AllGreenBayPackers.Com

Is this really happening?

The Packers lost to the Chiefs on Sunday in a complete trainwreck of a football game. Receivers dropped passes, the pass rush never entered Kyle Orton’s zip code and more Packers limped off the field with injuries.

It was a horrible way to end an amazing run. Just horrible.

There’s probably going to be some people that say it’s good for the Packers to lose a game. They’ll say that the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl and losing will build character and force the Packers to correct mistakes… or something like that.

Ignore those people. Tell them to go away.

Losing sucks. No team ever says, “Hey, lets lose this game today to build some character and increase our chances of going to the Super Bowl.” That’s not how it works.

If this Packers team goes 18-1 and repeats as Super Bowl champions, it’s going to be amazing. I’m going to be just as happy as I was for the other Super Bowl titles the Packers have won in my lifetime.

But there’s always going to be a small part of my green and gold brain that reminds me the Packers could have been 19-0 — undefeated — but they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.  Read more... (524 words + 1 image, estimated 2:06 mins reading time)

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Photo: MCT

The Green Bay Packers (13-1) lost for the first time in 364 days—a stretch of 20 games—as the Kansas City Chiefs pulled off the upset of the season Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, 19-14.

Five observations from the Packers’ first taste of defeat since Week 15 of last season:

1. Playing perfect to end perfection

I said before the game that Kyle Orton would have to play a perfect game for the Chiefs to have a chance. He was about as close to perfect as you could ask for on Sunday, completing 23-of-31 passes for 299 yards. The key stat, however? Zero turnovers. Orton made all the easy throws and avoided that one game-changing giveaway.

The Chiefs offense did a fine job of hurting the Packers in the screen game early then picked apart the Packers’ zone after Dom Capers was forced to adjust. But even with the Chiefs’ offense rolling, there was anticipation for a turnover from the defense that could turn around the game. It never came. With the Packers offense struggling for the first time all season, not getting that one momentum-shifter was huge.

2. Dropping the rhythm  Read more... (881 words + 1 image, estimated 3:31 mins reading time)

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Packers are undefeated no more

The Packers’ undefeated season is over. Exactly 364 days from their last loss, the Packers were soundly defeated by the 5-8 Chiefs, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I say soundly because this game was nowhere near as close as the final score might indicate.

The Packers were dominated by the Chiefs. New head coach Romeo Crennel came up with an extremely efficient  game plan to send the Packers to their first loss of 2011. . On offense, he kept things simple and short for Kyle Orton. He put him in the best possible situations for success. On defense, he did everything possible to disrupt the Packers flow. As Mike McCarthy said after the game, “they pressed us from the minute we got off the bus.”

Despite their record, I think we all knew the Packers were not a team without flaws. Yet they had enjoyed 13 straight games worth of success (19 including last year) thanks to two main things: Creating turnovers on defense and making big plays on offense. In this game, they got neither.  Read more... (1024 words + 1 image, estimated 4:06 mins reading time)

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Packers vs. Chiefs.

Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs:

Here is my unfiltered game day blog post of comments, observations and first impressions.

The Packers limp into Kansas City today with five starters on their inactive list, including their #1 receiver and their #1 running back. Greg Jennings and James Starks will watch from afar today while the Packers offense looks to adapt in an attempt to keep their undefeated season on track. Kansas City comes in after a tumultuous week that saw them fire their head coach.  in-season coach replacements are a funny thing in the NFL. Sometimes the team will come out looking lost and confused, other times they will ride the emotional wave to an over-achieving effort. Which will be see from the Chiefs today? I’m banking on the former.

Early reports from Arrowhead Stadium before the game indicate that there may be more Packers fans than Chiefs fans there. The #OccupyArrowhead movement appears to be a blazing success!

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Inactive for the Packers today are:

Graham Harrell, Brandon Saine, James Starks, Desmond Bishop, Chad Clifton, Ryan Pickett, Greg Jennings  Read more... (1294 words + 1 image, estimated 5:11 mins reading time)

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Photo courtesy of Green Bay Press-Gazette

Using five forced turnovers and a balanced offensive attack, the Green Bay Packers (13-0) raced out to a 34-0 lead over the Oakland Raiders (7-6) before finishing their 19th straight win overall, 46-16, Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Here are five observations from the game:

1. Fast start

This game, which some thought could be the one where the Packers would fall for the first time in 2011, was over within the first 20 or so minutes. Following an interception from D.J. Smith on the Raiders’ initial possession, Ryan Grant took the Packers’ first play from scrimmage 47 yards for a touchdown. The vision in the hole and burst at the second level reminded some of the running back that racked up consecutive 1,200-yard seasons from 2008-09. The Packers would score on their next four possessions to go up 31-0 with 7:06 left in the first half. Game, set and match. The rest of the game was played on cruise control.

2. Ground game gets going  Read more... (1236 words + 1 image, estimated 4:57 mins reading time)

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Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Green Bay Packers vs. Oakland Raiders.

The Raiders are trying to stay in the playoff picture. The Packers are trying to clinch a first-round bye and home field advantage throughout the postseason.

Here we go.

Packers inactives: QB Graham Harrell, CB Davon House, RB James Starks, LB Desmond Bishop, G Josh Sitton, T Chad Clifton.

AJ Hawk is active, but not starting. No matter because D.J. Smith picks off Carson Palmer on the Raiders first possession. Smith was just kind of hanging out, enjoying the vibe at Lambeau Field, and Palmer threw it right to him.

Two plays later, Ryan Grant goes for a 47-yard TD. McCarthy needs to call more of those stretch types of runs for Grant. He’s still decent when he can pick his way through a defense, find a hole, and accelerate. He’s no longer effective just crashing into the line up the middle.

10 yards on a fullback end-around? C’mon defense.

A little more air on that bomb to Jennings and this game would be 14-0.

No matter, because Rodgers hits Ryan Taylor for a TD a few minutes later. Taylor needs to work a bit on his Lambeau Leap, however.  Read more... (899 words + 1 image, estimated 3:36 mins reading time)

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Mason Crosby Game Winning Field Goal Against the Giants

Mason Crosby kicked a walk-off field goal for the Packers on Sunday. It happened right in front of me, as the picture to the right (which I took) will attest.

Crosby jogged onto the field, glanced over at me in the second row, set himself, calmly hit the game-winning field goal and then turned to give me a raucous two handed middle-finger salute.

Of course, it didn’t really happen that way, but symbolically, it might as well have.

Anyone who reads this blog knows or has heard me on CheeseheadRadio should know that I haven’t been the biggest of Crosby fans. For the uninitiated, here’s a brief history of my writings on the subject of Crosby:

August 2, 2009: I call for some training camp competition for Crosby.

March 2010: I railed about Crosby doubling his salary by reaching what must have been some fluff incentives after a bad 2009 season.

March 17, 2011: I did give Crosby a B grade for the 2010 season, mainly on his performance over the Packers’ Super Bowl run.  Read more... (610 words + 1 image, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

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