It’s not often that someone gets Stephen A. Smith to agree with them, but that’s exactly what Keyshawn Johnson accomplished on Tuesday’s edition of First Take on ESPN. In response to the Green Bay Packers’ surprising upset of the Dallas Cowboys host, Molly Qerim asked the pair if they believed the Packers could make the playoffs.
Smith started off, and it was more of the same from him. Sure Rodgers is good, but the coaches are bad, and the talent around him is bad — blah blah blah.
Then it was Keyshawn‘s turn. Johnson, who is not one for theatrics generally, calmly responded.
“I think they could still make the playoffs. I’d say they probably get in. And the reason I think they’re going to get in is as long as they take that recipe that they just beat the Cowboys with, the way they ran the football, and Aaron Rodgers only had 20 attempts and 14 completions but very efficient…that’s how you win in this league. People think because you paid Dak Prescott, you got to throw it everywhere, or you paid Aaron Rodgers, you got to throw it everywhere. If you play solid defense and you run the football, and your quarterback is very efficient and doesn’t turn the ball over, you gonna win a lot of games. … If they keep that recipe, they’re going to be alright. Now Tennessee’s going to be tough, but after that, they have a couple of cupcakes, and then they get tough again, so we’ll see.”
It wasn’t the sort of drama the national media usually drums up. There were no cheap shots taken or gossip spread, just a former pro looking at the landscape of the league and what the Packers might’ve figured out last Sunday. And that was enough to hear Stephen A. Smith say:
“No disagreement there. I understand. He knows where I stand, I still have some questions, but he makes a good case.”
Johnson isn’t the only person who’s tune is changing on Green Bay. Former New York Jets coach and ESPN personality Rex Ryan has been beyond outspoken about the team’s chances this season, but their performance against Dallas pushed him back the other direction a bit.
The truth is, despite how annoying the national media has been over the past few years, they were generally correct about Green Bay heading into the season, and now as they start to swing the other direction. Let’s hope they’re correct again. As someone who follows this team closely on a daily basis I tend to agree with Johnson and Ryan’s assessment. For the first time this season it feels like everyone bought into what needs to happen for this team to be successful. Aaron Rodgers bought into the game plan, the coaches stayed committed to the game plan even when things weren’t going well, and the young players executed the game plan. If all three of those things are going, I can absolutely see a scenario where this team gets back in the mix. With San Francisco 5-4 in the 7 seed, a little run here by Green Bay could make things very interesting.
