By Kyle Reilly

AP Photo/Mike Roemer

“The reality is that it’s the third game of the season,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “It was a big game. It’s a great measuring stick for our football team. And I’ll tell [the media] exactly what I told them. The Dallas Cowboys are further ahead than we are right now. That’s the facts and that’s Week Three. How far ahead, time will answer that question.”

With that Coach McCarthy pretty much summed it up perfectly.  The Cowboys looked like the NFC contenders and the Packers looked filled with potential, but not as good a football team.  Talent-wise the Packers have what looks to be every bit as good a team as Dallas, but Sunday night the Cowboys executed plays and the Packers executed themselves.  Problems abound; the defense was gashed for 217 yards rushing, heartbreaking 3rd down and long coverage lapses allowed the Cowboys to retain the ball, and Rodgers was sacked 5 times as the O-line struggled to stop the rush.  Complicating the matter was Al Harris leaving the game, with Atari Bigby already inactive the young corners did well, but not well enough.  Although the corners limited T.O. to just two catches for 17 yards, something called Miles Austin did the sticking with two clutch catches for 115 yards.

Rodgers had a respectable game.  He hit Jennings 8 times for 115 yards.  For the third straight game he didn’t have an INT, but trailing by three scores later in the game the Packers became one dimensional and Rodgers struggled against 6 defensive backs on most plays.

“It’s disappointing,” Rodgers said. “You’d like to win them all, obviously, but Dallas is a very good football team and we unfortunately didn’t play our best. We’re going to have to watch some film, be very critical of ourselves and get better.”

So we are not the greatest team as of yet, and perhaps our young and talented team needs a beat down like this.  Post-season berths are not automatic and no one cares what you did last year.  Mistake free football should be the goal of the next several weeks as that is what it will take should the Packers be lucky enough to play Dallas again.

EA Sports

Computers think they’re so smart don’t they?

Well this week Madden predicts the Cowboys coming in to Lambeau and pulling off the win.  Despite a strong start in the first half, Rodgers two touchdowns put the Pack up 14-0, Dallas rallied back.  With 1:20 left in the fourth quarter Romo threw his second touchdown on the day hitting, who else, T.O. for the game winner.

Oh yeah madden, well us humans win the future war.  (See Terminator 2)

By Kyle Reilly

After an offseason of hearing about how great the Vikings would be and how successful the Vikings young QB Tarvaris Jackson would be, Coach Brad Childress announced today that Jackson will be benched in favor of veteran QB Gus Frerotte for the remainder of the season.  So far this season the 0-2 Vikings have been completely incapable in the passing game.  Last week against the Colts the Vikings possessed the ball inside the Colts 50 yard line 8 times.  Of those they settled for 3 punts and 5 field goals in a last second loss to the Colts; failing to reach the end zone at all.

Frerotte may be able to pass better than Jackson, but he is anything but mobile.  It remains to be seen what the move will do for the Vikings, but whatever it is they will start in a two game hole.  Perhaps that explains the sense of urgency in the Vikings coaching staff.  They say they are not in panic ode yet, but their actions would contradict that statement in our opinion.  This is Childress’ McNabb, his guy he hand picked.  Jackson was supposed to be the future of the Brad Childress era and the final cog needed to complete a championship caliber NFL team.  Now the future rests in the hands of a 37 year old career back-up.  

This ought to be interesting one way or another.

By Kyle Reilly

Photo/Benny Sieu

“I think the summer only made our character stronger,” Rodgers said.

And some are beginning to argue the events and choices of the summer made the team’s ability to win stronger.  It was obviously going to happen, the year long comparisons of Rodgers and Favre.  Who would falter first?  Even though Favre is on the vastly inferior team and was playing a superior opponent, Rodgers’ impressive showing against the Lions was enough for many of the nationwide football pundits to proclaim the Packers the winners of the Favre trade situation.  Although it is only the second week of the season, today’s events certainly made the Packer’s brass smile and left no doubt that this is Aaron Rodgers’ team now.

He was poised as hell today, just as he was on Monday against the Vikings.  He was mistake free, just as he was on Monday.  Most importantly he was a winner today, just like Monday.

In his post game press conference it was very apparent Rodgers has completely accepted the role of being the leader of the Pack.  On the field the same can be said.  Down in the fourth quarter Rodgers took the ball down the field brilliantly, the outcome never in doubt.  He was 6 for 7 on third down passing on the day and all three of his touchdowns came on third down.  These are the crucial stats in judging quarterback effectiveness and he has an A+ this season, compiling a stunning 118.5 QB rating along the way in his first two games.

Last week was about Rodgers taking the field and introducing himself to the team, the fans, and the country.  Today was about Rodgers introducing himself to defensive coordinators around the league, beautifully illustrating why they should spend some time game planning against him.  So far, the Packers look like a top team in the NFL with Rodgers at the helm.  Mr. T (Thompson) seems to have assembled quite the A-team yet again.

EA Sports

Once again we turn to what is the most incredible forecasting software available, Madden 2009, to predict Sunday’s tilt with the Lions.

If possible I would suggest the game has been using crack.  Despite Aaron Rodgers 303 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, the Lions recovered an onside kick and took the ball down the field for the winning TD.

Lions 34 Packers 27

Oh the horror!

(OK, a quick edit here now that it’s Monday morning.  In retrospect it’s kind of remarkable how close this simulation was.)

“He played extremely well,” Favre said about Rodgers. “He played well under a lot of pressure, but I’m not surprised by it. . . . He’s got tremendous talent. He watched and learned from me, and that’s good and bad.”

Steve Mariucci interviewed Favre for NFL network, an interview that will air on Sunday for those lucky enough to either have Direct TV or a cable company sane enough to carry that channel.

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith suffered a season ending injury when he broke his shoulder Sunday.  This was the same shoulder that was injured last season as well.  Many are now speculating that Smith’s career with the 49ers may be over, perhaps his career period.

"Well, this sucks!"

Let’s all remember draft day in 2005.  Mel Kiper was projecting a certain Aaron Rodgers going number one overall to the 49ers, the same 49ers who had a certain Mike McCarthy as it’s offensive coordinator.  It was reported that McCarthy was in favor of Rodgers over Smith, but the organization went in a different direction.

Flash forward to the present and McCarthy got his wish.  Ultimately we still don’t know how things will play out, but as of right now it appears the Packers benefitted greatly from the 49ers error in judgement.

Border Battle:  Week 1 (oh yeah, the other two NFC North Teams)

By Derek Kast

Glorious NFL, thank you for entering my life and befriending me again. Real live-action, blood and guts, “it’s on the line” football has returned and with the weather in my neighborhood this weekend, it sure feels like it’s on time. Week 1 had it share of blow outs, close games and surprises. As usual, my fantasy football woes were alive and my quarterbacks in two leagues left me wishing for better days. Tom Brady went out (for the year!?!) and Carson Palmer played more like Carson Cressley. Yes, to me it was bad enough for a “Queer Eye” reference. Get heated, Palmer, come out with fire in week 2. Please?

All in all, it was good, albeit injury-filled week for football. It feels great to have it back. Week 4 of the preseason has become such a joke that it hardly whets my NFL appetite. Did anyone of significance even play for any team? Let’s get an 18 game schedule with 2 preseason contests in the rulebook. It’s a different era, it is time. Now, on the most important division in professional sports.

The Lions and Bears kicked off their seasons this Sunday, and I guess it’s worth looking at those teams as well.  The border battle is alive and well and better than ever. Going into the day, all records were reset and the division was/is up for the taking. Do I hear a Rick Flair “Whooooooooo!”? I believe I do.

Detroit Lions (0-1, Last in the NFC North and NFL in Record, Rushing Defense and Dignity)

Sunday featured an early game by Tom Jackson’s (ESPN / Denver Bronco’s) favorite to win the NFC North in 2008, the Detroit Lions. He stated that this is the year that the offense comes together and the defense steps up. The first test for this juggernaut in silver and Honolulu blue, the consensus pick as the worst team in the NFC (possibly in football), the Atlanta Falcons.

Detroit did their best job of being the Detroit Lions by laying an egg and getting absolutely knifed by the Falcons offense. Michael “The Burner” Turner rolled off a swift 220 yards and two scores on the ground along with another 93 from his backup, Jerious Norwood. The best word I can find for this Lions defense is putrid. Yes, there can be no other word to describe the complete dominance that Atlanta found in the running game. Add another 156 in the air by Matt Ryan and the Lions ended the day with a disappointing 474 yards of total offense given up. This was not the look of a division champion.

The Kittie’s offense was only decent on the day. QB John Kitna was efficient completing nearly 73% of his passes for the game, including a couple of scores. However, in the end, the 21 points that the Lions mustered was little conciliation on a day in which they gave up 34. With Detroit spending most of the day in catch-up mode, their own rushing game never got going. The non-silent Bob, Kevin Smith only had 48 yards in his career-opening game. Steady but not spectacular was the story for the Lions.

In week 2, the Lions get the Pack at home and will have to erase the memories of their first week destruction. Maybe Matt Millan can get out the duct tape and WD-40 to fix his broken team. Seriously, as long as he has a say in how this team is built, I will never buy into the “This is the Lion’s year.” talk. Look for a Border Battle style preview later in the week. 

Chicago Bears (1-0, 1st Place NFC North, Scary-Good Defense Again)

I keep wanting to make excuses for how a Bears team can win with a defense that seems to be lucky, but gets the job done. I can’t anymore. With the exception of an injury-filled year in 2007, the Lovey Smith led Bears have had a strong, and most importantly opportunistic defense. Against the Indianapolis Colts, in the opening of their new home, the Bears defense was back and scoring points again. A fumble return TD and a safety helped add 9 points to the Chicago total on route to a 29-13 win to open their season. They had solid coverage for the most part, a nice pass rush and most importantly, sure tackling. 

With strong up front pressure surprisingly rattling a rusty Peyton Manning, the defense was one strong reason that the underdog Bears left Indy with a win. But, it wasn’t the only reason. Kyle the (former?) party monster Orton was helped by impressive rookie Matt Forte. Forte sprang into action right away and outran the Colt defenders on his way to a speedy 123 yards. Orton also looked improved as he seemed confident and comfortable in the pocked despite facing an elite pass rusher in Dwight Freeney. Orton didn’t fill the stat line with his night, but definitely managed the game well and didn’t make any key mistakes. If the defense continues to play at its week one level, and can keep healthy, perhaps Orton can once again play the 2000 Raven’s - Trent Dilfer role. 

Chicago seems to have their swagger back, at least on this night. I’ll admit that Peyton Manning wasn’t the confident quarterback that he usually is, but in a division where Aaron Rodgers and Tarvaris Jackson are anything but proven, and John Kitna plays for the Lions, the Bears may have an opportunity to use a pressure defense and a possession offense to win a few more games than I originally had thought. It can be argued that the Bears have recaptured the formula that brought them to the Super Bowl just two short seasons ago. With Orton playing Grossman and Forte playing Jones, anything is possible. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t see a team without faults, but I was pretty impressed with how the Bears handled Manning and the Colts.

Next week the Bears head to Carolina to face a Panthers team that completed their own upset win over an AFC power. Carolina will still be without their star wideout Steve Smith, but I don’t believe that the enigmatic Smith is always the game changer he thinks he is. I think this should be a fairly even match-up, but I think that the Carolina defense will be a little better challenge for Kyle Orton. I think the Bears squeak one out on the road again and open their season 2-0.

Para nuestros amigos de habla español aquí es una asombrosa pieza de gran receptor juego de lunes por la noche. 

Disfrutar!