Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the red carpet last night. Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Was there any doubt that Aaron Rodgers didn’t deserve it

At least there was no doubt among the sportswriters who cast their ballots for MVP today.

The final score? Aaron Rodgers 48, Drew Brees 2

Yes, that’s right. All but two writers voted for Rodgers … the devil and Ndamukong Suh … as “Not Aaron Rodgers” tweeted tonight.

But kidding aside, we all had that gut feeling and every other statistic tucked into our back pocket to back up this decision. Aaron Rodgers did it all this year. His only slips came against Kansas City and the Giants – but if you rewatch that playoff game, you will see a player who gave it his all right up to the end. Take away the eight dropped passes, the strip of the football when he was winding up to hit a wide open Greg Jennings, and a hail Mary and the Packers would have won that game.

Despite all that, Rodgers had the front aisle seat at the honors award program … and is front and center in the NFL with his much-deserved 2012 MVP Award.

Congratulations, Aaron.

The Packers will finish out the regular season and their run through the playoffs up until the Super Bowl in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field.

Ok, so you think the Packers have it bad.

Yes, they’ve been visited by that injury bug, especially this past weekend along the offensive line.

But, in my estimation, those are things that tend to take care of themselves, given time and a team deep with talent.

“Next guy up,” is what Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said. It’s a simple philosophy that he proved was effective last season and hopes to make work again this year as he moves players around on the offensive line to patch together a unit that will be charged with protecting Aaron Rodgers from the likes of Julius Peppers, Brian Uhrlacher and Ndamukong Suh over the next two weeks of the regular season.

Don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
(more…)

Ndamukong Suh is reported to have been suspended for two games, pending possible appeal.

We all knew the punishment for Ndamukong Suh was coming. Some speculated as heavy of a penalty as suspension for the remainder of the season for his stomping of Green Bay Packers right guard Evan Dietrich-Smith in the Thanksgiving Day game won by the Packers.

We suspected, as did many others, that it would be at least a couple of games.

The two-game suspension is what is being reported.

While Suh has three days to file an appeal for the suspension of two games, we certainly hope he doesn’t. The entire world knows what he did and no matter how many attorneys and no matter how much he apologizes, it’s not going to change the perception that he is a bully and a dirty player.

(more…)

Tony Dungy, photographed when he was still coach of the Colts, thinks the Detroit Lions organization should shoulder some of the blame for Ndamukong Suh's behavior on the field.

Tony Dungy, the former NFL coach-turned-broadcaster with NBC Sports, has come out and said that the Detroit organization should shoulder some of the blame for the actions of Ndamukong Suh.

Suh’s stomping of Green Bay Packers right guard Evan Dietrich-Smith has raised the ire of many fans, players and coaches around the league and will result in a fine and probably a suspension from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

In addressing the situation, Dungy said on the Dan Patrick Show, “I really have to fault the Detroit organization. I think they really could have stopped this.”

No doubt the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianpolis coach is right. Suh has been a loose canon since his rookie season last year and well before that in college and even high school, according to some.

We here at Lombardiave.com feel that a suspension of at least two games is warranted for Suh and not only because of this latest incident against a Packers player. The fines for several other dirty incidents raises a red flag above the normal “aggressive” play.

A message needs to be sent loud and clear to Mr. Suh and it starts with the commissioner and should be emphasized by the Lions organization, as Dungy says. Dungy is absolutely correct. Encouraging a player to use their skills to be aggressive is one thing. For that player to take it to the lowest level is uncalled for and requires swift and immediate action.

Like Lombardiave on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Desmond Bishop and AJ Hawk both missed the second half of Thursday's game ... but their absence was covered by DJ Smith and Robert Francois.

The Packers have their detractors … i.e., Skip Bayless among them. But screw them – the Green Bay Packers are, despite their glaring foibles,  undefeated for many reasons, one of which is depth.

On Thursday, the Packers and the Lions were hit with injuries … injuries to important players at key positions.

But because of Mike McCarthy’s luxury to plug in players that simply step in and continue to carry out the game plan, the Packers don’t seem to miss a beat.

Consider Evan Dietrich-Smith, who took over at right guard when Josh Sitton went down in the first half with a knee injury. Not only did he have the unenviable task of matching up with Ndamukong Suh, but he had to hold his own in a complex offense in which he has had no snaps with the first team at that position in game situations. Sitton didn’t miss a snap in 2009 or 2010.

Not only did he frustrate Suh enough to cause the all-pro to lose his head and get thrown out of the game, but he played well enough to help the Packers move on to 11-0.

As did D.J. Smith and Robert Francois as the Packers lost both inside linebackers, A.J. Hawk an Desmond Bishop. Both Smith and Francois made contributions on defense – Smith for his bone-jarring hits and Francois for his efforts against the pass and his huge interception of Matthew Stafford where he reached as high as he could to pull down a pass over the middle.

(more…)

Here’s what our fiends over at The Sidelion Report have to say today -

Chris Czar: Something tells me the Lions woke up in the second half of Sunday’s win against the Carolina Panthers. The Lions looked like the team we saw in first 5 weeks of season. Matt Stafford played his best game after a miserable start, Kevin Smith was excellent in his vindication and Ndamukong Suh finally looked like the player he was last year. I think it carries over this week. It’s not going to be easy, but Smith will run the ball effectively and the defensive line provides just enough pressure on Aaron Rodgers for the Lions to hold on in a very, very close game. Detroit Lions 31, Green Bay Packers 28

Like Lombardiave on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

(more…)

Ndamukong Suh and the Detroit Lions await the arrival of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the North Division rivals' first encounter of the year Thanksgiving Day.

Zac Snyder, the editor over at the Fansided site, SideLion Report, took time out of his busy schedule this week to answer some questions thrown his way about the Packers vs. Lions throwdown in Detroit Thanksgiving Day.

Q. The Packers know their number one need is to neutralize Calvin “Megatron” Johnson. Everyone on the planet knows that Johnson has been a “Packer killer” since joining the league. The question is this: How have other teams slowed Johnson and do you feel the Packers have the manpower to do it?

A: The only way to slow Calvin Johnson is to slow Matthew Stafford. Those two, not coincidentally, had their worst game of the year against Chicago two weeks ago. Johnson has at least five catches in every game this season except for one.

While he had just three catches against Kansas City, two of them were for touchdowns. It’s possible to slow Calvin by rolling coverage his way but the Lions have a number of other options. What’s the point in slowing one player if you’re just going to get beat by others? Matthew Stafford threw five touchdown passes last week and they all went to different players and not one of them was named Calvin Johnson.

You can bet that the Panthers aren’t pointing to the fact that they held Johnson out of the end zone.

Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

(more…) ]]> http://lombardiave.com/2011/11/23/sidelion-report-sounds-off-on-thanksgiving-throwdown-in-detroit/feed/ 0 http://lombardiave.com/2011/11/22/suh-says-lion-on-level-of-packers/ http://lombardiave.com/2011/11/22/suh-says-lion-on-level-of-packers/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:52:25 +0000 Raymond Rivard http://lombardiave.com/2011/11/22/suh-says-lion-on-level-of-packers/ Never one for understatement, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh told the Green Bay Packers media that he and his teammates are not intimidated by the Packers and went so far as to say the Lions are at the same level as the Packers. Bulletin board material? Maybe not, but it’s a statement that is surely [...]

Suh says Lions at same level as Packers - Lombardi Ave - Lombardi Ave - A Green Bay Packers Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

Never one for understatement, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh told the Green Bay Packers media that he and his teammates are not intimidated by the Packers and went so far as to say the Lions are at the same level as the Packers.

Bulletin board material?

Maybe not, but it’s a statement that is surely going to raise an eyebrow or two.

“By all means, do I think our team is at their level, to be able to play against them,” Suh said. “I don’t see them as a golden-perfect team. Everybody has flaws in this league, but everybody has great things they do. It’s just a matter of eliminating mistakes on our time and on our team and causing them to make as many mistakes as possible.”

Suh could certainly be right about the mistake factor in Thursday’s game as everyone knows the team that makes the fewest mistakes is most likely to win.

Both teams also played one another evenly last year as the Packers won the opener at Lambeau 28-26. The Lions came back to win the second game 7-3 after Aaron Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a concussion.

So which team comes out on top this time around? It will depend on turnovers and which team controls the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

]]>

The Lions may be pushing the top teams in the NFL North for the crown this year, but it may be a bit premature for talk of a playoff spot ... something that has come from the lips of some of that team's players. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

It could be the kiss of death or it could be simple confidence.
Riding high off their four game winning streak at the end of last season, Detroit Lions players aren’t shy about making prognostications …
Some have gone on record saying the P word: (more…)