Ryan Grant In “Good/Bad/Ugly”

Several of you have taken exception to my putting Ryan Grant in the ‘Bad’ category in this weeks ‘The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’.  (And the ‘comments’ are tame compared to the emails, believe me…) I’m always glad to hear what you guys think, especially when you disagree with me. And usually, I let you have your say, perhaps reply back, and leave it at that. But I felt this deserved its own post.

Do you want the Packers to win the Super Bowl? Seriously, think about it for a moment. Think about what it would really mean to you. Now think about losing the Super Bowl. Most of us remember losing to Denver in ‘97. Other than two personal tragedies, that was the worst day of my life. You don’t win a Super Bowl by spotting the opposing team 14 points. You just don’t. And that’s essentially what Grant did by fumbling two of his first three touches. Did he atone for it by rushing for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns? Yes, of course he did. Does it absolve him of the responsibility to take care of the football? Absolutely not. You can’t obtain perfection. But you should always be reaching for it. That’s the only way you get better. If you are happy that he had the game he had, far be it from me to take that away from you. But in the NFL, as in life, you need to find what is ‘bad’ about your performance and make it better. And Ryan Grant is no different, even after a record setting performance. Especially when it is entirely possible the Packers could be facing the greatest team to ever step foot on a football field in the New England Patriots if both teams earn the right to play in the Super Bowl, which I think they will. Imagine spotting the Patriots 14 points. You may as well spot them 50. Now, it’s understood that the defense has a job to do as well, and that by fumbling you are not ‘giving’ the opposing team touchdowns. But you are certainly giving them extra, golden opportunities. Opportunities that better teams, let alone great teams, will take severe advantage of.