Can a week 2 game be a must win situation?? It is if you are the 2012 Green Bay Packers. A loss tonight would not only drop the Packers to an 0-2 start, it would mark back to back home losses. As a matter of fact, it would be 3 straight losses in Lambeau dating back to last year’s playoff loss to the Giants. They would also be 2 1/2 games behind their division rival Chicago Bears, and two NFC losses would be negative for wildcard ramifications. So I ask again… Can a week 2 matchup be a must win game?? Absolutely!!
However the Chicago Bears are coming in flying high after a week 1 41-21 trouncing of the Colts. The Bears looked great as Jay Cutler,Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte showed a glimpse of an offense that looks to come of age this season.
So far so good and why would the Bears be motivated?? Well ever since the 2010 NFC Championship loss to the Packers, Cutler’s toughness has been in question while Aaron Rodgers has been anointed a great quarterback. Now they can hit the
staggering
Packers with a haymaker.
The last time the Packers secondary faced a big, strong receiver was week 17 last year. Remember that 44-41 shootout with Detroit? Well Calvin “Megatron” Johnson caught 11 passes for a team record 244 yards and here comes Brandon Marshall.
Last week, we found the Packers dominated on both sides of the line. They may have been exposed as soft on defense. No Desmond Bishop who is on IR and the Niners last week were torching CB Bush #24. He replaced Charles Woodson who has been moved to safety.
Now add to that WR Greg Jennings may not play… Hmmm?? Now this is when a team wins with it’s back against the wall. The Chancellor doesn’t see it. Had Matt Ryan not rallied them last year in that finale (touchdown with :20 left) they would have already lost 3 straight. After tonight…. It will be
Well the 2012 season is upon us and the question beckons: Who will make it to Super Bowl XLVII?? Every NFL team believes they have made moves to improve their roster yet only 15 or so really has a legitimate shot to make it to New Orleans. Each NFL season takes on a new look as new players make names for themselves, injuries derail teams and give hope to others, and then you have teams that come from out of nowhere. The latter rarely happens but when it does it makes for great theater.
An interesting thing happens the season after a surprise champion wins it, everyone thinks the team that should have won it, will win it the next year. Many are pointing to last year’s 15-1 Green Bay Packers to win it all. They were defending Super Bowl champions last year right? If the NFL were a television show like the NBA has become, I could understand your argument. However injuries and performance peaks and valleys alter a football team’s fortunes every season. In 2010, the Green Bay Packers were 10-6 with 16 players on injured reserve. Yet they rode the momentum of winning their final regular season game all the way to a championship. Last year they rested their players going into the playoffs and the Giants promptly took their lunch money in a quiet exit from the playoffs. The Giants used the same method Green Bay had used the year before: Get hot going into the playoffs.
As for The Chancellor’s crystal ball on the NFC this year:
2012 NFC Playoff Predictions
1. Detroit Lions 13-3 ## NFC North Champs Homefield Advantage
2. Atlanta Falcons 11-5 NFC South Champs
3. San Francisco 49ers 11-5 NFC West Champs
4. New York Giants 10-6 NFC East Champs
5. Green Bay Packers 11-5 Wild Card
6. Chicago Bears 10-6 Wild Card
NFC CHAMPION: Detroit Lions
It’s hard for some to wrap the thought of the Lions playing in the Super Bowl but this team is growing in stature and has the perfect blend of youth and talent. The strides they made last season with a healthy Matthew Stafford were immense and puts them in position to come out of the pack in 2012 a better football team. They will mature into that team as this season progresses. The NFC North as a whole will be the scourge of the league with the Packers and Bears also making the playoffs. The Packers took a big loss when they placed 2011 leading tackler Desmond Bishop on injured reserve. If they lose 15 more, that’s the recipe for their winning it in 2011…
Many folks point to the Philadelphia Eagles as a team to come into this season with something to prove. Yet their recent history has Michael Vick missing several games due to injury and 2012 will be no different. In the first six games he faces 3 of last year’s top ten defenses. Andy Reid’s job will be on the line with another 8-8 season as owner Jeffrie Lurie alluded to, but they will win 10 games.
Now many Saints fans will think their team is back in the hunt with the suspensions of Jonathon Vilma and Will Smith overturned. The Chancellor doesn’t see that. First off, the team has an interim coach standing in for interim coach Joe Vitt. The game plans of Sean Payton and in-game adjustments will be missed. The loss in continuity with players missing all those practices and which coach has what responsibilities will result in a few clock management mistakes. Count on it. Many point to Drew Brees as though he can overcome all of these obstacles, not without his confidant in Payton. The Saints will struggle.
As for the Dallas Cowboys, right now they have the number one defense in the NFL… except no one else has played. They did look good in the win over the New York Giants. DeMarco Murray ran hard. However it was just week one and the NFL season is a marathon, not a short sprint. In a long race, the NFC North Champion Detroit Lions will be the team standing at the finish.
Julius Peppers has freakish athleticism for a man his size.
Just when you want to call it the return of the Black and Blue Division, you are reminded that these teams take to the air as much as any in pro football. The Chicago Bears were once the exception to this rule, however with reuniting Jay Cutler with WR Brandon Marshall, there will be footballs in the air in the Windy City. Don’t forget, the last time they played together Marshall caught 104 receptions for 1,265 yards and 6 touchdowns while both were voted to the Pro Bowl. That would go a long way in returning the Chicago Bears to the NFC Championship Game or beyond.
This is going to be the most competitive division in football this year. We have witnessed the rebirth of the Lions, the Green Bay Packers are one season removed from defending a Super Bowl championship, and you have a Chicago Bears team that has retooled on the run with some big name signings and acquisitions in recent years. The lone team out of contention this year will be the Minnesota Vikings. Sure stranger things have happened but to bank on a first time signal caller in Christian Ponder and RB Adrian Peterson returning from major knee surgery. How will they fare?
2012 NFC North Predictions
Detroit Lions 13-3 *
Green Bay Packers 11-5 #
Chicago Bears 10-6
Minnesota Vikings 3-13
Right now the perfect storm is brewing in Detroit. They are about to mature into a force that hasn’t been seen from this organization since the 1950s. You have to realize last year’s renaissance was no fluke. This year the defense will benefit from DT Nick Fairley being healthy from the start. His play will blossom with Ndamukong Suh and team sack leader DE Cliff Avril drawing double teams. Remember Avril signed a one year tender and will be playing for a bigger contract. He will be motivated to get after the quarterback.
Another benefit to the Lions attack will be the presence of RB Mikel Leshoure, who also missed all of last season and made it through the pre-season injury free. However the emergence of Joique Bell and Keiland Williams, who each rushed for 5.2 yards per carry in pre-season, will be there if Leshoure proves ineffective. The Lions ran with commitment and are intent on bringing balance to the offensive side of the ball. Ever since our first preview was written, The Chancellor’s crystal ball still comes up with the Lions winning this division on the arm of Matthew Stafford and a defense that is still making moves to improve against the pass. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/07/07/2012-detroit-lions-preview/ It’s rumored that veteran CB Drayton Florence could be headed to Detroit just 4 days after trading for former Redskin CB Kevin Barnes. The growth of these players and the overall maturation as a team will take this team deep into the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl.
The Packers have to free Clay Matthews III from double teams this year.
One team standing in the Lions way will be the Green Bay Packers who have bristled at the notion they have been passed up by their division rival. After all they did have a 15-1 campaign last year and swept Detroit in 2011. Yet their defense is too up and down and suffered a major setback with LB Desmond Bishop being placed on injured reserve and the player that can fill in, Frank Zombo, was placed on the PUP list. When you’re trying to improve on last year’s 32nd ranked defense, this is going in the wrong direction.
The one thing the Packers can do is move the football on offense. Aside from All World QB Aaron Rodgers the Packers have the best set of receivers in all of football.https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/06/19/2012-green-bay-packers-preview/ They will be forced to handle more of the workload and brought in RB Cedric Benson to aid the ground game.
This year the Packers season will turn because of a murderous second half schedule. Its a good thing they have 3 of their first 4 at home because in weeks 11 through 15 they’re at Detroit, at the New York Giants, home to the Vikings and Lions, and then a trip to Chicago to face a Bears team who will be in the thick of things. This team could lose as many as 4 of those match-ups with a defense not playing up to what their capable of. You can’t just line up and outscore everyone. Eventually you have to have your defense play well and in 2012, the defense is going to hold this team back.
Which brings us back to Chicago… With Matt Forte now signed to a long term deal, the Bears have their ‘big three” in Cutler, Marshall, and Matt Forte. However this pre-season did see WR Johnny Knox injured and put on the Physically Unable to Perform list which will allow him to come back this season. The Lions and Packers had better have their “A” game going. Any slip in play will result in the Bears taking their place in the post-season. Right now The Chancellor’s crystal ball has them on the outside looking in. Just barely outside.
Coach Mike Holmgren being carried off after winning Super Bowl XXXI.
Originally published 24 July, 2012 w/ Postscript 13, August 2016
Former Packers coach Mike Holmgren was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and didn’t have his two marquee players there with him. Of course the deceased Reggie White couldn’t attend but Brett Favre’s absence was glaring. It would have been in Favre’s best interest to have taken the high road and gone but the lingering hard feelings are evident. It’s time to mend this broken relationship.
What is disturbing is how fast Packers fans turned on him. How hard would it be to leave a job you loved to do?? Many of us can’t answer that because our professions were something we chose to do for financial reasons not one of passion.
For every “cheesehead” Packer fan: Can you tell me anything about John Brockington or Terdell Middleton?? You remember those guys right?? How about Vince Ferragamo?? He was the quarterback that took the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers. You do remember he played for the Packers right?? What number did he wear since #15 was obviously retired for Bart Starr?? For those of us that are 40-45, when we were kids, none of us living outside of Wisconsin could tell you we had met a Packer fan.
After Lombardi, it was 29 years before the Packers played for another NFL title. Green Bay was the place no one wanted to play for. In fact one of the famous quips on NFL Films by Buccaneers former coach John McKay, ” If these guys won’t get back I’ll run ’em to Green Bay.” This was during Tampa’s horrid 0-26 start as a franchise!!
The only Green Bay games of distinction during that 3 decade drought that anyone can remember was the 1982 NFL Divisional Playoff loss to Dallas 38-27 and the 1983 Monday Night win over the World Champion Redskins 48-47. The latter was the highest scoring Monday Night Game in NFL history. The Packers returned to national prominence when WR John Jefferson was traded from the San Diego Chargers for those early 80’s seasons.
Brett Favre made it fashionable to be a Green Bay Packer fan.
The real reason why folks can’t remember the aforementioned names and the two games I stated were many of you weren’t Green Bay Packer fans. It didn’t become fashionable until the era of Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren. You may have been cheering for the Los Angeles Rams, St Louis Cardinals, Dallas, or Oakland, but this nationwide surge of Packer fans is new. You can recall the rich Packers history from the 1960’s but the other years lie somewhere in the abyss.
Well in 1992 all of that changed. Brett Favre was the backup when Don Majowski fell to injury and an umproven player had to come off the bench. We remember him winning the game with a pass to Kittrick Taylor with :23 left in the game. He ran around like a child after winning his first NFL game. He did it again when he did it with less than :40 to go to win his first playoff game when he hit Sterling Sharpe in 1993. He played with passion and from the hip. He broke Ron Jaworski’s NFL record of consecutive games played at QB (114) the week of Walter Payton’s death in 1999. He was still playing in 2009??
Of course those 1st few years he made great plays and experienced some growing pains as the Packers battled for respectability. They returned to the playoffs in 1993 and ’94 but it was his 1995 season where he won the first of his 3 consecutive MVP awards:
During his 16 years he gave everything he could on the field for the Packers. Other quarterbacks are more revered as “West Coast” quarterbacks yet none of them had better seasons than he did. Do you realize the most TDs Joe Montana threw for in a season was 31 during the strike shortened season of 1987?? Brett threw for 38, 39, and 33 in 1995-1997 alone in that same offense. He won his 3 MVPs in those same years. He gave real Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere for that matter more thrills than any other player. The “go for it” mentality is what endeared him to most fans not his stats. Although he has plenty now that he is the NFL’s all time winningest quarterback and yardage leader with 71,838 yards and 508 TDs. The question The Chancellor has if he didn’t do enough to decide on when he wanted to retire, who did??
The Packers organization decided to go with Aaron Rodgers after the 2007 season when Favre didn’t want to retire. His decision and indecision was well chronicled over the next few seasons yet it was his play that led the Packers to relevancy. Just like last year it was pointed out that the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Stadium itself, wouldn’t be in existence had it not been for Peyton Manning. Lambeau Field has been renovated twice and had a Hall of Fame built inside of it based on the relative wealth this team saw during Favre’s years. The estimated wealth of the Packers rose from less than $200 million to $1.09 Billion last year according to Forbes.
This is good enough for being the 9th richest franchise where they were in the teens in relative worth a decade ago. In fact when you google the relative worth of the Packers organization by year, every time Favre’s name is in the description. You were able to rebuild your team for Aaron Rodgers because of Favre continuing to win for you while the young players developed. You owe your relative wealth and the development of the new Packers to him.
This is the reason I believe the Packers should reach out to him, retire his jersey on a Monday Night, and have a ceremony for him. Do it before long-standing resentment settles in. It would be terrible to see this fractured relationship go on for decades like it did for Terry Bradshaw. By the time he and the Steelers came together, Art Rooney Sr, Mike Webster, and Steeler announcer Myron Cope had all passed on. In fact Three Rivers Stadium was even gone. It was bittersweet.
In a few years he is eligible for the Hall of Fame and the league is going to celebrate him and its in the Packers interest to do it first. If you wait until its within a year of his induction, it will look like an afterthought or at worst a knee jerk reaction to his being brought up nationally. This way the healing can start.
Every player that leaves via free agency has wanted to show their old team they could still do it. Its nothing new. Do you remember the round robin of former Chiefs signing with the Raiders and vice versa in the mid 90s?? There were 10 players that left one team and went to the other. RB Harvey Williams, RB Marcus Allen, CB Albert Lewis to name a few. Even Buffalo Bill great Thurman Thomas even signed with the hated Dolphins.
Yet he, just like LaDainian Tomlinson this year all came back and signed a 1 day contract so they could retire with their original team. You’ve lost that chance but now you need to make sure he attends the next ceremony. Honor him before the rest of football does or you’ll come off as looking petty. After all you showed him the door…now open a new one and honor him in Packer lore. Time to get over it… now when he walks up to the podium and you see the wear and tear he gave on Lambeau’s surface, the memories will come flooding back to you.
Try this one out: This is the moment The Chancellor believes he left his contemporaries behind and made the Hall of Fame.
After the departure of Packer Hall of Fame coach Mike Holmgren and Reggie White’s retirement, the Packers weren’t thought of as an elite team. This was 1999 and Ray Rhodes was the coach and being the only marquee player, the team started off 1-1 and in that lone victory Favre took the Packers to the winning score beginning with 1:51 on the clock.
Their 3rd game was against the Minnesota Vikings who had unseated the Packers the season before as the bully on the NFC Central block. Randy Moss and the Vikings had scorched the Packers a season before and this was a big game. A defensive struggle that saw Moss score the apparent winning touchdown and gave the Packers the football with 1:51 (ironically) to go. Favre drove his team down and this was the finish…on the move with no time outs on 4th down and the clock running with :20 seconds to go. No way he could do it for a second straight week…. could he??
Only two times during John Madden’s career did he make his way down to the locker room to congratulate a player. The first was Emmitt Smith in 1993 when he and the Cowboys beat the Giants 13-10 when he played with a separated shoulder. This was the second. Great players respect great players and you saw Moss come across and greet Favre after the game. A game for the ages that saw him pull off miracle after miracle and had the Rams and Kurt Warner not emerged, could have had his 4th straight MVP.
Again, as an organization step up and bring Favre in for a retirement ceremony of #4. He deserves it and it would be best for Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere. Its time.
Postscript August 13, 2016: We fast forward 4 years and last year his return to Lambeau Field was an incredible event. Over 60,000 in Lambeau just for Farve to come on the field and offer a few words before the Packers Hall of Fame celebration. Then the jersey retirement during the season where Bart Starr made it to the game was cathartic for all NFL fans not just those of the Packers. Which brings us to last weekend and his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Packer fans traveled far and wide to attend the enshrinement festivities last weekend. Met them from North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, all of Wisconsin and like my new fellow fanatics Ryan VanAcker (from Arizona) and his brother Ronald from Michigan, Favre fans were out in force.
You could feel the excitement emanating from Packer fans as the induction ceremony neared. The pressure building as Packer jerseys outnumbered all other teams represented 20 to 1 easily. Even on the day I toured “The Hall” for the first time I wore an autographed Jerry Kramer jersey I had received from the family a couple weeks before. Finally the emotion and love for Favre exploded in a crescendo of “Go Pack! Go!” right before Chris Berman introduced him:
Although time heals all wounds, there was still the subtle jab of the Favre Viking jersey in the locker display at the Hall of Fame. He said all the right things about “always being remembered as a Green Bay Packer” but you think about it… you can almost see him having a mischievous grin when it came time to decide what to showcase. But that’s Favre… the fun but flawed, every man who happened to become one of the best quarterbacks in history.
Where Brett wasn’t there for Mike Holmgren’s enshrinement into the Packers’s Hall of Fame, coach was in Canton for this one. I had the chance to meet him right after the ceremony at the base of the stage and we talked as we were being led out to the shuttles for the after parties. To be feet away as they shared words words for the first time right after his speech, was to see this come full circle. Especially from the feeling when I wrote the article originally. A great experience.
Favre Hall of Fame Bust
Congratulations Brett Favre… Pro Football Hall of Famer!!
As twilight descended upon Lambeau Field, an uneasy hush fell over the sellout crowd. There was no way Packer’s faithful were re-living the nightmare of being upset by the wild card Giants again as they had in 2007. The sense of de ja vu had hung in the air like a dense fog with New York controlling the game. How did the Packers, who glided through the season 15-1, a record which was best ever for a defending champion, allow this to happen?? Uneasiness gave way to outright anguish, when Eli Manning hit Mario Manningham to balloon the Giants lead to 30-13 with 6:48 to go in the game…and it was over 37-20. One of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history
Quarterback: Despite that playoff setback, Aaron Rodgers remains one of the league’s best. At times last season he approached playing at a level only few in history have been able to achieve. Just about every Packer passing record fell last year. Ironically two fell when Rodgers sat out the season finale against the Lions. In that game former Packer Matt Flynn upped his worth in free agency with a performance for the ages throwing for 33 of 49 for 480 yards and 6TDs. He came within 74 yards of Norm Van Brocklin’s all time record of 554 set in 1950. His 480 yards and 6TDs are new all time Packer records. Yikes!! With his leaving via free agency, the system seems to be in place for this Aaron Rodgers kid to deliver on some of his draft day promise.
Surely we jest as Rodgers threw for a team record 4,643 yards & 45 touchdowns, to just 6 interceptions while completing on 68.3% of his tosses. He could have bested Tom Brady’s record of 50 TDs had he played that final game against the Lions and he did tie Brady’s all time TD/INT ratio at 9. Yet the question remaining from last year is: “Should he have played??” After sitting out that game and the two week layoff before the top tier playoff teams get underway, he came back rusty and off. Plays he had made all season were just out of his grasp that fateful night. He was his only true enemy last year as he had a season for the ages. As for going into the 2012 season, he is in the prime of his career and this team should have a Super Bowl quality quarterback for at least 7 more years.
James Starks will be the new featured back in 2012.
Offensive Backfield: After jockeying for position with Ryan Grant a season ago, running back looks like it’s going to be James Starks job to lose. Last year he and Grant had identical stats: (Grant 134 car/ 559 yards, 2TDs) (Starks 133 car / 578 yards, 1TD) Yet Grant wasn’t re-signed and the emerging Starks is 4 years younger. He needs to produce more near the goal line and in power rushing situations. Fan favorite John Kuhn made the Pro Bowl for his versatility, having scored 6 times last year (4 rushing / 2 receiving) while providing punch when blocking for Rodgers. One of the last true fullbacks in the NFL. He sees his time limited thanks to Green Bay going with more 3 and 4 receiver sets. Because of Kuhn’s presence running back is only average when it comes to grading them.
This team needs more from it’s running backs in case Rodgers is having an off game, they can carry the day. In last January’s playoff loss to the Giants, the coaching staff didn’t commit to the run when they realized Rogers was off. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201201150gnb.htm With 14 rushes for 78 yards they could have slowed the Giants pass rush down a bit had they been utilized more. Yet the confidence to run the football wasn’t there for one reason or another. Right now, this group is supplementary to say the least.
Pro Bowl receiver Greg Jennings may not be the best receiver on his own team.
Receivers: Funny thing that Pro Bowl voting. Greg Jennings makes it after a 67 catch season for 949 yards and 9 touchdowns. Where the odd man out was Jordy Nelson who tallied 68 receptions for 1,263 yards and 15 scores. Huh?? That has to be the only time in NFL history that a receiver that caught 15 TDs didn’t make the Pro Bowl. This is easily the best starting set of receivers in the NFL.
At 6’3 and 215 lbs, Nelson has come on the national scene and should have been in last year’s gala in Hawai’i. He gained confidence with his play during the 2010 Super Bowl run. In that game he went 9 for 140 yards and 1 TD. Had he not had three drops, one a 40 yarder, he could have broken Jerry Rice’s Super Bowl record of 215. He’s a big target and he can get deep. A 90 reception season for Nelson in 2012 is not out of the question.
In healthy competition with him is the aforementioned Mr. Jennings, fellow wideout James Jones (38 rec. 635 yds/ 7TDs) and soon to be Pro Bowl tight end Jermichael Finley (55 rec. 767 yds / 8TDs). Do you realiz e we hadn’t even brought up Donald Driver yet?? Yikes! This is the most complete set of receivers and all four can get deep and run great pass routes. This might be the best stocked position since the Greatest Show on Turf and these guys are bigger. Unlike many teams of the past where you had one possession receiver and one deep receiver, you knew how to defense them based on that premise. Here it’s pick your poison and with Rodgers throwing them the football this is easily a Super Bowl caliber group. They’re just coming into their prime as a unit.
Offensive Line: The Packers finally released longtime starter T Chad Clifton yet let’s face facts…it was a move that was overdue. Last year the Packers allowed 41 sacks (22nd in the NFL) while allowing their QBs to be hit 73 times which ranked 15th. Rodgers mobility and quick decision making kept that second stat respectable. Many times, blind side pressure forced Rodgers to move his feet to avoid contact. Clifton was past his prime and injuries caught up to him. In the 2011 draft the Packers selected T Derek Sherrod and it’s time for the succession to commence. At 6’5″ 325 lbs, he blocks out the sun and coming from an SEC school he should make the transition facing speed rushers. As a contingency, the Packers have signed four offensive tackles this offseason.
A curious free agency pick up was the signing of former Indianapolis Colt Jeff Saturday who replaced Pro Bowl center Scott Wells who departed for St Louis. Saturday is a veteran who is 7 years Wells senior wouldn’t it have been more prudent to keep the younger player?? Saturday is going into his 14th season and is walking that fine line where he could get old in a hurry. Facing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley could prove to be a handful. Right now the Packers offensive line has to be viewed as below average.
Defensive Line: The first mistake the Packers made was allowing DT/DE Cullen Jenkins to leave before last season via free agency. He was good against the run and gave an inside pass rush presence to offset the blitzing linebackers. He was missed terribly last season as Ryan Pickett didn’t record a single sack in 14 games and situational rusher Jarius Wynn could only muster 3. Green Bay moved quickly to improve this by drafting DT Jerel Worthy from Michigan St. In the 3-4 defense the ends have to be more stout against the run so Worthy will see time as a DE burrowing into the line allowing linebackers to rush from the outside. Anthony Hargrove, formerly of the Saints was also signed to give the line more juice.
At nose tackle, the Packers are set with Pro Bowl B.J. Raji who can hold ground against the run, and push the pocket as he had 3 sacks last year. However he seemed to disappear in a lot of games. From time to time you would go entire quarters without knowing he’s out there. Last year he only had 24 total tackles on the year….24?? He has to split double team blocks better and should have a bounce back season. He made the Pro Bowl on reputation last year more so than performance. Defensive line is below average until we see this team improve later in the summer.
Steady Desmond Bishop applying pressure in last year’s playoff game against New York
Linebackers: The linebacker that should have gone to the Pro Bowl last year was Desmond Bishop. Overshadowed by Clay Matthews III and A.J. Hawk, Bishop turned in a year worthy of defensive player of the year candidacy. Although he missed 3 games due to injury, he recorded 121 tackles, had 5 sacks and forced 2 fumbles. He’s coming into his prime and helps bolster this defense.
Last year’s Pro Bowl LB Clay Matthews III had a down year. His sack total fell from 10 to 6 a year ago while making just 55 tackles. Most of his issues had more to do with drawing double teams as much as anything else. However he did make several plays with 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. AJ Hawk is still playing some solid football and garnered 86 tackles with 1.5 sacks despite missing two games. This group suffered from teams successfully running the football on them with linemen getting out onto the linebackers. Their own defensive line had a lot to do with that. With the emergence of Bishop this is a playoff caliber linebacking corps.
Secondary: This unit was the negative beneficiary of a deficient pass rush. Yes the Packers amassed 41 sacks which ranked 12th but 22 of those came from blitzing linebackers and secondary personnel. So when they got there, great, but when they didn’t receivers were running wide open. Witness Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and his 11 catch and team record 244 yard performance in the season finale. This team is forced to blitz and exposes their secondary. Yet this team has several good corners and safeties. Injuries forced S Nick Collins to retire. Yet in his absence, new safety tandem Morgan Burnett (109 tackles /3 ints / 1 sack) and Charlie Peprah (103 tackles / 5 ints) made plays on the ball and were 2nd and 3rd on the team in tackles. Just too many they were forced to make in open spaces.
Charles Woodson is showing no signs of slowing down. He had another all around great season.
Cornerback is still solid with All World Charles Woodson still playing at a high level. he recorded 75 tackles, 7 interceptions and 2 sacks in a great all around performance. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields also gathered in 4 interceptions. The secondary is playoff calibur and if the Packers aren’t forced to blitz so much are actually Super Bowl caliber.
Overall: This team is loaded and will be there in the end. However I see a fall from the record of 15-1 a year ago to one of 11-5. They have a tough division with the Chicago Bears making significant moves and the Detroit Lions growing before your eyes. Make no mistake about it when Matthew Stafford came in and threw for 520 yards and 5 touchdowns IN Lambeau Field, they showed they’re a force to be reckoned with. The Packers start their 2012 hosting the San Francisco 49ers. Their defense has to yield far less than 411 yards per game. That was one of the worst in NFL history. The Chancellor isn’t certain they did enough to fortify their lines on both sides. Everyone forgets that in 2010, Aaron Rodgers was a concussion away from sitting out the rest of the season. So offensive line issues and getting him hit can prove an issue again. The motivation from last year’s playoff loss needs to feed the monster in 2012. Can they return to the Super Bowl?? We think the NFC Championship is about the furthest they can push it in 2012
When we look back at NFL history, we know one of the greatest teams was the Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s. Lombardi’s teams were tough teams that played simple football on offense. Defensively they ran the traditional 4-3 and may have had the best set of cornerbacks in Bob Jeter and Herb Adderley. The Packers were always ahead in games and pressure was on the secondary to shut down an opponents passing attack and along with Hall of Fame safety Willie Wood, they performed that task perfectly.
Adderley was one of the best athletes of his era and could blanket receivers and was an aggressive tackler. At 6’0 205 lbs he could run in the open field with the tallest and fastest receivers and compete for the ball. He was the Deion Sanders, the Hanford Dixon, or the Lester Hayes of his day. Or we could call him the Charles Haley of his day. Do you realize he played on 6 NFL championship teams?? Had Jim O’Brien missed a late game field goal in Super Bowl V, it could have been 7!!
In the 1960s, cornerbacks played a more physical game than they do now. Not only were they able to hit or chuck a receiver all over the field before the ball was thrown, they had to be better tacklers in a run oriented NFL. As you’ll see in the video, Adderley was a hitter. Yet when Packers opponents took to the air Adderley was ready. In his second season (1962) he exploded onto the scene with 7 interceptions in which he returned 132 yards and 1TD. It was the first of his four All Pro selections in Green Bay. Was All Pro 5 times for his career. However he had an even better season in 1965. He picked off 6 passes returning them for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Packers dethroned the Cleveland Browns to become NFL Champions…again. His 3 touchdowns on interception returns was a league record that stood until 1972.
After the Packers championship years the team had aged and Adderley was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and helped that team get over the hump. They lost Super Bowl V yet came back the following year and won it all. For his career he intercepted 48 passes and returned 7 for touchdowns, the most famous, being a 60 yard interception return in Super Bowl II against the Oakland Raiders. He played in 4 of the first 6 Super Bowls. He was a member of the 60’s All Decade team and made the Pro Bowl 5 times. If ever there was a Hall of Fame resume for a career, it was Adderley’s. For all his championships even in his last season in Dallas, they made it to the 1972 NFC Championship Game.
With his speed, instincts, and physicality, Adderley is the one corner that could have played in any era in NFL history.
Herb Adderley was a 6 time world champion. Hall of Fame cornerback who could have played in any era. What would he have looked like in the modern NFL with today’s training methods and equipment??
Prologue: One spoil of war that sits in the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame inside Lambeau Field is this football.
During the first 4 Super Bowls each team used footballs from their league when on offense. Wilson NFL footballs for Green Bay and Spalding AFL footballs for the Chiefs and Raiders in I & II. When Adderley returned a pass intended for Fred Biletnikoff 60 yards for the 1st defensive touchdown in Super Bowl history, he carried an AFL football with him. It made it to Green Bay where it is on display forever.
After Lombardi, it was 29 years before the Packers played for another NFL title. Green Bay was the place no one wanted to play for. In fact one of the famous quips on NFL Films by Buccaneers former coach John McKay, ” If these guys won’t get back I’ll run ’em to Green Bay.” This was during Tampa’s horrid 0-26 start as a franchise!!
Packer fans traveled far and wide to attend the enshrinement festivities last weekend. Met them from North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, all of Wisconsin and like my new fellow fanatics Ryan VanAcker (from Arizona) and his brother Ronald from Michigan, Favre fans were out in force.
When we look back at NFL history, we know one of the greatest teams was the Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s. Lombardi’s teams were tough teams that played simple football on offense. Defensively they ran the traditional 4-3 and may have had the best set of cornerbacks in Bob Jeter and Herb Adderley. The Packers were always ahead in games and pressure was on the secondary to shut down an opponents passing attack and along with Hall of Fame safety Willie Wood, they performed that task perfectly.
In the 1960s, cornerbacks played a more physical game than they do now. Not only were they able to hit or chuck a receiver all over the field before the ball was thrown, they had to be better tacklers in a run oriented NFL. As you’ll see in the video, Adderley was a hitter. Yet when Packers opponents took to the air Adderley was ready. In his second season (1962) he exploded onto the scene with 7 interceptions in which he returned 132 yards and 1TD. It was the first of his four All Pro selections in Green Bay. Was All Pro 5 times for his career. However he had an even better season in 1965. He picked off 6 passes returning them for 175 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Packers dethroned the Cleveland Browns to become NFL Champions…again. His 3 touchdowns on interception returns was a league record that stood until 1972.
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