Megatron | Frozen Tundra Teammates

Sunday was a big statement game for the Packers defense as it went up against one of the more prolific offenses in the NFL in the Detroit Lions. The Lions are a divisional opponent and are co-leaders at the top of the NFC North with the Chicago Bears. I have to admit I was pretty relieved to find out that Megatron (Calvin Johnson) was not going to be able to play. The Packers were 1-2 and in need of a big win because with a loss they would have fallen nearly 3 games behind the Lions. Fortunately the Packers defense played with a sense of urgency and pride and were able to yield their best defensive performance of the season to date. I watched anxiously from my cheap Walmart chair as the Packers applied enormous pressure on Matthew Stafford and shut down one of the leagues best offenses.

The Packers linebackers were flying around the field despite injuries to Clay Matthews (broken thumb), Robert Francois (ruptured achillies), and Brad Jones (hamstring). Back-up Jamari Lattimore was able to step up and not let the Packers defense miss a beat as he filled running lanes and played blanket coverage over the middle against the Lions depleted aerial attack. There was also a Nick Perry sighting with the 2012 first round pick recording a couple of sacks and registering many tackles on Reggie Bush in the running game. It was truly a team effort on defense for the Packers as they used their first line players as well as their backups to pretty much shut down the Lions potent offense.

Packers fans have much to be excited about considering they are missing starters on defense yet they are able to force turnovers, create pressure on the quarterback, and shut down the running game of their opponents. While Clay Matthews is going to miss some time I am confident that the Packers “next man up” mentality will prove once again why the Packers are a model organization and a winning organization. Expect the Packers not to drop off as much as you might think on defense because they have a good system in place and still have all-pros and pro bowlers all over that side of the ball.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to eat cheap Chinese food and watch the Packers take on the defending world champion Ravens on Sunday. I will be at the Buffalo Bills game in Ralph Wilson Stadium for my dad’s birthday but you better believe that I will be keeping tabs on the Packers defense and overall performance against the Ravens. I can guarantee that I will record the game and re-watch it when I get back from beautiful Buffalo. Get ready to see some “smash mouth” football in Baltimore this Sunday and if you so choose flip on the Bills game to see the Bills whoop up on the Bungals (No I didn’t misspell that).

Here’s a link to the Packers defenders reacting to their performance against the Lions: http://www.packers.com/media-center/videos/Packers-defense-executed-gameplan-vs-Lions/73628bb2-3d44-40a9-9ecd-bb1bd1d25732