PACKERS 45 - COWBOYS 7

Giddy-Up! Packers Ride Cowboys, Win 45-7

I still have bitter memories as I remember the early 90's. My hopes were constantly being dashed as Green Bay, like many other teams, ran into that dreaded Dallas buzz-saw. Sunday's game did wonders to cure that hangover. There's really no subtle way to put it, so I'll just speak plainly: In a prime-time television matchup, the Packers really beat the crap out of the Cowboys this past Sunday. I mean six ways to Sunday. A real butt-kicking. It was a thing to behold. Now that I have that out of my system, let's see how the Packers graded out at a glance...

Prior to this game, it was fair to say the engine that is the Packers offense had really stalled. But if Sunday is any indication of fixing mechanics, I'd say Green Bay is now firing on all cylinders. QB Aaron Rodgers delivered without a doubt his best performance of the season, going 27-34 for 289 yards, 3 TD's, no interceptions, and an overall rating of 131.5 - Yes, fantasy owners finally got the QB they drafted. His first TD pass of the night was probably the most surprising, as he found RB Brandon Jackson in the pocket for a shovel-pass at the 9 yard line. WR James Jones did a wonderful job subbing for Donald Driver who was sidelined with a quadriceps injury. Jones wrangled 8 catches for 123 yards and 1 score, including a 31 yard strike to set up a first and goal to go. WR Greg Jennings posted 80 yards on 7 catches and scored once - an 8 yard laser up the middle during the 2nd quarter. For once, the ground game earned accolades both for production and also creativity. At one point, the observant fan may have noticed a classic "T" formation on offense, featuring 3 fullbacks. An ode to the rich tradition of Green Bay football? Probably not, but it's novelty was not lost on me. Running back Brandon Jackson gained 42 yards on 13 carries with one score, while fellow HB John Kuhn actually nabbed 50 yards on 13 carries. Not ground-breaking numbers, but if the Packers offense is working as designed, that's really all that is needed. If Jackson and Kuhn can be counted on to get 80+ yards and 1 score per game, Rodgers and friends should be able to take care of the rest. It should also be noted that Green Bay converted 10-15 3rd down conversion attempts. That number is much improved over the past few weeks, and needs to stay there if the Packers want to sustain drives down the stretch, but I digress. As stated, everything really went according to plan for the offense on Sunday night.

Offense's Grade: A


Defensively, the Pack has really carried over the success of the last few weeks. If it weren't for a late second quarter garbage-time TD, the team would have posted it's second consecutive shutout. Backup QB Jon Kitna's Wisconsin woes continued as he is now 0-7 lifetime against Green Bay. He was a decent 19 for 30 on the night but only gained 183 yards through the air. Meanwhile he passed for 1 TD and 2 interceptions. I'm no statistician, but my count has Kitna's career TD-INT ratio at 156-157 after this game. Not good. Packers coach Mike McCarthy has said time and time again that the key to winning the battle on defense is to create turnovers. Well, they came out +4 in that department, and accounted for two touchdowns that way as well. First, there was the textbook strip of return man Bryan McCann, which had the ball bloop right into Nick Collins' hands resulting in a score after a short scamper. Later, AJ Hawk got into the way of a Jon Kitna pass, and the tipped ball landed in the lap of fellow linebacker Clay Matthews, who sprinted (if you want to call it that) 62 yards for a touchdown. If you were listening to the Wisconsin radio broadcast, you could definitely hear color commentator Larry McCarren laughing in the background during this play. Larry normally reserves that laughter for games against the Lions but, dare I say it, the Cowboys are worse than the Lions this year. (ah, that feels awesome to say out loud. try it.) The Packers held the Cowboys to just 39 total rushing yards on 14 attempts, for a 2.8 yard per play average. They also succeeded in keeping Dallas out of the red-zone on all but one occasion, the aforementioned garbage-time TD. I'll talk more this week about the release of rehabbed CB Al Harris, but if this game were a measuring stick for the quality of Green Bay's defensive capability without Harris, It becomes easier to understand the nature of Ted Thompson's decision.

Defense's Grade: A

The special teams unit practically had the night off. Punter Tim Masthay kept his spot on the bench nice and warm, and for all I know was being fed peeled grapes by a sports medicine intern. Oh, scratch that, he does act as holder on extra points. Also, It's amazing what never having to field a legitimate kickoff does for your overall field position throughout the game. Returner Sam Shields only had one kick to work with, and he brought it out from 6 yards deep to about the GB 43 yard line. New full time kick returner? McCarthy says yes. Kicker Mason Crosby did get one crack at 3 points, a 26 yard inconsequential make. Can't have him getting rusty, can we?Overall, no news is good news.

Special Teams Grade: A


Dear readers, you don't always get me in quite the casual, jovial mood. But I really hate the Cowboys, and this bye week is going to feel so nice. Overall grade: A