This year’s Green Bay Packers looked like a team on a mission. Like a team destined to end up in Indianapolis and atone for the franchise’s Super Bowl loss 14 years ago in San Diego. Since that fateful day on the West Coast, the Packers have had some of the toughest playoff defeats of all the teams in the NFL. Where does Sunday’s loss sit on that list? Continue reading
The Packers confirmed Sunday the abnormally long list of flaws that had fans of the 15-1 NFC North champs on the edge of their seats all season long. The deep-rooted problems lie on defense, though miscues like dropped passes and fumbles played a major role in the loss. It was sheer sluggishness that cemented the Packers’ fate though, as Green Bay kissed their magical season goodbye in front of a hopeful Lambeau audience.
Let’s pretend for a second that the Packers at least played a fundamentally sound game, free of turnovers and dropped passes. We suddenly have a ball game…but would it have even translated into anything? Sunday proved that Green Bay’s reliance on a 40-points-per-game offense wasn’t going to cut it down the stretch. The defense simply wasn’t good enough to bail out any less-than-perfect performance by the offense. Continue reading
It’s not worth comparing this Sunday’s divisional playoff matchup to the 2007 NFC title game that saw the New York Giants knock off No.4 and the second-seeded Green Bay Packers.
Both teams have changed dramatically over the past four years, as have most teams in the league. In 2008, the Packers handed the franchise reins over to Aaron Rodgers and then employed a new defensive scheme. The Giants have since become much more pass-happy on offense. However, one aspect of Tom Coughlin’s Giants has not changed in four years: the prowess seen in the Giants’ defensive line. Continue reading
Still unknown is how Ted Thompson will allocate the franchise tag, a long-term contract and a wave farewell to pending free agents Jermichael Finley, Scott Wells and Matt Flynn. Flynn’s performance in Week 17 against the Lions has Thompson reevaluating any predetermined personnel moves he had been planning. One factor Thompson doesn’t need to consider when performing his analysis: the existence of a free agent market for Flynn.
In analyzing the market for Flynn, I separate potential buyers into groups based on their apparent need at quarterback. There appear to be three types of QB-needy teams this offseason: the desperate, the contemplating and the indecisive. While the teams listed in the third category may come off as long shots, their influence on the flow of rookie and free agent quarterbacks should not be disregarded. Continue reading
Matt Flynn is for real.And now the entire league knows it. After getting off to a rocky start against the Lions, Flynn rebounded with six touchdowns and 480 yards passing. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his performance was the game-winning drive he assembled with less than two minutes to play. Flynn’s name becomes a hot one as 20 teams begin their offseasons. Continue reading
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