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Will the Eagles' new "Dream team" allow the Packers to fly under the radar?

While the Packers have gone about their usual ways of signing undrafted rookies and their own free agents, the Philadelphia Eagles have taken a different approach. In the blur that has been the first week of free agency since the lockout ended, the Eagles swooped in (pun intended) and gathered up many of the big name free agents of the 2011 class.  Nnmadi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins (that stings a little), Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie, Vince Young and Jason Babin are all new members of the team. NFL.com this morning already declared this a “dream team.”

My question to Reid, the Eagles and the NFL media is this: Have you learned nothing from the Miami Heat?

Yes, the Heat made it to the NBA Finals but they lost in six games which really is all that matters.  The Heat, with their “big three” lost to a team that was truly a better team than they were.

Sure, the Eagles added a lot of superstars but are they truly the best team in the NFC? My answer is no.

In fact, the Eagles have set the stage for the true best team in the NFC to fly under the radar and make a run at Super Bowl XLVI.  It just so happens that this team is the defending world champions.  Read more... (803 words + 1 image, estimated 3:13 mins reading time)

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Nothing could ever tarnish the Green Bay Packers’ 2010 Super Bowl win, but does anyone else get the feeling that the NFL lockout has taken a little of the shine off?

In an offseason where most of the talk should be about the Packers chances of repeating as football champions, the news is littered with talk about a labor dispute that could take away Green Bay’s chance of even attempting it.

So, instead of looking forward in this post, we’re going to take a trip down memory lane to make sure none of the labor talk has hurt your memory of the special season Packers fans had a privilege to share. Here are the 10 biggest moments of 2010, with a few honorable mentions thrown in.

Honorable mentions

Rodgers to Jennings Part I: Their first touchdown connection in the Super Bowl was a thing of beauty and gave the Packers a commanding 21-3 lead.

B.J. Raji’s pick-six: His interception return for a touchdown was ultimately the game-winning points in the NFC Championship game.

Stopping a new Mike Vick: The Packers 2010 season got off to a dramatic start as the Packers defense stopped Vick on fourth down to preserve the win.

Rashard Mendenhall’s mistake: This play could almost make the top 10, but the Packers strip and recover of Mendenhall in the Super Bowl turned the tides.

Game-tying strike in Atlanta: Rodgers’ laser beam to Jordy Nelson tied the game at 17 with under two minutes to go.  Read more... (876 words + 1 image, estimated 3:30 mins reading time)

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Tramon Williams locks up the top spot on the list with this game-clinching interception against the Eagles.

Back in December I wrote about the five plays that best highlighted why the Green Bay Packers were 8-6 and fighting for a playoff spot. Many of us thought the Packers should have been 10-4 and thinking about a first-round bye, but a few notable blunders and miscues left our favorite team on the brink of mediocrity.

Things have gotten better since I wrote that piece – a lot better. So I think it is only fair that we go back and highlight the five plays that have helped the Packers turn things around and get to where they are today.

1. Tramon Williams’ game-clinching interception vs. Philadelphia Eagles
This play has to be No. 1. It just has to. Everyone knew how explosive Michael Vick and the Eagles’ offense was. We knew no lead was safe and we had visions of another crushing loss in a close game as Vick was leading the Eagles down the field in the final minutes. Then Williams made a play on a slightly underthrown ball in the end zone intended for Riley Cooper, and the rest is history. It wasn’t a great throw by Vick, but how many times have we seen that type of play result in a pass interference, or the bigger receiver jumping over the smaller defensive back to make the catch anyway? Williams stepped up big time to make that play, and he deserves the top slot on this list (I’m sure he will put a copy of this list on his mantle, next to the game ball from Sunday).  Read more... (975 words + 1 image, estimated 3:54 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 21-16 in a nail-biting NFC Wild Card game Sunday afternoon. The Packers now move on to face the Atlanta Falcons Saturday night in the divisional round for the right to play in the NFC championship game.

After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Packers let the explosive Michael Vick and the Eagles offense back into the game, but the defense made enough plays at crucial moments to extend the Packers’ season another week.

There were plenty of highlights and even some lowlights to look at, so let’s jump right into Game Balls and Lame Calls: Playoff Edition.

Game Ball

QB Aaron Rodgers

While he didn’t eat up the Eagles defense for big chunks of yardage, Rodgers did throw three touchdown passes and had pinpoint accuracy throughout the game.

He spread the ball around to multiple receivers and served notice to the rest of the playoff field that the Packers have multiple weapons and you cannot shut them all down. Throw in Rodgers’ scrambling ability and you have an incredibly dangerous quarterback and offense.
More importantly and more significantly, he became the first Packers quarterback not named Brett Favre to win a playoff game since Lynn Dickey on January 8, 1983. That’s eight months almost to the day before I was born folks. That would be a long time.

Oh yeah, and he did something Favre couldn’t: he won a tight playoff game in Philadelphia.  Read more... (1285 words + 1 image, estimated 5:08 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 10-3 last Sunday at Lambeau Field to lock down a wild card berth for the second consecutive season.

The Packers enter the playoffs as the number six seed, but in a conference that features a 7-9 division champion, any team could come out of the NFC and head to Super Bowl XLV.

The first stop for the Packers on the road to Dallas is in Philadelphia for an encore match against the Eagles. In the first game of the regular season, the Packers beat the Eagles 27-20 after knocking then-starting quarterback for the Eagles Kevin Kolb out of the game and giving Michael Vick the opportunity to write one of the great comeback stories in NFL history.

Looking back at that game, the Packers had the Eagles well under control until Vick came into the game. He nearly led the Eagles back, but a couple well-timed sacks stopped the comeback just short and the Packers held on the victory.

With an entire week to game plan for Vick, will the Packers fare better against the elusive Eagles quarterback?

Breaking down the Eagles

Vick carried the Eagles this season. You can’t argue any other way.
In a season where coach Andy Reid was under the microscope after dealing Donovan McNabb away within the division, Vick played brilliantly and leads an incredibly explosive offense. With Vick’s dual running and passing threat, the Packers will have their hands full with No. 7.  Read more... (1372 words + 1 image, estimated 5:29 mins reading time)

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Weekly Green Bay Packers News from Twitter and other Sources by Al Bracco and Holly Phelps. (As heard on Cheesehead Radio 1/6/11 )

Packer News 12/31/10 – 1/6/11

Al: As we all know, the Packers took care of business against the Bears this past Sunday, although not without making us sweat it out in typical Packers style. Fortunately the defense once again came up big late in a close game, stopping the Bears’ potential game tying drive. Or could it have been a game winning drive if Lovie Smith decided to try for a two point conversion? Fortunately, that’s something we’ll never know.

Holly: One thing we know for sure, a lot of great stories came out of that game, but surely none better than that of linebacker Erik Walden. Picked up as a street free agent when Packers linebackers started dropping like flies, Walden had a quite incredulous Defensive Player of the Week performance. His 16 tackles and 3 sacks, earned in an explosive style, drew comparisons to Miami’s Cameron Wake. You remember him blowing up the Packers backfield and sacking Rodgers 3 times don’t you?

Al: Yes, he still haunts my dreams, Holly. And this week, the Packers get a player back that could potentially haunt Michael Vick. Although Mike McCarthy refused to commit, Cullen Jenkins, who has missed the last 4 games, vows he will return to the field on Sunday to wreak havoc on Vick and the Eagles. Despite missing 5 games this season and playing with a clubbed hand in most of the other games, Jenkins still has 7 sacks on the season. Having him back in the lineup could mean Clay Matthews sees fewer double teams.  Read more... (840 words + 3 images, estimated 3:22 mins reading time)

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When I saw the Pro Bowl rosters that were released this week, one thought immediately popped into my head:

“Where the HELL is Aaron Rodgers?!”

It made (and still makes) absolutely no sense to me. He was number two in fan voting amongst NFC quarterbacks and instead was named a first alternate.

Taking the fan voting into consideration, there is only one way Rodgers missed out on the original roster: the other players and coaches on other teams didn’t think he was worthy enough to participate in the game unless one of the three selected either gets hurt, plays in Super Bowl XLV the following weeks, or just decides not to go but who does that? Oh yeah, sorry Brett.

In other words: Rodgers got snubbed. By his own peers.

Upon thinking about it that way, I smiled. Rodgers is at his best when he has a chip on his shoulder. When fans were skeptical of him after the Favre trade in 2008, he played very well despite a poor defense and a 6-10 record. When skeptics and supposed “analysts” doubted his athleticism coming out of college, Rodgers worked to become one of the most agile quarterbacks outside the pocket. When others said he wouldn’t beat his predecessor, Rodgers dominated him statistically this season.

So when I saw that Rodgers had been snubbed from the Pro Bowl, all I could think was, “God help the Chicago Bears.”  Read more... (645 words + 1 image, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)

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