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| WE DID IT!!! |
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| Mike McCarthy bring Vince home where he belongs |
The Green Bay Packers will leave chilly, frozen Dallas and will be home soon bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy along with them as the World Champions after defeating the gallant Pittsburgh Steelers 31 – 25. In a thankful departure from the trash talking done lately in the NFL both teams showed a mutual respect and fear of the other and settled it on the field and not in the press.
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| Pitt HC Mike Tomlin, the brilliant leader of the Steelers |
While this game was far from the classic battles or superb performances it will no doubt go down as one of the most thrilling and nail biting games in recent history. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, a class act throughout and elegant in his post game comments said “This game is not about what we (the Steelers) were not able to do; it was about what they (the Packers) were able to do.” And just as predicted the early reviews of this game have to Nielsen ratings and overnight share through the roof. An estimated 106 million people broke last year’s record ratings by 3% and Super Bowl XLV drew a staggering 71 share overnight, meaning over 2.3 of the televisions in America watched the Packers make history.
In this game the Packers managed to impose their collective will on a team every bit their equal. Perhaps no other team in Packers history has had such a unified front in the locker room. Given the history of teams that have pranced upon the frozen tundra that is saying quite a lot.
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| Mutual respect between two proud franchises |
The Packers of Lombardi were forged and molded and driven until they became of one mindset. One distinction between Lombardi’s Packers and Mike McCarthy’s Packers is Lombardi had far more talent on his ’62 and ’65 squads in relative terms than the ’10 Packers. Talent only gets you so far in the NFL. One need not look any further than T.O., Randy Moss, Albert Haynesworth and the other self absorbed prima donnas of the NFL to understand that concept. Great players can always be beaten by teams of far less talent and greater singleness of purpose.
Team unity aside when those players themselves have talent AND the single mindset and buy into a coaching philosophy they can overcome the tallest of obstacles. Like losing 17 players to injury and suspension. Like losing their franchise QB for 2 games to a concussion. Like having to finish the season with 6 consecutive wins against teams whose worst record was 9 -7. Like winning 4 road playoff games in a row. Like losing their all time leading receiver and last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and emotional leaders to injuries in the Super Bowl. Give these Packers a mountain and enough time and they not only believe they will scale it; they will accomplish this and be simply amazing in the process.
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| Charles Woodson out with a broken collarbone but able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy |
Witness Charles Woodson, the unquestioned leader of not only the defense but the voice of the team. When Woodson played as he always does and laid everything out on the line and broke his left collarbone in the 2nd quarter the Leader of the Pack lost his voice. In an emotion filled speech spurring his teammates on Woodson, the toughest CB in the NFL, broke down and bawled like a child. Overcome with emotion he could not finish his speech. His teammates embraced that and gathered their fallen warrior up and did not leave him to die unrequited on the battlefield. Nor did they abandon their fallen offensive veteran WR Donald Driver. They carried them on their shields to deliver the Lombardi Trophy to the leaders of this remarkable team.
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| Donald Driver, the senior emeritus of the Packers WR's |
Donald Driver, unable to play after a nasty ankle turn, refused to take his uniform off and stood on the sidelines imploring his receiving mates on. When CB Sam Shields also left following Woodson into the dressing room with an injury the much maligned Jarrett Bush took his spot and responded with a titanic interception.
In the Twitter world we now live in it is commonplace to see QB’s yelling at receivers and receivers demanding the ball and defensive players calling out opponents and coaches laying down a gauntlet challenging other team’s coaches. They make for great highlights and get your mug on ESPN.
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| Jordy Nelson setting a Packer WR record scores the first of Green Bay's TD's |
But they don’t make a great team nor do they make a team great. Jordy Nelson had the greatest game ever by a Packers receiver in the playoffs with 9 grabs for 140 yards and 1 TD. Yet he will be as remembered for the ones that got away as what he did when he held on to the ball. Had Nelson and James Jones managed to come down with some of Aaron Rodgers tracer darts of throws Nelson could have easily topped 200 yards and Green Bay could have put up 3 more TD’s. It didn’t happen. Nor was Rodgers seen screaming at anyone in frustration.
Pittsburgh will be eternally haunted by one daunting image for the ages that encapsulates their frustration playing against the Packers. When Ben Roethlisberger missed a wide open and blazing to the pylon Mike Wallace with an off course pass the cameras caught Big Ben tip his head skyward and roll his eyes in a moment that says it all. The entire Steeler nation let out a collective curse at the missed opportunity.
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| Super Bowl MVP Superman |
Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers will now be coronated as the new next big deal of the NFL. His face will adorn the cover of Madden ’12 and enough words will be written about Arod to stretch from Chico, Ca. to Ashwabegon,WI. and back several thousand times and deservedly so. Rodgers left with a 24 for 39 performance, over 300 yards and 3 TD’s but most importantly no turnovers. While far from technically perfect the Packers played mistake free football while exacting a pound of flesh for every Steeler miscue. The vaunted Steeler running game was in fact almost a dead even draw with Green Bay’s James Starks gaining 53 yards on 11 carries (4.7 avg.) and Pitt’s Rashard Mendenhall getting 63 yards on 14 carries (4.5 avg.). While Pittsburgh also got running yards from Ike Redman and Mewelde Moore it was the QB’s that had the biggest showdown.
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| The Picks are in! Nick Collins grabs a pick 6 |
Flushed frequently from the pocket Roethlisberger ran for 31 yards as well as his life. Roethlisberger running was a distinct advantage for the Packers as it is his arm, not his feet that will kill you. He can hurt you with a run but keeping his arm in check was the Packers goal. An early bull rush by practice squad pickup Howard Green forced up a Duck a la Roethlisberger that Nick Collins easily swiped and returned for 6. Injuries accounted for much of the key moments in this game, especially surreptitiously. With the Steelers driving Frank Zombo, back in the lineup replacing his replacement Erik Walden who was out with an ankle sprain plowed into Big Ben and looked for all the world like a man trying to pull a tree up out of the ground by its’ roots. When He finally got Roethlisberger’s feet off the ground with Herculean effort the tree, and the Steelers hopes, began to topple.
The aforementioned Jarrett Bush, beaten badly by Hines Ward for a Pittsburgh TD came up when he literally stole the ball away from Mike Wallace. Rodgers found Greg Jennings with a bullet over the middle made possible in large part due to Troy Polamalu’s Achilles injury that found him just a tick behind the play.
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| Hot Potato! Desmond Bishop scooping up the game changer |
The Maurkice Pouncey injury showed up when Ryan Pickett of the Packers got inside replacement C Doug Legursky and had his helmet on the backside of Mendenhall and the also the ball making it a far easier target for Clay Matthews III who popped the ball out and Desmond Bishop, in due to Nick Barnett’s season ending injury gathered in and fell on for the Packers.
In the game of attrition and mistakes, the Steelers made 3 – and the Packers made them pay for every single one getting 21 points off the Steelers turnovers. Green Bay, led by Aaron Rodgers precision made exactly zero. Big games require ball protection and the Packers dominated in this department.
At age 27 Rodgers is poised to lead these Packers for a long time. They came into their own under the most trying of circumstances in the most trying of years. Charles Woodson was reduced to tears three times, first when learning his collarbone was broken, next when he addressed the team at halftime, and finally when he realized his dream of being a Super Bowl Champion. Greg Jennings head fake of Polamalu who guessed wrong and bit on a post in route when Jennings suddenly broke it outside provided the cushion Green Bay needed. Jordy Nelson stepped in and rewarded the Packers for selecting him and not DeSean Jackson with the game of his life.
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| Attaboy! Mike McCarthy victorious |
The defense has only gotten better and will be the backbone of this team for years to come. A few more healthy bodies and another good draft may see Green Bay become the next New England. The Packers accomplished all they accomplished with a vastly depleted lineup. Credit GM Ted Thompson for building a team built for the long haul, a team that can be good and great year in, year out. Mike McCarthy did a masterful job of coaching, especially down the stretch when the Packers needed him. He responded by pushing all the right buttons and being the glue that kept the team together.
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| Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson - hot all day long |
And Aaron Rodgers has put to rest any lingering notion about replacing a legend. He is in Steve Young territory now, and these are HIS Packers. At this point he has exactly the same amount of Super Bowl wins as his predecessor and the future looks even more promising than Green Bay’s glorious past. There is no more need to discuss anything but where the Packers today are going, not where they were 3 years ago.
On Tuesday, Lambeau Field will be filled to capacity at roughly 5pm with Cheeseheads form everywhere filling the stadium at $5 a pop to roar for their hometown heroes. The weather is predicted to be around 10 degrees when the sun is out, and there will be an “Ice Bowl I & II” feel to the place. There will be hunting caps, long underwear, galoshes, ski masks, boots, flasks, mittens, gloves, mufflers and scarves. The breath will freeze immediately in the air. It will be a cold, cold northern night. It will be a typical Green Bay day. No one is going to mind or complain one bit. Yeah, it will be a cold day in Green Bay.
And a glorious day for a glorious team.
Welcome home the 2010-11 WORLD CHAMPION GREEN BAY PACKERS!
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