IT WASN'T PRETTY...

Young Defense Rises to Carry Pack Over Lions

 

Before anybody panics and is ready to jump off the top of the Atrium at Lambeau Field there are several points to be made in Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions. On the surface it look as if the Pack narrowly escaped and only through the magic of Aaron Rodgers did the Pack eke out a 24 -20 come from behind win. To do so however would be an insult to the rest of the team and the Packers coaching staff.

Okay class, its pop quiz time. If I told you the Packers would be without Cedric Benson, Greg Jennings, Andrew Quarless, Bryan Bulaga, Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson, Nick Perry, Desmond Bishop and D.J Smith against a divisional rival how many of you would have given the Packers a snowballs chance in Dallas of winning? And for those of you who still aren’t swayed it would also include a banged up Jordy Nelson, B.J. Raji, John Kuhn, Ryan Pickett, and Jerel Worthy and the defense would also be playing regularly with 7 players who are either rookies or in their second seasons with no regular season games under their belts. Still not convinced?

Okay, how about a game against a team that came in prepared not only for the divisional battle but a playoff team from a year ago that was literally playing for its entire season and playoff life. One last little caveat for anybody that truly believes the Packers stole a game. If this would also have included the facts that the Packers would be flagged for more penalties than the Lions and give up 3 sacks to their fearsome front four and have Aaron Rodgers toss an awful interception while throwing for less than 250 yards while the rest of the offense could best be described as lethargic and you still are skeptical then we want what you’ve been drinking.

Given those facts only a fool could give the Packers a huge edge in this game. The Packers of last year wiped Detroit all over the field twice and in convincing fashion. They outscored and outplayed Detroit. Last year. That was then; this is now. Last year’s team was so offensively gifted all they had to do was to show up and they had intimidation on their side. The Packers outscored every team except Kansas City and were the toast and class of the NFL. They won the new-fashioned way, by bludgeoning teams on the scoreboard and forcing teams to have to resort to the pass to try and play catch up. Not once did the defense have to rise to the occasion, and when they did it was after surrendering a lot of yards and coming up with a big play.

Last season the Packers won in spite of their defense, a well-documented defense that ranked at or near the bottom in as record setting a fashion in the photo negative of how well their offense played. The Packers did not have to win with defense, not when the offense was putting up points at a record setting clip. So when the Packers needed some grit, mental toughness and its defense to step up against the Giants it was too late. The die had already been cast. That was then; this is now.

Give the Packers and their defense credit. They won against the Lions the old fashioned way, with defense and with grit. This was far from the poetry of last year’s offensive ballet. And factoring in rookies Jerel Worthy, Mike Daniels, Dezman Moses, Casey Hayward, and Jerrel MacMillian along with 2^nd year players M.D. Jennings, Erik Walden and Davon House when looked at more closely this was by any measure an impressive win.

The only thing to blemish the win is the loneliness and panic that has to be strangling K Mason Crosby after this game. For the record Crosby missed 2 key field goals but in actuality he missed 3 after he had 2 shots when the Lions chose to call time out just before he sent his first boot wide right. But then he pulled his second attempt wide left and after missing another kick Greg Jennings could be seen trying to cheer a despondent Crosby up on the sidelines, and so morose was Crosby he did not respond to any of Jennings’ playfulness. Another message was sent to the beleaguered kicker when Mike McCarthy opted to go for a 4^th down conversion in the 1^st quarter rather than send the suddenly shaky Crosby out to try a 49 yarder. McCarthy is publicly very supportive of his players but his post-game presser included the ominous statement “Mason (Crosby) has to make his kicks. We’ll work with him and do whatever we can as a coaching staff but he has to start making his kicks.”

Crosby is much like a golfer who has developed the case of the shanks. In the hilarious Kevin Costner film “Tin Cup” Costner plays a down and out former professional golfer named Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy who can kill the ball but struggles with his emotions and self-control. After working his way into the US Open Costner’s McAvoy gets the shanks and begins peppering his fellow pros with stray shots at the driving range. So badly is McAvoy’s shot he resorts to a variety of bizarre, ridiculous and hysterical made-for-TV infomercial gadgetry in an attempt to regain his swing.

Crosby has to be feeling the heat and may succumb to such apparatus after another poor outing. Crosby has the leg and has shown the ability to be able to make the kicks, but it has become painfully evident that at this juncture of the season as the weather gets colder and the points become as scarce as fresh grass on a frozen tundra that Crosby is being given the pro kickers ultimatum – make them or you’re gone. His 39 yarder was a relief but everyone from McCarthy down to the ball boy knows Crosby has to become more reliable. Kicking killed the Ravens last year and cost onetime Packer Billy Cundiff his job when he blew a chip shot at the end of last year’s AFC playoff game that would have tied the game with the Patriots. As it is it would not be out of character for McCarthy and Ted Thompson to go shopping for a leg that may not be a strong as Crosby’s but more reliable.

The Lions played well and had their backs to the wall. With a record of 4 – 5 coming in with 3 losses within the division already this was a similar situation the Packers faced 2 years ago and the Giants faced last year – every week from this point out is a single elimination playoff game. The Lions came out hot and took a 3 - 0 lead in the 1st quarter when the Lions reliable Jason Hanson spilt the uprights. Rodgers responded with an 80 yard drive that ended when TE Jermichael Finley turned a soft toss into 7 points with a 20 yard scoring play. Finley played one of the best games of his career and also added a 40 yard catch and run later. As Finley matures he may just develop into the weapon McCarthy thinks he can be. The Lions took a 10 – 7 lead into the locker room after Mikel Leshoure scored on a 1 yard plunge.

The Packers grabbed the lead back when S M.D. Jennings snagged a tipped ball after Lion QB Matthew Stafford threw behind TE Brandon Pettigrew who had the ball deflect off his outstretched hand and into Jennings, who secured the rock, found a convoy and then the end zone 72 yards later. The play would be a key factor in the outcome. Stafford had a typically uneven day. When he found Calvin Johnson on a 25 yard strike that gave the Lions the lead at 17 -14 in the 3^rd he looked like the QB the Lions thought they were getting when he was a top pick. But far too often Stafford’s throws sailed wildly or into the turf in front of his receivers. Rookie CB Casey Hayward made Stafford pay for an errant throw with his 5^th pick of the year. Considering how little he played early Hayward’s career arc is beginning to resemble Clay Matthews who gradually eased into the lineup and stayed there as a result of his consistent play.

When Jason Hanson widened the gap to 20 – 14 with just over 4 minutes left the Packers fan base was feeling more than nervous. Leave it to Rodgers to come in and marshal a drive that is cementing his own legacy. The offensive star of the game was WR Randall Cobb who had another terrific game. As Cobb makes more plays Rodgers is more than willing to trust the 2^nd year breakout star with the responsibility. Cobb was used in the backfield, in the slot and at a split position making it difficult for the Lions to isolate him. Jordy Nelson is still limping with an ankle injury as well as a hamstring issue and was of little relevance to the Packers cause. No problem; Cobb was more than ready.

Rodgers sent up a high lob throw into double coverage, a throw he would later call “Not exactly my best throw of the year” towards Cobb who somehow managed to contort his frame between two Lion DB’s to come down with the ball, the touchdown and the lead. But there was still an agonizing 1 minute and 55 seconds left, plenty of time for Stafford to move the Lions into field goal position to win the game.

The defense would have none of it. The Lions went 4 and out in a series of missed throws, a false start penalty and 2 impressive knockdowns of Stafford’s passes by Hayward and MacMillian. RB James Starks continued to play well as the Pack’s lead back all game and set up Crosby’s kick with 19 seconds left. The game finally ended on another defensive gem when a Calvin Johnson fumble was recovered by MacMillian.

Winning teams find ways to win even when they don’t play their best. As the Lions slip back into oblivion and the Vikings are beginning to falter the Packers depart with a 7 -3 record, a 2 -0 count in the division, a tidy 5 game winning streak and now will most likely become 49er fans as the Niners take on the Bears on Monday Night. Now right behind the Bears the Packers can end the night in the division lead tied with Chicago if San Francisco can bag the Bears.

Winning teams also know, sometimes painfully, that getting hot at the right time is far more important than running everyone over. In a game that had much more sub-plot than a typical midseason contest the Pack prevailed and now have their fate in their own hands and can dictate the terms of their post season.