More Thoughts On The Big Hurt In Big D » Brats & Beer

December 2, 2007
posted under: Cowboys, Packers

Have we all recovered yet from America’s night out at the sports bar? I’m still a little hoarse but my voice is slowly coming back, and the void in my soul is filling with thoughts of the remaining four games, the possibility of going 14-2, and a titanic rematch against Dallas in the playoffs.

The funny thing about Thursday’s loss is how positive Packer Nation seems to be despite the team losing the biggest game of the year thus far. Aside from the few message board trolls out there clamoring for Brett Favre to get benched and Mike McCarthy to be fired, most of the Green & Gold blogosphere is still (rightly so) upbeat about the season. We are 10-2 and headed for a second seed in the NFC post-season.

As for the game itself, I think we can all agree that the Packers failed their big test. Injuries came into play, yes, but execution broke down especially on defense. The good thing is Green Bay has another week to study film and get things corrected before playing Oakland and making the final run to the playoffs.

That time is also going to be important for getting players healthy, notably Brett Favre. It sounds like the Iron Man streak won’t be broken this week, but if No. 4 has to play with a separated shoulder then the move by Ted Thompson to sign Craig Nall as the emergency backup is a wise one. And if we learned nothing else from this game, it was the importance of having Charles Woodson and KGB available for active duty; both the secondary and the pass rush suffered from their absence.

MM and his staff have so far shown they have the skills to coach-up this team and get things corrected when needed (unlike Mike Sherman who just fired people when things went wrong), so Packer fans have every reason to be optimistic about this young team — now tested by fire — as they make the final charge through the regular season.

And with no Packer game today, maybe I can get the Christmas tree up.