Headline: Green Bay Packers Lose to Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Green Bay Packers suffered their first defeat to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14-10, in a game that was decided by turnovers. I think certain
members of the media are being way to harsh on the Packers. These members of the media
are telling us that the Packers showed in this game that they are in the second tier of
teams, only capable of hovering around the 9-7 or 10-6 mark. While all of this may be
true, I would like to look at this game from a different point of view (Some say Homer
View, I say Realistic View!). First of all, my three time MVP of a quarterback
Brett Favre, did not have a great game. His three picks were very costly, but try to
tell me you'd rather have another quarterback. I'd tell you to go play soccer! Second:
The Packers defense gave up 7 points, at half way thru the fourth quarter in the
90 degree Tampa heat. Go ahead and tell me these are cheesy excuses!
Warrick Dunn or
not, our defense was nearly DOMINATING!
The Offense
The offense churned out 322 yards against probably the best defense next to the
Baltimore Ravens.
Brett Favre hit eight different recievers, in throwing for 258 yards
of his 3 picks, the most crushing blow was on a drive that started on the Packers
20-yard line. The Packers made some excellent plays, including a 3rd and 10
situation, in which
Ahman Green made Buccaneer defenders look silly in turning a simple
swing pass into a 18-yard gain. Then the Packers were poised to score after
Favre bootlegged left and hit David Martin on a beautiful pass for 24-yards to the
Tampa 6-yard line.
Favre then was short on a pass to
Bubba Franks, that Shelton
Quarles took 98 yards for a touchdown. The Packers offense was finally in gear, but
this play was a back-breaker no matter how early in the game. The Packers showed
some toughness by socring on a 67-yard laser beam from
Favre to
Billy Schroeder. Every
week
Schroeder shows he is a play maker! One thing that bothered me about the offense,
is that offensive coordinator Tom Rossley gave up on the run in the second half.
Ahman Green averaged 3.9 yards a carry against a defense that is excellent against
the run.
Ahman will not lose yards, and the Packers have to try and use him more in
the forth quarter when opposing defenses are getting tired.
The Defense
I just hope and pray this unit stay's healthy. This defense is fun to watch!
These guy's play together very well, and showed it on Sunday in Tampa. Give
credit to Brad Johnson, as he looked sharp throwing short conservative passes that
are a staple of the Buccaneer offense. What was equally impressive was the way
Mike Mckenzie came up and made the receiver pay for what turned out to be very
small gains. This kid is an unbelievable hitter who could be on his way to a
Pro-Bowl soon.
It was also impressive to see Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila coming off the corner like a man
on a mission. Yes, this kid is for real, and could put on a serious chase of Mark Gasteneau's
record of 22 sacks in one season. KGB finished with 3 sacks, for a total of 9 on the
season. John Thierry and Nate Wayne also chipped in with 1 sack each, but this was a
total team effort. Vonnie Holliday is another man who is playing like he is on a mission.
With the addition of Cletidus Hunt, this defense is going to be scary!
Just remember fans it is far to early to write this team off as some media would like
to do, it gives them something to write about. It will not get any easier this
week against the
Baltimore Ravens. If the Packers learn from their mistakes, and stick with the
run, they will be able to take care of business against another top flight opponent.
The
Ravens as I said, have the best defense in the league, so it will be tough getting
yards on the ground. The run is something the Packers will have to stick with if they
are going to have the balance on offense necessary to beat a great defense like this.
The Packers can and will beat the
Baltimore Ravens and thats the way I saw it! BigE
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