Al, completely agree. Get the starters the hell out of there.

Already established domination. Do not get anyone hurt or let the players think beating backups will be anything like next week.

Have to really like the momentum we have shown the last half of the season. I think it’s silly to put too much emphasis on games like last week’s or even this week’s due to the circumstances, but the trend since the TB loss has been unmistakable.

Maybe the team we all thought was possible in the pre, meaning a SB caliber team, has arrived. The stabilizing of the line has been palpable, and that has eliminated most of the sacks put is in poor situations in many of the early games, resulting in Grant getting more carries and doing way more with them. That with Jacobs coming back and helping in 3rd down pass protection as well as out of the backfield, and the addition of Green has given us a true 3 headed monster with the RB’s.

I think most of us knew what we had in Rodgers and the WR’s, but again it’s taken the line to stabilize to allow us to perform up to par in that regard. Also, the emergence of Finley has been huge, and is a weapon we didn’t see much of in the first part of the season.

The defense has been ball hawking all year, but the development of Raji and Mathews and has given us yet more tools, Barnett is back to 100%, Hawk has looked better and better. Our secondary led by Woodson has performed way better than most of us would have thought after losing Harris.

Maybe we’ve arrived. We’ll see how we do against the real Cardinals next week. In the meantime, congratulations to the Pack on excellent 2nd half of the season!

Meant Jackson in above post.

up 26 to 0, put in the second stringer for gods sake

If we still have Rodgers in there to break Lynn Dickey’s record, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.

I think we are showing the defending NFC champs way too much. M Flynn, Green and Jackson should be the only offense going forward

Any further word on Woodson? Can’t afford to lost that guy!

You got it, LarryTex

You can’t play scared …………… especially with injuries ……….. Some of these “wise fans” need to finally let the professionals make the calls ………. Same from me, go back & read all your 4-4 comments …… A little red-faced now, hey……… Like I said more than once …. 1) Qualify for the playoffs …. 2) Peak going into the playoffs …………. Nothing else matters…………

LarryTex, at least two of us had it right………. Comes with age & experience. ………..

” Rocky, do you just pop in to stir the pot?? Are you a lawyer, cuz it seems like you enjoy arguing a little too much… ”

Arguing is one of the spices of life ……………. Especially when one is vindicated in the end……………. It’s called point, set, match …………….

Woodson didn’t look in any pain on the sidelines…I hope he’s good to go next week…all I can say is WOW! Total D line domination! Linebackers sent a message today! I like our chances!

Rocky and LarryTex agreeing! Must be a new year!!!!!!!!

Per Jay Glazer from MM:

MM pulled Woody for precautionary measures…………. He will play next week.

Good news………….

I think everyone worried a bit too much about how long the starters played… It’s a friggin’ football and it IS still the regular season… There’s a whole lotta teams out there that have nothing to play for but they are still playing their starters… Holding players out to save them for the NEXT game to me is bullshit… Let them play and let them continue to roll… Too many times I’ve seen teams sit their needed players only to see them come out flat and lose in the playoffs. I like that they’re rolling, continuing to roll and will create a new game plan for the playoff game against the same team. I for one am not crying because they had the starters in there into the 3rd quarter. AR was 25 yards short of the record and MM pulled him anyway, could have left him out there to get his 25 yards but didn’t so it obviously wasn’t about that record. I think next week will be a closer game but I really don’t see the outcome being much different unless we totally lay an egg… I think the Packers are better team in this matchup. I’m no longer worried about the Eagles as I was before either. Every NFC team is beatable it appears – the Vikes really put a hurting on the Giants – they kinda scare me again though if we make it that far… The only way we play the Vikes again is if we win out and the Vikes win their playoff game and we’d play them for the NFC Championship game so the chances aren’t really that good as I think the Cowboys have the tools to beat the Vikes in IMHO.

Now, before everyone starts throwing out the “what if’s” on keeping the starters playing, remember, this is my opinion and it’s football – I personally was not ready to watch a pre-season game. I personally enjoy watching our offense really hit on all cylinders as they did most of today. GO PACK!!!

Rocky70, and the best thing? BF can’t break a few of those records even if he plays next year… The First QB in NFL history to throw for 4000+ in the first two years of starting is a record that AR will hold alone for now… Highest QB rating in a season since Bart Starr, again, BF won’t get that one either… A lot of things to relish in this QB… I’m jazzed to say the least…

Only a numbnuts would call for McCarthy’s firing at this point – the end of an 11-5 season.

There really isn’t much to say; an excellent Pre which led many of us to over rate our guys. Then the whippings by MIN and 4-4 with the shock of CIN. The bye, and then turning it around until the humiliation of TB. The streak, then the reality of PIT, a winable game lost in the last second. The end of a turnaround season from 6-10.
Now what, who knows?
Regardless of how we end up some truths remain.
MM still a tad conservative, although we really don’t know what role AR has in that since he makes the final call at the line. Early troubles were caused by instability on the OL and that has to be corrected in the off season. We need to beef up the corners. The OTs and the CBs are the soft spots for the future, if only because of the longevity factor. However, we could be blessed with a few more years of Woodson and Harris, but I have my doubts. Even with the improvement of pass protection due, obviously, with the return of Tausch, we need better line play in the running game which we have not had since Green in his prime.
As you all know I’m still not satisfied w/ our RB stable. I think we are maximizing what we get out of Grant, Jackson, and Green simply because of AR, and I don’t think thats enough to go all the way.
Hell, what do I know, I thought we’d be in the playoffs because of the Pre, and then jumped momentarily on the band wagon to dump MM after TB.
Regardless of how this plays out 11-5 exceeds even my optimistic view last August. You just never know.

Yes , the media is lying about the Cards not playing starters and it is because they are panicing, they see the small market Packers going to the super bowl and they cant take it.

We all to well know Favre’s record against Dallas in the playoofs , 0-3.
The Vikings beat a Giant team today that was out of it and rested everyone.
The Vikings do not scare me , they lost in Chicago with a chance to clinch the #2 seed and they lost to a very bad Bear team , The Vikings are the team that lost 3 out of 4.
The team I was concerned with was the Eagles because they have now won in Philly since 1963 , but now if we see them it would be in Green Bay.

Correction ……….. Packer – Cardinal game on Sunday at 3:30 on FOX …….

There is no doubt in my mind that if Warner had played the entire game the final score would have been different ………….. How about 33-10.

The Cards best pass rusher Bert Berry and Pro Bowl Safety Antrell Rolle did not play.
It will be the defending NFC champs next year. Go Pack!

I was at the game today in Arizona and will be there next week for the playoffs! The intensity and swagger the team showed today was outstanding for the players as well as the thousands of fans that made the trip to AZ! The Pack are heading into the playoffs full steam ahead, why would you want it any other way! Bye the way Woodson is ok! TRUST ME! Go Pack! TT and MM have made the packers into a 11-5 football team with the youngest roster in the NFL. The top rated rushing defense the 2nd rated defense overall, a 4,000 yrd QB 1,000 yrd HB and two 1,000 yrd receivers two years running (NFL RECORD) Great emerging talent, Ragi, Jones, Matthew’s etc…. what else do you want!
OH YA if your AL Fire MM and TT for the hundredth time this year! Great Idea!!

There is a good chance this team will be remembered for the (5) losses and for the life of me I can’t remember any of the (3) in 07. Each loss this year IMO led, indirectly, to the playoff finish.
The MIN games were due to the injuries of Clifton, Tauscher, Raji, and Matthews. Matthews was on the cusp but the season turned around when those four came into their own. CIN caught us, and others, totally off guard. At TB we were throughly out coached and not prepared. PIT, a toss up, literally.
This experience sure bodes well for the future if we can keep these guys together and just a tweak here and there.

Backing up a little bit in the thread, I was one of the ones that said we should come out to win the game. But we were up 26-0 at half. I felt it was a little ridiculous to have Rodgers, Finley, Driver etc. on offense, and several of our studs on defense, still running around for the most of the third quarter and in some cases, the entire game.
I understand what these guys get paid to do, and also understand that if asked any of them would say they want to play. It’s just that the potential cost way exceeds any benefit, especially when you’re up 26-0. If building momentum is your argument, I think it’s been done by that point.

LT, I totally agree that several things needed to turn around for us to finish the way we did, and fortunately it seems they all did. (The losses in 07 were both Bear games and the Cowboys game btw. We TO’d ourselves into losing the first Bears game after a dominating first half, the 2nd was the cold windy affair in Chicago during the holidays where we didn’t look like we wanted to be there. Dallas I think we all remember.) I doubted we would be able to get a cohesive line together with our old tackles, but they have held up. I’ve been high on Raji and Mathews from the start, but the level of their growth and contributions has been a pleasant surprise. Anyway, we’ll need to find younger tackles, but that is a discussion for the future and the fact is we certainly much good young talent on both sides of the ball to build around.

After it’s all said and done…I think the only things to take from this game are:

1. We can block their pass rush…AR should have time to throw

2. We can reach their QB..any of them and Warner can’t move.

3. They’ll defend Findley differently and we need to compensate with Jennings, Driver, Nelson and Jones getting a better look. I really think we showed them too much Findley. Although he’s played that way the last 5/6 games.

4. They gave us the quick stuff and I believe it will be available again because of the matchup problems.

5. I think (I hope) Capers will blitz and not give Warner the time to throw if possible.

6. Lastly, we can run on them and screen them because of the receivers.

GO PACK!

Rockhead70,

You try to call others out but you were the one who left this blog for several weeks after the Bucs beat us…I still think you are a fair weather fan. You only came back when the Pack started winning again.

However, I worry about us having to play the nickle often against the Cards. Bush will not match up well with any of the Cards receivers. I hope he doesn’t look like he did against Pitt.

Abraham, after the Bucs loss everyone was in fear of losing their jobs. MM has shown he is a good offensive coach and smart enough to make the right change to his defensive staff. I don’t think any coach could win with the O-tackles we started with and only good fortune and nimble legs kept us from having Flynn as our QB. We need some pieces this next off season but headed in the right direction, be a little more grateful. Look at the rest of our division including the Vikes who are probably one and done.