Packers vs. Seahawks Quick Notes

Greg Jennings: the new sheriff in town.

I’d be a lot more excited about the Green Bay Packers 27-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks if I didn’t already know that Seattle is truly an awful team. But as they say in Cliche Town, “a win is a win.”

THE GOOD

• Aaron Rodgers is still playing well. On top of that, his shoulder is still causing him considerable pain. There’s no doubt that Brett Favre is probably enjoying watching the Packers struggle this year, but I also bet that part of him is getting a kick out of watching his old understudy show this kind of grit.
• Greg Jennings. I know the guy hasn’t been around that long, but I think it’s fair to say the Packers haven’t had a receiver this good since Sterling Sharpe. Better than Donald Driver, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks – all of them.
• Charles Woodson. We’ve never had a cornerback this good. If he doesn’t make it to the Pro Bowl this year, something is wrong with the system. Not only does he lock his guys up playing man-to-man coverage, he has also become dangerously deceptive in zone coverages.
• Aaron Kampman. I was just about to start asking where this guy went. He is a locker room leader, one of the key components to the Packers defense and it was time for him to step up. Along with his fellow linemen, he had been invisible the last couple weeks. Leading by example, Kampman was on fire all day and wound up with two sacks.
• Tramon Williams. Three weeks in relief of Al Harris, three picks, no major mistakes. You heard it here first. Williams will be a great player.

THE BAD

• Run game. I can’t put all of this on the offensive line. Normally, that’s the problem, but I can see the holes. I can see the cutback lanes. Ryan Grant, somehow, cannot. With his ability he should be racking up 150+ yards in a game where he gets 33 carries. Instead, Grant wound up with 90 yards. The Packers need a breakout game from Grant, or teams will completely stop respecting the run game. Next week vs. the Colts would be a good a time. What do you say Ryan?
• Penalties. Less of a factor than the last few games, but how about a game where we don’t see any? That would be great.

OTHER NOTES

Two of the nail-biter games this week featured losses for two of the teams I loathe the most.

• The Chicago Bears thought they had the game wrapped up after scoring a touchdown with 11 seconds left. What followed is what makes the NFL so awesome. Improbably, Atlanta got a good return on the kickoff, followed by a perfectly thrown pass by Matt Ryan. That set up the game-winning field goal as time expired. Put this one on the Bears’ coaching staff. The first fuck up was calling for the squib kick. They should have at least noticed that Atlanta anticipated it and placed wide receivers and return men in to block instead of o-linemen. The second mistake was staying in a cover 2. Look, I’m no fan of prevent defense – unless it’s in the final seconds. Why do coaches always switch to prevent when there is two minutes left but never when it’s actually supposed to be employed?
• I’m not going to analyze the Cowboys-Cardinals thriller. All I’m going to say is I’m glad I scooped up Kurt Warner on my fantasy team. The end of the game review fiasco was, well, a fiasco… and… suck it Cowboys’ fans. There is no other franchise in pro sports that deserves the tailspin you are about to enter. No other fans that deserve the type of frustration and humiliation that you are about to endure. So suck it, Dallas.

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