They make you watch 60 minutes of football every week. Every single week. The Green Bay Packers are consistent. They make, force, cajole, and otherwise mandate you sit thru at least 60 minutes of football every week. When they win it’s usually a blowout, so you want to stay glued to the tube just to watch and enjoy the fireworks. When they lose, it’s close. It’s always a close loss. And they keep you right there, suffering to the bitter end. The 6 losses this year have been by a total of 20 lousy points. Had the Packers found a couple more field goals and a few touchdowns here or there we’d be looking at one of the greatest teams of all time. And those losses keep your butt in the chair until the last possible second, twisting in the wind and left wanting and hungry like a starving man cut off after the shrimp cocktail.
As it is 10 – 6 puts them in the playoffs. The win over division rival Chicago propelled them into the playoffs where the Aaron Rodgers led Packers look to redeem their playoff bust of a year ago against the Arizona Cardinals. And a sigh of relief can be given.
This was not just a win. This was a moment, and sometimes moments are not recognized as they are happening. This year the Packers were either blowing teams out or losing squeakers. The critics were saying Rodgers can’t win the close ones. McCarthy can’t make halftime adjustments. Injuries have taken their collective toll. In a close game, the Packers will find a way to give it away.
In comes Chicago, they of the newly crowned NFCN Division champions with their first round bye all locked up, and after Hotlanta’s W they could do no better than 2nd over, and no worse than 2nd overall. Chicago basically has nothing to play for, right? Just playing the 2nd team, rest the starters, keep everyone healthy and who cares who wins. Right???
Wrong.
Way wrong.
 |
| Bears Boss Lovie Smith |
These Bears came into Green Bay with but one objective. They brought the hearse, the shovels, the headstone and the pallbearers. They would have been more than happy to kill off the Pack and blow town laughing all the way home. Lovie Smith’s first priority is beating the Green Bay Packers. Make no mistake about it, Lovie means it. He got one win early this year and any temptation he had to sit anyone was quickly dispelled as Round 875,826 of this long rivalry was played out in Lambeau.
This was a man’s game. No starters sitting, no mincing of words, and no let’s just get to the dance. The Bears brought their ‘A’ game. So did the Packers. The Packers was a given, and the Bears met them head on refusing to back down. The Bears have every reason to be a bit surly and churlish at this point. The mainstream media has largely ignored their accomplishments and have denigrated Da Bears at every step. No matter how lofty their record the Bears are simply the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL – no respect. No respect at all.
If you listen you’ll hear the critics – the offensive line stinks, the receivers are the weakest in football, the passing attack is predictable, Cutler is erratic the running game can go MIA at any given point. And the Bears respond to such injustices with a snarl and a swipe of a paw that is both ferocious and dismissive.
These Bears can play.
And play their hearts out they did. They met the Pack and the Pack met them head on in an old fashioned NFCN slugfest. No shootouts or air it out shows. Just two defensive teams beating the living snot out of each other. The only thing truly missing here was a mud filled field and uniforms caked in it.
The 10 - 3 final is far less indicative of offensive incompetence than it is of a defensive battle. With the Bears clinging to an ever so slim 3 point lead at the half the tendency of Packer Nation here would be to just give up – can’t win the close ones and somehow GB will get out-adjusted at the half.
 |
| Head Coach Mike McCarthy |
Say this about the Packers and Mike McCarthy. At this point they have done a lot with smoke and mirrors covering up the injuries. MM pulled on his big boy pants in this game. He challenged unsuccessfully an interception early in the 2nd half that cost the Pack a valuable timeout. Review was sketchy, but we have to slap MM on the back for taking the initiative and putting it on his shoulders. At a time when leaders needed to step forward, MM did just that. MM took a chance, and in the process gave his team a fighting chance because as the review process took place it allowed the defense to collect itself to stanch the Bears drive. MM earns a game ball for hanging tough when it mattered.
 |
| GM Ted Thompson |
 |
| Packer LB Eric Walden |
When Brandon Jackson was ineffective, MM turned to James Starks who, while not exactly burning a hole on the turf, gave the running game a much needed lift. Unheralded LB Eric Walden (a practice team pickup from SF) had the game of his life leading the Pack with 10 tackles and 2 sacks. Credit MM and DC Dom Capers for trusting the unsung and the unknowns to pull through at crunch time. Further credit must go to GM Ted Thompson for finding diamonds in the coal field. Give a game ball to TT for keeping GB more than competitive in this most challenging of years. Now consider who will be coming in healthy next year and add Eric Walden to the mix. If that guy doesn’t get a game ball from the team, we’ll bestow one on him here. Attaboy, kid.
The momentum shift was precipitous in the second half as well. Slowly the tide began to shift. Green Bay began to gather some momentum. Mason Crosby picked up a chip shot after Green Bay knocked it down to the 1 yard line only to come away without a 6 pointer. This would typically result in the beginning of the end, but not today.
The Green Bay receivers maddeningly resumed their dropsies today. The always reliable Donald Driver coughed up a ball. Greg Jennings managed to have at least two catchable balls fall harmlessly to the ground off his hands. Jordy Nelson had an opportunity to pick up a huge first down after rookie T Bryan Bulaga set the Pack back with one of his 4 penalties, but he turned outside into coverage when, had he cut back in, a lane was available for a first down.
Bulaga simply had an awful day. 2 false starts and 2 holds will not grade out well in the film room. Of course, the Bears ever improving defensive line led by Julius Peppers has made a few more savvy players look like bungling rookies this year.
On a day when defense ruled the field the game turning play was Charlie Peprah’s end zone pick of a Jay Cutler floater. Both teams’ offenses had difficulty in moving the ball against the others’ defenses, and this interception was tonic needed to keep Green Bay and their playoff hopes alive. Charlie, you unsung hero who saved the back end of the defense all season, here’s a game ball.
Good teams will sometimes need but one play to meet their goal. When Greg Jennings came down with a Rodgers rainbow at the 1 it was the play of the game. With the Lambeau crowd calling for FB John Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhn, a great play action fake found Donald Lee all alone in the end zone. Lee did not drop this one and gave the Packers reason to explode with joy.
 |
| Rookie P Tim Masthay |
Throughout the second half momentum swings kept falling Green Bay’s way. The special teams, especially P Tim Masthay and K Mason Crosby did a more than credible job, with Daniel Manning being the only Bear to break off a decent return. The Packers special teams kept the frighteningly talented Devin Hester on a very short leash and for once the entire unit played with cohesive purpose. The coverage team held its lanes and bent but never broke. For neutralizing the Bears biggest weapons Crosby and especially Tim Masthay get game balls. Masthay was money all game.
 |
| Bears QB Jay Cutler |
It was not until Cutler had rallied the Bears into Packers territory with time winding down under a minute before anyone could exhale however. Nick Collins’ interception at the 10 with 20 seconds left and return to midfield put the exclamation point at the end of the Packers statement game.
 |
| NT B J Raji |
Game balls also go to two of the less appreciated talents on the Packers D – NT B.J. Raji who got snubbed in the Pro Bowl voting but was the glue the held the Packers D tighter all year, and A.J. Hawk who called all the defensive signals and led the Packers in tackles this year. The wait for Hawk to arrive is over; he’s here.
 |
| Packer LB A J Hawk |
This time the statement was definitive. The Packers are off to the dance. The Giants and Bucs can simply pack up and go home.
Another 60 minutes of football.
On to Philadelphia., and another 60 minutes of football.
No comments:
Post a Comment