North: Packers aren't what they were cracked up to be
The Green Bay Packers got spanked by the Atlanta Falcons, and it wasn't pretty.
The Packers were outclassed at every turn including quarterback where the "Savior" himself, Aaron Rodgers, was dominated by Matt Ryan.
There is plenty of blame to go around in the disastrous loss against the buzz saw that was Ryan and the Falcons. Ryan threw 4 touchdowns and ran for another, beating the Packers 44-21.
Before the game, the talk was all about what could the Falcons do to stop Rodgers, but once it began it was obvious the Packers were killing themselves with turnovers and penalties.
Rodgers has been known to blame others in defeat, but when the Packers win he seems to take the credit.
This Atlanta team was impressive from beginning to end, and their defense was the surprise of the day. Once the Falcons went up 10 points, things got even tougher for the Packers, and outside linebacker Clay Matthews was hardly seen as the Packers defense had more holes than Swiss cheese.
The NFC has its representative and the Falcons will play the New England Patriots, who again broke the Pittsburgh Steelers, 36-17. The Steelers, who moved to the AFC conference in 1970 after the AFL/NFL merger, probably wish they were anywhere but in the same conference as New England considering Brady has a career record of 10-2 against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh has a solid organization, but their locker room had some issues with Antonio Brown's live Facebook flap, and they took their eye off the prize.
Now Brady and coach Bill Belichick are looking for their fifth Super Bowl ring.
I think most of us expected the Patriots to win, but the Falcons' victory was somewhat of a surprise.
My early prediction: New England 29, Atlanta 24, but that could change. It's New England and Brady, need I say more?
Chicago notes:
• Congratulations to the Northwestern Wildcats for a huge win (74-72) at Ohio State. Coach Chris Collins is getting it done and maybe has his men's basketball program on the right track.
• It was great to see the Chicago Blackhawks bring back Jeremy Roenick back for one last shift. It was a cool concept for one of the greatest guys of all time - just a really genuine guy. When the Hawks were basically unknown, Roenick, Chris Chelios and Tony Amonte were household names and really great for the game. Congratulations to a true friend!
• Follow Mike on Twitter @north2north. Check out his podcast Monday-Friday at podcastarena.com, iTunes or audioboom. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald. For more, visit northtonorth.com.