Tomorrow the Green Bay Packers will play one of the biggest games in franchise history. No, not on the level of a Super Bowl or NFL Championship Game, but certainly it is the biggest game since the NFC Championship following the 2007 season and before that the 4th-and-26 game in the same city they will be in Sunday.
The main reason it is so big is because of the expectations of the Packers going into the season. To think the Packers lost the division to the Bears is shocking enough, a loss in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year would be a major step backwards. This year’s Packers’ team is a resilient bunch having withstood the loss of 15 players to injured reserve, including six opening day starters. Do they have enough in the tank to make a playoff run?
It all comes down to head games. Can the Packers back up all the big talk this week? After thinking the Packers would win easily earlier in the week, I’m beginning to have serious doubts. The Indianapolis Colts just lost a game because they couldn’t cover a kickoff return after taking a late lead. How many times have we seen the Packers’ special teams blow a game? In Seattle earlier in the day the defending champion New Orleans Saints lost as a 11-point favorite to a losing team. Anything can happen and usually does in the NFL.
I’m glad the Packers’ players aren’t like me and worry about the consequences of a loss more than the glory of victory. That is how high the bar has been raised in Green Bay the last 18 years and having lived through the 70s and 80s, it sure beats the alternative. I’m a victim of that success myself as I have been accused of being negative on my blog once or twice during a game now and then. Sorry about that. It’s a new Packernet in 2011.
All that said, pledging an allegiance to positivity in the new year, my 100,000 star lock of the year is Packers 23, Eagles 21.