Week Eight in Review

How bout we start this week’s ramble with a quote, mkay? “It’s a long season, and we’re still in first place. We’re not pushing the panic button. One win doesn’t make a season and one loss doesn’t lose it. Nobody likes to lose but maybe this was a good thing for us. We’ll come back.” That’s a statement made by an oddly shaped human named Vince Lombardi. He made that statement after the undefeated 1965 Packers got their asses kicked in Chicago. Like most years back then, the Pack went on to win the 1965 NFL championship. Anyway the point is we lost one game, who gives a shit? I mean really, we’re on the road, in the thin air at Mile High, against an undefeated team with a badass defense, and everyone is surprised we lost? Ok fine, it was a particularly ugly loss, but I’m not freaking out even a tiny bit. Our receivers are banged up and we lost two corners early in the game. Anybody pissed off that we didn’t trade for Vernon Davis? Go on, you can tell me. You are? Good. Now stop reading my blog and go read a text book because your dumb ass needs an education. You know how we built this team? The draft. And guess what, that’s half the reason we go to the playoffs every god damn year. Ok so I’m a little mad, but it’s just one loss to a very good team. Stop freaking out and just watch the receivers respond to the criticism next week. One of them is going off, you heard it here first. Here’s what I liked and didn’t like:

What I Liked:

Demaryius Thomas vs. Demetri Goodson ... not ideal

Young Corners: So we gave up some production in terms of yards and catches (specifically a shitload of completions over the middle), but we were down our top corner and a nickel corner for most of the game. Demetri Goodson and Damarious Randall both came in and made some plays. Nothing more, nothing less. They were in a tough spot, covering talented wide receivers catching passes from a hall of fame quarterback. Experience like that is a big deal for young corners, and could really come in handy in January. Remember when Charles Woodson broke his collarbone in the Superbowl and Jarrett Bush made one of the biggest plays of the game in relief? Do you think Jarrett’s regular season experience prepared him for that difficult situation? It’s never good to lose good corners, but Sammy and Quinten will be back, and the young bucks got some snaps. It ain’t all bad.

(kicker size picture)

Mason Crosby: The Packers’ all-time leading scorer nailed a 56-yarder like he nails his most likely homely wife. That’s a long kick. We shouldn’t take for granted what a benefit it is for McCarthy to confidently send in the kicking unit from that distance. That kick kept us in the game at that point, when a miss would have given Denver the ball at their own 40 (we’ve been over this). It’s a big time kick and I’m glad he could do it in his home state, presumably with some family watching (kickers don’t have friends).

What I Didn’t Like:

Pass Protection: Not good. Not good at all. Rodgers was sacked three times and took seven hits. Those aren’t huge numbers, but he was clearly uncomfortable right off the bat. He was under duress all day and just had that weird look he gets once every other season when you know he’s just not feeling it. Even when he had time he was dancing around all weird and shit, unable to even hit his safety valve effectively. Obviously there’s a ton of factors (crowd noise, good pass rushers, snap count, etc), but the tackles have to do a better job. That was our starting offensive line. The same line whose collective knob I’ve been slobbing for weeks. That’s the best we’ve got, so they just have to do better. You can’t win games in this league if you can’t give your quarterback time in the pocket.

Pass Rush: I mean what was that all about? I understand that time of possession and an effective running game slow down the pass rush, but where was the fire? Clay Matthews and BJ Raji were the only two players showing any enthusiasm at all. I’m looking at you Julius Peppers, time to be a leader bud. You want a ring don’t ya? Well then pin those giant ears back, and pull your head out of your ass.

Aaron Rodgers: Ok I’m stupid, I’ll cop to that. But I can’t help but think that sometimes Rodgers is a little TOO careful. I kept wanting him to sling one downfield to whoever, but he never could pull the trigger. Is that a dumb thing to think? Probably. Did Rodgers have arguably the worst game of his career? Certainly. I love that he doesn’t throw picks, but there comes a time when you have to put the team on your back and try to make a play. It’s not about stats when you’re down by three scores in the second half. It’s about getting a fucking touchdown, NOW. If you don’t score, you’re gonna lose anyway, so why not throw up a 50/50 (or 30/70) ball? Give your guy a chance! An intercepted deep pass is often as good as a punt, so give er a go, eh?

**BONUS QUOTE OF THE WEEK**

“I suspect it is the same in all wars – always the same contrast between the sleek police in the rear and the ragged soldiers in the line.”

-          George Orwell (on the Spanish Civil War, a war he voluntarily left his home near London to fight in for the cause of Democracy over Fascism)

**EXTRA POINTS**

• The Packers have signed Justin Hamilton, a 315 pound undrafted rookie DT out of Louisiana - Lafayette, to the practice squad
• Sam Shields, Quinten Rollins, and Ty Montgomery are all considered day-to-day with non-serious injuries, all could play on Sunday
• Rodgers was pressured on 63% of his dropbacks on Sunday
• Rodgers averaged 3.5 yards per attempt on Sunday, the worst performance of his career