...Heading into January

[Papa John]

I have not seen much this season but I cannot see the Packers overcoming Eagles, Detroit and Vikings twice on the road. We are good to beat one of them, but not two and we gotta do it because we will play them very probably in divisional and conference round. The only hope are the Playoffs and its own laws. Maybe we can rise like the 2007/2008 Giants rised? So, there is hope. Should make a thrill of January.

It's no secret that I have historically been one of the most critical voices on this forum. I strongly disagree with this. For the first time since 2014, I believe in this team. We have the brute force- the brawn. Of that there is no question. The X factor will be situational football, as I mentioned in another thread. Love and LaFleur need to keep playing their A-game in even the most critical moments.

[RingoCStarrQB]

I think we'll be on the road to start the PO's, winning could bring a PO game home, it's 1 game at a time for us underdogs, hard to imagine that with a 11-4 record, but it is what it is, and we've done well as the second fiddler before.

Merry Christmas to us all, we sure got a stocking stuffer Monday night

Merry Christmas Everybody! Yooper, yes the Monday Night stocking stuffer was awesome. Now it's time to get back to work and bring the Trophies (note: plural) back to Titletown where they belong. As stated previously, its nice to see the Glory is back in Titletown post-Rodgers. No more prissy football and cutesie play calling please.

For those of us who appreciate Packers history, that NFCCG game win at San Francisco garnering the Packers the 1997 NFC Championship trophy is an excellent example of a thing the Packers accomplished as supposed second fiddler. Packers have many first fiddler BIG WINS on the road in the playoffs including the 1962 NFL Championship at Yankee Stadium, the 1966 NFL Championship at the Cotton Bowl, and the 2010 NFC Championship at Soldier Field, to name a few.

My all time favorite playoff win so far was the January 6, 1996 game at 3-COM in San Francisco. That game put Ringo in the Packers Hall of Fame which on this Christmas Day was one helluva gift from the Packers organization, which I'll be forever grateful. Here's the story from the Milwaukee newspaper:

San Francisco - Not since the Ice Bowl in 1967 have the Green Bay Packers posted a more momentous victory than they did Saturday afternoon at 3Com Park.

Twenty-six years of National Football League playoff history said the Packers would not beat the mighty San Francisco 49ers.

But the oddsmakers and everyone outside the Packers' locker room had no idea just how well the Packers had been prepared by coach Mike Holmgren and defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur for their moment of truth.

Galvanized by a quick defensive touchdown in the opening exchanges of the game, the Packers led from start to finish in eliminating the defending Super Bowl champions in one of the all-time playoff shockers, 27-17.

"We had to show this, that we are indeed a real football team," Packers general manager Ron Wolf said. "By God, I think we've done that today."

Green Bay improved to 13-5, having won eight of its last nine games. And the 49ers, five times a Super Bowl champion since 1981, suffered a sixth defeat as a double-digit favorite this season to finish 11-6.

Now the Packers will await the result of the other second-round game in the National Football Conference today between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles at Texas Stadium. If the Cowboys win, the Packers will play next Sunday in Dallas. If the Eagles win, however, the Packers will meet them next Sunday at Lambeau Field.

"This was a very difficult loss," 49ers coach George Seifert said. "The execution of Green Bay was extremely good."

Again the Packers were led by their indomitable quarterback, Brett Favre. He was almost uncanny in his ability to make big plays against a defense that blitzed much more than normal and still avoid turnovers.

He completed 21 of 28 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns. The Packers have not turned the ball over in either playoff game, in direct contrast to the 49ers, who had four.

"It starts with Brett Favre," Holmgren said. "He has worked very hard to become a great player, and he really is."

To understand the magnitude of the Packers' accomplishment, consider:

As a 10-point underdog, the Packers became the first team since the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV to win a playoff game facing odds of 10 points or more. The last 22 teams that faced that situation all lost.

The 49ers had been 9-1 in divisional playoff games at home since 1981.
In the first five years of the three-tiered playoff system featuring three wild-card teams in each conference, the teams that were coming off byes had a record of 18-2.
The Packers had been manhandled by the Dallas Cowboys in road divisional games the past two years.
"Brett is the MVP," wide receiver Anthony Morgan said. "He showed the world today."

But this was far more than just a one-man show.

From start to finish, the Packers not only outfoxed the 49ers but also were more physical. The 49ers couldn't protect quarterback Steve Young, they couldn't get the ball to Jerry Rice and their running game was an utter embarrassment.

On defense, all the blitzing and 17 years worth of watching their own West Coast offense provided them with not a clue on how to solve the pure version of their offense now coached so adeptly by their one-time coordinator, Holmgren, in the NFL's smallest city.

"This game was really a shock," San Francisco linebacker Gary Plummer said. "The quick score by their defense elevated their game."

"Green Bay has solid coaching," said 49ers center Bart Oates, a winner of two Super Bowls with the New York Giants. "But not the same talent as the 49ers or Dallas, however."

Under coordinator Mark Trestman, the 49ers came out with a curious game plan, to say the least. On the first play they threw a wing pass to Adam Walker, their reject fullback playing with a cast on his broken thumb. He fumbled when Wayne Simmons put his helmet on the ball and Craig Newsome returned it 31 yards for a touchdown.

Following the kickoff, the best Trestman could do was consecutive handoffs to undersized halfback Derek Loville for a gain of one yard and a third-down swing pass to Loville that was broken up by LeRoy Butler.

"Early in the ballgame they tried to establish the run," Packers nose tackle John Jurkovic said. "We took the run away and then they had to do something else."

That something else meant Young throwing to the incomparable Jerry Rice and tight end Brent Jones. Split end John Taylor looked stiff and far over the hill at 33, and rookie J.J. Stokes dropped several passes and seemed intimidated by the game's pressure.

Shurmur, however, had ideas of his own. The 49ers feared him during 21 previous games when he was with the Patriots, the Rams and the Cardinals, and events Saturday proved them right.

Mixing his personnel in three- and four-man fronts and various nickel packages, Shurmur confused Young. When Young wasn't confused, he had difficulty getting the ball to Rice, who was bumped early and often by Newsome and Doug Evans and then shadowed by safeties Mike Prior and Butler.

Asked if the game represented his finest hour in more than 40 years of coaching, Shurmur replied, "I don't know about that. It wasn't me. Our defensive backs just weren't in awe of the 49ers' receivers."

Rice finished with 11 catches for 117 yards and Jones had eight for 112, but much of it came after the issue had been decided.

On offense, the difference in coaching was just as dramatic.

Holmgren's script of 15 plays generated an 11-play drive of 48 yards to open the game. It ended on Tim McDonald's block of Chris Jacke's 44-yard field goal attempt.

But the Packers' offense kept on moving. Four plays gained 62 yards and a touchdown on their second possession, then seven plays were worth 72 yards and another touchdown early in the second quarter, putting Green Bay in control, 21-0, and hushing the crowd of 69,311.

Green Bay's running game gained just 74 yards in 28 carries, with Edgar Bennett finding little room inside against prized defensive tackles Dana Stubblefield and Bryant Young. He carried 23 times for 51 yards, a 2.2 yard average.

Still, when the 49ers drew within 21-10 with a touchdown drive to open the second half, the Packers mounted two sustained drives for field goals to salt victory away.

"This team is more talented than our '81 Super Bowl team," said John McVay, the 49ers' longtime personnel director. "This is not a Cinderella team."

McVay wouldn't say what killed the 49ers, but certainly the Packers' pass rush with White operating at less than peak efficiency was a crushing blow. Young was sacked three times and knocked down on about 10 other passes in a performance described by defensive line coach Larry Brooks as the group's best of the season.

"What helped us was our size," said Jurkovic. "That was the smallest line we saw all season."

On Sunday, the Packers will wake up and perhaps realize just what they accomplished. On Saturday, the moment was too fresh to add much perspective.

"This is the culmination of a lot of work by an entire team that completely believed in itself," said Wolf, who called the victory the most significant of his life even though he was with Super Bowl-winning teams in Oakland. "But I'm not so sure we've moved up to the next level off one game.

"I think Shurmur had a hell of a day. And he (Holmgren) is a magnificent coach."

[RingoCStarrQB]

I have not seen much this season but I cannot see the Packers overcoming Eagles, Detroit and Vikings twice on the road. We are good to beat one of them, but not two and we gotta do it because we will play them very probably in divisional and conference round. The only hope are the Playoffs and its own laws. Maybe we can rise like the 2007/2008 Giants rised? So, there is hope. Should make a thrill of January.

It's no secret that I have historically been one of the most critical voices on this forum. I strongly disagree with this. For the first time since 2014, I believe in this team. We have the brute force- the brawn. Of that there is no question. The X factor will be situational football, as I mentioned in another thread. Love and LaFleur need to keep playing their A-game in even the most critical moments.

And to pull this off, I also think we'll need the entire defense to show up and play 4 quarters each playoff game. As they did on January 6, 1996.

[Scott4Pack]

For the other teams, consider:

1. Detroit: For all the injuries they have suffered, most of them are on defense. Losing Montgomery hurt. But their offense is still gonna put up some points. They still have quality at QB, RB, WR1/WR2, and TE. I don't discount them one bit.

2. Minny: Darnold is the key. If he hasn't been spectacular, he's at least been steady and getting the job done at critical moments. With their defense, they can do anything. But they like to win the field position battle, so they don't need long drives. If we can win that field position battle, then I think we can beat them. (Yeah, I'd say that against anybody.)

3. Philly. They still have loads of talent. Maybe they just aren't as consistent as last year. Internal struggles? If they have locker room issues, that will hurt them more than anything in January.

4. Washington: I think they are on the rise. I would take them very seriously.

In the end, I think we have enough talent to keep up with anybody. If we can keep from the self-inflicted issues, we can win all the way. So, will we keep from those silly penalties and continue our team chemistry?

[Yoop]

Yooper, yes the Monday Night stocking stuffer was awesome.

I think I'll savor this blowout victory as long as possible