Those of you who follow Packernet will certainly know how overcome with delight I am after yesterday outcomes of the NFL’s two conference championship games. I love P. Manning getting another shot at the ring and will probably be rooting for the Colts in two weeks. The Saints are a great story but not a great team, I think the Colts are a great team and certainly they have a great quarterback. Drew Brees may be a great quarterback someday, but his play in overtime only made up for a pretty mediocre game, albeit against a great defense in Minnesota. At this point I like the Colts big time.

I am stunned it took so long for evil Mr. Hyde to show his ugly mug but when Brett Favre threw the game away just as he did two years ago in Lambeau Field, it was awesome!  The greatest gift the Packers could have gave the Vikings was even more heartbreak in what is becoming one of sports’ most amazing tails of self-imposed heartbreak. The Vikings have lost five straight NFC Championship games and this one is very reminiscent of the 1998 season NFC Championship game the Vikings lost to Atlanta (of all teams).

The 1998 Vikings also had a retread quarterback who turned back the clock in Randall Cunningham and were within a field-goal of winning the game in regulation. Kicker Morten Anderson missed for the first time all year and the rest is history. Yesterday the only thing Favre had to do was run a few yards and slide. Get up, walk off the field and put on his NFC Champions hat. But nooooooooo! Evil Mr. Hyde shows up and Favre ends his storied career in Minnesota the same way he ended his storied career in Green Bay – a pick on his last pass in the NFC Championship game.

Simply poetic justice. Packers’ fans will never know the pain of Vikings’ fans as the Packers have won three Super Bowls, but Vikings’ fans just got a taste of the pain of Brett Favre that until 2008 had only been felt in Green Bay. He’ll walk you to the doorstep then slam the door in your face. When the Vikings’ play-by-play guys yells “I can’t believe what I just saw” I was dumbfounded. Are you a football fan? Do you know who Brett Favre is? Welcome to my nightmare.

By no means does this loss alone justify Ted Thompson for trading Favre, Aaron Rodgers has already done that by throwing for almost 9,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in his two seasons as starter and returning the Packers to the playoffs this year. Rodgers will start for the NFC in the Pro Bowl this Sunday. All this proves is that the ole’ gunslinger is the ole’ gunslinger. He is one hell of a football player, one of the greatest of all time, but he stuck around too long and he was playing for the wrong reasons. The two-year revenge tour is over and I believe so is Favre. He looked more like Arturo Gatti after a fight last night than an NFL quarterback after a game.

This was Favre’s one last shot at the Super Bowl and he certainly proved me wrong the way he played in the regular season, especially in December, but in the end not even he could overcome the Vikings cursed history of losing the big one. The Vikings remain without an NFL Championship since their inception in 1961. Four Super Bowl losses, five straight NFC Championship game losses including a 41-0 loss to New York after the 2000 season. It is a sad state of affairs in Minnesota, or soon to be Los Angeles.

Looking at the future of the two teams the Packers have a franchise quarterback who is only 26-years old and the Vikings have no clue right now who their quarterback will be next year. I would love to see Favre string the Vikings along all offseason like he used to do the Packers but after that beatdown I think he is done. Every team he plays next year will come after him the same way and at 41 he can’t take that beating for 16 games.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ offense are still getting better and the emergence of Jermichael Finley and I think the rejuvenation of wide receiver Greg Jennings makes the Packers the most potent offense outside of Indianapolis. The run is done in Minneapolis and the student has become the master.

Let me have it, but I might need plastic surgery to remove the smile from face.

I have to admit I haven’t followed much of the conversation since my last entry, so pardon me if I repeat some of your thoughts, which I probably will. Either way, here goes.

First Quarter -  No way on God’s green earth did I see the Packers starting out 2-2. I was sure 4-0 and was going to be the record. I could have saw 3-1 because of the trip to Minnesota, but never saw the Bengal loss coming. Of course the Bengals did end up making the playoffs and they were playing their best football arguably the first month of the season. Just the opposite for Green Bay. It was definitely a shocker and for whatever reason the Packers hit snooze on that wake-up call.

The loss in Minnesota was the first sign the Packers couldn’t stop the pass, a problem that ultimately ended their season. Brett Favre won a classic shootout between the past and present Packers’ quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers astonishingly throw for almost 400 yards despite getting sacked eight times. Getting sacked was Rodgers’ and the Packers’ biggest problem of the first four games.

Second Quarter -  The next four games featured three gimmies and a home date with the Vikings. The Packers rolled over Detroit and Cleveland but the ole’ gunslinger embarrassed the Packers in his return to Lambeau and the residual effect was a loss to Tampa Bay the following week. Six weeks later than they should have the Packers got the wake-up call that actually woke them up. The loss to the Bucs and a one-point last play loss in Pittsburgh ended up costing the Packers a division title, despite the two losses to Minnesota. Just goes to show how important every game is in the NFL.

Third Quarter -  As low as the Packers were starting the second half of their season November 15th, it is amazing what they did in the third quarter of the season. They opened it by beating eventual NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys and closed it by beating AFC wildcard team Baltimore, both quite handily I might add. In between they beat the 8-8 49ers and the annual patsy Detroit on Thanksgiving. From 4-4 to 8-4 in what seemed like overnight.

Fourth Quarter -  The Packers continued their hot streak down the stretch but the blueprint to beat them was laid out by Pittsburgh in a shootout in Pittsburgh that was won on the last play of the game. The Packers got burned for 503 passing yards by Ben Roethlisberger and the Packers’ pass defense was never able to recover. Of course not having Aaron Kampman and Al Harris certainly played a role in that, but the Packers simply had no answer for top-flight quarterbacks like Favre, Roethlisberger and the Cardinal’s Kurt Warner in the playoffs.

Playoffs -  In one of the funnest games to watch in playoff history the Cardinals beat the Packers 51-45. Neither team could stop the other and the Cardinals loss at New Orleans last Sunday is probably only slightly worse than what the Packers would have done down there. I’d like to think the Packers could have done better but the Saints dropped 50 on the Packers down there last year, so it wasn’t too likely.

In the end -  I myself consider 2009 a successful season taking into account the Packers were coming off a 6-10 season and by most people’s account were headed for a repeat performance. I had much greater expectations and the Packers nearly achieved them. I can’t remember if I said 12-4 or 13-3 and don’t feel like looking it up, but I wasn’t too far off. I was indeed way wrong on Favre and the Vikings, who as much as I hate to say I believe are Super Bowl bound.

On that note, if anybody had any questions about what kind of a record-grubbing, selfish player Brett Favre is they got their answer Sunday with an explanation point. For Favre and the Vikings to go for a fourth-and-four at the Cowboys ten with 1:50 to go in the game and the Cowboys out of time outs was without doubt the most classless act I have ever seen in the NFL. And I remember the Mike Ditka days in Chicago and the Buddy Ryan days in Philly like it was yesterday. Not even Forrest Gregg would have stumped that low. Last I checked their isn’t a 24-point play in the NFL. Hopefully the Gods of football are just as unforgiving as the Gods of golf.

That said, I think the NFL wants a Peyton-Brett Super Bowl and that is what they will get. I would give the Saints a chance if they were any other team than the Saints. They are the NFL’s version of the Chicago Cubs and will be more loved for never winning a championship than they would be if they actually won one. Vikings win 49-31.

In the AFC I believe the Jets miracle run will come to an end in Indy. The Jets aren’t playing the Bengals or the perennial playoff chokers San Diego this week, this is the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts make the playoffs in their sleep and have won one Super Bowl in the Manning era and are primed to win another this year. The Colts might not be able to run the ball but like the Packers in years past it is mostly because they don’t try to. Why would you when you have a four-time MVP at quarterback? The Jets will probably control the ball for 45 minutes and lose 21-10.

I’ll worry about the Super Bowl later. I hope I’m wrong on both accounts as it would be great to see the #1 offense against the #1 defense in the Super Bowl. We could settle the old debate once and for all.

I know this was a tough loss that ranks right up there in annals of Packers’ history, but I don’t put it in the same category as games such as these, rated in terms of pain.

1. The Super Bowl loss to Denver. Nothing else needs be said here.

2. The T.O. game when Steve Young falls down leaving center and gets up and throws the game winner with no time left. Still haven’t gotten over that one. More than likely the Packers would have had their chance to avenge their Super Bowl loss the previous season.

3. The fourth-and-26-loss to Philly. Sherman chickened out on fourth-and-one, Darren Sharper inexplicably was playing 35 yards off the line of scrimmage, and after winning the overtime toss Brett Favre promptly throws the game away with a moon ball that is picked off setting up the game winning field goal.

4. The NFC Championship loss to the Giants in Lambeau Field. The Giants miss about a dozen field goals sending the game to overtime and after winning the overtime toss Brett Favre promptly throws the game away with a moon ball that is picked off setting up the game winning field goal.

5. The loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the wildcard round that was the first Lambeau Field playoff loss in Green Bay Packers’ history. The Packers couldn’t stop Michael Vick and Favre threw two picks and completed only 20 of 42 passes as the Packers officially lost their Lambeau Field mystique.

Others receiving votes: The beat-down Randy Moss and the boys put on us in the 2005 playoffs; the six interception debacle in St. Louis in 2002. The Rams had 13 first downs and won 45-17. I was embarrassed to be a fan that day; the Bob Thomas field goal in 1983 that gave the Bears a 23-21 final game win knocking the Packers out of the playoffs and leading to the firing of head coach Bart Starr.

The loss to the Cardinals might be in the top ten but I just can’t feel that bad after the way the Packers fought back from a rough start and took it to overtime at 45-points a piece for crying out loud. This after being down 31-10 late in the third quarter. The Packers are a team on the rise and have a future MVP quarterback at the helm. Aaron Rodgers is just amazing. Even after throwing a pick on his first pass of the game on a stupid decision, he came back and threw for over 400 yards and four TDs in his first playoff start. Of course he had the big miss to Jennings in overtime that could have won the game, but if you’d said before the game we’d score 45 and lose I would have laughed at you. Rodgers will take the heat but it was the defense that let the Packers down in this game.

The Packers’ number two defense sure has a lot of work to do in the secondary. Head coach Mike McCarthy hired defensive Dom Capers to shore up the defense and in particular stop the run. Capers turned the Packers’ sieve-like run defense into the leagues best in one year. Year two his focus must be on bringing balance to the defense and shoring up pass defense. Part of that is looking at his own game plans too. Against Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, Capers’ defense couldn’t get home when they brought pressure and were ripped to shreds. Even when they played coverage against those QBs they had little success.

The offseason is going to be a hard one to predict with the upcoming labor war looming, so how the Packers go about improving the secondary and offensive line is anybodies guess. Players they thought they might lose they might not and players they thought would be available may not be. I’m not confident the two sides reach an agreement in time meaning the salary cap is a thing of the past. But that is a story for another day.

I’m not in mourning by any means. We know there will be football in 2010, any lockout would not come before 2011, so the Packers have the opportunity to keep the momentum going. I think they will be favored to win the NFC next year by many. Even with the disappointing loss I think it will be a much smoother offseason than last year when the team was coming off a 6-10 record and had questions galore. The problems areas are well defined but the strengths certainly outweigh them at this point.

The Packers can beat anybody in the league and they are still young and growing. Just imagine what Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley are going to do the next five years. Records are about to fall.

I think I will have one final take on the 2009 season as a whole and then focus on 2010. I like my Green Bay Packers and we might be on the verge of something special.

Here we go!

3:42 PM:  Wow! Not a good start. Rodgers first pick in what seems like forever. Not a good way to start your playoff career. And I was glad I we won the toss. Hold them to three and I’ll be a happy guy.

3:51 PM:  The Packers look very nervous. Not sure what to make of it. Jordy looked like he never returned a kick before on both returns. Rodgers throws a pass he hasn’t thrown all year. When we settle down we should be OK.

3:54 PM:  Didn’t we just see this three hours ago in New England. Three plays two turnovers. 14-0 Cardinals. Oh well, the Packers were clearly overconfident. This will be a great learning experience for next year. This one is over. Hopefully the Packers can at least make a game of it to keep a little momentum going. I said weeks ago I didn’t think this team could win a road playoff game. Damn I hate when I’m right. Lots of time left, but confidence is wavering.

3:59 PM:  Jordy Nelson should be benched right now. Top it off with a personal foul. Like the previous three games this weekend, it looks like another blowout.

4:13 PM:  Not saying I’m giving up, but down 17 in the first half on the road in the playoffs is pretty much a done deal. The Packers are the better team I still believe, but they are too young. We knocked on the door this year, next year we’ll knock it in. The core of this team is too good to not to keep improving.This is our first shot, but not our last shot. Future confidence is high, but we all know today is a lost cause.

4:24 PM:  McCarthy just made the worst coaching decision of his career. To think Crosby could make that field goal is absolutely insane. Whatever New England coach Bill Belichick was drinking today is the same thing McCarthy must have been drinking – the fountain of stupid decisions.

4:48 PM:  Don’t let this one game spoil the whole season. I like my 2009 Green Bay Packers. The 2010 Packers are the team to beat in the NFC.

4:54 PM:  The deer in the headlights. That is the Green Bay Packers today. We weren’t going to the Super Bowl anyway. This is a wake-up call.

5:10 PM:  The field goal certainly helps. The turnovers are killing the Packers and that was the only way the Packers could lose this game. If the Packers’ defense doesn’t step up its game the Packers have will not come back. It is a miracle the Packers are only 14 down considering the way the Packers are playing. The seasoned playoff team is the Cardinals and that is clear.

5:32 PM:  Down 31-10 I’m definitely looking toward next year. The Packers aren’t going to win today so lets see how they handle the deficit. If they could at least mount a little comeback it would be a positive heading into the offseason. It is going to suck the next week or so, but I already can’t wait for the draft and minicamp. We got our taste.

5:54 PM:  The Packers made a good comeback but were out-coached big time today, especially on defense. Following the pattern of Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner ripped the Packers’ secondary to shreds. I am feeling better about the offense, too bad the defense is struggling so bad.

6:08 PM:  The Packers are definitely not quitting. Rodgers has come alive but the Packers’ defense can’t stop Warner. I hope we can stay within seven as I don’t want to get blown out – which is still a possibility.

6:42 PM:  Trying not to jinx us, but this is one hell of a football game!

6:51 PM:  I love my Packers. We have nothing to hang our heads about. See you tomorrow.

6:53 PM:  Did I just see what I just saw?! Unbelievable!

6:59 PM:  The holding call on Colledge pretty much ends the Packers hopes. And he wants a big money deal? Not after that.

7:01 PM:  One of the greatest games in playoff history ends suddenly. The reason the Packers lost was because their defense got burned again by a prolific passing offense. That is the only thing they have to shore up. The Packers gave up 24 points off of turnovers too, which is a sign of a young team in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers is simply incredible. To throw for over 400 yards in your first playoff game is simply amazing! The Packers and Rodgers have a bright future.

The way Arizona Cardinals’ coach Ken Whisenhunt is whining this week it makes you wonder if he is trying to play possum or if he could really be that worried the Packers beat his team up in two meaningless games. My guess is the Cards are playing possum thinking they will just turn it on this week and whip the Packers in the game that counts. I can see their side of the scenario and understand their reasoning behind it.

Whisenhunt isn’t an idiot. His track record is stellar. You don’t take a perennial loser like the Cardinals and take them to the Super Bowl on a fluke. But the Cardinals are the class of the NFC West, which is like being the top of the bottom. They took advantage of that lack of respect last year and won the NFC. They won’t be flying under the radar this year. The Cardinals won their division again this year because they are the only halfway decent team in it.

The NFC West is no-man’s land. There are no rivalries like the other NFL divisions, I mean, nobody gets excited about Seattle versus St. Louis or anybody Seattle plays period. The Cardinals and 49ers are working on a rivalry only because the 49ers kick the division winners ass every time they play them but can’t do anything else. The Cardinals don’t know what it is like to face the likes of Minnesota or Chicago four times a year, year after year. I think that is a big factor in the Packers’ favor this coming week.

Granted, the Packers haven’t faced a killers row of opponents this season, but like the Cardinals of last year, there is no reason why the Packers can’t ride their momentum to a playoff win or two. Now, I know you never forget a thing I say and I did say I would prefer the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. Nothing that has happened over the last few weeks has changed my mind on that.

I know you need to be careful what you wish for and I am. Those on the Cardinals’ side probably feel like this is the best match-up they could have to start the defense of their NFC title. Talk about a lot of intrigue for a wildcard playoff game. You’ve got to love the NFL.

My gut feeling is the Packers have the confidence that it doesn’t matter who they are playing in the first round of the playoffs, they will be fired up. If we do indeed get it done, that feeling is not guaranteed next week no matter who we play. I’m not afraid to admit I don’t want to face the Vikings in the playoffs if we don’t have to. Not that we can’t beat them, but like Vikings’ fans who for sure don’t want round three, I don’t want to experience the agony of that defeat.

The Packers will know where they are going when they take the field Sunday. I wonder what kind of affect that will have on the team. Do they want the Vikings, which I think in their heart of hearts, they do, or do they want to go to New Orleans? Whisenhunt said last week his team was affected by the outcome of the Vikings’ game and the Cardinals played like it. Hopefully the thought of a trip to Minnesota would bring out the best in the Packers. I’m more worried about the team being disappointed if they have to go to New Orleans.

Good stuff Maynard!

The Green Bay Packers are back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus and unlike that 2007 Packers’ team this unit is entering the playoffs on a roll, going 7-1 their last eight games. Their opponent is the same one the Packers have pummeled twice already this year, granted neither game meant anything in the standings with one coming in the preseason and one yesterday’s meaningless season finale.

The Cardinals took the option of resting players and game plans to prepare for playoff game next week while the Packers choose to play it out for the most part and maintain the momentum they built up the last eight games. Which way is best is is yet to be determined and even the results of next weeks game really won’t answer the question. Both teams did what they wanted to do neither way is necessarily wrong.

For the Packers I think it was essential to keep the ball rolling. If you have a veteran team like the Cardinals, you can rest guys and not skip a beat when you suit it up the following week. The Packers don’t have that luxury, so they played their starters until late in the game and the results were obvious.

The thing is, the Packers’ starters dominated the Cardinal starters in a 38-10 first half in the preseason and on the game’s opening drive Sunday the Packers methodically marched right down the field. I think the Packers provide some matchup problems for the Cardinals and the Cardinals might have some self-doubt in their heads after two beat-downs.

Of course, Arizona may also turn the tables completely and issue a beat-down of their own when it really counts. That is what Philly is hoping for against Dallas and what the Packers would be hoping for if they get another crack at the Vikings.

While the Cardinals laid down the Packers didn’t exactly reveal their entire game plan during the game, especially on defense. The Packers didn’t blitz hardly at all and ran their basic stuff pretty much all game. Of course Arizona has been studying the Packers’ game film for the last two weeks so it wasn’t like the Packers were really hiding anything. Quite the chess match we have going on here.

As far as the regular season is concerned, you have to like the way the man I wanted fired eight weeks ago turned this ship around. Mike McCarthy stayed the course and proved me wrong in the end. I’m sure things changed behind the scenes but publicly McCarthy stuck to his guns and his football team and the results since Tampa have been impressive. An 11-5 record in the NFL is nothing to sneeze at and coming after such a trying 2008 season is even more impressive. Of course when you have Aaron Rodgers to build around it makes the task a little easier.

This is going to be a fun week. I’m scared to death about the actual game, but will enjoy being back in the national spotlight again. The Pack is back!

4:12 PM:  Sorry for the late arrival, different schedule today with it being a preseason game. I like what I see, though. Punch it in here, make it 23-zip and let Flynn finish the show. I would have took the ball instead of the safety, but what the hell. It only cost us two points.

4:33 PM:  Woodson hurt. That is what you get for playing him in a meaningless game. Blame it on McCarthy. If Aaron Rodgers takes one more snap McCarthy is a complete idiot!

4:36 PM:  At least Rodgers only ran two running plays to run out the clock. No more starters hurt!

4:58 PM:  Mike McCarthy should be fired before the next game. Leaving Rodgers in is just insane!

5:07 PM:  The story of two blowouts? We blow them out this week, they blow us out next week? Please call off the dogs!