That was the signature win for this team this season. Against arguably the best team on our schedule, at home, having lost to them the past two years, with 3 rookies starting, having lose our last 2 in dramatic fashion, we needed a clutch victory at home and got one. The defense was the best I've seen it post-Reggie White. Not many people expected us to walk out of Lambeau at 5-4, but evidently the defense did. Massive games by Charles Woodson, Cullen Jenkins, Clay Matthews, and Nick Barnett. The first three of those guys should be pro-bowlers (you can vote now).
Up next is San Francisco on Sunday, and then a short 3 day break before our Thanksgiving game at Detroit. Our stuffage of Barber Choice and Jones gives me much more confidence facing Frank Gore now than I would've a week ago, but still the 49ers are a very underated team who beat Chicago by the same margin we did. We've had great success against Detroit in the Thanksgiving games in years past, but remember our first win against them was without stafford or megatron. From Sunday to Thursday will determine if we hit our virtual second BYE at 7-4, 4-6, or 6-5. That's a huge swing, lets get the offense cranking boys!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Devastating Loss
That loss may go down as the most devastating of the season. That loss may well be the difference between 9-7 and 8-8, between a wildcard playoff berth and a bubble team eliminated in the final two weeks. It's not as if we played THAT awfully; every aspect of the game other than the offensive line and special teams performed respectably. we doubled their total yards, had 4 long TD drives to their 1 (their 4 others were set up by big special teams/defense). But all great teams must find wways to win those close games late, and all good teams should be able to beat the Buccaneers, even on the road. We could play the Bucs the next 10 weeks and win every one of them, but that's not what happened on Sunday and we can't get that game back.
That doesn't mean we should give up on the season. We are 4-4, and still have 5 home games left. The remainder of our schedule is full of "either way" games, the kind you wouldn't want to bet one way or the other on because we could definetly win but could also definetly lose. The rest of our schedule featues the Cowboys, 49ers, Lions, Ravens, Bears, Steelers, Seahawks, and Cardinals. That features way fewer cakewalk games than our first half, and it is easy to envision us finishing with a losing record. However I don't see any games on that schedule which we couldn't win.
If we are to win any of them, we must fix the o-line. 6 more sacks on Rodgers yesterday and far more hurries. Tauscher reinjured his knee, Clifton wasn't particularly effective in his return, and Spitz is now out for the season. I don't know how to do it, but if we can't block the Buccaneers we sure as hell can't block Demarcus Ware without serious improvement. Until that's fixed I'd advise Rodgers/McCarthy to stop looking downfeild so much and start to do some quick, short passes. This could utilize our excellent WR core by allowing for more YAC opportunities, make the o-line not have to hold their blocks for so long, eliminate long down-and-distance plays, stretch the feild horizontally to allow more up the gut rushing, and protect Rodgers from the wear and tear of 5+ sacks a game. If we can't pass block, that, Grant, and our defense may be the keys to Sunday's showdown.
If we win, our season is right back on track and we have a signature victory to build on. If not, we'll have lost 3 straight, be 4-5 with tough games coming up, and the best team we'll have beated would be the Bears. This is another make or break game on Sunday.
That doesn't mean we should give up on the season. We are 4-4, and still have 5 home games left. The remainder of our schedule is full of "either way" games, the kind you wouldn't want to bet one way or the other on because we could definetly win but could also definetly lose. The rest of our schedule featues the Cowboys, 49ers, Lions, Ravens, Bears, Steelers, Seahawks, and Cardinals. That features way fewer cakewalk games than our first half, and it is easy to envision us finishing with a losing record. However I don't see any games on that schedule which we couldn't win.
If we are to win any of them, we must fix the o-line. 6 more sacks on Rodgers yesterday and far more hurries. Tauscher reinjured his knee, Clifton wasn't particularly effective in his return, and Spitz is now out for the season. I don't know how to do it, but if we can't block the Buccaneers we sure as hell can't block Demarcus Ware without serious improvement. Until that's fixed I'd advise Rodgers/McCarthy to stop looking downfeild so much and start to do some quick, short passes. This could utilize our excellent WR core by allowing for more YAC opportunities, make the o-line not have to hold their blocks for so long, eliminate long down-and-distance plays, stretch the feild horizontally to allow more up the gut rushing, and protect Rodgers from the wear and tear of 5+ sacks a game. If we can't pass block, that, Grant, and our defense may be the keys to Sunday's showdown.
If we win, our season is right back on track and we have a signature victory to build on. If not, we'll have lost 3 straight, be 4-5 with tough games coming up, and the best team we'll have beated would be the Bears. This is another make or break game on Sunday.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Perspective After a Dissapointing Loss
Obviously yesterday's loss was tremendously disheartening. After looking for the first 35 clock minutes as if we would be blown out of the water, and looking for the next 20 clock minutes like we were the best team in the NFL, it's difficult to come to determine how we packer fans should feel about our performance or view our team right now.
In the standings, we're 2.5 games back, which is virtually three because the Vikings now have the tiebreaker should we finish with even records. The Bears won big against the woeful Browns, and so we now cling to second place just above them. We have 9 games to play, and the toughest patch of our schedule is in those 9 weeks. our record sits at 4-3. What's to make of all this?
We need to put our loss in perspective. The first half was agonoizing, and at 24-3 it was as bleak as it's been this season. But the late 3rd and early 4th quarters were inspiring to watch, and the fact that we made that a game again shows we have some more fight than we had last year. With both our starting offensive tackles and our starting center injured, the 6 sacks are definetly a little inflated from what they'd be if we played them with a healthy line, and frankly those 6 sacks vs. our 0 was the difference in the game. The 2nd and 2 miscommunication between lang and colledge was the biggest turning point in that game; with clifton in there, that doesn't happen and maybe we take the lead from their 27 yard line. percy harvins 2 long returns and a vast penalty difference also helped the vikings in unorthodox ways which are unlikely to repeat should we play a second time. we've played them close both times, and in my opinion, we definatly can beat the vikings if we were to meet them healthy in the divisional playoff round.
So, I think our we should forget about catching the Vikings in the regular season.. I'm not saying it can't happen that we win the division, but the Vikings are such a good team and I can't see them losing 3 more games than we do over their next 8 games. We should take it one game at a time, aim for a 10-6ish record and settle for a Wildcard berth. A Super Bowl victory would be real nice, but it's probably unlikely for this season. The most important priority to boost the morale and confidence of our young players by getting into the playoffs, and that's a still very possible goal with 9 games to play. our approach as fans should be to temporarily ignore the vikings, ignore favre, and instead root for the Bears and NFC East teams to lose. with any luck we'll get a Minnesota rematch in January.
In the standings, we're 2.5 games back, which is virtually three because the Vikings now have the tiebreaker should we finish with even records. The Bears won big against the woeful Browns, and so we now cling to second place just above them. We have 9 games to play, and the toughest patch of our schedule is in those 9 weeks. our record sits at 4-3. What's to make of all this?
We need to put our loss in perspective. The first half was agonoizing, and at 24-3 it was as bleak as it's been this season. But the late 3rd and early 4th quarters were inspiring to watch, and the fact that we made that a game again shows we have some more fight than we had last year. With both our starting offensive tackles and our starting center injured, the 6 sacks are definetly a little inflated from what they'd be if we played them with a healthy line, and frankly those 6 sacks vs. our 0 was the difference in the game. The 2nd and 2 miscommunication between lang and colledge was the biggest turning point in that game; with clifton in there, that doesn't happen and maybe we take the lead from their 27 yard line. percy harvins 2 long returns and a vast penalty difference also helped the vikings in unorthodox ways which are unlikely to repeat should we play a second time. we've played them close both times, and in my opinion, we definatly can beat the vikings if we were to meet them healthy in the divisional playoff round.
So, I think our we should forget about catching the Vikings in the regular season.. I'm not saying it can't happen that we win the division, but the Vikings are such a good team and I can't see them losing 3 more games than we do over their next 8 games. We should take it one game at a time, aim for a 10-6ish record and settle for a Wildcard berth. A Super Bowl victory would be real nice, but it's probably unlikely for this season. The most important priority to boost the morale and confidence of our young players by getting into the playoffs, and that's a still very possible goal with 9 games to play. our approach as fans should be to temporarily ignore the vikings, ignore favre, and instead root for the Bears and NFC East teams to lose. with any luck we'll get a Minnesota rematch in January.
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