HITTING THEIR STRIDE

Packers run over Titans, Another Strong

Defensive Effort

On Friday a blizzard dumped upwards of 10+ inches of snow on Green Bay. After volunteers cleared the stands on Sunday the Packers came out and dumped an avalanche on top of the Tennessee Titans to the tune of 55 – 7. Coupled with the 49ers stunning loss to Seattle by a score of 42 – 13 Green Bay finds itself in the driver’s seat in the #2 seed, a goal head coach Mike McCarthy has said he was shooting for all along.  Should Green Bay grab one more win on the road against Minnesota next week they will have gone through the NFC North undefeated with a lock on the 2 slot and head into the playoffs knowing they will be at home and are now peaking. Make no mistake – the Packers are hitting on all cylinders right now and the 55 – 7 pasting of a helpless Tennessee squad was a full 4 quarter relentless effort, the type of which will need to be seen throughout the playoffs.

Fifty five to seven.

Compounding the felony the score makes it sound much closer than it actually was. If Packer fans wanted something special for Christmas the Pack gave it to them in bunches. Tennessee got behind early and often as the Packers rolled up 21 first quarter points. Aaron Rodgers was magnificent and with the exception of a few tosses that were maybe 12” too long or he would have had more than the 3 TD’s he threw. The NFL’s leader in receiving touchdowns James Jones added to his total with another TD, Randall Cobb had a spectacular catch early and Greg Jennings finally crossed the goal line with a 1 yard catch.

In game that could best be described as a laugher Green Bay came out and won this game in all three phases of the game. The offense rolled and had 4 rushing touchdowns with returning hero Ryan Grant adding 2 to go along with an 80 yard rushing day. Green Bay was without James Starks again and Alex Green. Grant was signed as a free agent last week and after fumbling last week Grant looked like the Ryan Grant of old with his cutback/ hit the lane style. Seeing Grant do a Lambeau Leap not once but twice was a nostalgic look at the future.

The Packers running game was down to 3 healthy bodies – Grant, FB John Kuhn and rookie DuJuan Harris. Harris added another explosive TD to his year’s totals as the Packers were able to move the ball effectively on the ground all day. As the playoffs are just around the corner seeing the Packers round into playoff form with their running game can only make Mike McCarthy smile.

McCarthy has been dedicated to the run all year. He has stood by his guns even when the critics early on were not seeing the results. Maybe the only thing surprising is the cast of players doing the work as it resembles nothing like what McCarthy had in the backfield to open the season. After opening without Starks and losing Cedric Benson in game 5 for the year there was much concern whether or not staying with a running game would actually pay off. McCarthy beat the drum steadily stressing quality carries over quantities of yards.

The litmus test came on Sunday in earnest. The Titans were reduced to guessing and Rodgers’ play action fakes froze both linebackers and cornerbacks. Rodgers is one of the best in the business at selling a play fake and no longer can opposing defense lightly regard the Packers ability to run the ball. As the tumblers click into place the Packers have become a far more well-rounded team on both sides of the ball. Future Hall of Famer Jeff Saturday found himself in the ignominious position of being benched for the first time in his career. Saturday has been at best serviceable but the tread has worn down pretty far on his tires. Saturday has been well below even his own standards in pass protection, so much so that as LG T. J. Lang was healthy and surprise rookie UDFA Don Barclay continues to shine at RT in place of Bryan Bulaga McCarthy decided to make one more move by inserting a younger and better Evan Dietrich-Smith into the lineup at center. Always a consummate professional Saturday accepted the demotion with class. The move paid dividends immediately as Dietrich-Smith had a great game. Keeping the line healthy and intact will determine just how far the Pack can go. As the ailing and infirmed on the roster rejoin the lineup how good can the Packers truly be seems like the burning question.

Jennings’ return from an abdominal pull has only been tarnished by his decreased role in the offense as he plays himself back into game shape. Jennings’ looming contract that expires at the end of the year has become the elephant in the room and impossible to ignore. Jennings himself has intimated that he can see himself in something other than green and gold next year. Even if that is the case Rodgers has a bevy of weapons, a football cornucopia of targets at his disposal. TE Jermichael Finley had a big day with 5 catches for 70 yards. Finley’s output rendered his one gaffe to the almost laughable. As Finley broke from the line and turned to his right Rodgers rifled a tracer dart right at him. Finley’s reaction time was off slightly as the ball hit him square in the face and bounced away. Given Finley’s high profile and quotability factor in the media and his recent calling out of Rodgers maybe Rodgers was in fact aiming for his tight end’s mouth.

Rodgers utilized 8 different receivers on the day making it impossible for the Titan D to focus on any one of them. TE’s D. J. Williams saw time after his long injury-riddled season and Ryan Taylor also was targeted. Rodgers’ slight misses to a wide open Greg Jennings, Jones and Cobb could have seen the Packers break their own record for points. As it is the 55 they dropped on Tennessee is good enough for 3^rd place on the all-time Packer scoring list. The thought of the Packers receiving corps getting better is going to put a few grey hairs in opposing defensive coordinators heads. Jordy Nelson is due to return soon as is Starks, Alex Green and Sir Charles Woodson. In Woodson’s absence rookie CB Casey Hayward has been nothing short of spectacular with 6 INT’s for the year. Shields’ return put promising 2^nd year man Davon House on the bench and in an area that was once considered suspect the Packers are suddenly staggeringly deep at CB with veteran Tramon Williams back in his All Pro shutdown form. With the new emphasis on running the ball successfully the question is how far can the Pack go?

As good as the offense was perhaps the defense was better. They limited the Titans to 180 yards and contained RB Chris Johnson, one of the most feared backs in the NFL. Johnson rushed for a paltry 28 yards on 11 cards and his longest scamper of the day was for but 8 miniscule yards. QB Jake Locker fared no better, Locker was sacked 7 times and was picked off twice. Sam Shields had a spectacular ankle-breaking grab on an underthrown ball from Locker while LB Erik Walden continues to shine after heralded rookie Nick Perry went to the IR. Walden had a pick that set the Packers up for another score.

The defense was swarming all afternoon and made Lockers life miserable. LB’s Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk led the LB’s with tackles and Hawk had a team high 2 sacks while Jones had 1 of his own. Clay Matthews came in, chased Locker and any other Titan with the ball down, and then caught a seat on the bench after he tallied a sack. As the benches were utilized even newly signed FA DT Jordan Miller was on the field. DE Mike Neal continues to improve as he had a bull rush sack when he ran right over his man to grab Locker and deposit him on his backside. Neal did not limit his play to just sacks. Early on he introduced himself to Johnson as CJ2K cut to the right and as he swung back towards the goal line as he looked for room Neal shed his blocker, kept on play and ran over Johnson from behind in a steamroller move.

K Mason Crosby went 2 for 2 on his field goal attempts but it is far too early to declare his slump over. He had a short chip shot early on, a kick of 26 yards that was little more than an extra point. He also connected from 48 yards but as the ball clanged off the post it managed to fall on the good side for a change as Crosby pumped his fist in celebration. While the kick was good it was hardy a ringing endorsement that was heard when his kick hit the upright. McCarthy has made it clear he is both sticking with Crosby as well as making sure Crosby knows he needs to make his kicks. Perhaps McCarthy was protecting his kicker in the 3^rd quarter when the Packers went for it on 4^th down rather than send Crosby out to try a 44 yard attempt. In any event the play worked as Green Bay moved the ball with staggering effectiveness.

One area of concern outside of Crosby’s shakiness was Randall Cobb. After fielding a punt as Cobb was brought down his knee and ankle were rolled in an ugly way. Cobb was seen trying to work out the pain on the sidelines but his day as a punt returner was over. Green Bay employs the “Next Man Up” philosophy so went Cobb went out in came rookie WR Jeremy Ross, a FA signing from the Colts’ practice squad who took the first punt he saw and broke off a huge return to the Titan 9 yard line setting up Grant’s final score.

The Packers dominated in every measurable statistic, especially in time of possession keeping the ball for over 34 minutes. With the #2 seed they now possess expect Green Bay and Minnesota to have an epic clash to end the season. San Francisco has struggled mightily of late and the smack down at the hands of the Seahawks exposed the Niners weakness in their passing game. San Fran was without the services of DT Justin Smith and his loss was immense. After opening the season 2 -3 the Packers are now flying high.

McCarthy has no intent of letting up. A bye week with a home field advantage all but ensures the Packers will not just go through the motions next week. Adrian Peterson is chasing history and Dom Capers will have no break over the Christmas holidays and neither will his defensive unit. Peterson is averaging 113 yards against the Packers in his career and already put up 212 yards against Green Bay at Lambeau this year. Getting to QB Christian Ponder is paramount to Green Bay’s success while, limiting the amount of damage AD does.

While the pretenders fall to the wayside the Packers are poised to make a deep run and are in a much better place over last year’s record setting squad. There are far fewer holes and weaknesses. As the air gets cold the Packers are the hot team in the NFL.

Yeah, baby… it’s playoff time.