The 1960s Green Bay Packers: True Ground Pounders

It is fitting that the 1960s Green Bay Packers are best remembered as ground pounding football team. They were very well grounded in the Earth.

Welcome to the first in a series of pieces on General Compatibility and team chemistry. The objective is to demonstrate that the great teams of NFL history just happen to have incredible elemental synastry between teammates.

This is particularly true with the offensive units, and never more true than among the skill position players. It is at least somewhat true with the defensive units, but it is not as pronounced as it is with the offense.

Why is elemental compatibility and synastry important on offense? Because compatibility and synastry is not just for romantics. You need to be able to tolerate and work well with your teammates before we can ever endevor to do something as complex, difficult and dangerous as win multiple championships.

We can go further still. I don't know how many times I have heard big-time coaches say words like "In the end, the game belongs to the players. In the end the players win the game for each other because they love each other." That's team chemistry folks. No great love hath a man than when he lays down his life for another. In the end, the players won't make the sacrifice of blood and treasure necessary to make a run at a championship unless they have tremendous camaraderie and esprit de corp.

This won't ever develop if the players don't like each other in the first place.

Folks, it is always easier to destroy than it is to create. This is why it is more fun to play defense than offense. Good offense is a very, very difficult act of creation. It is accepted as law that offensive skill position players have to play off the same sheet of music. They must have outstanding timing. They must know each other. They must have good communications. They have to help each other out.

All of these things are helped along tremendously by great general compatibility and high synastry.

With all that said, let's consider the Green Bay Packers.

Every last swingin' member of the famous Green Bay Packer backfield is an Earth man. Specifically, we have two Capricorns and a Virgo. We find another Capricorn at TE. We find a Taurus at WR.

Only Flanker Max McGee is a Cancer (Water). That's just fine, because Water and Earth go together splendidly. We can go further. Cancer is the 180 degree opposite of Capricorn. There is tremendous oppositional attraction between these two signs. Bart Starr (Capricorn) sure looked like he had fine synastry with Max McGee (Cancer) on that highlight film of Super Bowl I.

On the offensive line we find some interesting variance. Fuzzy Thurston (Capricorn) and Robert Skoronski (Pisces) keep the general compatibility express rolling. However, Bill Curry (Libra), Jerry Kramer (Aquarius), and Forrest Gregg (Libra) are all Air boys. Of course, they are all three compatible with each other, however, they break the liturgy.

This is a common pattern in a number of dynasties. The offensive line does not need to share the same element as the skill position players, and it seems to be okay if they are a bit muddled. It seems to be vital that the skill position players be united, but some variance in the offensive line is acceptable, as you will soon see from the other pieces in this series.

I find it interesting that Vince Lombardi was a Gemini. Normally, this is not seen as a leadership sign. Further, he is not elementally compatible with his crew of offensive stars. It should be remembered that Vince Lombardi did not assemble this team. He never had draft or roster powers. One of the reasons he left for the Redskins was that he wanted those rights. St. Vince coached the guys they gave him. Those guys were Earth men.

I also find it interesting that Gemini Vince Lombardi heaped praise on Libra Forrest Gregg and Aquarius Jerry Kramer. I also find it interesting that Libra Bill Curry couldn't stand Vince in the beginning. Our contemporary Coach Curry freely admits that this dislike only developed because the young Bill was immature, full of himself, and stupid.

One other point is incredibly interesting about this chart. There are an incredible number of Cardinal Leadership guys on in this unit. Libra and Capricorn are both Cardinal signs, and 90 degrees squared against each other. Cancer is also a Cardinal sign. Seven of the 11 members of this unit are Cardinals. You would think this would lead to Whose the Boss conflict. Not so. Evidently, Bart had it all well in hand.

Maybe you can't have enough leadership. I just heard the NFL Total Access guys protesting that the Dallas Cowboys do not have single good player leader on the roster. The theory holds that they have very few playoff victories because of this fact.

The Packers of the 1960s had plenty of leaders and plenty of playoff victories.

I'm getting a bad feeling about Super Bowl XLV

I'm getting a bad feeling about this Super Bowl. I have the feeling the Steelers are going to do it for the 7th time. Why? Two words: Ben Roethlisberger. The guy is a past-master of stealing games in the final two minutes of play. I have said this over and over again on this blog and in other venues.

Big Ben hasn't done this once, twice or three times. He does this relentlessly, game in and game out, for several years now. Elway's astounding record for two-minute victory drives is going to be in considerable jeopardy if Roethlisberger stays in the league for another 6-8 years.

He is a clutch guy. Roethlisburger is certainly more of killer-clutch guy than Peyton Manning. I believe he is more clutch than Tom Brady. Michigan men may want to dispute that, but I think it is true. I also believe he is more clutch than Joe Montana. The only guy I rank ahead of Roethlisburger is John Elway. I put Roethlisburger in a tie with Roger Staubach. Only Elway is more clutch than Roethlisberger. Incidentally, Montana was not more clutch than Elway. He wasn't more clutch that Staubach either. Allegations to the contrary are pure mythological bullshit. I saw the totality of both their careers. I know.

Roethlisberger is just too damn clutch. I was reminded of this fact (once again) when I got home last night. The NFL Network was showing a replay of the 2009 meeting between the Packers and Steelers in Pittsburgh. How did it end? With a last-second touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace in the end zone. The Steelers stole that one.

Do I need to remind anybody of what Roethlisberger did to the Ravens in this playoff tournament?

The moral of this story is clear: If the game is close in the final moments, Roethlisberger will win the game for the Steelers. We don't expect most QBs in the league to complete the two-minute drive at the end of the game. Most can't. In Ben's case, we do expect him to complete the drive. At this point in NFL history, there is no worse feeling than having a 4 point lead on the Steelers with 1:34 left go, and Steelers in possession of the ball on their own 30. You are sitting on sharp nails if that is your present situation.

I was actually shocked in 2010 when the Jets prevented Roethlisberger from completing a two-minute comeback drive at the end of their regular season game. I thought Ben was going to do it. My instant reaction was "Damn! Rex is an amazing defensive mind! How did he pull that off?" In most cases, I would be shocked if the QB did pull it off. I would be pissed at the DC if his unit gave up the game-winning drive.

I would much rather see the Packers win the game. If the Steelers win their 7th, it would add greatly to my dismay in life. Still, if you let these guys hang around, they will beat you.

How can the Packers win? I'll tell you how. You must deal with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers in precisely the way teams dealt with the young John Elway and the Broncos in the Super Bowl. You have to put them down hard and fast. You slam them right down on the turf and blow their brains out by three scores. You need to blow them out. You can't just beat them. You cannot allow the game to be close. You have to turn on the afterburner full-blast and never shut it down. You must maintain a 3 score lead at all times in the second half. In this situation, the two-minute drill only shortens the margin of victory.

The Patriots certainly blew out the Steelers in precisely this fashion. This is the blue-print for a Packer victory. You can't expect to beat them by four. You have to beat them by 17 or more.

Can this happen in SB XLV? I doubt it. If anyone has the firepower to blow the Steelers it is the Packers, but let's remember, that stellar Packer offense will be facing the #1 ranked scoring defense in the league. I doubt the Steelers will yield that many points. This one is for all the marbles. I doubt the Steelers will lay an egg as they did against the Patriots.

Memo to McCarthy: Open up the playbook. Hit them with the kitchen sink. Make every drive furious. Be aggressive as hell in your play-calling. Score throughout the entire game. Turn on the afterburners full-blast, and keep them on all-game long. Don't shut down the offense. No goose-egg quarters. Try to score on every drive and every play. Don't ever shut it down. You're guys need to chop wood all game long.

The Packers make good on the preseason predictions

A guy who makes pre-season predictions about the Super Bowl is on a fools errand. It is a rare thing indeed when we get these predictions right... or even half-right. Whenever it happens, it's amazing thing. The Packers were preseason darlings, and rightfully so, as it happens. We thought they were loaded. We had no idea just how loaded. They were loaded and some.

Do you know that there are 15 Packers on injured reserve? Some of these men are starters and some are backups. Some of the most notable include starting RB Ryan Grant and starting TE JerMichael Finley How this team made it to the Super Bowl with 15 men on injured reserve... Let's just say it beats the hell out of me. McCarthy has to be on the short-short list for NFL Coach of the year.

Many will spin this as the power of the franchise QB, and Rodgers does deserve some credit, but I say this is the power of team work. As coach George Allen said, 40 men together can't loose. You lose 15 to injured reserve and the other 25 must step up. They did. Look where it got them.

So I am actually going to make a Super Bowl XLV Prediction

As you know, I have had little or no confidence in predictions since the start of this tournament. This is a fluke year. It may even be the ultimate fluke year. Initially, I was not going to attempt a prediction in this season where predictability in the system has fallen to ZERO.

I thought better of it on Friday at work. I drew an NFC/AFC championship bracket on the big white board in our programmer's section of the office. I made my predictions. I was going to chose the Bears and the Jets, both underdogs on Las Vegas betting lines. I felt this was the righteous conclusion to the ultimate fluke year.

The Jets went on the board with ease, despite the fact that I was wearing a Kevin Greene Steeler jersey. [Kevin was initially my favorite player on the Rams, and he is now coaching the Blood Line for the Packers. He should be in the hall of fame.]

As I went to the board to write the Bears into the NFC bracket for Super Bowl XLV, a still small voice warned me not to do it. An invisible hand seemed to hold me back. I tried to write the Bears in again. Once again, my hand was stayed. I decided it was foolish to mess with the feelings of trepidation I had about picking the Bears. I figured I had been warned. I wrote in the Packers.

So there you have folks, my prediction: Packers vs. Jets in Super Bowl XLV. Is this a fitting end to the ultimate fluke year? I think so. You will have a pair of #6 seeds climbing to the summit, winning all their games on the road. The odds against that are pretty astronomical. This is a pretty damn good fluke, even though one of the two favorites will win (if this prediction is correct).

I would really rather chose the Bears. Lovie Smith and Mike Martz are are old Ram coaches. I would very much like to see them win the Super Bowl. It will make up for the horror of Super Bowl XXXVI... in some small measure. I will rejoice if you guys win it. Still, I just can't seem to make that pick.

Let's hope for some great games.

The correct ending to this fuke year

As you know, predictability in the NFL Playoff system has reached a point fairly close to ZERO. If every game were an upset, we would simply pick the team least likely to win under normal conditions. However, a few teams have won at home. A few higher seeds have taken down lower seeds. This greatly increases the noise in the system. The signal to noise ratio has almost bottomed out.

I am sure Las Vegas is awash in money. 2011 is already one hell of a good year for Vegas. Some poor benighted souls think Vegas only makes money if they pick the winners correctly. Not true. Perish the thought! Vegas makes money when more than 50% of the dollars wagered ride on a loosing proposition. This is a very different formula.

Speaking of putting money on a losing formula... Only a few stupid suckers put money down on the Jets yesterday. All the smart money was on the Patriots. This is why all the bookies in Vegas awoke this morning with happy Christmas smiles on their faces. They feel it is a great day to be alive and be an American. I'll tell you one thing: This is a great day to be alive and be an American if you are a heretic/apostate unbeliever in Jesus Bellichick.

But I digress... We're in trouble folks. Picking favorites in these conference championship games is going be a trecherous affair.

If we say that the best approach is to select by record, seed, and homefield advantage, the Bears play the Steelers in SB45. That is a dangerous pick in this year of the fluke. If we say that the worst possible approach is to chose by record and seed, the Packers play the Jets. Of course, this may yet happen in the year of the fluke. If we crosswire for the most powerful looking teams, we will probably chose the Packers and Steelers, in a battle of used-to-was dynasties in rather small markets.

Now if we chose for the most unlikely combo of teams possible, we will honor the year of the fluke, and pick the Bears vs Jets. Surely, this is a matchup that elitists like Colin Cowherd will utterly detest. These two teams have a total of two Lombardi trophies between them. They have done it, but they are two least storied franchises we have left. What mythological storylines of NFL Royalty and Nobility will the elitist tell in the two weeks leading up to the Bears v Jets?

Maybe they will declare that the meek have inherited the earth? You know the news guys are always praying for the big story. They are cheering for a good hype line.

On the other hand, New York will be battling Chicago, and that should generate plenty of ratings. The big city press machines are going to love that. In the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, you should tell the story of the rivalry between New York and Chicago... not just in sports, but all things Americana. You can start with Pizza and work up to Steakhouses.

Of course, Los Angeles cannot participate because we just don't have any football teams here. Tough shit.

Do we dare to pick the Bears v Jets...?

My Super Bowl Predictions... Shot to hell in one day

Day of upsets

As far as I am concerned, this Saturday was just like last Saturday: Another day of upsets. Some will complain that it just ain't so, but this is the way I am taking it.

Ravens blow it in a choaker

As you know, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 yesterday in a pretty massive come-from-behind victory. When the Ravens took a 21-7 lead, I knew it was over. This was going to be a laugher, and I was astonished by how easy the Ravens were making it look.

Not so fast. The Ravens would blow it. You can't tell me this one doesn't smart like hell in the Baltimore locker room. The Ravens had the victory in the bag. They fucked it up. You let them off the hook.

Why is this an upset? Because the Ravens were looking like the most powerful team in the AFC throughout much of the 2010 season, that's why. Many of us considered the Steelers absurdly lucky to escape with the division title this year. This is the reason why Ben Roethlisberger gave us that post-game speech about how proud he was that the Steelers proved themselves to be the true AFC North champions yesterday.

Packers pack fudge

As you also know, the #6 seed in the NFC took down the #1 seed in the NFC last night. Why is that an upset? Whenever the 6 seed takes out the 1 seed, we usually consider that an upset.

Some would protest that designation, as the Packers are considered--by many--to be the most dangerous team in the playoffs. This is the team you don't want to play. They looked every inch of that designation and some last night.

The Green Bay Packers didn't just beat the Falcons. They took the little shavers down to the woodshed and sharpened them up with a leather strop. That was a damn ugly ass-whipping to take in front of your home crowd.

What has happened to my Super Bowl?

For those who don't remember, I was (more or less) expecting the Ravens to meet the Falcons in the Super Bowl. I didn't make playoff predictions before this tournament began because I had a heavy feeling that this is a fluke year.

This isn't entirely a disaster for me, as I had the Packers in Pre-Season. I lost confidence in them as their casualty list waxed long.

Still, I'm warning you... Any goat can climb to the top of the mount this season. Don't be too confident in any of your predictions right now. This is a fluke year.

All I can say is this: You Packers better win the whole fucking enchilada, or I am going to be pissed as hell at you. It's fine if you guys win it, but if... per chance... you or the consequence of your actions allow the Steelers to win their 7th championship, I'm going to be really fucking pissed at you.

The nightmare after the upsets

So I go to bed last night around 2:00am, well after the upsets are over, and I have an unbelievably vivid dream. It wasn't a Vivid dream. It was a vivid dream.

I dreamt I was watching the Vikings play the 49ers in Candlestick in a divisional playoff round. The 49ers were the heavy favorite. The Vikings were the 4th seed North champs. Somehow, the Vikings pulled off a major upset in a heart-attack thriller. The Vikings were dancing off the field when the clock hit zero. It was bedlam for the Vikings.

I would have thought this was a rewind to the 1980s, except for the fact that it was Jared Allen doing all the celebrating and the post-game interviews. This victory meant that the Vikings would return home to host the NFC Championship game, in a Cardinal-type scenario.

This dream makes no sense. Neither the 49ers nor the Vikings made the tournament this year. Neither looks likely next season. Nevertheless, this dream scares me. I'm going to have to watch these two teams closely in the off season. This omen does not bode well for my Rams. If the 49ers were to be the #2 seed in the 2011 tournament, this would necessarily indicate that (1) my Rams didn't win the division, and (2) Jim Harbaugh will do a tremendous job pulling them up off the carpet.