20081030

Sink The Titanic!

Don't you all feel so much better after a week of rest? I hear Atari Bigby and Al Harris and a few other Packers are practicing in full and looking good. And that's good news for us Packers fans, oh yes. Sunday finds us in Nashville or the Northern Atlantic, facing the mighty-frightening Titanics, undefeated and most certainly unsinkable! I remember the Titanic well, dear readers, and let me tell you, I have not seen the block-buster moving-picture, but I do know it was far from unsinkable. We Packers might just be the ice-berg floating along beneath the cold moon-light, just waiting to gash the NFL's supposed crown jewel.
Don't get me wrong, dear readers. The Titanics are one of the finest teams in the league. First-rate. They run the ball better than most and they probably have the best defense. No question there. And we are getting them at home. But let me say this. We are getting them on a short week coming off a huge game against division rival Indiana, and we are coming off the bye. Now the Colts were able to give them a pretty good fight, and we all know what we did to those Colts. If McCarthy can get his team to play with the energy of a massive glacier, we might be able to descend from the north under the cover of night and sneak up on these guys.
The season could go a number of different ways yet. A win in Nashville would certainly give our team a boost of confidence and a good shot at making the play-offs, while a loss would send us back to 4 and 4 and back into the pack, so to speak. No matter if we win or lose on Sunday, the way we play will serve as a forecast for the coming winter in the north.
Of course I am going to predict a win. I hardly do other-wise. I guess the difference for me is at Quarterback. While Kerry Collins has played efficiently and confidently for the Titanics, Ronnie Rodgers is clearly more talented, as are our receivers. With James Jones back this week, you can bet we'll see a bit more of the five wide-out spread formation, which will hopefully counter their amazing speed on defense. It will be tough to run on them, but I think if we go pass-first the lanes will open up when they least expect them, allowing Grant to cut them up like a frozen chunk of ice. Heck, I am so enthused about this plan I will probably suck down a whole quart of Five Alive while I carve my pumpkins tonight. Can you name the five citri, dear readers? Grapefruit (Ruvell Martin), Orange (Jennings), Lemon (Driver), Lime (Jordy) and ... oh yes, Tangerine (Jones), the under-appreciated citrus! See, you can't have Five Alive without the tangerine, folks, and you can't run five wide without Mr. Jones. So that's the recipe: Five Alive, Ice-bergs, pass-first and stop their running attack. It's that simple. Oh, and dry-rub ribs! Don't forget the ribs. And don't eat too much candy this weekend! I'm cooking up a batch of ribs to pass out to our trick or treaters. Who, really, needs more smarties? Yuck. Mark it folks - Packers 21, Titanics 20.
Until next week, then.