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 Sports Chick
December 13, 2004 IT AINT OVER YET..... By: Marty Coultas Welcome again Milwaukeeworlders. I hope your week was a great one.........Let us jump on in................ Sunday was a bad day for the Harrington family. It was a combination of things. First, cousin Padrig couldn’t keep his ball in the fairway, and then cousin Joey couldn’t put his in bounds either. All in all, it was a case of being flustered by some windy playing conditions plus the lack of ability to stand up to the pressure being exerted by another player. In poor Padrig’s case it was the unrelenting pressure of Tiger making shot after shot and in poor Joey’s case, it was Brett and Ahman applying pressure of another kind. Things looked great for both Harringtons early in the day but having the ability to finish is what separates the champs from the chumps and neither had what it takes on that particular day. It sure didn’t look too good early in the Packer game. Penalty after penalty including one by Hawthorn for roughing the QB that was so stupid that it should cost him a fine. Every kid who has played in the 4th grade knows better than to hit a quarterback who is sliding feet first. What a bush-league hit. But I suppose it was his way of venting frustration at the fact that he had been called for other infractions and had not had ample opportunity to strut around and act like a jackass the way his teammate Nick Barnett was doing. Oh, I know, the team was behind 13-0 and the defense couldn’t have stopped the running backs from B’nai B’rith but there was Nick strutting his stuff every time he made some mediocre hit. Perhaps he was celebrating the dropped passes by the wide receivers or the offsides of the substitute center or maybe it was KGB’s failure to wrap up on tackles. It is hard to tell what it was that Nick was celebrating during the first half. But I think it was probably the fact that the other members of the defensive unit had finally stunk up the field so much that Nick felt that the fans might forget that it was he who blew the coverage last January that allowed the Eagles to get a first down on fourth and twenty six. And anyone who buys that story about his late father is what we call an enabler. It was not so much a tale of two halves. It was more a testament to the resolve of certain players to elevate their play to a level just below sub-par that allowed the Pack to salvage a win in one of the worst showings ever presented at Lambeau Field. You have to give credit to Grady Jackson for his play in the second half. And you have to give credit to Paris Lenon and KGB as well. Mark Roman appeared to show up late in the half and Sharper played with all that his injured body would allow him to give. But folks, the fact is, without the windy conditions and a couple of fluke penalties called on Detroit, we would not have won that game. I am not going to go into another tirade about our defensive unit because to criticize the whole unit would be unfair. But the Green Bay Packer defensive unit is lackluster at best and the way they approached the game on Sunday was an embarrassment to the coaches and to the fans. Thank the Gods of athletics for the presence of Brett and the running backs. I will congratulate Donald for his fine catch of the touchdown and Javon made a couple of plays when it counted but the win on Sunday was all about Brett, Ahman, Najeh, William and Tony and their desire to win. Our normally strong offensive line was overmatched again and having to play Wells at center was not in anyone’s best interest. You have to do what you have to do though and the fact is that we walked away with a victory. I still harbor fear of what we might face next week since Byron Leftwich is exactly the kind of QB that gives the Packers a fit and his cast of supporting players, while not great, is certainly the equivalent of our beloved guys. I am guessing that we will make the playoffs with a win in the division. Clearly, the Vikings are a team in disarray. It has little to do with the talent on the field since they are really the most talented in the division, but the chemistry isn’t there. It would be easy to blame Randy Moss but I don’t think that is the issue. I think they have a Quarterback problem and everyone is afraid to mention it. I hope we can take advantage of their problems on Christmas Eve and give the Packer Nation a reason to celebrate well into the New Year. Looks like the Badgers will probably fall out of the top twenty-five after dropping one to Marquette this weekend. I don’t think that is fair but the national media guys have no respect whatsoever for the Big Ten and they will take it out on us in the polls. Wisconsin is still a team in the growth phase and all of the Badger faithful need to recognize that this will be a tough years full of ups and downs and full of periodic disappointment. With that said Milwaukeeworlders, it sure had been one heck of a week. Let’s remember that it is the time of year for family, friends, and OH YES..........FOOTBALL. Good luck to the Pack on Sunday, cause if they can pull this one off, we just may all have one happy holiday season. Keep your ears open and your noses clean. Ciao, Marty the Sports Chick |
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