Wags
by Len Wagner
Monday, December 18, 2000
"Pack Attack!!!"
Fried crow and humble pie are a long way from a brat and brew. Fortunately
I haven't had to eat too much of the former -- there was barely enough to
go around.
I did not see a forecast anywhere about the weird event that shook
Minneapolis Sunday. There were no strange looking people walking the
streets last week with signs reading "Repent, the End is Near" on one side
and "Be Aware, Packers to Beat Vikings in Dome" on the other side. Not even
the most loyal, wildly fanatical Green Bay Packers fans I know were
predicting a win. And I know quite a few of them, all of whom fed me
morsels of crow because my brazen prediction of the Pack's demise in
Minnesota was made public through SEZ while they quietly sat on their fences.
All that aside, this was a Packers team we had not seen all year. I mean
even in past wins -- including the two previous weeks against Chicago and
Detroit -- did we see anything really approaching the all-around treat of
Sunday's 33-28 conquest (read that "sweep") of those villainous
Minnesotans. Heck, they might be in first place and considered Super Bowl
threats, but the Pack has made them look more like Purple Pretenders this
year.
So the Pack is now 8-7, having clinched at least a .500 regular season,
with what now appears to be a more than decent chance to reach 9-7 (read
this one Tampa Bay in Lambeau Field on Dec. 24) but with the probability of
making the playoffs still not particularly realistic. At this juncture, the
Packers should be delighted with shooting for a 9-7 record, never mind the
playoffs.
With three straight wins following what is now an even more unexplainable
dive at Carolina, the Packers have stretched their thin talent and depth
beyond what could have reasonably been expected by anyone other than the
most abundantly optimistic observers. Oh sure, the players and coaches have
professed great faith in one and all since the start of training camp, but
this is part of the psychological clause in their contracts.
Credit for this victory can be spread all over the roster, including the
coaching staff. Not only did Mike Sherman and his crew have a sound (though
not particularly unique or even confounding) game plan, but they again
found a way to inject the needed dose of attitude into their players. If
there has been a hallmark of this coaching staff, it has been the ability
to consistently (with the exception of the dumfounding Carolina collapse)
motivate these high-living athletes through a roller coaster of injuries,
disappointments, sometimes stinging outside influences and occasional
satisfying achievements.
But under deep analysis, Sunday's win was due to outscoring the Vikings.
That sounds simplistic. But the only way anyone beats the Vikings is to
outscore them. Minnesota has a wild offense -- but mild defense. While the
Pack's defense played exceptionally well -- stopping Robert Smith with just
26 yards, collecting six tackles-for-loss, forcing two crucial turnovers --
the Vikings still rolled up 400 yards, averaging 7.1 per play, and scored
28 points. And that was in barely more 24 minutes of possession time. It
should have been enough to win the game. But that doesn't take into
consideration the Packers' offense.
The Green Bay offense has stumbled more than rumbled this season. Brett
Favre, perhaps, as some would have you believe, because he is surrounded
with something less than championship talent has been inconsistent. But
when he gets his act together, as he did again on Sunday, he is still one
of the premier playmakers in the league. With Favre reading the defense
superbly and mixing up darts and deft lofts, and with Ahman Green again
out-Dorseying Levens, the Pack Attack controlled this game.
In 10 possessions, the Packers scored seven times. And at the end of both
the first half and the game, Favre took a knee. That means the Vikings
stopped the Packers only once in the whole game. The Pack managed 28 first
downs, sucking up yards like a vacuum cleaner, sometimes slowly but always
methodically -- including 10 of 15 third down conversions. Four of those
non-conversions became Ryan Longwell field goals. The Packers controlled
the ball for almost 36 minutes. They had no turnovers and the line allowed
one real sack. Equally as important, the team had only three penalties.
(Remember how really dumb penalties plagued the Pack earlier in the season?)
On this occassion, the Packers' offense was to football what Bing Crosby is
to "White Christmas."
Another aspect, one mentioned in this space a week ago, was Favre's
post-game declaration that "We just played like we had nothing to lose."
The players were loose, having fun. The Vikings looked tight. After taking
a licking from the Rams a week ago, they were not having fun.
Footnotes -- Green just keeps getting better and better. He is handling the
ball much better. And his improvement gives a whole new perspective to the
draft. The Packers may be able to skip by a top-flight running back in the
early rounds and concentrate on a pass-rushing lineman (desperately needed)
or a fleet, sticky-fingered receiver. . .Bernardo Harris has never
convinced me he is the answer at middle linebacker but he also has made
great strides this year and had a career outing against the Vikings. .
.Mike Wahle, the flop at left tackle, came up with some great blocks in key
situations as a tight end Sunday. . .With rookie tackles Clifton and
Tauscher rising above even the rest, the offensive line has demonstrated
distinct improvement. . .With all the fine offense, Josh Bidwell thankfully
only had to punt once. . .The one big negative was the number of missed
tackles (some potential sacks). But don't dwell on that this week. Just
enjoy the sweep -- and look forward to Tampa Bay in Lambeau Field on
Christmas Eve.
---------------------------( ADVERTISEMENT )---------------------------
Get your sports tickets (yes even Packer tickets) from OpenSeats.com
southendzone.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
South End Zone Mailing List
southendzone.com
SouthEndZone-subscribe@egroups.com
SouthEndZone-unsubscribe@egroups.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
=*= Over 2,600 subscribers in 14 countries. Tell all your friends! =*= |
