SHOWDOWN IN BIG D

Packers Face Cowboys; Playoff Berths at Stake

The next stop on the Packer express to the playoffs is in Big D against the struggling Cowboys. Dallas comes in after being mauled on Monday Night against the Chicago Bears who are winning big without the big arm of Jay Cutler. With the Detroit Lions getting snowed under by suddenly red-hot Philadelphia the implications and stakes riding on this game for both teams are enormous.

How enormous? With a loss it will all but eliminate one of the combatants form the post season extravaganza.

As it sits right now the Packers are ½ games behind both the Lions and Bears. Detroit’s loss was the key element in the Packers last ditch efforts to get to the Big Dance. Now Detroit has no wiggle room left and they take on the defending Super Bowl Champs when they meet the Ravens from Baltimore this week in the dome.

As for the Cowboys they are 1 game behind the Eagles and with only 3 games left there is no

throwaway game left on the schedule. Dallas is charged with the task of winning out and hopping for the Birds from Philly to get dumped along the way. It’s a familiar rendition of the Packers current theme song. Just win baby.

 Green Bay comes into the game in a better position than Dallas. The Packers much criticized and underperforming defense finally showed up to play last week. While the Packers surrendered 21 points it bears noting that 7 came from a missed block that saw QB Matt Flynn take a vicious blind side hit that caused a fumble at the Packer 13 and 7 more came from a goofy tipped pass the was booted up into the air and was snagged by Sean Weatherspoon who raced past a flat footed Green Bay offense for 71 yards and a TD.

There is a real strong chance that the Packers offense heard the coaches politely reminded the offense that you play until you hear a whistle – don’t assume anything. Only T.J. Lang made an effort to stop Weatherspoon and his attempt to tackle the Falcon LB was laughable at best. But there is no joke to be inserted. The Packers went into the dressing room down 21 -10 and had their prize rookie Eddie Lacy twist and ankle on the last play of the first half. As the Packers exited the field they were treated to a little early holiday cheer as the denizens of Lambeau Field rained a chorus of boos on the home squad in the midst of an arctic snowstorm.

“It’s lonely being a warrior” said Packer coach Mike McCarthy after the game. McCarthy isn’t one much for rah-rah speeches that do not work on paid professionals. Instead he chose to point the catcalls out to his team and remind them they needed to be booed for their effort.

It was at that precise moment the Packers D finally showed up, rose up and stood up. The D shut down Matt Ryan and the Falcons the rest of the way pitching a second half shutout that may indicate there is still life in Green Bay. Seldom used Jarret Bush played the hero in the second half in an unlikely role as he has seen little of the field beyond special teams. His 4^th down slap of the ball from Tony Gonzalez’ hands and interception on Atlanta’s last drive sealed the W and now the Packers finally have a W – their first since October – and some momentum heading into the site of their Super Bowl triumph.

The Cowboys are reeling. Backup QB Josh McCown shredded Dallas’ D helping Chicago fortify its’

position while potentially creating a QB controversy in the Windy City. When Cutler returns form the injured list who will start? McCown has been nothing short of superb in a relief role and with the mercurial Cutler’s penchant for throwing picks when the games are the biggest it creates an interesting dilemma for the Bears.

There is no such looming dilemma in Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers is in week 6 of his healing process from the broken collarbone he sustained against the Bears that set the Packers skid in motion. It became a domino effect after Rodgers went out the saw the offense slip as expected but the defense shockingly went stagnant in the process. The run defense went into full reverse and for a while the Packers could not  - or more to the point would not - tackle anyone. 15+ missed tackles on Thanksgiving Day was the nadir of incompetence and the Pack collectively was embarrassed by a stunning 40 - 10 butt kicking that bolstered Detroit while wounding the Pack greatly.

When it comes to missed tackles, however, the Packers take a back seat to the Cowboys. Their once Doomsday Defense is now a Disaster defense. The Cowboys couldn’t hit water if they fell from a boat. To make matters worse the Cowboys best tackler LB Sean Lee is questionable to doubtful with an injury. The Packers dropped from 4^th against the run in their slide to 29^th while the Cowboys occupy the basement in total team D. No one surrenders more yards thru the air than Dallas, a team that yields almost 300 yards/ game in average passing.

The hopes of the Cowboys rest on the right arm of the extremely well paid Tony Romo. Perhaps the happiest man in football to see Romo get a $110 million dollar 7 year deal was Aaron Rodgers while the Packer brass just shook their heads at Jerry Jones’ largess. Romo’s signing came on the heels of Joe Flacco’s $120 million dollar deal in Baltimore. As Rodgers waited for a new deal he had to have been dizzy. The phone conversation between Rodgers and GM Ted Thompson after the announced signings had to have gone something like this:

Rodgers – Hey Ted? Yeah it’s me Aaron. How much did Flacco get? Really???? No… nothing else… thanks.

Rodgers – Hey Boss? Yeah, it’s Aaron. I saw Romo just signed. How much did he get? He got WHAT??? No… nothing else… thanks.

Rodgers – Okay Ted- MY turn. Just park the Brinks truck over here.

How and why Jerry Jones has the faith he places in Romo is hard to fathom. Here’s a guy who seldom makes the playoffs while routinely making specious decisions. Romo has a good arm and a great wideout in Dez Bryant but the two can’t seem to elevate Dallas much above .500. Miles Austin was a one-time heir apparent by he has vanished into this air. Jason Witten is having the worst statistical season of his career. Witten was once Romo’s bread and butter but he too has become persona non grata in Dallas’ up and down offense.

There are two big questions in Green Bay these days – one is what’s wrong with the defense and the second is when is Rodgers coming back? The defense has to rise up much like they did in ’10 to get back to a point where the Packers are completive enough to challenge for a Super Bowl. It goes without saying that the urgency of this need has been impressed on the troops and the cutting of Jerron McMillian served as a wakeup call to everyone on the defensive side of the ball.

The safety play in Green Bay has been atrocious this year. Morgan Burnett was given a healthy bump with a 4 year deal but missed the early part of the season and has struggled in the pass game. M.D. Jennings has fared little better as both were burnt by the Falcons only legitimate TD vs. the defense last week leaving Drew Davis room to catch the ball and the inability to bring him down after the fact. Romo will certainly look to exploit the Packers’ vulnerability in the back of the coverage and Sam Shields will likely draw the assignment of covering Bryant. Keeping Bryant in check and pressuring Romo into one of his usual ‘what the hell was he thinking’ throws into tight coverage are at the top of the list on the defenses agenda this week.

On the offense how much Eddie Lacy plays is a mystery. Lacy injured an ankle on the last play of the first half last week and was limited in his carries in the second half. James Starks may handle more of the workload and newcomer Kahlil Bell will likely suit up for this one. Bell was recently signed after Jonathon Franklin was IR’d with a concussion. Some may remember Bell as the former Bear that racked up almost 150 yards rushing against the Packers a few years back subbing for an injured Matt Forte.

As for the burning question surrounding perhaps the most famous collarbone in history regarding Rodgers play has been answered. Rodgers will miss his 6^th consecutive game after being ruled out late Friday for the key contest in Dallas. McCarthy said Rodgers is”… frustrated and disappointed…” in not being able to play but McCarthy went on to emphasize “This is what’s best in the long term”. Having seen Mike Shanahan famously expose Robert Griffin III late last year and the ensuing epic meltdown in DC this year McCarthy is taking no such chance.

That doesn’t mean the Packers will not be throwing the ball. Matt Flynn has stepped in a filled the backup role well in spite of the Disaster in Detroit.  McCarthy and almost everyone else knows Flynn’s arm strength and deep ball are not his strengths; Flynn can be cool under pressure and after a week of reps and having seen live bodies hurtling at him in a game situation he should be that much better. Flynn has only improved every week since being signed as a late 4^th string QB after #’s 1 and 2 were injured (Rodgers and Seneca Wallace) and #3 QB Scott Tolzien showed he was a game if underprepared competitor.

Dallas weak passing defense will invite looks from Flynn. Getting the ball out quicker and checking down his progressions are paramount for Flynn this week. Flynn has held the ball too long on occasion but he readily acknowledges it. If Flynn can get hot and hit a few throws it could make for a very long day for the Cowboys. One huge key for the offensive line is to know exactly where DeMarcus Ware is at all times. the Packers can ill afford Ware to impact this game as he so often does.

There is still hope in Green Bay and the Packers know it. In the intangible department the Packers are coming off a superb second half by their defense and the Cowboys have a short week of prep time after the Bear attack. In this one there will be some surprise heroes step up. They always seem to in crunch time. Starks? Bell? Flynn? How about some takeaways by the D, something they have not seen enough of all year? Romo can be a turnover machine when the wheels come off the cart and has yet to show he is the Man in crunch time. And this is most decidedly crunch time. The Packer attack and balance between the run and pass will have the beleaguered Cowboy defense on their heels.

The Packers defense has not won them a game this year. Yet. There is something about the air around this game that says the packer D rises as a proud unit and plays like it on the field. The Packers will take care of their part of the race in this one and then they’ll settle in to root for the Ravens on Monday Night against the Lions.

 

 

 

 

 GREEN BAY  27  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Dallas   20