Brats & Beer

Short Circuited

Can Johnny 5 bring pass pressure?

Call it however you like, the Packers got exposed tonight as a finesse team that doesn’t yet know how to deal with bigger, faster defenses. Yes, penalties played a role, yes there were miscues and missed opportunities, but the main thing that doomed Green Bay was the fact that Dallas dominated the line and disrupted the game plan right at the start.

One would think that holding the Cowboys to 13 points in the first half could have led to a different outcome for the Packers, but the front five got manhandled all night and the result was Aaron Rodgers scrambling for his life. The result was an inconsistent running game and just four of 14 converting on third downs. The result was two field goals in the first half.

As for Bob Sanders’ defensive scheme, if the goal was take Terrell Owens out of the game, then his plan worked. However, it failed to do anything to take care of Jason Witten, Marion Barber, and Miles Austin. It failed to make Tony Romo uncomfortable in the pocket, especially in the second half. In the end, it just flat out failed against a bigger, more physical offensive line.

But let’s keep this in perspective: It is only the third week of the season and the Packers are leading the division with a 2-1 record. I would rather have Green Bay get schooled early in the year so the team maybe has a chance to learn from the loss and get better than have it come late in the year. How this team, and Rodgers in particular, rebounds from this game with a road trip to Tampa ahead is going to say a lot about what we can expect for the rest of the season.