PACK WINS BUT AT A PRICE

Packers Roll Over Browns But Lose Finley

That the Packers beat the Browns on Sunday by a count of 31 – 13 is no surprise. The story is not the win; the story is the win came from the efforts of players most are still scrambling to know. The Packers have depth to be sure but the Browns are truly so bad in so many areas measuring a team against them is unfair. Yes – the Packers won. But – they should have won. There are very few areas where Cleveland can match up and play even let alone have an advantage.

The running game sought by Mike McCarthy is now on display every Sunday. Eddie Lacy is proving to be a steal in the 2^nd round as he had an off day for him by rushing for ‘only’ 82 yards on 22 carries. It wasn’t that long ago that those 82 yards would have been seen as a huge uptick for Green Bay.

But after rushing for over 100 yards in 3 of the last 4 games (with the 4^th being Lacy’s

99 yard effort against Detroit) the ground and pound game coveted by McCarthy is here to stay. And it is also a fact of the offense to do more than keep the D honest. It is a force in its own right that now forces the hand of defensive coordinators to pick their poison. Die the slow, painful death of watching Lacy pound the line repeatedly for gains of 4, 5, 6, 7 yards and knowing he could break one off or the quick strike death of an Aaron Rodgers play action pass or deep ball.

The pieces are now rounding into shape and a clearer picture of the Packers emerges. The depth of the Packers cannot be understated enough. Ted Thompson has learned how to cull the garbage heaps of the NFL and find talent. At first glance losing Randall Cobb, James Jones, Nick Perry and quite possibl6y Mike Neal going into any game should have been a cause for alarm.

But Thompson didn’t panic, nor did he finds a retread off the streets or even go after someone else’s practice squad player. Nope – he and McCarthy both looked no further than their own roster to call up and fill in. Out goes Cobb. Up steps Jarrett Boykin. The longshot UDFA last year that somehow grabbed a spot but also did not grab a few throws from Rodgers last week in Baltimore. Boykin more than redeemed himself in this game as he snagged 8 balls for 103 yards and a churning, twisting, lunging TD that had to have made retired Packer great Donald Driver smile. The fact that Boykin led the Packers in receptions and yards with no drops is hardly surprising.

In Baltimore Boykin looked unsharp, out of position and overmatched. His routes seemed to lack crispness and focus. With a QB like Rodgers throwing the ball he expects his receiver to be here, right here, when he delivers the ball. Rodgers appears to be taking the turnstile approach to his receivers group in stride. He doesn’t berate or yell at his young guns in the middle of the game and his faith in Boykin paid immediate dividends.

Jordy Nelson will draw the big coverage assignments. But Boykin looked sharp and at times almost brilliant in his play. Boykin does possess a great pair of hands. It certainly looked like he and Rodgers spent much more time after practice working on his cuts and routes. Running the proper route is key to Rodgers success. Rodgers has such a terrific football brain that he can not only see who is open but where they should be as soon as he releases the ball. This time Boykin was in those places. Rodgers took advantage of Boykin’s athleticism and launched a few high ones the Boykin climbed the ladder to bring down.

The highlight for Boykin came in the 4^th quarter as Rodgers marched the Pack

methodically down the field. He hit Boykin near the 5 and Boykin spun and was sandwiched by 2 Brown defenders but Boykin wriggled free, found a bit of room and as he was being hauled down somewhere near the 2 yard line he stretched himself out and the ball over the goal line for his first and the Packers’ final TD of the day. Boykin showed a wide eyed rookies innocence as he actually waited for the call to be confirmed and then at Nelson’s urging took his first ever Lambeau Leap. So giddy was Boykin it looked like he was going to join the fans and stay in the front row as he disappeared among the hands and arms of his now adoring public.

But the price of victory was very costly. Jermichael Finley became the latest Packer to go out after he took another vicious blow to the head. In the 3^rd quarter Finley took a pass from Rodgers on a slant and as he was being tackled he lowered his head when Browns S Tashaun Gipson drove his shoulder into Finley’s head. Finley immediately crumpled to the ground and lay motionless. This having been his 2^nd major blow to the head this year and only weeks removed from a concussion was great cause for worry.

Finley was taken off on a stretcher and after the game was admitted to a local

hospital where he spent the night in an ICU unit. McCarthy did not divulge many details saying only "Jermichael Finley suffered a significant injury. There (are) a lot of, more studies that are going on, opinions to be heard." At the same time McCarthy also sounded upbeat and positive for his young star emphasizing Finley as a person first and player second. "Jermichael is very, very upbeat, very positive," McCarthy said. "Always has a smile on his face, so I mean he's focused on what's most important, that's his health and his family."

McCarthy now faces losing his star TE for a significant period of time. Again Thompson and McCarthy went to their own shelves for their next player as TE Jake Stoneburner was added to the roster before the Brownies hit town. For the record that is the same Jake Stoneburner who was flagged for running into the Browns punter late in the game. Like most rookies he’ll have to learn where the line is to not cross it.

For now it appears that Finley will be lost for some time. Finley left messages via Twitter thanking the fans and the Pack for their support and has now been released. Officially it is listed as a ‘neck injury’ and also a possible bruised spinal cord. Most likely Finley’s role in the offense will be filled by Andrew Quarless. He, Brandon Bostick and Stoneburner must now man the fort. For his part McCarthy sounded resolute when discussing the mounting injuries. It is a topic with which McCarthy should be familiar; his Super Bowl team in ’10 had no less than 15 starters on IR for the season. In discussing the Packers current plight McCarthy said "It's a challenge that everyone in this league goes through (with injuries) and hopefully this challenge will come to an end and we can just get healthy and we can continue to grow as a football team."

Playing without ILB Brad Jones, OLB’s Clay Matthews and Nick Perry to go along with Mike Neal’s bruised shoulder could have been much more daunting. But the Packers assembly line of players kept pace and the next men up were Jamari Lattimore on the inside and Andy Mulamba and Nate Palmer on the outside. For his part Lattimore had 12 tackles, tied for the team lead with the ever-steady A.J. Hawk and also added 1 sack. Palmer finished his day with 6 tackles and McCarthy was pleased with both men’s performance calling Palmer and Mulamba “…solid…” in describing their efforts.

The Browns are hardly a fearsome foe. QB Brandon Weeden is in over his head and

when Brian Hoyer returns form the IR next season Weeden will most likely be weeded out. Once again the Packers run D was ferocious limit the Browns to a meager 83 total yards. The pass D also played well in giving up only 149 yards thru the air.

If there is any type of bright spot to be found in the sudden epidemic of Packers going down and out it is the depth the Pack as a team possesses and they are hitting a truly soft part of their schedule. Up next are the beyond woeful Minnesota Vikings who lost in one of the ugliest games ever seen on Monday Night Football to the now putrid New York Giants. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier has taken his Mike Tice and Brad Childress pills and has pinned his future on Josh Freeman, a QB run out of Tampa Bay by rah-rah college guy Greg Schiano, who may very well be the next one run out of town as the Bucs are winless this year.

The Giants, as lousy a team as there is in the NFL in defending the pass, completely

ignored the pass against Minnesota by loading up the box to stop Adrian Peterson and dared and even let Freeman fire at will. But Freeman couldn’t hit water if he fell from a boat. Freeman turned in one of the most laughable showings in the history of Monday Night Football as his passes hit everything except his targets. The Bears are coming up but Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs have gone down. With them, Lions and Bears both dropping games over the weekend the Packers have now very quietly moved back into 1st place in the NFC North. They have the luxury of 0 losses in the division and 4 of the next 6 games are against their divisional foes. The Pack has made hay while plugging all the leaks.

The next few weeks will allow the Packers to get healthy in more ways than one. In the process both McCarthy and Thompson are praying they stay healthy while they get healthy.