Packers vs Seahawks

[SkunkedAgain]

Obviously it was a good win and a blow out. It's good to see that they are winning the games that they are supposed to win, and competing against the good teams. They haven't laid any eggs.

The Bad:

- Hawk still looks slow and not great in coverage. He and Rodgers have the same problem where they are so committed to avoiding mistakes, that they play too tight, which in itself is often the mistake.

- McCarthy is a red-flag challenge fool. Every time he pulls out the hanky its almost a guaranteed loss of a timeout. Terrible, every week.

- Kapinos is not a good punter. We keep hearing that he punts well in practice, well whoop-de-do. We need a punter that punts well in games. Thompson better find a replacement in the off season.

- The offensive line is better, but still not great. They are still allowing sacks and aren't opening up great holes. The RBs seem to be making better adjustments to compensate, but the run blocking needs to improve.

The Good:

- Johnny Jolly is outstanding and played well again yesterday. He reads the screen well, gets a paw up to block pass attempts, and stuffs the run. I read that he has the fourth-most passes defended on the team!

- The offensive line made great blocks on Grant's big run.

- Jermichael Finley and Jennings both had great games receiving. There is so much talent at this position for the Packers, that someone is always stepping up when others are not.

- Penalties seem to have gone away. Knock on wood.

The guys in the booth made a great assessment of the Packers though. They have beat up on the cream puff teams (Lions, Rams, Browns, Bears, etc) this year but have lost to the good ones (Cincinnati, Vikings, and Steelers). Beating the Cowboys and Ravens in primetime were two major accomplishments. The secondary is still vulnerable to good quarterbacks like Favre and Roethlisberger, but the defensive scheme can sometimes mask it.

I'm excited to see this team progress into the post season. I keep thinking back to the way we dominated the preseason and hope that we find that same gear for a run to the trophy!

[CJH]

It seems like the Pack are peeking at the right time. They definitely have their flaws, but for whatever reason this year, pretty much every team does. No team is unstoppable. Look what has happened to the Saints and Vikes the last few weeks. I think its going to be a wild and crazy playoffs, which should be fun to watch. Its wide open, and pretty much any of the teams that get in could make a run.

It was interesting that the announcers complimented Ted Thompson on the Favre Deal. They basically said would you rather have Favre or ARod and Clay Mathews (since the pick the Pack got from the Jets was used to trade up to get him)? Their assesment was that was a no brainer, which in looking back, I would have to agree with.

[Jim Uran]

These guys are scary good!!!!!! I hop we face them in the playoffs... man that would be sweet( i think).

[SkunkedAgain]

That was a good assessment about Favre vs Rodgers/Matthews. Certainly Rodgers doesn't compare to Favre yet, but both Rodgers and Matthews are good players and are bound to get better. Thompson has been overly criticized for getting rid of older players that are beginning to lose their competitive edge. He was crucified for jettisoning Marco Rivera and Mike Wahle (which I think initially led to people hating Thompson). Rivera was a good call because he flopped in Dallas. Rivera hit the Pro Bowl in 2005 but only played a few more seasons.

Thompson has made shrewd moves, which doesn't always sit well with the Packer faithful, but they have been the right moves. Thompson is definitely a rip-off-the-bandaid-fast person while Johnny Q Public is a pull-off-the-bandaid-slowly group.

Nothing but love for Thompson here. There are things that he's messed up, but all GMs make mistakes and he has consistently made more smart moves than anyone...even the revered Ron Wolf!

[LMITOUT]

QB Aaron Rodgers became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in his first two seasons as a starter. Rodgers now has 4,199 yards.

[CJH]

That's pretty impressive. He's handled the Favre thing great, and has turned into a heck of a QB.

[mrklean]

glad to see them make the playoffs hopefully they can keep playing outdoors where they seem to play better