tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38264456669729609642024-02-19T18:23:31.381-08:00The Packers SandlotRJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-27823408523335812662013-12-29T18:48:00.000-08:002013-12-29T18:48:28.800-08:00Packers win the North in a rough, gritty contest with the Bears - how much farther can they go?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> final Packer scoring drive of the game felt entirely desperate. There didn’t seem to be a coherent plan, just take whatever the Bear defense gave them. But, upon further review, I think I saw the only possible plan that would result in a win: keep the Packer defense on the bench no matter what.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fact that this strategy proved successful is a testament to the intellect of the Packer offensive brain trust...and the truly wretchedness of the Packer defensive brain trust.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All last week I was saying, to whomever I could get to listen, that the outcome of this game was not going to hinge upon Lacy, Cobb or even Aaron Rodgers. It would be the ability of the Packer defense to rise above their mediocrity. How’d they do? </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Watching the Bears’ scoring drives was extremely disheartening. No pass rush on pass plays, no coverage on pass plays, no contain on running plays. Even the normally dense Troy Aikman noticed the fact that Forte was making his living by simply running around the Packer defenders. To sit there and watch defensive linemen get rolled up and knocked down, linebackers look like they weighed 800 pounds wave at nothing and defensive backs fall all over themselves made me feel like I was watching an NFL offense versus a grade school defense.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The pass defense was similarly terrible. The big Bear receivers had no problem making Shields and Williams look foolish and our safeties, well, it hurts my head to think about what a crappy game Burnett and Jennings had. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do have to give credit where credit is due: At the end, with the result still in doubt, the Packer secondary stepped up, provided the final defensive plays (defended passes! An interception!) to seal the victory. Thinking back to the magical championship 2010 season, you could almost count on the Packer defenders to end games by picking off desperate QB’s. They did it today and it was a wonderful, wonderful thing to see. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer offense, led by the resurrected Aaron Rodgers, was a puzzlement. Call it rust or call it injuries or call it just another Sunday but the Packer offense looked alternatively world-beating and weak. Both Eddie Lacy and James Starks ripped off several fantastic runs but on many occasions they were completely stoned - by the WORST run defense in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers showed us all his skills and decision making are undiminished and yet he had two picks and a fumble in the first half. If they had been operating at full power, we probably should have witnessed a 28-0 Packer first half.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know I’m being quite negative here but I can’t help but reflect on how this team looked before Aaron Rodgers was injured and how they look now. I look at the 2010 season when the Packers got hot late and went on a roll and won it all. This team feels like they’ve stumbled and fallen and they barely were able to crawl across the finish line.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But they did finish, didn’t they? They finished on top, too. The wretched NFC North was going to be won by someone and who amongst us would turn that down, no matter how it happened. During that final, tense drive, they could have failed at any moment. They could have put their defense back on the field (result = Packer loss), they could have fumbled or thrown a pick (result = Packer loss), they could have simply failed to move the ball ((result = Packer loss). When Aaron Rodgers scrambled away from the pressure and spotted Randall Cobb running free behind the Bear secondary, I could feel the entire Packer Nation rise up as one. As Cobb waited for the ball to come down, I could feel the collective inhalation. When he caught the ball and dove into the end zone, the cheer that went up must have been heard around the world. I myself almost slung my cell phone across the room (I can’t watch a Packer game without texting after every play with Brother Russ) in just pure joy.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why? I don’t know. The Packers have been a severely troubled team this year. The loss of Cobb, Finely, Rodgers, Jolly, Matthews (etc., etc., etc, ad nauseum) created a feeling of “well, maybe this just isn’t our year”. The QB carousel, with uneven results, lent an air of “can this season just be over?” To fight through all of that, to beat all the odds and actually make the post-season, well, it feels sweet. Very sweet.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, having taken care of Da Bears, we move on. With their last-second victory over the Cards, the San Francisco Forty-Niners punched their Wild Card ticket for a trip to Lambeau Field next weekend. I can sense some of you out there, upon hearing that match-up, give a little sigh and maybe a small “Oh, no. Not them again.”</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll say this here and I’ll say it loud - I am THRILLED we get to host the Niners in the playoffs! Why? Simple - look at any (ANY) of the potential opponents in the post season and you see in each one of them a clearly superior football team. Can your mind imagine what the aerial attacks of Carolina or New Orleans will do to our secondary? What about the fast-break offense of the Eagles? Picture the Seattle defense, at their stadium, facing our boys on offense. So why do I want the Niners, a team that has beaten the Packers three times in their last three meetings, including an epic beating in the playoffs last year? Redemption, pure and simple. If we’re going to get into the championship tournament against a roster of teams that can and should beat us, why not go out big? Nothing at all to lose, you want to play the team that each and every pundit and talking head will be picking to utterly destroy you at home. Why not play for that shot at redemption, that moment when you have the opportunity to prove the world wrong and do it against the team that made you look like pre-schoolers on tricycles, like the game of professional football had passed you by? No, I WANT the Niners. I want them at Lambeau and I want them in the snow. Win or lose, I want the <i>opportunity</i> to prove my team is still relevant and can still beat our newest nemesis.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s nothing I like more than NFL football unless it’s playoff NFL football. And my team, my wounded, flawed team, has made it into the playoffs and I will love every freakin’ minute of it, however long it lasts.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So come on, Niners. Let’s go.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-32213109737326829702013-12-22T20:36:00.003-08:002013-12-22T20:36:46.552-08:00Packers weekly comeback falls short in sloppy, mistake-filled game<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">As</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> I’m writing this, the Bears are busy getting completely smoked by the Eagles, keeping hope alive in Titletown.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right, loyal readers, even after the Packers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, they still have a shot at winning the NFC North and moving on to the post-season. That seems like a silly statement to make, given the outrageous fortune suffered over the course of last seven weeks.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Think back, way back, to the last game Aaron Rodgers played in. The Packers were 5-2, basking in the glory of a running game growing in power and effectiveness every game. Rodgers was once again running a passing offense that might have led to his best season ever. The defense was stout against the run, not-awful against the pass. New, young players were rising up. Then, in the midst of what should have been a TD drive against the Bears, a small bone cracked and a team and a season went completely off the rails. If you look at that remaining schedule and how those teams were playing, the Packers had a real shot at running the table, finishing 14-2 and sliding into the playoffs, primed for another run at the Lombardi Trophy. I’m not saying this as a Packer fan or a homer - I truly think with Rodgers under center it would have come to pass.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alas, Rodgers did go out, the back-up QB’s were found lacking, the defense unraveled and the month of November was lost before Matt Flynn could come in and provide some hope.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last two games, both victories by the slimmest of margins, followed similar scripts: fall behind by playing awful on both sides of the ball and then turn things around in the second half to pull out the miracle. Down by ten in the second half, Flynn and his compatriots were able to get things back to even, thanks partially due to some questionable calls by the ref’s. Then the wheels totally fell off. I suppose if you live on the edge and count on the miracle finish every week, you’re eventually going to get burned. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite several opportunities to pull out the win, sloppy penalties would ultimately close the door. The Packers were flagged nine times for 90 yards, the last one a false start on Don Barclay with the ball on the Pittsburgh 1-yard line with time running out. A ten-second run off was also assessed and the Packers were left with one rushed play, an incompletion in the end zone, and the game was over.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matt Flynn, so sharp in the second halves of the Atlanta and Dallas victories, was erratic, putting many passes out of reach for his receivers. Between some iffy play-calling by his head coach and some questionable decisions, Flynn did not have a stellar afternoon.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Injuries also played a part in the defeat. Earlier this week Johnny Jolly was placed on the IR with a neck injury and Mike Neal then went out during the game. Clay Matthews got the one and only sack on Ben Roethlisberger and re-injured his thumb in doing it. Eddie Lacy, after setting the team record for both rushing yards and touchdowns by a rookie, limped off the field with another ding to his oft-injured ankle. The cascade of injuries through the entire season has weighed heavily on this team and it’s showing more and more every week.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One effect of so many injuries is to disrupt our special teams. By my count, special teams failures led directly to 17 of Pittsburgh’s 38 points. Eliminate those mistakes and you are probably looking at an easy Packer win. NOT a fun day for the Packer faithful in the stands at Mighty Lambeau.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the season will come down to the game against the Bears next week. You can’t ask for a better scenario, can you? Final game of the year, division foe, winner goes on to the playoffs, loser goes home and wonders what-if. The drumbeat for Aaron Rodgers to play has already started up and will get louder and louder with every passing minute. I can only hope he’ll be ready but I’m not optimistic: The MMQB Research Center reported a tweet (citing “inside sources”) stating that Rodgers is not even close, that the risk of a catastrophic failure of his healing collarbone is real and tangible. This puts Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy in a very precarious position - clear Rodgers and you risk not only the playoffs this year but the continued fortunes of the team next year. Fail to clear him and get beat next week and face the combined wrath of thousands of fans second-guessing you. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do not envy their task.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-75824595255917245492013-12-15T18:33:00.003-08:002013-12-15T18:33:38.577-08:00After a historically bad first half, the Packers engineer a historically great comeback<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">Make</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> no mistake: the Green Bay Packers were toast. They were beaten. Stick a fork in them - they were done. After embarrassing themselves for the first thirty minutes and clawing back to within 5 in the 4th quarter, the Packers would have been totally justified in laying down on the turf of their latest Super Bowl triumph and just accepting their fate.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There they were, down by five, having almost (<i>almost!)</i> revived themselves from a historically awful first half. They had given up the most first-half yards ever in Cowboy history that reaches back into the Packer decade of the 1960’s. They had managed only a measly field goal against the worst defense (no matter how you measure it) in the entire NFL. But something happened at halftime, just as it did last week. On the first play from scrimmage, Eddie Lacy ran for sixty yards and three plays later Flynn hit Jordy Nelson for the TD and the comeback was on!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the comeback would be delayed! Tramon Williams made a diving interception that the refs found to be not entirely pure and gave the ball back to the home team. On the next play, the ‘Boys right tackle would flinch and draw Neil offsides and the Packer penalty (what???) would give Dallas a first down and the ensuing drive (did some money pass from Jerry Jones’ coffers to the ref’s accounts?) would put “America’s Team” up and in position for a victory.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sigh. The Packers had been so awful in the first half! Dom Capers’ defense was unable to stop the run, unable to cover anybody and unable to get any pressure on Romo. If the Cowboys had been a better team or had their coaches ben able to call a coherent game, they would have been up by at least 35 at the half and maybe more. Matt Flynn was doing a masterful job playing himself out of a guaranteed gig backing up Aaron Rodgers for the 2014 season. Think about what the Bears (an fairly mediocre team) had done to the Cowboys last week and you had to love the Packers chances to rack up big yards in both the running and passing games, but as has been the norm for the last six weeks, the Packer offensive line couldn’t muster enough blocking for either it’s running back or its quarterback.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then a funny thing happened: The Packer offense started playing like a professional football team should. The Packer defense, dismayed and dishonored by the atrocious referee calls, shook it off and produced yet another interception, this time one above reproach (and beyond Jerry Jones’ ability to buy off). </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the Packers took over with 2:46 to play, you could almost feel the inevitability of the ensuing score. A combination of Flynn passing and Lacy running, culminating in the rookie running back putting the Packers up for good felt like sweet, sweet redemption. What had started as potentially one of the most embarrassing losses in Packer history ended up as one of the greatest comebacks in Packer history. As awful as the first half had been, the second half looked suspiciously like a <i>football game</i>, something that has been conspicuously absent from the Packer portfolio since October.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make no mistake, this team is still flawed, maybe fatally so. Their defense can look worse than third graders one minute, then stiffen and force punts or field goals. Clay Matthews, the supposedly best defensive player on this team, was almost completely absent (he had two assists and a half-sack) yet somehow the defense was able to clamp down. The secondary, seemingly oblivious a football game was going on during the first half, came up with two picks in the second half (should have been three) to set up the winning TD and seal the victory. The offense, horribly inept in the first half, exploded for 34 points in the second. What. The. Hell?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pending the Lion’s result on Monday night, the Packers will either be a half game behind the Bears or a half-game behind the Bears and Lions. The Browns, those lovable losers, couldn’t hold on to a second half lead and got waxed by Chicago, a game that could have propelled the Packers to the North lead.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m still afraid of the horror I might witness if the Packers get into the playoffs but I’m totally intrigued by the prospect of the post-season itself. I can’t imagine the Packers will beat any playoff-worthy team, but just getting there would be a stunning achievement in itself. With the return of Aaron Rodgers looming, with the possible return of Randall Cobb, with the sudden resurgence of the will to win in Green Bay, I have to say I’m suddenly invested in the possibility of more Packer wins. A few weeks ago (the memory of the Debacle in Detroit will take a long time to fade) the Green Bay Packers looked incapable of winning another game in 2013. Now, they are feeling like they can pull off a win against anybody. I don’t think that’s true but remember: Belief is a powerful force.</span></span><br />
<br />RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-13566256799455791622013-12-08T14:27:00.000-08:002013-12-08T14:27:19.321-08:00Packers find it within themselves to muster a narrow victory in cold and snow Lambeau Field<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxp7yjriT2X4CoBU4Cfh5quLaupSEq3fyU2pTpqrrzWWt9GNu_WHlXQPVd_tqPCFifz-HYJy9qq0WfHCC1cxD-hIUaf76HHnifGrmTMubU4-gt5xVdhdAVrnfD1jTQOJnYlYALMSQAUpI/s1600/r-GREEN-BAY-PACKERS-FANS-SNOW-large570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxp7yjriT2X4CoBU4Cfh5quLaupSEq3fyU2pTpqrrzWWt9GNu_WHlXQPVd_tqPCFifz-HYJy9qq0WfHCC1cxD-hIUaf76HHnifGrmTMubU4-gt5xVdhdAVrnfD1jTQOJnYlYALMSQAUpI/s320/r-GREEN-BAY-PACKERS-FANS-SNOW-large570.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">Mrs.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> MMQB, upon being informed of the final result of the game (she quit watching at halftime) and the implications of the Detroit loss summed things up better than I ever could: “What a screwed up season!”</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right, Packer-backers, with the improbable victory recorded at frigid Lambeau Field and the failure of the Lions in the snow at Philly, Green Bay suddenly finds themselves only a half-game out of first place in the NFC North. Despite all the injuries, despite Aaron Rodgers being absent since October, despite the mid-season regression of the defense from top ten to bottom ten, your Green Bay Packers have a shot at the playoffs with only three games left in this season.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do they deserve it? Are they a team that should really in contention for anything? Well, if you have paid any attention during the month of November, you’d have to say “no”. This is a severely dysfunctional football team with gaping deficiencies in just about every position except for maybe kicker and punter. And yet, here we are.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Truly, the only reason we are even mentioned in the post-season equation is due to the 5-2 record put up by Aaron Rodgers and that other Packer team, the one during the first half of the season that looked like it was going places. Fortunately, you can’t separate that team from the buffoons who took their places in week 7.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Full disclosure here: I was only able to watch the first half and small chunks of the second. I did get to watch the last three series and the eventual clinching interception (another one? Unheard of!) and the unusual sight of a Packer victory.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While watching the first half, I have to say I quickly lapsed into a “here we go again” mindset. Our team kept showing brief moments and flashes of their former selves but would quickly regress to that group that was handed their collective jock straps by Detroit on Thanksgiving. When Flynn was strip-sacked, it hurt. When that ricochet interception was returned for six, I became almost indifferent. How can a fan bring himself to care about a team that appears to have completely lost the will to win?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make no mistake - the will of the players, their belief they can beat an opponent, is a major factor in football games. I’ve been watching the NFL since the 1960’s and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen inept, overmatched teams get the idea in their heads that they can win and darned if they don’t go ahead and do just that. Think back to the 2010 Super Bowl season. There was a point in that year, after they’d lost to the Patriots (with Rodgers on the bench after a concussion the week before) where this team had to question their worth. I think many Packer fans were doing the same. The team had been devastated by injuries all season long and their arrow was definitely pointing down. They had two games left and would need to win them both to have a shot. Something happened as they welcomed the Giants the following week: the Packers began to believe in themselves again. They destroyed New York and then went out and outplayed the Bears and the drive for the championship was on. They were able to overcome a crisis in confidence to win it all.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t bring this up to tell you I think this team is going to win the Super Bowl. I don’t even believe this team will get to the post-season. I bring this up to illustrate why the Packers won this game today. There wasn’t any one single moment that did it. They just kept working, kept pounding and did just enough, <i>just enough</i>, to win the game. The Falcons certainly didn’t look like a team with only three wins (the Packers of late have had a way of making poor opponents feel much better about themselves) and should have easily put this game out of reach after going up 21-10 at the half. Somehow, some way, the Packer defense found some untapped reserve of resolve and held the Falcons scoreless over the final half. Somehow, some way, the Packer offense found a hidden pocket of desire, just deep enough to squeak out two field goals and a touchdown to Quarless with 12 minutes left in the game. And I think that’s the answer - the Packers had to want it more. I’m sure they wanted to win all those other games but for some reason, that little bit of desire was just enough to carry the day today.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever happens the rest of the way, the Packers can point to this game and say, “yes, we were down, we were beaten. After our worst game in ten years, we came out and could have just laid down on the cold, snowy turf and let it happen again. But we didn’t. We rose up. We didn’t play all that great, but we played well enough. It might mean exactly zero, but today, it was enough. We proved we can win a game without Aaron Rodgers.”</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So now, with three games to play and the possibility of Rodgers’ eventual return, Mike McCarthy has a lot to think about. The offensive line is still leaking like a sieve. Do you trust this makeshift group to protect your franchise quarterback? If Rodgers takes the kind of pounding Flynn took today, would he survive it? If the Packers had lost today, that answer becomes a simple one - you sit Rodgers. Now, with the win and the Lion’s loss, the equation gets much more complicated. If this week’s bone scan clears him, Rodgers is going to play. He might be a little rusty, but his presence on the field is so important to this team that you just can’t keep him on the bench while still playing meaningful games.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-72540173931923243072013-11-29T09:58:00.000-08:002013-11-29T09:58:26.801-08:00Lions embarrass the Packers in every possible way in historic Thanksgiving ass-kicking<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> am thankful for many, many things in my life. I have great co-workers, tremendous friends, a wonderful family. I live in place and time overflowing with great beer, great places to ride my bike and great entertainment opportunities. However on Thanksgiving, I was most thankful for Mrs. MMQB. Aside from the fact that she’s a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and all-around great partner in life, I’m thankful for the fact that she ignores what I say.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ever since the Packers schedule came out and I knew we had a Thanksgiving game against the Lions, I told her (in every forceful manner possible) that our Turkey Day meal needed to occur after the end of the game. 3-3:30 or so, due to the 11:30 AM kick-off. Such a simple thing, right? Well, as she often does, she ignored my simple request and planned our (wonderful) fest smack dab in the middle of the game. Having been married for 33 years, I know when to relax and accept the inevitable - you learn to pick your battles and I knew this was one I wasn’t going to win. So why am I so thankful she did what she did? I got to miss almost the entire second half of one of the most embarrassing losses in Packer history. For that, Mrs. MMQB, my love, I will be eternally grateful.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as the after-dinner conversation wound down and the clean up began, of course I had the TV turned on, just missing the end. Having watched or listened to the first half and a bit of the third quarter, I was under no illusions as to the outcome - there was no way in hell that team I had seen was going to win a football game that day. As the FOX studio commentators discussed the game, it slowly dawned on me that it wasn’t just another loss I had missed. Soon I saw the video evidence and was so despondent that I was unable to watch any more football the rest of the day, one of the true joys (for me) of the Thanksgiving holiday.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being the sad and pathetic masochist I am, I just had to go online and check out all the stats and all the video, just to ensure that the gaping wound that was this game was open, raw and completely seasoned with salt. Not dinner table salt, I mean the big, rocky kind they spread on the roads when it snows. Yeah, that’s the ticket...GRIND it in there! You know which of the low-lights hurt the worst? The safety. Oh, that stung. Here you have a double-team on Suh, the Lions best (and worst) defensive lineman. He not only beats two supposedly professional offensive linemen, he swims through their feeble efforts like they’re not even there. He then swarms over Matt Flynn like he’s a grade-schooler and then, just as he is about to sling him forcefully to the turf, <i>he lets up!</i> Yes, that’s how bad the Detroit Lions beat our Packers on Thursday. It was so bad Ndamukong Suh, possibly the dirtiest player in the NFL, <i>took pity on our quarterback.</i> </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the first quarter, the Packers were able to put up their entire pitiful scoring output of the day in the form of a weak drive that ended in an XL field goal by Mason Crosby and a strip sack by Perry resulting in a fumble recovery for a TD. That’s right, Cheesehead Nation, the great and powerful Packer offense, facing an entirely forgettable Lion secondary, could not generate any points or even more than one penetration into enemy territory to justify trotting the FG team back out. That’s not just bad, it’s awful.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess we need to be thankful that the Lions were so bad at ball security (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 7 points given up) on Thursday. Thankful it kept the Pack in the game? Please. The Pack was NEVER in that game. No, I’m thankful the Lions kept giving us the ball because if they hadn’t, they would have put up 70 points. Or more. I’m not sure we Packer fans could have survived that.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know we are going to hear the drumbeat, over and over again, during the next 12 days, for the immediate dismissal of Dom Capers, Green Bay’s defensive coordinator. His troops were so inept at every phase of the game, it became almost comical. Do you think any of the Packer defensive backs had ever seen a slant pattern? Sure didn’t look like it to me. Do you think any emphasis was put on covering Calvin Johnson? You know that big guy nicknamed after a giant Transformer character? Didn’t seem like they thought it wise to cover him at all. Do you think after the awful tackling performances over the last month something might have been mentioned about squaring up, wrapping up and taking running backs down? You know, like kids have been taught since their first practice as grade-schoolers? Didn’t seem like the defense was even aware that tackling was allowed in the NFL. So I think Dom Capers certainly has to shoulder his share of the blame for that awful, awful game. But to all of you “experts” who will call for his heard, I say “shut the hell up.” This wasn’t about scheme or technique or about calls. It was completely, 100% about lack of execution by every man, up and down that defense. Will firing Dom Capers heal the injured? Will it keep Hawk from getting caught up in the wash of blockers? Will it help Matthews beat a triple team? Will hit magically transport Shields or Williams into a position where they are actually covering the receiver instead of chasing him or locking down an empty patch of turf? I’m not giving Dom a pass here (it may well be time for new blood), I’m just saying it takes all eleven guys on the field completely screwing up to absorb an ass-kicking of this proportion.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was the game we had to have: beat the Lions and you still remain relevant in the NFL. So it was time for the Packers to step up and prove their mettle on a national stage, with every NFL fan in the world watching. Sadly, they played their worst game of the year, possibly their worst in the last decade. It proved they do not belong in the elite and will have to take a long, hard look in the collective mirror to figure out how to get back there.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One other thing we should all be thankful for: we should thank our lucky stars this truly bad Packer team is going to be sitting at home and watching games with the rest of us in January. Sure, the return of Aaron Rodgers will improve the offense a great deal and I suppose it could magically heal the defense (as his injury seemed to magically degrade it) and the Packers could, in theory, win out and end up 9-6-1. But 9 wins won’t be good enough for a wild card in the NFC - you’d have to win the North to get in. The Lions and/or Bears could go into an absolute tailspin and the unlikely could happen. But imagine if a so-so team like the Lions (and the Vikings, Giants, Eagles and Bears) can dominate and embarrass this team, what kind of beat-down one of the truly elite teams would administer. No, Rodgers can’t fix the offensive line, one of the absolute strengths of the team over the first half of the season and now one of the absolute weaknesses. Rodgers can’t help our terrible secondary cover opposing receivers and he can’t tackle for the defense either. If I were Mike McCarthy, I would seriously be considering putting Rodgers on the IR and calling it a year, taking whatever humiliation the last month of the season dishes out. It couldn’t possibly be any worse that what they got on Thanksgiving Day.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-68436104029432444652013-11-24T15:13:00.003-08:002013-11-24T15:13:30.299-08:00Packers fall way behind, replace their QB, claw back in, get ahead, end up with a resounding tie<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> saying goes that a tie is like kissing your sister. If that is so, the tie managed by the Packers was like full-on tongue with your sister.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t get me wrong - I think the fact that Green Bay and Minnesota ended their 4-hour long contest with the scoreboard knotted up is a fantastic result. After driving his team downfield in the first quarter, Scott Tolzien capped off the drive with a twisting scramble for six that will make every highlight reel in the nation. And then he lost his mojo. After what seemed like several days of excruciatingly poor play, he was pulled in favor of Matt Flynn. I like Scott Tolzien. I think he has what it takes to play in the NFL. I believed he would play well today but I cannot fault Mike McCarthy for giving him the hook. Tolzien was not the reason the Packers had lost three games in a row but against the Vikings, it was obvious he was not going to be the reason we won one.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Matt Flynn, lately an NFL vagabond since his record-setting outing against the Lions two years ago, was signed by the Packers after Rodgers and Seneca Wallace went down and the move looks like sheer genius right now, although most Packer fans are more of the “what took you so freakin’ long???” opinion. Flynn came in and led the Packers to 16 points in the fourth quarter to get things back to even and gave his once-and-current team a shot at victory. He didn’t set the world on fire (21-for-36, 218 yards and a TD) but he did provide the spark that started the comeback.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of sparks, you’ve got to love (LOVE!) the fire in the belly of Eddie Lacy. He ended the day on the sideline with what might have been a minor injury but he chipped in 110 yards on 25 attempts and 1 TD. More importantly, many of those runs were pounding, slamming, tumbling variety, runs that keep drives alive. If our early quarterback play had been up to snuff, Lacy’s running would have demoralized and destroyed the Queens defense, likely controlling the game all by himself.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As powerful as Lacy’s running was, he was out-shone by Adrian Peterson, who re-imposed his dominance over the Packer defense again. Peterson ran for 136 yards and a score (kind of a ho-hum day for him playing the Packers) but I’m thinking maybe it wasn’t so much about the running of Peterson as it was about the total domination by the Vikes O-line over the Packer defense. When AP needed a breather after gashing the Pack, Toby Gerhardt (8 rushes for an astounding 91 yards!) came in and made our front seven look foolish. Our inability to stop the run is directly tied to the fact that Johnny Jolly was out and it has become an all too familiar refrain during our Rodgers-less interlude.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the passing game, our severely depleted secondary continued to underperform. Christian Ponder, one of the least capable quarterbacks in the NFL, passed for 233 yards and 1 TD. It’s often painful to watch him play but today he looked like he was much improved. Of course, with the Packers conceding just about any throw he wanted to make (love the see the Packers “passes defended” stats - probably all zeroes) it wasn’t too hard. It’s always puzzling to me while watching the Packer games how our receivers are always tightly covered and have to fight and make outstanding plays on every pass and somehow our opponents always seem to have at least one guy wide open on every pass.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did everybody miss Clay Matthews? I know I did. In his third game back after breaking his thumb, Clay Matthews finally started to play like...well, Clay Matthews. He had two sacks, three tackles and one assist but he was the main reason his fellow defenders recorded four more. Without this pressure, I think the score might have gotten out of hand and completely out of reach. It was heartening to have him back and performing at such a high level and it gave me some hope that there is the slightest glimmer of hope for this defense. Sure, they can’t stop the run and can’t cover on the pass but if they can pressure QB’s into making mistakes, maybe they can make some big plays. And no, I don’t mean interceptions - our defense seems to be allergic to them and I wouldn’t want to provoke some sort of rash. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now the big question of the week: who will be the Packer’s quarterback on Thanksgiving day?That’s a question that really hasn’t been relevant since 1992 but it’s one that is uppermost in Cheesehead Nation quite often of late. Will Aaron Rodgers be ready to play? Is Scott Tolzien still the starter? Will Mike McCarthy view the game film and decide Flynn is The Man? Personally, if Rodgers isn’t ready to go, he has to name Flynn the starter and do it quickly - it’s a short week and he’ll need every snap in practice to be ready.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game in Detroit on Thursday suddenly becomes HUGE. The Packers could not take advantage of the losses by the Lions and Bears but the tie leaves them only a half-game behind both teams. Despite the absence of Aaron Rodgers and the painful three-game losing streak, the tie muddies the playoff waters and muddy water works to our advantage. Look at the standings and you have to conclude that the only way the Pack can get into the post-season is to win the North. Too many good teams surging right now so the Wild Card will not be an option. The Packers have already beaten the Lions once and won and tied over the Vikes. IF we can somehow pull out the win over the Lions on Turkey Day, our path to the playoffs will be in our own hands. If we cannot pull off the win, we won’t be mathematically eliminated but for all practical purposes, we’ll be done. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Minnesota Vikings posses the worst (as in #32) defense in the NFL and one of the worst offenses and it was all the Packers could do to scratch out a tie. Something has to change.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, if Dom Capers has an ounce of coaching smarts left in him, he needs to find a way to cover wide receivers with a bunch of third-teamers because Megatron is coming. He needs to figure out how to get his team to shed blockers and tackle because Reggie Bush is licking his chops. Mike McCarthy needs to figure out how to block pass rushers with Marshall “Turnstile” Newhouse anchoring his line. He also has to hope that Matt Flynn can catch lightning in a bottle for the second time against the Lions. Because this is a playoff game for the Packers, despite what the schedule says. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-89575840762215707872013-11-17T17:09:00.000-08:002013-11-17T17:09:20.006-08:00Packers fall to the Giants once again: Did they ever look like they had a chance?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">There</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> were the Packers, in the fourth quarter, on the road and facing the Giants. Their third QB of the year, Scott Tolzien, hasn’t played lights-out but well enough. Despite the all-too-familiar wretched play by the defensive secondary, things are shifting in their favor. They had just driven down and pounded Lacy into the end zone for their first touchdown of the game. Inspired by this, the defense rises up and sacks Eli Manning twice, forcing a punt. Only down by seven, the Green Bay Packers had the momentum, they had the Giants on their heels and they had a chance. Then Tolzien stepped back and threw the ball right into the very large paws of Jason Pierre Paul, who casually sauntered into the end zone for a pick six. There was still a lot of time left and there would be quite a lot of back-and-forth and even another interception but for all intents and purposes, the game was over. No need for the Giants to go on a 8+ minute drive to end the game. The Pack was done.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say that aside from that brief period early in the 4th quarter, the Packers never looked like they had a chance in this game. They ran six rather anemic-looking plays in the first quarter. The defense, pretty stout for a few downs, would let NY wide receivers casually stroll around the field, allowing long catches at will. There really wasn’t any time where the Giants seemed threatened. With one of the worst offenses in the NFL through the fist six weeks, New York has been getting hot, playing against mediocre teams with sketchy QB situations. They ran their winning streak to four on Sunday, exposing the Packers as one of those marginal opponents. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This team regressed today to their 2011 and 2012 form - can’t rush the ball, can’t cover anybody and totally dependent on the pass. The difference was that Aaron Rodgers is standing on the sideline sporting a bad mustache and a clip board and not winning football games with his arm. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It feels like the Pack is in a downward spiral right now that will not be stopped by the return of Aaron Rodgers. Yes, he will certainly score more points that Tolzien and he will pay much more attention to ball security but with this wretched defense weighing him down, Rodgers will be hard-pressed to out-score any team. Eli Manning, mired in one of the worst years of his career, could do no wrong. He made one bad mistake in throwing an interception to Tramon Williams (hey! We go a pick! Woo hoo!) but otherwise the Packers made him look like his old Super Bowl MVP self. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you look at the upcoming schedule, you’d have to say the Packers should be posed to make a run straight into the playoffs. Well, maybe you’d think that about the Packer’s team that took the field against the Bears three weeks ago. Since then, they’ve lost two QB’s, their defensive mojo and three straight games. They’ve gone from leading the NFC North to a full game behind both the Bears and Lions. They’ve gone from a top ten NFL team to a plummeting mess, just trying to find a way to win a game. Any game.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will things change when Aaron Rodgers gets back in the game? If you look at the last three games, you’d have to say “no”. Of course, his exit precipitated the nosedive, so maybe his return will pull the team out of it. The only problem is that the team will likely be 5-6 and riding a 4-game losing streak if he makes is back in time for the Thanksgiving tilt against the Lions. And after watching Matt Stafford make the Steelers look foolish for one quarter (seriously: Pittsburgh gave up 24 points in the 2nd quarter!) I foresee a passing day for him versus the Packer secondary of historic proportions. If Rodgers is still on the sidelines for that game, I would seriously suggest throwing in the towel and protecting his shoulder for 2014. Will Thanksgiving be too early to “wait until next year”? I’m not saying they couldn’t pull out some wins (some pretty awful teams yet to play) but the season will be lost by then.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packers have not dropped three in a row since 2008 (when their streak topped five). That’s five seasons under Aaron Rodgers when Packer fans could always count on their team bouncing back. Their next opponent is the truly awful Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau. Even with home field advantage, would anyone their right mind pick the Packers (5-5) over the Vikings (2-8)? Let’s see...Packers can no longer stop the run and they are going to be facing Adrian Peterson. Their secondary can’t cover anybody and have a total of 4 interceptions on the year. Their offensive line is no longer opening up any holes for Eddie Lacy and, oh, yeah, Scott Tolzien is playing quarterback instead of Aaron Rodgers. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This team needs to start playing like they have a practice squad QB under center. They need to understand they are on the verge of becoming entirely irrelevant. They need to stop this slide before they slip down that deep, ugly hole that is mediocrity. We’ll all be hoping that playing a terrible Vikings team at home will be just what the doctor ordered. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-80408935331811435712013-11-10T14:50:00.001-08:002013-11-10T14:50:38.557-08:00The Packers defense and their season turn to s***<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqzV8QJn2Vp80lwN-XReOWPT3pt3C3oPbV0i7LeFl_yqBJh5VJb5tFk2vbbuDmjd7ZmIhXLsbYZmhx_Udht2eXkJimksbfmB0W8IojkDWKVZiGVTL_TiTUNN0Gk9Yw2WAMfUK22tGZxdm/s1600/injury-300x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihqzV8QJn2Vp80lwN-XReOWPT3pt3C3oPbV0i7LeFl_yqBJh5VJb5tFk2vbbuDmjd7ZmIhXLsbYZmhx_Udht2eXkJimksbfmB0W8IojkDWKVZiGVTL_TiTUNN0Gk9Yw2WAMfUK22tGZxdm/s1600/injury-300x200.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">After</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> watching the Packers get smacked on Sunday, I have a question for your all: Has our great quarterback, super running game and powerful passing attack masked the fact that we have a mediocre defense?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As soon as Aaron Rodgers hit the turf and heard a sickening “crunch” against the Bears last week, the Packers defense has turned into a bunch of inconsistent, confused and mewling children. How can a team, that has been so stout against the run for the first seven weeks of the season, be so suddenly ineffective. How can a team that made a living with turnovers for the last half-decade suddenly find themselves dead last in takeaways? How can a desperate Green Bay Packer team allow their opponents to gobble up two thirds of the fourth quarter two weeks in a row?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We can all argue about the injuries and the QB situation and not getting the calls...the bottom line here is a simple one: if the Packer defense plays up to their potential, we win both of the last two games. You heard me, Packer fans - the biggest problem in Titletown is not the fact that Aaron Rodgers is on the sideline. It’s the Packer defense and their inability to play the run and their inability to defend the pass when it matters.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me be clear: we saw some really good defense from the Pack in the first half of the game. They kept the score close. You could see a path to victory if they could keep it up but they did not. Clay Matthews was a total non-factor in pass rush and in run stop. Tramon Williams leads the world in almost-picks, resulting in first downs. Our previously great defensive line forgets how to play the run late in games. Our Packers gave up nine plays of 20 yards or more, including two touchdown passes into double coverage that should have been picked or easily defended. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a game that required our defense to step up and win the game, they failed. Miserably. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dom Capers has been given a healthy helping of draft picks over the last two years. Injuries have played a part but you have to start to wonder (to channel Vince Lombardi) what the hell is going on out there. Is it the scheme? Is it the players? Is it the execution? What the hell is it? We have had a second string quarterback and a third string quarterback do almost enough to win two football games. Why haven’t we won? Our defense. How does that happen?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week the entire Packer Nation was focused on Seneca Wallace. Would he be able to hold things together long enough for Aaron Rodgers to get back? When Wallace went down, the collective reflexive gasp had the same concern about Scott Tolzien. I’m here to tell you, friends, you are barking up the wrong damn tree. The key to the Packers Rodgers-less fortunes will not be found in who is under center. It will be found in Dom Capers, Clay Matthews and Tramon Williams. Based on what I’ve seen in the month of November, I’m not optimistic.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s not all on the Packers: I have to give props to the Eagles here. They very adroitly found the soft spots in the Packer defense and exploited them. In that game-winning, soul-crushing drive in the fourth quarter, the Eagles wanted to run the ball to chew clock. The Packers knew exactly what was going to happen yet Philly out-executed the Packers over and over again. Kudos to them.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many Cheeseheads are going to complain about Scott Tolzien today. I can see the bloviating no-nothings and their on-line commentary already. Thompson and McCarthy must be fired because all they had left was Tolzien. To all of those people, I say “please shut the hell up. You know nothing.” I watched Tolzien lead the Wisconsin Badgers and I found him to be a pretty good quarterback. To be elevated from the practice squad and be charged with running the Packer offense in the span of five days, I would have to grade him A+. Yes, he threw that pick in the end zone. That was a tight, tight play and he might have put that ball a bit higher but it was still a great throw. Let me throw this out there: if that pass doesn’t come up slightly short, if the refs confirm that TD Jordy makes and if the referees understood exactly how to identify pass interference, Scott Tolzien pulls out this win. Yes, as awful as the defense played in the second half, only a few plays on offense meant the difference between an awful defeat and an inspiring victory.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to talk about the injuries. The most obvious one was to Wallace and that hurt but you know what? I think that was a positive. If we count the pre-season QB’s, Tolzien was the SIXTH STRING quarterback (Rodgers, Wallace, Young, Harrell, Coleman ahead of him) and I contend he acquitted himself well. No, I think the other injuries were much, much worse. Aside from Wallace, you had Evan Dietrich Smith go out, which shifted the offensive line around and allowed human sieve Marshall Newhouse into the lineup. You had Johnny Jolly go down which limited the D-line rotation. You had Perry get dinged which allowed Matthews to get double-teamed. You had Barclay get hurt and then we had an offensive line in complete chaos. You had the recently-returned Hayward limp off and now your secondary isn’t supporting the run anymore. We’ll have to await the official injury report but you just can’t continue to lose players until “next man up” becomes “who the hell do we have left? At the end of the game, by the count of Brother Russ (official statistician here at The MMQB), the only starters on offense left from the first day of camp were Jones, Nelson, Lang and Sitton. Hard to win with that kind of devastation.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’ll see what the injury report looks like (I half expected the Packers to ask for volunteers from the fans at Lambeau to finish the game) to see what next week will look like. In this war of attrition, Green Bay is losing. Tolzien will be the starter next week and rightly so. Who will be filling the other 21 starting spots is up in the air. If the Packers could squeak out a few victories while their QB healed, we had a shot. It’s no longer about Rodgers - it’s about the defense and the third- and fourth-string players now taking the field. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-25011134209444946082013-11-04T21:23:00.000-08:002013-11-04T21:23:02.587-08:00Packers lose Rodgers and get outplayed by the Bears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmnc5euK-6APmqU0yG5JlDU9nX4jwddi9zp0W5YDqvrrLBLqjzW-84cfxI0DZ6AiVR5gotQJkCnI0dCDPRQjINOClO6WV2J-Xn5gaSUX-kAzsO6LJK6C7utiLk3W8KyvWzCH4qKfly36r/s1600/helmets_packersbears.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDmnc5euK-6APmqU0yG5JlDU9nX4jwddi9zp0W5YDqvrrLBLqjzW-84cfxI0DZ6AiVR5gotQJkCnI0dCDPRQjINOClO6WV2J-Xn5gaSUX-kAzsO6LJK6C7utiLk3W8KyvWzCH4qKfly36r/s1600/helmets_packersbears.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers are a third-rate team without Aaron Rodgers on the field. There, I said it. We may not want to believe such a thing, but the truth of it was proven tonight against the Chicago Bears. Once Rodgers went down on the first Packer series, the game was effectively over. Josh McCwon played like the veteran he is, managing the game, making all the throws, standing in the pocket. One might argue that McCown might be a better QB than the emotional and erratic Jay Cutler. If his performance tonight is indicative, they should be looking long and hard at sitting Jay Baby. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaron Rodgers’ back-up, Seneca Wallace, was not as good. Or at least I don’t think he was as good. It’s kind of hard to tell when Mike McCarthy and the Packer staff refused to turn him lose, calling rush after rush and only short, short passes. On his few opportunities to show his arm, Wallace was found lacking, getting two passes tipped, one being picked off. Maybe he’s better in practice or maybe he just needs more reps. The Packers ejected all their pre-season back-up QB’s in favor of Wallace and former Badger Scott Tolzien. They must know something we don’t. One thing we do know for sure: you will only go as far as your back-ups will take you. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most puzzling thing about this game was the completely lax way the Packer defense reacted to the loss of Rodgers. Yes, they certainly made some plays and put some pressure on the back-up QB but that pressure was always a few ticks late. When the Packers would blitz, McCown would hang in and inevitably find some great big receiver wide open. When the Packers would drop into coverage, Forte would slam into the line, eventually softening up the line and gashing the Pack for critical yardage. The most puzzling part? How does the loss of Aaron Rodgers turn the Packer defense into a collection of clueless dolts? How does the loss of Aaron Rodgers turn Dom Capers into a confused and forgetful coach? </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You want to see some of the worse defense ever seen at Lambeau? Watch the Bear’s final drive. Almost NINE MINUTES LONG! Nursing a four point lead, the Bears consumed two thirds of the fourth quarter and came away with three points to seal the win. Where was our defense? Where was our defensive coach? Does Aaron Rodgers play D? What the heck?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Injuries, aside from the obvious loss of Rodgers, doomed the Pack. Once Lang went out with a concussion, the offensive line was </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">shuffled (Barclay moving to guard and Newhouse coming in at tackle) and they went into an ugly spiral that culminated in back-to-back sacks to put a merciful end to Wallace’s evening. On the rare moments Wallace was allowed to drop back, the Bear pass rush made him uncomfortable and running scared.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a point where things could have gone differently: In the second quarter, Wallace had finally gotten the Packers moving. Facing a critical third down, he completed a pass to James Jones who appeared to bobble the ball going out of bounds. However, the replay showed Jones regained control before touching the chalk. Mike McCarthy, unfathomably, did not issue a challenge. Come on, Mike! Your QB is done for the night, your back-up is struggling and you are barely hanging on by your fingernails. What did you have to lose? Sure, there are no guarantees that the Packers would have scored. We do know that after the ensuing punt, the Bears would drive 99 yards and score a field goal. THAT, Mike is what you get paid to do and you blew that one big time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such a rush of negative feelings after this game but there were a few positives to take away. First, the Packers came out after halftime and, through the strength of crazy good rushing and a surprise onside kick, scored ten straight points and actually took a 3-point lead. At that point, the offense was doing just enough to survive and the defense was playing with a recognizable physical swagger. That swagger would soon be replaced by weeping puppy eyes and a whimper, but for that shining moment, it almost looked like the Packers might pull this out. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great takeaway was the power of the Packer rushing attack. Eddie Lacy continued his ascendency with 150 yards and a TD and James Starks chipped in 40 and a TD of his own. The absence of Rodgers forced the Packers into a run-first mode and the Bears countered with 8 and 9 men in the box and the Packers still were effective on the ground. I don’t know what the future holds at the QB position (hey, didn’t Matt Flynn get cut by the Bills on Monday? Paging Ted Thompson, Mr. Thompson, call on line one) but the running game seems to be secure.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The strengths of this Packer team were transformed into weaknesses in the blink of an eye tonight. Our All-World QB who can do just about anything with the football was replaced by a washed-up journeyman that the coaches don’t trust to throw the ball. Our steady and effective offensive line was knocked down into a leaky sieve. Our gritty and physical defense morphed into human pinball machines, unable to do anything well or consistently.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The future of this season will be determined in a doctors office on Tuesday when they diagnose the prospects for Rodgers’ return. If he is out for more than a week or two, our season in done. We cannot win with Wallace as the QB. That much is clear. Ted Thompson has been lights-out in player management and development but his one glaring failure (not having a second-string QB worthy of the name ready to play) was exposed on national TV tonight.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-56768383587568868952013-10-27T21:28:00.004-07:002013-10-27T21:28:36.412-07:00Packers say good-bye to the Hump/Metro/MOA dome in stylish fashion.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLCkJDgvBdIyzVthf3_6tJoxJHRhZgPJIyMi5fCl0Z7A1BkQjiZSPRC47rK46inupt-ZjRqHWZNxwDfypisGReMhajLwO2JsB9wsSLwkriWguzUvMQCllinKdZy1zJcEl3xlKSO3AeZhC/s1600/grant_a_vikings_fans_b1_576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLCkJDgvBdIyzVthf3_6tJoxJHRhZgPJIyMi5fCl0Z7A1BkQjiZSPRC47rK46inupt-ZjRqHWZNxwDfypisGReMhajLwO2JsB9wsSLwkriWguzUvMQCllinKdZy1zJcEl3xlKSO3AeZhC/s320/grant_a_vikings_fans_b1_576.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">Just</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> so you know, I have nothing but admiration for the state of Minnesota. I have many good friends that call MN their home and all are excellent folk. Brother Russ (an even bigger Packer fan than I) and his lovely wife call the state their home. Great state, great people. Heck, I travel there once every year just to bike and raise money for MS and I’m more than happy to do it. My only problem with Minnesota? It’s entirely infested with Vikings fans.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Viking “fans” are the worst kind of football fans there are. Unless their team is destroying every team they face, they can’t be bothered. If they win a game, they are going to the Super Bowl. If they lose a game, their coach, QB and owner should be executed at the 50-yard line. If the season isn’t going as planned, well, they’re all hanging at the Mall of America on Sundays instead of watching the game. It’s all or nothing with Queens fans.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when the Green Bay Packers come to town, the biggest rivalry the Vikings have, and the seats in the Hump Dome have almost as many Green-and-Gold butts in them as Purple-and-Gold, you have to question their status as “fans”. Just a bit. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’d love to pronounce total dominance over the hated ViQueens but I can’t get the awful taste of a sloppy Packer defense out of my mouth. The Packer D committed three penalties that directly led to 17 Viking points, over half their total on the evening. Sure, you hold Adrian Peterson to 60 yards on 13 carries smother Ponder for 149 yards on 21 attempts. Good stuff. Now go look at the scoreboard. Take away the ridiculous 109-yard kickoff run back to start the game and you let this terrible, dysfunctional offense run up 24 points on you. NOT something to be proud of.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing the defense did and did well was keep Greg Jennings (1 reception for 9 yards) from being a factor in the game. His best play, by far, was to be the “victim” of a phantom interference call that kept a 2nd quarter Minnesota drive alive that resulted in their first offensive TD of the day. I was never happy that Jennings felt he had to go and play in Minnesota but hey, at least he wasn’t acting like a jerk like some ex-Packers tended to be when first they don the horned helmet. Then he started mouthing off about Rodgers and then the Packers and then, well, acting like a jerk. So a pox upon his house. You wanted a big boatload of cash? Fine. Now you get to play on a really crappy team with a merry-go-round at quarterback. Enjoy your stay and your quick slide to irrelevance! As Hienz Ward said on the pre-game, there are no All Spice commercials coming your way in Minneapolis, Greg.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I keep having to talk about the Packer running game in this space, dang it! How I yearn for the simpler days when all the Packers had was a superstar QB and a half-dozen ninja wide-outs. Oh, woe is me! Seriously, Eddie Lacy (29-for-94, 1 TD), James Starks (7-for-57, 1 TD) and Rodgers himself (6-for-31) tallied up 182 yards, two scores and huge chunks of clock-chewing. Did you see the Vikings in the third quarter? Neither did anyone else! The Packers own time of possession 13 minutes to 2 minutes. That’s just crazy talk and that was directly the result of a Packer running game that has evolved from “keep the defense honest” to “hey, we just might have something here” in just seven football games.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aforementioned Aaron Rodgers was stellar again. He hit six different receivers (I think I saw Jones snag a couple balls on the sidelines...) including Jordy Nelson seven times for 123 yards and two scores including a gorgeous 73-yard TD on a quick slant across the middle. You had to figure the Vikes would double him, seeing the lack of experience in the rest of the Packer pass-catching roster. Didn’t matter. Boykin had another good game as did Miles White and Andrew Quarless. This ground isn’t Jones, Cobb and Finley but they are doing a pretty fair impersonation. While we wait for guys to get healthy, these men are gaining valuable experience. I’ve said it before - come the late season and playoffs, this offense could be an unstoppable juggernaut.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The special teams, starting the day off by allowing a 109-yard kickoff return, had the look of a unit that could cost the Packers this game. Simply awful. Then Micah Hyde took a punt return 93-yards to the house. So you gotta call that even. Mason Crosby 3-for-3 including a 45-yarder, so generally you can’t cry too much.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game tonight was the last ever Packer vs. Vikings in the Mall of America Dome, AKA The Metro Dome, AKA The Hump Dome. Too bad so many Viking fans chose to sell their seats or just plain skip the game. I’ve never seen a football game played there in person but from all accounts, I understand it was one crappy venue for professional football. One of the worst Packer games I’ve ever watched happened when Diva Favre led his new ViQueen team onto the nappy turf in the Hump Dome and <i>destroyed</i> my team. Favre himself had so little success there that the TV announcers took to calling hit his personal house of horrors. Whatever. I’m sure Zygi Wilf’s extortion-based (“State of Minnesota: Kick in a billion dollars during a recession or I’m moving to LA!”) new stadium will be the most glorious thing this side of The Jerry Dome in Dallas. Of course, if you can’t sell out your current facility and you keep putting mediocre (or worse) teams in it, I can’t say I like your business model. However, as a Packer fan, I am delighted to have you at the helm.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next Monday night we get to see Da Bears limp into a real football stadium (named after an NFL demigod, not a shopping mall) for their first tilt against the Packers this season. Missing leaders on offense (Cutler) and defense (Briggs) this Chicago team will have a decidedly odd feel to it. No brash trash talk here: Bears vs. Packers is always a knock-down-drag-out contest, whoever the players are. The Packers will be one more week healthier and one more week experienced for the younger players. I love when the Division games start stacking up! So much to play for and so much history involved. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-59330865641033940812013-10-20T19:18:00.000-07:002013-10-20T19:18:09.522-07:00It was a sloppy, wet, mistake-filled performance but the Packers win!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrPMTj7NVvXxzhBv4LndK8geh-YLCyrhJTCHFVlvtWlhUdfw6IxouRIjyJyNTybA2dozlExhZfXfJRO5oZIWFdcnQX0bDKSH2FfA8DdA_53CoaRuua6buKNoSQpVAUSFsiPx7x0gy8ijp/s1600/keep-calm-and-carry-on-153986-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrPMTj7NVvXxzhBv4LndK8geh-YLCyrhJTCHFVlvtWlhUdfw6IxouRIjyJyNTybA2dozlExhZfXfJRO5oZIWFdcnQX0bDKSH2FfA8DdA_53CoaRuua6buKNoSQpVAUSFsiPx7x0gy8ijp/s320/keep-calm-and-carry-on-153986-1.png" width="274" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">I</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> lost track of how many positive plays the Packers squandered on Sunday through dumb mistakes and penalties. I know for a fact that they gave away ten points through those miscues. It’s a little disconcerting to watch a great team that could be dominating a weaker opponent shoot themselves in the foot over and over again.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A sloppy win is still a win, though. The TD pass doldrums Aaron Rodgers had been in over the last two games (eight quarters, 2 TD’s) was broken up in his 3-score afternoon. He was not exactly playing his best game (again) but he was also without two of his most consistent weapons in Cobb and Jones. Of course, a quarterback the likes of Aaron Rodgers does not let a little something like lack of regular targets phase him. A-Rodg hit six different receivers for 260 yards. Not record-setting, for sure, but pretty amazing, considering. Jarrett Boykin, who had a fairly rough afternoon last week, caught an amazing eight balls for 103 yards and 1 touchdown. For all the flak he was subjected to, he came out and performed amazingly. With Cobb out until sometime in December, Boykin will be in the lineup for a long time and after seeing him improve over the course of one week, I think Packer fans should be happy he’s getting this game experience and performing so well.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another big weapon Rodgers counted on today was Jermichael Finley - 5 catches, 72 yards and 1 TD. After a head-to-head collision, J-Mike was knocked out of the game. A few post-game tweets indicated that he was communicative and coherent on the field but could not move. Later, he regained full use of his extremities. This will lead to a pretty careful and thorough evaluation (or at least I would hope so) and since this is his second neurological injury this year, you have to assume he will be out for at least a week and maybe more. That’s another blow to the Packer offense but let’s all keep him in our thoughts today. A word, however, about the dimwitted commentator during Finley’s injury: the guys name escapes me but he prattled on and on about how Finely made a “football move” and how the defender “led with his shoulder”, all the while they are showing replays of the defender striking a blow with his helmet. Watch the game, dipshit. It was a penalty and it will be a fine. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer defense was crazy-effective for the first half, holding the Browns to a measly three points. In the second half, while the Packer offense was sputtering, the defense suddenly relaxed and the Browns began to get in gear. It was still hard for them to score points but it was troublesome. Obviously, this Browns team is not the perennial punch line they’ve been for the last decade but they certainly are not at the same level as the Packers. Penalties, poor kick coverage and mistakes kept a clearly inferior team in the game for far too long. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you have to marvel at the effectiveness of the linebacker corps. With only one first-teamer (Hawk) still in uniform and reserves that would be charitably called “painfully thin”, the Packer defense held the Browns McGahee to only 39 yards rushing and Weeden to only 149 passing, while recording 3 sacks. That’s nothing short of astounding!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does anybody know how fortunate we are to have a running game? One that can be used to gain real yards? The Packers, with Aaron Rodgers under center, are always going to be a passing team. We are going to gain the vast majority of our yards and the vast majority of our scores through the air. But to watch Eddie Lacy run the ball and to watch defenses load up to stop him is a thing of beauty. By the time Rodgers gets more of his passing weapons back, the Packers will have the (deserved) reputation as being a power running team. So which will defenses choose to stop? Double the receivers and put the pressure on Rodgers or contain Lacy? I tell you: if the injury bleeding ever stops and Cobb, Jones, Nelson and Finley can ever get on the field together again, like in December and January, the Packers are going to be an awesome offensive powerhouse.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week, Mike McCarthy, faced with a continual barrage of questions about injuries, shared his motivational philosophy with the media: Keep calm and carry on. This was taken from the British pre-war publicity campaign in the weeks before the outbreak of World War II. And a fine credo it was. The injuries and lost impact players this year have been just terrible but MM knows that wringing your hands and spending your days complaining are totally unproductive. You know you’ve got to play a football game every week, so you adjust to the players you have and you saddle up. This is the NFL, not gymnastics or diving - You get no points for degree of difficulty. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 4-2, the Packers have emerged from the toughest part of their schedule at the top of the NFC North. The schedule only gets easier with only two teams with winning records (Detroit and Chicago) left to play. Could the Packers run the table? That’s going to be very, very hard to do with the sheer number of stars walking the sidelines in street clothes. You know Minnesota, despite their struggles, will play their best game of the season next week. You know that Detroit will bring it hard on Thanksgiving. You’d better know that the Bears will never lay down and let the Packers bowl them over. Could we run the table? Sure. But it will not be easy.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">============= </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Special birthday wishes go out to Mrs. MMQB on Sunday. She could have done anything at all (hey, it’s her day, OK?) but she chose to spend the day at home, with me, watching football. I’m a lucky man.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-68568996718178950072013-10-13T16:33:00.002-07:002013-10-13T16:33:28.336-07:00Packers pull out huge win, missing key guys on both sides of the ball.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg04kg5GSn0rSf5yInWSAMW6it2d7_gpclw-iE4HwTZ-JYHkJlO0_oR_1-bybU5YjCmFrSDZs-64xfGIhD7XzhIARnvon49DRjCoX-lMbBlbRkBsbLayueC4XMlUC67a39FFf1JcPfLj4e/s1600/i.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg04kg5GSn0rSf5yInWSAMW6it2d7_gpclw-iE4HwTZ-JYHkJlO0_oR_1-bybU5YjCmFrSDZs-64xfGIhD7XzhIARnvon49DRjCoX-lMbBlbRkBsbLayueC4XMlUC67a39FFf1JcPfLj4e/s320/i.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers have the right mind-set here just past the quarter-pole of the 2013 season - every game is big, every game is critical, every game must be won.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love that. You never take a game off, you never take a series off and every freakin’ down is important. It’s a philosophy you can see on almost every down with the Packer defense. I think I’m seeing it in the Packer offense but the difference is the D is executing and the offense is not.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the second week in a row, the Green Bay offense shows a lot of grit and determination in the middle part of the field. When they get into scoring position, however, the magic goes away. Over the last three seasons, the Packers were the best in the NFL inside the 20: give the Packers the ball in the red-zone and you can put up six on the scoreboard. In the last two games, the Packers have zero red-zone TD’s. One score this week and one last week have both been from long distance. From one of the most consistent scoring machines in the NFL, the Packers have devolved into field goal central. In the wins last week vs. the Lions and the victory over the Ravens this week, the Pack as tallied 9 field goals and only two TD’s. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What’s going on? The development of the more dependable running game has opened up many more opportunities for Rodgers and Co. to pass the ball. We are seeing dropped passes and overthrown passes and passes that are just plain off-target. “Out-of-synch” is a cliche but it would seem to me to be an apt one in this situation. Aaron Rodgers, even when he’s given protection, has been erratic. All the wideouts have had drops. The play-calling, especially in short- to medium-yardage situations has been questionable.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you think the offense looked iffy this week, hold on to your butts: Things are about to get much, much worse. Both Randall Cobb and James Jones went out during the game with leg injuries and returned in street clothes, Cobb hobbling around the sidelines on crutches. Neither guy had the look of “just dinged up” to me. Later in the game, the Packers got some nice production from both Finely and and Nelson and some very inconsistent play from the #4 (now #2) receiver Boykin. But as soon as Jones went out, the offense got even more inconsistent. When Cobb went out, you could see the panic in Rodgers’ eyes. I’m not sure what possessed him to throw three times in a row (for zero catches) to Boykin, but the predictable results did not fill Packer fans with a lot of confidence in the future. We will have to wait and see what the prognosis will be for the two starters. I am having a severe case of deja vu, here. Don’t I write just about every week about some crucial starter going down? For about the last three years?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to talk about crucial guys, you have to talk about Clay Matthews and his yearly excursion to the injured list. The Packers have a great defense when he is in there, gobbling up double-teams, flying all over the field and creating havoc. Last year, the Packers went 3-1 while Matthews sat out with a hammie, so you know they can win without him but it makes it so much harder. The Packers, with only one starting linebacker in the game, played a fantastic game on Sunday. They stuffed the run, got acceptable pressure on the Flacco and even forced a crucial turnover at the end of the first half. AJ Hawk was all over the field, Francois was outstanding and Neil and Perry might have just made us all say “Clay who?”. Just fantastic. Aside from one two-play span, the Packer defense did everything they could to keep the their team in the game. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What? A two play span? One of the absolute worst two-play spans in recent memory. In the fourth quarter, the Packers had the Ravens in an ugly, ugly 4th-and-21 desperation situation. They rushed three and dropped nine players. Throughout the entire game, the Packers OWNED the Ravens on long-yardage situations. So, instead of a careful, tenacious defense, we let a young 3rd year guy named Tandon Doss (who???) split the seam, run behind our safeties and record a 63-yard reception. On 4th-and-21. What defensive scheme allows a receiver behind the DB’s on 4th-and-forever? What kind of head-up-the-ass secondary play allows that to happen? On the very next play, Dallas Clark goes up the middle and Flacco hits him for great, one-handed touchdown. It took a Packer two-score lead and trimmed it to two points. Instead of a comfortable, run-out-the-clock situation, the Packers now had to drive the length of the field, maintain possession and make zero mistakes to record the victory. They did it and the win goes up on the board, thanks to some gritty play on the part of the badly undermanned offense. The defense, who kept their team in the game all afternoon (did you SEE that goal-line stand? Wow!) had made the worst kind of mistake in the worst kind of moment.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to throw out some props here again to Mr. Eddie Lacy. After last weeks hard-nosed 99-yard performance, Lacy ground out 120 yards and did what he was drafted to do - make the tough yards and set up the pass. His biggest run wasn’t even his longest: On 3rd and 2, on the Ravens’ 13, with 1:32 left in the game, Lacy hit up inside, bounced to his left and gained 4 and slid down on the nine yard line to keep the clock running and avoid the possibility of a turnover. For a rookie, that is one of the most savvy football moves I’ve seen for a long time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week, the Cleveland Browns come to town and these are not your pushover Browns anymore. They did not cover themselves in glory by getting smacked around by the Lions on Sunday but they have shown they can win games, something entirely missing in their repertoire over the last dozen seasons. The Packers will still be missing Matthews and Brad Jones on defense. They will definitely be missing Randall Cobb and probably James Jones. We all looked at the schedule and saw this game as a total lay-up for the Pack. With the injuries and the absence of production from the offense, this is a much, much more interesting contest. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-74487436532577828962013-10-06T14:50:00.003-07:002013-10-06T14:50:38.162-07:00Packers are not sharp offensively but their defense tames the toothless Lions Detroit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_9LCVklqJOlMw4LvaUrMNUAhz6d3aGyueTUfBEmhEn2EBwHC9yjAx07QqEKcv0u1Mt5XCyIRZD_kdjhCLpsw-9TeX0FaeUvLroL9YB1IGpxyPZwtHpOMl52tMXj_KdNBPxUj9a6o4QMc/s1600/temp131006-lions-biever-3--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_9LCVklqJOlMw4LvaUrMNUAhz6d3aGyueTUfBEmhEn2EBwHC9yjAx07QqEKcv0u1Mt5XCyIRZD_kdjhCLpsw-9TeX0FaeUvLroL9YB1IGpxyPZwtHpOMl52tMXj_KdNBPxUj9a6o4QMc/s320/temp131006-lions-biever-3--nfl_mezz_1280_1024.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"> Green Bay Packers had a big test to pass on Sunday. Sitting at 1-2, looking up at the Lions and Bears both tied for the lead in the North (what a revolting state of affairs THAT is!), the Packers knew that to fail this early-season test would be to hand Detroit a massive advantage in division play (they’d already beaten the Bears and Vikings) and virtually assure that their own path to the postseason would have to come via the Wild Card.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what grade would give this team in their 22-9 victory? Well, I’m just glad this particular test isn’t graded: It’s a pass/fail situation and the Packers definitely passed.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lions presented a major challenge to this Packer’s team. If you look at the match-ups coming in, you just couldn’t help but be a bit pessimistic. Forget the fact the Lions hadn’t won in Wisconsin since Brett Favre was an Atlanta Falcon - that’s just history. You have a very good QB in Stafford throwing to possibly best WR in the NFL in Calvin Johnson against a Packer secondary that has been suspect all season long. You have a game-changing running back in Reggie Bush able to take any handoff to the house unless you stack the box with defenders. You also have one of the best defensive lines in the league that can stop the run while rushing the QB with only four, something that has been the bane of the Pack for many years. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So when news came that Calvin Johnson was going to be inactive due to a gimpy knee, a window opened and the Packer defense knew their task, while not easy, was suddenly much, much simpler. They focused their attention on keeping Reggie Bush under control and control him they did - he had only 44 yards on the ground and 25 yards in the passing game. The Lions, without their most potent weapons, had no Plan C.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, you’d think blowout, right? The powerful Packer attack, newly energized with an effective running game, would slice and dice the Lions and win going away, right? Wrong. The Packer offense tore up the Hallowed Turf at Lambeau in between the 20’s (449 yards net offense) but was so out-of-synch all day they could only manage one touchdown (that gorgeous 83-yard score to Jones) and had to settle for five Mason Crosby field goals. All well and good but you have to narrow your eyes a bit at an offense that cannot put the ball in the end zone when presented with all those opportunities. If the Packer covert even three of those field goal drives, we’re all talking about the great blow-out game against the Lions. A win is a win, I know. So why am I so bothered by a good looking Packer offense that can’t seal the deal? Wasn’t that the problem in the loss to the Bengals? Couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe I’m just bothered by everything. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I’m not bothered by is the Packer running game. The whole stats-crazed sports nation is going to look at the game and say “Meh. No 100-yard rusher for the Pack. Back to their old ways again.” To those folks I say, “You want stats, I’ll give you STATS!”</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddie Lacy had 99 yards on 23 carries. Many of those runs were gained pounding it up the middle and slamming into Suh and Fairely. He had one run called back on a penalty. He was one ankle-tackle away from breaking huge runs on four separate occasions. If the only measure of success for a runner is 100-yards, well, we’re just not paying attention. Just the <i>threat</i> of the run is enough to make the Packer passing attack just that much more deadly. Add in the big run by Randall Cobb who they snuck into the backfield and future offensive coordinators now have to honor the run AND the pass. Win for the good guys.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You and I and pretty much every single Packer fan called for Mason Crosby to be fired last season. We all had good reason - he had devolved from one of the best kickers in the NFL to one of the worst in the space of one game. He hit his last four in a row last year and has yet to miss a kick this year, including five field goals on Sunday, the only consistent scoring weapon the Packers had in the game. These weren’t chip shots after drives stalled inside the five. I don’t know what happened to get Crosby’s head right. Maybe it was Mike McCarthy’s faith in him. Maybe it was the competition from two separate challengers in the pre-season. Maybe it was moving the kick-off duties to the punter Masthay. Whatever it was, we should all be grateful it happened and realize that all men should have second chances, a shot at redemption. Kudos to Crosby for taking advantage of it.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One big area we should all be concerned about is injuries to our linebackers. Brad Jones went out with a hamstring injury. His back up, Robert Francois, then had to be helped off the field himself. Most importantly, Clay Matthews, who just got over his own hammy pull, went off with a thumb injury after sacking Stafford. In a 3-4 defense, the linebackers are the heart and soul. They rush the passer, drop in coverage and make the majority of the tackles. To lose three guys in a game could be devastating for this Packer team. We won’t know for a few days what the true nature of these injuries are but if you take a guy like Matthews out of the mix, even for a little while, the Packer pass rush completely disappears. AJ Hawk really stepped up and Nick Perry really showed me something today, but the Packer defense will have to struggle if any of these guys miss significant time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scraping together field goals out of failed offensive possessions is not a great recipe for winning football games, but if it works, a win is a win, right? The Packers travel to the 3-2 Super Bowl Champs Baltimore Ravens next week and need to start stacking up wins to get on a roll. Field goals are not going to cut it. Aaron Rodgers is going to have to hit the open men. Those men are going to have to make the catches. No more lost drives and missed scores due to the dropsies. Eddie Lacy is going to have to continue to be threat on the run. And, yes, Mason Crosby may have to continue his streak in order to win that game. Its a world of pass/fail, win/loss and no other grades count.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-70749763439203766912013-09-22T15:35:00.000-07:002013-09-22T15:35:45.916-07:00Packers fall behind, get ahead, look dominant, look inept and lose the game. What did we just see?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIhFyft6Chy2mOfcuxJIRd36vO1i5a_zPsSli0-rbj56ROwEan0bl_cn1S73U0hOf7rOCNXCkr_fHFF4b8BHzFLRQ8hZrkaPGK7WF4r9HPz1ugu4wU53Hk52-ptgDhAUtOHxG8bcDbQ2A/s1600/DoubleFacePalm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIhFyft6Chy2mOfcuxJIRd36vO1i5a_zPsSli0-rbj56ROwEan0bl_cn1S73U0hOf7rOCNXCkr_fHFF4b8BHzFLRQ8hZrkaPGK7WF4r9HPz1ugu4wU53Hk52-ptgDhAUtOHxG8bcDbQ2A/s320/DoubleFacePalm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> fans of the Green Bay Packers have long, long memories. Walk into any Packer bar on game day (or any other day for that matter) and you are just as likely to hear someone talking about an interception by Ray Nitschke or “4th and 26” as you are about the game last week. As such, I can pretty much guarantee you this loss will stick in the craws of Packer fans for a while. Maybe not as long and the “Fail Mary” last year, but it’ll be a while.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game definitely had one of those “what the hell did I just see” vibes that left Packer fans stunned. Mrs. MMQB and I had to give #1 Son a lift home after the game and here is a sampling of what we saw just in the few blocks around our house: A man in a Favre jersey, standing in his driveway, staring blankly out at the road, possibly mumbling very bad words under his breath. Another man tossing a kiddie golf club like he just dropped his third straight tee shot into a water hazard. A woman hand-spreading something in her lawn which I would have to guess would be salt so nothing would ever grow there again.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yeah, that was a painful one.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This game had more ups and downs than a carnival at the county fair. The Packers, thanks to a lax defense and a “you’re being cut before we get to the airport” play by Jeremy Ross, found themselves down by 14 before their jocks could get settled in place. Then, with the offense sputtering and the defense making stands and taking away the ball, reeled off 30 unanswered points. Then, thanks to that same inconsistent offense and a defense that suddenly found itself without it’s biggest playmaker, gave up the next 20 unanswered points. Add it all up and you might as well run yourself into a wall (try it sometimes - it feels GREAT when you stop!) as watch this football game.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mrs. MMQB and I hosted #1 Son, DIL Becky and granddaughter Gracie for brunch prior to the game and we had a few mimosas, and some home-brewed barley wine, but even that nice little Sunday morning buzz was not enough to minimize the damage to our brains through the sheer whiplash of this game. How many times can you trade high-fives and face-palms on one Sunday afternoon? </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the injuries - all I can say is OY! Before the game, the Packers gave injury scratches to Eddie Lacy, John Kuhn, Jarrett Bush, Morgan Burnett and Casey Hayward. During the game, they lost Finely, Matthews and Starks and even Franklin for a while. Can a team sustain those kind of losses and still continue to play football in the NFL? Want to make a bazillion dollars? Figure out how to prevent or treat hamstring injuries and sell your idea to the Green Bay Packers. Even if you do it as piecework, you’ll make a mint!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What was up with Aaron Rodgers today? When he wasn’t missing his wideouts, he was hitting his opponents. #12, the best QB in the NFL, had a worse passer rating today than Christian Ponder of the 0-3 Minnesota Vikings. Can you <i>fathom</i> that stat? He went 26-for-43, 244 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions, breaking a 41-game streak of games without multiple picks, best EVER in the NFL. By comparison, Rodgers had over 250 yards last week <i>in the first half!</i> Wow. Now, the Bengals have a much, much better defense than the Redskins. They play tough, the make tackles and they don’t beat themselves. Still, you would think that our offense, with all our weapons (even with Finley looking for his marbles on the sidelines) could find some way to put up even a field goal after DOMINATING the Bengals and going up 30-14. Sadly, they never even got close. The turning point - you guessed it: going for in on fourth and 2 (the correct call), failing to get any push by the line, handing it off to a rookie RB (only guy left) who fumbled the ball before he hit the line and giving up a recovery TD for the final go-ahead score. How many ways can you fail in one play? I’m not sure but I think the Packers found them all. If the Packers make the first, they continue their drive and most likely put some points on the board. A TD wins it, a field goal puts them up by six and requires the defense to step it up. Either way, that was the ball game.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s a shame, really, to have Franklin’s day be marred by such a terrible play. Coming in for the injured Starks (himself in for the injured Lacy), Franklin had a great afternoon, going 103 yards on 13 carries (7.9 yards per tote) and one TD. That’s right, sports fans, the Packers have put up back-to back 100-yard rushers in the last two weeks. But we won’t be talking about that on Monday. We’ll be talking about his fumble on the biggest play of the day. Was it too much to ask of a rookie who had never played a down on offense before today? Maybe it was. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, I talked about the Packers having a “ridiculously early” bye this year. #1 Son called me on that almost as soon as the words left my fingers and it turns out HE is the prophetic one in the family. The Green Bay Packers have three defensive backs injured, four running backs injured, one tight end injured and their most valuable player on defense (Matthews) injured. If the Packers have ANY hope (I say unto you again ANY HOPE) of converting a 1-2 start into a Super Bowl run, all these men need to get healthy and do it in a hurry. Rodgers can throw the ball to Quarless but I’m not sure if he can catch it. Our second and third string DB’s can go out on the field, but I’m not sure if they can cover. Our front seven can blitz as one but I’m not sure if they can get a sack. Our QB can attempt to hand off the ball...well, I’m not sure if anyone will be back there to take it. So this bye, coming in week four of the season, could not be better timed. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did this look like a championship team on Sunday? Last week, the Packers did what a better team does and pretty much stomp on a lesser opponent. This week, when the foe is a little more equal, the Packers looked alternatively sad and dominant. What happens when they face a team that might be a little bit better than them? Are we looking at a blow-out? Do we get smacked around? I’m not sure. All I know is that an inconsistent team is a team that is usually sitting at home in January.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-61208110265024043562013-09-15T14:52:00.004-07:002013-09-15T14:52:42.529-07:00Packers turn on the offensive jets and blow out the Redskins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcNtmr-Xwx18qbXME2fWImmqMYW_RnhWJ3Gx__FCAMJI-QhlsMR1b1y-LFl6a2TeMz_An9vl1LXJWlOYO2CcMIBnSmyla0abcBg9NRiTGxzT7ALQZqNdLqrCGwlitnYzt2RBWiXw58exY/s1600/IMG_1606.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcNtmr-Xwx18qbXME2fWImmqMYW_RnhWJ3Gx__FCAMJI-QhlsMR1b1y-LFl6a2TeMz_An9vl1LXJWlOYO2CcMIBnSmyla0abcBg9NRiTGxzT7ALQZqNdLqrCGwlitnYzt2RBWiXw58exY/s320/IMG_1606.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers did NOT want to go to 0-2. You just cannot dig yourself a deep hole like that in September and expect to control your own fate in December. You had a feeling that going into their home opener, the Pack would be ready to rumble.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except they weren’t! Starting the game with three straight passes (who the heck was calling the plays? MM LOVES to run on first down, especially the first first down), losing Eddie Lacy to a concussion, having a TD by Cobb called back, driving down inside the ten, giving up back-to-back sacks and then having to settle for a Mason Crosby field goal...it all just looked flat, unsettled. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our inexperienced tackles were one display early for all the NFL to see. The Skins brought the pressure early and often and got home with alarming frequency. Rodgers was so rattled early he started getting happy feet in the pocket, something that never comes out well. A funny thing happened, though: McCarthy and his coaches saw what was happening and actually (!!!) <i>made adjustments!</i> That’s right, the coaching staff that sticks to its guns even in the face of overwhelming evidence it shouldn’t, started calling quick throws, quick outs, receiver screens and anything else that would get the ball out of Rodgers hands faster. And it worked! The pass rush slowed down, the wide-outs began to pile up yards and (wonder of wonders!) the running game started to bust wide open.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James Starks, in relief of the concussed Lacy, started to rip off great runs. There where holes to run through, there were tackles broken and there was speed. All the things we expected to happen when Eddie Lacy began running the ball happened when Starks came in for him. For the first time in 44 games (that’s all the way back to the Super Bowl season of 2010) a Green Bay Packer running back rushed for over 100 yards. Starks ended his day with 132 yards and so many of those yards led to advantageous down-and-distance situations that allowed Rodgers to get his groove on.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And groove he did! Official NFL stats put him at 34-for-42, 480 yards, 4 TD’s and no interceptions and a passer rating you could only match playing Madden against a toddler. Those 480 yards equals the Packer record set two years ago by Matt Flynn when Rodgers was a healthy scratch against the Lions. One comment on that - Rodgers had tied the record by the time the Packers hit the two minute warning, up by 18 and on the ten yard line. After the time out, McCarthy chose to call kneel downs on three consecutive plays to run out the clock. The victory was in hand, but I think he owed his indispensable QB a shot at the record. Even three shots and the record. I’m sure some stats guy knew where they were. What was the worst that could happen? Three incompletions and a field goal? An interception and a 102-yard runback for a TD? NFL pundits accusing Green Bay of running up the score? The Packers still win the game and maybe Rodgers gets one more (or ten more) yards and another score and he has a career afternoon. Why the hell not, Coach?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another guy having a career afternoon was James Jones, (11 catches for 178 yards) who was skunked last week and Nelson had the great day. This just goes to show that if you take one guy away, another one is there. Cobb was doing his usual job, as were Nelson and Finley. Those four guys, when things are clicking, seem almost machine-like. Boom, boom, boom, right down the field and then someone breaks one. As I’ve said so many times before, the running game can set up the passing game and never was that proven more true than today.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another word about Cobb: he reminds me more and more of Donald Driver in his prime - the possession guy, willing to go over middle, out in the flat, wherever. That play where Cobb split the D down the middle and went for a 35-yard TD in the first half was vintage Driver.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few words about the defense - as dominating and powerful as they were in the first half, they came out flat and soft in the second. Is this how our team puts people away? Big lead and pitching a shut-out at the half and they come out and allow three TD’s in the second? I understand playing a bit off and relaxed with a lead but that was nuts. And can someone explain to me how Pierre Garçon can be so freakin’ wide open on every single down? He must have borrowed the cloaking device that Anquan Boldin was wearing last week. If this is going to become a habit (leaving the opponents best receiver uncovered all afternoon) the Packer defense is going to be torched every single Sunday.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a few words about the refs, those lovable and sight-challenged zebras. It seemed like they had blinders on when the Redskins were committing fouls. I saw one great Washington run that could have drawn four separate holding calls. James Jones had his jersey practically removed trying to run under a Rodgers pass, no flag. Brandon Merriwether took out Lacy with a helmet-to-helmet hit and almost did the same to Starks, no flags. He will no doubt be fined heavily by the league but wasn’t h-to-h hits supposed to be a point of emphasis with the refs this year? Even with replay, the Redskins were given a TD on a close play when Moss failed to gain possession with both feet down in the end zone. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packers started playing run-out-the-clock with over eight minutes to go, to the glee of the Redskins who quickly converted that tactic into their own points. Props to MM and his staff for adjusting again, letting Rodgers complete passes and chew up the clock. A good running day is one thing but when they are stacking nine men in the box, you have to take what they give you and throw the ball.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we are back to even at 1-1 going into Cincinnati next week after this convincing victory. The Bengals are 0-1 going into Pittsburgh Monday night and we’ll have to wait and see if they are for real this year or not. The Packers will have to build off their successes and learn from the miscues. I get the feeling they will.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-88104703756782139562013-09-08T18:43:00.001-07:002013-09-08T18:43:53.825-07:00Packers fight it out with their new arch-rivals and come out on the short end of the stick<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5m0XQ_q2DxO7_JfoM4ko8RJVVASaDxWr4bJ1vzkks1fHvz-DqeIH9Q1plK26a8cIiANV08XjhZzVZuKsUQF2rbPUEk2L1wjIGY-bXmg0w4d2xSQ1LP_ZOZbWbCMkYpHtJ-gyKs9zteL-B/s1600/IMG_1622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5m0XQ_q2DxO7_JfoM4ko8RJVVASaDxWr4bJ1vzkks1fHvz-DqeIH9Q1plK26a8cIiANV08XjhZzVZuKsUQF2rbPUEk2L1wjIGY-bXmg0w4d2xSQ1LP_ZOZbWbCMkYpHtJ-gyKs9zteL-B/s320/IMG_1622.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers have a new nemesis and it’s not the Vikings and it’s not the Bears. The team the Packers would most like to beat these days is the San Francisco Forty-Niners.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packers have been beaten by the Niners three times in the last 12 months (game 1 in 2012, the playoffs and now game 1 in 2013) and if they were to meet again in the post-season this year, I would hope somehow they could break up that streak.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to admit that I was not filled with a great deal of confidence going in and was pleasantly surprised to see how close this game was. The Packers were very successful in making the Niners, the best rushing team of 2012, one-dimensional. You have to count that as a pretty big win, considering they ran at will against the Pack in the playoffs. The problem, unfortunately, was that the passing dimension was extremely profitable. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kaepernick was able to torch the Packers for 412 yards through the air and three TD’s. They were only able to put up 68 yards on the ground but the passing was enough to win the game. The Packer defensive backs seemed to have trouble locating Mr. Anquan Boldin all day long. Even after he had emerged as the main threat, he was running uncovered in the secondary, seemingly in some sort of stealth mode. So any time Kaepernick went back, he was able to find his primary wide open. Boldin accounted for 208 yards and 1 TD. Many of those 208 yards happened on third down, which just made those catches that much more impactful.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The short-handed situation in the Packer safety corps was supposed to be somewhat mitigated by the depth at cornerback but it just didn’t matter. The lack of any sort of pressure on the SF QB allowed him to wait, survey, wait some more and then find Boldin or Davis wide open for big chunks of yardage.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaron Rodgers wasn’t so lucky. I saw a stat come up showing Kaepernick hadn’t been hurried, hit or sacked in the first half. Rodgers’ same stat was chock full of pressure. Part of the problem is a rookie left tackle and an inexperienced right tackle. I think, though, the biggest issue is the lack of running production.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What? Is that right? The running game sucked? It still sucked after highly touted running backs were drafted and Mike McCarthy’s promise that the Packers would be better at the run? Yup, still sucked. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddie Lacy ran for a grand total of 41 yards, most of those coming on the Packer’s last touchdown drive. Aaron Rodgers, as the second most prolific Packer runner, chipped in a whopping 12 yards. Why so poor? Well, first of all, Mike McCarthy is the world’s most predictable play-caller. In the first half of any football game, he will call a running play on first down 90% of the time. In his first series of the second half, he will call a run 99% of the time. So the defenders are standing there, in the backfield, waiting for the runner to arrive. Secondly, the Packer offensive line is just not that good. They can’t open holes consistently without holding. Third, our new rushing attack is going to need time to gel. Lacy might be the next coming of Edgar Bennett but he’s still a rookie. When he got a hole or when he got out in space (as he did on a great screen pass for 31 yards) he looked great. So maybe we just need to be a little bit patient and allow the new run attack to develop. It sure didn’t look very promising today, but maybe it will in the weeks to come.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m very disappointed that the Packers were never able to take advantage of the opportunities the Niners presented them. When the Niners mis-fired, the Packers stalled. When the Packers answered a Niner score with one of their own, the defense would disappear. When the Packers finally got ahead on the scoreboard, the Niners were able to drive quickly down the field and put themselves up for good. There were many turning points, but it just seemed like the Packers were never able to put together that key drive or that key stop when they needed them most. Call it early season jitters or a poor plan or maybe they are getting intimidated by the Niners as a team. Whatever. It was a real and tangible phenomenon Sunday afternoon.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would be remiss if I didn’t show some well-deserved loathing for the referee crew. They blew a call in the first half, giving the Niners an extra play on third and six that should have been fourth and two after offsetting dead ball penalties. Instead of attempting a field goal, they scored a touchdown. With a tight, tight football game going on, that’s an egregious error on the part of an NFL officiating crew. Who knows how differently the game ends up if maybe the Niners go for it on fourth and fail or miss the field goal. Might have been the turning point of the entire game but we’ll never know, will we? Thanks, zebras. Up to your usually high standards already I can see.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m busy tearing apart the effort of our team and, to be honest, I really shouldn’t be. After that pathetic performance in the playoffs, the Packers looked like a team that shouldn’t even be on the same field and the Forty-Niners. For this game to be close in the fourth quarter and for the Packers to have a shot at victory right up until the final play is a HUGE improvement! This was a tough, hard-fought game and it was a privilege to watch the back-and-forth as each team sought advantage. The final result might be disappointing but the progress we witnessed bodes well for this team. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as 2012 started with a loss to the Niners, 2013 also begins with the same result. San Francisco is a consensus contender to win the NFC and the Packers played them right down to the wire. Someone had to win that game and you have to look up and down the stats and admit the Niners were the better team in every phase - they deserved the win. We can build on this, take pride in the effort and start getting ready for the Redskins next week, maybe with a hope in the back of our minds that we might just get a shot at redemption in January, which would not be such a bad thing.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-74740753294788205822013-01-12T22:14:00.000-08:002013-01-12T22:14:14.979-08:00Niners DESTROY the Packers in every phase of the game in historically bad loss.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">So</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> the season for the Green Bay Packers ends, not with a titanic struggle between powerful NFC contenders but with a white flag waved by Dom Capers and his defense.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everybody (and by “everybody” I mean every single football fan in America from the owners to the fans to my 9-month-old granddaughter Grace) knew that this game was going to be won and lost on the performance of the Niners offense versus the Packer defense. All those people knew that if the Packers could contain the rushing attack of Gore and contain the scrambles of Kaepernick the day would belong to the Green and Gold. Unfortunately, nobody got that message to Dom Capers, the Packer defensive coordinator. Message from Gracie: YOU MESSED UP, DOM! San Francisco outplayed the Packers in every phase of the game, from coaching on down.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One week past a dominating performance versus Adrian Peterson and the Vikings, the Packer defense comes out vanilla and lame, failing in almost every key battle. Stop Gore? Well, he gained 119 yards and a TD on the ground and chipped in two catches for 48 through the air. Stop Kaepernick? He ran for 181 yards and two TD’s on the ground (the BEST day rushing for any quarterback in any NFL game. EVER) and 263 yards and two scores through the air. I’d have to assess that as a monumental FAILURE by the Packer defense and the Packer coaches, led by Dom Capers.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Niners were thin at wideout but had a huge threat in Crabtree. So the Pack should be able to shut that one guy down, right? Wrong. Crabtree was open all night, catching nine balls for 119 yards and two TD’s. Tramon Williams was tasked with shutting down the SF threat and spent most of the game chasing him from behind. On his TD catch in the second quarter, NOBODY bothered to cover him across the middle. That’s a poor scheme and poor execution.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We saw the Packers come up with a masterful plan to contain Adrian Peterson and the running QB Joe Webb last week but that all went out the window when faced with the even better tandem of Gore and Kaepernick. Why? I couldn’t really tell you. I’m sitting in my home in suburban McFarland, Wisconsin and I could see the failure coming in the second SF series. Our outside linebackers who looked so clueless versus the Vikings in week 17 and so dominating in the Wild Card game last week again lost track of the opposing quarterback time after time. If the Packers blitzed, Kaepernick made them pay with is legs. If they dropped into coverage, Crabtree was always able to get open. In the fourth quarter, when all the Niners wanted to do was run out the clock, Dom Capers and his defense seemed to wave the white flag and signal a wish to cease hostilities. The Niners, wisely, said “up yours, cheese-eating surrender-monkeys” and drove for yet another score. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s painful right now and I’m sure we’ll be talking about this in the off-season but do you think the game has passed Capers by? Seriously: he’s a great defensive coordinator when facing your standard QB and conventional passing attack but get him in a game against one of the new wave of QB’s who can run or throw the ball with equal effectiveness (Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick) and it looks like our guys are rooted to the ground, unable to keep up. It might be our players or it might be our scheme or it might be our coaches but it’s got to be something: on Kaepernick’s 56-yard run for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, he was not only untouched, he was <i>unnoticed</i> until he was already in the secondary. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an easier touchdown scored in the Mike McCarthy era.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite the defensive failures, the Packers were tied in the third and certainly could have made a game of it if it weren’t for the disappearance of the vaunted Packer offense. Oh, I’m not dismissing the Niners defense as they are an EXTREMELY good unit. But when Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Greg Jennings are completely absent from your attack through the first two quarters and end up with a combined 124 yards and one score, well, that’s just pathetic. You are not going to win a playoff football game when your biggest threats are not producing.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packers that went 2-3 to start the season and clawed their way into the playoffs and dismissed the Vikings so rudely last week were absent in their contest against the Niners tonight. Many things will be different next season and I don’t think most Packer fans are truly aware of that. We are likely to see the departure of Greg Jennings (too expensive, too fragile), Jermichael Finely (too expensive, not productive) AJ Hawk (backloaded contract) and Donald Driver (retirement). Charles Woodson may retire as well. These potential departures will allow the Packers to sign BJ Raji, Clay Matthews and finally give Aaron Rodgers the payday he deserves as an elite quarterback. So we will likely see a much different product on the field in 2013 and I’m sorry to say we didn’t send those guys off in the sort of game they deserved. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We come to the end of 15 years of The MMQB. It’s seriously been a blast throwing down in this space every week for the last decade-and-a-half and I hope I can keep doing it for many years to come. I hope you’ve enjoyed the rants and raves and maybe been made to pause and think a few times as a result. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll be talking to you again when the draft rolls around. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-16086469063180015682013-01-06T14:39:00.002-08:002013-01-06T14:40:43.827-08:00Packers DOMINATE the Vikings to win in the Wild Card round!<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">OK, </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> I’m a big enough man to admit when I am wrong. In this space last week and to anyone else who would listen, I was picking the Minnesota Vikings to win this Wild Card round game. I had my reasons: the Vikings beat the Packers last week by out-executing them in the basics of tackling and blocking, not something you can correct in a week of practice. Well, I guess you can!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer defense was handed a huge gift 90-minutes before kickoff when the Vikings announced Christian Ponder would be inactive due to an elbow injury he suffered the previous week versus the Packers. It was remarked, when Leslie Frazier in a pre-game interview said they were “saving him for next week” that Ponder was channeling his inner Jay Cutler. Now, make no mistake: Ponder was never going to win this game. It was always going to be about Adrian Peterson. All Ponder had to do was make no mistakes and complete four or five passes in key situations, just as he did last week, but he would not get the chance to repeat that feat--Joe Webb would be under center. Webb, a little-used backup, completed exactly zero passes during the regular season. He’s more of a running threat than a passing threat, something he demonstrated several times on Saturday. He also demonstrated a distinctly not-ready-for-the-NFL passing arm.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the threat of the pass virtually eliminated, the Packers could concentrate all their efforts on stopping AP. Peterson still had an impact, especially on the Vikings’ first drive and ended up with 99 yards in the contest but the majority of his yards were not impactful. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the Packer’s problems last week was that they were not able to “set the edge” on defense. This is the ability to keep running plays between the tackles and prevent backs from bouncing outside. Peterson did this over and over again last week as our outside defenders crashed down on play after play, hoping to gang tackle. The difference this week was the outside defenders took a patient approach, held their positions and were there waiting for Peterson when he inevitably tried to take the ball outside. You have to give credit to Dom Capers and his coaches for instilling this in their players and to the players for executing it properly. And more props to Charles Woodson, back from his broken collarbone, for sticking his nose into almost every running play, notching four tackles and four assists and a great deal of impact.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Webb, without the Vikings main weapon in Peterson, was not up to the task. His throws were into the dirt, over the heads and in general off-target. Three times, while in the grasp of defenders, he chucked the ball wildly to avoid a sack, something that the Packers should have converted to turnovers and points. If ever a guy was thrust into a situation he wasn’t ready for, it was Webb. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer offense had some problems early on. Aaron Rodgers could not find any wide receivers open downfield, so he had to keep checking down or handing off to Dujuan Harris. While you could tell A-Rodg was a bit frustrated by his inability to throw longer passes, the short, controlled passing game served a larger purpose in chewing up clock and keeping Peterson on the bench. Once the short game became successful and the running game did it’s (limited) work, the Viking defense began to loosen up and the receivers started to come open. Once the Packers got the lead, the Vikings were pressed into passing more (not good for them) and deemphasizing the run (not good for them again) and the Packers were able to take their foot off the gas in the third quarter. Personally, if my only weapon is Adrian Peterson, I’m riding that horse no matter what the score is. But the Viking coaching staff hasn’t been very smart since Bud Grant retired...</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a lot to like in this game and very few things to complain about. Rodgers was sacked three times, which is three too many in my book. Finely dropped a sure touchdown pass and was held to one catch for only ten yards. Cobb, relieved of kick-return duties, was also held to one catch. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You have to love the effort of Greg Jennings (4 catches for 61 yards), including his clutch catch and run on 4th-and-5 in the second quarter, good for 32 yards, to set up a Mason Crosby field goal, which really opened the flood gates. To see Jennings make the catch, dodge a would-be tackler and use that beautiful, long stride of his...just like old times. Many have said (including Jennings himself) that next year he might not be wearing a Packer uniform. His contract is up and, by all reports, the Packers have made no effort to sign him. After watching this game, I’d love for Ted Thompson to at least make the attempt. There are several key guys (Rodgers, Raji, Matthews) that need to get contracts done next year and there may be no cap room for Jennings but you never know: he may be willing to work for less to stay a Packer but you don’t know until you ask!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would be remiss if I didn’t make a special mention of Harris. This guy is what I call a “nifty” runner: he’s quick to the hole, can cut on a dime and has a burst of speed when he gets in the open field. If we had a better offensive line, capable of opening up actual holes, Harris might have the potential to be a 1000-yard back. If you add in his pass catching ability, this is just the kind of back the Packers need to have in their stable. He had only 47 yards on 17 carries (plus 5 catches for 53 yards) but those were big, big yards. It will be very interesting going forward to see what kind of future this guy has with the Packers. As it stands right now, Harris may be the key guy who provides just the right spark at the right time to propel the Packers even further in the post-season.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week against the Niners, there will be no gifts: there will be no last-minute scratches of the starting QB. The Packers lost to San Francisco to open the NFL season, so these two teams are familiar with each other. This will just be a knock-down, drag-out battle. The Niners have a tremendous defense, a great running game and a young quarterback who can get it done with both his arm and his legs. I’m not saying this will be on the same par as some of those epic games in the 90’s between the Packers and Niners but I’m looking forward to it. Randall Cobb will be another week more recovered, Jennings and Nelson are starting to kick out the jams, Harris is adding a new dimension and the Packer defense, if they are able to contain AP, should matchup well against San Francisco.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px;">
<br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-51169117596282563242012-12-30T19:13:00.000-08:002012-12-30T19:13:50.337-08:00Packers end the season with a lackluster performance that falls just short of victory.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers had everything in front of them on Sunday: they were playing for the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs and the much-needed bye week to get healthy. All they needed to do was beat the Minnesota Vikings. You would think the coaching staff would have them primed and ready to play. Sure, it wasn’t do-or-die, win-or-go-home but it was still a pretty important game. Instead, the Packers came out flat, committed stupid mistakes and saddled themselves with self-inflicted damage time and time again.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the Vikings needed to do was win and they were in. And they did so they are. And guess what? They get to play the Packers again next week. Oh, joy. I can’t tell you how much that pleases me.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer defense had one plan going in and it was a good one: stop Adrian Peterson and make Christian Ponder beat them. Unfortunately, they could not accomplish the former and made it easy for the latter to occur. AP is a fantastic athlete and a dominating football player but I cannot believe he is THAT good! He is invisible, has deflector shields and some sort of mind control device that makes would-be tacklers try to take him down with fingers and hands. So many Packers whiffed on tackle attempts there will probably be a major logjam in the training room tomorrow for guys with severe windburn. Peterson did not get the single-season rushing record (he fell 9-yards short) but it wasn’t because the Packers had anything to say about it. There were times, I swear, when our defense would have been just as effective if they all fell down and prayed Peterson would accidentally trip over them. Our front seven was not only ineffective through large stretches of this game, they were <i>absent</i>.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our pass defense was very inconsistent. In key moments, they let second- and third-string wideouts school them. One key moment on the penultimate drive for the win, the Vikings were facing 3rd-and-11 and the Packers dropped eight men deep in a prevent scheme. Instead of keeping everybody in front of them, they let one guy slip in behind and pick up the first, which led to more Peterson runs which led to the winning field goal. All the fantastic theatrics to allow the Packer offense to claw their way to a tie was pissed away in a fairly easy drive that ate up all the clock and set up the most accurate kicker in the NFL with a chip-shot field goal.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaron Rodgers had a pretty good day, if you look at his stats (28 for 40, 365 yards, 4 TDs and no picks) but that was not the whole story. Hammered all afternoon and sacked five times, Rodgers also lost a fumble on one of those sacks, which set up a short field for Minnesota and eventually a touchdown. This pressure on him also caused several penalties by the line and forced Rodgers to fight against long down-and-distance all day long. The play-calling early in the game was puzzling at best. McCarthy’s favorite play (the first down run) was never successful for more than two yards until the third quarter. The early scheme seemed to confused and it showed in the lack of production. They spotted the Vikes 10 points before anything happened at all. Is this the mark of a championship team? A championship coach? I’d have to say “no” to both.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And even with all that awful play, the Packers were still in it in the end. A few more defensive stops and they win. A few more clean pockets for Rodgers and they win. The margin was that slim.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot in good conscience say I will be picking the Packers to win next Saturday night. Sure, they will be home in the friendly confines of Lambeau Field and the huge advantage the Vikings get from their loud, artificially full (and atrificially loud for that matter), dome will be flipped. Sure, the playoffs are a bigger deal and our team should be much more ready to play. But take a look at which team has the momentum: The Packers just got smacked around and the Vikings just pulled off an emotional, last second victory. The Packers had their win streak snapped and lost their first North game since 2010. The Vikings won their last four games and defeated their biggest rival to get into the playoffs. Which team would you be picking? I’m probably the biggest Packer fan you know but I’m also a student of the game and there is a lot to be said about getting hot and staying hot. Right now, the Packers look extremely cold to me. Coming off the destruction of the Titans last week, the Packers have fallen from a hot, powerful team to a team that has to depend on clutch plays on every series just to stay even with a team like the Vikings who, to be honest, we should have dominated. The Packers looked lackluster and, to be frank, overwhelmed today. I can’t say that fills me with a great deal of confidence. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, the Packers can win and here is how they do it: TACKLE and BLOCK. The two most basic skills in the game of football and they are at the root of the Packer loss today. IF they can improve their tackling by a modest amount (say 10%), they can win the game. IF they can improve their blocking (let’s be greedy and say by 25%) they can win the game. If they can do BOTH of those things, I believe they have a shot at a decisive victory. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">IF, however, Adrian Peterson is allowed to run wild, there will be problems. IF Rodgers is harassed and sacked often, there will be problems. Here’s another way to win: don’t make stupid mistakes. And how about an aggressive game plan and play-calling from our coaches?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no way the Packers want to go one-and-done in the playoffs again. That happened in 2009 and again in 2011 and to lose a playoff game to a North foe, our biggest rival, would be too painful to even contemplate. So Mike McCarthy had better pull out all the stops. Dom Capers had better unleash the dogs of war. Aaron Rodgers needs to be ON. The running game needs to CONTRIBUTE. Clay Matthews needs to make Christian Ponder UNCOMFORTABLE. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The defensive line needs to tackle and the offensive line needs to block. Do these things and we will win. Fail to do them and we will lose. Again. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-32264118886231281382012-12-23T14:41:00.003-08:002012-12-23T14:41:43.411-08:00Packers play their first complete game of the year in an ass-kicking for the ages.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers waiting until week 16 of the 2012 NFL season to finally (finally!) put together a complete game. Sure, the Tennessee Titans are not exactly what you would call a powerful football team, even under the best of circumstances. Even more injury-ravaged than the Packers, the Titans are the NFL poster-children for the term “undermanned”. They have all five of their starting offensive linemen on the IR list. Even so, they are a professional football team and it takes nothing away from the achievement of Mike McCarthy and his team pulled off this afternoon. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On offense, they not only threw the ball with their customary aplomb but they stayed with the rushing attack and, while it netted 140 yards (not earth-shattering but pretty good for the Packers) the bigger factor were the four TD’s the Pack scored on the ground thanks to Rodgers, Harris and Ryan Grant, who put two scores up.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The defense was equally dominating. You might call the Titan offense “inept” or “disjointed” or even “piss-poor” but you have to acknowledge the power and the glory of Clay Matthews and his cohorts, limiting Locker to only 140 yards through the air, picking him off twice and sacking him seven times. If you take away Locker’s 39-yard pass to set up the 2-yard TD throw deep into slop time, the Packer defense put up a performance for the ages. Until that late lapse, the Packers were on the verge of the largest margin of victory since the pre-NFL Green Bay Packers hung a 62-0 thrashing on DePere in 1920. I’m sure it hurt to give up the shut-out (the Packer defenders appeared to be pretty disinterested at that point) but the win is what matters the most.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As critical as we’ve all been of Mason Crosby and his struggles, you have to give him props today. He went out there and made both of his field goal attempts and all seven of his extra points. Sure, his first make was aided by doinking the ball off the right upright from 48-yards out, but I’m sure he (and we) will take any and all help we can get. His kick-offs were a little inconsistent but I’m sure that’s just because his leg was getting tired late in the game. Which is a GREAT problem to have!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as I’d love to wallow in the victory, there is one key point I’d like to make, something more important to the continued success of this team in the coming weeks: Mike McCarthy kept his foot on the gas. This is not something he does. He likes to get a lead, establish the run, chews up some clock. All good things to do but it does afford lesser opponents the opportunity to get themselves back into football games. Today, however, with the game firmly in hand, Mike McCarthy declined the opportunity to coast to victory. Here we were, in the latter minutes of the third quarter and everybody and his mother are thinking “pull Rodgers, this game is done.” MM does not pull Rodgers. What he does do is call a masterful West Coast-style 80-yard drive for a touchdown. Here we go...</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i></i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><i>Packers ball at their own 20, 3:31 left in the third, up 34-0. First play is a run for no gain. Then we light things up - short pass to Jones turned into a 27-yard gain. Short pass to Finley for 18. Rush by Grant for no gain. Short pass to Taylor for 11. Short pass to Jennings for four. The quarter ends and suddenly the Packers are set up at the Tennessee 24. Another short pass to Jennings sets up a 12-yard TD to James Jones, Packers up 41-0.</i></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did you see what I saw? Not only did I see a coach who is normally conservative with a lead go for the jugular but I also saw him do it with controlled, high-percentage quick passes. No bombs forty yards down the field on third-and-short. This is now yet another way the Packers can take control of game and score. Not just with Rodgers’ laser-guided cannon for an arm. Short, ball-control offense that methodically eats up a defense, one bite at a time. I hope this is a sign of things to come from McCarthy. Too often, he counts on Rodgers’ obvious skills to complete passes far downfield. It’s fantastic to have that in your quiver, but if you can shift from a quick-strike, downfield attack to the short game and back again, there isn’t a defense in the league that can stop you.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This game was not without it’s costs: We saw Randall Cobb go out with a leg injury. As of this writing, all we know is that MM thinks it’s “not serious”. Davon House went out with a shoulder injury (possibly similar to the one he suffered in the preseason). Grant went out late with an unknown ailment. The injury to Cobb is, obviously, the most concerning. His contributions in both the return game and in the passing game are this year’s most welcome. Without Cobb, this season might have been lost given the games that Jennings and Nelson have spent in street clothes. Jennings is back in but not the deep threat he was pre-injury. Nelson in progressing but no one can say if he will be anywhere near 100% next week or beyond. That leaves James Jones as your primary receiving threat (and a big threat at that!) with Finely, Driver and a host of rookies to pick up the slack. Jeremy Ross (the guy who fumbled the ill-conceived backwards pass from Cobb last week) looks like he’s got some skills in the return game but if Cobb misses any significant playing time, the offensive production will suffer.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tilt against the Vikings next week certainly has some meaning for both teams. The Packers need to win that game (and get some help from the Seahawks tonight!) to secure the #2 seed and a week off to start the playoffs. We can debate all day on the merits for and against the bye, but for a team as beat up as the Packers, a week to get healthier is nothing but good. Minnesota will not only be playing for a playoff spot but to put Adrian Peterson over the top for the single-season rushing record. They’d love to do both and I’m sure the playoff slot is the bigger prize but it will be a double-dose of motivation for the Vikes. The Packers can do no worse than the #3 seed even with a loss but we all know the importance of momentum and playing hot to end the season. Here’s hoping that Mike McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers can keep their collective feet on the gas and power their way into the playoffs.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">============= </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mrs. MMQB and I wish all our readers the happiest of holidays. We plan on spending the next few days celebrating with family, enjoying excellent meals and sublime libations. We encourage you to do the same!</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-74699258182693450772012-12-16T15:41:00.000-08:002012-12-16T15:41:03.970-08:00Packers lockup the NFC North in victory over the Bears.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers , in their last two contests against NFC North opponents, have come out flat and found themselves down by multiple scores. Key failures by those opponents have led to the comeback victories. Do you need me to list them? OK, since you’ve obviously not been paying attention, I’ll recount them for you here:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two weeks ago versus the Vikings, the Packers were down to start the second half. Adrian Peterson had just ripped off one of his patented HUGE bursts through the middle to set up the Queens inside the red zone. If they put up six (or even three) the Packers probably don’t win that game. Christian Ponder, who some say is the worst QB in the NFL, throws a pick into the end zone and the Packers leverage the turnover into a 4th quarter victory. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A week ago, the Lions are DOMINATING the game in the second quarter and can win going aways when Matthew Stafford pulls a Favre move and has the ball fall off the back of his hand and the Packers convert to an immediate six points. They would take that leverage and craft another beautiful victory. If that drive continued to it’s inevitable conclusion, the Packers probably do not win that game.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here we were, down by seven again thanks to a missed field goal (more about that later) and needing a spark or a big play to turn the game around. So what happened? What would provide that massive shift in momentum?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer was not what you’d expect.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn’t one play, it was <i>methodical </i>play. The Packers took the ensuing kick off and went 89 yards in seven plays and put points up thanks to a Rodgers-to-Jones touchdown. They then forced a three-and-out but couldn’t take advantage and punted themselves. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An interception by Hayward on the first play of the Bears next drive set the Packers up in great field position. Five plays later, Rodgers hit Jones for his second TD of the game and the Bears suffered the ignoble fate of getting booed off the field (and rightly so) by their “fans”. Following the halftime break, the Packers went on an almost seven-minute drive ending up with Jones’ third scoring catch of the day and the game was essentially over. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can we point to a certain moment, to a certain play in this critical Packer victory? I don’t think so. You have to admire, however, the incredible work of Aaron Rodgers in converting third downs. His coach, ever the predictable one, ran the ball on every first down in the second half. It worked one time, when Duanne Harris ripped off 22 yards on the first carry of the second half. But Rodgers was saddled with third and long on too many occasions in the second half and, more often than not, converted to keep the drives alive. Here is a guy playing behind a jerry-rigged offensive line and, in most situations, running for his life. He was keeping plays alive by escaping sacks and extending the plays and finding open guys. Is any QB more important to the ultimate success of his team? It would be a wonderful thing to point to the continued rise of the running game but the 113 yards they could manage on the ground were not what I would call impactful.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The return of Clay Matthews, however, would certainly meet that criteria. He had five tackles and two sacks and provided a needed focus for the Packer defense. It’s hard to overstate the effect when Matthews is in the lineup: he’s just that crucial. Over the last month while Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury, the Packer defense has only managed three sacks. Now, to be fair, they’ve gone 4-1 over that period. But each game has been a struggle and the fact that the defensive secondary has stepped up has mostly hidden the ineffectiveness of the pass rush. Now, with the secondary still in place, if you add the rush of Matthews (and the disruption he causes) you have a defense that has the potential to be dominating down the road.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two other factors to mention here:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, you have to start questioning the continued viability of Mason Crosby. I am nothing but admiring of Mike McCarthy’s continued faith in his embattled kicker but there comes to a point where you have to start thinking about the future. Crosby has missed at least one field goal in eight straight games. He has, over the course of two months, gone from one of the most consistent kickers in the game to one of the most problematical. I am convinced that things have gone from some possible mechanical issues to mental issues to completely snake-bit mode. Every time Crosby takes the field is an adventure. His first attempt went wide right before it passed the line of scrimmage. His second doinked off the left upright. All that tells me is that it’s entirely a mental problem and there is little that can be done by coaches to improve it. He may break out of it next week or he may never recover. So far, it hasn’t cost us a football game. I can guarantee you that it will at some point. If Ted Thompson isn’t scanning future free agents or possible draft picks he’s not worth his salary. I hate to say it but Crosby’s tenure, despite years of success, is over at Green Bay.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other major gaff in this game was an ill-conceived special teams play. Up by eleven points with just over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Packers decided to get cute. After a Bears punt, Randall Cobb attempted a backwards pass to fourth-string wideout Jeremy Ross, who promptly fumbled the ball and the Bears recovered. Unable to move the ball (a common problem all day) the Bears kicked a field goal. I have watched a great deal of football, spanning the Lombardi era of the 1960’s to the present and I am unable to remember a call that was more idiotic or more stupidly timed. Up by two scores, midway through the fourth quarter in a game that can win you the North, what would possess Mike McCarthy and Shawn Slocum to approve such a risk? Sure, if the game is on the line, maybe you throw caution to the wind and do what you need to do. But the game was in hand and all the Packers needed to do was possess the ball, make a couple of first downs and walk out of Chicago with a win. Instead, they committed themselves to and ill-conceived course, failed to execute it and essentially handed their opponents three points. Even if the play had been executed perfectly, there was plenty of coverage on that side of the field and the gain in field position would have been inconsequential. You have to question the mind-set of the coaches that called such a play in that particular situation.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packers, despite the rough victory, have clawed out of a 2-3 start, climbing over the overrated corpses of the Bears and Vikings to secure the NFC North for the second year in a row. Now comes a seemingly-gimme game versus the Titans and another tough road test against the Vikings. They have a shot at the #2 seed in the NFC and a much-needed week off but I think I speak for all the Cheeseheads I know when I say we don’t need a week off, we need to stack victories: beat Tennessee, beat the Queens (and knock them out of the post-season) and go into the playoffs on a major roll. Can you say 2010, Packer fans? I know you can.</span></span><br />
<br />
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-55419264948465709022012-12-09T21:24:00.000-08:002012-12-09T21:24:10.303-08:00Another come-from-behind effort vs. the Lions puts the Packers solidly in first place in the North.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packer defense couldn’t stop the Lions’ offense in the first half. Not once. The two turnovers committed by Detroit were entirely the fault of Matthew Stafford. Aside from that, the Lions drove effortlessly for two easy TD’s and held the ball to end the half. The great and powerful Packer offense could only muster one drive that ended in a strip-sack and another that ended in a long field goal. To be honest, the Packers had no business being only four points down at halftime. Their offensive line was a liability, committing holding and false-start fouls when they weren’t letting rushers make Rodgers skitter around in the pocket. The defense couldn’t stop the run, never pressured the quarterback and was unable to cover all of Stafford’s receivers, always leaving at least one open. This is a team that had been handed golden gift when the Vikings beat the Lions earlier. “Coming out flat” is a uber-cliche but it’s an accurate description of the Packers at Lambeau on Sunday night.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So would Dom Capers have any answers? Would Mike McCarthy be able to make an adjustment, anything at all, to jump start his lethargic offense? Obviously his first-half game plan (aka: The Find Cobb and Throw Him The Ball plan) was flawed and poorly executed. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Down by only four and playing like crap on both sides of the ball, the Packers came out and drove right down the field, scoring on a huge 23-yard QB run by Rodgers and the defense, while still not themselves, quit allowing Detroit doing whatever they hell they wanted. I can’t put my finger on the precise changes, but whatever they were, they worked.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps the biggest change was the emergence of the running game. It came on so strong, they Packers actually scored a TD on a drive that consisted solely of rushing attempts. Whaaaaa? The PACKERS scored on an all-running drive??? Green Bay went from a “who the heck is going to run the ball this week?” to having a four-headed attack with Green, Harris, Grant and Rodgers himself combining for 145 yards on 24 attempts. By creating some balance, it slowed the potentially-devastating Lions’ pass rush and with the ability of Rodgers to move the pocket and throw on the run, the passing game become much more effective.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say that I was not impressed with the way Mike McCarthy called this football game, even in the second half. This is (supposedly) a WEST COAST OFFENSE! You have the best QB in the NFL under center and you limit him by focusing too much on one receiver (Cobb) and then, when that doesn’t work, you swing for the fences again and again. Listen: Aaron Rodgers can make the long throws. We get it. He doesn’t have to prove anything to us. But this consistent game plan of forcing him to stand in the pocket, scramble about and throw the ball 20+ yards on almost every down is nuts. West Coast-style football is all about ball control. Short, high-percentage throws, effective running, spread the ball around, keep the chains moving, take total control of the game clock. Once the defense adjusts and tries to take that away, you can take your shots downfield. But MM seemingly forgets those first parts and goes right for the end zone. Come on, Mike! I saw a couple perfect opportunities for you to put this game away in the second half and you couldn’t do it because you wanted to put up six instead of getting the first down. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The long wait for a completely healthy Packer team will not, I’m afraid, come to an end any time soon. But you have to be encouraged by the looming return of Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and maybe even Jordy Nelson. Without Matthews, the Packers simply do not have a pass rush. I know those guys are trying and I know that Capers dialed up some blitzes but it just isn’t there. Without Woodson, the defensive backs are in a pretty passive mode back there and the picks they are getting are more about opposing QB mistakes than great play by them. Without Nelson (or Jennings: it’s been a see-saw year with them) the Packers passing offense is only partly as effective as it can be and leans <i>much</i> too heavily on Randall Cobb. With a healthy cadre of receivers, the Packers become a crazy passing machine, capable of almost anything. The only sore spot is (and will continue to be) the offensive line. Nobody is coming back from injury there to save the day. There is no Tauscher or Clifton coming back into the lineup next or any other week. That is truly the wild card here. I will say it again (for those that have never heard it all the other 97 times I’ve said it) that the Packers will only go as far as their offensive line will take them. Ted Thompson made a conscious decision to carry fewer linemen this year and that’s come back to bite him in the ass. Don Barclay was not bad again tonight (he was impressive on running plays) and he may yet prove to be that savior for this line. One more injury, one more strain, one more pulled pinky muscle and the Packers are pretty much toast on the line.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as expected, the winner of the North for this season will be decided by the Packers vs. Bears game next Sunday at noon in Chicago. The Bears, after tearing up the NFL with their opportunistic defense, have gotten into a slump - those breaks that were all going their way earlier in the year are not falling in place for them now. Like the Packers, injuries have played a major role. Brain Urlacher may not make it back and now Cutler has a neck injury that might put him back on the sidelines again. Their two most important players on either side of the ball out and that’s a huge blow. The Packers, whether they get those injured guys back or not, will need to play their best game of the year because I do not for one minute believe that even an undermanned Bear team will lay down and give up without a fight. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-29370433303166846452012-12-02T15:37:00.003-08:002012-12-02T15:37:21.104-08:00Packers fight back and win after trailing to the hated Vikings. It only gets harder, kids.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers knew that they were going to face a pretty one-dimensional team on Sunday. With Percy Harvin watching from the state of Minnesota, the Vikings were going to win or lose this critical North Division match on the legs of Adrian Peterson. Christian Ponder wasn’t going to beat anybody with his arm. So you can imagine that Packer defensive coaching staff clustered around their laptops, dialing up all the eight- nine- and and ten-man fronts in their arsenal. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from the crap the defense put on the field last weekend, the Packer stalwarts have been pretty good against the run this year, so you’d think without much of a passing threat, AP would be kept in check, right? WRONG! Peterson ran for a two-season high of 210 yards and chipped in for another ten through the air. Two MASSIVE runs (including an 82-yard scoring scamper) made up the bulk of it but you have to question the focus of the Packer defense if they know who is getting the ball and still cannot keep him corralled. The TD was a play that should have been finished in the Minnesota backfield but awful tackling and some comic collisions by would-be defenders. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The missing pieces of the defensive puzzle (Matthews, Woodson) have been sorely missed in the last two weeks and you have to start hoping those two guys can make it back sooner than later.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the offensive side of the ball, the return of Greg Jennings certainly had an effect on the passing game (he had four catches for 46 yards) but I can’t really say he was too impactful. The good news was that Aaron Rodgers was able to hit nine different receivers for 286 yards and 1 TD and the offensive philosophy of spreading the field (instead of just watching where Cobb went) and short, quick passes (he was sacked only twice) certainly looked worlds removed from the “swing for the fences on every down” that failed so miserably last week. The makeshift offensive line was not great, but they certainly were not awful. Losing TJ Lang to injury forced Don Barclay (and a weary Packer nation collectively says “who???”) into a major roll. Most telling of all was the 152 yards rushing, thanks to workman-like efforts by Starks and Green, the former scoring only the third Packer rushing touchdown of the year on a great 22-yard run.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from the critical loss of Lang, another injury that will have an adverse affect on future games will be the loss of Jordy Nelson. Injured on a sideline tackle after his one and only catch, Nelson immediately knew he had a problem and his body language on the bench spoke of something fairly substantial. With Donald Driver inactive due to a thumb injury, the weight of the offense fell upon Cobb, Jones and Finely. No one man carried the entire load as it was shared all around. But you have to worry going forward if Nelson is out again that the newly-recovered Jennings will need to be 100% on every snap for the Packers to be successful.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mason Crosby had a better-than-average day, going 3-for-4, one of the made attempts doinking off the right upright and in. For better or worse, it’s going to be an adventure on every attempt this year. I can’t decide if I’m impressed or disgusted by Mike McCarthy’s continued trust in his kickers’ erratic leg, but it is what it is, I guess. He did contribute 11 points to he win (three field goals and two extra points), more than any other player including Aaron Rodgers, so you have to give the guy some credit, don’t you?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the Bears getting beat in overtime by the Seahawks, the Packers once more slip into first place with Minnesota falling back and Detroit in danger of becoming irrelevant this season. You can’t help but like the position the Packers are in: first in the division with four games to play and one contest with the only team within reach. After the on-field excrement from last week, this game against the Vikings had all the hallmarks of a must-win. It certainly wasn’t easy but you have to give the Packers credit for putting that loss behind them and focusing on what they can control: the next game. The problems are still there (offensive line is suspect and paper-thin, no pass rush without Matthews, wide-outs can’t get open, defense susceptible to the big play) and there will be no fixes. Yes, we can hope Woodson and Matthews can get back in on defense but the O-line will finish the season with the guys they have. So each and every week will be a struggle. We all hope that the struggle will make them stronger. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-53302283360846109242012-11-25T20:32:00.002-08:002012-11-25T20:32:46.063-08:00Repeat of the playoff loss last season leaves the Packers searching for answers.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Green Bay Packers lost only two games last year. The first, against the clearly awful Chiefs where neither the offense or defense showed up to play, was seen by many (including myself) to be a fluke. The second, against the New York Giants in the playoffs, was a case where a clearly superior team had an exceptional game plan and executed it to perfection. The Packer coaching staff could not (or would not) adjust, the defense never showed up and the offense was out-of-synch and harassed all day long. It was an awful, awful game for Packer fans to watch. I think I speak for many of us when I say my reaction could best be described as “dumbfounded”. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was then, this is now. Then, the Giants were on a late-season roll that would carry a modestly successful team on to claim the Lombardi Trophy. Sound familiar? The Packers, at the time, were hugely successful team but had stumbled and looked like a team that had peaked too soon. So what would 2012 bring? The Packers, battling injuries but on a 5-0 run versus the Giants who shot out of the gate with a slew of early victories but had completely lost their offensive mojo. How did it go?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Different season, same result as the Packers were completely embarrassed on both sides of the ball.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The real key to the Packers ineffectiveness starts and ends with the men in the trenches. The Packer offensive line vs. the Giants defensive line was a complete joke. Exactly like last year, NY dropped seven into coverage and rushed four. They could do that because our five offensive linemen (and sometimes a back and sometimes one or two tight ends) are not capable of blocking their four guys. As an extra added bonus, they can tackle our running backs on the way to the quarterback. So Rodgers, if he isn’t being crushed and hit by the pass rush, is being chased all over the field. Add in a bunch of drops, several poor passes and the inevitable penalty whenever something actually did go right and you have the worst performance by a Packer offense since, well, since they last played the Giants.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other side of the ball, it was a 2011 flashback all over again. Remember that crazy Packer defense from last year? The one that couldn’t put pressure on opposing QB’s if they rushed 11? The one that gave up more passing yards than any team in NFL history? Yeah, you remember them, don’t you? Well, they came back with a vengeance. Watching the Giant offense, so ineffective over the last month, explode for 31 points in the first half, running the ball at will, completing pass after pass and walking all over our defense was horrifying. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Clay Matthews can’t get back on the football field next week, they might as well just put him on the IR and start thinking about next year. If Marshall Newhouse and TJ Lange are unable to block premier pass rushers, they’d better just put Harrell in right now or Rodgers is going to get killed. I know this is just one game and it was a really, really bad game but I think the injuries have finally caught up with the Packers: too many holes, not enough quality guys to fill them. The offensive line, barely able to give Rodgers time against the Lions last week, will be hard pressed the rest of the season. If Rodgers can’t throw the ball, the Packers will not be winning, pure and simple.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This game might have been different if the Packers were able to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them: In the first half, there were three almost-interceptions. There were two punts muffed by the Giants the Packers couldn’t jump on. McCarthy put Crosby out there to attempt a 58-yard field goal with predictable results, then, down by 17 in the first half, he doesn’t go for it on fourth and short and settles for three. They were the last points the Packers would score. If any one of these goest the other way, it might have shifted momentum.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s unfathomable to me that our coaching staff has no plays to make an aggressive defensive front pay for it. It’s inconceivable to me that our coaching staff has no way to put pressure on an opposing quarterback without Clay Matthews. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This game may or may not be a fluke. It may or may not be a harbinger of things to come. It may or may not mean the Packers have regressed to the worst performance of an otherwise outstanding season last year. It does mean that they Vikings and their pass rush and their running game are no doubt salivating at the prospect of facing the Packers next week and I sure can’t blame them.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">============= </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit The Packers Sandlot (<a href="http://packerssandlot.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #021eaa; letter-spacing: 0px;">http://packerssandlot.blogspot.com</span></a>/) for the new home of The MMQB. </span></span><br />
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826445666972960964.post-54858566992752117732012-11-18T14:47:00.006-08:002012-11-18T14:47:58.952-08:00Tough, NFC North matchup winds up (somehow) as a Packer victory.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38571a; letter-spacing: 0px;">The</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> first half of this big, big North Division game was an exercise in ineptitude for the Green Bay Packers. How did they fail? Let me count ways:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Jordy Nelson dropped an easy pass that would have been a first down.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There were two holding calls and a false start on the offense.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">There was a blow to Stafford’s head that resulted in a first down instead of a punt.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Mike McCarthy decided to eschew a 49-yard field goal attempt and the offense could not convert the fourth down.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">He also didn’t challenge a reception by Johnson that sure looked like an incompletion on replay.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Tramon Williams forgot he was supposed to be covering Calvin Johnson.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Mason Crosby missed the same field goal twice.</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Aaron Rodgers threw a pick two plays after the Packers had picked off Stafford.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is that all of them? I’m sure it’s not but that’s all I can remember. Worst of all, six penalties for 50 yards plus two that were declined. HOLY CRAP, Batman! That’s a pretty awful half of football. The worst one was the Rodgers interception as a Packer drive for a score after a turnover would have completely altered the complexion of the game, but the Packers were only down by 3 at the half. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After giving almost the entire third quarter over to the Lions, (the only scoring the Pack could manage was M.D. Jennings EXCELLENT pick six) and giving them the lead back when Calvin Johnson scored on a 25-yard pass (which somehow magically was not picked off) it set up a big, big fourth quarter.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a Detroit field goal, the Packers were able to score on a fantastic catch by Cobb and get a one point lead. The defense then came up HUGE on two series with everything coming down to a failed Lions fourth down attempt. With their field position, the Pack were able to tack on a field goal and then just had to withstand some desperation attempts by the Lions to cement the win.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You know, the Lions are not that good of a team. I’ve seen them play and saw quite a bit of their loss to the Vikings last week and I cannot for the life of me figure out why this was such a hard game for the Packers. If you look at their secondary vs. our passing attack, this should have been a track meet with Green Bay racking up score after score. But that’s not how it went down. With the poor first half, the Packers seemed bent on giving the Lions every single opportunity to beat them. It was very telling watching Rodgers get slammed around on most passing plays. The shuffling of the offensive line, so successful last week, had to have some effect on it. Rodgers did not have much time in the pocket and his usual ability to scramble and roll out was negated. Why the Packers did not shift into their normally effective hurry-up offense is a mystery to me. I have to say, there were a few moments in this game where I thought Mike McCarthy was either asleep, drunk or busy playing Star Wars Angry Birds. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer pass rush, while not stellar, was certainly not awful either. Without the services of Clay Matthews, the Packer pass rush tends to evaporate and opposing QB’s can easily pick apart our secondary. I would have loved to see Stafford on his back a few more times but I’m more than happy with the productivity: Erik Walden had a pair of sacks and Desmond Moses got one, plus two from the secondary. There were many hurries and hits as well. More importantly than the sacks were the interceptions by Hayward and Jennings with the latter going for six. On a day when the defense would be shorthanded and sorely tested, I have to say the Packers won that battle.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now on to the most painful topic that we are all going to be talking about in the weeks to come: Mason Crosby. Up until this season, Crosby was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL. For some reason, he has come completely unraveled. Mike McCarthy had obviously lost confidence in him when he passed on a 49-yard FG attempt in order to go for it on fourth-and-and four. Failed. Crosby got his chance later but missed the same field goal twice (thanks to an ill-timed timeout by Detroit) to end the first half. He missed another one in the second half and just about shanked an extra point. When the Packers had an opportunity to cement the win with a 39-yarder with 24 seconds left in the game, you could almost see his entire football career coming to an end. But he made it, thank the football gods, and will live to play another week. Kickers are notorious head-cases and it looks like our guy has gone way ‘round the bend. His confidence is shot, he’s second-guessing himself, overcompensating and I fear we will have to deal with his inconsistency the rest of the year. Will Mike McCarthy make a change? Is Ted Thompson scanning the waiver wire or shopping someone in a trade? We might all hope so but that would be totally out of character for both our coach and our general manager. They are thoughtful, measured men (almost to a fault) and are not prone to panic-induced measures. Crosby is our kicker for the foreseeable future and all we can do is hope he can break out of it (a few short attempts would be nice, offense) and he doesn’t cost us a game down the line.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Packer season has had several interesting segments: First we had the four-game opening stretch against really tough opponents. The Pack came out of that 2-2, thanks to the replacement refs and The Inaccurate Reception in Seattle. Next came a three-game road trip which ended up 2-1 with the loss coming to the surprisingly tough Colts. Then came a two-game pre-bye stretch where, as expected, the Packers came away 2-0. That was some exciting damn football and while we all wished for a better record, I thing 6-3 was a pretty good tally. Now, we come into the most important segment where we have the final seven games, five of which would come against NFC North teams and one against the New York Giants, the team that so throughly humiliated the Packers in the playoffs last season and would eventually claim the Lombardi Trophy. I have only one way to describe such a schedule: I LOVE IT! You want to find out who the best team in the North is? We’ll find out, won’t we? Not by fighting it out with AFC teams or some bottom-feeders but by playing North teams. Want revenge on the Giants for that drubbing last season? Kick their asses next week! You just can’t ask for a better stretch of football if you are truly a fan of the sport. If the Packers are the better team, ask them to prove themselves in the crucible of this seven-game stretch. If they are not the better team, we will find out. Sure, it would be nice to finish up the season against weak-ass opponents but won’t it be so much more <i>fun</i> to do it like this? Beating the Lions in this gritty, tough game was nerve wracking but, in hindsight, necessary. To both this team and to this season. We will start to see some starters back from injury and we will see just how good this team really is. Saddle-up and strap in tight, football fans; It’s gonna be good!</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 12px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11px; min-height: 12px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
RJShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04019790810869540340noreply@blogger.com0