Packers 34 Fail-cons 20
This time of year, we look back over the years, we wax nostalgic. I’d like to do that now. It was a Thanksgiving game and the corner pocket wasn’t open. My kids were staying with me that weekend and I got a call Sunday morning, on my son’s phone. “Ken? Is that you?”
It was Tim Ware, one of the founding members of The GPB Club! I “knew” Tim, I’d seen him at the games, spoken to him a couple of times, but we weren’t close or anything. (He called me on my son’s phone, his daughter and he were classmates) He called me out of the blue, asked if I wanted to come over and watch the game. I jumped at the chance. I piled the kids in the truck, we grabbed some chips and dips and came over. He had some other members from the club also at the game and we watched the Packers beat the Giants and continue their inexorable march to Superbowl glory!
I really could have used that call this past Sunday. Larry McCarren and Wayne Larivee are great, but there’s nothing like watching the game. What I saw in the highlights looked pretty great. Aaron threw to EVERYBODY! True, he didn’t throw to Atlanta’s Cornerbacks or anybody else’s for the last 359 and counting attempts as he broke the NFL record for most pass attempts without an interception. I believe the coaches call that “respecting the football”. Matt Ryan didn’t and it resulted in a pick 6 by the man’s name is Bashaud Breeland. It also resulted in a fumble at a key juncture in an Atlanta drive in the 4th quarter. I was muttering, “C’mon guys we need a turnover,” right before it happened, it’s nice to be the boss sometimes!
The Packers scored 34 unanswered points after Atlanta marched it down the field on the opening kickoff and made it look like it was going to be a long day at Lambeau Field. Then Aaron decided to make a statement without saying a word at all. He was the Aaron Rodgers we all remember. He was pinpoint accurate, he threw to everybody wearing a Green jersey that was eligible, he was elusive, would pull it down and run FAST when he needed to, and he made sure the other Aaron (Jones) was part of the offense also as Jones turned on the jets and caught, rushed and eventually made it into the endzone on a 29 yard run. Jones had 78 and 28 yards receiving for a very respectable 116 yards and the aforementioned TD.
Like I said, Aaron threw to everybody, so no one cracked 100 yards. Davante had 81, Cobb – 43, MVS – 19, Graham – 13, and St. Brown – 12. Everyone was in the game and reminded us of what we thought the Packers could be this season, a juggernaut. It’s unfortunate that we took so long to finally look and play like we thought they could.
Aaron Rodgers went 21 of 32 for a kind of pedestrian 196 yards, he had 2 touchdowns, was sacked 4 times and rushed for 44 yards. His passer rating was a respectable 103.1. He attributed Great Preparation and Execution as keys to the win. “I was just going out there to have fun, that was my message to the guys…I didn’t do anything different, they were playing a lot of man, so I didn’t have to read so much as pick a
He didn’t throw McCarthy under the bus, I thought he praised Joe he said, “Joe talked about complementary football, we executed.” He particularly cited the answering drive after Atlanta’s first score. He’s exactly right, it’s important to counterpunch. He also praised Mason for kicking field goals of 48 and 50 yards and keeping the scoring pressure on when it was needed.
As many of you know who have read my columns in the past, I HATE the Falcons, mostly because of their horrible fans, so anytime we get a win against them, I am happy! Here’s some food for thought, basically everybody has to lose 1, we need to win out and viqueens need to lose twice, and we can STILL get into the playoffs! We need help, but we still have a sliver of hope! Let’s hope that this Sunday we can prove that
Upon Further Review… THE BEARS STILL SUCK!!
GO PACK GO!!!
(Ken Hill)
Just Sayin’
If one just looks at the stat line, the Atlanta game was pretty ordinary. But the defense held the Falcons to a 25% 3rd down efficiency while our guys were at 54%. So, while the defense gave up 20 points, a lot of that was in garbage time and they made the plays when they needed to, earlier in the game. Also add in the fact that we are down to about the 4th or 5th string guys in some areas of the defense. It also was nice to see a coach stick with the running game for more than a half. It’s a tough game at hand this week as our Packers head to Chicago. There
Just Sayin’
(Jimmy Smith)
GPB Hall Of Fame Report
Nobody in attendance at Hall of Fame, no prizes were awarded, pools… none, the Trivia question remained unanswered and Marge got the week off.
All that will chance this week. Twice the prizes, including some new stuff I got this week. The trivia question from last week will be awarded as well as this weeks. Pools will be there and may have multiple chances if enough members show up.
On top of all this, it’s duh bears game or as Ralphie’s dad would say “the Chicago Chipmunks”. This game is not on Directv so your two choices are NFL ticket or Hall of Fame. I hope y’all choose Hall of Fame. Linda & I will be there, Ken will be on the mic and our hanging teddy will be swaying in the breeze. Let’s all wear our ugly Packer sweater if you got them, a bears still suck shirt would even be better. We will be singing and cheering and screaming “duh bears still suck” and no matter the outcome, wwe will proudly be
Bleeding Green My Friends!
(Packer John)
This game, although not a must win, would be a sweet win for duh bears. Not only would they wrap up the NFC North, they would do it against the Packers, inflecting a serious blow on our playoff chances. But to do this, they would have to do something they haven’t done since 2010; beat the Packers in their backyard against Air-ron. A loss Sunday doesn’t mean as much because they only need one win to win the NFC North, with a very winnable game next Sunday against the 49’ers and the last week against the viqueens (a game I hope they win) chances are duh bears will win the North. Just writing that makes my skin crawl.
The Pack on the other hand, have their backs against the wall. As I noted in the Packer Tidbits our main objective is to win 3 games and hope the other scenarios play out. Of the teams still looking to get in, the Packers have the easiest schedule with only duh bears having a winning record. This bids well for us, but, we must play each game to win, starting with this Sunday.
Last Sunday we saw Joe’s first game as Packer head coach. The biggest thing I think happened was not plays or players but the attitude. Things seemed to be more relaxed, playing as a team for maybe the first time this year. The other is the offensive balance. Aaron Jones ran the ball 17 times, Williams 3 times to Air-ron’s 32 passes, 3 scrambles and 4 sacks, 20 to 39, not 50/50 but getting closer. The other balance, that has been missing this season is that Adams caught only 7 of the 21 completions; meaning 6 other receivers played a bigger part in the offense, back to the days when Air-ron was great. Now granted, this was against a team with 4 wins, but it is a start and now we need to finish.
Air-ron always said getting an invitation to the dance was what the season is all about. How we get there is no longer important, which we proved by being the #6 seed when we won Superbowl 45. With luck, we can do it again.
This season, like The Grateful Dead said, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” A win on Sunday does four things 1) keeps our playoff hopes alive, 2) will be the second time we’ve beaten a team with a winning record (Miami being the other), 3) be our first road win, which, if we make the playoffs, will be a must. And last and most importantly, a win allows us to proudly say “duh bears still suck” allowing us to proudly
Bleed Green My Friends!
(Packer John)
