Wait. Wasn’t this supposed to be the 90’s all over again? Weren’t the Packers and 49ers supposed to meet in the playoffs and I could banter with my friends about living in the past and Jerry Rice fumbling? I thought it was, at least that’s where my arrogance was. Instead life reminded me that trends are recycled every 30 years and it’s the 80’s… Oh… whoops. Now I have to relive The Giants VS the 49ers, hmm I missed the memo on this one.
Yesterday was rough. It was so rough that I woke up a few times in the middle of the night unable to turn off my brain.
This is my exact text I sent my friend Alex at 4am this morning:
“I can’t sleep and I’m not happy. It was a good season… Confused …. Eh”
At 7:44am he got back to me:
“I’m trying not to think about it. It was a good season, but that was a terrible game. Worst they played all season.”
His text pretty much sums it up, it was the worst game they played all season. The worst part about it is that you could kind of see it coming, and you could definitely feel it coming. When I watched the Packers lose to the Chiefs earlier this season I felt the same way at half time, things just didn’t feel right. Those passes that they usually connect on just weren’t connecting. I was trying to stay positive during the game but deep down inside I knew this wasn’t happening. The Giants just looked better. Even my mom wrote me a text that said they didn’t look good… MY REALLY OPTOMISTIC MOM!
I need to push through this because it’s not that hard to diagnose, just hard to swallow. The Packers were just rusty and out of sync. The normal amazing shit that’s been happening since 2010 just wasn’t happening and if I may state the obvious – more dropped passes than that one really bad kid on the playground who you don’t throw too because he drops all the passes.
I need to write this out because I’m too cloudy to do it any other way…
Jermichael “I’m suddenly a headcase” Finley: He’s been dropping passes all season and it finally got to him. It’s as if every time Aaron Rodgers threw the ball to him some little voice inside his head said “DON’T MISS, DON’T MISS, DON’T MISS” then he dropped the ball.
Running Game: This is obvious, we haven’t had one all season.
You can’t spell Elite without Eli: Damn you Manning! Eli channeled his inner Peyton and picked apart the defense like he was in the Matrix and two steps ahead of everyone.
Oh yeah the Defense: For a defense that relies on letting everyone throw all over them because they’ll eventually pick it off, this didn’t exactly work this time around.
The Hail Mary: Tebow stepped on the field for a brief second and guided that pass right before the half into Cruz’s hands. I will toss this play into the category above. Seriously, how do NFL players let Hail Mary’s happen?
A Rodg: It seemed like Rodgers really wanted it yesterday. He was their leading rusher but the fact he couldn’t rely on anyone trying to catch a ball didn’t help.
If I had any control over anything: I would have said “Yo team, we’re going to throw the ball to Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver every single play. No, I’m not joking.”
Final Thoughts: Like I wrote the other day, I was worried about this game. Watching the playoffs reminded me that other teams are very good and you cannot afford to have a bad day, or even a bad quarter. Unfortunately, the Packers had 4 bad quarters. The Packers were rusty, too rested, and not prepared. I’m reminded of a quote that Mike McCarthy made when asked if they’re going for 16-0.
“We don’t play scared.”
Well, yesterday they looked like they were being chased by sloth from the Goonies, with a handful of confusion.
It’s moments like this that I need to remind myself that I had no control over the game, and even though I specifically went to the one sports bar that the Packers never lost at when I watched a game last season… I had no control!
Time to move on and get ready for the Manchester United VS Arsenal game next week on FOX!
Kidding. I’ll watch the NFC championships.
Final predictions: 49ers VS Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Oh wait, nevermind… A Manning is in the playoffs…
Giants VS Patriots in the Super Bowl with Peyton sitting in the box seats watching his younger brother on the brink of getting one more Super Bowl than him.