A Real Role Model

If anyone ever wondered what the terms "class" and "Packer People" ever meant, we offer proof positive that it DOES exist.

Donald Driver - Great football player...

Much better person.

Packers Collapse Vikings

Rodgers Stays Perfect

Well, well, well… lookie who woke up and found a quarterback.

No, it wasn’t the Packers; they already have the best in the biz.

Write the date down and write off Donovan McNabb. The Christian Ponder era is officially underway in Minnesota.

We expected a bevy of points from the Packers, and we got it. What we didn’t expect was how well Ponder would come out of the chute. Ponder opened the game with a rainbow that all but went for 6 on his first ever play. Excuse the kid if he was smiling after a loss; he had to feel pretty good about his play.

Minny QB Christian Ponder.
The Kid hits big on his first toss

In addition to his good throws Ponder also played the part of the wide eyed rookie caught in the cross hairs as he dared to challenge Charles Woodson. Big mistake kid. For the ones you might make Sir Charles will bait you into the throw you shouldn’t have made, and Woodson did it twice. The Packers are still relying on a bend but don’t break defensive mindset, and while Green Bay sports a perfect record going into the bye, the whispers about ‘vulnerability’ are out there.



Rodgers shows the Kid how it's done



At 7-0 it’s hard to argue with the record. Offensively not only is this arguably the greatest offensive team in Green Bay’s illustrious history this Packer offense is making a serious run at one of the greatest offensive teams of all time. Led by Mr. Perfect Aaron Rodgers at QB Rodgers towers above the rest of the NFL right now. The skinny kid no one wanted is now the darling of the dance. Brett who?? Rodgers’ numbers do not tell the story.

Just how good was Rodgers on Sunday against Minnesota? The convoluted Quarterback Rating System says Arod was statistically perfect on the day with a passer rating of 145.6. That’s out of a possible 158.3. Rodgers completed his first 8 passes to 8 different receivers. He also tossed 3 TD’s on the day, put up points from behind, was cool under pressure, took a too close game and turned it into a runaway win, got the girl, road off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.

Packer DC Dom Capers

But wait… these are the Green Bay Packers, no stranger to danger and adversity. Nothing comes easy to this squad. It’s so easy to look at the record and Rodgers’ gaudy numbers and be dazzled and blinded. Upon further review, there is work left to be done for Head Coach Mike McCarthy and especially Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers. The Packers record is perfect.

The Packers are not.

Rodgers is leading an offensive scoring machine that is hitting on all cylinders right now. Both he and MM beat the “Yeah, but what happens when the offense goes cold?” drum and have been doing so for some time. It’s a fair point. The Packers defense, especially against the pass, is an Achilles Heel that other opponents are no doubt watching very closely. Out in San Diego the wildly inconsistent Chargers will really test the Pack when the mid-season break comes to a halt.



The Boss - Head Coach Mike McCarthy



It’s not like the Packers can’t play defense. They can. But their collective performance has been inconsistent, so much so that they are at or very near the bottom in the NFC in pass defense. Granted, the AFC powerhouse New England Patriots are in the same category, so it’s pretty heady company. MM is no fool. Yes, his team can outscore anyone, anytime, anywhere. Then there’s that nagging little annoying word that keeps popping up.

But…

Green Bay, 2011 version. Outstanding world class offense. Among the best there has ever been. And a defense that is suspect.

The defense has the components. Against the Bears and Falcons the Packers played a tight defense and against very good offenses and QB’s. The Saints were overmatched offensively and in a curiosity of sorts for Green Bay they have been so utterly dominant in their other games that they haven’t truly been challenged.

Against the Vikings there was a funk, a malaise that hung over the Packers as they watched Ponder the Wonder Kid exploit their pass defense. It helps that Ponder has Adrian Peterson to carry the mail for him to take off some pressure. There were more than a few raised eyebrows when the Vikings took a 17 – 13 lead in at the half.

Cue Mr. Perfect.

Over the past half century of battles with their neighbors in Minnesota there have been hard fought battles where the outcome was not determined until the bitter end. This game had such a markedly different feel, as if it was preordained. Rodgers brought the Packers out and as quick as it takes for the roof to collapse on the Metrodome so did the Packers bury the Vikings under an avalanche of points.

Rodgers bought time in the pocket with his legs and found Greg Jennings who was so wide open that Viking backup QB Joe Webb threw his hands in air helplessly along the sidelines as Jennings literally half walked unmolested into the end zone from 40 yards out. A Woodson pick and repeat the result. And Again.

Yer nuts!!! Brian Robison introducing himself to T. J. Lang

The Packers defense gives up yards. Bend but don’t break. The Packers turned their too close of a deficit into a laugher, and the rout was on. Even with CB Sam Shields out and S Morgan Burnett playing with a club on his hand the Packer D looked ready to put the hated Vikes away. How hated? Ask T.J. Lang who took a kick in an area most men would prefer not to take a kick from a flat on his back Brian Robison. After that exchange of ugliness Lang showed remarkable composure and restraint, and Mr. Robison can expect an NFL tariff leveed againast his wages for that stupidity. Game over, right?

 But wait… stepping into a phone booth and out comes another rookie QB a la Cam Newton to make a game of it! Ponder marches the Vikings right back and gets them close, and finally, mercifully, thankfully Rodgers finishes them off. Ponder was able to justify his being taken so high in the draft. This kid is a bright kid and has a very promising future in the NFL. He’ll be all smiles knowing he can, in fact, play right now at this level, but it still adds up to a loss.

Still perfect after all these games

Rodgers is succeeding by spreading the ball all over the field. He made a serious run at the All Time Packers consecutive completion mark until rookie Randall Cobb dropped the rock. Greg Jennings showed his displeasure with the kid on the sidelines, and that one will cost Cobb $400 in Best Buy gift cards for his fellow receivers as a penalty.

Thunderfoot!!! A revtitalized Crosby sets a Packer record

Rodgers and the offense earned their break in this glorious opening to the season, the best a Packers team has ever done in it’s history. 7 – 0. Perfect. Speaking of perfect Thunderfoot himself is making huge impact this year. Lifetime 78% kicker Mason Crosby is hitting from every angle and distance, setting a Packers record with a 58 yarder that looked to have been good from 68 or more yards. Whatever MM dropped in his cereal in the offseason is working as Crosby, the once much maligned and now much improved Crosby has been money all year.

But far from a completed project. Knowing how the NFL will cast off its near greats like a certain New England team that was perfect until they lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl McCarthy and Capers have plenty to busy themselves while the players get away and heal.



The wait for DE Mike Neal continues...
and he can't get here soon enough



Getting Mike Neal (DE) back will help. The only question is when? Neal’s balky knee has kept him out longer than expected and the initial hope he would rejoin the team after the bye week is suddenly very unlikely. The operative word now is there is no timetable.

For now for the Packers their record is perfect. So is Rodgers. Time to savor and enjoy the moment as fleeting as it is.

But the NFL is an imperfect outfit. The tape is out there, and the rest of the dogs will come yapping at the Packers heels in a couple weeks.

Lions Backs Sidelined

The resurgent Detroit Lions have announced a pair of devastating setbacks to their running backs.

Detroit RB Jerome Harrison

A trade between Philadelphia and Detroit of RB Jerome Harrison form the Eagles Ronnie Brown was voided when Harrison failed to pass his physical. A subsequent brain tumor was discovered and Harrison will be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Promising 2nd year man and top RB Jahvid Best is also out after sustaining a concussion, and intial medical reports reveal the effects of this latest injury may have serious long term consequences for Best and are potentially career-threatening.

Detroit RB Jahvid Best

While these injuries are a blow to the Lions season, of greater importance is the well being of these two respected opponents and young men. Packers Weekly and the rest of Packer Nation join in wishing both Mr. Harrison and Mr. Best and their families all the very best and a full recovery.

Pack Keeps on Rolling

Next Up, Minnesota

Rolling, rolling, rolling. The Pack just keeps on rolling along and now in the way are the once formidable Minnesota Vikings who are nothing but a shell of their former selves after Brett Favre blew through town and blew up the franchise.

Oh, the Vikes will want to say and do all the right things; they still have All World RB Adrian ‘All Day’ Peterson, and NFL sack leader Jared Allen, but beyond that ol’ Mother Hubbard’s cupboards are pretty close to bare. There is little left to instill fear into the game planning of an opponent.

For the Packers the challenges are no longer coming from the outside, they are now resorting to challenging themselves. The Vikings? Honestly, just an afterthought. When the schedule was drawn up the two games against the boys in purple looked like another “…key divisional matchup in the always tough NFC North…” but this Vikings teams has holes that the team bus could negotiate.

Donovan McNabb is seriously questioning his exile to the land of 10,000 lakes at this point. After the worst start to his professional career McNabb is now relegated to the bench and carrying the clipboard for first rounder Savior-in-Wait QB Christian Ponder who literally gets thrown to the wolves on Sunday in his NFL debut as a starter. Against the Packers. That would be the 6 -0 NFL leading defending Super Bowl Packers. And Ponder is not Cam Newton.

Peterson is still a big game back capable of taking over a game by himself. But with his propensity for fumbling away the ball and Minnesota’s porous offensive line it will take a Herculean effort for the Vikings to topple the Packers. And even with Jared Allen playing like a man possessed  there is very little else about the Vikings defense that is even remotely effective, or even good. Gone is the famed Williams wall. Gone is Ray Edwards. Allen will still get a few sacks, but Minny’s defensive secondary couldn’t cover a bed with a sheet.

Witness last week’s undressing they took at the hands of the Bears. Chicago has almost as bad a line as Minnesota up front protecting Jay Cutler, so the Bears dropped 7 and 8 men into protection schemes to keep Cutler upright. If you’re scoring at home if the Bears are in an 8 man protection – 5 lineman, 2 TE’s and a back, that leaves maybe 2 WR’s unaccounted for.

And the Vikes corners couldn’t account for them. Devin Hester blew by double coverage and still had enough time to stop and grab a sandwich on the way to a long Cutler connection.

Suffice it to say the Bears aren’t the Packers, nor are the Packers the Bears.

With the multiple offensive looks and formations that Mike McCarthy will throw at the Vikings on paper this game looks more and more lopsided. The options available to Aaron Rodgers will be plentiful. The trick for the Packers is to continue to challenge themselves as the game gets deeper and the Vikes fall further behind. And the defensive looks Dom Capers will throw out at the Vikings rookie QB will leave him Pondered and perplexed.

Complacency can kill the Packers. But with Rodgers leading the way complacency will difficult. After mopping then floor with the Rams Rodgers said he was “…mildly disappointed…” by the Packers inability to score in the second half.

Rodgers stats are so otherworldly and his leadership so even handed that when he speaks everyone in green and gold listens. McCarthy and Rodgers are both trumpeting the fact that they both feel the Pack still has yet to hit on all cylinders. The scary part is they are both right.

Minnesota will have an impossible time trying to keep up with the Packers receivers. Rodgers was once criticized for holding the ball too long, but now the Vikings no longer have that luxury upon which they can depend. If Allen will see the double and triple teams and chip blocks his presence is certain to draw it will be left to the rest of Minnesota’s D to hold the fort.

Against the Packers. That would be the 6 -0 NFL leading defending Super Bowl Packers. And the hottest offensive team in the NFL.

Ponder is going to get his feet not wet but immersed. He will have to learn very quickly on how to read or better yet guess from which side an avalanche of hell will come after him. His game plan will probably include the line “If you don’t see anything open run like hell and throw the damn ball away.”

Ponders body of work is non-existent. B.J. Raji said it best when he said “It’s kind of hard to know what he’s going to do because there isn’t a lot of [NFL] film on him. True enough. The same could be said about Cam Newton. But Ponder isn’t Newton.

Ponder will toss a few picks and make the mistakes all rookies make. McNabb may be even forced into a humiliating mop up role, a sad commentary on the fall of this once proud warrior. Peterson will run wild between the 20’s, but his broad shoulders aren’t enough to carry the show.

Rodgers has to decide who will be the beneficiary of his TD tosses this week. The Packers receiving corps are like hungry birds at the nest all clambering to be next on the serving list. Keeping his receivers happy is Rodgers main goal. That, and focused.

The dropsies have worked their way back into the Packers’ chinks on their shiny suit of armor again. Led by Greg Jennings and Donald Driver the WR’s have now implemented a fine system of their own when one of their own drops the rock. Drop a pass? It’ll now cost you a hundred bucks in gift cards at Best Buy for the other receivers. That is a true statement. The Packers are challenging themselves from within to improve.

They have to.                         
The challenges are no longer coming from places like Minnesota.

Make it 7 straight and another large deposit in the “Points Scored” bank.

    GREEN BAY  42  

        Minnesota  7      

Alone at the Top

And so there it was, on the 6^th Monday of the 2011 NFL regular season that the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers awoke to find themselves as the lone remaining undefeated team, alone in its’ perfect record sitting high on pinnacle overlooking the rest of the NFL. The last of those teams trying to match the Packers win for win, the upstart Detroit Lions, fell in confusion and post-game histrionics to the equally upstart 49ers.

That the Packers won is no surprise. That they won handily is no revelation. That they won so coolly efficiently and with a bare minimum of effort is telling. Have the Packers ascended that far? Are they, in fact, that good? Are they worthy of the platitudes being heaped upon them at the early part of this season?

The answers up and down the line to all these questions are “yes”. The Packers are a mighty outfit this year. Even with a defense that has an appearance of not as staunch as last years they have become an impressive team. In fact, to find comparisons, perhaps it is best to compare these Packers not with their peers of this year but with their own franchises best teams.

The 1965 Green Bay Packers

Here’s a fact – in all Green Bay’s previous 5 – 0 starts that team has gone on to win an NFL or Super Bowl Championship. The 11 version of the Packers are eerily reminiscent of the 1965 Vince Lombardi Packers. Lombardi was obsessed with winning 3 consecutive NFL titles, a feat no team had previously attained. Lombardi and obsession are interchangeable adjectives in the lexicon of Lombardi historians.

Bart Starr, QB of the '65 Packers

Mike McCarthy will probably never be mentioned in the same breath as Vince Lombardi, the patron saint of all coaches. Maybe no one ever will be. But he has elevated himself to be included with and maybe ahead of Mike Holmgren. McCarthy is as perfectly suited for these Packers as Lombardi was for his in the 60’s. Lombardi had Bart Starr; McCarthy has Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers possesses many of his predecessors best qualities – he has a Brett Favre–like arm, maybe not quite as strong, but with Starr- like accuracy, and maybe a bit more willing to squeeze one into a small window than Starr would have and a lot less likely to toss the pick than Favre ever was. Rodgers is a gifted and underrated athlete and can use his legs and now his head as well as anyone in the game. Favre many times seemed to be winging it, making it up as he went. Starr was a master of taking whatever was in front of him and getting what he could without making mistakes. Starr was a leader beyond measure of his ’65 team and Rodgers is the undisputed leader of his Pack. It is as if the Holy Trinity of Packer Quarterbacks has eliminated the weakest parts of the previous players and bestowed upon Rodgers all the best qualities.

Brett Favre, the guy before Rodgers

But to do that would be to diminish Rodgers’ growth and his own work. Underrated, overlooked and largely ignored has ignited a Lombardi-like fire in the belly of this young beast. There is a visual of Rodgers just wanting to stick to everyone and anyone that passed him by, looked him over, ignored or mistreated him that is manifesting itself in Rodgers becoming the machine he now is. Look at his own auspicious track record – unrecruited out of high school, only one college offer after junior college ball, passed over by his beloved 49ers in the draft and then who can forget the look on his face in the green room as name after name was called and it was not his. Falling from the possible first pick, thru the Top 5, then Top 10, Top 20 and landing all the way at 24. To the Packers, and their own iron man Brett Favre who had not missed a game since he took over. Even Favre’s “Welcome to the Show” moment for Rodgers included the now famous quote “…I’m (Favre) not here to ‘mentor’ anyone. I’m here to win football games…”

Yeah, Aaron, welcome to the Packers.

Two Legends - Bart Starr with Vince Lombardi

Lombardi himself had a similar path. Ignored as a player, he became a successful high school coach, an assistant to the most successful college team at Army under legend Red Blaik, and finally on to the Giants as the offensive coach. Lombardi himself was passed over by many teams in both the pros and colleges in part due to a perception and prejudice against his Italian heritage. No one can be certain what kind of fire this type of treatment will ignite in an individual. Some will be consumed by it and destroyed. For others, like Lombardi and Rodgers, it becomes an all-consuming crucible that ignites and drives and brings out a ferocity few, if any saw coming. Starr equally had his own similar path. Drafted in the 17^th round, buried on the depth charts Lombardi traded for another QB once he got the job in Green Bay. But Starr paid his dues and kept showing up to work. He stood up to Lombardi and did what was expected and more. Once he gained the confidence of his coach, he blossomed.

In 1965 the Packers were the reigning Champions of the NFL twice removed. It was the start of their 3 year run that ended the Lombardi era. They were talented and hungry again, and had enough new faces to blend in with the old. The players who had success previous with Lombardi had a renewed sense of purpose and played like it. They were a coldly efficient group running amok through the NFL. At times they made it look too easy. Opponents were beaten before the even left the bus.

Finally!! Aaron Rodgers on Draft Day

So it was for the Rams this week. The Rams were only an afterthought to a game that had been decided before their plane lefty St. Louis. The Pack, the ’11 version, does what the ’65 team did. They put up points, get a lead, and when they are there challenge another team, King-of-the-Hill style, to knock them from their perch. That the Packers won is not anything newsworthy. Rodgers is alone right now in the mention of any MVP discussion. Starr’s ability to not turn the ball over was one of Lombardi’s proudest moments with him at the helm. How many of Rodgers miniscule interceptions have come after they have bounced off a receivers hands into the arms of an unsuspecting defender as his lone pick did when Greg Jennings saw one bounce away against the Rams? Rodgers delivers the ball as hot as Favre once did but without the misadventures that came when Favre tried to do too much.

Max McGee of the '65 Champs

In ’65 Starr had JimTaylor and Elijah Pitts and an aging Paul Hornung. Rodgers has James Starks and an aging Ryan Grant. The ’65 team was running team that used the run to set up the pass. Starr excelled in 2^nd and short play action passes deep that struck like lightning to Carroll Dale, Max McGee and Boyd Dowler. Rodgers runs a similar offense, the greatest difference being the '11 team is a passing team that uses the run to set up the pass. He found Jordy Nelson alone on the sideline, and Nelson’s two step move created a collision that KO’d former Packer Al Harris and 93 yards later Rodgers had the longest TD of his career on Sunday. Armed with With Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley Rodgers has his arsenal in place.

Herb Adderly, the first to try to take it to the house

Starr turned the field over to the Ray Nitschke led defense in ‘65. While Clay Matthews III will never be the ferocious beast Nitschke was he is nonetheless the leader and a beast in his own right of this D, along with Charles Woodson, the ’11 version of ‘65’s Herb Adderly and Willie Wood. All were supremely gifted, confident athletes who led by example and could play in any era. Matthews finally registered a sack on Ram QB Sam Bradford, but as the Pack moves into more pressure and cover type defenses the sacks that once came so easily will be called upon less as the coverages Green Bay throws out are designed to yield yards but not points.

As the rest of the NFC North begins to fall off the talent disparity between the teams becomes more evident. The Lions are young and they’re tough. But they make mistakes. Against the 49ers they had no answer for Alex Smith’s last minute drive that cost them their perfect season. And in a shocking display both head coaches, Detroit’s Jim Schwartz and San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh engaged in an ugly exchange at the end of the game that began with Harbaugh’s overzealous slap of a handshake and dismissive shove on the back of Schwartz, who then chased Harbaugh down the field and ended in a series of invectives and obscenities being launched from both teams, hardly the behavior of class. If the Lions take to defeat thusly it may be a tougher hill to climb than expected. Adversity has a funny way of seeking out those that curse it. As for Harbaugh certainly a dialing down of his high school/ collegiate histrionics is in order.

In what used to be a key divisional matchup the Bears destroyed the Vikings and probably whatever is left of Donovan McNabb’s career. While the Bears looked far better than they have in the early going they were forced to use blocking packages that include 7and 8 men up front to ward off the Vikings pass rush. While Jared Allen leads the league in sacks the Vikings secondary still cannot defense a downfield throw, even when only 2 receivers are deployed. The Bears utilization of multiple tight ends and blocking backs to protect Jay Cutler will help against the stiffs, but when they face the better teams, like the Packers and the Lions, they won’t get by on two men downfield. With both the Packers and Lions well in front at this point the Vikings will forego this year and begin the Christian Ponder era, and the Bears have the remotest of hope knowing they must win out in their division from this point to have any shot whatsoever to make the playoffs.



Paul Hornung, running to daylight in the '65 title game



For the Packers the road is much clearer. The Vikings are due up next and this is a game that before the season looked like it would be a good one. Now it looks like another game where the Packers have to avoid the letdown. The Packers know they have a perfect record but are not perfect. They know their own shortcomings well. The ’65 team did also. The ’65 Packers played to their strengths, much as the ’11 Packers do.

At times both teams – the ‘65’s and the ‘11’s - make it look too easy. They put up points sometimes robotically, they get pushed and will respond with a flourish, but the true measure of the ’11 Packers will be not in how they conduct themselves during the season but how they tend to business at the end of it. Lombardi’s Packers, as did Holmgren’s Packers, never went undefeated. McCarthy’s Packers are not likely to run the table; the competition level in today’s NFL is simply too great. Lombardi himself had an aversion to an undefeated season. He felt that a loss would give him a reason to scare the hell out of his command and refocus them on the tasks at hand. And, it worked. History will remember the ’65 Packers as winning out and winning it all in the end.



Aaron Rodgers, always cool under pressure



After the Rams game Rodgers said straight faced that he felt the Packers did well in the first half but did “…nothing in the second half. We know there’s a lot we need to improve and work on…” This is the same Aaron Rodgers who is atop the football world right now, the Leader of the Pack, the top QB in the NFL and then first QB in the history of the NFL to have a passer rating of 110.00 or HIGHER in the first 6 games of a season. And Aaron Rodgers is dead serious when he says “We (the Packers) know we can improve and get better”.

The words rang down from the highest peak.

 Somewhere, Vince allowed himself a familiar gap toothed smile.



Attaboy, Aaron, attaboy!!



Depleted Packers Lock Horns with Rams

When the 2011 NFL schedule was released Packers knew in advance that the Pack would draw as tough a schedule as possible based on last season’s success. On paper in April it looked daunting.

It has a decidedly different look today.

On paper the Pack had to face the super Bowl Champion they replaced in New Orleans, and divisional winners in Chicago (twice), the Kansas City Chiefs, and St. Louis Rams, not to mention their annual home and home slugfests against the rising Lions and always challenging Vikings. Up and down the lineup it looked like there were few softies.

Until, of course, the games start being played. All of sudden it has become a bizarro-type landscape with the bottom sitting on the top. The Chiefs have imploded under Head Coach Todd Haley, the Bears have been exposed, the Vikings have nothing left outside of Adrian Peterson.

And in comes the once promising St. Louis Rams, led by last year’s flavor of the Month QB Sam Bradford. Bradford is a quality QB. We suspect he is more than a tough kid and a pretty competent leader. But the Rams are learning a painfully difficult lesson regarding their passing game – you can’t win if you can’t catch.

The Rams are sporting a black eye and collar in the oh-fer( 0 - 4) start to the season. After drafting Bradford the Rams had been steadily building but the question is now in what direction? The Rams have spent 7 -  seven! – picks on receiving targets for Bradford over the past 3 years and nary a one remains a viable option, and the majority are gone from the Rams roster. The O Line boasts top picks Jason Smith (#2 overall 2008) and Roger Saffold (2nd round last year) and the Rams have nearly matched the Eagles in overspending on overvalued free agents for a line that is as solid as the hull of the Titanic. Harvey Dahl (RG), Jason Brown (C) and Jacob Bell (LG) were supposed to be the FA big money additions that kept Bradford out of harm’s way. In stark contrast Bradford has been chased, harassed, and hurried all year long and things don’t look much brighter on the horizon. Green Bay GM Ted Thompson may draw criticism for not delving deeper into the FA pool but when abysmal results such as the Rams and Eagles are being trumpeted daily we can only thank Ted for keeping a tight rein on his wallet.

Big back Stephen Jackson has been hampered by nagging leg injuries but is still capable of breaking off a big gainer and putting up 100+ yards on the ground. Cadillac Williams has been a nice 2^nd vehicle to take the heat off Jackson. The real problems are in the Rams coaching areas. New Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels  is pulling a Mike Martz like job in St. Louis by overplaying his own reputation. Much like Martz, who inherited the Greatest Show on Turf under Dick Vermeil’s watch in St. Louis, while in New England under Belichick  McDaniels had Tom Brady and a party of favorites to make his complex offense work. In Denver he ran off any one who did not subscribe to his “my way or the highway” style and that included shipping Jay Cutler over to his fellow overblown ego of a coach in Martz in Chicago. McDaniels and Martz may be responsible form running more talent off the field than developing it. Their collective arrogance is troublesome to watch and their collective lack of results outside the arenas that hey inherited that brought them the acclaimed tag of “offensive guru” when they were OC’s for the Dick Vermeil Rams and Bill Belichick Patriots is most telling. Neither has made any type of impact as a head coach and neither has displayed any ability to develop players under their own command. And yet, these two seem to be endlessly recycled under the mistaken belief they alone hold the answers to a team’s offensive questions.

Head Coach Steve Spagnulo will ultimately take the heat for the hiring of McDaniels and the total failure of the offense to produce. Whether it is Spagnulo or McDaniels at this point it is irrelevant. The Rams are in free fall mode and it doesn’t get any easier this week against the Packers. Instead of contending for the NFC West title the rams are the early front runner at the #1 pick in the draft. Their point total of a paltry 46 thus far is hands down the worst of any NFL team. The defense led by MLB James Lauranaitis is a solid but banged up defense. The corners are hurt and nothing spells doom for a team like the phrase “…The ____ will be without their corners this week when they face the Packers…”

Green Bay has issues of its own. LT Chad Clifton sustained a serious hamstring injury last week against the Falcons and will miss a significant amount of time according to head coach Mike McCarthy. FS Nick Collins was finally placed on the Injured Reserve list ending his season, and his spot on the roster will be taken by enormous G Rey Dominguez from the practice squad. At 335 lbs. Dominguez is huge and had an impressive camp but he is here strictly as an emergency fill in. Starting RT Bryan Bulaga is still out so the question will be where 2^nd year man Marshall Newhouse and 1^st round rookie Derrick Sherrod line up. Newhouse has filled in for Bulaga capably and when Clifton went down he moved to LT while Sherrod slid into the RT slot. MM’s mandate that his O Line be flexible is now paying the dividends he hoped it would when he was taking heat for it. The defensive backfield took yet another hit when Head Coach Mike McCarthy announced that 2^nd year safety Morgan Burnett suffered a broken hand in practice. While MM also stated that Burnett would be listed as a ‘probable’ if any game called for sitting out a high impact player such as Burnett as a precaution it would be this one.

As long as Aaron Rodgers has a clean jersey the Packers have their best foot forward. While there will be some who will try to say this could be a major upset – and it would – the reality staring the Packers and the NFL in the face is this game should not even be close. The Rams drop more passes than any other team in the NFL. The Eagles lone W came when the Rams could not hang on to the ball. It doesn’t get any easier for them and for the Packers this will be an opportunity to have their young bucks tested but not over run. That being said the Pack now has to show up. The running game will have a big day as Rodgers will not have the need to hit 12 different receivers.

With the Lions playing lights out at this point the Packers have no intention of taking their foot of the accelerator. In this game the Pack holds all the cards and the Rams are marching on to the #1 pick in the draft. This one will be over by the half.

    GREEN BAY  38   

       St.  Louis 10     

Packers Overwhelm Young Falcons

So this is how a champion does it. They take the blow, roll with it, get up, dust themselves off and go back out and just impose their will upon an opponent until the opponent yields and folds up like a cheap suit. No mouth, no big talk, no self-aggrandizing claims of self-declared supremacy.

Just plain old smash mouth “you bring your best and we’ll bring ours” to settle matters.

In the process the Packers are saying things louder than any of today’s notorious trash talkers could ever piece together. Just play and let that do all your talking.

And yet the Packers themselves aren’t convinced they are that good yet. They keep piling up the W’s and leaving a wake of destruction behind them but to hear them say it you’d think they were the team sitting at 1 – 4 and wondering why their Dream team is such a nightmare.

Self-effacing observation from the top on down tends to set a tone for a winning team and franchise, and right now there is no better team in the world than the Pack.

Atlanta came in poised and ready. They brought their ‘A’ game with their mouth in the person of WR Roddy White who dazzled early, but like a star that shines too bright too fast he did not shine for long as he and the rest of the Falcons fizzled over the final 3 quarters as Green Bay simply outmatched them.

All the elements were in place for a Packer loss. A tidy winning streak, a very good team in Atlanta, the revenge factor, and the fact that it will be almost impossible to get up for every team every week without suffering a loss of focus or intensity. Someone will beat the Packers. They just hope it isn’t themselves.

Atlanta started off with the right blueprint to bring down the Pack. Get the ball, pound it inside with heavy hitting RB Michael Turner, roll the clock and keep the sticks moving. Matt Ryan is a coldly efficient QB when he is on, but more importantly when he is ahead. Ryan still does not look all that comfortable when his team trails or is being pushed. The young Falcons have not mastered how to kill off an opponent, especially a superior one.

Ryan directed the Falcons to a game opening drive TD picking up 3 key 3^rd and long first downs along the way. And Ryan Grant, on the Packers opening drive, did something Ryan Grant does not do. Grant fumbled the ball away, his first fumble in his last 325 carries. Another Atlanta strike and the Packers found themselves staring down the wrong end of a 14 -0 score in a hostile enemy Dome and a team just aching to one back on the tormentors from last season.

As the Packers as a team and organization have grown it is worth noting that during the dark days of Brett Favre’s departure new coach Mike McCarthy and new GM Ted Thompson were taking an gigantically huge leap of faith with new QB Aaron Rodgers. The early days was anything but football as most Packers spent more time answering questions about a certain hall of fame QB playing in New York and then Minnesota than they did about the direction of the new team. It didn’t get any easier when Favre reemerged in purple in the uniform of the hated Vikings and finally exacted his own personal revenge by besting Rodgers, McCarthy, Thompson and the rest of the Green Bay organization. But the story only is beginning there.

It takes a fair amount of chutzpah for anyone to predict what would have arisen from the ashes from those days. Every part of the Rodgers-McCarthy-Thompson triumvirate not only improved each has morphed into the elite of the elite of their professions. Thompson earned Executive of the Year while McCarthy has been in the coach of the Year hunt annually, and Rodgers has simply become the single best player in the game at this point in time. To see just one of these men grow into those ranks is in and of itself impressive, but the fact that all 3, arguably the 3 most important focal points of the entire Packer organization, have all ascended to the pinnacle is beyond measure.

Thompson’s ability to stock the shelves with talent is the template for every team trying to emulate the Packers astounding success. Rodgers has become an even greater star in the NFL and has laid to rest permanently any “Jow do you replace a legend?” talk. So, Aaron – how’d ya do it?

Like this.

Low key answer, lace ‘em up, strap ‘em on, and go out and just play. At this point is his career Rodgers is now the most efficient passer in the history of the ENTIRE NFL. His pass attempts/ interception ratio of 53.1 pass attempts by far is the best the NFL has ever seen. With his 100^th TD throw he also has the lowest amount of INT’s thrown (34) of any player who has eclipsed the mark. He also is the only QB in NFL history to throw for 300+ yards, 4 Td’s and rush for 2 more. And then, when you’re done, remain cool under the glare of the media without being bland and continue to take the high road.

The greatest ascension may be in Head Coach Mike McCarthy. This is a man who looks totally at ease and totally in command of his troops at this point. Early on MM bore the pained look of a man stuck between indecision and uncertainty. Many questioned whether or not MM had the stones to soldier on thru the Favre mess. At times MM seemed to delegate too much authority and was less than direct in his style.

Much like Bill Parcells who, in his 2^nd year and feeling the heat of the New York press as the calls for his coaching head became a daily spectacle, famously declared “if I’m going down, then I’m going down doing it my way” Mike McCarthy has become a rock, the backbone and brains and guts for the Packers in this time.

No longer timid with a red flag MM now utilizes the challenge as well as any coach in the game. His reluctance to air players out publicly does not keep him from letting a deserving player or coach on his staff get an earful when warranted.

During the Atlanta game Randall Cobb made a late fair catch signal on a punt and drew an interference penalty flag. Only the flag that was thrown was for GB Special Teams Coach Shawn Slocum who had run onto the field to yap at an official, and then extend his hand to shake Cobb’s. A flag was thrown for his being on the field of play and instead of first down at the Atlanta 40 the Packers instead began at their own 30 while McCarthy proceeded to pointedly deliver his message to Slocum. In his growth MM has also judiciously deployed the onside kick much to his players delight. He is in lockstep with Rodgers as the Pack is now rolling.

With that kind of history a score like 14 – 0 isn’t quite so daunting. MM’s decision to take what the game gives him saw the now perfect Mason Crosby kick 3 field goals to close the margin to 14 – 9 at the half, the last of which tied a Packer record at 56 yards and would have been perfect for 65. MM’s confidence in Crosby has been rewarded as the kicking game of the Packers is among the league’s best at this point and Crosby has not come close to missing a kick this year. McCarthy’s early indecision may have been patience cloaked in the newness of the job and it is clearly evident that MM now routinely imposes his will on a game, a huge testament to his own remarkable growth on the job.

Among MM’s greatest strengths now is his ability to make all the right adjustments at the half. Adversity is showing up once again on the Packers doorstep wearing its tired face in the form of injuries. Starting RT Bryan Bulaga has been out 3 games now and when All Pro LT Chad Clifton went down suddenly Green Bay was faced with an offensive line that has 3 players who had not seen much, if any at all, of the field last year in LG T.J. Lang, 2^nd year T Marshall Newhouse and rookie LT Derrick Sherrod. Rather than scrap the game plan it was almost as if McCarthy was looking to see just how much he could get from his untested troops first.

When it became obvious that MM had done his own due diligence in preparing his team for adversity and he could trust the play of his young linemen McCarthy played his Ace in the hole by putting the ball, and ultimately the game, in the hands of his best player Aaron Rodgers. McCarthy’s decisions to play small ball and keep it close paid enormous dividends. MM’s handling of and patience with Crosby put 9 precious points on the board until MM could assess the damage and right the ship. In the second half this game was won on the collective strength of Green Bay’s 3 key men – Thompson, who found the players who could improve the Packers, McCarthy, who taught them his way and to be prepared to go in a flash, and Rodgers, who is the most complete QB in the NFL right now. A lightning strike from Rodgers to James Jones put the Pack back on top and they never looked back.

Mike McCarthy’s Packers are always in the game and never seem to be out of it. The Falcons could not deliver the death blow and Green Bay simply overpowered the Falcons in the second half. The defense began to drop its corners into coverage and forced Ryan to try to find an open man. While the Packers are known as a blitz first cover second type of D they can shut down as well as any team in the game, and shut down they did. Julio Jones had one meaningless catch before leaving with an injury. Roddy White reverted to the only category he leads the league in dropping the ball. Playing from behind Ryan began to feel the heat and was uncharacteristically wild with his throws. Turner became forgotten as Atlanta tightened up and made more and more mistakes. Even Jermichael Finley’s drops did not stop the Pack. After making noise about not seeing the ball enough the previous week Rodgers laid a perfect pass that evenly split the two 8’s on Jermichael’s jersey only to have it fall harmlessly to the turf.

MM’s Packers are an opportunistic, punishing, and relentless bunch. The pass rush did not yield sacks nonetheless kept bringing pressure on Ryan who turned it over twice. A Greg Jennings grab and go put it away and Green Bay made its own statement in a statement game. By hooking up with a ridiculous 12 different receivers the rest of the league’s defensive coordinators began to petition the league for the ability to play 15 on the defensive aside of the ball against the Packers 11. There is simply no way a team can prepare for the staggering number of ways the Packers can attack it. They keep finding ways, large and small, to make plays and win games.

With Rodgers at the helm and McCarthy captaining the ship and Thompson overseeing the entire operation the Pack has exploded from the gate with  their most impressive start since 1965.

And Greg Jennings is dead serious when he and Aaron Rodgers say they can still get better.