Alright, so we've seen the Packers play two games that matter now after an amazing season and the we've been good at pointing out our most prominent weaknesses. And although they are key, I don't believe that's the only thing hurting our team. For a football team to win a game they must be competitive and driven because it a tiring and brutally physical sport. I don't remember what former coach/player said it, but they mentioned that the most important aspect of winning a football game is momentum. I agree almost wholeheartedly with this statement. Try and recall the last two games as far as how you felt (not the numbness from the beer, were talking emotions people) during the course of the game. We lost momentum A LOT. Whenever we gained some, we had it pulled out from right underneath us. Here are a few key points:
- Crosby's missed field goals. Anytime an offense gets into scoring range and fails to put any points on the board it's a huge downer. Missed field goals tend to be even worse because they make they fill the entire offense with feelings of futility--all that for nothing?
- Sacks. Our offense has given up a lot of sacks, and not just 5 yards here and there but drive-ending, possession changing, long yardage losing sacks. Both Rodgers and the O-Line have things to fix quickly from this standpoint.
- Rhythm. Every quarterback in the league needs to get into a rhythm to be successful. Stringing a few completions together helps a QB build their confidence and ultimate slows the game down to a tempo in which they can control. It doesn't matter if these completions are huge gains or just check downs. For notes just look at Kurt Warner or Brett Favre this week--sure neither had amazing numbers as far as yardage or touchdowns but their completion percentage allowed them to control the offense at their own pace.
- Drops. This also leads into the last point a little point--the QB build a rhythm if his receivers fail to catch the ball. I know for fact that we had at least 5 drops in each of the first two games but a huge point to mention is that a lot have come on the first few drives of the game. If a team can negate mistakes on the first few drives and put points on the board it's a huge confidence boost.
- Penalties, penalties and more penalties. It seems the last few games the refs have been pretty flag happy. And while some calls are bad, the majority have been stupid mistakes that our team is prone to making over and over again. Unfortunately for us, these penalties have come at the least opportune times, whether it's turning a third-and-short to a third-and-long or the defense allowing the offense to continue their drive. Penalties kill teams.
I'm sure there are definitely more momentum killers we've experienced in the last two games but these are the few I've chosen to highlight as they've all come at the wrong time. The Packers have not been allowed to get the momentum they needed to win games this year. Looking back to the pre-season our offense started hot each game giving us both a lead and an emotion lift. Remember the pre-season game we were winning by more than 20 points and almost lost? Yes I know it's pre-season but it shows when a team gains control of the momentum, they gain control of the game.
I also want to touch on two plays I think killed our momentum in the Bengals game:
1) The Bengals were lined up within their own 10 facing a 3rd-and-34--they run a screen pass. The receiver hustles a good twenty yards and fumbles forward past the first down marker, the Bengals recover and get a first down. While this play ultimately wasn't the Packers fault--they had players ready to make the tackle well before the first down--they still lost quite a bit of the momentum they had built up when forcing the Bengals into such a woeful position.
2) On the very next play the Bengals ran a flea-flicker, attacking our reserve safeties and gaining a huge play in the passing game. The Bengals practically turned the game in their favor for one of the first teams with this play. Two huge plays in the fact of the Packers defense in a row after what could have been a huge stands defaces the entire team, sapping them of their confidence.
Yes, there were more plays that killed our momentum but these two were a huge turning point in the game.
Ultimately if were able to keep momentum, limit mistakes and get into a rhythm early we should be a better football team. Sometimes I feel that having the youngest football team in the league doesn't work in our favor here. I still have high hopes for the Packers but they have to fix things fast. Unfortunately we play the Rams next week so we can only truly gauge if this team isn't the powerhouse we think it is.