Where was this team a month ago? Take a walk down memory lane with me. November 1st, Lambeau field, and and everyone's favorite player to hate and love in the state of WI was in town, Brett Favre and his merry band of purple men. Vikings 38, Packers 26. Favre was phenomenal, and Rodgers was shaky. The Packers offensive line was giving away sacks and the defense was still finding its way. It appeared to me the fans at Lambeau were booing Favre, almost as loudly as the were booing Ted Thompson. Every story printed about the Packers somehow mentioned Ted was on the hot seat. And throw in the general arm chair quarterbacking, McCarthy was also feeling some heat. Four weeks later, four consecutive wins, and everyone is talking about playoffs. Impressive turnaround.
It's not a state secret how they did it, they fixed what was wrong, and have steadily gotten better. The defense appears to have worked out most of the kinks or growing pains switching to the 3-4 defense. Also, keep in mind they have done it the last few weeks without two Pro Bowl players, Kampman and Harris. They have consistently stopped the run after Cincinnati and St. Louis ate them up on the ground. A lot of the credit goes to the LB crew for the defense's improvement. Barnett hasn't made a million flashy plays, but has slowly improved week to week coming back from surgery. In the football world, they usually say it takes almost two years for a skill player to return completely to normal after an ACL tear like Nick had, so I look forward for him to continue to improve. And Matthews looks like he is on track to be on the short list for defensive rookie of the year. He's been playing like he's been in the league forever. Maybe there is something to that "football bloodline" I keep hearing about. When Kampman was in there, he was solid, not stellar. Now the new kid Jones, seems to be more the prototype outside linebacker for a 3-4. Hell, even AJ Hawk had a big interception, where has that guy been? I think if this group, and this defense, continues on the path they are on and stay healthy, they really could be special.
It can't be all roses though, penalties continue. My question for the day is who do you think had more yardage, #38 Williams in penalties for the Packers, or the Ravens in total offense? I bet it's close. All kidding aside, Williams had three penalties (should have been four), for I'm guessing around a 100 yds, while the Ravens only had around a 150 yds in total offense. They have to clean that up. Against a really good team, those penalties will make it impossible to win. Some of these penalties are just plain stupid. Williams shouldn't get flagged for the same penalty again and again, and again. "Arm barring" a receiver while running down field is about the easiest pass interference to call, its so obvious and blatant. Hopefully he learns quick, because with Al gone, it looks like he's going to be the guy for the rest of the season.
The glaring problem that I see being detrimental to them in the future is special teams. They are bad. It seems every week they give up a long return. Nelson has given them a few nice returns, but those are few and far between. And the kicking game, well, they have one. Kicking a 45 -53 yd field goal these days is pretty routine around the league, not in Green Bay. See if any of these names ring a bell, Chris Jacke, Craig Hentrich, Desmond Howard? Those guys helped propel us to the Super Bowl in 1996. Craig could drop a punt anywhere he wanted. Chris had a strong a accurate leg. And Desmond was the Super Bowl MVP. All facets have to be peaking right about now. There is too much pressure on the offense and defense, they don't need more added pressure carrying the special teams.
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Could the Pack be back for good? - WITI
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