To Recap Week 13: It Was The Best of Times, It Was The Worst of Times, by
James Korsmo
Strike that headline, reverse it.
Hail Mary, Full of Grace (and 6 points)
How Aaron Rodgers threw the ball that far, with that much arc, is a scientific anomaly. Somebody get Neil Degrasse Tyson on the phone. I need this explained to me in simple terms. Break it down Barney style for me. There is no way a normal human being should be able to heave a perfect spiral 65 yards through the air with a trajectory that just missed the International Space Station. And for the first time in my life, I am impressed with something Richard Rodgers did. He boxed out 5 Detroit defenders and Davante Adams to make that catch. I’m most glad he got there before Adams did, cause, you know…..I have a functioning memory. After the game, I re-watched that play 25 times before going to bed, and I’ve seen it probably another 20 times so far this morning. It still boggles my mind and gives me the fuzzy happy feeling I get when I can break my diet for a day.
Aaron Rodgers
The first half was in a word, awful. Rodgers looked like he was playing with a broken heart. There was no fire, no passion. Every play was an exercise in frustration. His throws were all over the place. The interception was catchable, but he still missed James Jones when he was open. To be honest, it was difficult to watch. Twitter was chock full of people waving cyber flaming pitchforks (cyberfireforks) and declaring that they were going to bed. I’m not going to lie, I was less than positive on Twitter myself. Mea culpa, I had a 102 degree fever and was possibly delusional. Anyhow, the second half was a testament to what we should all believe is the true spirit of this team, especially Rodgers. He came out and did what he had to do to win the game. His passes were cleaner. He scrambled when Don Barclay let 6 guys into the pocket, including a 17 yard touchdown that kept the Packers hope alive. It wasn’t necessarily NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, but it certainly was a step up from recent weeks, and a rocketship to the moon up from the first half.
Running Backs
What running backs? We have running backs? The elephant in the room (see what I did there?) is why Eddie Lacy was practically benched for most of the game. In his post game presser, Mike McCarthy said that Lacy “Didn’t have a good week.” What that means, only the coaching staff and Lacy know. But something had to have happened to cause McCarthy to sign John Crockett off the street yesterday morning and give him carries during the game last night. I am officially concerned about Lacy, and I hope that whatever is going on is fixable.
James Starks had 9 carries for 15 yards for an average of 1.7 yards per carry. I’m no statismatician, but I do believe that ain’t so good. He was also bailed out by Randall Cobb when he fumbled into the end zone. If the Lions had recovered the ball, John Kuhn might have been getting some touches.
John Crockett was the spark for the offense in the second half. I’m half kidding, but he was the most enthusiastic player on the field when he was out there. He also got yards. 5 carries for 22 yards, which averages to 4.4 yards per carry. It was a breath of fresh air to see a running back get beyond the line of scrimmage. Imagine if he would have been signed on Tuesday, he would have had 250 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Richard Rodgers
Congratulations, young man. You just cemented yourself as the 2nd most popular player named Rodgers from Cal on the team. Seriously though, what a game for Rodgers. 8 receptions for 146 yards, with the hail mary obviously being the highest profile. But Rodgers was the only consistent playmaker out of the entire receiving corps. His run blocking still needs to improve, as was seen on a *sigh* 3rd and 1 stretch play from the shotgun (I still hate you, Tom Clements.), but Rodgers finally performed up to the level that he was projected when he was drafted. He got open, made catches, and most shockingly, got yards after the catch. It was glorious, like watching one of those Amazonian flowers that only blooms once every 75 years open it’s petals.
The Rest of the Receivers
Thank you for coming, have a safe trip home. That’s about all that can be said for this group. Davante Adams did catch a touchdown pass, so I guess there is a glimmer of hope, but otherwise the long slow descent continues.
Defense
The first quarter was bad, but the rest of the game they played as well as they have all year. The Lions scored 17 points in the first quarter, and 6 for the rest of the game. Mike Daniels continues to just make plays. I will personally empty my kids piggy banks and donate their tooth fairy money to the Packers if it helps re-sign him. Jake Ryan got his first NFL start and played very well. He was making plays all over the field, and was the Packers leading tackler, with 10. He has a non stop motor, and always seems to be around the ball, which was a good thing after Julius Peppers stripped the ball from Matt Stafford. Ryan recovered the ball, the Packers scored a touchdown, and the comeback was officially in progress. Demarious Randall did not play, which was a concern because Casey Hayward has been so inconsistent this year, but Hayward and Sam Shields played well. Calvin Johnson caught a touchdown on Shields, but let’s be honest–no defensive back was going to stop that. Perfectly thrown ball to Megatron on the sideline in the end zone equals touchdown 100% of the time. He should have 65 touchdowns a year. But I digress. The defense kept the Packers in the game until the offense could catch up. Dom Capers had a Houdini moment between the first and second quarter. He’ll never get fired at this rate.
Folks, I’m going to say it. The Packers had no business winning this game. The adversity they faced is astounding when you look at it. TJ Lang, Bryan Bulaga, and Demarious Randall did not play due to injury. Quinten Rollins, Corey Linsley, and David Bakhtiari all were injured during the game, although Rollins and Bakhtiari came back. At one point, every available offensive lineman was playing. The Lions came out of the gate and punched the Packers square in the mouth, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. The Packers had every reason and opportunity to pack it in and finish out the game with their tails between their legs, but they didn’t. They came out in the second half and went full Rocky Balboa. Think about it, I think the analogy is a good one. Rocky would get the snot beaten out of him for 3/4 of the fight, then in the final 2 or 3 rounds he would come back and beat Mr. T or a giant steroid riddled Russian guy. Last night, the Packers were Rocky, The Vikings were Ivan Drago, and Olivia Munn was Adrian.
The Packers have 9 days off to heal up and prepare for the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys are without Tony Romo and really have no chance at making the playoffs, but they still have Dez Bryant and a potent running game. Hopefully Lang, Bulaga, Linsley, and Randall will be back. Now I’m off to watch the second half again to make sure it was real.
P.S. It was a facemask. And if it wasn’t a facemask, it was an illegal blow to the head.
GO PACK GO
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