Well, folks, at least when the Packers lose, they make it as painful as possible for their fans. What fun would it be if we won every game we were supposed to and when we lost, it was by a reasonable margin so that years weren't cut off my life? If life worked that way, our beloved Green and Gold would be the only undefeated team remaining in football. The NFL is so unpredictable, and that's what helps make it the most popular sport to date in America... parity. But if the entire Packers' roster didn't have some sort of injury, things would be going according to plan...I know this for a fact. Anywho, let's delay the inevitable and try to break down the Redskins game with a little optimism and quite possibly some pessimism.
First of all, let me list off the players inactive for last Sunday's match up with the Skins in order of importance to the team's success: RB Ryan Grant*, LB Nick Barnett, CB Al Harris, SS Morgan Burnett*, T Mark Tauscher, DT Johnny Jolly*, SS Atari Bigby, CB Will Blackmon*, LB Brandon Chillar, S Sam Shields, FB Quinn Johnson, DT Justin Harrell (did I miss anyone? Let me know)
*Suspended/Out for the year
Phew...I'm out of breath. Alright, now let's go through the players that were injured during the game: QB Aaron Rodgers, LB Clay Matthews, TE Jermichael Finley, DT Cullen Jenkins, DT Ryan Pickett, TE Donald Lee, S Derrick Martin
Now I literally can't breathe. 19 players. 19!!!!! You hate to make excuses for poor performance, but this is ridiculous. A defensive and offensive coordinator gameplan for a game based on which players will be available. When you have so many key players leave during the game, it's hard to adjust this gameplan. I'm sorry...key players isn't giving this situation enough justice. When you have your THREE BEST PLAYERS leave during the game, you're pretty much f'ed. By the way, isn't it strange that in Rodgers' last two overtime games he's played in, he was face masked AND hit helmet to helmet...and there wasn't a penalty called either time? Interesting. Sorry for jumping around so much here, but this is how my brain functions after so many depressing things occur in the time span of three hours.
As for the actual game, it had an eerily similar start to the first four games of the year, which is a good thing. The Packers certainly don't have a problem jumping out of the gate in full force, and Sunday was no different as the Packers took a 10-0 lead in the first half. Of course by this point, Jermichael Finley had been carted off the field and Donald Lee was out with a shoulder injury after hauling in a TD pass from A-Rodg (honestly didn't even know this guy played anymore...then realized he did after fumbling on the first play from scrimmage). Either way, 10 points seemed like enough to win thanks to the way the defense was playing: lights out. Clay Matthews was all over the place and McNabb was having trouble hitting anybody down field thanks to some solid secondary play. The Packers were up 13-3 in the fourth quarter, and then all of a sudden, Matthews wasn't on the field anymore. At this point, it was almost comedic how many players were unavailable to play...who is our strength and conditions coach? I've never seen anything like this. Still, the lead felt secure even though our offensive had gone into hibernation. Boy, was I wrong.
I think we all know how the rest of this plays out...McNabb hits Armstrong deep for a touchdown...we fail to run out the clock...Washington ties the game with a field goal...Crosby clanks it off the left upright...Overtime...interception...ball game.
It's the same old, same old with this team. Aaron Rodgers just cannot lead a come from behind game winning drive...he can't do it. I love the guy, but I won't feel like he has the capability to do it until he actually does it. The guy we had before Rodgers obviously had his fair share of screw ups, but he was for the most part pretty damn clutch (for the record, very glad we have Rodgers right now so don't get the wrong idea). Speaking of clutch, Mason Crosby. Just kidding. Oh, and one more thing: penalties. Especially on Washington's last drive in overtime. The call on Poppinga was garbage and everyone knows it but how can Chuck possibly argue that pass interference call? He's a game changer, there's no denying that, but he gets away with so much week after week because of his name. Maybe that's why he reacted the way he did, but it was a no-brainer call and the final nail in the coffin for the Green Bay Packers. We REALLY need to take down the Dolphins next Sunday or things could be looking pretty bleak.
In other less depressing news, the Wisconsin Badgers maintained the ax and defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 41-23 (analysis can be found at the Badgers Blog on jsonline). It was a nice bounce back victory for the Badgers and very much so needed if we wanted to get any momentum going into the game this Saturday VERSUS OHIO STATE, WHICH IS WHERE I'M GOING TO BE HOLY CRAP I'M SO EXCITED! Sorry. Anyway, the Badgers have failed to put it together for four quarters this year, but then again, a lot of teams can't remain consistent for the entire game. Wisconsin is capable of the upset, but it would take a near flawless performance (and some pretty intense crowd noise...are you listening, Camp Randall?) to knock the Bucks off the top spot. Either way, I'm really looking forward to this one and it's one of the biggest games of the decade for the Badgers. Look for me on TV!
Get healthy Pack and On Wisconsin.
No comments:
Post a Comment