Game Thoughts Packers/Bears

• Nice halftime turnaround by McCarthy and staff. Sounds like he lit into the guys a bit and it may have sparked the sharper play, especially from the offense, in the second half. Chicago at this point anyway, had no business being on the field with this Packer team. They have become horrible and this game shouldn’t have been as close as it was in the first half. So I’m glad things evolved the way they should have.
• Our defense continues to be a concern. Yes, Josh McCown playing shockingly well for a guy off the street – but overall, we simply aren’t getting it done on defense. Again, just to clarify – my main concern about our defense is for the playoffs. We have been giving up huge yards and easy drives to crappy offenses lately. Every team in the playoffs (both NFC and AFC) will have a good offense – probably San Fran being the weakest. And every team will likely may our D pay if we just let them march down the field.
• We gave up 199 yards rushing to a 3rd string RB, 4th string RB and a just-picked-up-off-the-street QB. Not good.
• While the D is certainly troublesome, I do have to say that the forced turnovers ease my mind some. The D is really good at forcing turnovers and this really helps swing the momentum of games.
• Rodgers is fantastic. I figured last week was an aberration.
• Game ball goes to the O-Line. They looked really good both in the pass game and run game. That is coaching right there. To prepare a bunch of guys to play different than normal positions against a quality 4 man pass rush says a lot about the coaching on the Packers. The players themselves obviously did well too to execute – but they were well prepared.
• So’oto had some disruptive play tonight and I liked seeing that. Seemed he came in at ROLB before McCarthy yanked the rest of the starters so I wonder if Walden got pulled again. Should have. He just doesn’t do much.
• Nice to see James Jones with a couple big catches and 2 TDs. It’s important that more peripheral guys like Jones finish well and have momentum going into the playoffs because I think these are the guys who might really end up being the difference makers (think Jordy last year). Driver has been making noise recently too and that should also help.
• Overall, I’m just very pleased we turned things around in the second half. I was worked up after the lackluster showing in the first half – as I just didn’t see the sense of urgency the team will be needing on all units come playoff time. So I was really pleased to see that adjustments were made. The Packers have had a phenomenal season this year and should be proud. They should definitely rest the starters for most of the game next week and not risk anything.

Game Thoughts Packers/Vikings

• Not much to say except that was total dominance. The Packers are really good and the Vikings are not.
• One note of caution as hype will build over 16-0 possibilities etc – is that the Packers have not played a very difficult schedule this year. Yes they are blowing folks out – but they are often blowing out teams they should blow out (reminds me a bit of ’96.). These next 7 games should be interesting as we play some better teams.
• I sort of thought the D would come out worked up. They did and they played really well. If we can do that in the coming games, we should be in good shape – even against better opponents.
• I really like how James Starks runs. I’ve said this a few times now. But today, perhaps because of the opponent, Starks really reminded me of Adrian Peterson. Both run with that kind of jerky back and forth motion, they both often make good choices re cuts and they can run over tacklers who have taken a bad angle. AP is a bit smoother and probably faster, but I do think this comparison isn’t this far off. (Meanwhile, Ryan Grant is looking more and more like Phil Loadholt out there running the ball. He seems like he’s in slow-motion!)
• Rodgers is ridiculous. Nothing more needs to be said.
• Jordy Nelson is really good. He has a knack for the game. A few years ago, I read a few articles about how TT loves drafting “football guys” – or guys who seem to have some natural instincts for the game. Guys like Rodgers, Jennings, Woodson, Bishop – they all come to mind. I think this is also especially true for Jordy Nelson. He is the kind of WR who never stops – and in fact he knows full well there is a very good chance of catching a pass if he keeps going with Rodgers scrambling abilities. But it’s happened too often for it to be coincidence that Nelson is so often on the receiving end of busted up plays. He just knows what to do. He’s really good.
• I’m OK with an occasional error by Randall Cobb – as long as he keeps having huge returns. Today, despite his costly fumble, he still was a net positive because he had his own TD and he also had a couple long returns. He’s a good player and he’s only a rookie – so I’m not expecting fumbling to be an ongoing issue here. And tonight, he flashed as a WR too – I think Rodgers trusts him already. Could be a dangerous duo going forward.
• I’ll say it again – Mike McCarthy has really grown as a coach. His command of the offense at times is scary. Tonight it was a clinic out there. Yes Rodgers has a lot to do with that but for those of you still watching when Flynn went in – so often the plays are simply so well-conceived that even back-up QBs can have success with them.

Game Thoughts Packers/Chargers

• Rodgers is the best player in the NFL. He’s not just the best QB – he is the best football player in the NFL. Period.
• Rodgers’ 21/26 passing day was stellar as were his 4 TDs. But many of his 52 yards rushing came at critical moments in the game. There is practically nothing more demoralizing for a defense than to cover the pass options super tight for a good 5-7 seconds only to have the QB squeeze out of the collapsing pocket and pick up a needed first down. Defenses are left asking “what more can we do?” The answer: nothing.
• I really like how James Starks runs. He runs with a certain abandon that makes him a fairly scary guy to try to tackle. He will earn his yards and he will make defenders pay for tackling him.
• Our WRs are very talented. All of them. Rodgers often puts it right on the money making their jobs relatively easy – but even Rodgers has some off throws that they often manage to pull down. Rodgers has some really top notch targets to throw to.
• Finley was good today. He had some big catches – though in the end he was outplayed by his counterpart Gates.
• Rodgers was under more pressure today than normal. He escaped a fair number of times, but he was sacked 4 times and under serious pressure a bunch of other times. As good as he was today, there were a few of those odd moments that he’d have his first year where he made odd choices in the pocket and essentially invited the sacks. Still, hard to blame the guy much for stuff today – he was very good.
• If our defense didn’t cause turnovers, we would be absolutely awful. We allowed nearly 500 yards of offense to San Diego (actually 470). We will now be close to the bottom of the NFL in defensive yards allowed. I am the first to acknowledge that teams with super powerful, quick-scoring offenses have a more difficult task defensively. It’s just plain tougher often because they don’t have time to take a rest. But that’s no excuse here – our defense is weak. There were plays for San Diego when 2-3 guys were absolutely wide open – including 2 of the TD passes. Absolutely terrible coverage.
• While we gave up 85 yards on the ground – which isn’t horrendous – we gave up 385 yards threw the air (to a QB whose right elbow appears to be attached to his pelvis). And again – many of those plays were super, super easy. Capers has some serious work to do.
• The reason I keep saying “if we didn’t cause turnovers” the defense would be the worst in the NFL – is because I’m very concerned about playing a team with even a decent offense that doesn’t commit lots of turnovers. Teams that take care of the ball should have a decent shot at beating us – because one of the assumptions lots of us make is that Rodgers and co will just continue to play at the level they’re playing at. I sure hope so – but frankly, if Rodgers in particular keeps this up, we’re looking at the greatest season an NFL QB has ever had. I don’t want to have to bank on that – and unless defense can get its act together, we may have to.
• Something is wrong with Tramon Williams. His pick 6 was absolutely fantastic – no doubt. But his coverage today was terrible. Just awful. Jackson ate him up. He was burned by Crayton and even Vincent Brown at different times today. He was really bad.
• I’m really wondering if we’re missing Nick Collins back there. Peprah had a good game tonight with 2 picks for sure – but I just don’t think he and Burnett are doing it back there. It’s just way too easy for opposing offenses.
• One odd thing about our defense is that it often has the look of a 4-2 front (instead of the 3-4 we’re apparently playing). So many times throughout a game Bishop and Hawk look like they’re left to cover the entire 2nd level. Woodson helps sometimes, but mostly it’s just those two. And neither of them are good in coverage and neither of them have great lateral movement to cover to the sidelines. Something needs to be tweaked by Capers if we’re going to take down some of the better teams out there.
• Our special teams play has been really good. Crosby is very good this year – best in the NFL. But Masthay was also quite good at least tonight – his last punt there at the end of the game. was huge as it gave SD a huge field to cover to score a TD to tie. Nicely done (and good punt coverage too).
• Peprah should have NEVER run that last interception back. He must have had the Packers’ D in fantasy football or something trying to get that TD like that. Just not smart.

Game Thoughts Packers/Vikings

• Ponder looked good to me even though he threw 2 picks and missed 19 of his 32 passes. He showed poise on a few occasions and delivered some really nice throws on key 3rd downs. Impressive first outing for him. He seems to have the tools to be a decent QB in this league.
• I still don’t know why the Vikings just didn’t hand it off to Peterson on every play. Even if he’s ridiculously tired, he’d still be unstoppable. He was especially nasty today finishing with 175 yards.
• I do give some credit to the Vikes for hanging in there and making a game of it at the end. They played hard and made plenty of good plays to keep themselves in the game.
• I didn’t like some of the antics of Vikings’ players today. I thought they did some pretty cheap things out there. In fact, one of the things I began to worry about toward the end of the game was Rodgers or another really significant player getting hurt because of a Viking cheapshot.
• James Starks was huge at the end. He knew they were calling his number and he still made quality, hugely important runs. His final run on 3rd down was terrific. And on each of the 3 huge runs, he was very much aware of where the sideline was – as he was avoiding it like the plague. Very nicely done Starks.
• Like seems to happen a lot with the Packers, we overwhelmed the Vikes at one point in the game, building a nice lead with an impressive display of offense – only to not close the door when we should have. The Packers are kind of like a closer in baseball who comes in and almost always gets the save, but allows a few late runs that make fans nervous.
• Woodson’s picks were huge. Those really helped us maintain our lead and I think they both rattled Ponder a bit. Just veteran savvy picks – nice to see.
• Mason Crosby has been outstanding this year. That 58 yarder was something to see – he cleared the post by 7-10 yards it seemed to me. Just a bomb of a kick. We really needed those FGs today and he delivered. It may have taken a few years, but he really seems to be coming into his own (a questionable expression I must say). He was a big part of the victory today.
• Desmond Bishop may have had the tackle of the year chasing down Peterson in the 2nd half. That was pure effort. It wouldn’t figure to be a close foot race but Bishop didn’t give up and he finally dragged Peterson down. Great tackle (that may have saved a TD…I believe they kicked a FG on that drive).
• Once again, the playcalling of McCarthy/Rodgers and their overall coordination of offense remains impressive. They have the ability to just take over games and destroy the momentum of other teams. After Ponder’s great first pass and their subsequent TD, it looked like the Pack could be in for trouble. But Rodgers and co marched all the way down the field clearly showing our offense was going to be tough to deal with. Yes, MN held us mostly after that TD (to make it 7-7), but they couldn’t hold in the second half. The offense is just too good.
• One of the keys to the game was the Pack’s drive at the end of the first half to get us a FG. I can’t remember how much time was left on the clock (1min 25sec?) but it wasn’t much. We got down the field fast and got a much-needed 3 points. Well done – I’m glad we didn’t go into a prevent offense like lots of teams do (think Cowboys last weekend at NE).
• Tramon Williams played 2 very different halves. He was awful in the first half. As bad as I’ve seen him play in a while. And in the second half, he was aggressive/disruptive breaking up plays. We need him to return to his normal shut-down self. We’re not there yet.
• Jarrett Bush once again had some nice plays. For a guy who was constantly maligned as a younger player, he has really turned into a decent nickel/dime guy.
• Though Newhouse allowed Allen to get through for a couple early sacks, he was better in the second half. I noticed he got some help here and there from Quarless and others, but he was better in the second half. That’s a tough assignment at Minnesota against Allen.
• Brian Robison is an idiot. That kick of Lang to the nuts was something he should have been ejected for. Idiot.
• And you thought Crosby was the only special teamer who was on today? Tim Masthay kicked 3 times for an AVERAGE of 55.3 yards, a long of 65 yards – with all 3 punts landing inside the Vikes’ 20 yard line. Huge game for him – quietly huge.
• Speaking of special teams, I like that Cobb redeemed himself after his two initial screw-ups. He was solid back there after that.
• All in all, a nice victory for the Packers in a hostile place. Yes our defense is going to have to work on some things so that we aren’t so reliant on our offense for victories. But we are 7-0 heading into the bye week and we look very good out there. Again while there are things to work on (the defense, figuring out how to finish games earlier, the running game…though Starks finished the game with authority), I think this team is on the right path and looking really good.