This week’s game against San Fran has us at a veritable loss. We are in a quandary over this one. We readily admit it. We see this game on paper and it reads pretty easy. Green Bay has a better offense. Green Bay has a better defense. Green Bay has a better QB. GB is the better team. Frank Gore, the 49ers leading rusher, is out for the season. So is the running game for the Packers. GB is a better team. Green Bay has a better matchup in both their O vs. the 49ers D and vice versa. In spite of Michael Crabtree (WR) and a maturing Vernon Davis (TE) the Packers still look better on paper.
We keep repeating this much like the Little Engine that Could…
“… I think we’re better…”
“… I think we’re better…”
“… I think we’re better…”
So why is it so damn hard to say flat out Green Bay WILL win this game?
These are the types of games that sink the Packers hopes. They’re the favorite, they’re at home, and they need to win. In the past the Lambeau mystique was enough to ease any tensions. But no more, not in this bizarro, injury laden season. The pack puts up points with the best of them. The D hangs tough week in and week out. They have been favored in most games they have played. And somehow defeat gets wrestled from the jaws of victory. For evidence this season look no further than the Bears or Skins or Dolphins games.
The Packers are coming off a tough loss against the high flying Falcons and the news is more of the same – the hits just keep on coming. OLB Brandon Chillar and newly signed TE Spencer Havner were both placed on the IR list this week, now making it 25% of the entire roster on the injured list. At some point the attrition and body count will catch up.
It has caught up with and now has consumed the running game. Dmitri Nance will probably be out for this game with a concussion unless a trip to Lourdes can be arranged quickly, and WR Greg Jennings has a bum wheel. Will Donald Lee recover to be able to play? The running game is killing whatever hopes the Packers have of making the playoffs. Will James Starks finally see the field? Will Nance even be in uniform? Is it too much to expect Brandon Jackson to shoulder the load? The running game is littered with questions and no clear answer in the foreseeable future.
But the Niners have RB woes of their own – All Pro Frank Gore is done for the year with a broken hip. And while the Troy Smith to Crabtree or Davis passing game gives hope to SF, the Pack still holds the upper hand offensively.
The same can be said for the Packer defense. It is Green Bay’s defense, depth and resiliency that is keeping them in games and still a bright spot. The front line of BJ Raji (photo L), a healthier Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett is looking good to compliment the uber-good LB’s. But this group cannot withstand anymore defections to the IR. The DB’s are jelling well and Tramon Williams (photo R)got rewarded with a nice, long term deal that will not only keep him happy but keep him in Green Bay.
SF has a terrific LB in Patrick Willis but like their offense their defense has been suspect and woefully inconsistent. A pre season favorite to run the table in the pathetically weak NFC West, SF has risen like a stone in the water this year. A team with a losing record from this sorry sack of pretenders will make the playoffs while a more deserving team gets the winter off. Gulp.
Head Coach Mike Singletary is precariously close to moving from “Mad Genius’ to ‘Mad Man’. Once a promising young coach Singletary has had issues this year and not performed well under fire and that shows directly on the field. His rants and tirades have worn thin on his young players. SF has hardly looked playoff ready and has stunk the joint out on numerous occasions. Even beating lowly Arizona was unimpressive last week. Singletary needs a statement game from his team and this has to one on his calendar.
The Pack, on the other hand, has but 5 games left to sneak in the playoff door. This game and next week’s against an improving Lions team are the soft part of the schedule. All the requisite ingredients are here for the Upset Special of the Week. With New England, the Giants, and the season closer against the improving and NFCN division leading Bears looming the Pack might overlook the patsies. Green Bay simply needs to focus on their own game and stop waiting for Chicago to shoot itself in the foot.
It is on Head Coach Mike McCarthy to play one game at a time. Looking past anyone will spell the end for whatever hope Green Bay has of advancement. Now is when MM must, in no uncertain terms, step up and not only prepare his team for battle but actually lead them into and take the battle to the other team.
In times of crisis the leaders step up.
Everything on paper says Green Bay wins big.
But a famous newspaper once published a headline that read “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” in bold large type.
Green Bay’s defense is enough to cover and smother the Niners. So should the offense. We cannot ignore the talent inequities of the two teams and we are making our pick with a deep gulp and holding our collective breath until it is over.
GREEN BAY 34
San Francisco 13
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