The Green Bay Packers lost their key NFC matchup last night to the Dallas Cowboys and home field advantage along with it, but certainly not all is lost. The Packers took their “B” team in into Big D and even after losing Brett Favre to injury, they had a chance to win. In fact, if not for two highly questionable interference calls and missed call on an interception by Al Harris, the Packers likely would have won the game. One thing is still the same since the last time the Packers played in Dallas, the refs still favor the self-proclaimed “America’s Team”. Just ask Michael Irvin.

The Packers played without three starters and a key backup on defense and it showed with the inability to get pressure on quarterback Tony Romo. It also left huge holes in the middle of the line for Cowboy running backs. The Packers’ defense will be healthy if they can earn themselves a rematch in Dallas in January. Then we’ll see what happens.

The Packers finally were able to see backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a meaningful game and the results were very positive. Rodgers led the Packers to 17 points and with a little help from his defense he may have pulled off the comeback. Rodgers showed great poise, which is remarkable considering the magnitude of the game and his inexperience. In this game only, Rodgers outperformed the great Brett Favre, who seemed determined to hit the big play even when it wasn’t there. We saw this only one other time this year and that was against the Redskins when the sadly recently departed Sean Taylor picked off Favre twice, and could have had two more.

Much has been said about Favre’s poor first quarter, but remember the Packers only had seven total yards of offense after one quarter against the Lions last week and put up 37 points and almost 500 yards of offense. Favre has a history of slow starts and had he played the whole game last night the Packers probably would have had a better chance to win it. Rodgers did fantastic for his first real action and Packers’ fans can take comfort knowing there might be life beyond Brett.

The Packers need to bounce back next week and get a big win over the Raiders in Lambeau because another two-game road trip awaits with dates against the Rams and Bears. Both of those games scare me. The Bears have already beaten the Packers and the Rams’ offense is coming to life since getting healthy. That is exactly what the Packers need to do – get healthy! When Johnny Jolly, KGB, and Charles Woodson come back, the Packers defense will look more like the Packers defense.

The Packers need to focus on the task at hand and that is beating the Raiders and getting in the playoffs. We’ll worry about the Cowboys later if they get that far.

Here we go. The game of the year, at least in the NFC. The funny part is the only thing the loser actually probably loses is home field for the NFC Championship. Kind of the like the Major League Baseball All-star Game. It would be nice to win, but does the season end tomorrow? No. And that is why the Packers are not playing Charles Woodson or KGB tonight. Keep the big picture in mind.

The Packers have won the toss. I was hoping for that. This is getting scary. Be careful what you wish for.

Nice little drive going. Lets get at least three here.

Crosby nailed it. Not a bad start. Guys are open. Favre will start hitting them. Now lets see what the defense does, which is what scares me most this game.

Harris made the play but won’t get the call is my prediction. What a way to start. This might fire up the defense.

What a terrible call. The officiating in the NFL this year has been atrocious, and I bet this will be the third time the NFL admits a mistake made against the Packers. What a joke.

Well, after that, 3-3 isn’t so bad. But the fact is Al Harris had a pick and the zebras took it away. Just like the dummies missed a field goal of all things in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. How bad can they get?

It seems like the Packers keep losing their footing. Not the crown of the field thing again I hope.

Clifton gets beat and the Packers have to punt. Three-and-out. Not a good series there and the Cowboys have it on their own 37. Defense needs to step up. They didn’t look too good on the Cowboys first drive. A trend that has been ongoing since the second half of the Carolina game. Somebody needs to make a play to stem the tide.

Like the last two weeks, the Packers can’t stop the run. Of course, not having Colin Cole and Johnny Jolly in the lineup is a huge factor. I should have thought of that. The Cowboys might be able to run the ball all night.

The defense gives up another field goal. Cowboys lead 6-3. I think the Packers offense needs to score every possession, and they already blew one chance.

Brett throws a pick and the Cowboys take command. I was wrong. Favre choked and Romo smoked. 13-3 Cowboys and see ya later. Crayton burns Bush. Good news for me as the day job requires an early start. Looks like a short blog tonight.

Favre is rattled by the pressure. First time this year.

What the hell was that? 62-yard run by Ryan Grant stuns the Cowboys. I’ve never seen a running back that alone running for a touchdown. Amazing. Can that please fire up the defense?

I never thought the special teams would look so bad. Two long kickoff returns already. I love the onside kick, though. Almost worked and worst we got was a re-kick.

The rout is on. Bush is horrible. Game over.

I haven’t seen this Packers’ team this year. McCarthy’s game plan today sucks.

27-10 Cowboys with ten minutes left in the first half! I’m out!

Well, now I wish I was out. But with Favre getting hurt and it not looking good, I had to chime back in. Favre hurt is right arm or elbow and he won’t be back tonight. Unless they tell us more, it is too early to speculate on his status for next week and the record starting streak. Sad to see though, and it didn’t look good when it happened.

Aaron Rodgers did lead the Packers on a 74-yard drive for a touchdown that leaves the Packers within 10 at halftime. But get this, Al Harris, the best cover man in the league, gave up 147 yards to TO in the first half alone. Harris might want to rethink his desire to cover the best receiver each week. He is almost as bad tonight as the Packers’ special teams which gave up another long return to open the second half. This is just sick. Offense, defense, special teams. All phases suck tonight.

Favre will not return and neither will the Packers. 10-2 is a pretty good record and providing Favre is able to return if not next week but in time for the playoffs, the Packers might still have a chance in the playoffs. One good thing is that Favre has ten days to recover before the Packers next game at home against the Raiders. The way it looks right now I’d say it is 50-50 at best he plays against Oakland.

I hope Rodgers can keep the Packers from getting blown out but the Packers’ offensive line has been pitiful and that is pretty tough on a young quarterback. I’ll watch the DVD tomorrow. Say a prayer for Brett Favre and wish Rodgers luck. He’s gonna need it.

Unless something magical happens, I’m out.

The Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Rivals for 40 years and usually the games are big. It seems like these two teams are always good at the same time. The Cowboys knocked the Packers out of the playoffs three years in a row in the 90s and in the process also beat the Packers eight straight times. Things are different this time. Experience at quarterback is on the Packers side now. The eight losses in Dallas were during Brett Favre’s growing years and looking back might have been a good experience for the young gunslinger. Now it’s Tony Romo going against the aging veteran who is playing the best football of his career. Barring injury, Favre will soon hold every major passing record and may throw for over 4,000 yards this year. Amazing.

Romo is having a Favre-type year but the Cowboys run the ball much more than the Packers do so his stats are not quite as good, although in the convoluted way the NFL figures quarterback rating, Romo is ahead of Favre. To me, Romo might be the key to the game. If he stumbles even a little, the Packers should be able to notch a win. I don’t think the Cowboys can stop the Packers’ offense, only the Packers’ offense has stopped the Packers’ offense this year. If that remains true, this will be a shootout and I think Romo will misfire first.

I think the Packers will give up a ton of yards, but I just have a hunch Romo makes a critical mistake that gives the Packers the edge. Go figure, uh? Here I am, the guy that gets ripped every week for being so negative during the game blogs and here I am picking the Packers to beat the so-called second best team in the league, in a venue that has been far worse to Green Bay than even the House of Horrors in Minneapolis. I don’t understand it myself.

That said. Packers win 38-34. I will try to control myself during the game blog, but I have to call it as I see it. Thanks for all the comments and keep them coming. Lets do a good thing for football tomorrow night.

For not having a meaningful game in a long time, my emotions going into this huge game Thursday has me unable to find a side. Certainly the Green Bay Packers can win this game, the problem is most people didn’t expect the Packers to be in this position, including myself, which makes evaluating this game all the more difficult. In fact, the Cowboys, while making the playoffs last year were not exactly world beaters. Like the Packers, to me, anyway, they are a shocking 10-1.

For those who read this blog I have some bad news. I am leaning more and more toward the Packers in this game. Little things like the way coach McCarthy has his team prepared for the media onslaught that has come with the game. The fact that the Cowboys’ linebackers and secondary think that Packers’ quarterback Brett Favre is still throwing ill-advised passes into tight coverage. Favre has been the opposite of that this year and has 22 TDs and only 8 picks. If the Pokes are looking for gifts, it won’t come from Brett this year. The Packers’ defense is still my main worry.

Of course, my optimism could be totally wrong. My friend Scott thinks a total meltdown is in order – offense, defense, special teams. He feels like we have been dodging a bullet all year. I seem to lean toward Bill Parcell’s old line – “you are what your record is”. The Packers are 10-1 for a reason, and right now I think the Packers are going to be more relaxed than the Cowboys and at this very moment in time I think the Packers will win the game.

Of course, that may all change between now and my prediction tomorrow night.

As Mills Lane would say, “Lets get it on”. The Packers and Cowboys are about to do just that. Thursday night the battle of NFC powers will determine home field advantage throughout the playoffs which gives the winner the inside track to the Super Bowl. One thing is sure, the Cowboys need this game much more than the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys do not want to be in Green Bay in mid January, I can promise you that. A trip south in the middle of winter for the Packers is much easier. In fact, for some reason, maybe a hunch, I think the Packers have a better chance of winning the NFC Championship in Dallas than they do winning Thursday’s game.

Which brings me to showdown in Dallas. Both teams are playing it down saying one game will not define their season. For Green Bay that is true, but for Dallas it is not. They have already lost to the best team in the AFC and they certainly do not want to lose to the Packers and not be the best team in the NFC. All the pressure that can possibly be on a team in a regular season game is on the Cowboys. The upstart Packers would shock the world with a win. The Packers need to focus on the big picture and not get too concerned over a win or loss but a win would take them to the next level. I’m still in first things first mode and the Packers just need to secure a playoff spot first and that happens when you play one game at a time. A first round bye should be the next goal and home field throughout would be a nice bonus.

The Packers might be without their best cornerback and second best pass rusher for the game if Charles Woodson and KGB can’t play because of injuries and regardless of what anyone says else-wise, that is a huge factor. I think the world of Jason Hunter and Jarrett Bush, but come on, it’s not the same. Not to mention Justin Harrell has to play this week. Good luck with that. While it’s only Monday I’m leaning toward Dallas because of their defense and better running game. The Cowboys are seventh in the NFL in rushing and the Packers are thirty-second and last. The Cowboys average over 40 yards a game more on the ground than the Packers and in time of possession that’s about five minutes. Five minutes in which Brett Favre is not on the field.

I think the Packers certainly have a chance to win because I think Tony Romo can be rattled and Romo and Owens do not scare me like Aikman, Irvin and Smith used to. Also, the Packers seemed to be even keel this week despite Favre saying yesterday’s practice was less than average. Head coach Mike McCarthy has done an excellent job so far this season of not letting his team get too up or too down, what happens on Thursday will be another step in his coaching career, good or bad.

Memories of the 90s are hard to get out of my head, this is a different team on both sides, however. Prediction coming Wednesday.

The Packers and Lions are about to kick it off in Detroit and the Packers need a win to put the Lions out of their misery and pretty much clinch the NFC North division title. I say they get it done but barely – 27-24.

The Packers’ defense took a big hit early when Ryan Pickett left with a leg injury. The Lions are taking advantage driving the ball with ease down the field. Pickett came back but it didn’t matter. The Lions stop themselves, though and lead 3-0.

Yep it’s going to one of those days in Detroit. Packer fans have seen many times before. The first offensive play the Packers turn it over. Oh well. Hold ‘em to three and we can overcome. Got away with it. 6-0 Lions.

The Packer offense seems out of sync. Favre is off target and running game is going nowhere. Of course the’ve only run four plays. But they are playing into the Lions hands right now and the crowd is going to be more and more of a factor if they don’t start moving the football. And the Lions better not score here or the Packers are in real trouble.

The Packers defense is being destroyed by the Lions offense. Complete and total domination so far.

What is wrong with the Packers offense? They look like the Keystone Cops out there. Nothing is working. First quarter is over and the Packers better feel pretty good about only being down 6-0, but they might want to start playing now.

Nothing like an interception and Brett Favre touchdown pass to quite the crowd. What does Greg Jennings do? Catch touchdowns.

If only the Packers defense would show up now. This is getting hard to watch. Thankfully the Lions are stopping themselves. But they are dominating field position and time of possession. Still, the Packers have the lead.

Now the Lions are reeling. Vintage Favre leads the Packers 80 yards for a 14-6 lead. Amazing stuff. Lets see if the defense can come up with another big play now and keep momentum on the Packers side.

So much for that. 76-yard kickoff return puts the Lions in scoring position. Lets hope they make a mistake.

The Packers’ defense comes up with it’s best series of the game and holds the Lions to another field goal. KGB may be hurt though and that would be a huge blow. Also, the Packers have lost Charles Woodson because of toe injury. He has not returned to the game. Lets hope the injury bug isn’t rearing it’s ugly head again.

It’s all or nothing for the Packers offense. Three-and-out again.

The Packers defense is just beat. They are out of gas and I think the Packers lead my be short-lived unless the offense can give them a rest here.

Very nice. A long halftime, a long opening drive, and a 24-9 lead. The defense should be ready to go now, just without Woodson and KGB. One mistake by the Lions now and the game is over. Don’t give them life here. Three-and-out would be a good thing about now.

They couldn’t do it and the Lions are marching again. 24-12 just like that. The Packers defense just is not playing well today even though the Lions have not scored a touchdown. That is more of the Lions being bad than the Packers defense bending but not breaking. Brett needs to keep scoring for a while yet.

Brett does just that. Another TD pass and 18 straight completions. One more and he beats the Packers record set by one of my favorite Packers of all time – Lynn Dickey. Favre has been amazing the last three drives. The fat lady is clearing her throat. But there is still 17 minutes of football to be played.

Tack on three more as Favre remains on fire. Did miss two in the endzone, however, forcing the three. Up by 22 with 13 minutes left. Three scores only, so not quite time for Dandy Don.

A couple of first downs and fifteen yard penalty and the Lions are threatening. Do go away yet, but even with a TD here it’s still a tough task for the Lions.

The Packers gift-wrap a touchdown to the Lions and it’s not over yet.

Another gift-wrapped touchdown by the defense and this game is far from over. What a joke this Packers defense is becoming. 400 yards of offense and 25 points so far. This could be one of the greatest choke jobs in history.

Favre bails out the defense again. Packers will hold on. Now lets see how bad the injury department is heading into the big game at Dallas next Thursday. A good win, but the defense needs to clean up its act.

Taking care of business. Like my recently departed buddy used to say, “nothing special” or “you take the good with the bad”. Indeed the Green Bay Packers did indeed improve to 9-1 on the season but in doing so they left plenty of proof they are not yet hitting on all cylinders. After thrashing the Minnesota Vikings last week the Packers did jump out to a 28-3 lead over the Panthers, but it wasn’t as easy as the score would indicate. The Packers took advantage of a punt return for touchdown and turned a 67-yard kickoff return into another touchdown to account for 14 or their 31 points.

To me, seeing the Packers’ defense close up Sunday, it appeared the defense was gassed. If that was not the case, then they just got lazy knowing the game was in hand. I hope that approach doesn’t hurt them when they have to play to the final snap, which may be the case as soon as Thursday against the Lions. In fact, while the Packers won handily, neither the offense or defense played especially well. The offense didn’t light anybody up and the defense was adequate at best against a injury depleted Panthers. If the Packers want to win the next two games they will need to play much better than they did Sunday.

I’m not trying to be negative because this team has done nothing to indicate they are about to lay an egg, but like Brett Favre says every week, they have not accomplished anything yet, either. What I love is the way the team from the coach on down to practice squad players are keeping an even keel and playing them one at a time. I think the Packers were a tad flat against the Panthers but were still that much better. I think if the Packers play like they did in eight out of the first nine games they will smoke the Lions Thursday. The Lions are slumping and they have a worse running game than the Packers, who have actually shown real signs of improvement in that area since Ryan Grant became the full-time starter.

The next two games will determine whether the Packers will be serious contenders in the NFC playoffs. Win both and the road to play New England in the Super Bowl goes through Lambeau. Lose both and the number two seed in the NFC could even be jeopardy.

I will say this. At this point last season we were wondering what draft pick the Packers would get, now we are hoping to get a win Thursday that will pretty much wrap up the division title. Props to the powers that be, but now that we are this far lets finish the thing.

The Green Bay Packers are finally getting a little respect, lets hope it doesn’t go to their heads. Granted, this is pretty much a meaningless game. The Packers could lose this game and still take over the top stop in the NFC with wins over Detroit and Dallas the next two weeks, but why not try to get a little breathing room and put some fear in the eyes of your opponents?

The Packers should go out today and blow away the Panthers, they are a much better team, but this is the NFL and the Panthers scare me a little. The Packers have been beaten by old quarterbacks before, Steve Beuerlein comes immediately to mind, Randall Cunningham is another. The game today hinges on the Packers’ defense not taking the Panthers lightly because Methuselah is starting at quarterback. They need to get after Carolina like they did Minnesota, if that happens the Packers win in a cakewalk.

I’ll say it’s somewhere in between. Packers 26, Panthers 13.

The Green Bay Packers are in the midst of a storybook season and even the staunchest of fans could not have predicted 8-1. One thing is sure, as Joe Friday would say, is general manager Ted Thompson, while maybe slightly surprised at 8-1, is certainly thinking that this is why I hired the man. Like Thompson has said numerous times, he can take a few knocks in the media if he believes he is doing the right thing and hiring McCarthy at this point in time certainly seems like the right thing.

McCarthy has this team playing with a never-say-die attitude that has allowed the Packers to win games this year in a variety of manners, and doing so with the roster Thompson has given him, which six months ago seemed to be pretty poor in most pundits’ eyes. Thompson has supplied talent that most people didn’t see and McCarthy has developed his game plan around such talent. Like a young Mike Holmgren, McCarthy won’t accept defeat and doesn’t care if you are a 17-year veteran or a rookie.

In my mind one of the best moves McCarthy has made was the decision to keep Bob Sanders on as defensive coordinator. Through ten games last year it looked like the Packers’ defense was headed nowhere and Sanders might be another Bob Slowik. How things change. The last six games of 2006, especially the last four, the Packers’ defense has transformed into one of the best defense’s in the NFL and appears to be getting better each week, which combined with the Packers new found running game, makes this team a formidable foe to anyone in the NFL.

The NFC will be determined in the next four weeks when the Packers play Panthers at home and Lions and Cowboys on the road. The Lions then play the Cowboys the week after. The Packers or Cowboys will come out of that stretch with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. One thing about the NFC is at least there will be drama come playoff time. The AFC appears to be already decided.

The Packers appear to be improving each week so how devastating would a loss to Carolina in Lambeau be on Sunday? The Packers should be able to beat the Panthers with their “B” team but Vinnie Testeverde has had some big games against the Packers. On the other hand he has also thrown five picks against Green Bay. I lean toward the later.

The devastation of the Vikings really has me thinking this team can rise to the challenge. All week prior to the game was Adrian Peterson this and Adrian Peterson that. Final result? Goose-egg. Offensively McCarthy’s game plan was a thing of beauty and cut the heart out of the Vikings defense with it’s ability to run the ball. Throw in the five-wide set and the Vikings were clueless.

Like Brett keeps saying, it only gets tougher from here. The Packers have a two-game lead in the division and probably only need two more wins to make the playoffs, so things could be a lot worse. I’m starting to think this team might really be for real. At least for this season. The best thing is everybody and their uncle is picking the Cowboys to win the NFC which should keep the Packers’ heads in check. Buckle up, the next four weeks are going to be fun.

Here we go. Game day in the NFL. Lambeau Field. What not to love? I predict a Packers’ win today.

Wow, the Packers’ offense put together a beautiful drive capped off by a 30-yard touchdown by Ryan Grant. A very nice start. Then Mason Crosby made a huge mistake kicking the ball out of bounds. But the defense held and the Packers are back on offense first-and-ten at the twenty. Another long drive here and this game is in control at the very least.

It’s clear early that Favre is off target today. Three missed TD passes already. Thankfully Ryan Grant has been a machine thuse far. Big third-and-seven right here though. Jennings drops one of the middle, punt in the endzone and the Packers come up emty. Major screw-up there. Can’t waste opportunities against a team with a weapon like Adrian Peterson.

Defense holds again but a big punt and poor return by Woodson puts the Packers on their own 9-yard line. This is a critical drive. No turnovers and a few firsts downs. Even a field-goal would be huge.

A few first downs and more, into Vikings’ territory. Favre is warming up a little now, nothing down field yet, though, but looking better. This is where the Packers bogged down last time and now a penalty on Jason Spitz makes it even harder. That, my friends, is a drive killer. Ruvell Martin saves the day with huge 25-yard reception. Pro Bowl receiver Donald Driver missed a wide open catch at the 5-yard line. Got the field goal anyway, so I’m still happy. But now Driver and Jennings have dropped gimmies.

Now Robinson drops one in the endzone. This is getting ridiculous. This should have been a 28-0 game but now they are not even two touchdowns up. Far from over ladies and gentleman.

Things look much better now that the Packers took the opening kickoff of the second half 72 yards for a touchdown. If the defense continues its level of play this should be a cakewalk from here. With Peterson back there, that’s a big if.

Nice to see the Packers’ running game exploding against one of the leagues best run defenses. Grant is the first to gain 100 yards against them. Lets go defense. How about a defensive touchdown to ice this game.

The defense is up to the task. Stuffed the Vikings three-and-out in a dominate fashion. Like I told my buds, we almost need them to get a few first downs to give the offense a breather. The Vikings have only had the ball for 11 minutes halfway through the third. Amazing.

Another beautiful drive by the Packers pretty much puts this game on ice. Favre took a beating in that drive and hopefully they can give him a rest in the fourth quarter. It has been complete domination by Packers. How is that for positive?

Oh man! This is terrible. Adrian Peterson appears to be hurt and hurt bad. What a terrible thing to happen to this guy and to the NFL, not to mention the Vikings. It really looks bad.

Favre and Martin hook up again when Darren Sharper hits his own man who would have had a sure interception. Instead the ball bounces off the two Vikings and into Martin’s hands. What a day in Lambeau. 34-0 for the time being.

What a way to beat your arch enemy. The Packers should be the talk of the NFC. They have now won 12 of their last 13 games and seem to be getting better each week. Head coach Mike McCarthy had his best game plan of the year I think. To run the ball on the Vikings the way they did today has to be a good sign. Ryan Grant has two 100-yard games in the last three for the Packers. Who says they can’t run the ball? This offense is getting scary and this has to be the best defense Favre has had since 1996. That was a pretty combination back then. This has the makings of something special.