Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Quest for Perfection

As we witnessed the Green Bay Packers' dominating performance against their rival Minnesota Vikings last night, talks of a perfect season began to heat up. The Packers are now 9-0 and would still need 10 victories to complete something that has never been done before, a perfect 19-0 season. As much as the old Dolphins want to downplay the additional games, 17-0 is not 19-0. Every game comes with added risk. Success has always been counted by championships and the Patriots of 2007 might never get the respect they deserve for being the first team to go 18-0. The Patriots also own the longest win streak of 21 games which spanned from 2003 into the 2004 season. That is more than a season’s worth of wins and included a Super Bowl championship.

Every time a team starts the season with a dominant streak, like the Colts and Saints in 2009, people are quick to say it is better to lose in the regular season so the pressure is off. I am sorry, but as a fan, I think comments like that are pathetic. The Patriots had nothing else to prove and their legacy will be remembered forever. 19-0 or bust, their season was one to be respected and they were probably the most complete team in NFL history. They lost to a team that had to complete three upset wins, all of which could have been easily lost. Patrick Crayton doesn’t let the ball go straight through his hands; Brett Favre doesn’t throw a ball to a receiver he couldn’t really see, and the Patriots pull down Eli instead of letting him spin away from what seemed like a sure sack. But this is the NFL, and any given Sunday, even a 9-7 team can beat a 16-0 team.

Eli will be remembered forever, not because he won a Super Bowl, but because he ruined the closest thing the NFL had to a 19-0 season. Eli is one of 29 quarterbacks who have won a championship. On average, I am sure people can only name 10 to 15 starting quarterbacks with rings. The 2007 Giants are a below average Super Bowl winning team at best, but thanks to what the Patriots accomplished, they became
legendary.

So back to the Packers, who are now 6 games away from tying the Patriots win streak and 9 wins from tying the most wins in a single season. This team isn’t afraid of talking about going for perfection and refuses to be the pitcher left on the bench in the middle of the 8th inning of a perfect game. They have embraced it; they accept the possibility of the ultimate letdown. Last night, ESPN mentioned that 19 of the 25 offensive players were drafted by the Packers themselves. This team, like the Patriots, was built with patience and with only one major free agent signing, Charles Woodson. There are many tough games ahead including the Bucs, Giants, Bears who have been hot of late, and two against the up and coming Lions. And the Ravens can tell you after losing to Seattle that you can’t take it easy any week, so let’s not overlook the Raiders and Chiefs either.

The Packers are now buzzed about as having one of the most dominating short stretches in history but now is not the time to settle. The quest for perfection isn’t easy. It would be an amazing accomplishment for the 2011 Packers to be the third team in history to complete a perfect regular season and have the opportunity to be the first team to go 19-0.

Always looking for an excuse to post the video below, and since this celebration has been retired after the Pack have gone and claimed their belt. Enjoy!


0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...