My Official Green Bay Packers blog

Eesh. It’s preseason, so I know I shouldn’t get too worked up about the final score of a game, but ladies and gentlemen, after my dog spends 34 passionate minutes licking his own ass? His breath smells way better than this game did.

Because Brett Favre doesn’t play DB or LB, I’m pretty sure the 34 points San Francisco put up on the Packers had nothing to do with Favre being traded.

Looking back at the 2007 preseason, there was a lopsided game like this, but it was in our favor, spanking a team we would face in the playoffs later in the year and beat with the same stick we used the first time. Maybe preseason means nothing, maybe there are echoes of truth in these exhibition games. As is my style, I’m not going to provide an in-depth analysis of the game - there are people who are paid sphincterloads of money to do only that, and I’m a guy with a job and a mortgage who nets about $.03 with every post I make. So here’s three cents’ worth of quick hitters:

• With Will “China” Blackmon and Jordy Nelson available to return kicks, there’s no reason we shouldn’t have the best return game in the NFC North or the NFC for that matter. Nelson’s big return last night showed he does not have Usain Bolt speed, but he does that thing that made Mel Gray from the Lions one of the best return men of the last quarter century - as soon as he catches the ball, he runs. No “my shoes are stuck in mud but maybe I can deek everyone by shaking my shoulders” hesitations. Just catch and go. So the return game should be good with the double threat. That is as long as nobody tells Blackmon to break a leg.
• Aaron Rodgers looked like an unsure rookie; he didn’t spot the first down marker on a scramble, seemed indecisive in the pocket, resulting in four visits with the dirt at Candlestick Park.
• Brett Favre looked like a seasoned vet against the Redskins. Okay, it’s not a Packers highlight, but you’ve gotta expect some keystrokes to go to Brett.
• I’m hoping that this season there are few camera shots that show the stitched last names of Green Bay DBs flitting down the field, futilely trying to chase down a wideout that they later swore pulled a Rosie Ruiz, because they never saw him until he was almost in the endzone.

Next up: In Denver on Friday.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers, preseason 2008, Favreless in Frisco

I’m gonna be sick. Not figuratively. I’m really gonna hurl.

For those of you reading this who are Packer fans, if you were talking any smack about this game, it’s time for you to grab a fork and eat it, too. The better team won tonight.

When by the second quarter the Packers looked like they were already having to rely on the big plays to win, it was becoming clear that they weren’t ready for the biggest of all dances. The stout Giants front line weren’t letting any ball carriers past them. But on the other side of the ball, from the point Charles Woodson got laid out backwards, the Packers weren’t stopping any running backs wearing blue. I don’t know why the Giants didn’t run the ball on every play.

Oh yeah, I know why. Burress and Toomer stand about 17″ taller than Harris and Woodson, so why not throw to them again and again. And again.

And then there were the penalties. The Giants had how many? 6 chances from the Packers 1 to score? You can’t give a good team that many chances.

Favre was decent, but he was outplayed by Manning. Yeah, wake up and smell the limburger, cheeseheads. Manning’s throws were where they were supposed to be more often. If it wasn’t for Driver resurrecting several drives with circus catches up the middle (and of course the 90 yard play where he somehow managed to outrun 3 guys who were all faster than him), the Packers might have been shut out.

The good and the bad of it is the Packers are a really young team. They made mistakes that young teams make. Mistakes that Harry Sidney warned about before the Seahawk game; trying to turn every little opportunity into a gamebreak, like trying to scoop up a fumble and take it home instead of just flopping on it. But this team whether with or without Favre in ‘08, won’t have gee-whiz cow eyes next year when on the big stage.

The bikini girls were out again tonight, but somehow that didn’t seem to matter tonight. I guess (Superbowl) berths trump bikinis.

But hell, I had them as a 9-7 team. Many others had them 8-8 or worse. They finished 14-4, second best in the NFC. So I’ll lick my wounds, replace the chunk of carpet that was ruined from my pacing in front of the TV tonight, then reset the clock on the Favre Watch: Decision 2008. And then I’ll wish the Giants good luck against the Pats.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, NFC Championship, I Am Jack’s Raging Bile Duct

Usually I like my game birds served with gravy over mashed potatoes. The tricky part is removing all the bird shot before you cook ‘em or your teeth will get an unwelcome surprise at mealtime.

For the tasty meal served up on Saturday evening, I have to thank Brett Favre, because I’m pretty sure he was using nothing but slugs and firing head shots all night.

My quick hitters for the game:

1. Remember when I talked about watching Red Wing games? And how you could tell, without knowing the score, who was going to win? The Packers got pimp-slapped with two quick scores after Ryan Grant fumbled twice. Their emotional response was not “Aw, shit. We’re screwed.” It was more like “Oh no you di’int. It’s ON.” It’s a lot of fun watching a team like that.

2. And then, like Clubber Lang was the good guy, we kept telling Seattle “I got a lotta mo for you! Whole lotta mo!“

3. And nobody played more like Clubber Lang (in the first fight) than Ryan Grant. After dribbling two on the ground he ran for over 200 yards.

4. Is it just me, or does Brandon Jackson stuff his pants with nitrous oxide? You know, the stuff in a tank that’s usually found in a trunk, like The Fast and The Furious? Push a button and Zooom? I saw it in the Oakland game and again this weekend - that guy gets to the corner before you and it doesn’t matter how close you are. He’s gonna to blow by you.

5. John Kuhn is a kung fu fire plug. He blocked guys from either side at the Seahawk goal line to give Grant an opening wide enough to squeak through to score.

6. Watch this video, and pretend all the scarers are people yelling the name “Atari Bigby,” and all the scarees are Seahawk wideouts.

7. The Packers are in full stride, and now fate has laid the NFC Championship in the lap of Lambeau. Tiki? We’re coming for your boys.

Technorati Tags: Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, NFL, Playoffs