TimesFour

I was at this game with ammo, Coach & Satori. The 4 of us had a very fun time at Lambeau, before & after the game. Here we go….

The news was official and awful. The day after the Packers victory over the Eagles, RB Ryan Grant had maintained his ankle injury wasn’t all that serious. Medical science said otherwise.

Grant was diagnosed with torn ligaments in his ankle and the Packers didn’t even bother wasting any time or energy: they placed him on the IR list Sept. 14th and his season was over after one half of football, 8 carries and 45 yards.

It was a devastating blow.

Grant's season ended quickly in 2010

Never a great running team in the best of times, the Packers at least had a quality back in Grant who had churned out 2 straight 1,000-yard seasons since coming to the Packers from the Giants in 2007 for a 6th round draft choice.

He was never widely hailed throughout the league as a great RB, but he had done a solid job in Green Bay, entering the 2010 season with 3,412 rushing yards and coming off a superb 2009 campaign where he gained 1,253 and scored 11 TD’s

Now Mike McCarthy had to fill the void. But how? and with WHO?!?

More bad news on the injury front hit the same day when Green Bay placed former first round draft pick and perennial disappointing DT Justin Harrell on IR with a knee injury suffered against the Eagles.

Harrell’s was a tough story, because he had fought back hard from chronic back issues to finally work his way into the defensive line rotation. He was in shape, he was playing well and seemed finally ready to live up to his potential everyone had seen in him for 3 years.

“I feel bad for Justin,” McCarthy said simply.

But this is the NFL and there is little room for pity. When 1 guy goes down, another takes his place; that is the way of things in the ultra competitive NFL.

The Packers had answers for Harrell’s loss but not for Grant. McCarthy admitted as much that week, falling back to the “running back by committee” mantra until something more concrete came along.

Fortunately, the Packers opened their home season against a Buffalo Bills squad that some thought might not win a game all season. As it turned out, the Bills played tough, hard-nosed football most of the season and never gave up. They proved a tough opponent most weeks but, fortunately, not for the Packers on this warm September afternoon with Timesfour luminaries in attendance.

Matthews was relentless all afternoon

Bolstered by a wonderful defensive effort–again led by All-World Clay Matthews–and a workman like offensive performance, the Packers were as good as they needed to be in beating the Bills 34-7.

Aaron Rodgers played better than he did against the Eagles, completing 19 of 29 for 255 yards and throwing TD passes to Donald Driver & James Jones. Rodgers also rushed for 20 yards and scored a TD (netting Boris a $3 profit from Coach, ammo & Satori). Rodgers attempted a feeble Lambeau Leap after his rushing TD that drew the good-natured ribbing of his teammates.

“I told them…’Look I was tired!'” Rodgers cracked afterward.

But despite the rout, the first cracks showed in the dysfunctional running game. The Packers managed just 91 yards on the ground vs. the poor Bills defense. Brandon Jackson stepped in for Grant and gained just 26 yards on 11 carries while John Kuhn a journeyman fullback thrown in to the halfback role, led the way with 36 yards.

McCarthy called the running game “OK.” but he knew better. The Packers weren’t going far with a running game like that.

However, they would flourish with this defense. Green Bay limited the Bills to 186 total yards, forcing 2 INT’s and posting 4 sacks on frazzled Bills QB, Trent Edwards. Matthews had 5 tackles and 3 more sacks–giving him 6 total on the young season while now staking his claim as the early favorite for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

What made Matthews early performance so amazing is that he had missed most of training camp with a nagging hamstring injury. Yet when the season began he stepped in without missing a beat.

“I’m just glad he’s on our team,” Rodgers said.

The Packers had beaten a team they were expected to beat & they had done it at less than full strength. It was a good early sign, but a better test would come the following Monday Night when they faced their ancient rival the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.

Keep checking right here at timesfour.com for Game #3. Thanks for reading.