“In the darkest hole/You’d be well advised/Not to plan my funeral/Before the body dies” – Alice in Chains, “Grind”
The Green Bay Packers were done. Finished. Season over, man.
If they couldn’t beat the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, how would they ever defeat the pistol-hot Dallas Cowboys? Haven’t they pretty much owned us for the past 35 years?
And there was going to be fallout from these failures – big-time fallout.
Mike McCarthy would surely be fired at the end of the season. Ted Thompson might not be far behind. Who would replace them? Bill Cowher? Jon Gruden? Were we going to get Mike Holmgren and try to re-create the glory days of the 1990s?
But just as soon as we ALL had this team dead and buried, there came a chilly late Sunday afternoon in mid-November.
And a shout from Charles Woodson.
It was a moment of pure excitement and joy, complete with a close-up of Woodson’s face as he bellowed, “AHHHH!!!” seemingly for all the world to hear.
Woodson very well could have been excited about his fourth quarter, red-zone interception of Dallas quarterback Tony Romo. After all, it did cap off a career day (and for Woody, that’s saying something) in which he finished with eight tackles, two forced fumbles, a sack and a pick.
(Correction: Woodson actually finished with nine tackles. Sorry for the error, Charles. I love you.)
But I don’t think that was it. I don’t think that was it at all. I think Woodson wanted everyone who was watching to know one thing: The Green Bay Packers are not dead.
Green Bay showed that time and again in Sunday’s season-saving 17-7 home win over the Cowboys. The Packers are now 5-4 on the season and, for the first time, finally look like the team we all thought they could be.
There was the defense. Good Lord was there the defense.
From start to finish, the unit played inspired, emotional football. They attacked Romo relentlessly, sacking him five times and pressuring him countless others. They covered. They stopped the run (Dallas had just 61 yards rushing). For the first time all season, they got off the field on almost every third down (Dallas was 3-for-12 on third down attempts).
Dom Capers – where have you been all my life? Is this really what a 3-4 defense is capable of? If so, Dom, please accept my sincerest apologies.
There was the offense doing what it needed to do. The unit was not flashy, to say the least. Aaron Rodgers still faced quite a bit of heat throughout. McCarthy still didn’t stick with the running game as much as he could have. The false start and holding penalties were, well, still there.
But there was more than enough good in the offense’s performance, too, most of it coming from the young signal-caller. Rodgers spread the ball around. He was not afraid to run. He stepped up in the pocket. He didn’t chase the home run ball. Most importantly, he hit damn near every third down he needed to hit (at one point the Fox Sports stat people said he was 8-of-10 on third down passing). As the game went on, he displayed a confidence I hadn’t seen from him all season. There’s hope for you yet, Aaron.
There was the 15-play, 80-yard drive that started in the third quarter, but ended in the fourth (taking up 8:36 in all). Precision; execution; protection; all the key elements of the West Coast offense Green Bay should be running could be found in that drive.
There was the team – offense, defense and special teams – hanging onto momentum every single time it got it. The killer instinct we’ve been waiting for, seemingly since the start of last season, finally showed up.
There were plenty of amazing things to come out of the Packers’ huge win. More than anything, though, was the fact that this team simply refused to lose. They stood on the edge of the cliff and fought their way back to safer ground. They played with heart. Dallas could – and likely will – go on to have a very good season. But on Sunday, the Cowboys weren’t going to walk out of Lambeau Field smiling. The Packers made damn sure of that.
Will this win equal the start of greater things to come? None of us can be certain. This team seems intent on being the death of me before it’s all said and done and I’m certain there will be some more bumps along the way.
But, on one chilly evening in mid-November, this team gave us all hope. The Packers have more football left in them. If they were dead, nobody bothered to tell them.
And that’s enough to make any Packers fan follow Woodson’s lead and scream with excitement and joy.
-Chris Lempesis
AHHHHHH!!!!!!
Very well said…great post!