I have to admit, it was bittersweet for me to watch the Packers pull out a close one against the Vikings yesterday. One one hand, I always want to see the Packers blow the queens out of the water by 50 points. But on the other, Christian Ponder is from my Alma Mater (FSU) and I enjoyed seeing him play well. With that being said, I hope that Ponder's success was temporary and that the Vikings only win against the Bears and Lions for the remainder of the season.
It was disappointing to see the slow start from the Packers, awesome to see the great 3rd quarter 20-point explosion, and then nerve-racking to see them allow the queens back into the game in the 4th. I will elaborate below...
THINGS I LIKED
Aaron Rodgers - Rodgers is playing out of his mind through 7 games this season! He is the only QB in NFL history to post 7 straight 110+ point QB Ratings to start the season (Is it too early to start talking about MVP candidates?). He only had 1 off-target throw vs the Queens...AMAZING!
James Starks - After only posting 20 yards in the first 3 quarters, Starks turned on another gear on the final drive of the game by gaining 3 first downs and guaranteeing the Packers' victory...give the o-line some credit here too.
Randall Cobb - I love that the Packers are starting to use Cobb more. His 42 yard punt return showed his dynamic ability to change the game. I also noticed that he lined up as a RB and took a handoff from Rodgers in the 3rd quarter. I'm expecting him to continue to get more looks in the offense.
Charles Woodson - Woodson added 2 INTs to his amazing career total. This guy can still play and is definitely the best player in the secondary with the injuries to the other guys back there.
THINGS I DID NOT LIKE
Roughing the Passer - I didn't see very many bad calls, but the "roughing the passer" penalty on Clay Matthews was one of the worst calls I've ever seen. I think the league needs to have disciplinary actions for officals who blow calls like that. Luckily it did not affect the outcome of the game.
Run Defense - Up until last week, I thought the Packers weakness was the pass defense because they hadn't given up too many yards on the ground. Adrian Peterson posted 175 yards! I know he's probably the best RB in the league, but with a Rookie QB making his first start, you would have thought that we would have keyed on Peterson a little bit more. Poor tackling didn't help this.
Drops - I counted 3 drops...it's becoming an epidemic. Hopefully this will get fixed over the bye, because it could come back to bite us if it happens in critical game situations going forward.
Randall Cobb on Punts - I love his ability to return punts and that he has no fear. But it finally caught up to him. I'll excuse this one as a one-time rookie mistake. But muffed punts are not acceptable.
There you have it, my thoughts. I am happy about the win, and happy that we have a bye this week to get healthy. Bring on the Chargers (in 2 weeks)! GO PACK!
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