The Persistent Packers

By Joshua Walls

After a not so great game against the reigning NFL champion New York Giants last week, the Packers certainly showed everyone around the NFL their true colors this past week against the Minnesota Vikings.

Early on, it didn’t look too bright for Green Bay Packers, as they ended the first half down 14-10 with Adrian Peterson only touching the surface of what was going to come for the rest of the game.

Although Aaron Rodgers did not put on a spectacular performance, he certainly outplayed the opposing quarterback, Christian Ponder. Ponder looked horrible, throwing interceptions that led to meaningful field position that led to the Packers scoring.

AP Photo/ Tom Lynn

Adrian Peterson was absolutely amazing, setting a career record of an 82-yard run.  Peterson rushed for 210 yards. He is slowly but surely climbing the ranks of greatest running backs of all time. Even though Peterson was as consistent as usual, his quarterback is still relatively unpredictable.

The defenses on both ends were great.  The Vikings held A-Rod in check for a majority of the game, while holding the Packers to only 23 points, which is a difficult task to accomplish. Green Bay’s defense was amazing, although future Hall of Fame candidate, Adrian Peterson ran all over the team.  Outside of Peterson, they kept Christian Ponder contained and the D-Line gave Minnesota O-Line too much to handle.  Davon House played a spectacular game with tight coverage that forced many incompletions.

With the great performance of the Packers, they now move to first place ahead of the Bears in the NFC North Division.  Mike McCarthy had a few words for his team’s new ranking, “Next week we need to be the Lions, that’s where I’m at.”

The Green Bay Packers have had a great season thus far and look to be getting better in tough game situations.  It will be interesting to see how well they can match up against the Lions and their talented core of young players next week.

Packers Win Close One at End

The Green Bay Packers Defense get them through a difficult stretch

By Joshua Walls

The supreme green and yellow Packers pulled out a close one late in the Motor City against division rivals Detroit Lions and their young nucleus of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

AP Photo/ Duane Burleson

This game had all the makings of a good one.  Spectators saw two defenses at their best and two teams play their hearts out from the first second of the game until the very last second.

The Lions record in no way reflects their stellar play.  This defense had the game’s best quarterback against the wall for an entire game.

On Sunday it looked as if Aaron Rodgers and his offense just did not have the ingredients to overcome the ferocious beast of a defense that we call the Lions.  They committed simple penalties, threw interceptions, were lackluster on yards and their kicker had a poor performance.

Rodgers had a few words to say after the game, such as this being one of his worst games of the season and talking about the significance of the game, “these are the ones you look back on and feel really good about.”

The Packers defense stuck to what they know best and that is playing hard.  Throughout the game, they were the driving force to keeping Green Bay in the game.  They played tight defense on Calvin Johnson throughout the second half, were able to get a pick, got into the end zone and kept Detroit to only three points in the fourth quarter.

On the other hand, the Lions did not look too bad themselves.  Matthew Stafford played a good game throughout four quarters, passing for 266 yards.  The only true issue with Stafford was the miscommunication between him and his receivers.

The Lions defense, much like that of the Packers, was exceptionally good, but they could only do so much with Aaron Rodgers’ tricky play.  Sports columnist Scott Bischoff spoke briefly about one of Aaron’s football deceptions,  “To start the second quarter, the defense got burned by a faked screen pass, as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit tight end Jermichael Finley with a touchdown pass.”

The Packers were able to keep their winning streak and prevail art the end of the game.  NFL FOX sports broadcaster and former New York Giant Superbowl champion, Michael Strahan probably summed up the Lions season better than anyone by saying, “they are a team who finds a way to not get it done at the end.”

Quarterbacks Shine in Week 6

Aaron Rodger's historic day proves that star-studded quarterback play is still essential in fantasy football

(AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

By Gabriella Rusk 

At this point in the season, the fantasy breakout stars have, well, broken out. While everyone hopes to find one on the waiver wire such as the tall terrific tight end, the wonderfully wise wide receiver, the reckless yard returning running back, the truth is there isn’t too many star sleepers left to be awoken. All that’s left are spectacular performances from the players more or less expected to have great seasons. Guys that are picked early in the fantasy league’s draft finally are proving themselves worthy of that coveted roster position. And those guys are the quarterbacks.

Good ol’ Aaron Rodgers is a prime example. The first round fantasy quarterback threw for six touchdowns and 338 yards against the Texans on Sunday night, tying a team record. The 2011 NFL MVP remains a primer fantasy quarterback after a slow start in 2012.

Then there’s Peyton Manning who proved on Monday night that he is still a quarterback to be reckoned with. He threw for 3 touchdowns and 309 yards, leading the Broncos back from a 24-0 halftime deficit to win the game 35-24. It was the fourth-greatest regular-season comeback in NFL history, according to CBSsports.com.

Despite losing to the Titans, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 363 yards to become the franchise’s all-time passing leader. In his career, Big Ben has thrown for 28,066 yards, making him an elite quarterback in both the NFL and fantasy football.

To cap it off, Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who suffered a concussion last week, had a 76 yard rushing touchdown, breaking the NFL record for the longest touchdown run by a quarterback.  RG3 cashed in once again for his fantasy owners this week as he continues to dominate NFL defenses.

But fantasy football leagues remain wide open with eight weeks left to go before Week 14 playoffs. With NFL records still waiting to be broken, fantasy owners hope they are one up’d by players on their roster.

Green Bay Packers: New Year, New Story

The Packers face the reality of the NFL

By Joshua Walls

Last year at this time, fans and football analysts around the nation were shocked at how well the Green Bay Packers were playing and how it was time for Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the team to shine. This season, unlike the past, has not shared the same thrill. This season has brought in some of the same publicity, but more on the negative side.

The Packers have not been able to get the fire under their feet like last year, when they started the season with an impressive undefeated record.  This year, they are one game under .500 and have injuries to key players. This is probably the result of bad refereeing and a team that has not been in sync with one another.

AP Photo/ Mike Roemer

The Cedric Benson injury has done everything but help the Packers franchise.  Without their backfield stud, they have failed on attempts to gain extra yards.  They have also missed great opportunities to win in late-game situations. 

The Packers have been able to present some intense finger-biting games this season. However, they have had no luck in closing any of these games.  All of them have been very close though, as they have yet to lose by more than 8 points this season.

“For the last five weeks we’ve been frustrated, regardless of what our record may be,” said receiver Donald Driver. “We’ve been frustrated as an organization, as a team, as a coaching staff.  The only way we’re going to be successful is we have to work through it.”

Players like Driver show that there is still a reason to be optimistic. The players have, by no means, totally given up faith on their season.

“We’re in a tough spot we put ourselves in,” said defensive lineman Ryan Pickett. “We’ve got to find a way out, but it starts at the top. Coach McCarthy never panics, never changes what we’re doing. Just believe in what we’re doing and keep at it.”

Head coach Mike McCarthy has always had a tendency to go against in the odds and do things out of the ordinary.

During the 2006 season, the Packers started off with a horrifying 1-4 record and ended the season 8-8.  In 2009, they began the season 4-4 and ended it with an 11-5 record.  During the 2010 season, they were performing much like they are this season, kicking off with a 3-3 start, but eventually going 11-3 in the remainder of the season.

McCarthy has great credibility and knowledge when it comes to encouraging and turning his team around, especially when all odds seem to be against them.  Look for the Packers to bounce back and have a successful season.