Dallas becomes THE game for Green Bay
GREEN BAY — Coaches and players want to win every game they play.
Fans want their favorite teams to win every game.
But in the big picture, the most important game of the Green Bay Packers’ season won’t be Thursday when they travel to Detroit for an NFC North game that’s lost a lot of luster with the Lions’ two straight defeats.
No, the biggest game will take place the following Thursday night when the Packers travel to Dallas.
Regardless of what happens Thursday when the Packers play the Lions and the Cowboys host the Jets, the winner the following week will take command of the race to own home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
You don’t have to score 1,600 on your SAT to realize the NFC has deteriorated into two elite teams, Green Bay and Dallas, and a whole swarm of wannabes (the New York Giants), flops (the Chicago Bears) and disasters (the St. Louis Rams).
A loss to Detroit would end Green Bay’s five-game winning streak and snap the Packers’ amazing run of 13 victories in their last 14 regular-season games.
A loss to Detroit still would leave the Lions two games behind the Packers with five games to go and a difficult closing schedule.
Finally, a loss to Detroit might upset the digestive tract of Packer fans more than the excess turkey and dressing they’ll be stuffing down their throats.
But a loss at Ford Field would not be the disaster that a loss to the Dallas Cowboys would be the following week.
It’s plainly obvious that the battle for the NFC title and the right to be a 16-point underdog against New England in the Super Bowl is going to come down to a late January game between the Packers and Cowboys.
So, the regular-season showdown between Green Bay and Dallas on Nov. 29 on the NFL Network—curses Charter Communications!—will almost certainly determine if the wacky Fox Sports crew will be trekking to Lambeau Field or Texas Stadium.
“We’re just riding the wave,” Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre said. “Guys are relaxed and playing confident.
“We are making big plays when needed. The defense is playing outstanding. It is a little shocking that this is the first time in 45 years that this team has been 9-1 just because of all the great teams that have played.
“It just goes to show you how difficult it is to win.”
And that difficulty is magnified even more during the playoffs.
Green Bay’s playoff record against the Cowboys in Dallas during the Favre era is downright ugly.
The Packers saw their seasons end in 1993, 1994 and 1995 by a combined 100-53.
Two of the defeats came in divisional playoff games and the 1995 battle sent he Cowboys to the Super Bowl.
In fact, Favre and the Packers suffered a 21-6 loss at Dallas in 1996 en route to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl title.
Too much Michael Irvin. Too much Emmitt Smith. Too much Troy Aikman.
That history shows why it’s imperative for the Packers to secure home-field advantage over the Cowboys, especially when you consider what the weather in Green Bay might be like Jan. 20, the date for the NFC title game.
You won’t hear one Packer coach or player talk about Dallas between now and Thursday’s 11:30 a.m. kickoff at Ford Field.
“Nine and one is impressive,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “But you have to keep focus on the next opponent.
“We beat a good football team today. With a short week, we don’t have much time to enjoy 9-1 because it’s time to move on to Detroit.”
The Vegas oddsmakers, who have been slow to catch on to Green Bay’s exceptional season—the Packers are 8-1-1 against the spread—will probably make the Packers favorites in five of their last six games.
And it just might take five more regular-season wins to position the Packers for a February trip to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII.
John McPoland is a sports writer/page designer for The Janesville Gazette.
Nov 19, 2007 at 4:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
Mike f, you are so correct. I would pay more per channel to get the rest of that garbage off my tv. I've got like 6 channels out of the 100 or so im being charged for that I watch. And thats about 8 hours per week tops.
Nov 19, 2007 at 4:19 p.m.
Suggest removal
I can't stand charter, but I need high speed internet so I'm stuck. As far as this game goes, Charter does not want to meet the price the NFL network is demanding to carry the programming. Good for them. Why should charter and its customers pay a premium price to watch their team the 1 or 2 times they will play on the nfl network? I can't even get a ticket for a game without taking it up the %$@# and paying 10 times face value. I sure as heck am not gonna pay for nfl network. If you need a place to watch the game, Legends bar downtown janesville is carrying it, and they got free food. See you there.
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
Both Charter and the NFL network are to blame for this. The NFL network is only allowing the game to be shown in the "home" markets of Milwaukee and Green Bay when everyone knows that the whole state of Wisconsin is the Packer's home market. I just made the switch to DirectTV and the offerings are basically the same other than having access to NFLN and the Big 10 network. DirectTV has more HD channels, but the HD reception/picture on Charter seems to be better. Obviously this is ALL about money, from both charter's side and the NFL/Big 10. And we lose
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
Could listen to it on the radio. I know it isn't the same, but you could follow the game as it is played instead of reading about it afterward.
And yes, I think the offerings on Charter are awful. I think a la carte would be much better, but the argument is that the smaller channels would not survive. I think the free market based on how many people WANT to watch should dictate if a channel is successful, not who it can get bundled with. The current marketing plan is why we have 100 channels and nothing is on.
Nov 19, 2007 at 3:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
JCK -- Do your research. NFL Network is hardly the most expensive network. The real question is why is it that small cable companies – including ones in WI – offer NFL Network as part of their basic digital package and Charter and Time Warner do not? What’s worse, those smaller companies charge less than the big ones for the same service.
Charter’s greed is denying millions of Packers fans from seeing the biggest regular season game in a decade.
Those of you who have satellite are lucky, I have too many trees to make it work at my house.
If I had a choice other than Charter, I’d take it.
Nov 19, 2007 at 2:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
Well, for all the fans in Wisconsin, I'd say Thanksgiving v. Detroit IS the "big game," since we can't watch the Dallas one unless you live in Green Bay. I guess that means all the rest of us across the state must not count as Packer fans. Charter and Time Warner are holding their customers hostage- raising prices and smirking that if only we'd pay for some special sports tier, we could stop whining and have our game. Well this Packer Backer won't pay more, and I shouldn't have to! Support the fans-give us NFL network!
Nov 19, 2007 at 2:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
I'm a big PACKER and NFL fan and, truthfully, Charter is not available where I live so I've been a Directv subscriber for several years and have had access to the NFL channel.
But I have one question. Is is reasonable for the NFL to price their product in such a way that it is the most expensive channel currently on the market?
Nov 19, 2007 at 2:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
Curse Charter Communications is exactly right! A lot of us in Wisconsin won't be able to see that important game between the Packers and the Cowboys or any of the programming that NFL Network offers the rest of the year. Charter should work out a solution with NFL Network, and FAST. And maybe it's too much to ask, but let's hope for a solution that won't raise our rates (err wait -didn't Charter just raise them, and still no NFL Network??).
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.