*A win is a win. But I do not feel any better about the Packers than I did before the game. Not worse, either, but definitely not better.
*AJ Hawk is very slow. On the screen to the outside to Steve Jackson, Hawk stood flat-footed after Jackson caught the ball and when he pursued it looked like he was running in mud. He took a terrible angle, too.
*Brady Poppinga is absolutely awful. I don’t think he even jumped on as many piles as usual today.
*The offensive line is very bad. One ranking had it at 23rd before this week. That seems very generous.
*The Rams didn’t generate as much pressure as the Bears or the Bengals. But they’re the Rams. The fact that they put on as much pressure as they did is worrisome.
*Steve Jackson is the second best running back in the NFL. Can you imagine if
*Donald Driver is amazing. He is a waterbug.
*Aaron Rodgers holds the ball too long. His arm is strong, he is very accurate (Jordy Nelson throw comes to mind, Driver overthrow is the exception). He is surprisingly fast when he runs. But he hangs on to the ball far beyond the point at which he should get rid of it. That tendency, along with the sieve-like offensive line, will get him hurt.
*The Packers defense gave up 17 points to a team that had averaged 3.5 in its first two games. The Rams offense lost its quarterback in the first quarter, its #1 wide receiver in the second quarter. It played behind a no-name offensive line and 2nd string QB Kyle Boller — who wasn’t good enough to play quarterback in Baltimore. (Yes, Baltimore.)
*I’m increasingly concerned about Mike McCarthy. I’ve liked him. I think he understands football — in theory and practice. And I think the players like him.
But he never — and I mean never — makes decisive halftime adjustments. When Mike Holmgren was head coach, the Packers were going to win the game anytime it was close at halftime. He was smarter than just about every other coach in the game.
More worrisome, and we’ll develop this in a separate post, he is stubborn to the point where it hurts the team. Think Bob Sanders. Think Mike Stock. And now he is killing us with his unwillingness to fix the offensive line. Last week I heard McCarthy interview on Sirius NFL Radio. He was asked whether he had considered changing personnel on the offensive line. McCarthy said:” That’s not something I’ve considered.”
Really? It seems to me there are two possibilities here. McCarthy lied, and he has, in fact, considered a change. Or he’s telling the truth. And that would be much, much worse. I understand wanting to give the current players confidence by saying nothing in public that would indicate he’s going to bail on them. But he needs to be thinking about personnel changes. Actually, he needs to be making personnel changes. And soon.
*Speaking of stubborn, it was nice to see Desmond Bishop get some playing time today. It’s too bad he didn’t play when it mattered.
*Brett Favre annoys me more than just about anyone alive these days, but that was a sweet-ass throw to win the game Sunday. That win will matter in December.
packergeeks 
September 27, 2009 at 4:35 pm |
We are, unfortunately, stuck with an O line with substandard players. In short, they have no talent. The worse thing is, there is nothing that can be done now to fix it. In the off-season, when this should have been addressed, it was left as is. That tells me TT refuses to admit any of his selections are not NFL caliber. They Are Not NFL caliber. Next week could be very ugly with this cunch. 12 sacks given up in 3 games is AWFUL. Only God knows how many hits and hurries that were accumulated today. On that crappy turf of the Humpty Dump, Rodgers could require a full body cast after the game.
Colledge vs. Allen
Spitz vs. Williams 1
Sitton vs.. Williams 2
Barbre vs. Edwards
Be afraid, very afraid
September 27, 2009 at 5:13 pm |
Ron-
It’s not that the line is not talented, it’s the zone blocking scheme. Inherently, zone blocking is not about overpowering and physically dominating your opponent. It’s about finesse. That’s a problem. The offensive line on any team must be overpowering and dominant in order to have a winning team in december/january…
I agree that this group as currently constituted does not appear to be talented, but each player in a vacuum would probably benefit from more of a power scheme (remember Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera? God, I miss those guys) You don’t get to the NFL without being quite talented. I blame MM for his wussy zone blocking scheme.
September 27, 2009 at 4:44 pm |
i agree. this did not feel like a win, and here’s why:
the bears and bengals are, in my mind – about as good as each other. when our defense plays well (bears), we beat average to slightly above average teams.
when our defense isn’t really good, we lose to slightly above-average teams (bengals).
when our defense plays well, we’ll beat up on bad teams most of the time (rams).
all 3 of our games have been decided by our defense. because our offense has been consistently bad. bad. bad.
the o-line is problem #1, and as ron said, it can’t likely be fixed. we are stuck with it.
i would say that up until about midway through the 2nd quarter, mccarthy’s absolute inability to stick with the run was #2. that’s how i felt, and it changed somewhat as the game went on — and look what happened. no one had a 150yd game, nothing impressive, and the whole complexion still changed. the protection got a little bit better, the rams d looked a little bit more honest, etc. they were able to run play-action convincingly, etc.
if every time we get to the 10 yard line, we run 1st down and pass on 2nd and 3rd downs, we will not be productive – not with this line.
i think the other big problem has been mentioned by many – we aren’t playing west coast offense. we need more short passing. get the BALL OUT QUICKLY! favre always had a bit too much confidence in his ability to get the ball into tight places. rodgers has too little. the rams covered relatively well, they weren’t covering well enough to take away the short game entirely. our receivers excel at YAC — they haven’t been given the opportunity to exhibit those skills for a long time, and it’s a huge hole in our offense, and part of what made 2007 so successful.
i’m going to get some wings.
September 27, 2009 at 5:37 pm |
sticking with the run? are you kidding me? with who? “no gain” Grant? Grant had a couple of good runs, but on the whole he did 1 of 3 things when running. 1- get to scrimmage line and leap (fall forward). 2- get to scrimmage line and run into own player. 3-get to scrimmage line and find & run to the closest player not wearing his colors and get tackled. Maybe it is the O-line, but damn, that really bad running.
Poppinga just needs to go away, far far away. Just bring in Bishop. Hell, my Grandmother is free on sundays after church, she couldn’t do as bad as that boy plays.
MM needs to get his head out of his butt, take a big breath and make some adjustments. TT needed to do something for the O-line during the off season, but he didn’t, so he can go with Poppinga.
September 27, 2009 at 5:05 pm |
ummm, i agree about AJ Hawk in coverage and on blitzes looking very poor… however, he did lead the team in tackles today.
Also, Andy, I’m surprised you did not dish out a chiding to your boy Chillar who got beat bad on both Rams TDs.
If the Pack does not improve its line play on both sides of the ball, we’re in deep trouble next week.
September 27, 2009 at 5:49 pm |
Some of you are on crack. The Packers WON today! Remember? What is MM going to do about the o line? Huh! What exactly do you expect him to do? Pull players out of his arse? He is stuck with the talent he has. Get over it. THE PACKERS WON! AND YES, IT FELT LIKE A WIN!
September 27, 2009 at 7:37 pm |
favre’s booger — we would appreciate it if you didn’t discuss our drug habits in such a public forum.
a good fan/coach/player will evaluate performances as much as (moreso in the coach/player’s cases) the score. we expect not to have the luxury of playing god-awful teams (rams) in the coming weeks. we expect not to be made to look like kindergartners by a certain team playing in purple. if we continue to play like we did today, this is a .500 team. at best.
we’re in this for the long haul, and that’s why we’re all so disappointed with a W.
September 27, 2009 at 8:58 pm |
I love this blog. It is goddamned hilarious.
September 27, 2009 at 10:23 pm |
Josh,
There are two types of fans:
1. Those who appreciate a good win and congratulate their team after a Sunday “W.”
2. Those who are never happy no matter what their team does. Even when they score more points then ANY other team that day. Even when they beat the enemy (on the road) by 19 points. Even when they force three turnovers and give up the ball 0 times. These fans always need a reason to complain.
Which type of fan are you…….
September 27, 2009 at 11:06 pm |
FB,
In three games:
12 sacks
11 Hit after the pass
11 Hurries
7 or 8 forced scrambles (depending how you define them)
1st half Grant ave. YPC 2.5 yds
Game 3.8 YPC
For an effective running you should be getting 4.0 to 4.5 YPC
Two turnovers inside the 20 by the defense
#1 6 yds -FG
#2 -4 Yds – FG
Defense having problems with Runs
Still great on turnovers (Thank you Charles and Johnny)
Missed tackles and assignments abound
They used a defense that had Chillar playing a safety for a number of plays
Crosby missed Xpoint
Yeah, we got a win, but if you think that performance deserves any praise you are definetely a wild eyed optimist. Me. I have serious doubts about next week, especially due to the pathetic O line.
September 28, 2009 at 12:25 am |
fb,
there are obviously more than two types of fans, because i’m somewhere in between.
and the rams aren’t the enemy. they’re practice. the enemy is next week, and they’re a lot more formidable.
September 28, 2009 at 6:13 am |
There was a good article last week (I think by Bedard in JS Online) about the O-line and Campen. Our 3 O-line coaches prior to Campen averaged something like 25-30 years of experience. Campen has 3 years….enough said.
September 28, 2009 at 10:26 am |
Dreampipe – actually brother Steve wrote this post (“Thoughts”). A few posts earlier I commented on Chillar’s poor day. I like Chillar usually but I wonder if yesterday something other than football was on his mind – especially after he was beaten on a slow developing route.
September 28, 2009 at 10:36 am |
FB Take off your green & gold glasses. We stink.
Andy I’m not as impressed with Rodgers accurancy as you are. Mainly on long balls. He overthrew at least 2 today that could have been 6 points and underthrew a few. Yes I understand we have a nonexistent O Line but he had time to get them off and he was holding his head like he knoew he missed it. That being said on the shorts & slants he’s very good which I guess is where it really matters.
I found myself watching more of the SF/Mn game today during live action. DVR’d the Pack anyway and went back & watched it more closely. Monday night is going to be an embarrassment. It will be miraculous if we win that game. Maybe if Favre blows up because it’s the Packers & he wants to prove a point but if he plays with the discipline (threw his 1st pick of the year today & if the 49ers DB’s could hang on to the ball he would have had about 4) we don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.. 49er’s really should have won that game but they let the Vike’s hang around & favre threw a laser to beat ’em. Nothing missing from that arm. For the life of me I cannot figure out why Longwell is a Viking. What idiot let him go.
Nothing else I can say that you guys haven’t aready covered re Oline, LB’s, etc,. I find it very discouraging that no matter who we play we have a tendancy to make them look good. If we are to have a chance on Monday we need to try to run to the outside, play action, etc & Rodgers has to get rid of the ball quick. They will absolutely shred our O-Line..
September 28, 2009 at 10:37 am |
Andy, It was actually a defensive set they used that forced Chillar to play the safety position. Martin not up to speed?