Comments on: Game Thoughts Packers/Vikings

By: awhayes

awhayes — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:38:27 +0000

that’s a good point. they did this a few weeks ago also. what i don’t understand is why they wouldn’t commit to throwing it 100% of the time in the red zone considering Rodgers’ absolutely ridiculous red zone numbers. He’s thrown something like 1 interception against many many TDs (40s, maybe in the 60s…can’t remember) – and of course the guy is completing nearly 70% of his passes. Seems like the math is definitely on the side of letting Rodgers throw it there.

By: 56Coop

56Coop — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:02:40 +0000

“Jennings touchdown to take the lead where he was so open that he about walked in from the 20 yard line? Freaking hilarious and you could just hear the gnashing of teeth from the north”

Kind of like I felt after Ponders first pass.

NOt much else needs to be said. You guys have pretty much covered it all.

By: PackerBelle

PackerBelle — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:58:00 +0000

The games in the dome more often than not end up being a slugfest, regardless of the records of the teams. There was a lot of good things to see. Matthews had a monster day, Woodson got a few picks, Rodgers was unbelievable, we finally were able to run out the clock using the run game and even special teams played fairly well (Cobb’s fumble as the obvious exclusion).

But some things that need work over the next two weeks. The defense is the main thing. AP is good, but 175 rushing yards is unacceptable. And our coverage was not looking good in the first half. I think there is a lot to build on though. Morgan Burnett is being hampered with the club, Bush played well but I think we are much better with Shields as the nickleback. And if you take away that first drive and the TD off of the fumble, all of a sudden the game looks very different.

I also think trying to get some more consistency in the offense would be good. After being shut out for three of four quarters by the Rams, we also seemed to struggle against the Vikings at times.

By: DaveK

DaveK — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:14:01 +0000

A typo that works I guess!

By: ronlc1

ronlc1 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:44:05 +0000

Dave, don’t know if you meant to say “groan” but it sure is appropriate.

By: ronlc1

ronlc1 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:43:09 +0000

Much work still needs to be done with the “Bend and Almost Break Defense”. If AR has a game with a less than 100% QB rating a loss is not only possible but probable.

The two week break should allow time for people to heal and work on obvious defensive flaws. Pass rush, tackling and blown coverage are but a few. I have faith in Capers to fix those issues in the next two weeks. This will drive the Packers to a NFC North win and then on to the ultimate goal.

By: Dave in Tucson

Dave in Tucson — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:54:28 +0000

I still don’t know why the Vikings just didn’t hand it off to Peterson on every play.

It's the Curse of 370. The Vikings have been (mostly) pretty careful to limit AP's carries. As of today's game, he's on pace to have ~330 carries for the season, which would be 2nd most for his career (he had 363 in '08). There's a lot of stuff out there about how "the curse of 370" is supposedly a myth, but there are just too many examples of really dominant guys getting run into the ground in just a few seasons--there's definitely something to it. D∈T

By: Max W

Max W — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:21:09 +0000

Maybe I just don’t know as much as I think about football, but is the play calling getting too conservative in the red zone? I feel like sometimes we rush on the first 2 downs just to get us in a 3rd and long. Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes it just seems like we are settling for 3 points too often instead of turning on the kill switch and going for the endzone

By: DaveK

DaveK — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:34:04 +0000

How is that not an ejection? A player kicks a guy in the groan with his spikes RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REF and he gets to stay in the game. WTF?

Rodgers is playing at such a high level right now. I don’t remember any bad decisions today. He threw the ball 30 times today and had 6 incompletions. One was a perfect pass to the WR who dropped it. One was a spike to stop the clock. Three were throw-aways as his protection broke down. I counted ONE bad throw a bit behind Jennings. One sorta bad throw in 30. Wow. As long as he is playing at this level the Packers will be in every game.

Jennings touchdown to take the lead where he was so open that he about walked in from the 20 yard line? Freaking hilarious and you could just hear the gnashing of teeth from the north.

It seems to me that Ponder has all the tools and composure to be a legit NFL QB. Somehow though you have to think the Vikings will ruin him one way or another.