Throw in the towel? No way! But Favre says it will be difficult

It’s not like Javon Walker, Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport will be back any time this year. So Sunday’s scene at Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers battled and scrimped to move the ball but ultimately had a terrible time putting any points on the board, could become a common sight for the rest of 2005.

Yes, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who beat the Packers 20-10 Sunday, probably will end up one of the better defenses the Packers face this season. But it’s also clear that trying to score against NFL defenses with Brett Favre, Donald Driver and a bevy of deep backups at receiver and running back is going to be painstaking, excruciating and too often futile, no matter how much they might wish that weren’t the case.

“I don’t want to accept (the premise) that those guys aren’t here and therefore it’s going to be that type of season,” Favre said. “As the leader of this team you can’t accept that. Yeah, it will be much more difficult, I would think. But doable.”

The loss to the Steelers, a possible Super Bowl contender with a large following of fans waving yellow “Terrible Towels” at Lambeau on Sunday, drops the Packers to 1-7 for only the fourth time in team history. That leaves them an afterthought even in the weak NFC North Division, where Chicago holds first place at 5-3 after a win over New Orleans on Sunday.

The loss also sends the Packers into the second half of the season tied with Houston for the worst record in the NFL. It’s a position no one in the organization could have imagined, and has left players carrying defeat with them on a weekly basis, which hasn’t happened here since 1991.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next week (at Atlanta),” Favre said. “I’m sure everybody feels like it will be the same as it has been to this point. But we still have to line up and play and see what happens. (Losing) sticks with you until you do something about it, I guess.”

Though several factors played roles in the outcome, there was one unmistakable turning point, a Steelers sack and fumble recovery that turned into a 77-yard touchdown return by safety Troy Polamalu early in second quarter. That 14-point swing was more than the undermanned Packers could overcome against the Steelers and their defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, who blitzed the Packers into submission. Pittsburgh came into this game ranked ninth in the NFL in fewest yards allowed and fifth in fewest points.

“The position we’re in, every mistake is a pivotal one,” coach Mike Sherman said.
The Steelers were vulnerable on this day because they played without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who will be out two weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

That made Pittsburgh an even more one-dimensional, run-oriented team than usual.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we made enough plays to win the game and that’s what it’s all about,” said Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

Pittsburgh allowed backup quarterback Charlie Batch to attempt only 16 passes, and his 65 yards passing and passer rating of 39.8 points accurately reflect the minimal impact he had on the game.

However, that mattered little, because the Packers have no run game to speak of without the injured Green and Davenport, who are out for the season. Samkon Gado, an undrafted rookie who was on the street just three weeks ago, gamely weathered 26 carries after replacing ReShard Lee, who was benched early after a fumble. But despite a couple of decent runs, Gado (2.4 yards a carry) and the Packers’ offensive line were no match for the NFL’s fifth-ranked run defense at the goal line.

“The thing we seem to be lacking is the explosive run,” Sherman said. “The 30-yard run, we haven’t managed to get one of those.”

That turned the Packers into a one-dimensional, throwing team with no weapons for Favre aside from Donald Driver. They still managed to move the ball at times (268 total yards) and had stunning back-to-back possessions in which they held the ball for 18 plays and 12 plays but came away with only seven points. Ryan Longwell missed a 31-yard field at the end of the half after the 18-play drive, and then Gado had a one-yard touchdown run to end the first possession of the second half.

As they have several times this season, the Packers made a late run and twice got well into Steelers territory in the fourth quarter while trailing by 10 points. But both drives ended with failed fourth-down conversions because the Packers couldn’t get inside the 30 and were four to six yards out of Ryan Longwell’s field-goal range in the swirling winds of Lambeau.
“I thought our defense played outstanding,” Favre said. “We have to help them out.”
source : http://www.packersnews.com/