Will the real Packers step forward?
Posted: Thursday November 12, 1998 12:48 PM
I can't figure it out -- the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome that affect
everybody's favorite teams. Dr. Jekyll was that mild-mannered young
physician/scientist who not only took his work home with him but also
ingested his own product. Once that mighty concoction passed the gums and
a few convulsions later, you get Mr. Hyde, aka Greg Lloyd or Bryan Cox.
Now Mr. Hyde, Mr. Lloyd or Mr. Cox are not normal men (especially that Cox
fellow) but if you're playing pro football, that's a good thing. A little
foam around the mouth can do wonders to give you that edge over your
opponent.
Two Sundays ago, a red-hot 49ers team traveled to Green Bay to play a
Packers team that appeared to be performing very average at best. The
Packers (aka Mr. Hyde) rattled off 16 unanswered points to start the games.
I witness convulsions and rhythmic shaking by Antonio Freeman after an
80-yard bomb on the game's first play. Surely Freeman had just ingested the
bubbling brew.
Eight days later on pro football's biggest regular-season stage, Monday
night, out of the visitor's locker room to play the Pittsburgh Steelers
trots Dr Jekyl (aka the Packers). Before the dust had settled, the Packers
were out of the game.
Now trust me, I am not suggesting that the Packers need to drink something
to make them stronger -- that only happens in baseball. But how could a
team that has played in the last two Super Bowls look so inconsistent in
the short span of eight days?
The Monday night crew threw up a stat that the Packers were 1-9 on turf
outdoors going into the game. Well, if I'm on the schedule to play the
Packers next year I build an outdoor AstroTurf facility for them to visit.
I know it sounds crazy.
Bill Cowher is magic on Monday night, the Steelers have never lost two home
games in a row under his command. The Packers hadn't lost a home game since
I can't remember when, until the Vikings (dressed as Dr. Jekyll) came in
there last month. I was in Green Bay for the Monday night game they played
against the Vikings. I've never seen a crowd get a team so fired up to
play. I've played Monday night at Mile High, K.C., the Kingdome, Rich
Stadium. The public address system in Lambeau Field pumped the music so
loud during introductions that the folks down the road in Appleton could
hear it. The players danced and pumped up the crowd that night -- too bad
Dr Jekyll started the ball game off for the Packers. Vikings win, 37-24.
What makes good teams go bad? It would be great if all you had to do was
down some bubbling mix. We all tend to second-guess when things go wrong.
Maybe the defensive backs should have pressed instead of playing off ... we
need to play action pass more ... why don't we blitz from the corner or up
the middle?
Teams don't really play flat. Football is a simple, violent game. Normally
the most aggressive team wins, the ones who play more like Mr. Hyde than
Dr. Jekyll.
James Lofton, one of 76 nominees this year for the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, is an NFL analyst for CNN/SI. His weekly column appears every
Thursday exclusively on CNNSI.com.
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