In professional sports, there will always be luck whether you believe it or not. The two missed field goals by the ultra-reliable David Akers were unreal. As my dad and I watched Akers attempt the 34 yarder, both of us said this is a complete chip shot and he absolutely shanked it. I had the feeling that this was our day. Another near heartbreak was with DeSean Jackson catching a wide open pass late in the game before Desmond Bishop tripped him at the 40 yard line. Once again, one of the the heroes the game were not in the game plan at the beginning of the year.
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| Kudos to SI for this great picture. |
With my nerves at a high rate, I loved to see Bishop come off the edge on that first play. We were like Apollo Creed delivering the first punch to Rocky, which leads me to a quick tangent. I love Rocky, but seriously that's your city's hero? Rocky might be the only star athlete that didnt't get booed in Philadelphia. The Packers came into this game like gang busters, and continued to play a chip on their shoulder. It might not have looked as powerful as the New York or Chicago performance by their defense, but it truly was. I wonder if Winston Justice will have nightmares about Clay Matthews for the next week after the Claymaker clearly became in his head. Tyson Clabo, you're next.
People know that you cannot pass against the Packers. They have Charles Woodson who will be a Hall of Famer when he is done and may be most versatile defensive player in the NFL. His partner in crime, Tramon Williams is the best player that no one knows about and it still puzzles me why Vick decided to throw his way on the final play. The Eagles consistently relied on Jason Avant who was a safety vavle for the entire game because they couldn't use Maclin or Jackson due to the blanket coverage by the secondary.
Now, this chip on our shoulder defense heads into Atlanta. People say you can run against this Packer defense and the Falcons do have the powerful one-two combo of Michael Turner and Jacob Snelling. Turner was the last guy to gain over 100 yards against the Packers. B.J. Raji said in the Journal today, they tackled terribly in that game and I bet the house they will not repeat that performance. They need to keep containment and the Packers will be just fine which could silence the haters for another time.
This is the fourth week of the playoffs for the Green Bay Packers, and I believe they might be peaking at the right time. I remember the late 90s and how excited a young Charles was about the playoffs but right now, I never been filled with this much excitement. This will seem like the longest week ever with Saturday night, not coming soon enough.
-Charlie.
