Ryan Longwell did what he does best against the Bucs, and that is making field goals. After being snubbed for the Pro Bowl, Longwell got the last laugh on Gramatica. Gramatica had a chance to give the Bucs a victory, but like Scott Norwood, it was wide right! Ryan’s kicking has been consistent all year, consistently excellent. I really hope the Packers can find a way to re-sign him; a consistent kicker is hard to find these days. As expected this was a tough, hard fought game with the Pack being victorious 17-14 in overtime. The Packers were in control for most of the game, but the team from Tampa would not go away. I thought the Packers had a great scheme defensively by playing the pass routes of the Bucs instead of the receivers. You have to take your hat off to Ed Donatell, the defensive coordinator for the Pack. I think he has worked miracles considering he has no pass rush, and a secondary that missed a large number of tackles during the season.

   There was one thing that I did not agree with by the defense, and that was playing way off the receivers late in the game. I would not say it was a prevent style, but the Packers secondary had tight coverage, in which the Bucs were held scoreless. Then for some reason the defensive backs played off the routes and let Shaun King complete passes. I never will understand why when teams who are in control of the game, get cautious and go away from what was working. The Saints could not beat the Rams, which means no post season for the Packers. The Packers, have only the Packers to blame for this. They just played poorly in too many games and it cost them. Hopefully they will be more consistent next year and realize that you have to play well for 16 games, not just 9. It looks like they are going in the right direction and that is a huge positive for next year. It will be interesting to see what they will do with the salary cap, so stay tuned Packer Backers.

   All in all, it was not a bad year except for some injuries. The only positive about the injuries, is that some young players got some game experience. Hunt, McBride, Warren, Wayne, and Rossum, all got playing time due to the injuries. They made mistakes, they made some good plays, but they got experience for next year. In a year where playoffs were out of reach, this could prove to be a positive in the years to come. Keep improving and the Packers will have a solid team for years to come. I heard that Hasselbeck is all but gone to Seattle; I hope they made you an offer you can’t refuse Wolf! Just remember me stating trading Hasselbeck would be a huge mistake!