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Not A Flawless Victory But It Is Still A Packers Victory

By Todd Welter

Vin Diesel once said, "Whether you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning."

When the first half was done, it looked like the Packers were going to win by a mile. Heck, even after the third quarter, it looked like the Packers would win be a few furlongs. As the clocked expired, the Packers had to hold on to a slim six-point win. Looks like the next thing that has to be cleaned up on Mike McCarthy's list is playing a full 60 minutes.

It is still a win and a 6-4 record. Is it a 6-4 record that makes any green and gold lover comfortable that the Packers can ride that to a wild card? Well, let's just say if you were compare the record to the comfort of a mattress, it would be a mattress that still needs to be broken in. It will not be easy to get to the wild card (the Vikings are not letting up so kiss the division crown good bye) when you have to play Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Arizona. No matter how bad the Bears are, it is never easy to win at Soldier Field in December so the road to the wild card could be a bumpy one. Al Harris and Aaron Kampman going down for the season is not going to help the cause either.

On the other hand, today's win did show that the Packers have as good a chance as anyone to get a seat at the playoff table. It looks like Mike McCarthy finally rediscovered that his wide receivers are really good at picking up yards after the catch. Remember when the Packers rode YAC to a NFC Championship Game two years ago? I guess that is how long it took for McCarthy to remember as well.

Also, the sixth (or are we on version seven?) offensive line combination might finally be the one that not only protects Aaron Rodgers but also opens up some holes for Ryan Grant. It has been a long time since we have seen Ryan Grant run like he did in this victory. He did so with a lot of open holes to burst through. This game proved the Packers can put a lot of points and rack up a lot of yards with a nice blend of run and pass.

Maybe Dom Capers finally got tired of hearing all the complaining because the last two games he has come up with some solid game plans that has shut two teams down through seven quarters. I do think you will be hearing Charles Woodson complaining too much about Capers putting players in position to make plays considering he knows have Woodson flying all over the field making plays.

Still the Packers do have some warts and they could only hide them for so long in this victory. Special teams once again gave up a big return. Like we have seen too often this season, the defense could not put their foot on the opponent's throat and keep them down.

So it was not the most convincing win but a win nonetheless and remember winning is winning so you can not get to picky about six-point win.