The Packer Pundit

Still Striving For Complete Game
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 10/05/2007
It's not difficult for the Packers to stay grounded during the highs of their 4-0 start while at the same time staying optimistic about the remaining three-quarters of the regular season. That's because the team firmly believes it hasn't played its best game yet. And it hasn't, judging by the flaws in each of the first four performances. Against Philadelphia, the offense struggled to gain just 215 yards. The following week at the Giants, the running game had nine carries for zero or negative yardage. Back home against San Diego, a goal-to-go situation late in the fourth quarter was squandered. And last week at Minnesota, the defense was gashed for a handful of big plays and 155 rushing yards. Whether or not a perfect or near-perfect performance is due this week against NFC North rival Chicago remains to be seen, but it's what the entire team is after as it begins the second month of the regular season.

"I think we've done some positive things on the football field in our first four wins," Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. "But I don't think we've really put together a complete game as a football team. I think our offense has played some really good games, I think our defense has played some really good games, I think the special teams, three of the four games has played very well. But I don't think we've gone out and played our top game in all three phases and put one together, and that's our focus, regardless of who we're playing this week, and that will be our focus as we move forward."
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Impact Of Turnovers Seen On Scoreboard
By Mike Spofford / Packers.com
Posted 10/05/2007
There's a lot of value placed on winning the turnover battle in the NFL. Come out on the plus-side of the turnover ratio, and the chances to win greatly improve. But what a team does with the turnovers it gets, and what it allows its opponents to do with theirs, can be even more important in the winning equation. And that's an area where the Packers have turned their modest plus-3 turnover ratio into a monumental difference on the scoreboard. Through the first four games in 2007, the Packers have eight takeaways against just five giveaways. But while Green Bay has turned those eight turnovers into 41 points, it has allowed its opponents to turn their five turnovers into just six points. The fact that those numbers produce a 35-point differential and the Packers have won their four games by a combined 39 points is more than mere coincidence. And going up against a Chicago team on Sunday that has turned the ball over 14 times in four games will put turnovers, and their aftermath, in the spotlight once again. "That's what you work for every day, because you know how impactful (turnovers) are," linebacker Brady Poppinga said. "They can change the whole complexion of the game if you can get a turnover." More >>


Backfields in motion, but not always forward
By Tom Pelissero
greenbaypressgazette.com
Nobody formed a cabal to upheave the NFC North's backfields after last season, but a series of moves in March and April brought fresh legs to all four teams. The Minnesota Vikings used the seventh overall pick in the NFL draft on Adrian Peterson. The Detroit Lions sent two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Dre' Bly to the Denver Broncos in a deal for Tatum Bell. The Chicago Bears dealt 1,000-yard rusher Thomas Jones to the New York Jets and promoted former first-round pick Cedric Benson. The Jets sent a second-round draft pick acquired in that deal to the Green Bay Packers, who used it to draft Brandon Jackson after Ahman Green left in free agency. The results at the season's quarter pole are mixed. The Vikings are well ahead of last year's rushing pace, the Bears are well behind, and the Lions and Packers have the NFL's two worst per-game rushing averages yet are a combined 7-1.
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They light up Chicago
Favre, Packers dominate Bears in night matchups
By BOB McGINN / journalsentinel.com
Posted: Oct. 5, 2007
Green Bay - The Brett Favre-quarterbacked Green Bay Packers have never been more overwhelming than in night games against the Chicago Bears. Seven times Favre has led Green Bay against Chicago after dark, five on Monday and two on Sunday. Each time, the game essentially was over by halftime, leaving announcers filling air and viewers clicking to other programming. The Packers' average first-quarter lead was 7.7 points, their average halftime lead 14.3 and their average margin of victory was 16.1. In fourth-quarter garbage time, the Bears broke even, 53-53. Obviously, with a trend like that, the smart play would be to take Green Bay and give the 3 points when the two teams meet Sunday night at Lambeau Field. Cornerback Al Harris, who has played in two of the games, promised that the Packers would not be overconfident. "I don't think it will be a blowout," Harris said Friday. "I don't think they're out of it. I think they'll fight back. Honestly. They've got a good football team, man." More >>


No. 4 cornerback? Williams or Walker
By Jason Wilde / madison.com
GREEN BAY — Will Blackmon's season might not be over after all, but regardless of what happens to the second-year cornerback after the broken right foot he suffered Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers will be without him Sunday night against Chicago. That means Tramon Williams or Frank Walker will be the team's fourth cornerback. While the Packers have used a dime alignment (six defensive backs) on only a handful of snaps this season, Blackmon did play in that package and also played when the Packers used their nickel defense when starter Al Harris was temporarily sidelined by one of his several injuries. Coach Mike McCarthy said he wouldn't shy away from using the dime unit because of Blackmon's injury and said Williams and Walker were neck-and-neck for the No. 4 job. Williams has been serving as the kickoff returner while Blackmon was recovering from a broken left thumb, but Walker has been inactive each of the past two games. More >>