Thursday, January 20, 2011

Packers in the NFC Title Game

Lets go back in time for a minute.  Back to early September.  Having a fun family night and enjoying a good dinner of Safeway Chinese Food.  I am not a fan of fortune cookies, I never actually eat them and I rarely open them up and read the fortune anymore.  Not sure why I did it but I opened up the cookie and read the fortune.  It said, "Your sports team will be very successful this year".  About as generic as you can get right?  Of course,  after the Packers lost in the Wild Card round of the Play-Offs last year to Arizona, I was expecting a "very successful year" this year. 

Back to present day.  Only a few days left until the Packers take on the Bears for the NFC Title.  I was hoping the roles would be reversed and Green Bay would be the number 1 seed and have home field advantage but to have them need to win the last few games of the regular season to get in and get in as the 6th seed then win road games against 2 very tough teams has really given me hope for this game and even the Super Bowl.  The game against the Eagles was just a fight.  Kind of sloppy with neither team really breaking away and the game came down to the last play, an interception thrown by Michael Vick in the final minutes.  No one had planned on Green Bay rookie running back, Starks, having a break out game and running for over 120 yards, setting a Green Bay play off record.  Having a running game gave the Packers a new dimension and now teams would have to defend against the run and not just the pass. 

The Falcon game was very exciting for me.  I was expecting a very tough game and during the first quarter it looked like it.  The Green Bay defence pulled in another interception and this time ran it back to a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.  The game was pretty much a blow out after that.  That INT took the crowd out of the game and turning it into a Packer home game for the 4th quarter (as many Falcon fans had started leaving near the end of the 3rd).  Giving them their second play-off win, we awaited the winner of the Seattle and Chicago game.  I was hoping the Seahawks could pull it off and bring my Packers here to Seattle for the title game.  Oh well. 

Off we go to Chicago.  I saw the horrible field conditions during the Hawks game and I can't imagine it getting any better by this Sunday.  Without a running game, I would be a little worried about our receivers slipping all over the field, now we can run the ball as well.  Given the weather and the field conditions, I'm guess this will be a low scoring affair, just like the last meeting.  In the final game of the regular season, the Bears came to Green Bay.  The Bears had nothing to play for and the Packers were on the verge of another play-off appearance with a win.  Yet the Bears played their starters and not only started them but played them the whole game.  They knew something.  They didn't want to face the Packers in the play-offs.  Division rivals, the oldest on the books and having only met once before in the play-offs, this game has all the makings of a classic match up with the winner emerging from the rubble with a ticket to the Super Bowl. 

I am very confident that we can come away with a victory this weekend.  The Packers showed they have what it takes to get the job done.  They are entering their 5th week in a row of a "Do or Die" situation and have come away with wins each week.  Defence has stepped up in a big way.  In previous meetings with the Bears this season, Cutler was sacked 9 times, intercepted 3 times and when the play-offs were on the line, the Packers offence was held in check but still managed to shut down the bears and get a win.  Early in week 3, the Packers had just lost their starting running back and many other offensive and defencive players.  The bench players that have been asked to step up, have, and in a big way. 

Here's to a great game.  Lets go out there and give them hell.  I think I will try to make some Nachos.

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