October 2008 - Posts

• Giants Top Balanced NFC

  Posted Oct 27 2008, 02:55 PM by Dennis Krause

  If I had to pick the best team in the NFC (and maybe in the NFL) right now, it would be the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants. The Packers are in a bunch in the middle right now that could go either way. They're certainly a candidate to win the NFC North and peak in the playoffs. They're also a candidate to succumb to a difficult schedule and miss the playoffs. The injury to Tony Romo and the shaky status of the Dallas Cowboys, the disappointment of the Minnesota Vikings and the swift decline of the Seattle Seahawks all combine to make for an uncertain NFC.

  At 6-2, Washington and Carolina have emerged as serious contenders. Dallas and Tampa Bay are both 5-3 but one of them would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. It seems a safe bet that the NFC North will only have one playoff representative. That means the Packers, Bears and Vikings will likely be scuffling for one spot. The Bears could easily be 7-0. Their losses have been by 3, 3 and 2 points. Kyle Orton has played well and if Chicago's defense can get it together, they will give the Packers a tough battle for the division title. I don't think Minnesota has the right people at head coach or quarterback and those are two pretty important pieces for a winning franchise.

  My biggest concern about the Packers for the rest of the season is simple: RUN DEFENSE. If they don't get better in that area, they could be sitting home in January watching the playoffs on television. Special teams have not been as good as expected. I'm still waiting to see if the running game can become consistent. Aaron Rodgers has been playoff-caliber, Greg Jennings has become a star and the secondary has weathered some significant injuries. There's reason to believe the Packers can make the playoffs. There are also enough concerns to make the next nine games fascinating.

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• IMPRESSIVE WIN

  Posted Oct 20 2008, 03:13 PM by Dennis Krause

  If you're expecting me to spend this space talking about Brett Favre, I politely refuse. The last thing that is worth talking about after the Packers rout of the Colts is their former quarterback's phone friends. The Packers made the Colts look like a bad team. Tony Dungy called it the sloppiest effort of his team since he took over in Indianapolis. The Packers relished seeing Peyton Manning get frustrated as the game went on. If you had told me before the season that the Packers would be 4-3 at the bye, I certainly would have taken it. They didn't get there the way I would have expected, but that doesn't matter. I wouldn't have predicted a loss to Atlanta. But I also wouldn't have thought the Seahawks would get so bad and that the Packers would beat the Colts. Convincingly, at that.

  Aaron Rodgers has exceeded my expectations. He has been smart, poised and tough enough to play through a painful shoulder injury. Greg Jennings has become a star. The offensive line and Ryan Grant are just starting to mesh. The defense is not perfect, but you have to salute what they've done in the secondary despite significant injuries to Al Harris and Atari Bigby. If Charles Woodson isn't in the Pro Bowl, why even play the fgame? Special teams have been up-and-down but should benefit from a healthier roster.

  Certainly, the Packers have flaws. In case you haven't noticed, so does everyone else in the NFC--and the NFL. The schedule is challenging the rest of the way. But the Packers are tied for the division lead and show flashes of being a very good team. That's more important to me than who Brett Favre is talking to on the phone.

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• 3-3 PACKERS FIT RIGHT IN

  Posted Oct 13 2008, 11:19 AM by Dennis Krause
  The Packers 27-17 victory at Seattle was more about showing survival skills than displaying excellence. The good news is that the Packers won. The really good news is that the Packers didn’t lose.With the Seahawks playing third-stringer Charlie Frye at quarterback and featuring a decimated corps of receivers, losing to the Seahawks would have been embarrassing.
  
  By winning, the Packers “vaulted” into a three-way tie for first place in the mediocre NFC North Division. Does anybody else think the Bears may look back to Sunday as when they “squibbed” away the division title?Aaron Rodgers took some hits and hung in nicely despite his shoulder injury. I guess Mike McCarthy subscribes to the “if you’re out there, you can play theory”. How else would you explain the logic in having Rodgers diving forward into a mass of bodies on quarterback sneaks? Ryan Grant rushed a career-high 33 times. Sometimes the running game isn’t about breaking off big chunks of yardage. Sunday, it was about establishing a mindset and also protecting the still-ailing Rodgers. It also helped the Packers dominate the time of possession.
  
  The Packers defense broke out of its sack slump and Aaron Kampman led the way with a couple. Charles Woodson should have majored in film in college because his film study continues to produce interceptions despite any substantial practice time. Tramon Williams is doing a solid job of filling for Al Harris, grabbing three interceptions in three weeks.So, the first-place Packers won a game in which there wasn’t much of an alternative. Suddenly, you look around the rest of the NFC and only the Giants have fewer than two losses. Dallas is reeling and now without the injured Tony Romo for a month.
  
  The NFC has yet to be defined. With 10 games left, neither has the Packers season. 
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• TIME TO WORRY

  Posted Oct 06 2008, 11:32 AM by Dennis Krause

  Three straight losses. Mounting injuries. Repeated mistakes. The Packers are a mediocre team right now. Actually, I'm being kind because at 2-3 they're not even at the magic mark of mediocrity, the .500 record.

  All of us spent so much time wondering Aaron Rodgers would play and whether the Packers could win with Matt Flynn that we forgot some more important things. Like the fact that the Packers can't stop the run. In fact, against the Falcons they couldn't stop the run or the pass. Other than that, the defense had it covered.

  The Packers penalty party continued, although the interference call on Pat Lee was bogus and Jermichael Finley insists he didn't hold on the negated field goal. And what happened to the Packers edge on special teams? That seems to have disappeared in a haze of shaky Derrick Frost punts and long kickoff returns by the opponent.

  I give Aaron Rodgers a ton of credit for playing hurt and playing well. He made one costly mistake, but certainly can't be blamed for the loss.

  When you lose at home to a so-so team with a rookie quarterback (although I like the poised Matt Ryan), you've got trouble. Since the NFC wild cards will likely both come from the NFC East, the Packers can be thankful they reside in the NFC North, where 9-7 could get you a division title. Right now, 9-7 looks pretty good.

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