Since this is the season of giving I’m going to start this article with the biggest gift I can give…..I won’t nominate a single Green Bay Packers’ player for Dud of the Week this week. Not. A. Single. One. Maybe the holiday spirit has filled my heart. Maybe I’m getting soft. Maybe it’s because the Packers beat down the Titans unlike any other opponent so far this year….in the end does it matter why?
But that doesn’t mean that you fine readers just go without a Dud of the Week post. No no no, I won’t treat you like those poor souls who have late December birthdays and forgo presents. Rather we are going to use this post to play a little game of NO DUD FOR YOU! This game is very similar to the one played after the humiliating loss to the Giants called "NO MVP FOR YOU!" This time though I’m going to gather all the usual suspects, who had their struggles in this most recent game, and go through the reasons why they are not nominated for Dud.
NO DUD FOR YOU!
K Mason Crosby – It was another week of ugly kicks. His kick offs did not look good. His field goals were still nail biters (and both where pretty close FG’s too). But he made them. There aren’t style points in the NFL, so if you are a kicker and you make the field goals you are sent out to make then that’s good enough. No Dud for you!
TE Jermichael Finley – J-Mike, you and Crosby are the two that have occupied the most space in this series of articles. You have struggled with drops all year and seem to celebrate a first down like you caught a game winning touchdown. It all doesn’t sit well with people. If there was one or the other then you might be a minor disappointment but together it’s a problem. You still had some drops against the Titans, but only one really bad one. You also made some clutch plays and kept the useless celebrations to a minimum. Therefore…no Dud for you!
NT B.J. Raji – Early in the year it looked like Raji was disappearing in the middle with lazy play. The last few weeks he’s come alive. This was another week where he was getting penetration and disrupting the run. It’s great to see. No Dud for you!
Erik Walden – He still did not do much with only 1 Solo tackle and zero pass rush, but he did make a great interception. It is probably telling how much Dezman Moses has come in lately and cut into Walden’s snaps. …but you know what? That’s a conversation for another day, when the Packers needed it Walden stepped up and made a play. No Dud for you!
QB Graham Harrell – It’s tough to be the backup for Aaron Rodgers. You’re never going to really live up to what A-Rod can do in there, and you probably aren’t going to get many snaps. Harrell improved on some of his earlier play this season by not fumbling the ball and not giving away the lead to the game. He even completed a pass….although he did trip over his own feet again. Nevertheless, no Dud for you!
As always I welcome any disagreement you may have. If you want to play the role of Grinch this holiday season and write in a Dud candidate from one of these four players or someone else feel free to do so in the comments section.