In a game where the defense pulled out all the stops, gave the ball back to our offense three times, and harassed Matthew Stafford all day long, I have a rant that can’t wait…
CLICK the link and tell me what I missed cuz I’m so mad, I’m sure there is something…
1. Why the heck is Aaron Rodgers staring down Jordy Nelson all the time?
Every receiver on our team is there because they are capable of making plays. The most telling play in this game was when Aaron Rodgers stared down Jordy until Jordy was knocked down by a hold and then Rodgers took a sack…YIKES! We have a lot of weapons on this team and we need to use them. Our touchdown (and any other time we moved the ball) came when Rodgers spread the ball around. This includes passes out of the backfield to Lacy. What I don’t understand is why our passing game seems to rely on a single player…if we don’t use our weapons, we are in trouble.
2. The defense gave us THREE extra possessions…and we scored SEVEN points…wuh???
I don’t care who we play, there is NO excuse for a team like the Packers to score 7 points in a game against ANYBODY! Every time we started to throw short outs and ins…we moved the ball. Have we forgotten that when you can’t run through pressure you should throw over it? I said this morning that the way that the Packers deal with the run game on defense and execute it on offense would have a big part in the result of this game. For all but the last two drives, the defense handled the run game of the Lions, but the Packers were a different story.
When we should play-action, we run it up the gut and get stuffed. When we should run it up the middle, we run East/West. No less than two of our running backs committed the second unforgivable sin of the running back…running backward! Is this Pop Warner??? Oh, by the way, the first unforgivable sin is fumbling the ball…we did that too!
The Detroit defensive backfield does not have a SINGLE marquis player and yet we couldn’t find a soft spot underneath or a backshoulder out when inside leverage presented itself? Oh yeah…we could…when we had the play calling right, which was NEVER!
3. The play-calling was awful.
I thought this was one of the worst called games I have seen in a long time. We played roughly two series of offensive football that was in line with our offseason talk, our preseason practice, and our in season performance so far. The rest of this game was…well…just offensive.
I was one that applauded the desire of Mike McCarthy to get in more plays, not just run a no huddle and score in the same number of plays but get more plays in. This requires the Packers to operate more like a traditional West Coast offense. Short slants, passes that are more like runs…quick, rhythmic, and debilitating to a defense. We did that…sure…TWICE! Other than that we watched Aaron Rodgers dropping back, dropping out, and running for his life with his dilated pupils frantically searching the horizon for Jordy Nelson whether he was open or not. NOT ACCEPTABLE!
Conclusion
A LOT of people said that today’s game would show what kind of Packers team this was. I disagreed this morning and I mentioned consistency over several games (win or lose) as the touchstone to determining what we have in this Packers team. If anything the defense has now played over 6 quarters of consistent football. The offense faltered today, like they did against Seattle. But bear in mind Packers fans, it’s FAR from over yet, it this team’s defense continues along a path of pressure and the offense gets back to form watch out!
In the meantime, I am disappointed in my Packers today. But let me know what you think in the comments below. And stay tuned…tomorrow I will RAVE!
GO PACK!!!
I agree.
I agree that the play calling was horrible. Also Aaron Rodgers held onto the ball too long and the receiver core seems to lack sufficient speed to outrun the defenders and they have struggled to get open. At least the defense did a pretty good job with the turn-overs. But they still need to work on their tackling skills.
I agree but I think they miss James Jones Rodgers is at fault but so is online why not use all the field I believe Cobb is just a threat go bk to slants screens but what do we know but props to defense and can and can Clay stay healthy
That Cobb is just as much as a threat I hurd Tony Gonzalez wants to play why not try picking him up I bring that up cause they brought him and Packers up
Yeah Bob…we should see Cobb more.
Any way on to next game Go Pack Go I think we do need a tight end that is a threat
What happen to starks he had some of the best rushes on offense. With James Jones gone. Seems like we don’t have alot of sure hands out there. Alot of drops. Our o line collapse alot. Aarons always under pressure he has happy feet I think he doesn’t want to get hurt we are missing a good te. I like our d. If clay doesn’t go out we probably get the ball 1 more time in the fourth. But we are off too a bad slow start. 1st half has not been good at all for us. Khun is never in the game to block for our running backs. Idk man it sucks to go down to 1-2 it gunna be even harder playing the bears in Chicago next week. Teams are getting better in the north. But that 2 d – lineman 5 lbs worked nice today
Word came across that Matthews may have had a groin injury. Probably not serious but that guy was a beast while he was out there so we needed him at the end, you’re right about that for sure.
I agree with you 100%
Can Rodgers run? Does he even consider that option? We’ve gone from top 5 to mediocre in too short a time. Need a staff shakeup, although I hesitate to call for Capers head when the D played well for 3 quarters. Looks like Aaron is the biggest issue. Is Farve really retired?
I’d say McCarthy’s play calling is a slightly bigger issue, but yes Rodgers must adjust his head to take what the D gives him instead of being willing to take all or nothing on big plays.
Mccarthy is slow to reluctant to adjust his game plan. How many times did they run that zone toss play today with no effect. There were no plays to backs in the flats which would have been there. It’s early yet so we will see where this season goes.
o u want a better rant I can give u a better rant on this game and this not only on the game itself but on the commentary it frustrated the hell out of me and I have a solution to the problem too.
Ok so I’m watching the game and they are showing the stats for the day and I’m thinking to myself what the hell is wrong with these talking heads!! STOP OVERHYPING MATT STAFFORD!! HE HASN’T DONE anything ALL DAY!!! All STAFFORD did today was throw 2 INTS (1 of them to my guy Davante House (AND SHOULD BE USED MORE)(yes I have complained on both Ted Thompson and McCarthy’s twitter I think it’s actually working)(note: COMPLAIN ON THEIR TWITTERS MORE) which should have been a safety) AND FUMBLE/LOST THE BALL(TY JULIUS PEPPERS)!!
Aaron Rodgers can probably hear u and is probably getting even more pissed (and he is ALREADY PISSED SINCE HE IS NOT GETTING PROTECTION FROM THE O-LINE, RECEIVERS ARE DROPPING THE BALL, THERE IS A FALSE START HAPPENING SOMEWHERE AND MCCARTHY IS CALLING TO GO FOR IT ON 4TH AND 5 THIS ISN’T HELPING AT ALL) at you since you guys think Stafford is a much better QB than him (he already gets pissed that u guys seem to think Cutler and Kaepernick are soo great (no offense to niner and bears fans but it has to be said and at least you guys won one playoff game). Who has a SB ring? Who has actually won a playoff game? AT LEAST RODGERS HAD A TD AND DIDNT FUMBLE THE BALL OR HAD AN INT (let alone 2) SO STFU TALKING HEADS JEEZ (there was a safety but that was on Lacy so that doesn’t count (that should have been called a safety on House).
The reason why the Lions even won today was bad play calling (aka going for it on 4th and 5 McCarthy STOP DOING THAT TAKE THE FIELD GOAL) and Penalties (so many penalties we are turning into the Raiders (no offense raider fans)). So to all the talking heads who keep saying that the Lions are a waaaayyyyy better team than the Packers today they had penalties too (they should have had more if you ask me stupid refs).
One other thing Dom Caper WHY DID U TAKE MATTHEWS OUT? Please explain that to me? Was this McCarthy’s idea? If it was I’m sorry for yelling at you. Our defense was doing so well. Also SHIELDS CATCH THE BALL!! We would have had another INT. Same with you Ha Ha but that can be forgiven since you tipped the ball and it ended up being an INT to Williams.
Bulaga coming back def, made a bigger difference on O-line but COME ON GUYS BETTER PROTECTION is needed. I hope the Pack seriously watches the tapes this week and I hope MCCARTHY ESPECIALLY STOPS WITH THE GOING FOR IT ON 4TH AND 5 JUST PLZ STOP IT PLZ FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP IT!! THE FANS AND MASON CROSBY FANTASY FOOTBALL OWNERS WILL THANK YOU!! (Unless you guys r playing Jax go ahead go for it on 4th and 5 all you want that Def is bad)AND STOP THE PENALTIES PLZ ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP BEATING OURSELVES PLZ PLZ PLZ!!
I will be praying for you at Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year for those of you that don’t know and plz don’t leave any anti semitic comments or any other atheist stuff I don’t care I’m Jewish and proud of it) services on Thursday and throwing away the sins of our season on Thursday at tashlich! Actually you know what everyone on the Packers should go to Synagogue and pray for renewal and throw away the sins of not only the past season but the season so far as well hell it actually might help solve this problem.
Now that I put that out there I said I was going to put a solution out there and I will be sticking true to my word:
Besides the obvious solutions of CATCHING THE BALL and NOT GOING FOR IT ON 4TH AND 5 AND TAKING THE FIELD GOAL WHEN U CAN. To bring Aaron Rodgers spirits up and the offense up we need to use the Peyton Manning approach. Usually this method would not be recommended but Aaron Rodgers is not an ordinary QB he could do it.
So as you know when Peyton Manning was on the Indianapolis Colts (and I think he does this on the Broncos too correct me if I’m wrong) he basically told the offensive coaches to *** off (figuratively of course) and said he was going to run things his way whether they liked it or not. Notice how the offense for the Colts did? Notice how happy Peyton is? I think that’s what Rodgers needs is that kind of leadership role and for McCarthy to back off!!! Something tells me the players can see it too. Another possibility is that Olivia Munn is jinxing Aaron Rodgers and trying to distract him like Jessica Simpson did to Tony Romo but I honestly doubt it Rodgers wouldn’t be so mad.
Anyways, Rodgers if you see this blog and study the tape as well as I know you do plz plz be a man and TELL MCCARTHY TO LET U DO UR THING AND CONTROL THE OFFENSE LIKE A MAN!! u can always say MANNING DOES IT I CAN DO IT 2
Clay Matthews went out because of a groin injury.
What..? That made little to no sense,and was mostly incorrect. The only thing I agree with you on was bad play calling. Do you even understand Football? 4th & 5? That was a MUST to go for it. 3 points? Did you not see the score, We needed 7, not 3, 3 wouldnt of helped ay more than zero did. We needed TWO touchdowns, If they took the Field goal they still would of needed TWO touchdows, so it was a MUST to go for it. And as much as I hate to say it Rodgers fucked that one up. Nelson was open and he missed him. Penalties, Thats not just Green Bay, that is the whole league, they are cracking down and players arent used to it yet. League wide issue.
Dont bring up Manning, Two totally different play styles, Manning has a coach mindframe, I dont see Aaron doing that, He’s moreof a player. And How much do you kow of those plays Rodgers didnt call audibles for and mess up the play callings? You cant make that assumption without being in the huddle and knowing the play calls & code words for audibles.
That was not a “better” rant.. That was highly biased and slightly ignorant rambling. And did you not pay attention? Matthews was hurt, Why wouldnt you take out an injured player?
Also i hope you werent seriously saying how House is “your guy” yet youget his namewrong.. Last Icheckedit was Davon? or are you talking about someone else?
THe Interception call was spot on, learn the rules of the sport, think of it as forward progress in reverse.
Just stop.. You’re making the rest of us look bad..
Did you watch the same game? The Packers were only in the huddle after a change of possession. Every other play was called at the line. Every audible Rodgers called was in plain sight of everyone. He repeatedly used audibles to delays/draw plays, and the Lions D repeatedly countered with audibles to stack the box.
Rodgers played terribly. He took a sack which put us out of FG range early. He shouldn’t have taken a single sack in the game, but he refuses to throw the ball away. He tried forcing the ball to Nelson down field rather than playing the percentages with short passes to others all game long (nothing new for him). And he forced that 4th and 5 pass to a well and double covered Nelson, after he took too long on the previous play to get the ball to an open Quarless because he was staring down Nelson deep.
Rodgers does some things very well, but converting 3rd and 4th downs when the game is on the line is not one of them. He has one of the worst 3rd and short conversion rates in the entire NFL.
Before u call somebody “ur guy” u should know his name
McCarthy was awful today, and Rodgers was worse. Agree 100%, he stared down Jordy all day, and whatever happened to the most dynamic playmaker on the team, Randall Cobb this year? He’s never in the backfield anymore, we don’t utilize his talents to the utmost potential. I’m sick of seeing the ineptness of the offensive line. You have to protect your number one asset and they aren’t getting it done, and if it continues, we’ll see Matt Flynn sooner than later cause Aaron will get hurt again. And I don’t care about one fumble….it happens, you need to feed the kid the ball!!! He has proven to be tough and quick, something Starks is not, and Harris is not! Ride the horse that got you there! Lacy needs the ball 20-30 times a game to open up the passing game. Miserable performance today by McCarthy and his pitiful play calling, NO IMAGINATION AT ALL! And although he brought us a Lombardi, I feel he should be calling plays elsewhere! Always plays NOT to lose instead of to win…good to see Peppers contribute! Hopefully Clay is alright as well.
Totally right Mike, about Cobb. I can’t believe we haven’t been more imaginative with Cobb…and not even that, he would be DEADLY on slants, underneath the safety but just as the LB turns his hips. Aaron and Cobb need to work to get that stuff goin’!
I totally agree your rant is fully on point. Not sure exactly what got into or out of our offense today but it was appalling n shameful to say the least. Biggest point we have an arsenal of weapons you can’t always reach for the big gun (jordy) use the little guns to shoot little holes n use them
Thanks David. We moved the ball when we took short drops and spread it around to other receivers/TE. Your word “appalling” is awfully well chosen. This should be a big year for Randall Cobb because of the attention Jordy gets and the fact that he is fresh, but we just don’t seem to be taking advantage. And we KNOW that Cobb is getting separation more than he is being targeted…
I’m sure other teams are watching that game and trying to emulate the same d the lions had
New coach please!!!! McCarthy is a piece
I agree, Aaron needs to spread it around and use his team more… Can’t always wait for Jordy to be open… How many guys were open that could have gotten us at least a fighting chance… We got 7… A whole whopping 7! I am disappinted but I am a fan… So I will watch the next game.. Hoping hoping Aaron will use the men at his service to get this **** DONE! GO PACK!!
McCarthy needs to be head coach and leave the play calling to an Offensive Coordinator. He has sucked at play calling for very long time.
Maybe they could get a certain ex QB to coach offense.
Don Majkowski??? 😉
I’m sorry, but when they show Rodgerr eyes he looks scared. The confidence is gone and he is.not playing like he used to. Not moving and dumping the ball to avoid any chance of getting hit. Don’t get it.
Rodgers is playing scared. Period. McCarthy’s play calling sucks, absolutely. The O-Line needs major improvement, no doubt. The defense is actually showing SOME improvement. I love him, but, Rodgers is the problem. He is depending way too much on Nelson and he’s way too obvious about it. You see this almost every time a QB gets a nice new contract. They play their asses off, get the big bucks and then seem to freaking forget how to play ball!
I agree with most of that, but his contract didn’t change anything. Rodgers has never been good at getting rid of the ball or taking what the D gives him short. His 3rd and short conversion percentage has always been at the bottom of the league because he forces the ball down field or take sacks. Until he changes his ways, and especially quits taking sacks which take us out of FG position or get him hurt, I don’t see our offense improving much.
I questioned the play calling in all 3 games so far! I understand we had a good season with lacy running the ball last year, but I think we are a better team if we get Rodgers in a rhythm. WE need to score points and play with the lead. The defense didn’t just play well, they played great for the amount of time they were on the field today. Not only do we need to spread the ball around more, we need to see more 2 back sets and get everyone involved, Lacy, Harris, Kuhn, Starks alll included!
So do you want Rodgers in a rhythm, or all 4 backs involved in the running game? Because you can’t have both in an up tempo offense without substitutions.
Our O-line isn’t opening any holes for the RBs or giving Rodgers any time. The best way to combat that is to use the short passing game. But until Rodgers adapts to throwing quickly for timing routes or get rid of the ball, there is no way to get him into a rhythm behind this O-line.
cmon.. Did any one talk about our O LINE. Somehow we take for granted that Rodgers can run for his life and complete tough passes on the run..all the time !! It is concerning that our run game losing its steam and I agree Rodgers look for Nelson all the time..
I have to disagree with some of your rant. You want consistency? You’ve had it for several years now. It’s only now that some people are realizing what’s been right in front of them since 2012. I think our biggest problem is that we’re way too consistent with poor fundamentals, starting with play calling and Rodgers.
My son and I did an experiment for today’s game. When we saw our formations, we tried calling the plays McCarthy called, and Rodgers’ audibles. We were correct over 70% of the time and almost always predicted the same things. If a couple of amateur Packers fans and Madden NFL players can guess correctly so often, imagine how often professional defensive coordinators and football players are guessing correctly.
McCarthy does not try to keep Ds off guard. He telegraphs his plays and challenges defenses to stop them. And he does so consistently.
It wasn’t until we were down 21-3 vs the Jets that the Packers showed any urgency on offense. As soon as we had the lead we went right back to that predictable run forcing offense and stopped moving the ball again. McCarthy has put too much pressure on our D every game since the end of 2011. That’s consistency.
His signature play is to line up 2 backs in offset i to the left of Rodgers in shotgun, and guess where the ball is going. 90% of the time it’s a delayed hand off for a loss of yardage. The other 10% it’s a fake hand off where the back then attempts to run through considerable traffic to the middle of the field as a check down and the first option. That’s consistency.
We have a 2nd year LT, a banged up RT, and a Rookie C. They cannot open holes for the run game and have shown so repeatedly. So McCarthy relies heavily on those delays and draws for trickery, which, as I pointed out, aren’t fooling anyone. Yet McCarthy goes right back to that delay/draw play after most 1st downs or bigger gains, which puts us in 2nd or 3rd and long again. Ds don’t stop us, we kill our own drives. No team can recover from losses every series and continue to move the ball. That’s consistency.
When is the last time you saw misdirection from the Packers offense? A reverse? A player in motion at the snap? A fake to one side of the field and pass or run to the other? That’s consistency.
When is the last time you saw Rodgers throw a ball away to the side line? How many times does Rogers take a sack putting us out of FG range? That’s consistency.
Rodgers has been one of the worst QBs in the NFL on 3rd and 4th downs and short since taking over the job. He forces the ball into single or double coverage deep rather than taking the higher percentage plays to keep drives alive and move the chains. On that huge 3rd down in the 4th quarter after moving the ball down field for the go ahead score, he had Quarless open across the middle. But he was looking deep until the LB reacted and closed the gap on Quarless. That pass was 2 seconds too late. On 4th down he looked nowhere but to a double covered Jordy in the end zone. That’s consistency.
I have a few suggestions;
Roll Rodgers out so he can use his legs, and stress the importance of throwing the ball away when the play isn’t there. Better 2nd and 10 than 2nd and 17 or an injured QB because he took a needless hit.
Boykin has struggled to get open in every game this year. Adams is still learning. Janis is not playing, even though he’s shown the most explosiveness behind Nelson and Cobb. Play the rookies and bench Boykin until he can beat single coverage and catch balls when targeted.
Bostic has made the biggest plays at TE since taking over last year, other than a single play to Quarless across the field vs the Jets (which was a very dangerous pass that just happened to work out). Get Bostic involved.
Starks has consistently been our best RB this year and last year for making big plays. He doesn’t get in position well in the passing game or make critical catches. I love Lacy’s effort, but he’s not a game breaker like Starks. Lacy should be used for pounding it right at Ds and as an outlet in the passing game. Use each player for his strengths rather than expecting them both to be able to do it all – they can’t. Harris should never see the field unless one of these guys is injured.
Morgan Burnett has missed critical tackles in every game. Richardson is our best run stuffer at S, yet has seen limited action this year. Play Richardson more on 1st and 2nd downs.
Lattimore has looked much better than Brad Jones, but has also missed critical tackles while Barrington showed the most promise in the preseason and rides the bench. Get Barrington some playing time.
Players will come up to speed much faster on the field, and at least they have the excuse of still learning. They don’t need to play every down, but they should be much more involved in the game than they are now. Vic is always saying “players over plays” (which I don’t agree with as evidenced by McCarthy’s inability to keep Ds off balance), yet we don’t play our most effective players in the right situations.
Shotgun only works consistently for short timing routes, but we line up in shotgun 3x as much as under center. Why? Running is much more effective from under center in every formation because it keeps the D guessing run or pass and gives the RBs a run at the line to pick their hole. Don’t blame the RBs for running east/west when the D is in the backfield by the time they get the ball on delays and draws while flat footed. Easy to say they made the mistake of running backwards, but their mind set is that they have to make plays. The more they get stuffed behind the line, the more they’re going to feel pressured to make something happen on their own. I saw Denver run the same delay out of the shotgun today with limited success. The differences when it works is that they have a much better O-line and backs are much quicker than Lacy to the holes. Also Manning did not audible to that play – they were already in it with a 2 deep S look. Lacy looks like he’s in slow motion waiting for a hole that never develops as he is forced east/west.
Rodgers is at his best when spreading the ball around and throwing as a reaction, rather than thinking about his throws. So take golden boy aside and stress the importance of his read progressions and hold him accountable. Line him up under C more so that he has to react rather than think about what he’s seeing in front of him constantly. Give him plays where Nelson is his 3rd or 4th option. Roll him out occasionally. Give him some misdirection plays to keep Ds honest. We can’t run an up tempo offense based upon ball control when his first options are double moves by Nelson or Cobb. He should have checked all shorter routes prior to looking for double moves and ways to buy time with his legs while double moves are developing. He has to stop looking for the big play on every play and take what the D gives him to pick up 1st downs.
How many times do the Packers run to the line, fake a snap to read the coverage, and then audible to a run – and the D also audibles to stack the box – resulting in a 3-4 yard run loss? Try running a few fake audibles (not really changing the play) to force the D into the coverage you want. At least keep them guessing. Use the time on the play clock to manipulate the D and quickly snap when they’re out of position rather than running it down. How tough is it on the O-line to remain in their stance for 25 seconds at a time? Just increases the odds of someone flinching. When you see the coverage you want, snap the darned ball!
Our offense looked sharp for consecutive series in a single preseason game vs the Rams. Otherwise it’s been for a series here and there in the 1st 3 games. They struggled against the Raiders, taking 5 drives to score twice. They’ve struggled vs the Seahawks, the Jets, and now the Lions. There is no rhythm, no misdirection, and no creativity. I see nothing but consistency in our offensive problems.
Kudos to the D and Dom Capers for keeping us in this game as long as they did. I’ve been on Capers’ case since 2010, but he showed today that he can still make it tough on one of the most potent offenses in the NFL. Our D was on the field for 38:13, our offense on the field for 21:47. No D is going to be strong at the end of games in that situation. And fatigue is always a factor for injuries in the NFL. We fix that by moving the chains consistently, rather than taking losses on telegraphed runs and forcing the ball down field, both of which result in punts.
I’m sick of seeing Matthews on the side line at crunch time and Rodgers failing to pick up critical 1st downs. Our 2 highest paid players can’t be relied upon at crunch time. I’m sick of our Head Coach blaming execution for his conservative game plans not working. Our problems on offense start and end at the top. And unfortunately, that’s been consistent for years now. This offense with their weapons should be putting up 40 points every game with long drives down the field. As Phil Simms say in Madden NFL ’13; “How many points do you need? The answer is MORE!”
I was looking for consistency on this year’s team before I determined that the Lions game would show who we were for the rest of the year. Case in point is that while our defense only allowed the Lions to score 10 points yesterday (and the defense was the generally suspect position group) the offense gave away 9 points and only put up 7. That is a minus 2 differential. When this team plays four quarters of consistent football, they will beat quality opponents and destroy weak ones.