| The reasons for the Green Bay Packers fall from NFL dominance in the post-Super Bowl years are many, varied, and complex, and have been mulled, hashed and rehashed so frequently by Packer fans and detractors alike, that to reconsider them here would be redundant and a waste of space. Their return to glory in 2001, as indicated in a 3-1 one record in the first quarter of the season with a scoring margin of 103 to 27 demands explanation. First, and Packer detractors would declare foremost, is their strength of schedule. The Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins, and the Carolina Panthers, the three teams that the gods of scheduling and the events of 9/11/01decreed to be the Packers first three opponents, finished the 2000 season with a combined record of 24 and 24. By all appearances, a fair schedule for the fourth place Packers who finished with a humble 9-7 record. Who knew then that these seemingly mediocre teams would fall into the abyss of abomination? The Packers handled these three teams with the ease of an NCAA top ten team facing Division 1-AA squads. The fourth team the Packers faced, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team with a dubious offense but a historically strong defense, forced the Packers into enough mistakes to walk away with the win at the RayJay, where the Packers have yet to win a game. Though the Packers dominated this game for three and a half quarters, a determined Buccaneers offense mounted a late drive which gave them the edge in the only statistic that matter... the final score. But to dismiss the resurgence of the storied Wisconsin franchise as a fluke of scheduling is to ignore the vast improvement of the 2001 Packers over their 2000 counterpart. Indeed, the 2000 Packers faced their share of NFL 'dogs' (the Bears, the 49ers, and the Cardinals) yet were only able to win 3 of 4 of those games and only dominated in two of them. Losing in consecutive years to the Bears and the Panthers at Lambeau Field are humiliations few Packers fans care to recall and embarrassments the players are determined to redeem. Some of the improvements in this year's team became evident in the final quarter of last season when the Packers swept their division rivals in consecutive games, rebounding from a horrific 5-7 start to finish with a 9-7 record. Chief among the |
foreshadowed improvements were a healthy Brett Favre, a confident Ahman Green, and, most of all, an understanding by all the players in the system installed by first year head coach Mike Sherman and his coordinators, Tom Rossley on offense and Ed Donatell on defense. In the current year, not only have the Packers picked up where they left off last year, they have added to their list of individual and team achievements (both of which are obviously wedded to each other). Most apparent among these is the performance of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, the Green Bay Defensive end who has rocketed out of the starting blocks by notching 9 sacks in the first four games. The rest of the defense has followed suit, adding another 11. In 2000, the Packers finished 20th in the league in this statistical catagorie with a total of 37 sacks. Another area of obvious improvement is in the trenches on the other side of the ball where a reshuffled offensive line, the youngest in the league, has seen Mark Tauscher replace the inept Ross Verba and Mike Wahle who has moved back to his best played position at left guard. 7th round draft pick Mark Tauscher has replaced the aging and oft injured Earl Dotson. And Mike Flannigan has stepped in for the wily old vet, Frankie "Bag O' Donuts' Winters. The Packers offensive line, working like a well oiled machine, has yielded only 5 sacks through 4 games, a marked contrast to the 34 they surrendered last year. The difference has been enough to give Brett Favre the time he needs to move the ball in the magical way that Packer fans have come to expect. Next up for the Packers are the defending World Champion Baltimore Ravens, a team that exceeds the Buccaneers in almost every aspect: A defense more powerful |
and well rounded than the Buc and an offense, which while showing some difficulty in getting the ball into the end zone, is capable of breaking the big play. Certainly the Packers have their work cut out for them against the formidable Champs. To win, the Packers will have to make zero mistakes. In the case of Brett Favre, that may mean taking a crushing sack from the relentless Baltimore defense rather than putting it up for grabs or forcing it into situations primed for interceptions. In the case of Ahman Green and the Packer wide receivers, it means hanging on to the ball at all costs... no fumbles and no dropped passes. Zero mistakes on the defensive side of the ball means that the Packers secondary cannot allow the speedy Qadry Ismail get behind them and the line backing corps cannot allow the sure handed, future Hall of Fame tight end, Shannon Sharpe, get open over the middle. Nor can they underestimate the journeyman Raven running back, Terry Allen, whose paltry 3.5 yard per carry average belies the tenacity of the old pro. The Packers will have to bring their own brand of defensive push against the likes of Jonathan Odgen, no mean feat. Above all, the Packers must avoid penalties, especially the extremely stupid ones like that of Bill Schroeder who exchanged unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with Tampa Bay defensive end Steve White at a critical juncture of the game. Rather than having a first down as a result a penalty on White who initiated the exchange, the Packers faced fourth down and had to punt the ball to Tampa Bay who then mounted their 95 yard, game-winning drive. |