There were a great many positives to take away from the Green Bay Packers’ 59-24 pounding of the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.
The offensive line, Ryan Grant and Aaron Rodgers all turned in very good performances. The defense wasn’t perfect, but rebounded after a tough start to play well, despite the absence of a few key players. The much-maligned special teams unit had some blips of trouble, as always, but was much better overall than it had been in the first two preseason games.
But if you’re looking for the biggest positive, you need look no further than the 6-feet, 5-inch, 247 pound wrecking ball of humanity that is tight end Jermichael Finley.
With six catches for 85 yards and a touchdown in just one half of play, Finley showed himself to be a true matchup nightmare, capable of punishing opponents in a variety of ways.
Need someone to work the seem? No worries – he’s got you covered, thanks to his freakish combination of size and speed. That allows him work his way through the back two lines of a defense and get open long enough to make a play.
Want him to line up wide? Sure, he can do that, too. In fact, he’s even more dangerous there than he is in his normal spot. He simply towers over cornerbacks, gaining a mental edge before the ball’s even snapped. You think I’m making this up? Imagine you’re a 5-feet, 11-inch, 195 pound corner. For you, a 6-2 or 6-3 receiver is big. Finley? He’s a giant. You can be as tenacious as you want, but don’t tell me you wouldn’t be a bit put-off by him, either.
He’s certainly impressive in these two roles. But Finley’s real value, to me, lies in his ability to run the quick routes, the five-to-seven yard routes. The deeper stuff is nice, but in this role, Finley serves as a truly unstoppable yard chewer, an extra large addition to the running game, if you will. And, again, with his sheer size, there’s almost no way he’s not picking up a few extra yards. This should allow the Packers to avoid third-and-long situations, for the most part. Even when they find themselves in one, though, again, there’s Finley.
And, make no mistake, opponents will have to shift their focus, defensively, his way. Whatever side of the field he’s on, that’s the side they’ll have to watch.
“Fine – go for it, signed Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Ryan Grant, James Jones, etc. all.”
He opens everything up. For everyone.
Much has been made of Finley’s cocksure ways. No question about it, the man is as arrogant as they come. Some have questioned his intelligence. A low blow, yes, but I’d tend to agree – the man is clearly not a rocket scientist.
(And when his contract’s up – likely long before that – he will become an irritant with his surely enormous extension demands. But that’s for another day.)
Do either of these things bother me, though?
Not. One. Bit.
This is football, for God’s sake. These guys should be arrogant. They should think they’re better than the guy lining up across from them. We spent years praising Brett Favre for his humility. You know what we found out? That was all a bunch of crap. He’s the most arrogant guy out there – by far. Would you take back all the years of greatness we got out of Favre because of that?
I know I wouldn’t. And I don’t want to see Finley change, either. If that’s what gives him his edge, so be it.
Because while I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of great pass catchers in my life – Sterling Sharpe, Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman, Driver, Jennings, Taco Wallace (wait – scratch that one) – I’ve never seen anything like No. 88 in a Packers uniform.
And at the infantile age of 23 years old, the fun is just getting started.
TGIF, America. TGIF.
-Chris Lempesis
A couple weeks ago I wrote that I get a ‘Javon Walker vibe’ about Finley. Hopefully he won’t suffer the same fate. In the meantime, we can enjoy it while it lasts.