The Packer Pundit

Additional Game Articles --

Completely dominant in victory
The refrain had been the same after each of their seven victories, a product of the never-be-satisfied sporting cliche' and their coach's commitment to keeping them humble. We haven't played a complete game yet. But truth be told, as impressive as the first half of the Green Bay Packers' stunning 2007 season had been, they hadn't. Until Sunday, that is.


Packers Put On Best Performance Yet
Folks of all types surrounding the Packers' organization - coaches, players, media, fans and the like - have been waiting for the team to play a complete football game. If Sunday wasn't it, it was about as close as anyone could expect. The Packers thoroughly dominated NFC North rival Minnesota with an efficient, ball-control offense and stifling defense to blow out the Vikings 34-0 in front of 70,945, the largest regular-season crowd ever at Lambeau Field.


Running the show
Eleven years ago, when the Green Bay Packers were kicking butt and taking names en route to Super Bowl glory, they spanked the playoff-bound Minnesota Vikings, 38-10, in a display of dominating football at Lambeau Field that still can be remembered vividly for its utter ferocity. Ever since then, the Vikings always showed up at Lambeau in a foul mood, often played over their heads and generally raised holy hell against anyone wearing dark green and gold.


Favre has all the answers
The game plan was hatched by coach Mike McCarthy and coordinator Joe Philbin. The execution was left up to Brett Favre. Together, they put on an offensive clinic Sunday in the Green Bay Packers' 34-0 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field.


Defense grounds run
Between television highlights, questions from reporters and film study, members of the Green Bay Packers' defense couldn't move last week without Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson being shoved in their face. So by the time the coaches cued up another film of Peterson's record-setting exploits late in the week, the players had reached their breaking point. "We were, like, 'Man, cut if off. We don't want to see it no more,' " defensive tackle Ryan Pickett said. "We got tired of seeing that." They were Peter(son)-ed out, so to speak.


Vikings even savor Robinson's performance
Afterward, Brad Childress grabbed Koren Robinson and didn't let go. The Minnesota Vikings coach had something important to say to his former wide receiver, and while midfield wasn't the ideal place to deliver it, the message had to get through. "He told me he's proud of me," Robinson said after the Packers' 34-0 win. "That meant a lot. A whole lot."


Grant gashes Vikings on ground, too
Of all the things that went wrong for his Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field Sunday -- and clearly there was plenty, as the 34-0 final score indicated -- the thing that shell-shocked the second-year coach most was the way the Green Bay Packers had run roughshod over his defense, which came into the game ranked second in the NFL in run defense and not having allowed a 100-yard rusher all year.


Grant Upstages Peterson In RB Battle
If Adrian Peterson was supposed to be the superstar in Sunday's game, somebody forgot to send Ryan Grant the memo. Peterson, who set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in last week's defeat of San Diego, entered with a 6.6-yards per carry average. Just as impressive, the rookie runner had amassed 1,036 rushing yards in just eight games. Grant, on the other hand, came in with a 4.0-yard average and less than 200 yards rushing on the season, and Minnesota's defense was second in the league against the run allowing an average of only 70 yards per contest. The Vikings hadn't given up a 100-yard rushing performance to a single back all season.


Vikings' Peterson kept in check
Even before Adrian Peterson found himself on a cart, right knee elevated, the Green Bay Packers defense had essentially put him out of commission. The Minnesota Vikings' record-setting rookie running back, one week removed from the most productive single-game rushing performance in NFL history, had been rendered a non-factor. He'd come to Lambeau Field as the NFL's leading rusher (1,036 yards). He was leaving with a slight limp and on the wrong end of a 34-0 whitewashing.


Receivers have a field day
Green Bay receiver Ruvell Martin and his position coach, Jimmy Robinson, had a heart-to-heart talk Monday after Martin was inactive for the Packers' victory last Sunday at Kansas City. "We sat down ... and he goes, 'This is just how your NFL career is going to be,' " Martin said. "He said, 'It's not going to be easy for you. It's going to be a tough road; nothing is going to be given to you. So, you have to continue to make plays and take advantage of your opportunities.' "


Martin Has First Two-TD Day
With the emergence of rookie James Jones and the return of the reinstated Koren Robinson, Ruvell Martin had slid into the background a bit in the Packers' receiving corps. But the second-year pro showed his still a viable option for quarterback Brett Favre, notching his first career two-touchdown game in Sunday's 34-0 win over Minnesota. Martin caught four passes for 57 yards in all, beginning with a 25-yarder out of a five-wide receiver set that helped set up a field goal midway through the second quarter.