The Packers are going to the Super Bowl! The Packers are going to the Super Bowl! The Packers kicked the Bears’ Butts! The Packers are going to the Super Bowl! Packers 21 – Bears 14

Woo Hoo!! How about that game?!! The Packers went into Chicago and showed everyone that The Bears Still Suck!! The Packers are now the proud owners of the George Halas trophy as YOUR NFC Champions! I couldn’t be happier. The state of Wisconsin and the city of Green Bay are buzzing with excitement as the Packers will now prepare to play in Super Bowl 45 (XLV) on Feb. 6 in Dallas, Texas.
Here’s a cool YouTube video I found to help you commemorate the achievement:

Green and yellow, green and yellow, green and yellow, green and yellow. Ha ha. Yeah, especially when I take it deep like Driver. Now check out these Super Bowl snack ideas!

Okay, enough of the celebration. This is the part of the blog when I talk about the game. First I would just like to say that the Packers followed my three keys to victory from last week to come out on top. They stopped Devin Hester. The got pressure in Jay Cutler‘s face. And they outran the Bears. Starks was good enough to help Green Bay win and the Pack’s defense did an admirable job of slowing down Matt Forte.

So, who were the game’s MVP’s this week? Well, B.J. Raji is an obvious choice. I don’t know about you, but I really enjoyed his celebration dance after his interception for a touchdown. He looked like an overweight  Hawaiian belly dancer. He followed that up of course with the “Big Boy Belt”. Which is, of course, just the championship belt celebration that he took from Rodgers. Also, you might have noticed that people are calling him the “Freezer.” This is because people have started comparing him to William “Refrigerator” Perry from the ’85 championship Bears. Also, last week when Raji played fullback on offense against Atlanta, a coach came up to him and said, “you looked like ‘The Fridge’ out there.” To which he replied, “I’m not ‘The Fridge’, I’m the Freezer.” Freezer indeed. I hope I see the Freezer in the Super Bowl!

Another big time player in this game was Sam “Laser” Shields. This guy went from being a rookie out on the street to playing in an NFC championship game in just under a year. And not only has he handled all the pressure incredibly, but he has also played extremely well this season. I like that he seems to keep getting better every week. He came up with the game-ending interception. That might have been the play of the season for the Packers. He also had an almost-interception of Jay Cutler that was overturned after the review of the play. He’s become a great cover corner and not only that, he is also a great kick returner and special teams player. I love his story and I hope to see him on the Packers roster for many years to come.

Other players who made a BIG contribution in the game: Jennings, Cullen Jenkins, Clay Matthews and Tim Masthay. Jennings was a monster in the first half, and he helped the Packers put an early score on the board, which helped them later in the game. Cullen Jenkins was nothing but trouble for the Bears offensive line and he made life very hard for whichever quarterback was in the game. He almost pulled down Matt Forte for a safety on a running play in the second half. Clay Matthews might not have had a sack, but he is a force against both the pass and the run. And, of course, the Punter Tim Masthay had a great game. You know, punters never really get enough credit. But this guy probably played the game of his life. The Packers owned the Bears in field position all day. This is mostly thanks to the great punts that Masthay was hitting all game. I remember one in the game that must have traveled almost 80 yards. He also kept it away from Devin Hester. So for that I say, kudos to you, Mr. Punter. You probably are a big reason that the Packers are in the Super Bowl.

I’d like to now give some credit to the Packers coaching staff and management team. Nobody that I talked to this year thought that the Packers could make it this far after the injuries to Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley. Not to mention the multitude of injuries to players on the defense, including Nick Barnett. But Mike McCarthy (or as my dad would say, Mike McFarty), Dom Capers and the entire Packers management team (yes, even you, Ted Thompson) deserve our praise for getting these guys to play like nobody was injured at all. They have put a quality product on the field and Mike McCarthy has done an amazing job not letting injuries become an excuse for losing. So to all of these men, I say, congratulations. You deserve all the success you have worked so hard for. Now, go bring that Lombardi Trophy back to TitleTown!

There’s only one more thing to say. I want the Packers to win this Super Bowl for the older players on the team. For Charles Woodson and Chad Clifton and Donald Driver. I want them to win if for these guys that have for so many years come so close, yet felt so far away from a Super Bowl championship. I want them to win it for the Green Bay teams that broke the fans’ hearts. For the fans who watched the Packers fall to the Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship. For the fans who remember 4th and 26, when the Packers lost in the playoffs to the Eagles after that miracle fourth down play. For the fans who remember the terrible teams of the 80’s and still came to Lambeau Field year in, and year out. And finally, I want the Packers to win this Super Bowl for all of their great fans across the world, myself included. Because after all, The Green Bay Packers are the TRUE ‘America’s Team.’ And I can think of nothing sweeter for America’s Team than hoisting that Vince Lombardi trophy in Dallas. Let’s bring it back to Green Bay. After all, this is where it belongs.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for eating. And I sincerely hope that you enjoyed my blog this year. Oh and p.s. the Packers will be playing the Steelers in the Super Bowl. Look for my game preview later this week. 🙂

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!!