Once upon time, I hated Dallas. I could not stand the team. Growing up in the 90's, Dallas was the rival. Not Minnesota, Chicago or Detroit, but Dallas. They were Brett Favre's kryptonite as Packers fell in playoff losses to Dallas in Cowboys Stadium for three straight years. Additionally, Green Bay had some gut punch regular season losses in Texas where Favre went down with injury in 2007, Chris Boniol making seven field goals on Monday Night Football and the pinnacle of regular season losses against Dallas - Jason Garrett playing for Troy Aikman leading them in a Thanksgiving Day victory to put Green Bay at 6-6.There are so many bad memories in Dallas, but in new Cowboys Stadium also known as JerryWorld, the memories are great. The last time Green Bay played at newly named AT&T Stadium, they were hoisting by the Lombardi Trophy by the end of it. This story of Green Bay's trip to Dallas will be much different and without Aaron Rodgers for the sixth straight game.
According to Mike McCarthy, Rodgers feels good and wants to play yet he is not medically cleared. In a weird way, Green Bay is treating this like Chicago did with Derrick Rose as well as other teams when their star player goes down with an injury. At this point, who know if he will be ready for Pittsburgh next week. But one thing has to end right now, it is the narrative that Rodgers is not tough. This is not a knee ligament injury. This is not a shoulder muscle injury. This is a goddamn broken bone. Not to mention, a bone that breaks easier after it has been broken once. Trust me, this is not a toughness issue, this is an issue of making 100 percent sure Rodgers will not get hurt again with the same injury.
As for the game itself, Matt Flynn is back in the saddle. He looked much better against Atlanta although people like Geno Smith and Mike Glennon have been good against Atlanta. Although Dallas' secondary and defense are not world-beaters as they have come under all sorts of criticism throughout the year. They were mashed by Chicago last week in a cold weather game where Josh McCown had the game of his life. McCarthy said Flynn had the best week of practice, and it could be coming at the right time as this Dallas team will be without Sean Lee, their best defensive player. This opens door for a big day from Flynn and Eddie Lacy.
The Packers running back battled an ankle injury this week, but he seems likely to go being probable. Lacy could have a huge day on Dallas' defense without Lee. In the four games Lee missed with injury, opponents rushed for 160.5 yards a game. If you take out Oakland's dismal 50 yard performance, New Orleans, New York and Chicago rushed for an average of 197.7. If we were doing something like Wins Above Replacement in football, Lee like Rodgers is right at the top of the list. Cowboys defense is completely lost without him. If Lacy rushes for 113 yards, he will be the first 1,000 yard rusher Green Bay has had since Ryan Grant in 2009. Lacy will have those yards and then some. I feel like this will be a massive day with Lacy.
Couple things I will be interested to watch are Sean Richardson and Andrew Quarless' performances. Richardson had a solid game filling in for MD Jennings, but he did in a snowy, muddy field against a weak Atlanta wide receiving core. I will be interested to see how Richardson handles Dez Bryant, Terrence Williams and Jason Witten. Tony Romo could definitely have a big day against the Packers defense with all of the weapons he has out there. He will definitely be tested and he definitely will make a couple mistakes. I just hope he is starting and not Jennings. Let's not be stubborn here just go Jim Calhoun admit you made a mistake and start Richardson.
As we talked about in the Classroom, Quarless had his best game as a Packer last week. I am always interested to see if these players can carry it over for another week. We already discussed the holes in Dallas' defense meaning there will be opportunity there for him to have another big day on the football field. Remember how much was made of Quarless as a player when he was drafted out of Penn State. He had some off-the-field stuff knocking down his draft grade, but he had all the talent in the world. As we have seen with countless athletes, maybe all it took was a little time with him.
For a game prediction, I hope everyone is ready for a four-hour football game. I have a feeling this will be a complete shootout meaning punters are probably optional. This also means whoever has the ball last will probably win the game. I am going with Green Bay. Dammit I would probably take Dallas, but I want to believe especially since I am heading to Lambeau next Sunday. Green Bay 42 Dallas 38
Charlie.
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