I was not even going to watch it. But there was a blizzard raging outside and, as I knew I would, succumbed to temptation.
We Cheeseheads, and Packer fans throughout the nation, knew it should have been the green and gold instead of the Seahawks taking on the arrogant Patriots. Especially since the Pack had already whipped Brady and the Pats earlier in the season and surely could do it again, barring another breakdown of Packer special teams. More on this anon.
About the only positive thing about that matchup is our local affection for ex-Badger, Russell Wilson, the kid who was considered by the experts as "too small" to make it big, if at all, in the NFL. Wilson is a class guy, both on and off the field. He has a lot of good games ahead of him, although too bad it has to be again and again against the Pack.
It's also a shame that while he was quarterback for Wisconsin, the Badgers didn't go much further. It's not because Wilson didn't do his part. It was because of key breakdowns of, guess what, the Badgers special teams.
The nitwits who make their livings writing and babbling about this stuff focus on two game-ending passes by opponents, one by Michigan State and one by Ohio State, that resulted in those Badger losses that kept them out of elite circles. Seldom, if ever, did these scribes and media critics, whose "analysis" usually has the depth of the Platte River in dry season, ever mention those two blocked punts, each of which went for MSU and OSU touchdowns - and would in all likelihood have made those passes meaningless.
In other words, it was the breakdown of the Badger special teams, specifically the punting unit, that resulted in those two key losses. Those two plays by special teams were largely responsible for preventing Wilson - future quarterback of two Super Bowl teams - and the Badgers from going a lot further that season.
So in the 2014 season, the Badgers meet the powerful LSU Tigers of the arrogant Southeast Conference (SEC) on their home turf. The Badgers, surprising everybody, are leading LSU and have them reeling. Badger coach Anderson had earlier warned that the LSU coach was known for trick plays.
The Badgers are leading and stop LSU back on its side of the field, forcing them to punt. But what happens? The Badgers punt coverage team is snookered by a fake punt. LSU gains the first down, keeps the drive alive, and for the Badgers it's downhill from there. This was especially frustrating since LSU was known for trick plays.
Special teams failure, the bane of Cheesehead football. In the 2013 season, opposing teams consistently started from near their 40-yard line on Packer kickoffs.
And the 2014 season? Even casual fans had to take notice of special teams breakdown, even before the debacle of Jan. 18 when the Pack was five minutes from a Super Bowl appearance.
Dallas Morning News columnist, Rick Gosselin, ranks every team in 22 different categories. Of 32 NFL teams, the Pack was not just poor - it ranked dead last in special teams ratings. And that was just for regular season games - it didn't include the calamitous special teams breakdowns of the championship game with Seattle.
The Pack ranked dead last in two specific categories: punts inside the 20 and blocked kicks (seven). A couple of these were blocked extra points during games in which the Pack was leading and, with respect to the outcome, were inconsequential, overlooked by the scribes if not by the coaching staff. Five NFL teams had no blocked kicks.
Two bright spots on special teams were kicker Mason Crosby's 34 of 40 field goals, including playoff games, and Michah Hyde leading all NFL punt returners with a 15.8-yard per return average and two touchdowns. But the dismal performance of the rest of the special teams units was enough to put the Pack dead last in special teams ratings.
Enter the championship game with Wilson and the Seahawks. Wilson was having his worst day ever. But 16-0 at half-time is not enough against Wilson, even when he's having a bad day. This especially when it should have been at least 20-0 and could have been as much as 28-0 with better performance in the red zone.
So, second half, Packers leading 16-0, the Pack lets the Seahawks off the hook with a 2nd and long and a 3rd and long, but keeps them out of the end zone. What a relief. Keep 'em to three. So what happens? The special teams get snookered on a fake field goal - 16-7 instead of 16-3.
Later, the Pack let the Seahawks off with a desperate Hail Mary pass on a two-point conversion. Then with minutes left and the Pack still leading, there was the failure to recover that on-side kick - especially devastating because the odds are greatly in favor of the receiving team on this play. Special teams failure again.
Sure, there is plenty of blame to go around in that game. And we don't expect special teams to carry it all. And there will occasionally be a miscue. But consistent breakdown of undependable special teams will be costly, in this case, a Super Bowl appearance.
I had completed my first rough draft of this piece, ending with calling for the sacking of Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum. Successful college and NFL coaches have been sacked for far less than consistent failure.
So I finish the draft, go on the web, and find that Slocum had already been sacked, even as I had been writing. But I guess it was a no-brainer anyway. Inevitable.
Oh well, as is the case with long-suffering Cubs fans, there's always next year.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti@tds.net.
We Cheeseheads, and Packer fans throughout the nation, knew it should have been the green and gold instead of the Seahawks taking on the arrogant Patriots. Especially since the Pack had already whipped Brady and the Pats earlier in the season and surely could do it again, barring another breakdown of Packer special teams. More on this anon.
About the only positive thing about that matchup is our local affection for ex-Badger, Russell Wilson, the kid who was considered by the experts as "too small" to make it big, if at all, in the NFL. Wilson is a class guy, both on and off the field. He has a lot of good games ahead of him, although too bad it has to be again and again against the Pack.
It's also a shame that while he was quarterback for Wisconsin, the Badgers didn't go much further. It's not because Wilson didn't do his part. It was because of key breakdowns of, guess what, the Badgers special teams.
The nitwits who make their livings writing and babbling about this stuff focus on two game-ending passes by opponents, one by Michigan State and one by Ohio State, that resulted in those Badger losses that kept them out of elite circles. Seldom, if ever, did these scribes and media critics, whose "analysis" usually has the depth of the Platte River in dry season, ever mention those two blocked punts, each of which went for MSU and OSU touchdowns - and would in all likelihood have made those passes meaningless.
In other words, it was the breakdown of the Badger special teams, specifically the punting unit, that resulted in those two key losses. Those two plays by special teams were largely responsible for preventing Wilson - future quarterback of two Super Bowl teams - and the Badgers from going a lot further that season.
So in the 2014 season, the Badgers meet the powerful LSU Tigers of the arrogant Southeast Conference (SEC) on their home turf. The Badgers, surprising everybody, are leading LSU and have them reeling. Badger coach Anderson had earlier warned that the LSU coach was known for trick plays.
The Badgers are leading and stop LSU back on its side of the field, forcing them to punt. But what happens? The Badgers punt coverage team is snookered by a fake punt. LSU gains the first down, keeps the drive alive, and for the Badgers it's downhill from there. This was especially frustrating since LSU was known for trick plays.
Special teams failure, the bane of Cheesehead football. In the 2013 season, opposing teams consistently started from near their 40-yard line on Packer kickoffs.
And the 2014 season? Even casual fans had to take notice of special teams breakdown, even before the debacle of Jan. 18 when the Pack was five minutes from a Super Bowl appearance.
Dallas Morning News columnist, Rick Gosselin, ranks every team in 22 different categories. Of 32 NFL teams, the Pack was not just poor - it ranked dead last in special teams ratings. And that was just for regular season games - it didn't include the calamitous special teams breakdowns of the championship game with Seattle.
The Pack ranked dead last in two specific categories: punts inside the 20 and blocked kicks (seven). A couple of these were blocked extra points during games in which the Pack was leading and, with respect to the outcome, were inconsequential, overlooked by the scribes if not by the coaching staff. Five NFL teams had no blocked kicks.
Two bright spots on special teams were kicker Mason Crosby's 34 of 40 field goals, including playoff games, and Michah Hyde leading all NFL punt returners with a 15.8-yard per return average and two touchdowns. But the dismal performance of the rest of the special teams units was enough to put the Pack dead last in special teams ratings.
Enter the championship game with Wilson and the Seahawks. Wilson was having his worst day ever. But 16-0 at half-time is not enough against Wilson, even when he's having a bad day. This especially when it should have been at least 20-0 and could have been as much as 28-0 with better performance in the red zone.
So, second half, Packers leading 16-0, the Pack lets the Seahawks off the hook with a 2nd and long and a 3rd and long, but keeps them out of the end zone. What a relief. Keep 'em to three. So what happens? The special teams get snookered on a fake field goal - 16-7 instead of 16-3.
Later, the Pack let the Seahawks off with a desperate Hail Mary pass on a two-point conversion. Then with minutes left and the Pack still leading, there was the failure to recover that on-side kick - especially devastating because the odds are greatly in favor of the receiving team on this play. Special teams failure again.
Sure, there is plenty of blame to go around in that game. And we don't expect special teams to carry it all. And there will occasionally be a miscue. But consistent breakdown of undependable special teams will be costly, in this case, a Super Bowl appearance.
I had completed my first rough draft of this piece, ending with calling for the sacking of Packers special teams coach Shawn Slocum. Successful college and NFL coaches have been sacked for far less than consistent failure.
So I finish the draft, go on the web, and find that Slocum had already been sacked, even as I had been writing. But I guess it was a no-brainer anyway. Inevitable.
Oh well, as is the case with long-suffering Cubs fans, there's always next year.
- John Waelti's column appears every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti@tds.net.
