Brats & Beer

Good Conquers Evil

Beating the Colts yesterday was certainly a huge boost for everyone in the Packers organization and for all of us fans, but I promise you no one was more happy than Mrs. BratsNBeerGuy. My wife hates Peyton Manning with the “burning passion of a thousand suns,” so the game for her was quite literally a contest between good and evil. Needless to say, seeing him take his lumps — two pick sixes, no touchdowns — at Lambeau Field was like Christmas come early in our home.

I heard more than a few of the Green Bay faithful gathered at Billy’s, our local Packer bar, wonder aloud where this team has been hiding. Indeed. It has been a long, long time since we’ve seen a complete team victory like the one they scored Sunday.

The defense played like a united outfit, one capable of making even Bob Sanders’ gameplan a success. They weren’t able to get a sack but they put enough pressure on the running game and the receivers to force Indy out of their game and short circuit Manning. The Packers offense was also hitting on all cylinders, moving the ball efficiently and methodically, controlling the time of possession, and making most of those drives count for points or field position. (And on a side note, all those long drives helped mitigate Derrick Frost’s deficiencies as a punter by allowing him on the field only twice.) Even the special teams came up with a big play when Johnny Jolly blocked a field goal attempt by Adam Vinatieri.

Sunday was a true example of Mike McCarthy football executed to a fault: Win the battle in the trenches, control the tempo of the game, and limit possessions by the other side. It’s a pretty awesome thing to watch when all the parts fall into place.

So now we head into the bye week with a 4-3 record and still tied for first place in the division. Some tough games lie ahead — on the road at Tennessee and Jacksonville, at home against the Panthers, and the home and away series with da freakin’ Bears — but if the Packers can continue to execute at this level, I think we’ll be watching the Green & Gold play some January football for another year.