A great QB with decent receivers and capable defense. That’s a winning formula. But that’s true for a lot of teams. Luck and injury’s play a role too as does the quality of the opponent’s. I believe that we have come close at least three times but injuries and luck did not go our way.
@sschumer - Packer Fan HoF'r posted:
- One time in the late ‘70s the Packers were playing the Redskins in a pre-season game in Green Bay. Just so he could see his team on TV, he drove 5 hours to Washington, DC and checked into a small hotel right before kickoff. After watching the game in his room, he checked out around midnight – shocking the front desk clerk -- and drove home!
That's some dedication!
In the early 80's there were Packer games that weren't shown in LA but would be shown in San Diego. I had a GMC van and 12v b&w tv. I'd load up the Igloo and drive the 405 from Redondo Beach to a Park just south of Camp Pendleton where I could get a good signal.
@PackerPatrick posted:A great QB with decent receivers and capable defense. That’s a winning formula. But that’s true for a lot of teams. Luck and injury’s play a role too as does the quality of the opponent’s. I believe that we have come close at least three times but injuries and luck did not go our way.
It was bad luck losing Bakh before the playoffs for the Tampa Bay loss.
It was bad luck having Philbin's son die the week before the loss to the Giants in 2011 (and losing Collins to a freak neck injury earlier that year).
It was coaching negligence to lose the way they did several times. Special teams gaffes in the Seattle title game in 2014 and to SF last year. And then letting Kapernick run for almost 200 yards without making any halftime adjustments would be added to those list. Those three were the worst because they were somewhat controllable.
The other times, the other team was just better.
Michigan, I agree about the coaching and special teams mess ups as well.
injuries and luck absolutely play a part in overall success. Sometimes the two things go hand in hand.
Not having Bak in the last two NFCCG was absolutely a difference maker given how well TB and SF pressured Rodgers. Not having Bak and Jenkins against SF was a recipe for disaster.
We’ll never know the impact of Nick Collins injury, but honestly they’ve still not replaced him at safety 10+ years later.
Sterling Sharpe was in his prime when he got hurt. Pound for pound he was the best player on the field and had he stayed healthy maybe GB wins another SB or two.
Losing Robert Brooks and Craig Newsome shortened or lessened the length of dominance of those 90s teams as well.
The Eddie Lee Ivory and Tim Lewis injuries stung because I think they could have become All Pros at a time when GB didn’t have a lot to be excited about.
@The Heckler posted:Only Packers fans will understand that right there and that is HOF material.
This site is old and bit tough to read but it pretty much sums up the dark years:
http://www.the-kramerfamily.co...CKERS-GORYYEARS.html
I think many Packers fans who IMHO have become spoiled should be required to read this and realize that this year sucks sure but it could be a LOT worse.
The Heckler, thanks! And you are so right about that site. It sums up the dark years so well, and is why that '72 season really stands out.
@RochNyFan posted:I also subscribed to the Packer Report, as well as the Press-Gazette- both arriving several days late. That was pre internet, so news about the Packers was scarce in Rochester NY.
RochNyFan, subscribed to both like you did, since I experienced the same lack of Packers news growing up in Fair Lawn, NJ.
@MichiganPacker posted:There are many factors as to why the Packers struggled for 20 years, but what was true back in the 70s is still true today. The biggest factor for sustained success (at least being a playoff contender every year) is how good your QB is. It' more important than the coaching or the general manager.
For 467 of the last 487 regular-season games and all 43 of their playoff games in the last 30 years, the Packers have started a top 10 QB all-time.
In the 20 games that Rodgers or Favre didn't start in the last 30 years, the Packers are 6-13-1. If you include the games that Rodgers got knocked out of early,
Chicago (Hillibrand) MNF injury, Minnesota (Barr) injury, Detroit concussion 2010; Detroit final game of season 2018,
the Packers are 6-17-1 without Favre or Rodgers playing throughout the game. That winning percentage (27%) is actually significantly worse than the winning percentage from 1973-1991 (101-160-2 for 39%).
Outside of the last game of 2011 when Flynn started in place of Rodgers (last game of the season (Packers and Lions resting guys for the playoffs) the Packers have never beaten a team with a winning record in the last 30 years without Favre or Rodgers starting. In the other 5 games they won (Flynn was 3-3 and Hundley was 3-6), the combined season records of the teams they beat were 22-58.
We are spoiled, but it's mostly because of how good the QB has been. Whether you think a lot of people whine without justification for "only" having won two titles in 31 years with that level of QBing is the type of thing we debate on this board.
MichiganPacker, great take, so true. It's mind-boggling for those of us who lived through the 70's and 80's watching the Packers go through QB after QB, to then land two Hall of Famers back-to-back that would span 30 years of high-quality play.
@bvan posted:@sschumer - Packer Fan HoF'r posted:
- One time in the late ‘70s the Packers were playing the Redskins in a pre-season game in Green Bay. Just so he could see his team on TV, he drove 5 hours to Washington, DC and checked into a small hotel right before kickoff. After watching the game in his room, he checked out around midnight – shocking the front desk clerk -- and drove home!
That's some dedication!
In the early 80's there were Packer games that weren't shown in LA but would be shown in San Diego. I had a GMC van and 12v b&w tv. I'd load up the Igloo and drive the 405 from Redondo Beach to a Park just south of Camp Pendleton where I could get a good signal.
bvan, LOVE that! We were on opposite coasts, but doing the same things at the same time!
@Tschmack posted:injuries and luck absolutely play a part in overall success. Sometimes the two things go hand in hand.
Not having Bak in the last two NFCCG was absolutely a difference maker given how well TB and SF pressured Rodgers. Not having Bak and Jenkins against SF was a recipe for disaster.
We’ll never know the impact of Nick Collins injury, but honestly they’ve still not replaced him at safety 10+ years later.
Sterling Sharpe was in his prime when he got hurt. Pound for pound he was the best player on the field and had he stayed healthy maybe GB wins another SB or two.
Losing Robert Brooks and Craig Newsome shortened or lessened the length of dominance of those 90s teams as well.
The Eddie Lee Ivory and Tim Lewis injuries stung because I think they could have become All Pros at a time when GB didn’t have a lot to be excited about.
Tschmack, I agree 100%. I posted this earlier in this thread: Injuries to key players like Eddie Lee Ivery killed us in the 70's and 80's. I started this thread about the '72 team. The #1 reason they went downhill in '73 was because they not only lost OLB Dave Robinson from that #1 NFC ranked defense, but when CB Willie Buchanon -- our best defensive player -- went down with a broken leg and was lost for the year, the entire defense then collapsed. We were horribly snake bitten in those two decades, as related well here:
The Packers' deflating injuries of the 1970s & '80s: https://www.packers.com/news/t...e-1970s-80s-18943573
Sharing this voicemail and email I got from Scott Hunter, the QB of that '72 team. You can just hear in his voice how much the publication of this article meant to him.
From: Scott Hunter
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2022 12:05 PM
To: Steven Schumer
Cc: John Brockington; Ken Ellis; Jim Carter; Willie Buchanon; Rich McGeorge
Subject: 1972 Packers overcame all obstacles, except their own coach and Washington. Do they deserve more recognition?
Steven; Thoroughly enjoyed reading the piece on our ’72 team…thanks so much for driving that through with Rich. Go Pack!
Scott
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That is awesome! Thanks for sharing that.
Can a Packer Fan HoF'r get inducted more than once? Asking for sschumer.
@Thunderbird posted:That is awesome! Thanks for sharing that.
Thunderbird, my pleasure, glad you appreciated!
@DH13 posted:Can a Packer Fan HoF'r get inducted more than once? Asking for sschumer.
DH13, now that is funny! Thanks so much!
Guys, sharing a voicemail I received from John Brockington. If you had told me when I was 15 in 1972 that my favorite player from that team and era would 50 years later be calling me, I would've never believed it. Life can be funny that way. And of course I missed his call! But we did end up talking, and at length. What a great guy. As many of you may know, he lives in San Diego (along with Willie Buchanon). Loves talking Packers and Ohio State Buckeyes. What an incredible memory he has for games and people from his playing days. Like with the Scott Hunter voicemail I posted above, has been a thrill talking with these retired Packers!
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@sschumer - Packer Fan HoF'r posted:Guys, sharing a voicemail I received from John Brockington. If you had told me when I was 15 in 1972 that my favorite player from that team and era would 50 years be calling me, I would've never believed it. Life can be funny that way. And of course I missed his call! But we did end up talking, and at length. What a great guy. As many of you may know, he's out in San Diego (along with Willie Buchanon). Loves talking Packers and Ohio State Buckeyes. What an incredible memory he has for games and people from his playing days. Like with the Scott Hunter voicemail I posted above, has been a thrill talking with these former Packers!
I remember that team. I too was a 15 year old and living in central Ohio so I knew all about John Brockington since I was an Ohio State fan. I was super excited when we drafted him. If I remember correctly, he was the first running back in the NFL to rush for over 1,000 yards in their first three seasons. Thanks for your post. Very interesting!!!