This was a great season!
Losers in life [Thinking they can become winners by latching onto Packers’ coattails] unfamiliar with history often quote Lombardi’s “Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing” and “there is no second place, you’re either first or last.” Lombardi expressed regret that these quotes attained so much mileage. When asked specifically about the “no second place” quote, he said, “I wish I never said that.” When asked, “why? Don’t you believe it?” Lombardi responded, “what I believe is if you go out a football field on Sunday, or any other endeavor in life, and you leave every fiber of what you have on that field when the game finally ends, then you’ve won. And to me that tells you a lot more than the final score, and I never made that clear.” This of course, is 100% clear to any student of Lombardi.
At 4-6, all but one, would have sold their soul to Beelzabub for the gift of losing in the NFC champ game. And the future is bright. We have a stoked 2017 roster and $50M [After Shields, Guion and Starks are cut] in cap space to sign our guys and make a key outside free agent acquisition or two, if available and want to come to GB. Ted has proven he will sign them.
I expect winning 8 straight elimination games against 5 playoff teams [one being the #1 team] is an unprecedented achievement in all sports. This is all the more amazing realizing it came on the heels of a horrific 4 game losing streak. And during the 8 Game streak there was all kinds of adversities along the way [it is not like everyone got healthy and life was easy], this achievement is remarkable. For the players and coaches to right a sinking ship and then transform it into a winning speed boat is a credit to them as men, as teammates and as football players.
When a car runs out of gas it doesn’t just go at modest pace; it stops, and that’s what happened in Atlanta. Whether it was the emotions of Dallas game, 1/3 of the team missing practice time last week, something that occurred in the game, or simply the impossibility of playing well in 9 straight elimination games; something punctured a hole in GB's gas tank [The gas tank was a one of GB's rallying cries during the streak] and the car stopped. Injuries occur usually when fatigue set in, this team was fatigued. This was not a failure of coaching or personnel, GB simply hit a wall after 8 elimination games and they literally left everything on the field. According to Lombardi this is a WIN. Now, who has the balls to challenge Lombardi?
On the Offense: Rodgers was going through unbelievable family drama, and still right before Dallas and Atlanta games his "dad" and "brother" Jordan, respectively, continued to publicly work to peck his eyes out. What a bunch of assholes. Some can put it aside; Rodgers obviously couldn’t. If we chart the build-up of his family drama with Rodgers’ bad QB play, there can be no doubt these things possess a causal relationship. And just when the world was wondering if Aaron was done, he rose to the occasion and worked way back close to being Aaron Rodgers again. Yea, if we break down his play in Atl., at glance it appears same ole’ Jay Doppelganger returned, but the entire team effed up in every way imaginable. Rodgers was hand-in-hand with his mates as the locomotive that plunged off the end of the collapsed railroad trestle into the gorge below. Next year, as Aaron continues his assent back to being Aaron, we are assured the #1 seed.
On D, Atlanta lost a starting safety, then it was over; a few weeks later they lost a starting CB, then it was over. GB’s secondary was freakin’ musical chair MASH unit. One week this guy is hurt, next week that guy, next week those 2 guys, next week half don’t practice, next week a guy has a great game and gets hurt in Sat practice before next game. This group of youngster didn’t have one chance to practice and play together for any week during the entire year. Playing zone well requires A TON of reps together. Next year the secondary with its talent, football acumen and young blood will excel, the ILBs will approach dominant and the DL will be its best it has been since Cullen Jenkins left.