Finding Religion

Packers 0 - Patriots 35

Holy turfucken goose egg, Batman. Never mind that Ahman "Batman" Green was one of the many players on the offense who couldn't do jack shit on Sunday. Never mind that a kicker led us to our second scoreless outing at home in the same season for the first time since 1928. Never mind that the play calling did nothing to exploit the Pats' depleted secondary. Never mind that it was quite possibly the worst game ever.

Brett got hurt, and as a result, all of Packersdom is on its collective knees, praying to whatever deity they can get to listen.

Thing is, even before he landed on his elbow with less than two minutes left in the first half, Brett really just sucked in this game. He couldn't connect on any of his passes - he went just 5-15 for 73 yards, which is the worst I can remember him ever playing. He was a bit hobbled, with two bad ankles and an apparent groin injury from a late-week practice, but he just looked like he didn't know what he was doing, which was super-painful to watch. After he left, of course, Aaron Rodgers went in, but he wasn't much better. As it turns out, he played at least a quarter on a broken foot... so now he's out for the season.

What a nightmare.

So, when you might assume that Ingle Martin would go in on the (Buddha forbid) chance that Brett couldn't make his 252nd consecutive start, you'd be wrong. Today, we signed Todd Bouman as our all-of-a-sudden second-string QB. Martin must be ready to kill someone. (May I recommend Ted Thompson, Ingle?) Bouman has been a nobody in the NFL for nine seasons, most recently for the Saints (under Coach Oblio's tutelage before he'd bailed out to San Fran).

Cut to me praying that he doesn't have a chance to shine at all in Green Bay.

Not Dead Yet

Packers 23 - Vikings 17

Make that four times we've been one game under .500 this season.

Now Favre has won in the TerrorDome a total of just five times, but what a victory. The last time he threw for so many yards was in the Christmas Eve game two seasons ago, when we beat the Viqueens (thanks to a last-second Ryan Longwell) for the second time that season by the same score: 34-31. This time, Longwell, did connect on a kick, but for the 'Queens, and only too little, too late. Driver had another amazing game - his most productive ever, in fact, thanks in large part to his 82-yard touchdown catch-and-run near the end of the first half (gotta' love that slant!).

Reports of the Packers' demise are greatly exaggerated. Hendy came back to play again and made a difference, for example. Perhaps he can learn the new schemes, eh coach Oblio? And Kampman and Big 99 Williams keep turning up, too. Even Brady Poppinga got some of the spotlight, with a fumble-causing sack early in the game.

With two TD passes in this game, Favre is now sitting at 409 in his regular-season career -- just 12 away from surpassing Marino. It will be miraculous if he can string together 12 in the last seven games... but he has had 13 in the first nine. Just saying.

Greg "The Jennerator" Jennings remains my standout favorite for the season. (Quick 'Did You Know?': We haven't played a game yet this season when we haven't started at least three rookies on the line.) All the kid does is catch first downs. In the first half against the Bills, I think that's all he did catch, in fact. And BTW, the only difference between this game and the Bills game was the fact that, in this one, we didn't have any turnovers. Favre was throwing more checkdowns and even throwing more balls away against Minnesota, and it made a huge difference. With Jennings in the mix, some of those checkdowns are turning out to be as good as the scripted plays, if not better. Keep an eye out for him.

Now this week, we've got a New England team that hasn't lost three consecutive games in over four years. I recall looking at our 'easy' schedule back before the season began, and these next two -- New England and Seattle -- stood out as the toughest opponents. I can't say that impression has changed, although a young start-up team like ours is shaping out to be really doesn't bother caring about what's supposed to happen. If they can have one of those games where they play as a team, they can own any of our slated foes. I'm not making any guarantees, but look for Big 99 to quiet down in these next two just enough so that A.J. Hawk can start getting loud. You read it here first.

Jinxy McSpoilsalot

Packers 10 - Bills 24

Okay, posting optimistic predictions an hour before the game didn't so much work out. Not sure what to do here. Do I post further from the game, post guarantees of failure, or some combination of the two?

In one of the more frustrating games of the season, we actually did well. Looking at the numbers (over 400 yards of offense), you might have a hard time understanding how the Packers could have possibly lost the game. Honestly, I expected the exact opposite of what transpired on the field -- given how our defense has played, I expected it would be us taking the ball away for a defensive TD. We could still stand to improve in that area.

I'm angry that the big play has come pack to bite us. Without Al Harris letting Lee Evans burn him in zone coverage (with no safety help) for a 43-yard score, the game would have ended much differently. My television would not have a hole in it, for example.

Interestingly, when I was at Lambeau for the Cardinals game (have I mentioned that?), I was ready to strangle Corey Williams when he committed his second costly offsides penalty. In the Bills game, he chalked up a personal-best three sacks. Kampman had one, too, so he's still up there in the league with 9-1/2.

Can't recall how much detail I included about the last game -- as it happens, I was in the stands at Lambeau for that game. In fact, the last time I had been in attendance at a Packers game, it was in January, when we beat the Seahawks. That was the last time they had won at home. Remember when they would win at home? Remember when they would come back in the fourth quarter and win games? Remember when they would stop teams from gaining 25, 30, and more yards in a play?

I remember, and I'm still a fan. If you're jumping off the bandwagon, please quit reading this and go make your lame-ass fantasy football picks. Just know that you're what's wrong with the NFL. Sleep well.

What a Rush!

Packers 31 - Cardinals 14

The first Packers game I was able to attend was a Bishop Charities preseason game in August of 1995, in which the Packers racked up 233 yards rushing against the Washington Redskins. We had a total of 393 yards in that game.

On Sunday, I watched the Pack put together 203 yards rushing (383 total) against the Cards, and two of our running backs had 100 yards each. I also got to see Brett Favre perform his only Lambeau Leap ever. Yes, it was in the exact opposite end of the field from me... but I was there, and it was awesome. I didn't get any good pictures during this game, but I did capture a crapcam image. Enjoy.

Where we are: Two wins in a row for the first time since 2004 and three games in a row without throwing an interception (in that game in '95, Favre threw one in the second quarter that got returned for a 72-yard TD). Rock on. In less than an hour, we kick off in Buffalo against the Bills. Last I heard, we were 3-point underdogs in that game. What?

We're one game under .500 for the third time this season. By the time the game's over today, I look forward to being 4-4 and continuing the run toward another postseason behind Brett Favre.