Watching from my seat in Lambeau Field, I saw the final transition of the Green Bay Packer offense. The protection was there for Rodgers. He was only sacked twice, and received an intentional grounding penalty for not getting the ball over the line of scrimmage. The offensive line opened beautiful gaps, which Ryan Grant had the patience to find and to hit hard. The offense culminated in a beautiful, game ending ‘four minute offense.’ After the struggling Packer defense gave up another touchdown in the late fourth quarter, the Packers led by six and got the ball back on the 9 yard line with 5 minutes and 50 seconds on the clock. Running from a two tight end formation, the Packers ran for 3 first downs. This allowed the Packers to run out the clock in victory formation. In back-to-back outings against solid defenses, the Packers offense did what it needed to do to win. The Packers now control their own destiny in the Wild Card race. It appears the Packers’ problems with running the football and protecting the quarterback are over, but (as the old the old English proverb goes) out of the frying pan and into the fire.
In this Pyrrhic victory over the 49ers, the Packers lost two defensive Pro Bowlers. Both Al Harris and Aaron Kampman injured their left knees and are out for the season. Al Harris is an icon on the Packers defense and his blanketing coverage will be missed. Tramon Williams will be the starting cornerback for the Packers going forward. He has some big shoes to fill and will be tested early and often by opposing offenses. Jarreet Bush and Brandon Underwood have been moved to the nickel and dime positions respectively. The Packers have just added former Bronco CB Josh Bell, who may get playing time at nickel or dime as well.
Aaron Kampman is a frustrating loss for the Packers. He just seemed to be getting adjusted to the 3-4 defense (complete with a sack in the first half.) He is a pass rushing specialist and will be dearly missed. We are yet to see what is going to happen at left outside linebacker as no roster changes have been made. I expect to see a combination of Brad Jones and Brady Poppinga at the position. Brad Jones did an acceptable job against Dallas but his pass rushing skills are questionable at best. Poppinga may be able to develop into more of a pass rusher to help fill the void left by Kampman. This could change if the Packers pick up another linebacker.
Now that the Packers have solved the problems that have dogged them all season, they have a new set of problems. I think the Packers still have what it takes to win. We need Williams and Jones to play at an extremely high level. Other players are going to need to step up and make plays to fill the void of Harris and Kampman. I think the Green Bay defense has the personnel to come out and make big plays and force turnovers, we just need to get it done. Go Pack Go
