Packer-Viking Recap

I came away with many thoughts and opinions after the latest installment of Packers/Vikings:

And I lead with this because it’s the most important of all my thoughts and opinions. The NFL is as about as unpredictable as it comes. And everything I mention from here on out in this rant, could easily be as far from the truth as possible by next week.

Both of these football teams have a ton of weaknesses. The Packers have so many injuries that they should be holding open tryouts on a daily basis across Wisconsin to see if anyone can help them out.

The Vikings are the most underachieving team in the league, and I blame most of that on the coach who is so bent on running his system that he doesn’t have the vision of how to use his players the best way.

This was an extremely entertaining game. The ebb and flow combined with the story lines and last minute finish were spectacular.

Oh, and of course throw in the absolutely pathetic officiating. And by the way Viking fans, it didn’t just work against you. Let me just mention a few bad calls that went AGAINST the Packers in this game: the late hit by Nick Collins was not late. He made the hit in bounds. The interception at the end of the first half in the end zone might have been caught had Greg Jennings not been mugged running his route down the sideline and yet no pass interference or holding was called. The spot after a third down pass to Jennings before the Vikings last drive was horrendous. It should have been first down, but instead it was fourth down. The Packers failed to pick it up and there began the final Viking drive. On one of the Adrian Peterson’s 20-year gallops on the last drive, there was a blatant block in the back that sprang Peterson on a cut back move. There were more, but I’ll stop there.

Mike McCarthy needs to run the ball more. Brandon Jackson may be a below average NFL running back, but like any running back in this league, if you give him 20-plus carries, he is going to start picking up more and more yardage as the game goes along, especially when you are winning in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

Brett Favre is amazing and yet a shell of himself. He almost pulled this game out. But he can’t move in the pocket and is back to throwing interceptions this year. When you throw in the terrible coaching, I don’t think he can succeed in this system anymore.

Back to the Packer injury situation. Frank Zambo was playing defensive end during the fourth quarter. Zambo is a rookie backup linebacker. But because of the Packers injury epidemic and the front office’s refusal to do anything about it, Zambo actually helped lead the Packers to victory.

Clay Matthews is the difference maker in this defense. With Matthews and the return of Al Harris and Atari Bigby, this defense may be able to salvage the season.

At the moment, I don’t see either of these teams contending for anything this year, but as they say, championships aren’t won in October in the NFL.

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Badgers-Best 1-Loss Team in the Country

What an impressive two-week run for the Wisconsin Badgers. Back to back wins over then #1 Ohio State and then at a very good Iowa squad has me somewhat in shock. I don’t remember back to back wins in such impressive fashion since the Rose Bowl days of a decade ago.

The best part about both wins is that neither was a fluke. Against Ohio State, we absolutely dominated the Buckeyes. The Badgers ran the ball at will and controlled the line of scrimmage. And when Ohio State made a run in the second half, the Badgers responded by putting together a long scoring drive that eliminated any chance of Ohio State coming back to win.

Then against Iowa, the Badgers found themselves in a back and forth affair in which the Badgers could have folded at any time. The most impressive moment actually came after a Scott Tolzien interception early in the fourth quarter with Iowa up by 3. Then the defense rose to the occasion stopping the Hawkeyes and holding them to a field goal. The Badger offense then responded with a very impressive drive which included a fake punt for a first down and a 4th down conversion. The drive took seven of the last eight minutes off the clock and resulted in a game winning touchdown.

Now here we are with four games left in the season, and the Badgers are 7-1 and in my opinion are the best 1-loss team in the country. When the BCS rankings came out last Sunday unfortunately, the computers and voters did not completely agree. They rated both Alabama and Oklahoma slightly ahead of Wisconsin. I don’t think either team had a legitimate reason to rank higher than the Badgers. Oklahoma’s lone win over a ranked team came at home to Florida State. They lost to Missouri and barely squeaked out wins over Utah State, Air Force, Cincinnati and Texas. Alabama owns two wins over ranked teams, Arkansas and LSU. They lost to South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin owns the most impressive wins of either team. They have the Ohio State and Iowa victories. And they played Michigan State tough in their loss. I could see an argument to put Alabama ahead of Wisconsin, but not Oklahoma or any other one-loss team. In my opinion, the Badgers should be #8 in the BCS, behind the seven undefeated teams.

Regardless, if the Badgers win out, they should make a BCS bowl. An 11-1 record out of the Big Ten should do it. Even if Michigan State goes undefeated and wins the conference, the Badgers should go as an at-large