthay to Crabtree? WOW and on a 4th and 26!

• Jay Cutler still gets rattled and the Packers did it to him all night. He then tried to force it to Brandon Marshall and threw INTs to the Packers opportunistic Defense.

• No way was the Pack gonna lose at home to DA BEARS and go 0-2, the fans won't let it happen

• The Bears Defense is still good, did sack Rodgers far too often but are getting old and the 49ers Defense is better

The Bears will never really be good until they find a Quarterback that knows how to react when things go badly. Aaron Rodgers is a true leader who always looks at his own mistakes first. Then he tries to help others, not blame them!


This 23-10 win should shut them up for a while!

The players of the game are the same for the second week in a row:
Randall Cobb and Clay Matthews

Would you agree?

No San Francisco Treat for PackerNation

It looks like the Defense will take a while to come together but it should be an improvement over last season. The Offensive Line needs to get better soon. There is nowhere for Cedric Benson to run and not enough time for Aaron Rodgers to work his magic. No Quarterback can do it alone! Only one game, we can take out frustration on the Bears on Thursday night. Go Pack!

 

Game 1 Packer MVPs were: Clay Matthews and Randall Cobb

 

Its Bear Week now, bring on Chicago Thursday night!