Did you know that Matt Hasselbeck, once upon a time, backed up Brett Favre? It's true -- he drafted by Green Bay and learned under the Great One and Mike Holmgren for two years before heading to Seattle with his coach.So there was something oddly bizarre about not seeing the 'Beck sit this one out, while his would-be successor for holding Favre's clipboard -- Aaron Rodgers -- fought through several injuries for the second straight week to attempt and lead the Packers to victory. Which, as you can see from the title, he did.
And it was one of those MUST WIN-wins (a phrase that needs to die, and quickly, unless we're speaking of elimination games), and Rodgers did what he needed to, "rushing" for a touchdown and throwing for two more. Both were Favre-like, in that they were, individually, a long bomb to Greg Jennings and a one yarder to John Kuhn. (Who? Exactly.)
Meanwhile, Charles Lester Frye wasn't much like anyone worthwhile, completing 12 passes for 83 yards, even though it included two touchdowns. Koren Robinson was his leading receiver with 23 yards and Keary Colbert pulled in a five yard catch in the end zone, his only of the day. So, yeah, you could say everything's coming up Seattle these days.
On the bright side, Julius Jones didn't manage to crack 4.0 yards per carry en route to amassing 40 rushing yards, so there's that.
Seattle is now tied with the Rams -- Haslett! -- in the dredges of the NFC West at 1-4 and life ain't very good in the Northwest. There would be more to talk about regarding their performance, but, well, there's not. This team is decimated by injuries, and Charlie Frye is starting. That last phrase itself should serve as a full on example of why things aren't working out so hot.
In fairness, it took the second half for the Packers to get going, but for 30 minutes they flashed many of the reasons why they looked like a top-five team through two weeks. Maybe they're not. But once Brett's second backup is healthy they're better than .500 and certainly capable of winning the NFC North.


















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2008 @ 11:23AM
angryguy77 said...
Not an impresive win imo. This team has a habit this season to beat on the bad teams and get dominated when they play good ones. Just wait till next week.....
Sighned disgusted packer fan
Reply
10-13-2008 @ 12:38PM
Erickson said...
Unfortunately you're right. Until Rodgers can figure out how to beat people nearly by himself, he won't get the kind of respect Favre had. What the heck is up with Grant anyway? I expected a whole lot better out of him this year. Understanding that to an extent alot of teams are keying in on him out out of lack of respect for Rodgers, the O-line positively stinks this year. Additionally it seems if Grant even sees something in his way he goes down. Hopefully Jackson will be well this weekend because he is a better back. The only way we win this weekend is by gobbling up the clock, (meaning a run game) and beating up Manning, (meaning blitzing). Having watched the losses in Tampa and against Atlanta in person I can tell you I see little in the way of sideline leadership or urgency. Somebody better barf up something that looks like a desire to win or we simply won't.