Wags
by Len Wagner
Tuesday, December 5, 2000
"FFF Time -- Faith in Freezin' Favre"
Inconsistent -- the Packers? No way. Check their record for the past eight
games:
Detroit - Loss; San Francisco - WIN; Miami - Loss; Minnesota - WIN; Tampa
Bay - Loss; Indianapolis - WIN; Carolina - Loss; Chicago - WIN.
Do we have a pattern here? Certainly, a consistent flip-flop. Whoever
called the Packers inconsistent? The problem is that if that consistency
continues for the final three games, the Packers will finish the season a
fluttery 7-9. Since they Flipped the last game, they are due to Flop this
week against Detroit. Then another Flip for a win at Minnesota (yeah,
right!) and finally a Flop against Tampa Bay.
But one factor that could reverse those flips and flops is the weather. Two
of the three games are in Lambeau on the Tundra. (Note: Frozen Tundra,
though it has a nice ring to it, is redundant and therefore should not be
used by good writers. Thank you.)
And the weather forecasts, particularly from Wisconsin's very woolly
caterpillars, are for a very cold winter. It should be below 34 degrees in
Green Bay Sunday, according the long range prophecy -- this one by humans
and their computers. There also is a good chance for another frozen Sunday
Dec. 24.
Brett Favre, you will recall, is 25-0 in games at Lambeau Field with the
temp 34 degrees or below. Now there's consistency! And if the forecasts
become reality and Favre's performance under frigid conditions holds true,
the Packers could finish 8-8 -- or 9-7 if they find some magic under that
old silk hat in Minneapolis.
And can anyone doubt Freezin' Favre -- who credits that incredible cold
success to those Mississippi winters?
The Chicago Bears are believers. In Polar-ized Soldier Field Sunday night,
Favre again reduced the grizzlies to wimpy cubs. He passed very well under
the conditions and ran the offense with a precision rarely seen this
season. It was fun to behold. Especially for some of us who still get
charged up by the Packers-Bears rivalry. Lambeau would have loved it. For
that matter, Nitschke, Gregg and quite a few in their wake also would have
relished it.
Never mind that the foes were really lambs in bears' clothing. Chicago was
pretty pathetic on offense and the defense, though considered relatively
stout, played pretty much like it didn't really care about the game and
just wanted to get out of the rain and cold. Oh there were a few
exceptions, like Blake Brockermeyer laying an uncalled for late thwack --
that the officials somehow seemed to miss -- on Bernardo Harris. And there
were a couple instances of some old-time Bears-Packers extra pushing and
shoving. But I don't believe the Bears really cared about the outcome.
On the other hand, the Packers seemed to regain some of that vigor that
dissipated in Carolina. Even Antonio Freeman, after taking a quick dive
with two Bears about to sandwich him after his first catch, turned in one
of his better performances. And Billy Schroeder continued to play well. The
offensive line was mostly a bulwark. Defensively, the Packers almost
totally abandoned their blitz, which bothered me until I saw how futile
quarterback Shane Matthews and his woeful receivers were. No need to even
hurry Matthews. Just lay back and let the Bears self-destruct.
Footnotes: Is it fair to consider Carolina beating the Rams as taking some
of the sting out of the Pack's loss to the Panthers?. . .I really feel bad
for Josh Bidwell, but the guy just has not produced this year. Maybe next
year. But the Packers have brought at least one free agent punter into
Green Bay for a quick look this season. Does that tell you something?. .
.It's tragic that Steve Warren suffered a muscle tear. If you reacall, he
has been the target of lots of back pats in this space all year, despite
limited playing time. . .
The Packer offense overcame a start that looked all too familiar: With
third-and-one, Favre passed over the line to William Henderson, who caught
the ball short of even the one lousy yard needed. And then Bidwell botched
a punt to give the Bears great field position. Who knew, at that stage,
just how bad the Bears would be all night. . .
Ron Wolf, donning his coaching hat, ripped his team for its three very
conservative plays and a punt with 1:38 left in the first half. "It was
very poor clock management. We had time...and we diddled around. I thought
that was very poor," he said, even though there was no need to take a
chance on a turnover deep in their own territory at that point. Well, maybe
it's better than the vote of confidence Ray Rhodes got from him.
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