What
I Liked:
 |
| Vision, ball skills, assignment execution, this play had it all |
Young Defensive Backs: The young
defensive backs continue to paint a bright picture for the future of this
secondary. You'll never replace a player like Charles Woodson, but these guys
are showing that they can make plays. Morgan Burnett was the obvious player of
the game, and his two picks were huge plays. McCarthy said his pick in the end
zone was 'the turning point in the game,' and his other pick was a beautiful
Woodson-esque undercut. Casey Heyward has held opposing QBs to a passer rating
of 0.0 when throwing in his direction this year. In other words, he's been
playing like Al Harris with hands. Davon House has had some ups and downs, but
he is flashing some great coverage ability. I think as he gets more
comfortable, he'll be able to make more plays on the ball while in
step-for-step coverage. I've yet to be impressed by the safeties McMillian and
Jennings.
Running Game: Green and
Starks combined for 27 total carries, and averaged 4.8 and 4.4 yards per carry
respectively. Starks also recorded our third rushing touchdown on a beautifully
blocked toss play that went for 22 yards. In total we had 36 rushing attempts
to 35 passing attempts. That kind of balance on offense gets me sexually
aroused. No running back on our roster will ever be a dynamic, Adrian Peterson
type runner, but they are more than capable of creating balance to facilitate
our explosive passing game. The patchwork offensive line deserves a ton of
credit for opening up some holes for these guys. Overall it was a solid day for
our ground game and hopefully a sign of things to come
Response to Adversity: The Pack was facing all kinds of
adversity on Sunday. Going into the game we were down plenty of key starters
and were coming off an embarrassing loss to the Giants. During the game we lost
another offensive lineman and another wide receiver, leaving both positions
precariously thin. Back-ups were once again forced into action and delivered.
Were you comfortable watching Don Barclay waddle onto the field? Yeah right you
fucking liar. Anyway he played quite well at the extremely important right
tackle position, and may have unseated Evan Dietrich-Smith as the primary
back-up on the offensive line. We had our backs against the wall coming out of
half time with the Vikings threatening inside the ten yard line, and responded
like a playoff worthy team. We ain't backing into nothing, this is the NFL,
not the Big Ten.
What I Didn't Like:
Tackling: Unacceptable. Un-fucking-acceptable.
Every single player on the defense should be embarrassed by the horrific
display of tackling they put on yesterday. Don't they know there are children
watching these games? It's exactly this kind of ole` bullshit that leads to
primadona, soft as marshmallow, fundamentally flawed players taking over this
previously badass league. Too many Desean Jacksons, not enough London
Fletchers. Teams are only allowed to practice in pads once a week thanks to the
league's 'over-react-to-cover-our-ass-before-we-get-sued-for-a-billion-dollars-over-concussions'
policy. I think that's a factor, but why is it that teams like the Bears and
Ravens and Steelers still tackle with efficiency and ferocity? The coaches can
only do so much to encourage sound tackling, and frankly I'd rather not have
our best players knocking heads with each other during practice. I think the
change here needs to come from the leaders in the locker room. We need to take
on a blue-collar mentality on defense that emphasizes tackling over big hits,
team over individual, substance over style. Sacks and interceptions are great,
but tackling wins you games. I know it sounds cliche, but it's a fact. I'm
looking at you Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett.
Short Yardage Offense: Why is 3rd
and 1 so hard for us? We have nobody that can gain one yard when everyone knows
we only need one yard. I like John Kuhn as much as the next guy, but he's
clearly not the answer in short yardage. Rodgers is not particularly good at
the half-yard sneak behind the center, and I don't think our interior offensive
line creates much of a push. I hate the fact that we pretty much have to throw in
these situations, and it seems like the only reason we run the ball is to
prevent the defense from selling out on the pass the next time around. I'm
starting to think that some folks on the sideline might prefer 3rd and 5 to 3rd
and 1 like I do. That's bad.
A quick note on trick plays, I like
them. Rodgers made a poor decision in throwing the ball on he and Cobb’s
double pass attempt, which led to an interception that equated to a punt. It
was a play that didn’t work. The upside is that we put it on tape. That means
opposing coaches and players are now aware of the fact that we can and will run
that play. So the play didn’t work, maybe now a safety doesn’t crash down to
tackle Cobb on a bubble screen and allows him to pick up a first down. Maybe a
linebacker can’t pursue on the backside because he’s concerned about covering a
receiver across the field even after the ball’s been handed off. My point is
that just because a trick play didn’t work, doesn’t mean it’s all bad. I love
that Mike Mac is willing to show some creativity and take a risk here and
there. Believe me when I say that he’s considered all the possible outcomes of
each trick play, assessed the risk, and put his team in a position to succeed.
Rodgers should not have thrown that pass to that receiver, but other than that,
the play worked.
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