Veteran corner forces three turnovers in 17-7 win over Dallas. Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Charles Woodson helped Green Bay's defense finally play up to its potential against a big-time opponent, forcing two fumbles and picking off a pass by Tony Romo on the goal line in a 17-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
It wasn't a pretty win for the Packers (5-4), but it might have saved their season after back-to-back demoralizing losses.
The Packers sacked Romo five times and held him to 251 yards passing in a momentum- killer for the Cowboys (6-3), who had won four straight. Dallas also lost starting right tackle Marc Colombo to a broken left leg.
Aaron Rodgers scored on a quarterback sneak and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Spencer Havner.
Rodgers was 25 of 36 for 189 yards and a touchdown in another rough day at the office, taking four sacks and spending much of the day under pressure. But he took matters into his own hands to lead the Packers on a 15-play, 80-yard drive capped by Rodgers' 1-yard touchdown on a sneak for a 10-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.
With the Cowboys pinned deep in their own territory on their next possession, Woodson burst through the line unblocked to sack Romo and strip the ball, allowing rookie outside linebacker Clay Matthews III to recover the ball at the 3.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips tried to challenge the play, saying a Dallas player had recovered the fumble, but officials ruled that the play was not reviewable.
Facing third-and-goal, Rodgers threw to Havner for a touchdown - the fourth score of the season for Havner, a former linebacker who switched positions in training camp.
Romo then drove the Cowboys to the Packers 4, where Roy Williams drew a pass interference penalty on cornerback Tramon Williams in the end zone. But Woodson answered again, picking off Romo's pass on the next play to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone.
One question: If Woodson was the hero of the game for Green Bay, why the photo of Rodgers? Woodson forced 3 turnovers, and Rodgers only threw for 189 yards. How about showing some respect for Woodson?
Amen, nowuknow.
Terrible officiating. Cowboy fans will be up in arms over that, no doubt. I thought it played about as big a role in a football game as is possible. that being said, tough... It couldn't happen at a better place and time, against the most appropriate team. (Excepting the Minnesota Vikings, of course, lol)
Bottom line, cut to the chase in-depth analysis.....
Whew!
Officiating was horrible but I think both team's got hosed pretty good by them. The non-call on the fumble recovery was easily the worst what GB lost a good drive on a pass that was clearly caught and the refs specifically took it away so I don't think we'll see many apologies from Packers fans.
Woodson's game was outstanding but that's his normal level - what really impressed me was the LBs. I don't think I've ever seen Barnett and Hawk play better, Jones held up well in his first game and Matthews was a beast in all aspects and really seems to have a knack for coming up with the ball.
It's a pleasure watching Woodson play each week. He's got great instincts, never misses a tackle, stays low key all the time.
The middle linebackers, Hawk and Barnett, were relentless on their center blitzes. In previous games, I've seen each blitz, encounter a blocker, spin, and then retreat into coverage, abandoning the blitz. Yesterday, both came hard and continued despite being blocked. What usually happened is that the pressure from the first blitzer, although he was blocked, forced Romo to drift into the blitz of the second backer. It was the best I've ever seen Barnett in the blitz game.
Complaining about the refereeing is a waste of time. On the fumble that Matthews recovered, I thought that review could be used to determine if a player had indisputable possession. However, the stated reason it couldn't be reviewed was that only fumbles in the end zone could be reviewed for possession.
Not getting on the bandwagon yet, but a win is a win. Offensive line is still offensive! Let's hope that the defense and special teams show up like this every week. Nice to see Jerry Jones standing on the sideline looking like his wormish old self. If McCarthy can't build any momentum from what the defense has provided him...................nothing more has to be said.
Earlier in the week the players had a "come-to-Jesus" meeting. Against Dallas they played with a passion and focus unseen until Sunday. This supports my contention that McCarthy is deficient in managing the intangibles. Capers, on the other hand, showed his mettle. He finally adjusted his scheme to the player's talents, which is why we saw man-to-man with bump. He turned the backers loose. Voila, a shutdown defense. Alas, nothing can fix the horrible offensive line mid-season. Penalties and special teams have at least a shot at improvement. First and foremost, they must rehire the maintence man.
Yes it was nice seeing the Packer defense play with the abandon and intensity we saw in the pre-season. As to the play of the linebackers, hate to say this but with Kampen out it seemed as if all the linebackers were playing a true 3-4; the blitzes were run better, the pass coverage was good. Did having two LB's on the edge (both rookies) who grew up in a 3-4 scheme mark this as being AK's last year? Guess I really don't need an answer on that.
Blaise - an excellent point that I intend to pose to Bowen. He praised the play calling this morning but as others have noted, we've seen these plays before except this time, they worked. How much of this is the players getting acclimated to the system (Barnett and Hawk and Bigby) and how much of it was having a true 3-4 LB playing instead of Kampmann or Poppinga. For a rookie playing his first ever professional game aside from STs, Jones truely looked the part out there and was productive if unspectacular.
Another interesting side note - the offense had the "Come-To-Jesus" meeting and still looked bad. The defense won this game, hands down. McCarthy still worked very hard to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Why challenge the Nelson catch? You don't think your offense can gain the 1/2 yard necessary to put it in with 1st and Goal? What's with the 50+ yard field goal attempts when your kicker consistently misses those and hands great field position to the opponent? If times running down and you NEED it, that's one thing but early in the game? Pin them deep and let your D make a play man!
I think the Packers should petition the league to play a team each week coached by Wade Phillips or one his assistants.
Two facts:
There are high school teams with a more talented, more cohesive offensive line than the one the Packers have.
No team coached by Wade Phillips will win a playoff game.
Nov 16, 2009
01:00 AM
If Charles Woodson doesn't get into the Hall of Fame it will be a tragedy. Quiet leader and ultimate competitor.