Sunday, October 16, 2011

MMQB: Packers coast after putting up 24 to beat the Rams and claim only unblemished record in the NFL.

Random mental meanderings after watching the Packers soundly beat the Rams...
  • Can anybody do a play-acton roll-out like Aaron Rodgers? His pass to James Jones for six was better than anything Brett Favre or Bart Starr ever put up. 35 yards out, he makes the masterful play fake, and rolls to his left, buying TONS of time, finding James Jones strolling through the end zone for six. Almost looked effortless, didn’t it?
  • Again, the Packer defense starts off very vanilla, very soft. And again, they step up and snuff out an opponent. I seriously think Dom Capers has no interest whatsoever in stopping an opponent’s first few possessions. He just wants to see what their game plan is. He knows that the offense can put up points and his defense can shut folks down and pull off turnovers. 
  • Al Harris came back to Lambeau for the first time and was spotlighted by FOX. Too bad on the very next play he bit on a play-fake and was burned by Rodgers on a toss to Jordy Nelson. To compound his failure, he was taken out by his own teammate, allowing Nelson to race 93 yards for the TD. I wish no ill-will to Harris (he was a star for Green Bay and left on good terms) but I can’t help but think the game has passed him by after watching that play. Happy it resulted in a Packer score but not happy for Harris’ plummet from one of the NFL’s premier cover corners to a last-gasp DB for the inept Rams.
  • Clay Matthews records only his second sack of the year but his impact in pressures, hurries and QB hits is tops in the NFL. He also had two pass tips at the line. Can a guy have more impact without the big (sacks) stat that everybody looks at?
  • When Aaron Rodgers went left on first and goal from the seven yard line in the second quarter, he had the full attention of the Rams secondary. As soon as he made a move towards the line of scrimmage as his receivers were blanketed, the St. Louis DB’s rightly reacted. Unfortunately, both of the guys who had coverage on the great Donald Driver left him all alone. All A-Rodg had to do was wait a beat and flip it to Double-D for the score. That is the benefit of being feared in the run and pass in the NFL. 
  • Can anybody tell me why the Packers (yes, a pass-first team) could not make hay on the NFL-worst Rams on the ground? They ran for just under 100 yards, the best defensive performance of the year for the Rams. In two key short-yardage situations, the Packers could not gain the yards on hand-offs to Kuhn. But later, they eschewed the run in favor of the pass on short-yardage situations. I’m not whining about play-calling here, I’m whining about execution on running plays. If the Packers have half a clue on the ground, they chew up clock in the third and fourth quarter and this game is poke-me-with-a-fork-I’m-done by 2:30 in the afternoon.
  • I’m not concerned with the lack of scoring in the second half. I’m sure the pundits, bloggers and talking heads will be all over that, ready to find a reason why the Vikings should win next week. I’m not buying that, though. While the Packers should have put up at least 50 over this team, the defense was one play away from pitching a shutout. If you can believe it, the Packer defense has actually been the weakness on this team. If a 21-point win is seen as a failure to some, I scoff. Yes, your MMQB, he who only wants perfection from his team, is defending a scoreless second half as a total victory.
  • Next week we play the Vikings up in Minneapolis and you never know hat is going to happen in the Hump Dome. The Queens, in my estimation, are a better team than their record would suggest. But I think the Green Bay Packers are a better team than their record would indicate as well. What? The Packers are 6-0? I stand by my assessment: the Pack has yet to play up to their full potential. I think (if they can contain Jared Allen and Adrian Peterson) the Packers will prove their worthiness next week.

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