Packers Beat Bears, Win NFC Championship and Eggbeater Trophy

BJ Raji and the Packers defense were happy to take the championship belt from a struggling, sore and likely concussed Rodgers to carry the Packers past the Bears, advancing to Super Bowl XLV. A week after punishing Atlanta's defensive backfield, Rodgers struggled late in this ugly championship game but was bailed out by a swarming Packers defense with off-the-charts swagger. Like seriously, their celebrations were so in your face that they almost turned over the ball twice in the process, but still didn't. That's a 12 metric fucktons of swag.

Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers searches for new ways to emphasize ball security with Raji

This blogger is glad Raji finally captured the national audience with this game-changing pick six. Obviously BCS's contributors have been on this guy's dick for a long time now, and we openly welcome the rest of Packer nation to jump on board because there's plenty of it to go around. He's played like 90% of the defensive snaps this year and has been an absolute terror in the postseason.

Meanwhile, plenty of controversy surrounds Jay Cutler and his knee injury that sidelined him in the third quarter. While I think it's pretty apparent that Packers fans everywhere wanted the struggling Cutler to continue playing, Bears fans quickly embraced their third string quarterback, dubbing themselves Haniacs while their starter sobbed on the sidelines reading various Twitter updates.

hopefully the soundtrack replacing "Bear Down" in 2011...

So a seriously hurt Cutler probably wasn't the Bears best bet to start at quarterback, but imbecile Bears fans, the same people who blew up the Bartman ball and will be complaining about Cutler for years to come, have misplaced their blame.

First, management/ownership should know full well and understand the unpopularity of their QB amongst fans. Putting him in anything short of a body bag on the sidelines is a huge mistake. Shit, give him superfluous crutches or a gigantic leg brace. Send him to the fucking locker room. Help the poor guy out, you should know better.

Instead, the training staff/coaches/front office/whoever let a dejected Cutler just sit on the sidelines, looking more benched than hurt. Add to that the fact he wasn't wearing a headset or carrying a clipboard and you have hours of hilarious banter on AM 670 as a result.

Second, everybody watched Todd Collins throw 5 picks in two games this season, one of which was against the worst team in the NFL. How the coaching staff could overlook the QB depth chart details that terribly is completely beyond me...especially when you have a putrid offensive line known for giving up sacks. Collins doesn't belong in the NFL, deciding he isn't the second best quarterback on your team in the 3rd quarter of the NFC Championship game probably isn't the best time to do so, huh?

Third, and finally, you've run the wildcat formation several times this season and even in the postseason. Maybe, just maybe you might want to give that a try when you're down to your third string QB and your starting RB has 160 total yards on the day.

But the Packers prevailed in a brutal game and are onto Dallas to play in the Super Bowl as a result.

Rodgers levels Urlacher with a Shoryuken punch after the game

This game was obviously a letdown for Rodgers after his immaculate game against the Falcons, but he and the offense set the tone early with a score on their first drive. While most Packer fans likely look forward to Rodgers playing in a dome in two weeks, you have to give him credit for the toughness he displayed...taking the helmet to helmet shot from Peppers and tripping up Urlacher after the interception.

Meanwhile, it's time for Ted Thompson's true identity to be revealed.

Even Ted Thompson was surprised to learn Batman's identity

The hero Green Bay deserves. Finally, it's not only BCS bloggers and avid fans who are singing this man's praises, it's the entirety of the NFL.

Thompson quietly took on the role of the villain, telling beloved Packer Brett Favre to fuck himself while moving the team forward with Rodgers in 2008. Thompson did the right thing, took his lumps in the media without reaction after making the correct, yet wildly unpopular decision, and less than three years later, it has completely paid off. The team has achieved more success with a younger, less expensive player in Rodgers.

The icing on the cake? Thompson traded in the 3rd round pick he received for Favre to draft Clay Matthews, the man likely to receive the Defensive Player of the Year award on February 5th.

Unfortunately, it took 15 players finding the injured reserve list and five total postseason, game-ending interceptions from two undrafted rookie free agents he acquired to capture everyone's attention. The depth of the Packers' roster and the success they've achieved this year all link back to Thompson's work and decisions, popular or not.

But he doesn't care about letting Aaron Kampan or Al Harris go (both ended on IR this year, btw) or not trading for a marquee running back when Grant went down, and he won't revel in his accomplishments just yet. While the team rests and basks in the media spotlight a Super Bowl participant receives this week, Thompson is headed to Mobile, AL to scout the 2011 draft class and find leprechaun gold. With 6 starters coming off IR in 2011 to play on a team that's made the Super Bowl without them, you wonder how many Packer draft picks will actually make the team.

But it's onto the Super Bowl. Rashard Mendenhall is really fucking excited...

are you?

Rodgers, Packers Tramondous in Rout of the Falolcons

There isn't much to say about Saturday's game that hasn't already been said..."Matty Ice" was turned into some sort of yellow, slushy substance while Aaron Rodgers looked immaculate.  

couldn't resist...

Seriously, an 86.1 completion percentage.  I don't accomplish anything I do 86% of the time.  A possessed Rodgers and the Packers take on some team from Chicago that fans from the area are vaguely familiar with for a chance to play in the Super Bowl.  

Packers Dog Eagles, Vick in Rodgers' First Playoff Win

for a guy who used to drown pit bulls, his arm is pretty weak...

Aaron Rodgers finally notched his first career playoff win.  

Seriously, finally.  We only had to wait like what, half the duration of Vick's prison sentence for that losing streak to end? Waaay too long if you ask me.  Before Sunday's win, he just wasn't clutch and that was a serious problem for the Packers.  

I mean, a loss is a loss.  I don't give a shit if you brought your team back from down by 3 scores to force a game into overtime on the road in the playoffs. If you can't endure an uncalled helmet to helmet hit, followed by an uncalled, blatant facemask on the next play, you deserve to fumble the game away and obviously can't handle the pressure of the postseason. 

I don't blame football's finest analysts for questioning your mettle and predicting you to do something completely fucking embarrassing like fumbling the snap on a routine 19-yard, game-winning field goal at home in the postseason.  That's just what spineless postseason pussies do.

But enough with the sarcasm, Rodgers is quietly building a nice playoff resume (7 TD passes, 603 yards, 121.8 QB rating, and 1 INT in 70 attempts). While there was a lot of hype surrounding plenty of the aspects of this game, Rodgers proved to be steadfast and almost painfully accurate. With a polite nod to Driver and Starks (I'll get to him later), Rodgers and Chad Clifton were really the only offensive players with stellar games on Sunday.

Rodgers and that kid from The Little Giants (finally grown up) celebrate

The offensive line kept Rodgers upright, while Driver and the tight ends made some nice catches as the offense managed to manufacture enough yards and points to pull this one out.  Relative to Starks, he was obviously a pleasant surprise for a team not known for running the ball, or planning to do so a whole lot in the postseason.  

I think any time a running back produces 123 yards in a playoff game, he did something right and well, but the hype should be short-lived. Starks was undoubtedly the offensive difference-maker against the Eagles, but if he can't repeat some of the same success against teams that have actually game-planned for him, I'll remain skeptic with the haters.  If he can't take the pressure off Rodgers and open up the pass game against Atlanta with a solid rushing performance, his games against San Fran and Philly will be nothing more than, as stated earlier, a pleasant surprise.

BCS contributors watch Sunday's Playoff Win

As for the defense, you must wake up in the morning, helplessly shit and piss yourself, then lose three of your teeth before you discover that you're eating rocks for breakfast if you don't think Dom Capers' defense is the reason this team has a shot at making the Super Bowl. 

The defensive line shut down LeSean McCoy and pressured an agile Vick plenty.  Sporting News' Defensive Player of the Year Clay Matthews drew 4 penalties (3 false starts, 1 hold) while registering a sack and 3 tackles as he basically menaced the Eagles to the point where they benched their starting right tackle, Winston Justice.  The defensive backs prevented the long completions and obviously helped deliver the dagger on Philadelphia's final drive.  Holding the NFC's best scoring offense to 16 points is damn impressive.

Ryan Pickett celebrates with a multitude of heavenly hosts...

A few of the team's scary tendencies reared their ugly heads on Sunday, most notably: dropped passes.  Don't forget that before James Jones dropped the sure-thing TD pass, Greg Jennings dropped two perfectly-thrown, first down passes.  

Mike McCarthy indicated in the post-game press conference that Jones has been battling a painful thumb injury.  Team doctors later clarified that the specific injury is referred to as "autism."    

Add to that Brandon Underwood's stupid fucking error...smacks of Jarrett Bush getting penalized earlier in the year for running out of bounds and being the first to touch a ball that was completely stopped on a punt...and the Packers have plenty to to work on in practice this week.

The Packers continue their playoff bird hunting run in Atlanta this week where they face a limp-wristed faggot quarterback and a bunch of other guys who make less than Cam Newton.

If Clay Fucking Matthews is a clown rapist

. . . then Tim Masthay is at least a clown aggrivated sexual assaulter.