OK. I had my face in my hands for a good chunk of this game. Most of the first half, actually. I thought, More of the same, eh? Just look at this field position we're givin' them. This ain't good. I really didn't snap out of my state of dis-belief until 'The Drive' that started at the end of the third. We were sitting just being generally disgusted with the ugli-ness of the game, and I turned to my cousin Walter and said, Walter, by golly, we gotta get a touch-down here, right now. He agreed.It turned out to be the longest drive of the season with 15 plays and several key 3rd down conversions, ending with a QB sneaker by Ronnie Rodgers, pushing the lead to 10-zip.
And that was really it for the offense this week.
The real story, of course, was Charles Woodsen and the Dom Capers defense, which made some changes this week that really paid off. The biggest differences were that Dom brought extra pressure (finally!) while allowing his talented defensive backs to play more man coverage than normal. I hope these developments will be continued from here on out.
Following the first touch-down of the day, it was Woodsen blitzing from the edge that caught Tony Romo on the blind-side, knocking out the ball which was later recovered by CM3. That turnover turned into yet another Spencer Havner touch-down. CM3 and the whole line-backing unit played especially well, and I was pleased as a plum to see rookie Brad Jones holding his own opposite Matthews.
Back to that blitz-fumble play: As soon as that happened I just thought, Why in the heck couldn't they have done that to Favre JUST ONCE? It would have been so satisfying, dear readers.
Regardless, if we are to have any chance at the playoffs we'll need this kind of effort from the defense every week, 'cause I don't think the offense is gonna do much with that line up front. It's just bad.
I was lucky enough to get out pheasant hunting on Sunday morning before the game. It's good to get out and walk around with a shot-gun and watch the doggies do their work. Find the birdy, you say, and they go bananas, to an' fro, tails waggin' a hundred miles per hour. What is really neat to see is when they get a whiff of one of them birds, when their nose goes right into the ground and they start weaving through the tall grasses like an animal possessed. Once in a while they send a pheasant into the air, which like a fumble recovery is the payoff, but it is almost more enjoyable to watch them working before the big event.
Maybe that doesn't make much sense, but watching Dom letting his defense work brought a similar satisfaction to this old columnist. It's as if he's had them on a leash up until now, dear readers, and it was good to see them run free, tails wagging.
While the defense was lights out against one of the better offensive attacks in the league, and the win was a great one, it wasn't the type of win that leaves you floating through air. The problems are still there, folks, but you all saw the tape. I'm gonna leave that alone for now and try to just enjoy this as best I can.
I think I will enjoy it with a platter of 'Polish Things'. Mooney made these up for the game yesterday and I am hooked. I am sure there is a better name for them than 'Polish Things' but since she didn't know and she's part Polish, that's the name they got. I recommend them. Hard -boil a few eggs and slice them in half, then put a slice of kielbasa on each egg half and top that with some horse-radish. Dynamite!
Until next time, then,
FG
Here's some things I was yelling at the Television Set that didn't make it into the regular column:
• Even if you were down (and he was), you can't let the stupid punter knock the ball out of there with a little tap of the hand!
• I love how Triplett says "holding." Hooowding, 73 Offense. Good thing too, cause he sure calls that a-plenty!
• The mark of Big Mac - His teams always lead the league in penalties!
• Run the ball!!!
• Good to see Jordy back!
• Brad Jones trumps Felix Jones. Our Jones wins!
• Why challenge that Jordy almost-touchdown?!?! Why???
• No style points on that leap, Rodgers!
• Why is Jason Witten so pink?!? Creepy!
• Havner has a heckuva knack for the end-zone!
