Yours truly has seen a lot of football games over the years. Some teams play to win and others not to lose. There's going for the gusto and keeping it close to the proverbial vest. But at least most teams have a plan. What I saw of the Packers in Seattle was a first. A team (and especially their coaching staff) that was so utterly clueless, they couldn't help but eventually lose. Consider some of things that transpired during the game.
In the first quarter alone, Green Bay twice had first and goal inside the Seattle 5-yard line. Once they made it down to the 2-inch line but declined to go for a touchdown, settling for field goals on both occasions.
Thought at the time: OK, 3 points is better than nothing, but this just might come back to bite them. Playing on the road, especially against the defending champions, for a berth in the Super Bowl, is no time to get conservative. Let it all hang out.
But it seemed like the Seahawks couldn't find their collective butts with both hands during the first half. It was one gaffe after another. The Packers would have a 16-0 lead at halftime, though it likely should have been much more.
Finally, the Seahawks broke through in the third quarter to score a touchdown, but only because the Packers went into brain freeze. Seattle had been stopped and was facing a medium range field goal attempt.
Thought at the time: OK, let them have 3 points and get the ball back. No big deal. But hey, they just sent in an offensive tackle that declared himself an eligible receiver and lined up as such. Earth to Packers: Somebody keep an eye on that guy. And it's not like offensive tackles are hard to cover as receivers. All they can do is lumber down the field.
But no, the Packers ignored him and, sure enough the field goal attempt was a fake. The behemoth was wide open to catch an easy touchdown pass. Duh.
On an ensuing kickoff -- while likely everyone on the planet suspected Seattle would go for an onside kick -- the Packers seemed to be caught off guard and couldn't handle it. Duh. Seattle gets the ball back, with momentum. Their infamous crowd roared back to life.
Thought at the time: Hey Packers. You better suck it up and make a few plays, or this thing just might get away from you.
Sure enough, Seattle would eventually take the lead after scoring another touchdown and making a 2-point conversion. It was then 22-19.
Thought at the time: Had Green Bay played to win back in the first quarter (see above) and either of those field goals they settled for was a touchdown instead, they would now be leading 23-22, instead of trailing by three points. Seattle was out of timeouts and under two minutes remained in the game. The Packers could have pretty much taken a knee at that point and ran out the clock.
To their credit, Aaron Rodgers and Co. got close enough in the waning seconds for their quite busy field goal kicker to tie the score at 22.
In the end, Seattle would prevail in overtime 28-22 and will head back to the Super Bowl.
And Green Bay? It's going to be a long flight back to Cheeserland. Perhaps once there, the entire lot of them should be made to dip their heads in hot cheddar. They had the game all but in the bag, but their own boneheaded plays and gutless strategies eventually led to their downfall.
Final thought: I was rooting for the Packers, but they got exactly what they deserved. During the course of any given game, a lot of things can, and usually do happen. Good plays, bad plays, and who knows how the "breaks" will turn out? But as they say, there just ain't no fixing stupid.
Technically, Seattle won the game. But even more so, Green Bay lost it.
They should be ashamed of themselves.
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