Green Bay, WI – The Green Bay Packers started off their Monday Night Football performance very well, marching down the field on a drive that ended when Aaron Rodgers got sacked on a third down and Mason Croby kicked a field goal. The play looked harmless enough, but, as far as 2013 is concerned, it could become the “sack heard ’round Packers Nation”. Rodgers shortly after jogged to the locker room as Packer fans everywhere held their breath. The next time we’d see Rodgers, he would be in street clothes, emerging from the tunnel to a standing ovation.
The show, as they say, must go on. In comes backup quarterback Seneca Wallace, who hadn’t played a game since the 2011 season. His tenure in Green Bay didn’t start well as Julius Peppers tipped a pass to himself on an interception. The Packers manage to score on his next drive as they ground ‘n pound their way down the field and take a 10-7 lead over Chicago on a James Starks 32-yard touchdown run. That would be the game plan for the Packers the rest of the night. Give the ball to Eddie Lacy & James Starks repeatedly, and only allow Wallace to throw when needed. It managed to work for much of the game, as the Packers had a 20-17 lead at one point with the help of a surprising onside kick. However, it wasn’t meant to be, as the defense struggled to get off the field, and the offense struggled to keep them off the field. The Packers had a ton of three & outs and even when they did score, it was on drives of three to six plays, which is nice, but unhelpful to a tired defense. The final straw for the Packers was when they failed to stop the Bears’ last drive that lasted 8:58 seconds and resulted in a seven point lead for Chicago. The defense allowed two third down conversions and a crucial fourth down conversion in Green Bay territory.
News trickled down today that Aaron Rodgers did indeed fracture his collar bone, and will miss some time. However, there is some good news here, as he is not expected to need surgery. The fact he won’t go under the knife could mean a possible return sooner rather than later. While there is no set timetable for return, the prognosis is that he will be out anywhere from three to four weeks. Now, replacing Aaron Rodgers is, of course, impossible. The silver lining here is that the next three contests for the Pacers are very winnable. Their schedule for November is as follows: 11/10 VS Philadelphia, 11/17 @ New York Giants, 11/24 VS Minnesota, and 11/28 @ Detroit. While I would be hard-pressed to pick the Packers against Detroit without Rodgers, the Packers are capable of winning the first three games. Theyshould be getting Nick Perry & Clay Matthews back soon here, and that is a huge addition to a defense that was gassed on Monday Night. Seneca Wallace is a veteran quarterback in the NFL. With a week of preparation, you never know what he can get. People are all up in a huff about signing Matt Flynn, Vince Young, or even (God help us) Brett Favre. It isn’t going to happen. Wallace will be our guy, barring any injury or (truly) horrendous play for the next three to four weeks. Give him a chance, and let’s wait ‘n see.
Packers play – this Sunday at 1:00pm at Lambeau Field. Tune into 98.3WRUP for ALL of your Green Bay Packers Football action. GO PACK GO!
-Carl L. Johnson