Fun to Watch Again

I have been holding back from making comments about sports to this point, mainly because I spent 18 years doing so in a newspaper column I used to write in Cedarburg. Comes so naturally, it's like a knee-jerk reaction.

But darn it, I'm starting to get excited about the Packers again.

They're on a 4-game winning streak, and they beat a stubborn Baltimore Ravens team last night. They would have beaten them much more decisively had they not had a bevy of mistakes in the third quarter.

But the thing is: They recovered from them and won going away. And that hasn't happened in a while.

They have recovered from one of their main problems: Sacks. That happened on two fronts: The protection is unquestionably better for Aaron Rodgers; and Rodgers himself is throwing much more on rhythm.

And when that happens--as I told a friend--Rodgers can destroy anybody. He has accuracy that's been underestimated to this point, and an arm to match with that of any other quarterback in football.

To be sure, their special teams--especially their kickoff teams--still need work, or lacking that need, follow-through on the field; they were burned again last night and nearly let Baltimore back into the game. And they play the Bears Sunday, with a bushel basket full of fast, dangerous return people.

And their penalties and their frequency are still appalling. They were outdone only by the equally-plagued Ravens, who seemed to be getting in a race with them about being called for pass interference (the replays of which showed that, although the officials heard about it all night, all the calls were good ones).

But Green Bay's defense, now number one in total yardage (dis)allowed, was, for the most part, quite impressive. They rarely let Ray Rice out of the backfield, and--again in the third quarter--recovered from a slight case of broken tackles to reassert itself.

And Charles Woodson is having a hall-of-fame season, which doesn't hurt, either. And two of their better players, Aaron Kampman and Al Harris, are gone for the season.

Four weeks ago, this team was in disarray, having lost to a truly poor Tampa Bay squad (which hasn't won since, if you've noticed). Then the team had a self-analysis, in which everybody admitted their faults and letdowns. They promised better. They gave it.

Now, they're brimming with confidence and momentum. Unless I miss my guess, this is a team you don't want to play right now.

Again, I might be wrong; injuries come up at exactly the wrong time. But it seems as if they've already done that, and the Packers not only went right on winning, they've been doing so with even more intensity.

Their next two games, against Chicago and Pittsburgh, are both on the road against dangerous teams--again, two teams you don't want to play right now, and both are not playing to their abilities. A split in those two would keep Green Bay well into the playoff hunt.

They're competing mainly against Philadelphia and New York for one of the two wild card spots--assuming the Vikings, who stubbed their toe badly against Arizona Sunday night (and the Packers must play Arizona for the last regular season game--what will be riding on that one by that time?), don't completely collapse, and Brett Favre's playing too well to let that happen.

Neither of those teams, it says here, will run the table. It's too much to assume the Packers will, either. But it's fun to follow them again. They're playing to their talents, and their talents are proving equal to most others. They're fun to watch.