20091209

Playing well into December

Hey, look at this picture Mooney took of me this morning! I'm just fooling with you, dear readers. That's a picture of me from a terrible storm in 1949, but we did get dumped on today in the Great State of Wisconsin! I love a good snow storm. Don't you?

Nothing trumpets the arrival of December like a good foot of heavy 'snow-man' snow coupled with a big Packer's victory a few days prior. I think when I'm done typing up this column, I'm gonna go make me a life-sized Ronnie Rodgers snow-man in the yard, complete with a detailed snow-helmet and some green food dyes I have in the pantry.

Number 12 is starting to look like one of the better quarter-backs in the league, isn't he? Look back to the Ravens game for a moment, dear readers, to that point where we suddenly found the score 17-14 after two awful turnovers. The momentum had suddenly shifted and we needed, more than anything, to grab it back by the horns and put up some counter-points. And we did! That for me was the game within the game, as they say, of a very excellent full-game. The defense kept the Ravens from doing any more damages, and the offense rode out the clock for an important 8th win, keeping control of our play-off destiny where it belongs: In the pockets of our insulated bibs!

I mentioned that the defense did it's job, and aside from those two short fields and a few dozen unnecessary pass interference calls, they did a very nice job indeed. We held the vaunted Ray Rice and the Baltimore rushing attack to a scant 8 yards of positive offense in the first half, which left me wondering, Are we actually the number one defense in the league? I still don't know - there are night-marish memories from this season still in my head that refute such a claim - but they could be. If not, they are certainly on the up-and-up and are one of the hottest defensive units going into week 14. That's for certain. A lot can be said of a unit that has the momentum. The past is not present. The shovel clears the side-walk.

While the pass protection has gotten better, at least to the point where I don't feel the need to scream and cover my eyes whenever Rodgers drops back to pass, the penalties and mistakes continue to pester my happiness, dear readers. The mistakes of the special teams unit are especially aggravating, like a sneaky little troll that stubs your big toe in the night. Special teams 'coach' Shawn Slocum needs to take a hike if you ask me or nine out of any ten random Packers fans. I saw a young lady at the grocer on Tuesday wearing a fine Packers knit hat, and I said, Heckuva game on Monday, and she smiled kindly, nodded her head. Then she turned back and said, like she knew I was thinking about this too, and she said, That Slocum's gotta go, though, and enough with the penalties! Exactly! Yes!!!

It's funny how your fellow Packers fans can read minds some-times. And usually they're right. Maybe Packers fans are just more observant, or understanding. Or perhaps, too demanding. We are on a 4-game tear, after-all! The drive-way is plowed, and fresh coffee's on.

So make a snow-man and smile already!
Until next time,
FG