12/11/2007
Comparisons to '96 are getting harder to ignore
GREEN BAY -- Their no-nonsense head coach doesn't tolerate mistakes. Their running attack continues to rapidly improve, of particular importance with the weather turning colder and the playoffs approaching. Their staunch defense features at least three players deserving of Pro Bowl selections. Their quarterback is playing at an MVP level. They're scoring touchdowns on special teams. In case you were stuck in a time warp for three hours Sunday afternoon, rest assured you weren't watching the 1996 Green Bay Packers plunder the Oakland Raiders 38-7 at 18-degree Lambeau Field. But it sure seemed like it, didn't it? Especially in the second half, when the men wearing the 'G' helmets outscored their opponent 24-0. Certainly, if this year's Green Bay squad is to fully earn a comparison to its '96 brethren, it also will have to win the Super Bowl. [More]
Grant sets tone
Carries load in another productive performance
The Oakland Raiders, who were the guests of dishonor Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field, rank second-to-last in the NFL in rushing defense. The Raiders are so inept that they had difficulty stopping the Packers' ground game at times in the second half even though defensive tackle Warren Sapp was apparently calling out the exact play Green Bay was going to run. "They knew some of the stuff that we were doing," Packers running back Ryan Grant said, "but we were executing." Given that backdrop, it should come as no surprise that Grant became the ninth player this season to rush for at least 100 yards against the Raiders. Still, the 70,828 fans that braved the cold here Sunday had to walk away impressed by Grant's brilliant performance during a 38-7 victory that clinched the NFC North Division title for the Packers. Grant posted career highs with 29 carries for 156 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game -- his fourth in three games -- to set the rout in motion. Considering Brett Favre was still feeling the effects of an elbow injury that knocked him out of the Dallas game on Nov. 29, it was imperative that Grant carry the load while also showing the Packers' ground game could flourish in December weather. [More]
So much for Favre's "diminishing skills"
That an injured Daunte Culpepper stood on the Oakland sidelines -- inactive, inconsequential, indifferent -- may have served as poetic justice for Brett Favre. Not that he cares about such things. Not that there were any poets, either, bare-chested or otherwise, among Sunday's witnesses to Green Bay's 38-7 victory at "balmy" Lambeau Field. But even though there was little or no suspense in determining the outcome against the overmatched Raiders, there was some justice in Favre guiding the Packers to the NFC North championship against an opponent that was carrying Culpepper on its payroll. For sheer drama, nothing could match Green Bay's stirring 34-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Christmas Eve 2004 in the Metrodome. That was the last time the Packers celebrated a division title and it came at the expense of Culpepper, who was then firmly entrenched as the captain of the Vikings' cruise ship, so to speak (predating any Lake Minnetonka escapades). Favre was at his finest in the clutch, directing a couple of fourth-quarter scoring drives. Once again, too, Favre responded to adversity and showed his resiliency after throwing a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown by Minnesota linebacker Chris Claiborne. [More]Resurgent ground game gives Packers options
It will be a cold day in Arizona when an opponent comes into a game worrying about the Green Bay Packers' running game more than it does its passing game. But total disregard for the Packers' ability to run the ball? You wouldn't think it would be that way anymore, not after five consecutive 100-yard rushing days, including a season-high 179 yards in 36 carries Sunday in a 38-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Lambeau Field. [More]
Published by PackerPundit On Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 5:10 AM.
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