Baller Alert’s Team of the Week: Green Bay Packers

Our BA Team of the Week this week is the Green Bay Packers. This past Sunday, the Packers took on the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Aaron Rodgers showed everyone why he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, as he discount double checked all over the Dolphins’ stadium and threw the game winning touchdown in the very last seconds of the fourth quarter.

Green Bay’s passing game started out strong. On the first drive, Rodgers connected with his receivers Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Jordy Nelson for big yard gains to move the ball down the field. On the 9th play of the drive, Nelson got open in the end zone and Rodgers found him for the touchdown to quickly go up 7-0. Dolphins’ wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a big 54 yard return on the ensuing kick to bring the Dolphins to midfield. The offense made it to the 29 yard line before getting stopped, which set up the Dolphins for a field goal to make the score 7-3. The Packers’ next drive was unsuccessful as they could not get out of their own territory, which resulted in a blocked punt that was recovered by Miami at the Green Bay 16 yard line. To make up for the offensive mistakes, the Packers defense came up huge and stopped the Dolphins on 4th and 1 at the 1 yard line, denying them any points off of the turnover. The Packers defense continued to dominate in the second quarter. Cornerback Casey Hayward picked off quarterback Ryan Tannehill on a pass intended for Jarvis Landry, giving the ball back to the Packers. This play helped to set up kicker Mason Crosby’s first field goal to make the score 10-3. On the next Dolphins’ possession, the Packers defense forced a 3 and out to stall the drive. On the Dolphins’ subsequent possession, cornerback Sam Shields got in front of wide receiver Brian Hartline and caught the pass from Tannehill for the second interception of the day. With both offenses unable to make anything happen for the rest of the half, the score remained at 10-3 at halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, Tannehill took off on a huge 40 yard run to get into Green Bay territory and later in the drive, he found Landry in the end zone to tie up the score at 10-10. The Packers quickly responded; on 3rd and 5, the Dolphins defense rushed Rodgers but he managed to roll right to avoid the sack, extend the play, and ultimately find Cobb in the endzone for a touchdown. The battle of the quarterbacks continued into the 4th quarter. After a huge 25 yard pass from Tannehill to receiver Mike Wallace, a 14 yard completion to receiver Damian Williams, and big runs by running back Lamar Miller, Tannehill handed the ball off to Miller who ran it in for a 5 yard touchdown to once again tie up the score. The Packers offense then went 3 and out and the ball went back to Tannehill, who found one of his favorite targets, Mike Wallace, in the end zone for another touchdown and for the first Dolphins lead of the game. On the next drive, the Packers were eventually stopped by the Miami defense short of the end zone and kicked a field goal to make the score 24-20. The Dolphins got the ball back but a couple of incomplete passes and short runs forced them to punt away the ball to the Packers with 2 minutes left in the game. Trailing by 4, things were not looking optimistic for the Packers after Rodgers got sacked on 3rd down and fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by guard T.J. Lang to prevent the turnover but they were now facing a huge 4th down. On 4th and 10, Rodgers found Nelson, who beat the defender and got open, and completed a huge 18 yard pass to him for the first down to keep them alive. Later, running back James Starks ran for a big third down conversion. Rodgers then completed a short pass to Cobb and on the following play, faked a spike and threw to Adams who made it to the 4 yard line. With 6 seconds remaining in the game, Rodgers hit tight end Andrew Quarless in the end zone to take a 27-24 lead. The Dolphins were going to need a miracle to win the game; they ran the hook and lateral play but Lamar Miller eventually fumbled the ball and linebacker Julius Peppers recovered it to clinch the Packers victory.

It was a close and hard fought battle but in the end, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers came out on top. The win over the Dolphins this week also helped to lock the Packers in as a Top 10 team. Next week, the Packers look to take on a strong Carolina Panthers team at home. Will the Packers defense be able to stop Superman Cam Newton?

Now what’s football without the fine football players hiding underneath those pads and helmets? Each team definitely has its share of cuties and the Green Bay Packers are no exception! Let’s take a look at WR Jordy Nelson, CB Sam Shields, and S Micah Hyde.

#87 Jordy Nelson – Wide Receiver

Jordy Nelson is a veteran wide receiver that has been with the Packers since he was drafted in 2008. He grew up in Kansas and comes from a family of farmers. When he’s not busy playing football, he still helps out on the family farm from time to time. Gotta love a good old country boy!

#37 Sam Shields – Cornerback

Cornerback Sam Shields had to overcome a lot to get to the position that he is in today, barely making it onto the Packers roster back in 2010. Though Sam just signed a huge contract with the Packers this past offseason, he makes it a focus of his to stay humble and grounded and not spend his money in ways that leaves many other NFL players broke. It’s nice to see that he has a good head on his shoulders.

#33 Micah Hyde – Safety

Safety Micah Hyde has always been a great athlete. In high school, he excelled at football, basketball, and baseball. He eventually followed in the footsteps of his older brother and stuck with just football going into college. He was drafted by the Packers last year and has been making an impact on the team ever since. During the 2013 season, he led all of the rookies in tackles, forced fumbles, and passes defended and he continues to impress with his performance this season.