A Reminder and a Bad Memory

On February 6th of this year I posted the results of our secret basement lab computer calculations. Here are some of the insightful conclusions:

And voila! The computer spat out only one predictive statistic worth printing. Since the Packers won world championships in 1961 & 1962, the Chicago Bears won in 1963, the Packers won in 1965, 1966, & 1967 (the last two were Super Bowls I & II), the Bears won Super Bowl XX, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, but lost Super Bowl XXXII, the Bears lost Super Bowl XLI...

The lab computer predicts that the Packers will soon play in two, perhaps three, successive Super Bowls, winning two under either circumstance.[...]

I'm making reservations now for Glendale, Arizona, for February, 2008, Tampa, Florida, February, 2009, and maybe even Miami, in February, 2010.

Then Favre can retire.

That dang computer has been unbearably braggadocious lately, so I decided to give it another test.

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, the 9-1 Packers travel to Detroit to play the 6-4 Lions. It has the outward appearance of the situation in 1962 when the 10-0 Packers traveled to Detroit to play the 8-2 Lions. I well remember that game:

For [Bart] Starr, though, there would be no escaping the Lions' pass rush in the rematch. The Packers simply couldn't hold up on the offensive line against Detroit's version of the Fearsome Foursome. That would be defensive ends Sam Williams and Darris McCord and tackles Alex Karras and Roger Brown, an agile 300-pounder, the first in the league. Brown led the assault of Starr, who was sacked 11 times for a minus-110 yards. Besides forcing a Starr fumble that was recovered and returned by Williams for a touchdown, Brown also tackled Starr in the end zone for a safety; accounting for the final points in Detroit's commanding 23-0 halftime lead.

The final score was 26-14 and it was the only blemish on a 13-1 season for the Packers who went on to win the NFL championship with a 16-7 victory over the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium.1

(I can remember thinking how Roger Brown at 300 pounds was freakish. Heh. Today he would be an undersized defensive tackle.)

I again loaded reams of data into the computer's program and waited for the result. The computer confidently said, "Packers, 34; Lions 17."

I hope the Packers win 35-14, so I can remind that big-headed computer (who we have nicknamed Hal) of how far off he was.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving; today, tomorrow, and every day.