PACK LOOKS FOR MOMENTUM

Green Bay Seeks First Back-to-Back Wins of Season

 

 In the world of “What have you done for me lately” The Green Bay Packers get back into action against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. The massacre of Houston is over and now the Packers have to put that behind them and start to string a few games of a similar nature together.

There is an appropriate adage that goes “You’re never as bad as you think when you get blown out and you’re never as good you feel when you knock someone else’s block off”. After mopping the floor with the up and coming Texans the Pack now must keep it up. Their season, to date, has been an up-and-down journey between the sublime and the ridiculous. Putting back to back performances together has not happened. Yet.

The Packers rebounded nicely by cleaning the Bears’ clock the week after the 49ers opened the season with a statement by spanking the Pack. Then came The Disaster. The Fail Mary. The Game Winning Interception in Seattle. Then a narrow win over a game Saints squad, followed up by one terrific and one terrible half against Indy. Finally, a .500 record and a feeling of wellness after Green Bay came, saw, and conquered Houston in their home pasture.

Packer fans will be forgiven if they are looking at this week with a skeptical eye. The up and down swings have put the Pack in some jeopardy. There have been opportunities missed and bad breaks. In the middle of the maelstrom, cooler than the can of beer in the bottom of the fridge has been Head Coach Mike McCarthy. After the infuriating finale in Seattle it took everything McCarthy had to keep his composure. Few other coaches would have been able to keep it together facing the media after the replacement refs robbed the Packers of a win. Think Rex Ryan would have gone quietly into the good night? The college guys – Greg Schiano or Jim or John Harbaugh? How about Jim Schwartz? As volatile a personality as the Lions boss is he would likely have chased the offending ref down and punched his lights out. McCarthy handled the entire situation with class and restraint.

The mantra of the Packers and the voice of reason throughout every high and every low has been that of Mike McCarthy. Sure, he was pissed after the Seattle game. But he held it in check. Sure, he was disappointed in his team when they blew a 21 – 3 lead in Indy. But the outside world will never know what he said behind closed doors. And this is the same McCarthy who said after the Houston game, and the Seattle game and the Indy game the same thing…”We‘ve got to put this one behind us and focus on next week’s opponent.”

Few coaches have as intuitive a feel for their team’s pulse. McCarthy acts professionally and expects from his squad. The task at hand is to not get outside of the white lines and play games that aren’t even scheduled yet. McCarthy needs to put his stamp on his team now and both he and the players know it. After opening the season at 3 – 3 it is hardly a record that is impressive or even where the Packers themselves thought they should be. Never mind the “…we SHOULD be 5 – 1 but the _______...” yapping that has surrounded this year’s Packers. They are 3 wins and 3 losses because they have not played up to their ability level, and everyone knows it.

Before anointing the Packers the Packers need to prove they can play like the Packers and not just for one game. The excuses now sound lame even to them. The Pack can be forgiven for expecting it to be easy; after all they rolled up a 15-1 record last year. But up until the Texans game the Packers had been a shocking 2-4 for their last 6 games including last year’s playoff thrashing by the Giants. If they were expecting this year to be easy or easily repeatable they were sadly mistaken. Reality has a way of delivering a cold, hard slap to the face and ego.

Last week the Packers played as complete a game as they have since maybe their Super Bowl run. McCarthy saw that other teams were daring his Packers to throw on them by challenging the receivers at the line. San Francisco did it. The Seahawks did it. The Colts did it. And McCarthy made the adjustment.

By going up tempo and using motion and multiple sets the Packers not only kept the Texans guessing they found ways to get their receivers free at the line. As other teams have adjusted to the Packers so has McCarthy adjusted to other teams.

Against the Rams the mistake would be for the Packers to think they have a week off and a guaranteed win. There is little doubt that McCarthy has a bullwhip in his hand a la Vince Lombardi this week reminding the boys they haven’t done anything – yet. Beating Houston was a step, a good step, but only a step in the right direction. The real challenge is duplicating the effort. If any coach in the league can match up with McCarthy it is the Rams Jeff Fisher. Fisher is a coach who has a shining resume with QB’s with the lone exception of Vince Young. By going to the Rams Fisher felt he had his franchise QB in place with Sam Bradford and is staring to assemble the pieces around him. Hem is not there yet but he won’t have the Rams roll over and play dead for the Packers either.

McCarthy has decided to go with Alex Green as his feature back. Green’s 65 yards rushing were enough to keep Houston honest. Aaron Rodgers went back to distributing the ball around again. The offensive line did a far better job in protection. On defense the Packers showed a glimpse of what they may ultimately become. Even without Desmond Bishop, B.J. Raji and D.J. Smith the Pack went to a Pack mentality and got after Matt Schaub. That is something they’ll need to do to Rams QB Sam Bradford. Bradford has nowhere near the arsenal that Schaub had, but then again neither did Seattle of Indianapolis. The defensive line did a superb job against the Texans vaunted running game, bottling up All Pro RB Arian Foster and keeping him to 40 yards.

The Pack attacked from all angles, a strategy that not only worked but let the defense as a whole flourish. They will need to find more creative ways to hurry Bradford and not let him get comfortable or into a rhythm. Smith was lost when he tore his ACL and he’ll be out for the season. Now it will be up to a committee of Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore and possibly even Frank Zombo to fill the spot Smith filled when Bishop went down, who filled the spot when now departed Nick Barnett went down. Zombo has been on the PUP list all year and is due to come off this week. Will he play? McCarthy is remaining mum on the subject has only said “You’ll see on Sunday.”

The Rams big back is still Steven Jackson and now the Pack has to face a similar version of Adrian Peterson in Jackson. Big, bruising, and fast Jackson has lost a step but is still capable of blowing a game wide open for the Rams. Rookie RB Daryl Richardson provides a good complement to Jackson in the Rams running game. Raji may be back but if the line can be held by Jerel Worthy, Ryan Pickett, C.J. Wilson and Mike Neal as well as they did last week then Raji may not even be needed. The Packers dodged a bullet after Nick Perry went down after twisting his knee in slipshod sod the Texans call a field. Perry only strained his knee and should be fine. CB Sam Shields also had a shin injury and Shields may want to get back on the field fast.

Rookie CB Casey Hayward had a monster night with 2 picks and an impressive swat covering Andre Johnson. McCarthy has said of Hayward “…he’s hard to ignore. If he keeps it up, he could earn some playing time.” McCarthy has not leaned on rookies to play but Hayward may force his hand. Hayward’s gliding strides look effortless and while he does not possess the speed Shields has he has a nose for the ball that is like a tracking device. Instinct, the big intangible, is written all over Hayward and his feel for the spot may earn him much playing time this weekend. 2^nd year CB Davon House who banged up a shoulder in preseason may also finally get on the field. Beyond the dinged up diminutive Danny Amendola the Rams have little by way of targets for Bradford. Rookie Chris Givens has a whopping 28.1 yards/ catch avg. but Bradford is still looking for a go-to guy and running for his life along the way. One key for the Packers defense is to eliminate the big pass play. The Rams have a way to go yet on offense but they can be tough at home in the Dome. The Rams secret weapon is their kicker Greg “The Leg” Zuerline who is already draw rave reviews for his monstrous boots. He even tried a 69 yarder that missed earlier this year that had the distance but not the line.

The Rams are coming off a defense dominated 17 - 3 win over the surprising Arizona Cardinals last week. The Cards have been a smoke and mirrors outfit all year as both QB’s (John Skelton and Kevin Kolb) have starting and injury time. The Cards have arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL and the Rams feasted on them last week. The Ram defense is led by DE Chris Long and MLB James Lauranitis, both high motor guys who get to the ball quickly. Keeping them and DE Robert Quinn away from Rodgers is the task the Pack’s Offensive Line has this week. The game in the trenches should be fun to watch.  Newly acquired Free Agent Courtland Finnegan adds a menacing element to the DB’s but the rest of the Rams defense has their hands full. If Green Bay brings their ‘A’ game, and plays it in both halves, it will overwhelm the young Rams. Now that Rodgers, Nelson, Cobb and Jones have found their mojo, if Jermichael Finley can join the party it will be a combination that will be tough for anyone to beat let alone a young team still finding its identity in the Rams.

In the process it will reestablish Green Bay, and Mike McCarthy can put this one behind him and start focusing on Jacksonville next.

 

 

 

 

    GREEN BAY 37   

 

 

 

 

        St. Louis  13