I neither like nor dislike GB or Philly, so I think I'm in a position to speak with a fair degree of objectivity on this game.
GB gave the Eagles a win. Period. It's almost as if GB set out to show everybody that they could beat Philly in Philly, and then, having beaten them and proved their point, decided to go ahead and be nice and "let" the home team win. Examples:
1. GB has 4th and inches at ~Phi40 with ~2:30 left to play. Phi has been completely unable to stop Ahman Green all day. How can you not go for it? If you convert the 4th down, the game is likely over. If you punt, you give Phi back the ball needing only a FG to tie, with only 20 yards worse field position than if you punt. Hmmm. A 90% or so chance of winning the game outright, or giving Philly the ball back and saving 20 yards? Not a close decision. Sherman deserves a wedgie for punting in this situation, as it likely cost his team the game.
2. Phi faces 4th and 26, but GB mysteriously forgets to cover a receiver streaking right down the middle of the field. Huh? The Packers' DC and the entire secondary deserve a collective wedgie for allowing Philly to convert on 4th and 26 with the game on the line, as it likely cost their team the game.
3. On his first play in OT, Favre throws a pass the reminded us all of Ryan Leaf in his prime, directly into the grasp of two Eagle DBs (it was a fielder's choice as to who was going to be credited with the game-winning int). I can't recall the last time I saw a future HOFer make such a stupid, bone-headed, terrible-even-for-a-rookie-debut throw. Favre deserves a wedgie, as that pass likely cost his team the game.
In other words, Mike Sherman, the Packer's DC, the Packers' secondary, and Favre each single-handedly blew this game. It should have been won by GB at several different spots, and instead was whiffed so badly that it almost appeared that GB was in collusion with Phi.
If I were an Eagles fan, I don't think I would do a lot of boasting or chest-thumping on this one. Just send a nice card and some flowers to Lombardi Drive, and let the Packers decide among themselves who most deserves the flowers.
Hey Ivan, I agree with your three main bullets but have troubled with the conclusion.
1. GB has 4th and inches at ~Phi40 with ~2:30 left to play. Phi has been completely unable to stop Ahman Green all day. How can you not go for it? If you convert the 4th down, the game is likely over. If you punt, you give Phi back the ball needing only a FG to tie, with only 20 yards worse field position than if you punt. Hmmm. A 90% or so chance of winning the game outright, or giving Philly the ball back and saving 20 yards? Not a close decision. Sherman deserves a wedgie for punting in this situation, as it likely cost his team the game.
Agreed, an no one on the Birds side thought any different. Did Sherman have visions of the 4th and Goal on the 1 that they didn't get? Did Sherman feel that the Birds were incapable of driving down the field? But keep in mind that if it weren't for an absolutely unexpected 4th and 26 conversion, Sherman's call would've been hailed as the "smart move."
2. Phi faces 4th and 26, but GB mysteriously forgets to cover a receiver streaking right down the middle of the field. Huh? The Packers' DC and the entire secondary deserve a collective wedgie for allowing Philly to convert on 4th and 26 with the game on the line, as it likely cost their team the game.
Don't blame Donatell, he called the right defense. Unfortunately for him Bwa Jue is just about the worse CB on a playoff team and he was beaten, as he was in Green Bay several weeks back versus the Birds.
3. On his first play in OT, Favre throws a pass the reminded us all of Ryan Leaf in his prime, directly into the grasp of two Eagle DBs (it was a fielder's choice as to who was going to be credited with the game-winning int). I can't recall the last time I saw a future HOFer make such a stupid, bone-headed, terrible-even-for-a-rookie-debut throw. Favre deserves a wedgie, as that pass likely cost his team the game.
That's Favre for you. Whether you like M. Irvin or not, he made a great call. All this talk about Favre playing his best football lately hid the fact that he'd been throwing up quite a few deep balls to no one in particular lately and the only difference was the his WRs have been coming down with them. He said that if Favre did that against the Birds, he'd pay for it, and that's exactly what happened.
But here's where I lose your line of thought?
In other words, Mike Sherman, the Packer's DC, the Packers' secondary, and Favre each single-handedly blew this game. It should have been won by GB at several different spots, and instead was whiffed so badly that it almost appeared that GB was in collusion with Phi.
First of all, Sherman, Donatell, the entire secondary and Favre cannot SINGLE HANDEDLY lose a game.
It was, by your own definition, a COLLECTIVE EFFORT.But that aside, how do you exclude the Eagles from your analysis completely? It's as if the Packers were the only one to make mistakes that could've cost them the game???
Why don't you point out that McNabb fumbled in his own territory which led to the Packers scoring? Wasn't McNabb singlehandedly losing the game for Philly?
Why don't you point out that David Akers missed a 31 yard field goal which ended up being the difference between winning and going into OT? Wasn't he throwing the game away?
You point out the coverage on 4th and 26 as the Pack handing the game away...well weren't the Eagles giving the game to the Pack when McNabb held onto the ball in a crucial 3rd and long WHICH PUT THEM in an almost impossible 4th and 26 situation?Both teams made what could've been HUGE mistakes. Both teams also made some unbelievable plays. BOTH TEAMS. How do you discount the Birds stopping them on the goal line? That was a critical play? How doesn't anyone note that the Pack scored a whopping 3 points after the first quarter? How doesn't anyone point out that McNabb had to make that throw on 4th and 26? Or that Freddie Mitchell had to actually get to the first down market, how many times in all the years we've all watched football have we seen WRs make catches short of the marker? Why isn't anyone noting that McNabb ran for 107 yards? Let me guess, that was the Packers defensive line handing the game to the Eagles too right?
Cheers to both teams playing their hearts out.
