SIX SACKS SINK VIKES

Packers Defense Dominates, Offense Looks Better

Little Johnny is an all American 11 year old boy. Like most 11 year olds Johnny loves all sports. On a beautiful spring afternoon Johnny came through the front door, his baseball glove slung onto his baseball bat which he carried dejectedly over his shoulder. His knees were dirty and on his grime streaked face tears had run a path from the baseball field’s signature as he moped through the house sadly. Upon seeing Johnny so upset his mother asked “Johnny...What’s wrong? I thought you were out playing baseball with your friends. What on earth happened?”

Johnny raised his head as his little eyes filled with tears and with a trembling chin he looked at his mother and said  ”I was playing ball. I was doing real good until the big kids got out of school.”

The feisty Minnesota Vikings got a very quick lesson from the reeling Green Bay Packers on Sunday in be careful what you wish for. After last week’s contest Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer had T-Shirts placed at every player’s locker that read “Beat Green Bay”. While the Packers offense played better it is still far from the dominant force it was opening the season. On this Sunday night in Minnesota it was the highly charged tenacious defense that carried the Pack to their first win in a month ending a 3 game losing streak, moved Green Bay back atop the NFC North and took command of their own destiny with a solid 27 – 13 win.

The Packers defense had opened the season almost as hot as the offense. At the high water mark the defense was near the top of the team leaderboards in fewest points allowed, total defense, and sacks. During the 3 game abomination the Packers surrendered almost 1,500 yards. In three games. One thousand five hundred yards in but 3 games. The pundits were having a field day at Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews expense and as a team the Packers did little to dispel the notion by losing not just to the unbeaten Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers but also gifting a W to a moribund 1 win team in Detroit. In reality the Packers faced a red hot and young Minnesota team hungry and eager to knock the perennial kings of the North off the throne.

Instead the Packers defense rolled up their sleeves, got their noses bloodied, and their jerseys a little more grimy than usual. Perhaps it was a funk, a collective air of malaise that hit both the offense and defense simultaneously. Maybe the Packers read too many of their press clippings. It’s possible their best effort wasn’t put forth since, hey – they were undefeated, riding high and the little things are just that – little.

On Sunday night the Packers did all the little things and did them right. The Pack hounded, harassed, hurried and hit Viking QB Teddy Bridgewater as if he somehow had old them money from the old neighborhood. The Pack’s defense opened the first 6 games of the season with 23 sacks and was 2^nd in the league in that department. During the slump they did not post a single sack. With the offense suddenly stagnant the defense curiously and simultaneously also went missing.

All that ended with a 6 sack performance that saw the Pack playing defensively like they belong back in the discussion of top teams. They will have to earn some respect back but in reality the D played very well against Detroit but they were outstanding in Minnesota. Led by a fired up Datone Jones (2 sacks/ 1 batted pass) and the always fiery Mike Daniels (1 sack) the Packers treated the young Vikings like an annoying schoolkid who hadn’t gotten the hint he wasn’t big enough to sit at the big people’s table yet. In addition to the 6 sacks the Packer defense kept Adrian Peterson in check and under 100 yards. Well under 100 yards.

Once again the Packers took their opening drive down the field, stalled in the red zone and settled for a Mason Crosby field goal. The points were good and seeing Crosby strike the ball so well after his flub at the end of last week’s Detroit disaster, a kick so bad it will be used in clinics to show future kickers how not to kick a ball, certainly made the Packers sideline breathe a little easier.

The game was not without its “uh oh” moments. After being down Minnesota struck back when Teddy B hit TE Kyle Rudolph on a 47 yard catch and run, a play that was aided immensely by Micah Hyde’s injury to his already aggravated hit. Hyde went for the ball but turned awkwardly and collapsed helplessly to the turf as Rudolph did the rest. Injuries have decimated Green Bay once again this season and the dreads feeling of “here we go again” engulfed the Packer faithful. The usually reliable Blair Walsh missed the extra point and of course Rodgers moved the Packers downfield to knot the score. Hyde did not return and may miss even more time.

Mike McCarthy had been going with James Starks as his #1 back in the absence of Eddie Lacy as he recovered from ankle and groin injury. While Starks play admirably he has not provided the thundering collisions that drive defenders backwards and challenge the will and manhood of his opponent. When Lacy finally got the ball it didn’t take him long to get unwound. One game is too small a sample size to declare Lacy back but there is no mistaking the value Eddie Lacy brings to the Packers offense.

Lacy’s combination of patience, vision, explosion, cutback ability and downright brute strength was on display as Lacy dazzled with his signature full circle spin. Lacy posted exactly 100 yards on 22 carries, his first such achievement since last season. No one was happier to see Lacy back than Aaron Rodgers. Defenses had eschewed any semblance of a run D during the slump and crowded Rodgers and his WR’s. While Lacy only added one catch it was obvious McCarthy was been cautious with overloading his star back.

Rodgers had a day below his norm – 16/34, 212 yards, 2 TD’s and no INTs. Rodgers hitting less than 50% of this throws is cause for attention if not necessarily concern. Randall Cobb had several key drops in situations where he typically does not hear footsteps. The offense is still pressing but as the game wore an air of confidence was palatable. In spite of his drops Cobb posted the first TD of the Pack’s bounce back in the second quarter to give Green Bay a lead it would hold in commanding fashion the rest of the way.

Having a 3 game losing streak and playing poorly the thought of having to face the hot Vikings and the NFL’s best back in Adrian Peterson would cause sleepless nights for many defenders. Peterson has once again used his rare combination of speed and power to lead the NFL. It was the Packers that bottled up and corralled Peterson limiting him to only 45 yards on 13 carries – his longest being an 11 yard scamper - 1 lone TD and a very costly fumble.

Green Bay’s 3^rd down efficiency was anything but great. The Packers converted 37% of their 3^rd down attempts but is a good increase over the league worst 27% they brought into the game. One area in which the Packers shined was in penalties. Green Bay was flagged only 4 times for 19 yards while Minnesota was tagged 8 times for 110 yards, the greatest damage coming on a drive that saw Minny draw a flag 3 times on 3^rd down as the clock wound down. The biggest penalty saw Jeff Janis draw a 50 yard pass interference call on Terrence Newman late in the 2^nd quarter for a huge gain. More importantly it extended the Packers drive.

Twice more Minnesota was hit during Rodgers clock challenging drive. Rodgers toss to TE Richard Rodgers for the score was nullified by the beleaguered David Bahktiari holding call but that penalty was nullified by Linval Joseph’s penalty for roughing the passer. One thing is certain – giving Aaron Rodgers a second chance deep in your territory is not a successful formula. Yet on the very next play LB Anthony Barr was hit for illegal contact stopping the clock. Rodgers finally found Cobb with 10 seconds left and the Vikings will hear about it and one would think rather loudly from their disciplinarian coach Mike Zimmer.

Once again the Packers took the 3^rd quarter kickoff and burned almost 5 minutes off the clock to extend the lead on a Crosby kick. For the day Crosby was 5 for 5 in FG attempts with zero notion left to what might have been last week against Detroit. The Vikings showed some life as Bridgewater countered with three long passes to set up Peterson’s lone TD burst to narrow the gap to 19 -13.

These are the times in a game in which Aaron Rodgers defines himself. Rodgers moved the Packers right after the Vikings score back down the field hitting Davante Adams and James Jones to set up a vintage Rodgers play as the 3r quarter closed. Jones had a lunging fingertip snag that was a thing of beauty but paled in comparison to what came next. On 3^rd and 9 from the Viking 28 Rodgers rolled to his right to buy time and found James Jones cutting back to his side. Rodgers fired a dart only Jones could catch, and catch it Jones did as he dragged both toes through the green grass scant inches from the white out of bounds line essentially squashing whatever notion Minnesota had of knocking off the Pack. Crosby’s late FG locked up an important W in every sense of the word.

The Packers are not out of the woods however. The defense is giving the offense a game the offense can use for a win. The D has not been the biggest problem. There are still concerns about drops and timing. Rodgers seems to be out of sync still, even with Cobb, Adams and Jones. Thankfully the Packers may have learned from trying to force feed Adams into a bigger role last week when Adams was targeted an insane 21 times. The drops have been across the board. Cobb, Adams, Jones and Richard Rodgers have had their share of missed plays and leaving points on the field doesn’t make McCarthy happy.

However beating the Vikings on the road will make McCarthy happy. Although the records are the same at 7-3 by virtue of their win Green Bay has a head to head advantage over Minnesota and Green Bay can be thankful they are in that position. Their next game will by the highly anticipated Thanksgiving evening game against the very improved Chicago Bears that will be as much spectacle as it is a game when a certain former gunslinger will see his number retired into the Packer’s Ring of Honor.

The schedule is calling for Brett Favre to be joined by Aaron Rodgers and Bart Starr who has worked feverishly to rehab from a series of strokes and heart attacks to be there. It will be a night for the ages.