Monday, November 22, 2010

Packers - Vikings post-mortem: nice!

Green Bay Packers 31...Minnesota Vikings 3.

Stick a fork in 'em, Danno...the 'Queens are done.

What a tremendous victory for the Pack in the Humpty Dump. A place that had often been a house of horrors for the Green 'n' Gold instead became exactly that for the guys in the funky purple. Aside from the final score and total domination by the Packers from the 2nd quarter on, the other key indicator to revel in was the passer ratings: Rodgers 141+, Favre 51.2.

Yes, it was a nice game. Is that too understated? Well, let's see. Wasn't it nice that coach Mike McCarthy deferred after winning the coin toss and let his defense set the tone with a 3-and-out series against Favre and his offense? Wasn't it nice not to hear that stupid Viking horn blaring for no apparent reason? Wasn't it nice to hear the home fans chanting, "Fire Childress" in the 4th quarter? Wasn't it nice to hear Packers fans -- the best in the universe! -- chanting, "Go Pack Go" as score after score was tallied up? Wasn't it nice to see QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Greg Jennings light up the 'Queens secondary? Wasn't it nice to see the Packers defense totally shut down Minnesota's weapons and make Ol' #4 look like the grampa he is? Wasn't it nice to see the Packers special teams act somewhat special? Wasn't it nice to see 'Queens' players and coaches going at one another on the sideline? The list could go on and on. Yep, I'd say it was a very nice game indeed.

So, the Pack go to 7-3 on the season, tied with five teams for the second best record in the NFC. We share the division lead with Da Bearz. And we travel to Atlanta to take on the 8-2 Falcons on Sunday. That will be a challenging game, and more on that as actual game time nears.

But let's just look at where the Packers are right now. Their season point differential is plus-106, 36 points more than the next closest team, the Steelers. During this current four-game winning streak (which Atlanta also has going into the upcoming game), they have been penalized only eight times for 60 yards. And in the turnover margin, the Packers are ahead in that part of the game as well. Finally, in the last three games, the Packers have outscored their opponents 85-10. Holy blowout, Batman!

The offense is rolling. The defense is controlling. Special teams are trolling. (Sorry, got into a goofy rhyming thing there...my bad...)

The Packers are putting the pedal to the metal, and they're driving to the playoffs. Might still be a few speed bumps on the way. But, man, ya gotta like it. Ya gotta like it.

Go Pack Go!!!