Epic win in Philadelphia as the Packers defeat the Eagles to advance in the NFC playoffs! Packers 21 – Eagles 16

It’s on to Atlanta for our Green Bay Packers. What a great victory for Packers nation!! Congratulations to Mr. Aaron Rodgers for his first playoff victory as a Green Bay QB. Congrats again, Aaron! Where’s that championship belt? 🙂

Okay, I feel like I need to get my Hate-or-ade (this is a pun on the word “Gatorade”, kids) out-of-the-way early this week. To Kobe Bryant: For sending a signed jersey to Mike Vick that said ‘Be Epic’, I now have another reason to hate you. Which won’t be hard considering you already play for the most hated team in the NBA and are a date-rapist. I can’t wait for the Lakers to lose in the NBA playoffs. Oh, and this doesn’t mean you’re of the hook either, Lebron. To Mike Vick: Nice last second interception, or should I say nice EPIC FAIL. How epic was that? Ha ha. That’s okay though, I’m sure you know that every dog has his day. (Too far? Eh… I don’t care.) To Desean Jackson: the reason your ankle got hurt is because you’re a giant douche bag who likes to taunt other teams and who talks a ton of trash. Maybe you could take a page out of the Donald Driver playbook and learn something about class and sportsmanship. Seriously. How’s that humble pie tasting? Not too sweet, I hope. To Andy Reid: Nah, I kind of like you Andy Reid. He doesn’t deserve it. What was up with that weird full body suit thing he was wearing, though?

"Thanks for the jersey, Kobe"

Okay, on to the greatness that was this game. I am giving out two game balls this week. The first goes to James “Iron Man” Starks for being the best running back the Packers have ever had in the playoffs. Ever. Unless you want to count Dorsey Levens / Edgar Bennett, but we could be arguing about this all day. No, really though, the kid set a Packers rookie playoff record with 123 yards in the game. He single-handedly turned our previously pathetic running attack into a force to be reckoned with. I believe that James Starks was a HUGE reason that the Packers were able to win this game. The second game ball goes to the entire Green bay defense. They held the most explosive quarterback and receiving attack in the league to only 16 points over an entire game. Clay Matthews and Desmond Bishop were flying all over the field. Tramon Williams made the clutch interception to seal the victory. And B.J. Raji was in the backfield on nearly every play. Great job by the defense, and what a great game plan by defensive coach Dom Capers. Runner up for a game ball goes to Philly kicker David Akers for missing two field goals and taking six points off the board for the Eagles. If he makes those two kicks, the final score could have been 22-21 the other way. Thanks for the help David Akers! (I hear he’s secretly a Green Bay fan). Thanks for Finkling those kicks. Laces out!

I love hearing the crowd at a local bar go crazy when the Packers win. It’s how you know you’re where you belong. If you’ve never left your house during a Packer game, I recommend going out to The Bar at Cedar Creek to have a good time. That crowd will get you fired up. You can also get some good food there. But remember, whatever you get, smother it in some delicious, nutritious Wisconsin Cheddar cheese. I recommend one of the house cheeseburgers, or the specialty pizza there. They are both Campbell’s mmm mmm good. Enjoy it, even try to savor it, like it ‘s the last Packers game of the year. Because next week it could be.

Looking ahead, the Packers will play the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night. These teams met during the regular season and the Packers lost in a really close game. You can read about it in my archives if you like. Just go here. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a game the Pack should have won, but A-Rodge fumbled the ball on the goal line after an attempted QB sneak. The falcons recovered. Without that turnover, the Pack might have won that game, instead of losing by three points.

This week’s keys to victory: if the Packers want to beat the Falcons this time, they will need to do three things.

1. Stop Falcons running back Michael “The Burner” Turner at all costs. He shredded the Green Bay defense last time around. 2. Stop Atlanta’s pro bowl wide receiver “Hot” Roddy White. 3. Get James Starks going. The Packers need to run it well so that they can keep the Atlanta offense off the field, because they know how to score. I also imagine that Starks could punch it in on 3rd-and-1 or 4th-and-1 yard to go. That would eliminate the need for putting Rodgers in danger on the QB sneak. If the Pack can do these three things, they will win the game. Fearless prediction: Packers 20 – Falcons 17, and the Pack advance to play the Bears in the NFC championship game. 🙂

Well that’s all for my extended playoffs blog! I sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading it. Or that you enjoyed watching the highlights video if you didn’t read it. I’ll be  back next week. Remember, happy reading, happy eating and GO PACK GO!!

Injury Update – Standings Update

Aaron Kampman (OLB) and Al Harris (CB) are both out for the rest of the season with serious knee injuries. Each man was injured during the Packers win over the 49ers.The loss of two veteran defensive players is going to really hurt the Packers. Kampman and Harris were both pro-bowl defenders.

Still, it will now be up to some of the younger backups to step in and try to fill those roles. Players to watch for: Tramon Williams playing in place of the injured Al Harris, and Brad Jones – a rookie OLB. I’m not exactly sure who the Packers will be using in place of Kampman yet – most likely it will be a rotation between Brandon Chillar, Brady Poppinga and Brad Jones.

Also, the Eagles squeaked out a victory over the Bears last night 24-20, so they are also now tied for a wild card spot with both Green Bay and New York (Giants). So as Packers fans, we should also be rooting for teams that play against the Eagles and the Giants. 🙂 Can’t wait for Thursday’s game, and I’ll be wearing my fatty pants for the Turducken.