Greg Jennings said it best on the sideline before Sam Shields’ interception. “It has to be dramatic, man.” How true that is? The story of the Packers’ 2010 season has been overcoming adversity. The Packers lost six games during the regular season and were teetering on the verge of a long offseason after 14 games and an 8-6 record. Now if you check BETUS for the Super Bowl favorite you just might find the Green Bay Packers the favorite to win it all.
To think the Packers were so close to elimination after losing to the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots back-to-back in December but now are playing in the Super Bowl is remarkable. While the Packers were able to overcome the the injuries they suffered in the regular season I thought the playoffs would bring out those losses for sure. How do you win in the playoffs without Ryan Grant, or Jermichael Finley, or Nick Barnett, or Mark Tauscher?
The Packers’ offense certainly took the brunt of the injuries because of how hard it is to replace an all-world tight end and top-flight running back. Losing Grant in game one put the Packers’ offense behind the 8-ball from the get go, losing Finley four weeks later was almost the dagger. Only the emergence of “bread and butter” – Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings, saved the regular season (See NFL.com for the sound effects video of the championship game to see Jennings come up with that one, great stuff).
Aaron Rodgers has taken his game to a new level and even though he may have struggled a little last week he has been the key figure in the Packers’ six game winning streak. With Rodgers playing mistake-free ball and a new found running game with James Starks, the Packers’ defense is that much better, and they are no slouch to begin with.
In fact, the Packers’ defense will again be expected to carry the load and given Dom Capers has two weeks to prepare it should be business as usual. If the Packers can get to Ben Roethlisberger like they did Jay Cutler they will be in good shape. Cutler was beaten and bruised when he called it a day early in third quarter. One thing is sure in Dallas, Big Ben won’t be leaving the game no matter how hard the Packers hit him.
I think having to overcome so much adversity certainly helps the Packers’ confidence level but Pittsburgh’s road to the game wasn’t exactly a cake walk. More on that later. To early to break things down. To be honest I’m still enjoying the win over the Bears. Saturday I will start focusing on the Steelers.
Go Pack!