Packers beat Bears in ChiTown Chiller Thriller

By now, you and all the football-following world know that the Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 33-28 Sunday in a classic, down-to-the-wire battle for the NFC North Championship. The win was in doubt until the last 38 seconds when QB Aaron Rodgers found a wide open Randall Cobb, running past a flat-footed defender, heading toward the endzone. They connected on a nearly 50-yard touchdown pass that sealed Chicago's fate.

What kept the last half-minute of the game in doubt, however, was the fact that the Packers failed to convert on a two-point attempt that would have made the lead 7 points. Up by 5, and Da Bearz still having a shot to win it with a touchdown, the hearts of Packer fans were racing. No doubt years have been taken off the life spans of many Packer fans this season. This was just one more instance of the "Cardiac Pack" in action. However, thanks to a last-ditch Hail Mary pass by Jay Cutler and an endzone interception by Sam Shields, the victory was secured.

NFC North Division Champions, baby! For the third consecutive year! (Shouldn't they just rename this the Packers Division?)

There were key plays aplenty, not only by Rodgers, but by FB John Kuhn (with a key block on the final TD pass to prevent a sure sack), Jordy Nelson (as always), Jarrett Boykin (picking up a Rodgers' fumble and finally taking it in for a TD), and Eddie Lacy and James Starks pounding Da Bearz' defense. There were missed opportunities, as well, especially early on. The Packers defense? Well, doing what they have pretty much done all year: doing what they need to do at the last moment, at least in victories. Much has been said about all this and that elsewhere already. Don't need to tell you what you already know by now.

So...

Next up: the 12-4 San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. More on that game later. For now...Go Pack Go!!!

Packers' win over Cowboys a tale of two halves

Wow!

That was Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy's first word at his press conference after his team's amazing 37-36 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys.

No doubt it was also coming out of the mouths of many if not most Packer fans. What fans of the Cowboys might have been saying is probably not fit for print.

After a miserable first half of lethargic and truly uninspired play, and going into the locker room down 26-3, it was a reasonable assumption by most that this game was over and, with it, any hopes of the Packers in the post-season. We don't know what McCarthy said at half, or what kind of magical tea or high octane espresso he served up to his players, but the second half was unlike any we've seen the Packers play in a long, long time. They outscored the Cowboys in the second half 34-10.

Wow.

Tramon Williams incredible game/season-saving 4th quarter interception
Photo by Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The season is still alive
This writer has to confess that when the Cowboys went up by 12 points in the 4th quarter I thought it was over. How wrong I was...as I was about my game prediction where I had the Pack losing. Mea culpa. But I've never been so glad to have been so wrong in my lifetime.

In fact, courtesy of two fantastic interceptions late in the game by Sam Shields and Tramon Williams, as well as any number of other dynamic plays on both offense and defense, the Packers were able to snatch this highly improbable victory in Big D.

Where do you start? For one thing, forget the first half. Not worthy of discussion. It's all about the second half. A great Micah Hyde punt return. Four touchdown passes by Matt Flynn. Incredible catches by Jordy Nelson, Jarrett Boykin and Andrew Quarless. Beast-mode running -- including a 60-yard scamper -- by Eddie Lacy, who ran for 141 yards on 21 carries and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season...the first Packers rookie running back to do so since the days of John Brockington. And the defense -- which was really bending the bend-don't-break model in the first half, turned it up in the second half and shut down a potent Cowboys offense. Part of that, one can assert, was the ongoing -- and mystifying -- play-calling help from the Cowboys of continuing to pass rather than run to take time off the clock...and, of course, expose themselves to turnovers, as was the case. How 'bout them Cowboys?!

Wow.

It's still very possible to win the NFC North
So, here's how it lays out: if the Lions lose at home vs. Baltimore tonight -- or either of their other two remaining games against the Giants or Vikings -- and the Packers beat the Steelers this weekend at Lambeau Field and then win again at Chicago, the Packers win the NFC North. Of course, if Da Bearz lose at Philadelphia on Sunday, the road also becomes a bit clearer.

Incredible. Amazing it's still even a possibility after all this team has been through. If Aaron Rodgers gets his medical clearance this week, the game certainly becomes winnable even after a bit of a turnaround by the Steelers.

This will be a week to watch, Packer fans. All eyes will be on whether or not Aaron Rodgers returns under center. But we do know, based upon the come-from-behind victories these last two weeks, that they can win with Matt Flynn at quarterback. It might not be pretty, but it's possible.

Who'da thunk it? Who'da thunk it?

Go Pack Go!!!

Week 9: Packers vs. Bears Preview and Prediction

The oldest rivalry in the NFL hits the field for the first time in the 2013 season tonight at Lambeau Field: the Green Bay Packers vs. the Chicago Bears. This will be the first Monday night game between the two teams since 1997 (or thereabouts).

There are many takes on this game.

There's a great article on the TMJ4 sports site, "Packers, Bears are franchises going in different directions." You know you are going to want to read that one. You can do so here.

There's of course the analysis, none better than by the radio Voice of the Packers, Wayne Larrivee; check that out here.

Of course, a look at how Aaron Rodgers is now "The new master of the Bears" by ESPN.com's Packers writer, Rob Demovsky, also shouldn't be missed. (By the way, did we mention that Rodgers is 8-2 during the regular season against Da Bears? The only losses came -- gulp -- on Monday night. But both of those losses were in Chicago...whew!)

Any surprises tonight? Packers WR James Jones is listed as questionable for tonight, but a report yesterday by ESPN's Adam Schefter said Jones would play. He may indeed, but we can probably expect a lot more of Jarret Boykin and Myles White than Jones, unless the game stays tight. Expect James Starks to get more carries tonight after looking good last week. Packers head coach Mike McCarthy indicated during the last few days he wanted to cut back on Eddie Lacy's carries a bit. The two running backs can make a very good one-two bunch. Look for that this evening.

Anyway, we're running out of time to get this posted so will cut to the chase.

The Packers are favored by 10 points. The over-under, according to some sources, is 51 points. Time to call it...

We're calling it 34-20 Packers. Go Pack Go!!!

Week 7: Packers vs. Browns Preview

This week has been a pretty uneventful one for the Green Bay Packers. No...wait...other way around, sorry: it's been a very eventful week for the Pack. It could cause more than a few Packer fans to get...nervous.

After all, the Packers lost two of their starting receivers in the win against the Ravens, James Jones and Randall Cobb, for varying amounts of time. It was hoped that Jones might be able to play this weekend but he did not practice during the week and is listed as questionable for the game. Randall Cobb, well, he's out longer. A lot longer. He was placed on the injured reserve list with a "designated to return" classification. He won't be back till mid-December at the earliest. (Be positive: it will be for the stretch run!)

So the receiving corps -- one of the best in the league at the start of the season -- was down to basically Jordy Nelson and Jarrett Boykin. As a result, the Packers promoted practice squad WR Myles White to the active roster earlier in the week. They also claimed 49ers wide receiver Chris Harper off of waivers a day ago, so don't expect to see him this week. But GM Ted Thompson wasn't done yet. He also promoted TE Jake Stoneburner from the practice squad. With TE Ryan Taylor out, Brandon Bostick will also be getting some playing time. QB Aaron Rodgers will have plenty of targets to throw to. The key will be how many of them are able to make catches and make plays.

Thankfully, the Packers have a running game this season. With Eddie Lacy as the main man, and Johnathan Franklin available (James Starks is out), and the with offensive line playing like they actually like to run the ball, a balanced offensive attack is just what the doctor ordered for this game against the Browns.

Let's not forget the Packers defense, which has been equally hit by injuries. With four of the team's top linebackers now out for varying periods of time -- Clay Matthews, Brad Jones, Nick Perry and Mike Neal -- and veteran backup Robert Francois done for the season, young players are going to have to step up. Rookies Andy Mulumba and Nate Palmer will be called upon to fill the gap -- literally. We can only hope that A.J. Hawk continues his outstanding play because he is going to be needed more than ever.

What else? Well, with Randall Cobb now out of the picture rookie CB Micah Hyde will take over the punt return duties.

If you seem to be picking up a youth theme among these changes you are correct. As the article by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, the Packers' "53-man roster now has 14 rookies, including six who were not drafted. At a minimum, the Packers will have seven rookies on their 46-man game-day roster against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Lambeau Field."

Game Prediction
The Packers are 3-2 and the Browns are 3-3. The Packers are favored by 10 points at the time of this post. The Packers pass production could be down because of the loss of Jones and Cobb...those are guys that are difficult to replace in production. Expect coach Mike McCarthy to use Jermichael Finley as a third wideout in some sets. But if Lacy can have a 100-yard day -- and there is no reason to think he won't -- that will take pressure off the passing game.

Note that we haven't said much here about the Browns. It's not that they don't pose a threat because, given the Pack's beat-up status, they do. It's just that if they do what they need to do -- especially on the defensive side of things -- the Pack will come out on top. If memory serves, the Browns haven't yet surpassed 17 points in any of their three losses. If the Pack can hold them to 17, the Pack will win.

So, let's make the call: Packers 27 - Browns 17.

Go Pack Go!!!

Packers outlast Ravens 19-17

It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. But the Green Bay Packers had just enough to beat the Ravens in Baltimore today. It was the first win for the Pack in Baltimore since MacArthur Lane was the running back and, coincidentally, the first time they had a 100-yard rusher in a game versus a Baltimore team since Jim Taylor against the Colts in 1963.

Those historical markers aside, the game was memorable on a few other counts...as well as forgettable on still others.

The nod to the memorable part of the game has to go to the defense which, for most of the game, held the Ravens in check with smash-mouth play. LB A.J. Hawk was a man possessed, seemingly everywhere on the field, responsible for three sacks on Ravens QB Joe Flacco. The defensive front on two separate occasions stopped Baltimore deep in the red zone, once with 1st and goal from about the 2-yard line. On the offensive side of things, Aaron Rodgers threw for more than 300 yards and Eddie Lacy rushed for his first 100-yard game as a professional.

(Karl Merton Ferron, Baltimore Sun, October 13, 2013)

One of the forgettable parts was the almost similar 4th quarter collapse (but not this time) as occurred against the Bengals, including a 63-yard pass completion on 4th-and-21 which brought the Ravens to within 2 points of the Packers late in the game. John Kuhn touching and muffing a blocked punt, which instead of giving the Packers the ball deep in Ravens' territory gave the Birds a first down, was another forgettable play.

Perhaps the most forgettable, however, were the injuries. Actually, we probably won't be able to forget these injures anytime soon. First, WR James Jones went down with a knee injury. He was out of uniform and walking stiffly on the sideline in the second half. Then, WR Randall Cobb went down after being hit low on the right knee after making a catch. He was taken to the locker room on a cart and was on crutches on the Packers sideline late in the game. In his post-game interview, head coach Mike McCarthy said he didn't know the severity of the injuries yet but should know more tomorrow.

So the Packers were down to two wide receivers for the second half of the game: Jordy Nelson and Jarrett Boykin.

The Packers now have a couple of starting linebackers sidelined and a couple starting receivers, as well. The injury bug has hit the Pack big early this season. And with the bye week already behind them, there's no time to "get healthy." GM Ted Thompson will have to figure out what to do to bolster the roster. Some pundits are already saying the Packers might have to become a serious contender in the trade market because of today's hits to the receiving corps.

It's not going to be easy. But the Packers have perhaps gone through the gauntlet of the toughest part of their schedule. Sure, there are 11 games left, no more byes and and it's all tough. But the Pack has already played three championship-caliber teams in their first five games and have come out with a 3-2 record. They have -- or had -- the talent to make a deep playoff run. In their last Super Bowl season, they also were plagued with injuries and found a way to win it all. Will that be possible this season? It remains to be seen.

All we can say right now is ... Go Pack Go!!!