🏈 SPORTS: ON TO DALLAS WITH LOVE❤️! — Pack Down Rival Bears 17-9, Clinch Playoff Slot As QB Stars, Jones Runs, Defense Hangs Tough!

🏈 SPORTS: ON TO DALLAS WITH LOVE❤️! — Pack Down Rival Bears 17-9, Clinch Playoff Slot As QB Stars, Jones Runs, Defense Hangs Tough!

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Special to Courtside Sports

Jan. 8, 2024

At the end of October, the Green Bay Packers were 2-5, riding a four game losing streak, with young QB Jordan Love coming off a 74.8 QB performance against the Vikings and having thrown 8 picks against 11 TDs. Many were questioning the team’s decision to hitch their future to the fourth year signal caller from Utah State, who played only sparingly in his first three seasons while backing up future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers.

Jordan Love
Jordan Love has elevated his play over the second half of the season, helping the Packers to make the playoffs in the first year of the “post-Aaron-Rodgers” Era. 
Quarterback
Green Bay Packers
PHOTO” Packer website

Today, the Packers are heading to the playoffs as the NFC’s #7 seed with a 9-8 record, after defeating the rival Chicago Bears (7-10) 17-9 at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Love turned in a near-perfect performance going 27-32-316-2-0-128.6 in achieving a playoff spot in his first full season, something that eluded the great Rodgers. Love finished the regular season with over 4,000 yards passing, 32 TD passes (second only to the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott’s 36), 11 interceptions, a 96.1 rating, and 248 rushing yards.

It wasn’t easy for the Pack Sunday against the Bears, although they dominated the game statistically. Green Bay never punted on its seven possessions. But, mistakes on three of those kept the green and gold from talking a two possession lead that would have given fans some comfort.

Following a Bears’ field goal on the first series, the Pack drove to the Chicago 15. But, a sack of Love on third down led to a missed Anders Carlson field goal from the 41. The rookie kicker’s inconsistency on extra points (5 missed) and kicks from 40-50 yards (4-8) must be an area of concern heading into the playoffs. 

Following a Chicago punt on the next possession, the Pack drove 92 yards, culminating in a 10-yard TD pass from Love to rookie receiver Dontayvion Wicks (6-61-2). That gave Green Bay their first lead, 7-3.

The Bears closed the gap to 7-6 on Cairo Santos’s second field goal, a 39-yarder with 1:17 left in the half. The Packers then mounted a last-minute drive deep into Chicago territory that should have padded their lead. However, poor clock management by Coach Matt LaFleur resulted in time expiring with the team on the Chicago 19-yard-line.

Taking the second half kickoff, the Packers drove 75 yards on 9 plays for a TD. Again it was a pass from Love to Wicks, this one for 12 yards. With the extra point, the Pack extended their lead to eight. Better, but still within a single score. And, the Packers needed a win to make the playoffs. A tie would send them home for the post-season.

After forcing the Bears two punt on their next possession, the Packers mounted a drive that appeared destined to finally give them that two-score spread. But, in his only mistake of the game, Love fumbled near midfield while running for a first down. The Bears recovered. The Pack defense was stout, but Chicago was able to convert that turnover — the only one of the well-played game for either team — into Santos’s third field goal, to cut the lead to five, 14-9.

The Packers answered with what looked for a moment like Love’s third TD pass of the day, this one to Bo Melton who again performed admirably (5-62-0) after spending much of the season on the practice squad. But, the initial TD call was reversed on video replay, and Green Bay had to settle for a 25 yard Carlson field goal to put the lead back at eight, 17-9.

The Bears hung tough. On the ensuing possession they drove to the Packer 34 with the help of a defensive offside penalty on fourth down in their own territory. There, however, the drive stalled on a holding penalty and a sack of QB Justin Fields, leaving the Bears with a fourth and 22 from the 50. After another nice punt from Trevor Gill, the Packers had the ball on their own six yard line with 6:08 to go and the Bears still having three time-outs and the two-minute warning.

The game was still very much in doubt. Although the defense had contained the elusive Bear QB Fields (11-16-148-0-0-97.9), their leading rusher for the season, he is a threat to score on any play, from anywhere on the field. If the Pack were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, Chicago would have good field position and plenty of time to score a TD. The thought of having to defend Fields on a potential game-tying two-point conversion to avoid overtime was not one that Packer nation relished. 

At this point, Love and his mates on offense put together the “drive of the game” — perhaps the “drive of the season” — even though it did not result in any points! Using a combination of clutch runs and passes, the Pack held the ball for the rest of the game, finally kneeling down on the Chicago 32 as the clock expired. 

Along the way, Love converted two huge third downs, one to star rookie Jaydon Reed (4-112-0) at the Packer 29 and another to rookie Tucker Kraft (3-31-0) that took the ball to the Bears’ 42 with  2:17 left, forcing Chicago to use its final timeout.

The “dagger,” as Packer radio broadcaster Wayne Larrabee would say, came two plays later when Aaron Jones ran up the middle for the Packers’ 24th, and final, first down of the day. Out of time outs, the visitors from the Windy City could only watch in dismay as the Lambeau fans celebrated.

Jones (22-111-0) notched his second straight 100+ yard game, against a tough run defense, showing once again why when healthy he is probably the best all-around running back in the league. With help from the O line, Jones’s running allowed Green Bay to achieve a near-perfect balance (32 passes, 27 runs), that chewed up clock, took some of the pressure off of Love (as problem that had led to mid-season woes), and kept the Bears’ defense off balance all afternoon. 

Speaking of defense, Joe Barry’s much maligned unit turned in a second straight stellar performance, this time against one of the league’s most athletic and potentially explosive QBs. Over the past two games, the D has kept opponents out of the end zone when it counted, surrendering only a meaningless TD to the Vikes set up by a muffed punt inside the 10 yard line.  

The Packers now head to Dallas (12-5) for a late-Sunday-afternoon date with the Eastern Division Champ Cowboys and Head Coach Mike McCarthy who directed the Packers to their (and Rodgers’s) only Super Bowl Title of the 21st Century following the 2010 season. Despite their regular-season-closing three game winning streak, the Pack will be a touchdown underdog. 

In fairness, there is little similarity between Green Bay’s last three victims — Chicago (7-10), Minnesota (7-10), and Carolina (2-15) — and the ‘Boys. Dallas has a potent offense led by QB Dak Prescott (36 TDs) and a strong defense led by linebacker Micah Parsons. They are also undefeated at home this season. The Packers will not be able to afford “empty trips” into the opponent’s territory as happened three times against the Bears. 

Not to mention that McCarthy, who was out of football for a season following his 2018 dismissal from Green Bay, would dearly love to show Green Bay’s management that he still has plenty left in his tank. There are also rumors that despite this year’s strong showing, Dallas owner Jerry Jones might axe him if the Cowboys don’t get to the Super Bowl. So, there will be plenty of drama with lots at stake. 

With the youngest team in the NFL (and one of the youngest ever to make the playoffs), and a young QB in his first “real” season, it would be easy to view making the playoffs as a somewhat unanticipated success for the Packers and not worry much about what comes next. But, that would be a mistake for the team!

In this post-Tom-Brady Era of the NFL, even the “prime contenders” — Baltimore (13-4) and San Francisco (12-5) — have looked very vulnerable at times. Consequently, it’s plausible to imagine any of the remaining teams — including the lower seeds — hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. 

When the Packers won the 2011 Super Bowl behind Rodgers & McCarthy, they were the lowest seed (then #6) and therefore played all “away” games. Despite the myth of the advantage of playing home games on Lambeau’s “frozen tundra” in January, in following seasons, with higher seeds and arguably better players on the roster, the Packers have never been able to get beyond the NFC Championship game.

Maybe this will be the first of many playoff runs for Love & the Packers, but there are no guarantees. Therefore, it’s important to make the most of each shot and for the Pack to give it their best shot in Dallas on Sunday.

🏈G.O.A.T.-BUTTED AGAIN — Pack Season Dissolves In NFC Championship Again As Tom Brady Takes Them Apart For The Second Time!

😢

By Paul Wickham Schmidt

Courtside Sports Exclusive

Jan. 24, 2021. Last year it was the SF 49ers. This year it was Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs. Either way it was a big disappointment. Both times, the Pack relaid their “regular season egg” at the worst possible time — in the NFC Championship game. 

After an MVP-worthy season, Aaron Rodgers and the Pack lost again to Tom Brady and the Bucs 31-26. To make it worse, it was at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The Pack never led in the game.

The “duel” between AR and Brady was really all about the latter. Brady was better! He simply “fried” the Green Bay defense in the first half. The “back breaker” actually came near the end of the first half when Brady threw a TD pass to Scotty Miller on an inexcusable (almost absurd) defensive breakdown by the Pack with one second left on the clock.

The Pack made a game of it in the second half. But, Brady was just better. Although he threw three interceptions, he outplayed Rodgers when it counted.

Indeed, Rodgers and the Pack “O” managed only a paltry 6 points off the three Brady turnovers. By contrast, the Bucs turned two Pack turnovers (one on a rare Rodgers interception) into 14 points. That essentially was the ballgame. 

The previously stout Packer offensive line wilted under relentless pressure from the Bucs pass rush, just as they had in the regular season meeting. That left Rodgers clearly uncomfortable and running for his life for most off the game. However, he failed to show his usual “escapability.” 

Meanwhile, for the most part, the Pack pass rush failed to put much pressure on Brady, allowing him to operate in his “comfort zone.” That was true particularly in the first half when he simply made the Pack defense look foolish on the way to a 21-10 halftime lead that proved insurmountable. 

It didn’t help that on the first Pack possession of the second half, an Aaron Jones fumble (forcing him to leave the game with an injury) turned into a virtually uncontested TD. A Brady TD pass to a wide-open receiver put the Pack in a three-score hole from which there was no recovery.

Rodgers probably left at least one TD on the table when he threw an ill-advised incomplete pass inside the ten rather than running for yardage and a possible TD. Matt LaFleur was out-coached by Bruce Arians, going to his first Super Bowl. LaFleur made a bizarre choice to kick a FG rather than going for a tying TD on what proved to be the Pack’s last possession. 

But, in the end it was all about Tom Brady, the greatest of all time! He showed that those who said that it was the Patriots’ “system” had it all wrong. He took a team noted for its hapless failures to the Super Bowl in his first season!

AR Is one of the best ever QBs, the likely MVP for the third time, and a “first ballot” Hall of Famer. But, nobody can deny that Brady is the GOAT!

For the Pack, another great season! Didn’t quite get it done. But, next year is a new beginning, and another chance to reach the Super Bowl with a great coach, spectacular QB, and a great supporting cast. Thanks for a great and entertaining season!

Go Pack Go!

Wait till next year!

And, of course, congrats to Tom Brady 🌟 and the Bucs🏴‍☠️!

PWS

01-24-21

EAGLES UPSET PATS 41-33 IN TRULY SUPER SUPERBOWL! — BACKUP QB NICK FOLES STARS — BRADY SETS YARDAGE RECORD IN DEFEAT! 🦅🦅🦅🦅

Great game! Lots of offense. Not much “D” until Eagles got a “strip” on Brady late to help seal the victory. But, the great TB still had one last shot as “Hail Mary” fell incomplete in end zone as time expired.

Former Wisconsin Badger star running back Corey Clement played a key role with several big plays including a huge second half TD catch upheld on review. Gutsy call on 4th and goal from the one at the end of the first half by Eagles Coach Doug Pederson involving a center snap to Clement, pitch-back, and pass from an end to QB Nick Foles for a key TD and Superbowl first (TD  pass caught by a QB). Foles was, quite deservedly, the MVP of the Superbowl! A guy who lost his starting job, bounced around, almost quit football, but did what a backup QB is supposed to do — play like the starter and win games in the clutch!

Another former Badger star running back, James White, one of the heroes of the Patriots’ comeback win in last year’s Super Bowl, scored New England’s first touchdown on a 26 yard run in the second quarter.

Special congratulations to my good friend and colleague retired Judge Wayne Iskra, a lifelong (and long suffering) Eagles fan!

Fly Eagles Fly! 🦅🦅🦅

PWS

02-04-18

NFL PLAYERS, OWNER, COACHES STAND UP AGAINST RACIST IN CHIEF!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/09/24/jaguars-owner-joins-players-during-anthem-protest-in-first-game-since-trumps-nfl-remarks/

The Washington Post reports about today’s first NFL game in London:

“Less than three hours after President Trump called on NFL owners to suspend or fire players who protest during the national anthem, the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars — the first teams to play on Sunday — linked arms or took a knee during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the teams 9:30 a.m. EDT kickoff in London’s Wembley Stadium.

Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, linking arms, and Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis took a knee. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, who had contributed $1 million to the Trump inauguration, locked arms with his players in what is believed to be the first visible participation in relation to anthem protests by a league owner.”

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Read the full report on the link.

Our President is a racist. Decent folks should band together and stand up against him. The entire state of Alabama should be hanging its head in shame as should the GOP which enabled and continues to enable this type of destructive conduct by an unqualified President.

And our racist, homophobic Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his White Nationalist agenda are a key part of dividing our country, whipping up bogus racial paranoia, and making a mockery of our justice system. Liz was right!

Meanwhile, star NFL QBs Tom Brady (Patriots) and Aaron Rodgers (Packers) posted their own messages of “unity” with their teammates.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/tom-brady-instagram-aaron-rodgers-nfl-player-protests-unity-brotherhood-donald-trump/49cy9zprfs21gqjtwraqth6e

Oh yeah, after the anthem, the Packers came from behind to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 in OT!🏈🏈
PWS

09-24-17