COLTS HAVE LUCK ON THEIR SIDE; PACK HAS RODGERS

Andrew Luck meets NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers

 

Amen and Hallelujah! – The long lockout of the NFL real refs is over. Now some order and sanity can be restored to the NFL landscape and Ed Hercules…HOCHULI… can go back to flexing his biceps on Sundays. And all is well with the NFL world as the refs get a standing ovation for getting the God-awful replacements the hell out of here. No more blown calls. No more missed plays. No more inconsistencies between calls. No more missed fumbles.

Yay!! They’re back!!

But hang on… after further review the real refs have a lot of rust to knock off their own game. The Packers have to feel like the single most snake-bitten team in the NFL now. Jordy Nelson bobbles a throw, it hits the ground and Head Coach Mike McCarthy challenges. As soon as McCarthy sees the replay on the Jumbotron he knows he’s going to lose. Later New Orleans TE Jimmy Graham bobbles a throw, it hits the ground and Head Coach Mike McCarthy challenges again. As soon as McCarthy sees the replay on the Jumbotron he knows he’s going to win this one.

Wrong.

That’s ruled a catch. And those cheers the refs heard when they came out became a cascade of boos raining down upon them.

The real refs would never never ever blow a turnover call like the replacements did.

Wrong again.

Dezman Moses (photo/left) knocks the ball cleanly out of Darren Sproles hands and falls on it…Packer ball with the lead and the momentum. Not so fast. Sproles was ruled down by contact, and McCarthy is out of challenges. The refs knew they were back for real when Lambeau became the House of Boos.

What else could possibly go wrong? How about Aaron Rodgers getting poked in the eye and having to leave the game. In steps 2^nd year backup Graham Harrell for what everyone knows will be a running play. All he has to do is hand the ball off. All the worrying over Matt Flynn’s departure came to fruition as Harrell’s first action in a real game is an auspicious one when he tripped over C Jeff Saturday’s feet, fell down and fumbled giving the ball right back to New Orelans.

And to cap it off B.J. Raji inexplicably morphed into Ndamukong Suh when he kneed a fallen opponent, and act for which a truly contrite Raji would later apologize.

If the Packers did not have a sense of “here we go again” they’d all be liars. Somehow though the Packers managed to play through adversity and escape with a much needed win.

The Packers could us a break about now. They’ll get one this week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Peyton Manning-less Colts who will need a lot of Luck to knock the Pack off.

Rookie QB and 1^st overall pick Andrew Luck already looks like an NFL QB. The rest of the team around him does not – at least not yet. DE Dwight Freeney is no longer the whirling dervish he once was but is still capable of mustering up a scary pass rush.

The Colts also enter the game minus their Head Coach. 1^st year boss Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with a treatable form of leukemia earlier this week and longtime NFL Assistant and Offensive Coordinator  Bruce Arians will take the reins. The colts will be stinging from the loss of Pagano and will have emotion on their side as they try to deliver a W for their ailing coach.

Against the Packers it will be a difficult task.

Luck has thrown for 100 yards to 3 different receivers and 7 different Colts have found the end zone. Luck will need a lot of time against the now 6^th ranked defense in the NFL and LT Anthony Costanzo is not sleeping well knowing he’ll be lining up across from Clay Matthews. The new-look Packer D has rejuvenated CM3 as he leads the NFL with 7 sacks after 4 games. The rest of the Colts line will be severely tested against a suddenly formidable Packer D Line.

The defense may even take on a different look in the not too distant future as 3^rd year DE Mike Neal is back after a 4 game suspension for taking then prescription drug Adderall to combat his ADHD without informing the league offices first. McCarthy and Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers are in no hurry to rush Neal back in. The Packers have a 1 week exemption that will allow them the luxury of evaluating Neal first before making a roster decision. “I have no doubt he (Neal) has been keeping in shape” said McCarthy, “but we want to see him in practice in pads before we decide anything. There’s a big difference between being in shape and being in football shape.”

Don’t look for Neal in this game. Next week will be decision time as someone will have to go, whether it is Neal or someone on the roster. For a while many thought OLB Erik Walden (photo/left)would be that guy. But Walden’s steady play and ability to get into the offensive backfield has been noticed. Walden has been seeing more of the field allowing rookie LB Nick Perry the ability to learn and grow as opposed to simply throwing him out there to learn on the job.

One rookie who may see a good amount of time is CB Casey Hayward. Hayward looked very good against New Orleans and Drew Brees, and given that Luck doesn’t have the array of targets Brees has it may be an ideal time to see what the kid can do. CB Sam Shields ponied up to blowing the play that gave the Saints a gift 80 yard bomb TD to Joseph Morgan when he peeked into the backfield but had no over the top safety help. “Yeah, that one’s all on me” said Shields.  “I peeked and bit and lost my man which I can’t do. I just have to learn from it.” The Packer pass defense entered the Saints game as the #1 ranked D against the pass and but for a horrendous call in Seattle and this blown coverage they would be out in front by a ton and a far cry from the woeful showing from last year.

DC Capers also displayed a new look last week in rolling out 6 DB’s in Dime (5 DB’s) and Dollar (6 DB’s) packages. It’s a condition of learning that the D was very susceptible to over the middle throws and Drew Brees has the arm and talent to exploit it. But if the Packers secondary improves and learns the cover scheme and zones it will be harder as the weeks wear on for teams to beat it.

Two things conspicuously missing from the Packers this year have been the big plays on offense and turnovers created on defense. But this is no cause for alarm or concern. As RB Cedric Benson becomes more ingrained into the offense the light-‘em-up game isn’t needed anywhere near as much now as it was last year. And neither does the excessive gambling the Packer D, especially in the secondary, did last year. The Pack has become less reliant on the Big Play mentality that can be a liability come playoff time. Just looking at last season and the collapse against the Giants is all the evidence needed to support that thought. As the playoffs get deeper the remaining teams are less likely to cough the ball up and now give up the home run.

This Packer team is geared more towards a complete football team, one capable of grinding it out and allowing Rodgers to select his weapons and shutting down the other team’s offense.

This game is proven talent vs. rookie talent, the established team vs. the young team and the need for a win vs. the emotion of wanting it.

In the end Luck can’t beat skill as this game is just what the Packers needs.

 

 

 

 

      GREEN BAY  27    

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Indianapolis 10