I have been writing my sports column off and on for five years now on this website. In those five years, I have NEVER experienced a sports weekend like this as a Wisconsin sports fan. It’s one of those weekends that I will look back on years from now and think to myself, did I truly enjoy it!
Let’s start the recap of the weekend with the unlikeliest of teams to be talked about in the month of October, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers are making their fourth playoff appearance not this decade, but in my lifetime (or another words four decades). In my opinion, they are one of the worst professional sports franchises in the history of American professional sports.
So here are the Brewers in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and the second time since 1982. And unlike three years ago, they are actually winning. Saturday they got an incredible outing from Yovanni Gallardo in a 4-1 win. And then Sunday, the offense took over in a 9-4 victory. And suddenly the Brewers are one win away from their first trip to the League Championship Series in 29 years.
But as we all know, football is the #1 sport in this country now. So even though the Brewer post-season victories are nice and refreshing, we are mainly concerned with our football teams. And boy, did they come through this past weekend.
The Wisconsin Badgers were 4-0 and playing incredible football but even I would admit that they hadn’t really played anyone yet. That all changed Saturday night when Nebraska came to town in the Huskers‘ first ever Big Ten game. With Wisconsin #7 and Nebraska #8, the nation was awaiting which team was the real deal. After toying with the Huskers for most of the first half, Heisman Trophy candidate Russell Wilson and the rest of the Badgers took control and demolished Nebraska 48-17.
The Badgers rose to #4 in the poll on Sunday placing them in National Championship contention. That same day, the world champion Packers took the field and did to Denver the same thing Wisconsin did to Nebraska. After a slow start, the Packers completely dominated the second half in a 49-23 victory. Aaron Rodgers threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. The other touchdown was just your standard Charles Woodson pick six. The Packers remained one of two undefeated teams in the NFL.
All in all, an incredible weekend. And although the Brewers, Badgers and Packers still have a ways to go this season, this will be a weekend we will never forget as Wisconsin sports fans.
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Bay Packers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
We Are The Champions!
It still does not seem real that the Green Bay Packers have just won Super Bowl XLV. When I think back to the Super Bowl win and loss of 13 and 14 years ago, it was no surprise that the green and gold were in the big game. They finished 13-3 both years. They had relatively no injuries except a rash of receiver injuries during the middle of the 1996 season.
This season was a roller coaster ride. The Packers were picked by many to make a championship run but found themselves losing player after player early on including starters Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, Mark Tauscher, Morgan Burnett, Justin Harrell and Nick Barnett. A minor leg injury to Clay Matthews was the straw that broke the camel’s back early and led to bad losses to Washington and Miami. But with Matthews back the next week and young players like Brandon Jackson, Desmond Bishop. Charlie Pepprah, and Tremon Williams stepping in for these injured stars, the Packers regained their swagger with a breakthrough win over the Vikings, a shutout victory over the Jets, and a destruction of the Cowboys and Vikings. The second swoon of the season came late though when Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion which forced him to miss nearly two games. The games were both losses, an embarrassment against the Lions and a hard fought heartbreaker to the Patriots.
At 8-6, Green Bay was left in a spot where they had to win their final two regular season games in order to salvage the NFC six seed and squeak in as the last playoff qualifier which would require three road playoff wins to get to the Super Bowl.
And that’s where the magical run began as the Packers would not lose another game. Aaron Rodgers returned to tear up the New York Giants. And then the defense completely shut down the Chicago Bears creating a spot for the Packers in the playoffs. The Packers opened with a bang in Philadelphia and then had to hold on for dear life against the Eagles. A week later, the Packers went in and defeated the NFC number one seed, Atlanta Falcons by scoring 35 consecutive points en route to a 48-21 win. Then the Packers replicated a 7-point win over the Bears in the NFC Championship Game to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLV.
The Super Bowl against Pittsburgh was a microcosm of the season. The Packers jumped out to a lead early but then suffered injuries to stars Donald Driver and Charles Woodson. The Packers struggled as they tried to find a way to compensate and let the Steelers back into the game as a 21-3 lead was cut to 21-17 and later 28-25. But the Packers found a way late to save their season as Aaron Rodgers led the offense on a scoring drive at ate up clock and then the defense shut the door with big plays in the final two minutes.
So here we are, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time and NFL Champions for the record 13th time. Aaron Rodgers has matched Brett Favre’s Super Bowl victory total and road playoff victories in a career. The Packers became the first team since 1962 to never trail in a game by more than 7 points. The best part is that this team is young and could easily return to the big dance in the near future. When you consider all the players on IR who could be back on this team next year, it is scary how good this team could be even if they suffer half the injuries they went through this year.
What a great time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. Go Packers! 2011 Super Bowl Champions!
This season was a roller coaster ride. The Packers were picked by many to make a championship run but found themselves losing player after player early on including starters Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley, Mark Tauscher, Morgan Burnett, Justin Harrell and Nick Barnett. A minor leg injury to Clay Matthews was the straw that broke the camel’s back early and led to bad losses to Washington and Miami. But with Matthews back the next week and young players like Brandon Jackson, Desmond Bishop. Charlie Pepprah, and Tremon Williams stepping in for these injured stars, the Packers regained their swagger with a breakthrough win over the Vikings, a shutout victory over the Jets, and a destruction of the Cowboys and Vikings. The second swoon of the season came late though when Aaron Rodgers suffered a concussion which forced him to miss nearly two games. The games were both losses, an embarrassment against the Lions and a hard fought heartbreaker to the Patriots.
At 8-6, Green Bay was left in a spot where they had to win their final two regular season games in order to salvage the NFC six seed and squeak in as the last playoff qualifier which would require three road playoff wins to get to the Super Bowl.
And that’s where the magical run began as the Packers would not lose another game. Aaron Rodgers returned to tear up the New York Giants. And then the defense completely shut down the Chicago Bears creating a spot for the Packers in the playoffs. The Packers opened with a bang in Philadelphia and then had to hold on for dear life against the Eagles. A week later, the Packers went in and defeated the NFC number one seed, Atlanta Falcons by scoring 35 consecutive points en route to a 48-21 win. Then the Packers replicated a 7-point win over the Bears in the NFC Championship Game to earn a spot in Super Bowl XLV.
The Super Bowl against Pittsburgh was a microcosm of the season. The Packers jumped out to a lead early but then suffered injuries to stars Donald Driver and Charles Woodson. The Packers struggled as they tried to find a way to compensate and let the Steelers back into the game as a 21-3 lead was cut to 21-17 and later 28-25. But the Packers found a way late to save their season as Aaron Rodgers led the offense on a scoring drive at ate up clock and then the defense shut the door with big plays in the final two minutes.
So here we are, the Green Bay Packers are Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time and NFL Champions for the record 13th time. Aaron Rodgers has matched Brett Favre’s Super Bowl victory total and road playoff victories in a career. The Packers became the first team since 1962 to never trail in a game by more than 7 points. The best part is that this team is young and could easily return to the big dance in the near future. When you consider all the players on IR who could be back on this team next year, it is scary how good this team could be even if they suffer half the injuries they went through this year.
What a great time to be a Wisconsin sports fan. Go Packers! 2011 Super Bowl Champions!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Packers Bears History Lesson
It has been an amazing 2010 NFL season filled with the usual ups and downs. But what is about to occur on
Sunday, January 23 is an “up” that could only have been dreamed about before as a Packer fan. The Green Bay Packers will meet the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
Amazing!
The NFL’s oldest rivalry on the biggest stage it can be on. Being an NFL historian, I like to look back at these two storied franchises to show just how big this game will be next Sunday. The two teams first met in 1921 when the Bears were in Decatur and called the Staleys. They prevailed with a 20-0 victory on their way to the first NFL title. For the Packers, it was one of only two losses that year. From 1928-1933, the two teams actually played against each other three times each season. In 1929, the Packers swept all three games shutting out the Bears all three times by a combined score of 62-0. The Packers went undefeated that season in route to their first NFL Championship. The Packers won two of three against the Bears the following two seasons, both of which the Packers won the NFL Championship. It was the second three-peat in NFL history following the Canton Bulldogs run in 1922-1924.
The Bears put an end to the Packers run in 1932 by winning the title. In three games between the teams that year, they went 1-1-1. The Packers won 2-0 in Chicago. The Bears won 9-0 in Chicago. And the teams finished in a scoreless tie in their one game in Green Bay. A year later, the Bears won the first NFL Championship game 23-21 over the New York Giants. They swept the Packers in the three games between the teams that season. In 1934, the Bears completed the first NFL regular season ever with no losses or ties but lost in the championship game to the 8-5 New York Giants 30-13 (so the Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots wasn’t the first time New York beat an undefeated team for the title).
Between 1936 and 1944, the Packers and Bears finished 1-2 in the old NFL Western Division every year except once. (The Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Rams were the other teams in that division). Either the Packers or Bears went to the championship game every year during that nine-year span. Green Bay won titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944. Chicago won it in 1940 (73-0 over Washington), 1941 and 1943. 1941 was the last time the Bears and Packers met three times in a season and the only time they have had a postseason meeting. After splitting their regular season meetings and both finishing 10-1, they played in the first ever division playoff game with the Bears winning 33-14. A year later, the Bears completed another undefeated regular season only to lose to Washington 14-6 in the championship game. During this nine-year span, the Packers and Bears split their head to head matches six times.
The Bears and Packers occasionally challenged for division titles in the 1950s but were shut out by the new powers of the league such as the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions (yes, I said Detroit Lions) and the Cleveland Browns who hold the record to this day for making six straight NFL Championship game appearances between 1950-1955.
With the arrival of Vince Lombardi, the Packers returned to glory in the 1960s winning NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967 which included the first two Super Bowls victories. The Bears were no slouches during this time winning the championship in 1963. However, the Packers dominated the Bears head to head outside of 1963 winning 15 of the 20 matchups in the 1960’s.
After both teams struggled in the 1970’s, they were both at it in the 1980’s with the Packers making a playoff appearance in the strike shortened year of 1982. Due to seven games being cancelled, it marked the first time since 1922 that the Bears and Packers did not play each other. In 1985, the Bears has their famous 15-1 season and shuffled to their first Super Bowl victory. In 1989, the Packers and Bears were involved in the first NFL game to have its outcome reversed by a reviewed play that was overturned.
The Bears and Packers continued to make many playoff appearances in the 1990’s with the Packers winning the Super Bowl in 1996 and losing it in 1997. The Packers strung together a streak of 12 consecutive victories at Soldier Field which is the second longest streak ever for a visiting team.
The Packers continued to be regular playoff invitees this past decade but it is the Bears who have the Super Bowl appearance which came after the 2006 season, a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now the two teams clash to see which legendary franchise will make its next championship game trip. The Green Bay Packers have more championships than any other NFL team with 12. The Chicago Bears are next with 9. The Packers have played in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 15 times. The Bears have appeared in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 14 times. The Bears hold a 92-83-6 all time edge in meetings between the two teams. And of course they have the one playoff win between the two. Almost 70 years later comes the second meeting between the two most successful storied franchises in NFL history.
For more, visit our website at www.songerstudio.com
Sunday, January 23 is an “up” that could only have been dreamed about before as a Packer fan. The Green Bay Packers will meet the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
Amazing!
The NFL’s oldest rivalry on the biggest stage it can be on. Being an NFL historian, I like to look back at these two storied franchises to show just how big this game will be next Sunday. The two teams first met in 1921 when the Bears were in Decatur and called the Staleys. They prevailed with a 20-0 victory on their way to the first NFL title. For the Packers, it was one of only two losses that year. From 1928-1933, the two teams actually played against each other three times each season. In 1929, the Packers swept all three games shutting out the Bears all three times by a combined score of 62-0. The Packers went undefeated that season in route to their first NFL Championship. The Packers won two of three against the Bears the following two seasons, both of which the Packers won the NFL Championship. It was the second three-peat in NFL history following the Canton Bulldogs run in 1922-1924.
The Bears put an end to the Packers run in 1932 by winning the title. In three games between the teams that year, they went 1-1-1. The Packers won 2-0 in Chicago. The Bears won 9-0 in Chicago. And the teams finished in a scoreless tie in their one game in Green Bay. A year later, the Bears won the first NFL Championship game 23-21 over the New York Giants. They swept the Packers in the three games between the teams that season. In 1934, the Bears completed the first NFL regular season ever with no losses or ties but lost in the championship game to the 8-5 New York Giants 30-13 (so the Giants 2008 Super Bowl victory over the Patriots wasn’t the first time New York beat an undefeated team for the title).
Between 1936 and 1944, the Packers and Bears finished 1-2 in the old NFL Western Division every year except once. (The Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Cleveland Rams were the other teams in that division). Either the Packers or Bears went to the championship game every year during that nine-year span. Green Bay won titles in 1936, 1939 and 1944. Chicago won it in 1940 (73-0 over Washington), 1941 and 1943. 1941 was the last time the Bears and Packers met three times in a season and the only time they have had a postseason meeting. After splitting their regular season meetings and both finishing 10-1, they played in the first ever division playoff game with the Bears winning 33-14. A year later, the Bears completed another undefeated regular season only to lose to Washington 14-6 in the championship game. During this nine-year span, the Packers and Bears split their head to head matches six times.
The Bears and Packers occasionally challenged for division titles in the 1950s but were shut out by the new powers of the league such as the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions (yes, I said Detroit Lions) and the Cleveland Browns who hold the record to this day for making six straight NFL Championship game appearances between 1950-1955.
With the arrival of Vince Lombardi, the Packers returned to glory in the 1960s winning NFL championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967 which included the first two Super Bowls victories. The Bears were no slouches during this time winning the championship in 1963. However, the Packers dominated the Bears head to head outside of 1963 winning 15 of the 20 matchups in the 1960’s.
After both teams struggled in the 1970’s, they were both at it in the 1980’s with the Packers making a playoff appearance in the strike shortened year of 1982. Due to seven games being cancelled, it marked the first time since 1922 that the Bears and Packers did not play each other. In 1985, the Bears has their famous 15-1 season and shuffled to their first Super Bowl victory. In 1989, the Packers and Bears were involved in the first NFL game to have its outcome reversed by a reviewed play that was overturned.
The Bears and Packers continued to make many playoff appearances in the 1990’s with the Packers winning the Super Bowl in 1996 and losing it in 1997. The Packers strung together a streak of 12 consecutive victories at Soldier Field which is the second longest streak ever for a visiting team.
The Packers continued to be regular playoff invitees this past decade but it is the Bears who have the Super Bowl appearance which came after the 2006 season, a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Now the two teams clash to see which legendary franchise will make its next championship game trip. The Green Bay Packers have more championships than any other NFL team with 12. The Chicago Bears are next with 9. The Packers have played in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 15 times. The Bears have appeared in the NFL/NFC Championship Game 14 times. The Bears hold a 92-83-6 all time edge in meetings between the two teams. And of course they have the one playoff win between the two. Almost 70 years later comes the second meeting between the two most successful storied franchises in NFL history.
For more, visit our website at www.songerstudio.com
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Packers Roll Past Bills
It’s time for my weekly Green Bay Packer update. Week Two was a 34-7 victory by the green and gold over the Buffalo Bills. The Packers jumped on top early scoring on their first three drives and holding the Bills to two three-and-outs. The Bills came back in the second quarter to close to within 13-7 at halftime. But the Packers took over in the second half with three straight touchdown drives and impressive defensive plays en route to the easy win.
Here are the plusses in the win:
Aaron Rodgers looked a lot better than last week as he spread the ball around and took what the defense gave him.
Clay Matthews is the defensive player of the year after two weeks. He has six sacks, a number of tackles and makes big play after big play.
Special teams was not as impressive as last week but they didn’t have any bone headed plays and held up fairly nicely.
Jermichael Finley is yet to get into the endzone but 100-yard games aren’t common amongst tight ends.
Whatever adjustments were made at halftime were perfect as the team came out and completely dominated the last 30 minutes.
Interceptions by Chillar and Burnett sparked the offensive onslaught in the third quarter.
Here are the negatives:
The running game did not do much. Even in the fourth quarter when the Packers were just trying to run down the clock, they couldn’t sustain anything. John Kuhn looked better than Brandon Jackson.
Chad Clifton is hurting. Thankfully we have a quality backup in our number one draft pick Bryan Bulaga.
This was probably the easiest game on the schedule and we failed to put this team away early due to settling for field goals on the first two drives and giving up way too many rushing yards in the second quarter.
So the Packers are 2-0 and tied with the Bears for first place in the NFC North as the two teams prepare for battle on Monday night. The really good news is that the Vikings are 0-2 after a loss at home to the Dolphins in which Brett Favre threw for three interceptions and fumbled the ball in the end zone. This is the Brett Favre we saw two or three times a year in Green Bay. It’s good to see him returning to form this year in Minnesota. And hey Dallas: how does it feel to be 0-2? It’s nice to quiet down the Cowboy fans!
See you on our website, www.songerstudio.com
Here are the plusses in the win:
Aaron Rodgers looked a lot better than last week as he spread the ball around and took what the defense gave him.
Clay Matthews is the defensive player of the year after two weeks. He has six sacks, a number of tackles and makes big play after big play.
Special teams was not as impressive as last week but they didn’t have any bone headed plays and held up fairly nicely.
Jermichael Finley is yet to get into the endzone but 100-yard games aren’t common amongst tight ends.
Whatever adjustments were made at halftime were perfect as the team came out and completely dominated the last 30 minutes.
Interceptions by Chillar and Burnett sparked the offensive onslaught in the third quarter.
Here are the negatives:
The running game did not do much. Even in the fourth quarter when the Packers were just trying to run down the clock, they couldn’t sustain anything. John Kuhn looked better than Brandon Jackson.
Chad Clifton is hurting. Thankfully we have a quality backup in our number one draft pick Bryan Bulaga.
This was probably the easiest game on the schedule and we failed to put this team away early due to settling for field goals on the first two drives and giving up way too many rushing yards in the second quarter.
So the Packers are 2-0 and tied with the Bears for first place in the NFC North as the two teams prepare for battle on Monday night. The really good news is that the Vikings are 0-2 after a loss at home to the Dolphins in which Brett Favre threw for three interceptions and fumbled the ball in the end zone. This is the Brett Favre we saw two or three times a year in Green Bay. It’s good to see him returning to form this year in Minnesota. And hey Dallas: how does it feel to be 0-2? It’s nice to quiet down the Cowboy fans!
See you on our website, www.songerstudio.com
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Packers Mid-Pre-Season Review
After two preseason games, here is what I have learned about the Green Bay Packers and the upcoming season:
1. The offense is going to be freaky good. Think early 1980’s San Diego Chargers with this passing game.
1a. Aaron Rodgers could very easily be the league MVP
1b. Jermichael Finley is going to be the premiere tight end in the NFL the next five years.
2.Bryan Bulaga is a very huge man.
3. Remember when the Packers went to the Super Bowl in the 1996 and Edgar Bennett was joined by Dorsey Levens to create a two-headed running back monster. Don’t be surprised if this happens again this year with Brandon Jackson joining Ryan Grant. 4. This is a much-improved Brandon Jackson.
5. If the Packers play with second string linebackers and secondary with a vanilla defensive plan like they have the first two games, this team is in trouble.
6. The defensive line needs to become more dominant.
7. The special teams still stinks.
8. Mason Crosby has made three field goals. I’m just saying.
9. The Packers are still looking for their first good punter since Craig Hentrich.
10. Penalties are still an issue.
Preseason games continue to be not much of an indicator of what the regular season will offer up.
Visit our website at www.songerstudio.com.
1. The offense is going to be freaky good. Think early 1980’s San Diego Chargers with this passing game.
1a. Aaron Rodgers could very easily be the league MVP
1b. Jermichael Finley is going to be the premiere tight end in the NFL the next five years.
2.Bryan Bulaga is a very huge man.
3. Remember when the Packers went to the Super Bowl in the 1996 and Edgar Bennett was joined by Dorsey Levens to create a two-headed running back monster. Don’t be surprised if this happens again this year with Brandon Jackson joining Ryan Grant. 4. This is a much-improved Brandon Jackson.
5. If the Packers play with second string linebackers and secondary with a vanilla defensive plan like they have the first two games, this team is in trouble.
6. The defensive line needs to become more dominant.
7. The special teams still stinks.
8. Mason Crosby has made three field goals. I’m just saying.
9. The Packers are still looking for their first good punter since Craig Hentrich.
10. Penalties are still an issue.
Preseason games continue to be not much of an indicator of what the regular season will offer up.
Visit our website at www.songerstudio.com.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Packers Prepare For Super Season
As we turn the calendar to August, it is time to turn our attention to football season. All 32 teams are reporting to camp this week which to mean indicates the end of baseball season is here. It is officially time to focus on football.
For the Green Bay Packers, Coach Mike McCarthy started camp off by talking about the realistic shot at a Super Bowl in Title Town. This is definitely as close as this team has been since the NFC Title Game in 2007. Here is what excites me about the Packers of 2010.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is about ready to become a superstar in this league. If he played in New York or Dallas, he already would be. Last year he threw 30 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions while racking up over 4,000 passing yards. The last half of the season he was a machine. I think back to games against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the final two contests against Arizona where he was nearly unstoppable. It is very exciting to think about what he is going to do this year.
Tight end Jermichael Finley was one of my picks last year to be a breakout star. An injury early on delayed that a bit, but by the last month and a half of the season, he became a major threat in the Packer offense. He is big, runs routes well and has great hands. A couple scouts have already said that this offense is going to be very hard to contain with Rodgers having Finley, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver to throw to.
The linebackers on this team are scary good. Clay Matthews had an incredible rookie season a year ago, and he is only going to get better. AJ Hawk might be a step down from an all-pro linebacker, but only a step down. He is very consistent. And Nick Barnett can still bring it. This may be the best linebacking core in the conference.
Here is what worries me about this Packer squad.
The lines. Teams that win championships have dominating front lines. The offensive line will again be very fragile this year. They drafted Bryan Bulaga in the first round and hopefully he can step in and be a big time tackle. And last year this line came around so maybe it will continue to give Rodgers the time he needs like they did the second half of last season, not the first half. The loss of Johnny Jolly on the defensive line hurts. But this is the year for B.J. Raji to step up and anchor a line that luckily is quite deep even without Jolly.
The Packers have done nothing to improve special teams. They have no return specialist. They are not strong at punter. Mason Crosby needs to rebound from a dismal year and prove he can kick in this league and you never really know what your coverage teams are going to look like until the first couple weeks of the season.
Lastly, I am a little worried about the mental thought process of this team. This team knows it can win in the regular season, and some of these guys were around three years ago when they made the run to the NFC Championship game. But that was not with Aaron Rodgers leading this team and many other players who are now expected to contribute. This team needs to prove that it can win in the postseason against the likes of Minnesota, Dallas and New Orleans.
It’s still a little early to predict what I think this team is going to do this year, but I definitely have them as a playoff team barring major injury problems. The issues with the lines and special teams though has me wondering how far they can go in the playoffs. I think it will really come down to those couple areas. Let’s watch two or three preseason games and then make some predictions!
Hey, visit my website for weekly sports comments, music and more. www.songerstudio.com
For the Green Bay Packers, Coach Mike McCarthy started camp off by talking about the realistic shot at a Super Bowl in Title Town. This is definitely as close as this team has been since the NFC Title Game in 2007. Here is what excites me about the Packers of 2010.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is about ready to become a superstar in this league. If he played in New York or Dallas, he already would be. Last year he threw 30 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions while racking up over 4,000 passing yards. The last half of the season he was a machine. I think back to games against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the final two contests against Arizona where he was nearly unstoppable. It is very exciting to think about what he is going to do this year.
Tight end Jermichael Finley was one of my picks last year to be a breakout star. An injury early on delayed that a bit, but by the last month and a half of the season, he became a major threat in the Packer offense. He is big, runs routes well and has great hands. A couple scouts have already said that this offense is going to be very hard to contain with Rodgers having Finley, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver to throw to.
The linebackers on this team are scary good. Clay Matthews had an incredible rookie season a year ago, and he is only going to get better. AJ Hawk might be a step down from an all-pro linebacker, but only a step down. He is very consistent. And Nick Barnett can still bring it. This may be the best linebacking core in the conference.
Here is what worries me about this Packer squad.
The lines. Teams that win championships have dominating front lines. The offensive line will again be very fragile this year. They drafted Bryan Bulaga in the first round and hopefully he can step in and be a big time tackle. And last year this line came around so maybe it will continue to give Rodgers the time he needs like they did the second half of last season, not the first half. The loss of Johnny Jolly on the defensive line hurts. But this is the year for B.J. Raji to step up and anchor a line that luckily is quite deep even without Jolly.
The Packers have done nothing to improve special teams. They have no return specialist. They are not strong at punter. Mason Crosby needs to rebound from a dismal year and prove he can kick in this league and you never really know what your coverage teams are going to look like until the first couple weeks of the season.
Lastly, I am a little worried about the mental thought process of this team. This team knows it can win in the regular season, and some of these guys were around three years ago when they made the run to the NFC Championship game. But that was not with Aaron Rodgers leading this team and many other players who are now expected to contribute. This team needs to prove that it can win in the postseason against the likes of Minnesota, Dallas and New Orleans.
It’s still a little early to predict what I think this team is going to do this year, but I definitely have them as a playoff team barring major injury problems. The issues with the lines and special teams though has me wondering how far they can go in the playoffs. I think it will really come down to those couple areas. Let’s watch two or three preseason games and then make some predictions!
Hey, visit my website for weekly sports comments, music and more. www.songerstudio.com
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Packers Win But Lose Star Players
The Green Bay Packers are having a nightmarish year. Not only have they lost both games against Brett Favre and the Vikings but now the key injuries are adding up. Already having serious injury issues at running back and offensive line, now the defense is in trouble. Al Harris and Aaron Kampman went down today and are probably both out for the season.
And yet, this team is still 6-4 and in the mix for the playoffs. The problem is that this team have developed no chemistry or signs of putting together a string of good games together. And with the combination of injuries and highly questionable coaching decisions, it's hard to imagine that changing.
With that said, it's the NFL. Anything can happen. The teams that are hot right now are a couple injuries away from coming back to the Pack. The stretch run has begun. And the Packers continue it this Thursday against the lowly Lions. The problem for the Packers is there is no team they can't lose to. And that includes the Lions, especially on Thanksgiving day.
And yet, this team is still 6-4 and in the mix for the playoffs. The problem is that this team have developed no chemistry or signs of putting together a string of good games together. And with the combination of injuries and highly questionable coaching decisions, it's hard to imagine that changing.
With that said, it's the NFL. Anything can happen. The teams that are hot right now are a couple injuries away from coming back to the Pack. The stretch run has begun. And the Packers continue it this Thursday against the lowly Lions. The problem for the Packers is there is no team they can't lose to. And that includes the Lions, especially on Thanksgiving day.
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