Bitter Division Rivalry Provides Backdrop for High Drama
Nobody thought this is how the season would play out back in early September when LaFleur’s Packers were about to step onto the field to begin defending the division title, looking for the fourth straight. Questions about the future of the Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay appeared to be cemented for another few seasons. Years of high draft picks on defense were peaking and hitting their prime and experts proclaimed the Packers’ defense were a safe bet to end in the top 10, if not top 5. Premier left tackle, David Bakhtiari was finally going to be back earning his blockbuster contract.
Something happened that day in September. The Packers began the season in Minnesota, facing their bitterest division rival. No offense to the Bears, but you have to win some of them once in a while to add to the rivalry. Much like week one the year before in New Orleans, Green Bay played like the game didn’t matter, as though the fundamentals of football had only been a suggestion, tackling was a foreign concept, and were embarrassed by the hated Vikings and summarily dismissed out of town. The offense struggled as much as the defense and proclamations of a lost season were blasted everywhere from Twitter to Facebook and every chat room and message board.
After the “quarter mark,” the Packers had improved to 3-1 and things looked to be on the up and up. The first London game was on the horizon and the Giants hadn’t been much of a threat in the NFC for a few years. The Packers were supposed to win; the line had them winning by more than a touchdown. The football bounces in funny ways and it wasn’t meant to be that day. Aaron Rodgers broke his thumb in London. The Packers lost in London. Suddenly, it looked as though the loss of Davante Adams in favor of a receiving corps closer to voting age than being old enough to rent a car might have been a reckless decision.
Losses came in bunches after that and the season was circling the drain at 4-8. Some key players had gone on IR or were at least regulars on the DNP line of the injury report and expert whisperings of the old adage, “It’s just not their year” grew louder and louder until many of even the most rabid of the die-hard fans began looking at jockeying for draft position.
Lucky for the Packers they still had to play the Bears again. The ultimate palate cleanser came just in time, keeping the dull pulse blipping on the season’s Holter monitor. Playing a decimated Rams squad after mercifully limping into the bye showed the Packers could win a game they should win, fairly convincingly. This last contest against the Dolphins to improve to 7-8 was like watching Lazarus rise from the dead, showing life in fits and starts, not sure if the body wants to be alive, but the sheer force of will to press on for at least another week.
And now here we are. Two more games. They mean something until they don’t. Beat the Vikings and the odds of a postseason improve. Beat an opponent that has had a magical season, a team carrying a rabbit’s foot plucked from the pocket of Tom Brady himself. Hell, it may even be Brady’s foot, the way he’s been moving lately. A team that can beat you with the run or with the pass. Sometimes even with decent quarterback play. There are a few key things the Packers have to do to win this game:
- Harass Kirk Cousins. This guy is a true Jekyll and Hyde behind center. He can be clutch and kill you if he has time, but if you can knock him off his game, cover those receivers, he will cough up the ball. Whether it’s an ill-advised pass or a strip sack fumble, Kirk Cousins is rubber and opposing defenses are glue when it comes to the football. He might just be a human Pez dispenser dropping balls out of his crazy plastic neck. First you have to get to him. The d-backs have to hold their own long enough for the rush to get home.
- Watch the TE. There’s a lot of hype about Cook and Jefferson, and for good reason, but Cousins loves TE as a security blanket and with the addition of T.J. Hockenson, Cousins has a reliable target when he’s pressured.
- Take Cook out of the game. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If the Packers can get an early 2 score lead and make the Vikings play catchup, the threat of Cook can be reduced. He forces opposing defenses to pick their poison, because with Jefferson, Thielen, and Osborn, it’s difficult to load the box. The best thing about Cook is that he’s about as brittle a RB as I can remember and this might be the longest healthy streak of his career. Getting injured is more of a when not if and the Vikings postseason could go pear-shaped pretty quickly with Cook out of the lineup.
- Justin Jefferson has a big game and a big mouth. Line up Jaire Alexander with Jefferson all day long. Not even because Jaire is a great CB. He is, but he seems to be getting into the mental part of the game this season for good or ill. Stefon Diggs looked ready to knock Jaire’s block off. Jefferson looks like he can’t handle that kind of jawing. Let the Mr. Attitude work on Mr. They Should Let Me Be MVP. If nothing else, it should be entertaining. Make sure there’s safety help over the top as well.
- No more soft zone. You hearing me, Joe Barry? Everyone at home can see the soft spots in your defense. If I know where a receiver show go and he does with no one around for 7 yards, guess what: opposing offenses are onto you. Do something else.
- Rodgers needs a rhythm with anyone, but needs a balance with the run. This is offense 101. Run to open up the pass, pass to open up the run, underneath passes, pre-snap motion, I don’t care. Get yards. Yards turn into first downs. First downs matriculate you downfield. Getting downfield leads to scoring opportunities. Gotta get positive yardage. No more -2 runs or passes to the flat for no gain. Drive killing plays.
- Red zone. This team needs to close it out. It’s like they’ve decided on 1st and goal it’s going to be all pass or all run come hell or high water and the defense is in the huddle. Nothing is as soul-crushing to a team than marching 70 yards downfield and hitting a penetration forcefield on the one yard line. The end zone is wearing a chastity belt and AR and company better bring the lock picks.
Can the Packers beat the Vikings at home in the Frozen Tundra in late December and keep the dream of a postseason alive? You betcha. Will it happen? Reply hazy. Ask again later.