A week later and I’m finally coming down to earth. What a great week it was with a Packer on every late night show and incredible stuff on NFL Network. Inside the NFL on Showtime was a classic as well, I’m sure glad Ed Sabol got into the Hall of Fame, because without him it would have been a boring week.
All attention now seems to be on the labor negotiations which are getting uglier by the minute. Myself, I’m going to look back one final time. Here are my random thoughts on the 2010 season.
As most of you recall, I had the Packers being about 7-1 after eight games. Other than Philly and the Jets I didn’t think anybody else was capable of beating us. I never saw losses to the Bears, Redskins and Dolphins coming. I still think the Packers should have went for two after tying the Dolphin game at the gun. McCarthy was not in good standing about then, at least in my book.
I even sold my Vikings’ tickets in week seven because I couldn’t bear seeing Brett Favre stick the dagger in the Packers’ season, after all, a trip to New York followed. The Packers were staring 3-5 right in the mouth.
Thankfully Brett Favre was Brett Favre and the against the Jets the Packers’ defense made it’s first real statement of the year. The Packers went 5-1 the next six games until losing Aaron Rodgers to injury against Detroit. With the loss to the resurgent Lions and the Patriots the following week, just like that the division title was out of reach. A revolting turn of events.
I never in a million years would have thought the Bears would have did what they did over the course of the season. It took until the NFC Championship game that we saw the Bears that we thought they were. The Bears had their chance to keep the Packers out of the playoffs and blew it. Too bad, so sad.
At 8-6 I was confident the Packers were going to make the playoffs, the Giants and Bears at home with everything to lose was pretty much a gimme, although the Bears tried to make it tough by playing their starters the whole game with nothing to gain seeding-wise.
I was actually feeling really good going into Philly for the first playoff game as I thought that was a good matchup for us, much better than playing the Bears back-to-back. That turned out to be the toughest game in the playoffs if you ask me.
I was not really worried about Atlanta, we should have beat them easily the first time around and payback is a bitch in the NFL. Ditto Chicago, the NFC Championship could have been a rout, only an injury to Jay Cutler kept that game close.
Beating the Bears twice in January and taking the Halas Trophy in Chicago might be even bigger in my book now that we won the Super Bowl. Well, it is close, that’s for sure.
The Super Bowl was a done deal. The Packers were simply rolling and McCarthy pulled out all stops from the ring fitting Saturday night to coming out firing from the opening gun Sunday. Putting the game in Rodger’s hands was exactly what I thought they should do, and Rodgers was magnificent in dissecting the Steelers’ suspect secondary.
The combination of McCarthy, Rodgers and Dom Capers’ defense is a match made in heaven. Ted Thompson just received a contract extension, McCarthy, Rodgers and Capers should not be far behind.
The Packers are built to last, but strange things happen in the NFL. With two concussions last year Rodgers might bump a helmet leaving the huddle and be out three weeks under the ridiculous concussion rules.
That may be extreme, but the fact that the Packers of 96-97 were the last NFC team to win back-to-back NFC Championships shows you how hard it is to repeat. But right now, with Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley coming back, I can’t see them not repeating.
I just hope they get the chance.