12/27/2006
Snowball's Chance?
If Giants win,
Playoff hopes all but over
On the surface, it sounds like the perfect scenario for a prime-time TV matchup to cap the NFL's regular season: Green Bay at Chicago, resuming the league's oldest rivalry on a frigid New Year's Eve night at Soldier Field, with Brett Favre attempting to lead the left-for-dead Packers (7-8) to an improbable playoff berth by avenging a season-opening 26-0 loss to the Bears (13-2). There's only one problem with NBC's decision to use its flex scheduling muscle and bump the Packers game, originally slated for noon, to its 7:15 p.m. slot. If the New York Giants (7-8) win on Saturday night at Washington (5-10), the game against the Bears will almost certainly be anticlimactic (except for the inevitable talk about whether it will be Favre's last career appearance). The playoff talk will also be moot if the Giants lose, but St. Louis wins at Minnesota at noon Sunday and Carolina and Atlanta lose. The Panthers play at New Orleans at noon Sunday, while the Falcons play at Philadelphia at 3:15 p.m.
First, the Giants. Due to New York holding several tiebreaker edges, there is only one scenario under which the Packers could qualify for the playoffs should both they and the Giants win and finish 8-8. Green Bay would need every team it has beaten this season to win its final game, and would need every team New York has beaten to lose. That would give the Packers an edge in the "strength of victory" category, the fifth tiebreaker in determining the NFC's final wildcard berth.
How unlikely is that scenario?
Of the eight games that must go in the Packers' favor, they would be cheering for seven underdogs. That includes three teams who are double-digit underdogs playing on the road: Detroit is taking 11 points at Dallas, San Francisco is taking 10
PLAYOFF OUTLOOK
The Packers, a 3
IF GIANTS LOSE OR TIE
1. A Rams loss or tie Sunday at Minnesota, or...
2. A Panthers win at New Orleans OR a Falcons win at Philly, or...
3. A Rams loss or tie, plus a Panthers loss or tie, plus a Falcons loss or tie
IF GIANTS WIN
1. Every team New York has beaten this season must lose and every team Green Bay has beaten this season must win.
** Arizona, a 13
** Detroit, an 11-point underdog, must win at Dallas
** San Francisco, a 10
** Cleveland, a 3
** Seattle, a 3
** Minnesota, a 2-point underdog, must beat St. Louis at home
** New Orleans, an 8-point favorite, must beat Carolina at home
(Atlanta and Philadelphia, two teams that the Giants have beaten this season, play each other Sunday; the result is moot.)
An informal survey taken in the locker room would leave one to think that the Green Bay Packers aren't really aware what it will take for them to make the playoffs other than beating the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. Either coach Mike McCarthy has them trained to say the right thing or this is a team truly focused on the right thing.
Additional Articles on the Game and Playoffs --
Last shall be first come Sunday night
By Jason Wilde / wsj.com
To a man, the Green Bay Packers maintained Tuesday that their focus - despite all the head-spinning postseason possibilities - is on beating the Chicago Bears Sunday night at Soldier Field. And priority-wise, that is unquestionably No. 1. The Packers cannot make the NFC playoffs if they lose to Chicago - period. "Nothing is possible without a win Sunday. That's first and foremost," center Scott Wells said as the players returned to practice after a four-day holiday weekend. "We have to take care of our business Sunday night.' True. But chronologically, the Packers-Bears game actually is the last milepost on the road to the playoffs. Before the teams take the field in what NBC selected Monday night as its "Sunday Night Football" flex game, every other game that could impact the Packers will have been played. So if things go the Packers' way - starting with the New York Giants losing to the Washington Redskins Saturday night - they'll know that it's win-and-we're-in by kickoff. "I think that's actually kind of cool, because there's going to be no ifs, ands or buts by the time we play," said kicker Dave Rayner, who kicked the winning 44-yard field goal Thursday night against Minnesota that kept the Packers (7-8) alive. "When we're going on the field, it could be pretty cut-and-dried - we win and we're in, we lose and we're out. Then, it's up to us." The challenge will be getting to that point. Again, the Packers - one of five 7-8 teams vying for the final playoff spot, along with the Giants, the St. Louis Rams, the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers - basically have four ways to reach the postseason: If they beat the Bears, the Redskins beat the Giants and the Vikings beat the Rams; if the Packers beat the Bears, the Redskins beat or tie the Giants and either the Falcons beat Philadelphia or the Panthers beat New Orleans; and if the Giants beat the Redskins, the Packers beat the Bears and the "strength of victory" tiebreaker ends up in the Packers' favor over New York. The NFL said Tuesday the Packers will clinch that tiebreaker if all eight - yes, eight - of the following games go Green Bay's way: Detroit beats Dallas, Minnesota beats St. Louis, Miami beats Indianapolis, Arizona beats San Diego, San Francisco beats Denver, New Orleans beats Carolina, Seattle beats Tampa Bay and Cleveland beats Houston. -- More
Packers are still hanging around in Week 17
McCarthy kept team focused for playoff push
By Pete Dougherty
greenbaypressgazette.com
At 1-4 early this season, and especially at 4-8 just a month ago, the Green Bay Packers looked like anything but a playoff contender. Yet here it is, the NFL's final week of the regular season, and the Packers can get into the playoffs with a win Sunday night against Chicago, along with some help from the rest of the NFC. It's a remarkable development that at 7-8 they have an OK shot at the playoffs in the last week of the season, and though it says more about the state of the NFC than anything, it nevertheless has the Packers possibly playing a meaningful game in the season's final week after going 4-12 last year. "You think you're done (at 4-8)," defensive tackle Ryan Pickett said. "So you start playing for other reasons besides playoffs. We just felt like we had to start clicking, we just wanted to get that. Coach (Mike) McCarthy pushed us hard and never gave up on us, so it's always been about the next opponent." If the Packers get into the playoffs, they'll be only the sixth team in NFL history to qualify with a .500 record in a non-strike season. The NFL playoffs expanded from one wild card (and five teams total) in each conference to two wild cards in 1990, and the 8-8 New York Jets were the first .500 team to qualify for the playoffs in 1991. They were followed by Detroit and Dallas at 8-8 in 1999 and Minnesota and St. Louis at 8-8 in 2004. The only two among those who won a playoff game were the Vikings and Rams in '04 — the Vikings beat the Packers at Lambeau Field in a wild-card game — though neither moved beyond the divisional round. When asked about the Packers' bad start and poor playoff prospects for most of the season, McCarthy spoke of staying off the weekly roller coaster that can consume a team's emotional state if allowed. "That's why you have a 16-game schedule," McCarthy said. "You can't get caught up in 1-4 or 4-1. There's a reason why you play 16 games, and it's a very easy mental trap to fall into every week, the coulda, shoulda, wouldas. You really need to focus your energy on the present and prepare for the future, and learn from the past. That's been my message from Day 1. We play one more game Sunday night, and I'm perfectly comfortable with the fact we're going to play that football game, win that football game and everything else will take care of itself." -- More
Passing game thrown for a loss
As much improvement as Mike McCarthy has seen from his team during its three-game winning streak, the Green Bay Packers coach was troubled Tuesday by the way his club has regressed in one vital area. The passing game. After their 23-17 victory at Minnesota Nov. 12, the Packers' seventh-ranked offense was No. 16 in rushing and No. 6 in passing in the 32-team NFL. Entering Sunday night's regular-season finale at Chicago, the Packers are ranked 20th overall (284.3 yards per game), 18th in rushing (97.3) and 17th in passing (187.0). McCarthy mentioned the drop in passing production after he was asked whether the season finale against the Bears would serve as a measuring stick for his team's progress since a 26-0 season-opening loss to the Bears at Lambeau Field. While McCarthy said he has seen a lot of progress and improvement, there are also areas where "we did a lot better in the beginning of the year that we're not doing very well (in) right now," he said. "The thing that jumps out in my mind is throwing the football," McCarthy said. "I thought our passing game probably the first six to eight weeks was further ahead than it is right now." While quarterback Brett Favre has faded down the stretch - he enters Sunday night having thrown for 3,600 yards with 17 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for a passer rating of 72.9, ranking him 25th in the NFL - McCarthy said other factors are involved.
Health watch
Linebacker Nick Barnett wasn't wearing his bulky club-cast during practice Tuesday, but that was only because he was limited to the jog-through portion of the workout and didn't participate in 11-on-11 drills. He said he'll have to wear the cast for the rest of the season because his right hand is "still broke." Meanwhile, right tackle Mark Tauscher said he made it through Thursday night's game - his first since tearing a groin muscle at Minnesota Nov. 12 - unscathed, although he expects to be more mobile Sunday night. "I wouldn't say I'm moving like I'd want to yet," he said.
Extra points
While several players commented that flying on Christmas Day was challenging, most seemed to appreciate the four days off they had between Thursday's victory over the Vikings and Tuesday's practice. "I've had nothing but positive feedback," McCarthy said. "It seemed like everybody benefited from it." ... McCarthy and his staff game-planned for Chicago Friday and Saturday, then took Sunday and Monday off before returning to work Tuesday. ... McCarthy said Favre hasn't given him any indication that making the playoffs would affect his decision to retire or return in 2007.
Getting back to basics
Receivers practice catching the ball
By LORI NICKEL / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Dec. 26, 2006
Dropped passes have been a problem, so one of the things the Green Bay coaches tried to emphasize Tuesday, five days before the Green Bay Packers play at Chicago, was the simple act of focusing. "The fundamentals, what you learned when you were a little kid," tight end Bubba Franks said. "We went back to the fundamentals and hopefully we corrected it. But it's just a matter of being focused in the game." Franks thought one of the problems contributing to so many of the drops might be that he and other receivers are attempting to run and gain yards after the catch, which can distract from seeing the ball all the way in. "You try to catch the ball and run," Franks said. "But you can't run if you don't have the ball. So you have to go back to the fundamentals of catching the ball first and then worrying about all the other stuff later." The Packers decided against more drastic practice measures. "You can sit outside and practice catching balls on the Juggs machine all day, but you won't drop a ball there," Franks said. "When you get out there in a game, it's different." Franks thinks the best approach is to address the problem, as the Packers have, but not obsess over it and make it a bigger problem. "I don't see it being a problem this week. It just happened, and you can't correct it at the time," said Franks, who had several drops in the game Thursday against Minnesota. "It takes time to correct. We'll see. You can go two ways with it. (The mistakes) can either bring you down or you accept it and think of it as nothing. Then you don't have to sit there and worry about it. I mean, you've been catching the ball since you were a little kid, so you have to just go back to the basics." Coach Mike McCarthy is concerned about the passing game in general and admitted Tuesday that it had regressed. "Our passing game probably the first six to eight weeks was further ahead than it is right now," McCarthy said. "Throwing the football, a lot of its rhythm, timing, the precision of the route-running. Catching the football is obviously a very important factor that we need to improve on, especially the last two weeks, our performance catching the football. So those are the negatives we need to improve on." -- More
"We have a lot of great character guys on this defense and on this team. We wanted to show we weren't playing up to our potential. We really weren't doing things right. It was never anything huge, it was little things here and there, and I think we finally cleaned up most of those these last couple weeks." -- A.J. Hawk
Ask around for an explanation of the Green Bay Packers' defensive turnaround over the past two games, and you'll get a variety of answers. Head Coach Mike McCarthy points to continuity, consistency and energy he sees when reviewing film. Defensive coordinator Bob Sanders cites the passion and fundamentals the players are showcasing. The players themselves attribute it to simply playing together more and believing in their system. So which is it? To be truthful, it's all of the above. As McCarthy is fond of saying, if it were just one thing, it would have been fixed long ago. So it has taken all of those elements for the Packers to turn in dominating back-to-back defensive performances in victories over the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings that have kept the team in the NFC playoff hunt heading into the final weekend. "The defense we had coming out of the preseason and training camp, I definitely thought that was going to be the strength of our football team," McCarthy said. "Now we're at crunch time, and they have stepped to the forefront." The Packers have needed the defense to do so, with the offense struggling to maximize on its opportunities in the red zone. Over the past two games, Green Bay has surrendered a total of just 246 yards (142 vs. Det., 104 vs. Minn.) and 13 first downs (10 vs. Det., 3 vs. Minn.). To put that in perspective this year, that's fewer yards than the Packers have given up in 11 individual games, and fewer first downs than in 12. The only other games that compare statistically were at Buffalo on Nov. 5 (184 yards, 11 first downs) and vs. Arizona on Oct. 29 (218 yards). Also, the defense has recorded nine sacks in the last two games, tying the best two-game stretch of the season (Nov. 5-12, at Buffalo, at Minn.) The efforts have helped the Packers climb from near the bottom in the league rankings to 13th overall in total defense (14th vs. the run, 17th vs. the pass). "Everybody stuck together," cornerback Al Harris said. "We believe in each other. That's really all that matters." The players have believed in each other while they've continued to believe in Sanders' scheme. Meanwhile Sanders has stayed the course with the system and maintained faith in his players as well, which he said wasn't as difficult as some might think after frustrating defensive performances during the team's three-game losing streak to New England, Seattle, and the New York Jets. -- More
McCarthy takes time change in stride
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
When NBC decided it wanted Sunday's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears moved to prime time, Packers coach Mike McCarthy saw it as a sign his team is headed in the right direction. Instead of playing at noon as originally scheduled, the Packers and Bears will kick off at 7:15 p.m. at Soldier Field in Chicago. "I definitely think it is a compliment to both football teams," McCarthy said. "It's an attractive football game. That's my understanding of the flex schedule. You have to play your way on to that schedule, and playing on national TV is definitely a compliment." One of the reasons the game made it on the schedule is the uncertainty surrounding Brett Favre's future and the potential of it being his final game. But some of the Packers' players said they felt the game being moved had less to do with Favre and more to do with this being a matchup between a division champion and a team trying to earn a postseason berth. "I think if we had been eliminated from the playoffs, there's no way they move this game," Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman said. "They want to show the best games, and they think this is a pretty good one." McCarthy said the change in schedule won't have much of an impact on the Packers, who will travel to Chicago on Saturday as planned. "I'm very big on keeping them on the same program as far as getting to the opponent's city at a certain time, so that all stays the same," McCarthy said. "The only thing that changed for us is that our team meeting went from Saturday night to Sunday morning. That's really the only adjustment we'll make." -- More
Meet Courtney
Minnesota Vikings
Cheerleader
Education or Profession:
Education: Pursuing an individually-designed Bachelor of Science degree combining Business Marketing and Design Studies at the University of Minnesota
Occupation: Assistant Event Planner
Professional or Future Goals:
Personal goals: To make the most out of every day and always LiveSTRONG!
Career goals: Upon graduating from college, she will be working hard to start up her very own event planning company.
Accomplishments:
Finishing a year of college while still in high school; named MVC 2004 Rookie of the Year; twice named to the U of M Dean's List
Hobbies:
Courtney enjoys golfing, traveling to visit her brothers and doing anything outside in sunny weather!
Her experience as a Vikings Cheerleader:
Years on Team: 3
What are you looking forward to most this year as an MVC? I am looking forward to meeting the many great fans that I have not met in the past two years, and I'm so pumped to watch each and every win along the road to Miami in February!
Fun and Interesting Facts:
Hometown: White Bear Lake, MN
Marital Status: Single
Children/Pets: A puppy named Maverick
Three words to describe self: Creative, driven, enthusiastic
Place you would most like to visit: Anywhere in Europe or New Zealand
Favorite Food: Turkey sandwiches
Favorite Vikings Player: Mewelde Moore #30
Favorite part of practice: Dancing her heart out alongside 31 beautiful and talented women!
Fact that many people do not know about you: Courtney plays golf left-handed, although she is right-handed in everything else
Published by PackerPundit On Wednesday, December 27, 2006 at 6:13 AM.
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