SHUFFLE SHUFFLE SHUFFLE OFF TO BUFFALO

Packers Leaving Frozen Tundra

for  Arctic Western New York

Now the race has hit the final turn and we’re headed for the home stretch. Sporting a tied-for-the-league-lead record of 10 – 3 the Green Bay Packers are poised to claim their 4^th straight NFC North crown. They are in the driver’s seat controlling their own destiny regardless of what the Detroit Lions do. The vastly improved Lions have been pushing the Pack all year long in a way the Chicago Bears can only envy. At 9 -4 Detroit is no slouch and look as if they will be part of the big dance in another 3 seeks. With 3 games to play the season finale in Green Bay is shaping up to be another end of the year classic.

But there are still a few games to play. After last week’s ugly second half the Pack has time to regroup. Going into snowy Buffalo this week will be a great test. While the Bills lack firepower offensively under former Syracuse Head Coach Doug Marrone they are pointed in the right direction. They think they’ve found their franchise QB in the up and down E.J. Manuel and mortgaged the farm last year to land WR Sammy Watkins in the draft.

The strength of the Bills lies not in the offense (yet). The defense is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. Led by the big free agency signing of DE Mario Williams the Bills have built a powerful and ferocious D that held Peyton Manning to a measly 1 TD game last week in Denver. The Bills are also the league leaders in sacks/ game at 3.7 and the vastly underrated and tremendously improved offensive line of the Packers will be in for a serious test. For those that like smash mouth, in the trenches football the battle between the Packers offensive line and Bills defensive line should be a beaut. LT David Bahktiari, the steal of last year’s draft in the 4^th round is charged with going nose to nose with the former #1 overall pick in Williams. Keeping Aaron Rodgers clean and upright will not be an easy task and simply mailing it in as the Pack did last week in the 2^nd half against Atlanta won’t cut it.

Football is a quirky, funny game. It requires dedication, discipline and hard work but every team in the NFL shoots for that – even lowly Jacksonville. When the Packers league leading offense is rolling it scares the daylights of anyone else in the league. Putting up 20, 30, 40 points before halftime is no longer an odd occurrence. It provides a huge cushion but at the same time a false sense of security. Going back to last season the Packers were all but dead against Dallas after the Cowboys held Green Bay to a scant 3 first half points almost a calendar year ago. Down 26 – 3 and with Rodgers out with a broken collarbone the Pack, led by backup Matt Flynn, roared all the back in the second half to stun Dallas 37 – 36. The Falcons made a game of a blowout and hopefully the team got an early wakeup call. Mike McCarthy was more than cryptic in his mid-week press conferences. When asked about what went wrong defensively McCarthy said “Obviously we had some issues with boundary communication.” He pointedly refused to expand on his words leaving the sense that he put just enough out in the media to reinforce the whip and a chair approach he most likely held for his team behind closed doors. McCarthy has learned to use the media well and to his advantage during his tenure in Green Bay. There is a hidden message between the lines that should hit each of the playing Packers right between the eyes.

Buffalo has come on and is showing signs of life. Manuel, on the other hand, has been less the savior the Bills had hoped for and is now riding the pine behind journeyman Kyle Orton. Manuel got into Marrone’s doghouse and there is little indication he will exit any time soon. Orton played well enough against Denver to stay close and after facing one of the AFC’s powerhouses now the Bills have to strap them on again to face Green Bay. The Bills have become dependent on their defense to keep them in there and the offense has sputtered badly as evidenced by the Bills so-so record of 7 – 6. Maybe Manning and the Broncos didn’t take the Bills seriously enough. Manning’s run at an MVP fell sharply with his poor showing against Buffalo last week and Rodgers, a film and study freak, has no doubt already had a glimpse into what could be in store if the Packer s pull another halfhearted effort.

After the weak second half last week there is little doubt that McCarthy hammered the point about letting down. His presser also included the very cryptic “I won’t apologize for winning in December.” Taken at face value that is a concession to the point of “Yeah, we stunk the joint out in the second half last week. Yeah, we’re a much better team than Atlanta. Yeah, we shoulda buried them. But we won.” Winning ugly is not much different than dropping 50+ points on Chicago or Philadelphia. A win is a win is a win.

Against Atlanta the Packers made it look easy – too easy. And it was. Putting up 31 points before halftime is something to which they have now grown accustomed. For their part the Birds played hard for the full 60 minutes and almost pulled off the shocker of the year. But it didn’t happen. After Rodgers connected with Jordy Nelson on yet another long (60 yards) bomb that went for a touchdown order was restored in Packerland. The Pack can now seemingly turn the offense on at any time and strike and they know it. Last week’s confidence in that fact flirted dangerously close to the arrogance of invincibility.

Eddie Lacy left with a sore hip last week but it is not thought to be of a nature to keep him out in western New York. Even after Lacy went out James Starks came in and between the two RB’s they posted just shy of 150 yards on the ground. Starks has found his niche in the offense and provides a huge change of pace from Lacy’s brutal, punishing pounding game. At times Starks’ legs look as if they are about to come flying off his body as his torso remains in own place. Where Lacy is the bull in a china shop Starks evokes the memory of Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch of the old… very old… Los Angeles Rams.

In addition to the dedication, discipline and hard work required to play in the NFL amnesia is also something that is required. Last week is over and it’s time to move on. Green Bay got their W against the Falcons and can learn from the experience. Buffalo may feel a bit more confident after hanging with Denver and almost pulling it out. They have the type of defense than can get after a QB. Marcel Dareus and Jerry Hughes team with Williams to give Buffalo a very stout line. They have been excellent all year and the Bills will be shopping for toys for the offense in the off season. They’ll have to do it without their #1 draft pick; in order to move up to snag Watkins they had to surrender their first round pick this year. GM Doug Whaley has rolled the dice and now has to ferret through the free agency wires to try to build his offense. Drafting Watkins and signing Williams have been steps in the right direction. Benching Manuel was the correct decision. The jury is still out on whether or not he can cut it as a starter in the NFL and there are concerns about whether or not he can ever become a franchise QB.

Green Bay’s pieces are all in place. The defense was very soft last week and now the normally quiet Julius Peppers has said the Pack’s D “…needs to step on the gas…” Peppers has never been this close to the ride to the Super Bowl before and does not want the opportunity to be squandered. Every team will face adversity. The good ones know it. The great ones use it. After last week’s letdown with 3 games remaining it may actually help the Pack to focus on what is here this week and not look too far ahead. Playing the full 60 this week will be at the top of McCarthy’s agenda.

The Bills could make life tough for Rodgers. But Rodgers has Nelson, Randall Cobb, Lacy, Davante Adams and Andrew Quarless on his side. McCarthy has been very creative in his deployment of Cobb of late. As Adams has developed into a far more reliable WR than he was earlier this year McCarthy has had Cobb line up in the wideout position, in the slot and even in the backfield. With multiple looks and shifts is allows Rodgers to evaluate the defense and the ability to check it off at the line if he sees something. McCarthy has not received enough praise for his ability to create favorable mismatches on the field. When playing the Patriots McCarthy correctly figured Bill Belichick would use Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to try to neutralize Nelson and Cobb. In doing so Adams and Quarless became a focal point and Adams had the best day of his young career.  When any coach can outcoach Bill Belichick it warrants attention and praise.

The Packers offense against the Bills defense tells the story this week. How well will Bahktiari and the rest of the line fare against Buffalo’s front four will be fun to watch. With the Lions and the presumed NFC North title waiting ahead there is no time like the present for the Packers to regain their footing and assert themselves across the board. It will be physical and the scoring may not be as high but a good old fashioned slugfest is brewing. This time expect the Packers to punch the clock and do the work in the full 60 minutes. That message needs no disguising.

 

 

 

 

 GREEN BAY 31  

 

 

 

 

  Buffalo 17