The Packers had another rough week this week with no help from the Bears and Vikings as both teams won their games for the week.  Green Bay faced the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau field and still have some kinks to work out after the loss of Aaron Rodgers last week in Minnesota.

Before we get too far into the game recap, lets talk about Brett Hundley who is Green Bay’s starting QB with Rodgers out.  First, ya’ll need to take a deep breath.  We have been spoiled with two legendary quarterbacks in a row in Green Bay.  Hundley could possibly make three if Packers fans would give the guy a chance.  In today’s game we saw some good and some not so good out of Hundley.  The good? Hundley is quick, both on his feet and with his arm.  He is not afraid to sneak his way through the defense and can throw some rocket balls. The not so good?  Hundley is still a rookie.  Rookies make rookie mistakes.  They get nervous and try to be the hero and mistakes happen.  It is what it is.  Its a learning experience.  It will get better with time though.  Remember what your parents and coaches always used to tell you? “Practice makes perfect”.  So give Hundley a little time to work things out. As our buddy Rodgers would say, “R-E-L-A-X.  Relax.”

Now onto the game.

The Packers started with the ball again this week which worked well for them as they scored a touchdown on the first drive of the game, giving the Packers a quick 7-0 lead.  The Saints looked to answer with a drive downfield, but Damarious Randall shut them down with an interception in the endzone to give the Packers the ball.  Unfortunately, the Pack did not score on the drive to follow, forcing a punt to the Saints.  Excitement returned briefly, as it looked as though the Packers had recovered a fumble on the punt.  This excitement was quickly taken away though, as a flag was thrown for interference and the Saints ended up getting the ball back.

Now lets pause a minute to talk about this call.  It was a muffed punt where Saints return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. bobbled the ball that he called a fair catch for.  As soon as he bobbled the ball, Packers defensive back Josh Jones went in for the kill and recovered the ball.  A flag was immediately thrown by officials.  Many fans were confused by the call as Ginn Jr. had clearly lost control of the ball before being touched by Jones.  Fans were outraged, labeling this a bad call by the refs.  In reality though, the call by the officials was a good one.  The rule is just a bad rule.  The rule states that when a fair catch is called, a player cannot be touched until the ball hits the ground.  Should players be able to go after the ball as soon as it is bobbled?  Absolutely.  Were the Packers robbed on a wrong call by the officials though? Unfortunately not.  It looks like we’ve just discovered another rule in the NFL that may need some adjustments.  Theres always room for improvement!

Back to the game!

So it’s the Saints ball and every Packers fan is a little disappointed.  But wait! In comes Devon House with another gift from the Packers!  An interception on the same drive! Packers ball! But, alas, Green Bay did not score again.

Into the second quarter, the Saints found the ball again, and finally found their first touchdown to tie up the game at 7-7.

The Packers responded shortly after with an exciting touchdown run in by Hundley putting the Packers up 14-7.   The Packers would have one more chance to score in the half, but Crosby missed a field goal attempt with a second left in the half.  The Saints were unable to make a play and we were taken into the half with a score of 14-7 Packers.

The Saints started with the ball in the second half, scoring a touchdown with hopes of tying things up.  Luckily, they missed the extra point, leaving the Packers up 14-13.

From here, a field goal match was had by both teams.  The Saints scored a field goal to put themselves up 16-14.  Then, the Packers responded with a field goal of their own, and regained the lead at 17-16.  New Orleans scored yet another field goal to go up 19-17 to end the field goal match by both teams.

There would only be one more score left in the game, with the Saints scoring a huge touchdown to make the score 26-17.

Green Bay was desperate for a comeback, but were sloppy, causing an interception with just over 4 minutes to go in the game and no timeouts left to use.

The Saints decided to run the clock for their drive, bringing the game to a final score of 26-17 Saints.

Despite the loss, the Packers have potential from here.  Don’t stop believing Packers fans.

Go Pack Go!

-KQ