Week Three in Review

The week one loss to the 49ers I understood, but this one has me a little concerned. The way I see it, we played a bad game, lost to an average team, and are now two games out of the division lead just three weeks into the season. It's far from panic time, but there are some things that we need to get right, or the season could get away from us quickly. We didn't protect Rodgers as well as we should have, but he didn't exactly look sharp out there himself. It was without a doubt one of the worst performances of his career. I liked a lot of what I saw from the defense, specifically the defensive line, but there's only so much a defense can do. We've got a bye this week, which gives our already nicked up players a chance to get healthy. It's time to go on a run and I believe we'll do just that. Here's what I liked and didn't like:

What I Liked:

Adversity Defense: When your offense plays like shit, it puts added pressure on your defense. Not only does the defense need to hold the opposing offense to a lower point total to win, but they are also put in difficult situations as a result of turnovers. This was definitely the case yesterday, with four turnovers by the Packers putting the defense in tough spot after tough spot. I absolutely loved the way the entire defense rose to the occasion and kept the Packers in the game from start to finish. Yes we gave up 34 points, but there was a stretch of seven drives starting with 6:43 to go in the first quarter during which the Bengals gained just 75 total yards, and picked up just three first downs. The results of those seven drives went as follows: punt, interception, fumble, fumble, fumble, punt, punt. That is some solid defense.

Production From the Running Game: Packers running backs gained an average of 5.9 yards per carry on 27 total carries. That's good production in terms of attempts, and fantastic production in terms of YPC. Not only does running the ball effectively help keep the offense in favorable down and distances, it also helps to set up the passing game. Although the offense was unable to take full advantage of such good balance yesterday, running the ball this well will pay dividends, I'm sure of it. Consider that we ran the ball this well with our top running back on the sidelines, and there's certainly reason for optimism.

Clay Matthews: The human fucking wrecking ball that is Clay Matthews III tallied a sack and two forced fumbles in just over half of a game. For all the talk about his pass rushing skills (skills that are robust, to be sure), he may play the run just as well. His ability to recognize a hand-off the moment it happens, adjust his path down the line of scrimmage, and attack the ball carrier is second to none. It's not so much that he's aggressive about stripping the ball, it's just that he tackles with such violence that the runner collapses and simply can't hold on to the ball. He's an exciting player and his importance to our team can't be overstated. Let's hope his recurring hamstring injury benefits from the bye week.

What I Didn't Like:

Turnovers: What the fuck was that shit? Four turnovers? Two picks? That second pick that Rodgers threw was just awful and proved costly. Sometimes I get the impression that Rodgers can be frustrated to the point of inefficiency. His body language made it seem like he thought certain plays were doomed to fail before the ball was even snapped. The Ross fumble was bad, and yet McCarthy stuck with him on both kick and punt returns. I HATE it when coaches neglect to use their best return man because they're 'too important to the offense/defense.' Randall Cobb should be returning any and every kick, and I will not back down on this point. If you think he shouldn't risk an injury on a return because he's too important to the offense, then you're a pussy. If you want your team to play scared, then do us all a favor and move to Minnesota. Franklin's fumble was immensely disappointing. He negated an otherwise electrifying NFL debut with one bad play. You can't put the ball on the ground if you want to play running back for the Green Bay Packers.

Play Calling Creativity: Coach McCarthy preaches 'less volume, more creativity' when it comes to play calling, but he displayed less of both yesterday. Of course play calling is not the only reason that Aaron Rodgers posted the 5th worst passer rating of his career, but it was certainly a factor. Passing opportunities downfield were few and far between, so the offense began to rely heavily on shorter routes, specifically calling flare route after flare route after flare route. We had some success for a few drives using the strategy, but NFL defensive coordinators are not stupid, especially defensive coordinators with 34 years of experience. We went to the well too many times, attempting flare routes on the final third and fourth down plays. Both passes were knocked down at the line of scrimmage by linemen who had seen the play several times before, and would have been contested by defensive backs who had seen the play several times before. Add in the vanilla half back slam on the fourth down fumble play, and it's clear that McCarthy did not have his best day on the headset.

3rd Down Efficiency: 4 for 13. Not good enough.

Extra Points:

- I loved seeing BJ Raji break up the quick confrontation between Rodgers and McCarthy on the sidelines. Rodgers has pointed to Raji as a leader off the field, and it was on display yesterday.

- Datone Jones again failed to record a single tackle, though he did block an extra point.

- The Packers haven't beaten the Bengals in 15 years.

**BONUS CONSPIRACY THEORY**

I think the NFL is pumping fake sound effects in between plays, specifically defensive adjustments and audible calls. They all sounded so formulaic, I swear they just borrowed the soundtrack from Madden 2012.

**WHAT WAS I DRINKING THIS WEEK?**

New Glarus Wild Sour Ale. It's a sour brown ale from their thumbprint series. I give it a hearty thumbs up, and I'm a stickler about sours.

Week Two in Review

An emphatic response to a disappointing week one road loss. The offense looked nearly unstoppable once they got into a groove, and there was no shortage of playmakers. The defense looked sharp to start out, although I think a good deal of our early success on that side of the ball was due to ineptitude on the part of Washington. Special teams units went unnoticed, which means they did well enough. Here’s what I liked and didn’t like:

What I Liked:

Aaron Rodgers: Look, I’m not going to include him every week because that would be boring and easy, but how about this guy? Completes over 80 percent of his passes, averages 9.6 yards per passing play, throws four touchdowns to three different receivers, and commits zero turnovers. Again, I won’t pour over his sparkling stat line every week, but I just had to include him again this week so that we (I) don’t start taking him for granted. He’s the best in the league.

Starting Wideout TRIO: So James Jones is back in the mix, proving yet again that the Packers realistically feature three starting wideouts. The guy had over 150 yards receiving IN THE FIRST HALF yesterday, which is ridiculous. He and Rodgers could easily have set records if we weren’t such a classy organization and decided to run up the score like the loathsome Patriots. Cobb and Nelson were back with a combined 194 yards and three touchdowns, no doubt striking fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators around the league. Did you see Jim Haslett’s face from the coach’s booth yesterday? He looked like he was getting a colonoscopy.

Run Blocking: Don't get me wrong, James Starks had himself a very good game and deserves some credit, but my game ball goes to the guards and center for the gaping holes they opened up for Starks to run through. Mike McCarthy has stated many times that the majority of running plays in his offense are designed to gain 4.6 yards. Any back in the league could have averaged that much yardage per play with the way our offensive line was pushing around Washington’s front seven. Again, credit to Starks for his creativity and effort at the second level, but the running game starts with blocking and the O-line blocked their asses off.

What I Didn’t Like:

Pass Rush: Once again, the Packers were unable to generate consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback. Believe me, this is a problem. The defense tallied just one sack and three quarterback hits, the sack coming on a broken play for Washington and from a blitzing corner by the Packers. Griffin was rushed on a decent number of plays, but we had to rush five or six defenders to get that done. Add to that the fact that we held a lead throughout the entire game, knowing the Redskins had to pass, and the lack of pressure becomes even more glaring. I’m starting to think that Thompson just doesn’t have an eye for pass rushing talent. Stay tuned on this one.

Pass Protection: Four sacks are not an outrageous number, but consider this stat (courtesy of the Pollyanna that manages the ESPN NFC North Blog, whose job I should have): Rodgers got the ball out in 2.5 seconds or less on 33 of 46 drop-backs. Translation, Rodgers relied heavily on quick passes (slants, bubble screens, hitches, etc.) in an attempt to limit the defense’s ability to put pressure on him, and yet he still suffered four sacks and six hits. First and goal from the nine yard line on the first drive of the game became third and goal from the 24 as a result of two straight sacks. Credit the coaching staff for adjusting the game plan to limit pressure, but god dammit, protect the fucking quarterback. He IS our team.

Jonathan Franklin: Is this guy really so bad in practice that he couldn’t earn a single snap even after Eddie Lacy was knocked out on the first run of the game? I understand that Starks was playing very well, but how about a screen or a draw or even a blocking assignment just to get the rookie’s feet wet? I have to blame the coaching staff here, especially considering the fact that we led 31-0 halfway through the third quarter. If he’s good enough to suit up for a game, then he’s good enough to play AT LEAST one snap in a blowout victory.

Extra Points:

-         the streak of consecutive games without a 100 yard rusher is over, so now we can get back to discussing stats that actually matter

-          Eddie Lacy suffered a concussion, which could sideline him for next week’s game against the Bengals

-          the Packers’ bye comes in week four this year, which is good in that it gives our ailing d-backs an extra week to recover, and bad in that we won’t have that week of rest later in the season, when it’s more important

-          Mike Daniels was my unsung hero of the game, since he’s barely featured on the stat sheet, but seemed to be involved in a ton of plays near the line of scrimmage

Week One in Review

So we lost by one score on the road against the defending NFC champions. In the words of Mike McCarthy, 'we're nobody's underdog,' but we could have done a lot worse in terms of week one losses. The offense was consistent and efficient, scoring one touchdown in each quarter. The defense was porous and eventually insufficient, but gamely defended a short field more than once. It's hard to blame an offense that scored 28 points while their defense gave up over 500 yards, but turnovers were the difference in this game. Eddie Lacy's debut was a clunker that featured 2.9 yards per carry and a costly fumble, and yet he was the only true halfback to get a carry. The secondary suffered in the absence of starters Casey Heyward and Morgan Burnett, but the front seven offered little help in the way of pressure on the quarterback. The defensive line remains inept at collapsing the pocket, and recent first round picks Datone Jones and Nick Perry were all but absent from the stat sheet. Johnny Jolly was fun in his return from a ridiculous three year hiatus, making an impact both on the field as a disruption in the backfield, and on the sidelines as a vocal and animated leader. He was the only veteran even-tempered enough to break up the scuffle following Clay Matthews' late hit on Kaepernick. Thank god Roger Goodell had the wherewithal to suspend this OBVIOUSLY dangerous individual from the league for so long. Anyway here's what I liked and didn't like:

What I Liked:

Aaron Rodgers: The guy is good. His one pick was a perfectly placed pass to an open receiver. He managed 8.7 net yards per passing play, which would have been a full yard better than last year's best mark, set by a fella by the name of Colin Kaepernick, who posted a 7.7 net yards ppp in a modest 218 attempts.  He's cool, calm, and collected and will be dominant all year, just like he always is. 

Starting Wideout Tandem: Cobb and Nelson both had seven catches, both had over 100 yards, and both scored a touchdown. Cobb showed some fucking toughness, and there's no other way to put it. The only negative word I've ever heard uttered by the coaching staff about Randall Cobb is that he was skipping ahead in the playbook on his personal time, trying to learn plays that were not yet being installed. Combine that brain with an ability to catch the ball in traffic and gain yards after the catch, and you've got yourself a pretty decent player. Nelson looked 100% healthy following what appears to have been a good decision to operate on a lingering leg issue during the preseason. He executed both the mundane (in running and catching a simple slant in the end zone for a score) and the spectacular (in hauling in a circus catch on the sideline for 37 yards). He's the total package, and combined with Cobb makes Greg Jinnengs (sp?) a distant memory.

(default hilarious picture earned by mentioning Raji)

Run Defense: Yes, we gave up over 500 yards of offense (again), but we held the hard-nosed 49ers to a paltry 2.6 yards per attempt on 34 carries. Frank Gore has averaged 4.6 yards per carry in his career, but managed just 44 yards on 21 carries this afternoon. B.J. Raji stuck his nose in on more than a few plays at the line of scrimmage, and the linebackers did a nice job of swarming the ball carrier before he could reach the second level. Stopping the run is job number one for any NFL defense, and it gives us a decent foundation to build off of in the weeks to come.

What I Didn’t Like:

Third Down Defense: Although the numbers aren't as ghastly as I expected, the Packers' defense was not exactly stout on third downs. The Niners converted exactly half of their 18 third down opportunities, which would have been good for tops in the league in 2012, edging the Patriots who converted 48.43% of their third down tries. The Packers were missing two of their four starters in the secondary, including the quarterback of the defense, safety Morgan Burnett. It's comforting to make excuses, but the reality is that no team finishes or even enters a season completely healthy on either side of the ball. Injuries are a fact of life in the NFL, and if your back-ups can't get the job done, you're in trouble. Let's hope we can get healthy in the secondary and stop giving up huge chunks of yards. The good news is that next week's matchup pits the Packers' secondary against Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, a duo of receivers that have never managed more than four touchdowns in a season.

An inauspicious start for the highly touted Lacy.

Turnovers: Blame it on whoever you want (I choose Jermichael Finley), but a pick is a pick. Any one score game comes down to turnover differential, and we lost today. The rookie Eddie Lacy lost a 2^nd quarter fumble, and was promptly escorted to the bench in favor of Jimmy Starks. I agree with the decision to bench him for a quarter, I'm disappointed that he lost a fumble in his debut performance, and I'm confident he'll learn from the mistake. The good news HERE is that on the very next offensive play following Finley's bobbled interception, Rodgers found Jermichael for a solid gain. It was probably the first time that I was glad Rodgers reminded me of Favre.

Josh Sitton: For all the talk surrounding David Bakhtiari's maiden voyage at the ultra-important left tackle position, it was Josh Sitton that was left holding the bag on the offensive line. He was flagged three times for holding, wiping out the Packers' two best runs of the day. This guy is supposed to be our best lineman, not the guy getting flagged left and right. The good news here is that he has beautiful curly brown locks and a jovial disposition.

Overreact if you must, but this is a minor setback. San Francisco is a good football team, and if nothing else, we showed today that they won’t roll over us if we see them in January. There’s work to be done in the running game and on defense to be sure, but we put a lot of good things on film today. Reacting to a loss has never been an issue for the Packers under Mike McCarthy, and I’m confident we’ll respond emphatically next week. I do know this much, championship teams don’t lose two games in a row to start a season.

Extra Points:

- I already miss Charles Woodson. Not that I think he would have made a huge difference today, it's just that I really loved watching him play for the Packers, and I'll never have the privilege of enjoying that again.

- Jim Harbaugh is a douche bag.

- I can't say enough about how happy I am to see Johnny Jolly back on the field. Sincere congratulations to him on a remarkable journey back to the NFL.

- I've always liked Anquan Boldin.

- I promise to never, and I mean N-E-V-E-R never include any details about any of my fantasy football teams in a blog post. You don't care, and I respect that about you.