Some ugly baby

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You may say Monday’s 27-14 victory was ugly, I call it breathtaking. The Packers moved to 8-4 and right in the hunt for a wild card playoff spot. The Packers play at Chicago this week in what will be the Bears’ Super Bowl. The Bears aren’t going anywhere so they would love nothing more than to knock the Packers out. The Packers would love nothing more than to stick one of the final stakes in Bears’ head coach Lovie Smith.

The Packers had to overcome their own mistakes and the mistakes of the officiating crew and they accomplished both. Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions and Donald Driver lost a fumble that briefly turned the game in the Ravens’ favor. However, when the Ravens closed the Packers’ 17 point lead to three, the Packers offense answered with a TD and the Packers defense intercepted the Ravens twice in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice. The Packers are learning how to close games finally and that should bode well as we start the final quarter of the season.

The offensive line is getting better now that Mark Tauscher is settling in at his old right tackle position and it appeared Chad Clifton made it through the game OK. If those two guys stay healthy the rest of the way the Packers offense should continue to improve even at this late stage of the season. The Packers also should have gotten a good feel for what the weather will be like in three of those final four games. Only a trip to Arizona the final week will be in warm weather. At Chicago and at Pittsburgh and home against Seattle will be games similar to Monday night when it was about 20 degrees at kickoff.

Lets focus on Chicago first. The Bears are not a very good team but they are a division rival who always plays good against the Packers since Lovie took over. Last week they barely got by the lowly Rams on their own turf breaking a three game losing streak. Lovie will have them ready to play this week that is for sure. In the first meeting between the two teams the Bears probably should have won, but a late touchdown pass to Greg Jennings saved the day for the Packers.

The Packers defense did rise to the occasion against Baltimore and can’t afford a letdown against Chicago. Many are already picking the Bears in an upset. Five in a row would sure be nice heading into Pittsburgh, which lost to the lowly Raiders in Pittsburgh Sunday. The fact that is the Bears makes me believe the Packers won’t overlook a lesser opponent. Certainly one game isn’t a reason to push the panic button, but one has to wonder if the Vikings are primed for their usual late season swoon, especially with a QB who has a three-year track record of poor play in December. Not saying the the Packers can still win the division, but a Packers win over the Bears and a Vikings loss to the Bengals would make things interesting. I’m not saying, I’m just saying…it could get interesting.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Al Davis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • 4205

    My Sunday shirt says I root for two teams, the Green Bay Packers and whoever is playing the Bores. Since that is only one team this week, I can root for the Bungles too.

  • Mark Troy

    Huh? Who the heck is picking the Bears?
    I live in Bear country – to my utter misfortune and dismay BTW.
    They are terrible. Their O-line is worse than the Packers! I could line up and give them problems.
    I’d love to see the Pack play the purple penis eaters in the playoffs!
    I can’t imagine the Pack winning the division – but the joy it would give!!!

  • Sammy

    Packer boob stated something about anyone predicting this improvement after the Bucs game is full of shit. (This followed my post stating I stayed with the belief the Pack can still get hot). Well shit I am full of but living here in AZ, I saw the lowly Cards get beat badly by teams out east, squeak into the playoffs, and almost win the Superbowl. Go back and look at my post, boob, I said that Pack just need to regroup and get hot at the right time. Looks like this is possible.

    You and fair weathered fans like Iccy can go live in MN and be like the Queen’s fans. I had to live there for 4 years. Too many on this site jump off of the band wagon when things get tough. It is really sad to watch.

    I am not a TT or MM fan, but the team is pulling together despite some poor coaching and front office moves. Go Pack! Boob and Iccy, get clue.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Sammy, Al talks about an ugly win, Tampa was a really ugly loss. Even #12 looked bad. I challenged people to come up with some positives after all the negativity. I think we can count on some tough games coming up so hold onto the handrails.

  • Sammy

    Mark, agreed. Sometimes a loss like that (Bucs) is a blessing in disguise and can get a team’s attention. Even our Superbowl years had 3 losses each. It is o.k. to lay an occasional egg….maybe even healthy. The team got together, held each other and themselves accountable = a changed team, attitude and trust between players = wins. I think we better get the special teams together and pick up those flags….along with cleaning other stuff up and continue to work on pad level. HEE HEE!

  • http://www.packernet.com admin

    I guess the main positive, Mark, is they won the game. What part of four straight wins don’t you like? Best defense in the NFL, top ten offense and one of the best quarterbacks in the league. I guess you’re right. We suck!

  • Mel e Mel

    Till we clinch a playoff berth I will keep Harvey Keitels Perspective in Pulp Fiction.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Al, I like everything. Even the struggle to find an identity with new players and schemes. We’re very fortunate to see a young team on the rise. But there are going to be ups and downs. No way around it. Some bad games shouldn’t be a deterrent if we learn something from that. We don’t suck but we’re not winning the Super Bowl with our ST’s, penalties and current run game( I think Johnson can help there)

  • jonnyfootballhero

    Come on Sammy, leave the name calling for the Vikings forums. We may not always agree here, but personal attacks and name calling are bush league.
    Kudos to you (Sammy) if you did say the Packers would bounce back after the Bucs disaster. I was definetly one of those who thought the season was over after that game.
    I appreciate Larry Tex more and more for preaching patience for this team. It’s hard for me to admit, but TT has done a fairly decent job building the roster and MM has really turned it around on the field. I’m not completely satisfied with the job they’re doing, but it’s getting better.
    Happy Holidays to all who post here and lets hope the Pack can make an impact in the playoffs!!

  • Mel e Mel

    One game at a time The Bear in Chicago always tough

  • Larry

    Pound the rock….the Bears are depleted on D. Set up the play action and a couple of big plays will follow. KICK IT SHORT!

  • Richard Krause didisc d d

    I thought the one “off season” acquisitions that would certainly help GB was the Strength and Conditioning Coach, Dave Redding. He advocated that his style of conditioning would prevent injuries late in the season. It seems we are suffering from a lot of injuries of late.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    I have to chuckle a little because even if we won the SB, we as Packer fans would not be completely satisfied, and demand some changes. However, we stick together. Seems to me that somebody, a while ago, said “even w/ some questionable coaching decisions, the players have to be held accountable for a lot of this”.
    It seems to me that some are short sighted in their evaluation of “certain” players in that one huge bloop always wipes out an otherwise very well played game. Sobeit. Highlight films are made of just that, the one play good or bad, that a player is so often measured by. We still have a very young team that has only about half of which were here in our last post-season appearance. My rose collored glasses (again) are showing me a better TEAM than ’07, mainly because of the defense.

  • Reid

    Larry – I will be at GB/Pitt game too. Maybe we can have a beer or 10 together?

  • iccyfan

    LarryTex Says: “It seems to me that some are short sighted in their evaluation of “certain” players in that one huge bloop always wipes out an otherwise very well played game. Sobeit. Highlight films are made of just that, the one play good or bad, that a player is so often measured by.”

    That’s hardly fair – you and I have stood shoulder to shoulder in our long-term defense of the “organization”, with the basic premise being that no one player (or coach / general manager) is ever more important than the “team”. IMO, the regular presence of that “certain player” on the field threatens the success of the team as a collective.

    I believe it was the Chicago Sun-Times that recently had an article about Gaines Adams, the young defensive end from Georgia who was drafted by Tampa Bay and traded to the Bears. The scouts indicate he’s a physical specimen who appears to do everything right, but he doesn’t ever make any plays. That’s an apt analogy to you and Larry’s “favorite cause” player – he’s a likeable enough guy, good effort, good physical measurables – just can’t make a play! Horsehoes and hand grenades aren’t applicable here…

    Larry opined we should be more critical of Tramon Williams and his three PI penalties. I’d submit that’s a short-sighted comment, as Tramon is a young player, new to the starter role, very aggressive and had a bad day. Al Harris was beloved by Packer Nation yet he had a terrible day versus Plaxico Burris on a huge stage; we forgave him because it wasn’t the norm for him and he “made plays”. Likewise, Tramon didn’t dwell on the negative and “made a play” when it was badly needed. You can’t say that about your guy…

  • Pack4life

    Too much patting on the back going on. I remember last years collapse all too well.
    As Nick Barnett said we’ll talk playoffs when win 10 games. Wounded animals are dangerous. By the way the Bears definitely can return kicks.

  • Mike from Arizona

    We are getting close to the end of the season and making a playoff run. The Defense is starting to gel and the Offensive line is starting to gel and get better. Now our Punter, Kicker and Special Teams need to step it up. We need a stronger punter and kickoff return machine as our stats are near the bottom of the league.

  • Mark Troy

    Sorry,the Packers are going to blow the Bears OUT!

  • Jeremy (From Chicago)

    I can’t wait till Sunday. I’m so excited to go to this game I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. It’s been two years since I’ve seen the Pack in person but I haven’t missed a game on television (thank God for DirecTV and houshold antenas before that) since I was 11 years old (now 30). I’ll also be at the December 28th game against Minnesota on Monday night. Unfortunalty I think I’ll have to be pulling for the Bears which is something a real Packer fan should never have to do.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Some here miss my point, iccy, that most players have to play themselves into a NFL starting role. Gosh, think of all the historical hits and misses and such gems as Joey Thomas/Amhad Carroll to Woodson/Harris. Don’t forget the rough time Harris has had over the years here. Its my patience (need I refer to the ’70s and ’80s) that makes me think we’ve got something in Williams and Bush, not the support of TT. Rather, I trust the judgement of somebody like Lionel Washington who knows a thing or two about cornerbacking.

  • roy jamison

    Haven’t heard if Raji and/or Pickett have recovered. Another key to these last four games is staying healthy for the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how the Vikes’ Henderson loss will affect their defense.

  • iccyfan

    I feel like Mark May debating Lou Holtz on College Football Final regarding the relative merits of Charlie Weis! Dr. Lou is always amusing but his logic (or lack thereof) often escapes me…

  • Larry

    LarryTex…point taken…allthough the context of my comment was that ctiticism of Bush for giving up a completion should be tempered with holding another CB accountable for 3 PI’s. In the end I believe that both of these guys helped in the win to the best of their ability.

    And in the NFL every GM is looking to replace the end of his roster with a better guy..IF you can find it. That’s why Buffalo raids our practice squad. Brohm was clearly #3 for us but in Buffalo- who knows.

    Hey Reid…connecting in the burgh not a bad idea…let me get my plans made over this weekend.

  • iccyfan

    I didn’t criticize Bush for giving up one completion. Larry said he’d played well three games in a row and was within an eyelash of three or four int’s in the Detroit game. I pointed out he hadn’t done anything significant in any of those games (two passes defended against Detroit, one of them the dropped int) and gave up a 47 yard pass to Dennis Northcutt. You’re spinning it an entirely different direction with the “one completion” argument. Again, the NFL isn’t horseshoes and hand grenades; being close to making plays doesn’t win games. Get back to me when Jarrett Bush actually makes an impact play…

  • packer_bob

    Geez, Sammy, take a Valium or something! It’s no big deal, and if you really “predicted” the four game win streak, more power to you. I was just saying that the normal “maybe we can get hot” BS is a long from way predicting it or really thinking it’s going to happen.

    If that’s the standard then I can claim the same thing, as I posted this before we beat Dallas:

    “Who knows, maybe that horrible loss to TB will spark these guys to new heights. Maybe it becomes the rallying cry for the rest of year. If the players are having the kind of frank, blunt meetings face to face that the media is reporting, they should play like wild dogs on Sunday. Stranger things have happened.”

    But the reality was I was not confident about beating Dallas, nor that we would make the playoffs. That doesn’t make me a band wagon fan, it means I’m not blind. There was no reason for anybody to be very optimistic following that TB loss, you would have to be some kind of idiot (or the worst kind of homer) to be impressed with the Packers at that point.

  • packer_bob

    And Sammy, you won’t be calling me Packer_Boob around this time next year when I’m making my Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech for getting Tiger and Elin to work things out!

  • Lew

    Anyone who thinks Jarrett Bush is not a huge liability just doesn’t know shit about football. The cool thing is that this is one of the biggest topics of discussion. Pack must be winning.

  • packer_bob

    Well, it’s certainly reassuring to know Mason Crosby doesn’t believe he’s in slump.

    When asked directly if he was , he said “No, I don’t think so. I usually kick this shitty so I don’t know how you could call it a slump.”

    So that settles that.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Lew, a three sentance comment, a lot for you.
    You guys notice how Lew pops in about once a week with a one to two line negative statement regarding the Pack, but never during a game.
    I’ll take that to mean he is busy following his real favorite team, be it MIN or CHI. Not one positive post regarding the Green Bay Packers.

  • http://Orlando Mark

    Talk about ugly, how would you like to be a Steeler fan after losing to the Browns. It just proves in bad weather the team that can run the ball and stop the run has a chance, if the special teams are solid. Before the season I had the Steeler game as a probable loss but who knows now.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Well, if we get by Bears w/ our front three on D intact we would be OK. For those of you who think their GM should have anticipated the injuries, like ours should have, I think you’ll admit two starters, four backups, and a third stringer is a bit much, even for the SB champs. Thats just their squad and doesn’t count their IR. So much for whether injuries is a valid excuse or not.
    That doesn’t take away from Mark’s point about the run game. Either on O or D its imperative. That game is winnable, for sure, even in their house.

  • Larry

    Any given Sunday (Thursday) the SB champs can be beat by a lowlife…similar story down in Tampa for GB. Best lesson is to strap it up every week and put away games when you can.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Someone once said “the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”. What do we have to fear about the Bearse – ST. Our opponents KOR return average is high, the PR is not. Seems like, hopefully, the penalty phase in the return game has subsided so that #1 concentration would be the “long one”. If you look at the stats, the coverage is not that bad when you take away that “long one” which usually occurs at least once a game.
    Kinda like the ’40s Blanchard and Davis; Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside with Knox and Manning. They don’t even need Hester back there anymore.
    But seriously, what else do the Bearse have? We aren’t in that – start of the season – funk anymore.
    My perfect trap game, because I don’t see how we can lose to these guys. But, like Larry says, “any given Sunday”.

  • iccyfan

    LarryTex Says: “You guys notice how X pops in about once a week with a one to two line negative statement regarding the Pack, but never during a game. I’ll take that to mean he is busy following his real favorite team, be it MIN or CHI. Not one positive post regarding the Green Bay Packers.”

    Inappropriate – What happened to “we may disagree but we all respect each other”? I know X disagreed with your position in a less than respectful manner, but your response is even worse.

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Well, iccy, you could go back to the pre-season postings for that one. X has described, more than me on this site, as four letter individuals not able to put a lucid comment out there. I would specifically refer you to the really vile stuff of a couple of months ago, but I don’t have access.
    99% of our posters do “respect each other” regardless of the petty arguements we have.

  • Larry

    And now for something completely different…what will the O line look like NEXT year. Is Lang the right tackle or left..Cliffy is suffering and Tauscher is OK but another year older. Where is Spitz/Wells.

    Is tackle the priority or CB and least we forget…Sam Bradford may fall to the bottom of the round based on injury…I realize he’s not AR but is he better than Flynn? Do you pick a number two that high given AR is 25/26.

    I’m so confused…

  • Rocky70

    PB

    Once a ‘boob’ always a ‘boob’.

    You should wear it as a badge of honour if the warden will allow you …………

  • iccyfan

    Cool – we have rocky and paul (sammy) sightings in the same week. Can jon & matt h be far behind? It’s like a homecoming around here…

  • Reid

    Larry – NFW we will pick a quarterback in Rd 1 next year unless AR gets killed this year, or starts talking about retirement :) .

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Ok, Reid, but we’re picking around 20, or 25-32 if this season ends up like we hope. I would not think a first round OT is available, nor a Heisman type CB ala Woodson; not even a first round RB. So what do you do? Would you rather trade down for more picks or go quality QB.
    Before we make any predictions, I want to see how the re-signings go along with how Bush and Williams finish the season. Hell, for that matter, Lang and Barbre too. I don’t think we’re more than a tweak away on the D (just like we finished the Pre).
    It just might be time to go a first round skill and work on tackle to tackle in 2nd to 4th.

  • Larry

    It raises a point…this could be trade bait for some team builder while we take a promising tackle or CB from them and a 3. My preferrance is Mays (a huge safety) from USC..but who knows.

    LarryTex has it right though…we don’t need WR, QB, TE (that early) LB or def. line (don’t forget Harrell). What we need is going to be tough to find. Might as well develop Bush!

  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    Heh, heh, heh, I like that idea; trade the pick for a journeyman LT. Must have been one hell of a repair job on Tausch. Other than that gut, he seems to me to be doing better than Cliffy. I’m pretty sold on Bigby and Collins so might argue with you on a FS or SS above 3rd round. Yeah, I haven’t given up on Harrell yet, but I’m mighty close. Package that #1 with Kampman and you’d have some knocks on the door, but who, ever, ever, gives up a 25-26 year old starting LT?
    I repeat, I see a lot of time spent in re-signing effort, because whether we like it or not our management likes what we have.

  • Mike from Arizona

    With the economy and NFL collective bargaining agreement possible changes, next year might be a great opportunity to get good FA’s. Teams in poorer revenue markets maybe looking to not resign mid-level career players. The Pack needs a punter, kicker, O-Lineman, DB, FS help.

  • Pack4life

    Bears D Line talking trash wow, he needs to be put in his place. GO PACK

  • http://www.packernet.com admin

    Damn Reid – A-rod retirment talk? Just when I was almost ready to be released, too. Looks like another three months in the ward (hehe).

  • roy jamison

    Can the Steelers season get any worse? Losing to Kanas City, Oakland and Cleveland. Tomlin surely will get that team up for the Packers in that home game. Those fans must be fit to be tied.

  • Pack4life
  • http://jlworden1suddenlink.net LarryTex

    I know PIT is in tough shape re injuries, but so are we. I’m not talking about just the walking wounded but IR. A quick glance at our own IR has the start of a pretty good team, me thinks.
    Spitz, Swain, Lee, Blackmon, Harrell, and Wynn, all young guys who need development time. Harris, at the end of his career, wasting valuable time that could really help us at playoff time. Kampman, who really had to hurt his trade value, I would think. And finally, Frischknecht, who we don’t know much about (and we really don’t need another TE at this point) but, never the less, a delay of development.
    I know its all part of the game, but we’ve got future and past starters on that list that we are going to need in the future.

  • iccyfan

    LarryTex Says: “who, ever, ever, gives up a 25-26 year old starting LT?”

    See Jason Peters, LT of the Philadelphia Eagles

    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4077093

  • Larry

    iccyfan beat me to it…I think you find a good LT that plays for a bad team that doesn’t want to resign…kinda the Shaun Rodgers syndrome in Cleveland. (Yes I know he’s a DT). Can’t think of one off the top of my head but clearly between the draft picks…Kampy, even Bishop and Harrell there’s fuel to get a really good corner or LT. (and we still have 3 fb’s)

    Lastly, someone gave up BF, Ahman Green, Ryan Grant…etc…one man’s trash is another treasure.

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