Injury Report:
- Matt Hasselbeck is out for Seattle. They're down to 3rd stringer Charlie Frye today. Which sucks for them, but I'm very much ok with it.
- Aaron Rodgers is in even though he hasn't thrown a pass all week. Kregg Lumpkin was put on IR and Brandon Jackson is out with a head injury. So our old friend Deshawnn Wynn is back.
- Korey Hall is back too. He brings something to the table. Not a big something. Like, he may bring the butter, or perhaps some pickles, but the meal's better if he's involved.
1ST QUARTER
11:00 - Hmm. On third and 5 Ryan Grant gets stuffed and we're punting. Rodgers' shoulder is all beat up so I understand a run-heavy playcall today, but there's a time and situation for it. We haven't run the ball well all year and I don't want to trust our O-line and Grant when it really matters.
10:40 - Instead of a punt the Packers are lining up for a 60+ yard field goal by Crosby. Did we have the yardage wrong or was this a clever ploy to get Seattle to burn a timeout? It's not really clear, but after the obligatory Seattle timeout we punt instead.
5:07 - Jordy Nelson picks up 14 and brings us down to the Seattle 22. He hasn't been amazing or even especially impressive as a rookie, but he does contribute every week. I still rank a healthy James Jones above him, but he's not just an empty jersey.
2:26 - The drive stalls, but Crosby gives 'em a push to the gas station at least. And by that I mean Mason hits a 29 yard field goal. I'm not gonna lie, I don't even know what I was going for there.
GREEN BAY 3 - SEATTLE 0
2ND QUARTER
13:05 - The Seahawks just put together one heck of a drive. Despite their obvious intent to not allow Charlie Frye to ever, under any circumstances, attempt a pass more than 5 yards downfield they somehow put together a scoring series. I know our D is banged up but c'mon guys, they're telling you to just stop the run and you win.
GREEN BAY 3 - SEATTLE 3
11:40 - My nightmares consist of our O-line trying to protect for more than 2 seconds and Aarong Rodgers holding the ball for roughly 5 seconds. My nightmares also include clowns, those kids in The Shining and a neverending loop of those Coors Light commercials where they market how cold their beer is, despite the fact that the temperature of the beer is pretty much up to me and my fridge. So anywho, Rodgers holds the ball too long, fumbles, and Seattle recovers.
9:22 - AGAIN, Seattle is not even pretending to pass. True they only need to go about 30 yards this time but still, c'mon D! Nothing but 3-4 yard runs from Julius Jones and Mo Morris at this point. They've passed 6 times for a total of 12 yards.
8:17 - So the D sells out on the run and Seattle runs a playfake and Frye hits his big Tight End, John Carlson (who sounds like an accountant) for the TD. Clearly I didn't mean to ignore the pass that time! Seriously, fellas, listen!
GREEN BAY 3 - SEATTLE 10
6:55 - So the Seattle crowd has this lame theme where they call themselves "the 12th man". They pride themselves on causing false starts on opponents because they're so loud. They have a little counter and everything. It says "You've been 12th manned". After a Jason Spitz false start they upped the total to 74. I mention all of this because if these folks had been watching the Packers all year they'd know we haven't been "12th manned" we've been "Colledged, Spitzed, Cliftoned and Molled". We don't need your help for this Hawks fans.
1:52 - Greg Jennings first catch of the day gets us a first down at the Seattle 2. Does this guy ever not get open? Ever not make the catch?
:45 - Aaron Rodgers, bum shoulder and all, has a great QB sneak over the left side. Initially he was ruled down at the 1 inch line but the review made it clear that he had the TD easily. To be honest, it shouldn't have ever gone to review. It wasn't the worst miss by a Ref crew today, I mean the Viking-Lion game was a travesty, but still. Get it right the first time fellas!
GREEN BAY 10 - SEATTLE 10
3RD QUARTER
13:50 - Hmm, Aaron Rouse is out of the game again. Charlie Peprah is in. Thankfully I don't think Seattle has the personnel to take advantage of his bad angles and mis-tackles, but this isn't ideal.
9:50 - Ok. Ryan Grant carries on 1st and 2nd down for a total of 4 yards. I appreciate the dedication to the run. I appreciate that our QB has a bad shoulder. But setting up 2nd and 9 and 3rd and 6 isn't great for the ol' throwin' arm either. The O-line is killing me. The playcalls are an accomplice to the crime. Gaaaaaaah.
5:56 - The first deep pass from either team is a beautiful one. Rodgers hits Jennings in stride for a 44 yard TD. Jennings beat the jam on the line and then just outran his guy for the score. I feel really good when Rodgers goes deep. That's one of the areas I think he's better than Favre in. There, I said it.
GREEN BAY 17 - SEATTLE 10
4:55 - Aaron Kampman beats a double team and picks up his second sack of the game. He's not perfect, and yet he's perfect for this team. Other things that are not perfect in the world but are perfect for the Packers...Donald Driver, tailgating (trust me, it's not the same anywhere else), and me.
3:30 - Another two carries on 1st and 2nd down for Grant for a total of 4 yards. He's only getting 2 yards per carry, but on the plus side it seems we'll get a chance to watch him do it 57 times today.
4TH QUARTER
11:23 - That was a thing of lusciousness not normally seen outside of Scarlett Johannson's bedroom. The Packers just went on an old school, 16 play drive. It took over 8 minutes (you're welcome Scarlett!) and was almost as soulcrushing for the Seahawks defense as listening to that Johannson album of Tom Waits covers was for me! The drive also included about 19 more of those 2 yard runs by Grant, which ate clock but not much else. Rodgers hits John Kuhn for the TD when former Viking Brian Russell decided to run away rather than cover him.
GREEN BAY 24 - SEATTLE 10
10:27 - With apologies to Bill Simmons at espn.com - I wish I could bet on things like "Chuck Wood will seal the game with an interception right after a TD". But I can't. The offense doesn't accomplish anything but they didn't need to. Crosby hits from 51.
GREEN BAY 27 - SEATTLE 10
6:22 - Tramon Williams comes up with a pretty interception to seal the deal for real. It's fun because when Chuck Wood comes up with a pick it's clear that he's read the QB and showed up in a spot that he wasn't expected. When a young guy like Tramon gets a pick it's because he was athletic enough to see the ball and grab it a half second later. The highlight for me was Tramon going through a series of polite and professional handshakes with his teammates to celebrate. Classy, smart and funny. Sort of like me.
The Seaducks managed to throw on a garbage time TD with about 3 minutes left but this one was already over. This was a nice win. True Seattle was struggling, didn't have their starting QB and all that but this was an easy win on the road. It keeps us tied for first place in the division and keeps me from having to fistfight Vikings fans at work tomorrow if we had fallen behind them in the standings.
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