Week Twelve in Review

The more I think about this game, the less satisfaction I derive from it. It was a big deal to pull off the tie, we displayed some heroics in doing so, and we somehow inched a half game closer to first place. It was a fun one to watch, and I was crushing high lives just to keep from going crazy, but this just doesn't sit well with me. The Vikings are absolute shit. They really are. They have one good player on offense, holes all over their aging defense, and a mute for a coach. We really let that team waltz into Lambeau and not take a loss? It's embarrassing. With Rodgers under center we would have walked those fools on out of town in a laugher, I'm sure of it. It's just getting harder and harder to watch my team like this. It's like hanging out with your buddy who quit drinking. It's like, yea he's still cool and everything but you just don't want him around, casting glances, making sense late at night, etc. Matt Flynn's gonna get the start tomorrow at Detroit in a game that will have huge playoff implications. I get the feeling that nothing is going to come easy for either team. We're gonna need some breaks to pull this one off, but stranger things have most certainly happened. Amazingly, we still control our own destiny. Win out and we're in the playoffs. Here's what I liked and didn't like:

What I Liked:

Eddie Lacy: That was a statement game if I've ever seen one. Lacy was on a mission and was not about to be stopped. It seemed to me that he felt challenged to rise to the occasion of putting the team on his back, knowing that we had a shit quarterback under center. He made a case to be counted among the best backs in the league. The 4.4 YPC and 158 yards from scrimmage were great, but it was his ability to create yardage on his own that really impressed me. I mean, just look at this run! Or this one on fourth and one! I'm excited about this guy and cannot wait to see what he develops into. Just imagine if we could block for him.

It's almost like we should have re-signed him sooner...

Matt Flynn: Mike McCarthy said we needed a spark and I'll be god damned if Matty didn't give us one. The dude came in ice cold, down by a bunch, back in town less than a week, and does that? What a performance. Now his yards per passing play and completion percentage were nothing special, and he did fail to get us into the end zone from inside the 10 yard line twice, but that was a truly impressive showing if you ask me. He'll of course get the start tomorrow, and we're still not sure if his elbow is strong enough to be accurate down the field, but you have to be more optimistic with Flynn taking snaps than Scott 'Why the Fuck Do People Keep Saying I'm Good' Tolzien. Last time Flynn took meaningful snaps he was in Detroit, and threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.

Clay Matthews: The guy's a fucking warrior. Nobody battles like he does. It's no wonder he's constantly getting hurt, all he does is lace 'em up and go bat shit fucking crazy for three hours. He absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage until Leslie Frazier remembered that he existed and slid help to his side every play. It was great to see Hawk, Jones, Neal, and Daniels take advantage of the one on one matchups created by the necessity to double Matthews. Clay may have only had two sacks, but he very much created the other four. He's the quintessential example of what a top tier outside pass rusher can do for a defense. In this case, he makes a bad one good.

What I Didn't Like:

this fuckin guy

Run Defense: Just embarrassing. 146 yards on 32 carries to Peterson is one thing, but 91 on eight to Toby Gerhart? He's white. And a backup. And kinda fat. He's basically John Kuhn if John Kuhn started most days with a six pack of Budweiser. I mean sure, he'd be strong and stubborn and probably pretty fun at the family Christmas party before 8:00 pm, but an eight yard per carry back? I think not. The defense looked disinterested for the most part. In defense of the defense, they were most likely gassed due to Scott Tolzien's inability to complete a forward pass to a teammate. I'll give them credit for stepping up in the fourth quarter, but you can't give too much credit considering it took three quarters to get their act together.

Tight Ends: How good does Jermichael Finley look now? Our tight ends managed just three catches on eight targets, and have been a non-factor since J-Mike went down. Finley has three times as many touchdown receptions as the rest of the tight ends combined, and he hasn't played in six weeks. An athletic tight end is a ridiculously useful weapon to have for so many reasons. If you can force a defense to contend with a big, fast receiving threat down the middle of the field, it changes the entire game, and that's not an exaggeration. Oh and by the way, tight end Andrew Quarless said after the game that he thought there'd be a second overtime if the first one ended in a tie. And he's got 'Gods Gifts' tattooed up his arms. Unless Brandon Bostick can develop into a legitimate receiving threat, tight end will be one of the most pressing positions of need in the immediate future.

Scott Tolzien: I'm not looking to pour dirt on his grave or anything, so I'll just point out the obvious. Scott Tolzien is not a viable option as the primary backup.

Extra Points:

- The Packers have reportedly offered B.J. Raji a contract in the neighborhood of $8 million per year for an undisclosed number of years (likely three or four), proving once again that I'm not qualified to analyze the performance of an interior lineman.

- The defense has combined for a total of four interceptions this year, good for last in the league. Nobody has multiple interceptions.

- The Packers will be using their fourth different starting quarterback in five games tomorrow.

- Rookie Jonathan Franklin has been placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Maybe next year he won't fumble in literally every game in which he touched the ball.

- What looked like a possible concussion towards the end of the game for Eddie Lacy was in fact an asthma attack.

- Russ Feingold was the ONLY senator to vote against the Patriot Act, a nasty piece of legislation that grossly curtails your civil liberties.

**BONUS CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE**

I hate to do this, but I gotta give a shout out to Xavier Rhodes. The rookie cornerback played one hell of a game on Sunday. He broke up four passes, at least three of them downfield, and two of them in spectacular fashion. I was honestly impressed. See? I'm totally a grown up.

**WHAT WAS I DRINKING**

High Life in a can. It was flowing. I had at least seven.