I couldn't be happier to have "Favre-ageddon" over with. This game has been circled on my calendar ever since Brett Favre showed up at the Vikings' training camp this summer. And, as in the two teams' first meeting, No. 4 was perfect in every facet and rubbed the victory right in the face of Ted Thompson. It was definitely a painful loss, but it just shows how good Favre actually makes the Vikings. While Aaron Rodgers still had a great game statistically, there is still a mountain of work to be done to set the Packers aside and into the playoffs.
1. The first half made me dry heave. Not only did the stats prove it as well, but that was the worst freaking half of football I have ever seen the Green Bay Packers play in my 20-or-so years of watching the team. Favre effortlessly moved his team down the field against a defense that looked unstoppable the last two weeks, albeit against infereior opponents. And when the Packers did have the ball, the running game proved worthless and Aaron Rodgers looked as though he'd never taken a snap before. The offensive line was a sieve just like last time. Everything that could have gone wrong did, and it really set the team back both on the scoreboard and in the minds of the players.
2. Favre is better than the Packers defense. I really don't think the defense played all that bad. I just think that the Vikings played that well. In the second half when the Packers took the momentum from the Vikings, Favre took the Vikings down and got a key third-down touchdown late in the game to make it a two-possession affair. Everything the Packers threw at them the Vikings batted it away. That's a damn good team over there.
3. Johnny Jolly's an idiot. Thanks to Brian for getting Jolly's quote after the game. After fist pumping a great third down stop, I immediately cussed out Jolly's insanely moronic penalty. What goes through a player's head when doing something like that? It was absolutely crucial to get momentum at the start of the game, and the defense had it for a split second. Mike McCarthy, for some reason, doesn't see the importance in keeping the penalties to the minimum. He needs to hold himself more responsible for those errors.
4. Should I order my Spencer Havner jersey yet? How sweet was his diving touchdown catch yesterday? I'm very impressed with the way Havner's come on after scoring his first touchdown last week in Cleveland. But two touchdowns in the biggest game of the year? That's just awesome. Not to mention his special teams ability, but Havner's been awesome, and one of the lone bright spots from yesterday.
5. Greg Jennings HAS to keep it up. It was really nice to see Jennings get back on track with a solid game. When he scored his touchdown, his first since opening night, he looked incredibly relieved. Rodgers needs to find Jennings more, and he knows it. He's an amazing receiver with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, which leads me to believe he'll be fine.
Of course there are plenty more points to discuss so let's attack that in the comments section below.