Surreal Football in Wisconsin

onbillymadison — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:36:49 GMT

Packers.....wow, what a phenomenon. First, let's talk about how we are two plays from being 8-0, which is so surreal. I mean, I dont' even know what I'd do if we were 8-0. Last year I believe we were 3-5 at the halfway point, so obviously there is a lot of improvement here.

Mike McCarthy, first and foremost, needs to be given so much of the credit. And by MM, I also mean Thompson. They are a hell of a duo who really understand how to build a team and reward it's players. The opposite of what Sherman did. Sherm-dog took loads of talent, and let them all either get pissed off or pissed away by the end of his tenure. We were lucky to go 10-6 in 2004, mostly because Favre refused to have a losing season after starting 1-4 that year. But just think of the teams we could have had if Sherman drafted wisely and had a quality D-Coordinator. From 02-04, the Packers set team and NFL records for offensive production, but our defense couldn't stop Neil Diamond on a Sweep right.

Okay, back to this year. Yes, I think that we caught a few teams on bad weeks, just as 04 opponents caught the packers on bad weeks early in the season prior to finishing out 8-2. However, with the way our offense was looking then, it's almost more of a miracle that we pulled them off, rather than the giants, eagles, san diego pissing them away?? We had no running game, Jennings missed those first two games, We were (still are) unsettled at the guard position, Donald Lee was adusting to be a starter. What won these games was defense! Sure, we put up some good numbers against the Giants and the Chargers, but it was our defense that kept LT/gates/toomer/shockey out of the endzone.

The true difference, between this team and any team we've had between 99-06, is our defense. Keeping the other team from putting up 30-40 points a game not only takes pressure off of a young offense, but also results in better decision making, and ultimately...a better performance.

So yes, as hard as it is to win in the national football leaugue, as we know (average wins last 7 years...9) it's pretty amazing to have 7 wins in the first half of the season. Especially since there are only 5 elite teams in the NFC (Pack, lions, dallas, skins, giants) and we've beaten two of them and happen to be (a third).

Never question wins. There is a great chance that we could end up 12-4, maybe even 13-3. Bottom line: Thanksgiving and the week after against the cowboys will determine home field advantage throughout the playoffs. That is ridiculous. Can you even imagine that? Us playing for the Super Bowl at the end of January?

It's happening, it's now. Embrace it, enjoy it, and when it's over, either celebrate like a drunken fool or swim in the sea of melancholy (not dissapointment) that will become Wisconsin.

Blog entries for onbillymadison

Surreal Football in Wisconsin