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WR Terrell Owens’ clutch catch was the dagger in the heart of the Mike Holmgren era in Green Bay

The Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers face off Saturday night in an NFC Divisional Playoff game which will be the sixth time since January 1996 that the two teams have faced each other in the playoffs.

The Packers and 49ers became quite familiar opponents in the 1990s as they played each other in the playoffs each year from 1996-1999 (note I am going by the year the playoff games were played, not the year of the ‘season’).   It was a rivalry for the ages as the Packers won the first three games and the 49ers won the fourth in dramatic fashion.

Even though the four games included an NFC Championship which the Packers won en route to Super Bowl XXXII, it’s the first and the fourth of the 1990s contests that have the highest historical importance.

They almost serve as bookends for the Mike Holmgren era.  The Packers’ 27-17 victory over San Francisco at Candlestick Park on January 6, 1996 served notice to the entire NFL that Green Bay was now one of the league’s elite teams.  The Packers lost to the Dallas Cowboys the following week in the NFC Championship, but the win over the 49ers served as a springboard for the great 1996 season.  Read more... (1254 words + 1 image, estimated 5:01 mins reading time)

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Can you really call a team with Aaron Rodgers at QB an underdog?

Las Vegas has the Packers as three-point underdogs against the 49ers in Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff game. The vibe I get from most NFL pundits and talking heads also points to the Packers being underdogs.

There’s nothing wrong with thinking the Packers are underdogs. The 49ers are better on both lines, have an elite group of linebackers, an athletic tight end, and a bruising running back. All of these things typically give the Packers fits.

But I’ll be picking the Packers to win. I don’t think a team with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback is an underdog.

If we get the Rodgers from week one against the 49ers on Saturday night, well, then yes, the Packers will likely lose and I’ll look like an idiot. Rodgers was under siege and indecisive in the season-opener. He didn’t look prepared for the 49ers’ speed and the whole offense looked lost because it couldn’t march down the field like it did so easily throughout 2011.

A lot has changed since that opening-week letdown.  Read more... (813 words + 1 image, estimated 3:15 mins reading time)

• New faces on the offensive line and in the backfield have sparked the Packers running game.
• The defense, especially the secondary, is more aggressive and improved.
• Rodgers recovered from his shaky opening week and went on to have another MVP-type season, even if he flew under the radar compared to 2011.

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There’s no question anymore: Mike McCarthy is one of the best coaches in the NFL today.

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is like a member of your family. You love the guy to death, but every once in a while he makes you want to slam your head into a wall.

That said, I’m not here to talk about the bad in regards to McCarthy.  Every coach has their flaws and McCarthy is no different.   Instead, I’m here to do something for him that is rarely done outside the state of Wisconsin and/or the Packer fan base.

I’m giving McCarthy some credit.  He’s one the best coaches in the NFL and no one talks about him on a national scope.  He (along with general manager Ted Thompson) has helped build one of, if not the best, model franchises in the National Football League.  The last three seasons he has won a Super Bowl with a badly depleted roster, won his first 13 games in the following season and this year has another injury riddled team in position to win another Super Bowl.

Yet when it comes to coach of the year discussions this year, McCarthy’s name is conspicuously absent.  The Packers arguably took a harder hit with the injuries this year than in 2010 because of all the stars that have gone down over the course of the season, but the Packers are in position to get a first round bye.   2012 could very well be the best coaching job McCarthy has done since his arrival in 2006.  Read more... (937 words + 1 image, estimated 3:45 mins reading time)

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Packers QB Aaron Rodgers salutes his fans. Today, on 12-12-12, his fans salute him back on Aaron Rodgers Day

In case you are not aware, today December 12, 2012 (or 12-12-12) has been declared Aaron Rodgers Day by the State of Wisconsin.

It’s a day to pay tribute to the starting quarterback of the Green Bay Packers and what he means to our great state (I am a lifelong Wisconsin resident, for the record).

I first heard of Rodgers towards the tail end of the 2004 season.  All I knew about him was that he played quarterback at Cal and was very possibly going to be the first pick of the 2005 NFL Draft.  I didn’t pay much thought to him because he wasn’t going to end up on the Packers and because Brett Favre was still the king of everything Packers, we didn’t need to think about any other quarterback.

After the end of the 2004 season, Favre began to flirt with retirement but it was soon enough that he was going to be back in Green Bay for 2005.  No one really made a big deal out of it. As for the team, Mike Sherman had given way to Ted Thompson as general manager, but the Packers still finished 10-6 and won another NFC North division title. All seemed to be well in Packer Land.  Read more... (1520 words + 1 image, estimated 6:05 mins reading time)

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Could we see Packers KR/WR Randall Cobb on the reverse in 2012?

Despite losing to the 49ers last weekend, several things jumped out at me about the Packers; their offense can be as powerful as it was last year but look like they are going to need some time to get “tuned up”, the defense isn’t as bad as it was last year, but it’s still the weakness of the team, and the Packers might have finally figured out their problems at running back.  Their solution: second year man Randall Cobb.

The Packers have taken a page from the Minnesota Vikings and have positioned Cobb in a very similar manner as Percy Harvin, another player who perhaps doesn’t have the traditional skill set of a wide receiver but makes up for it in diversity of ability.

During week 7 of the 2010 season, the Vikings and Harvin fooled the Packers with a deceptively simple formation, with a twist:

The Vikings start in a 311 formation (3 WR, 1TE, 1RB) on 1^st and 10 with Randy Moss at the bottom of the screen split wide, Harvin in the slot next to Moss and Bernard Berrian at the top of the screen split wide.  Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe is inline outside the right tackle while fullback/tight end Jeff Dugan lines up offset on the strong set (much like where a fullback would be in the I-formation).  The Packers, seeing 4 receivers and a fullback in a position to block naturally suspect the pass and counter with their nickel package, with Tramon Williams lining up against Moss and Sam Shields lining up against Berrian.  Charles Woodson lines up in the slot and naturally is covering Harvin, who again is also in the slot.  Read more... (886 words + 4 images, estimated 3:33 mins reading time)

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Stephen A. Smith, Rob Parker and Skip Bayless debate Brett Favre, The Packers and whether it’s time to mend the fences. Entertaining in a train wreck sort of way…

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Surviving Sundays With No Packers Football

The Green Bay Packers are huge in Oregon.

If you’re too lazy to click on the link, it basically highlights how a recent poll showed that most Oregonians cheer for the Packers over the nearby Seattle Seahawks. This doesn’t surprise me. The Packers are the greatest team ever. Everybody should cheer for them.

Unfortunately, not everyone realizes this. On July 4, Deadspin asked which sports team is the most American. They shouldn’t even have to ask. It’s the Green Bay Packers. And it’s not even close.

What’s more American than having a professional football stadium next to a K-Mart? Instead of being surrounded by fancy clubs and five-star restaurants, the area around Lambeau Field boasts local pubs that serve beer and fatty foods that are dipped in batter and deep-fried. People tailgate before, during and after Packers games. In the stadium, you don’t sit in a cushioned seat with a back rest, you sit on old-school metal bleachers.

Packers fans wear Styrofoam cheese on their heads. And blaze orange deer hunting gear.

This is America, people.

I know the Packers are no longer the Little Engine That Could. They’re a large, rich organization that is trying to squeeze every last dollar they can out of their fans and customers, just like every other NFL franchise. But I don’t care. They’re still located in Green Bay, Wis., population 104,057. They’re still small-town in my book.

The Packers are about as American as you can get.  Read more... (693 words + 1 image, estimated 2:46 mins reading time)

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