NFL Eve Three-Fer: Packers Preseason

[Preseason]
Packers 48 - Seahawks 13

I've come to love games against Seattle. I'm not a Holmgren hater -- far from it -- but there is something... special about watching him fume and turn crimson on the sideline. In this case, we had some especially good standout defensive plays that contributed to a solid victory (with a lot of scoring). Our second-stringers played another great game. Perhaps it was just a little unfair to Holmgren's blood pressure when we continued to blitz/sack late in the game. The only bad thing about this game was that I had to 'watch' it on my computer. (Thank you, NFL Network and DirecTV+DVR, for making it possible for me to watch the full game after the fact!)

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[Preseason]
Packers 13 - Jaguars 21

Despite the score, this was a balanced game... and essentially one that we won. Preseason is the only time I can walk away satisfied [read: not fuming and turning crimson] with a loss. The starters played longer than in any of the other preseason games, and they seemed pretty cohesive. The second quarter was awesome. In the most memorable scoring drive, Brett passed on almost every down, spreading the ball around to at least six different receivers. Sweet. Rogers came in and played well again after that. The scariest moment was when Driver shook a tackler, gained a few more yards, but then ended up getting his ankle rolled. He went back to the locker room on a cart, which never looks good. [It was a sprained foot; the good news is that Driver's probable for tomorrow... the bad news is that the Jennerator is questionable with a bad hammy.]

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[Preseason]
Packers 14 - Titans 30

We just can't ever beat the Titans. This game was pretty uneventful. Starters didn't play for more than a few minutes. The first-team D held Tennessee to a three-and-out and then called it a day. Brett got a TD pass. Some other stuff happened, too, I think. I left early and went to karaoke, then watched the rest of the game a few days later.

The season actually already kicked off on Thursday night, but what matters begins tomorrow. In just twelve more hours, the Pack is back once more! Let's rally, people!!!

Monday Night Robbery

Packers 24 - Seahawks 34

Add Tony Corrente to the list of NFL refs who are conspiring to ensure that the Packers fail. Fourth quarter, Seahawks up by only three and starting a drive at midfield, our defense held them incomplete on first down, one-yard run on second, and incomplete on third. Rock on. Punt, right?

Yeah, no, because Corrente called Cullen Jenkins for roughing the passer in the worst call I've seen in the NFL so far this year -- and no, that's not just because I'm a Packers fan. The "are quarterbacks overprotected" story has been making the rounds all over the country this week. If Jenkins can get called on a play like that, how is it that neither of the two players who knocked Brett Favre out of the game a couple of weeks ago got called? I just don't get it.

It might not have bothered me nearly as much if that call wasn't such a game-changer. Instead of holding the Seahawks to a spot in the field where they absolutely could not have scored, the call took the air out of the defense and Seattle ended up with seven more points, scoring the last points of the game.

We played well except for some other unfortunate third down penalties (that were justified) in the second half. Favre started that half with TD pass #410 to Driver in a beautiful 48-yard crossing play. From there, it was a slow self-destruction. DAMMIT!

Note: Abdul Hodge, who played in his first start did have a defensive TD for us, but I have to say he was easily responsible for giving back seven to Seattle, so he nullified himself. Woodson, on the other hand, earned some more money with two picks. If we could have turned our four turnovers into more than 14 points, we would have certainly put ourselves a bit more firmly in the driver's seat in this game. In the Bills game, we played better but our four turnovers killed us. In this game, we played better but we didn't capitalize enough on the four turnovers we got.

One thing that I can say for sure in this post: Italics? Working.