The fact Charlie Peprah was inactive and Pat Lee was also hurt last week explains a lot in the second half. Now Woodson is a surprise starter at Safety vs. Carolina! Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Packers might as well play a lot of nickle and dime since (as New Hampshire Packer Backer is trumpeting) the Linebackers are like ghosts. So who else is on the field?
One wonders if they can't suck it up and get a real Punter from the CFL or whatever what they will do if they run out of DBs. Driver as a DB? Ted... Ted... anyone there?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
NHPB: Strong But Slow DL & What Linebackers?
Here is my read on the Saints game:
Aside from Stinko which applies to everyone (save perhaps Aaron Kampman), this game exposed what a sham the defense is. Aside from turnovers, this defense has not stopped anyone. Being last in stats can be overstated, not here. It really does mean something. NFL requires both size and speed. The Packers lack the latter. The DL can be strong and stout without looking like overstuffed rag dolls. I'd comment on linebackers, but how can you comment on something that is not there!! They were invisible - how do you describe a slow ghost?
Special teams deserve some mention - not positive of course. Have the Packers not heard of a wedge on a kickoff return?
Speed also kills the offense - lining up a running back 10-12 yards behind the line of scrimmage and running a slow developing running play merely gives a quick defense time to shed blocks which are not sustained and allows linebackers time to react and fill the hole. The only sustained running is between the tackles on fairly quickly developing plays. But nobody can get to the second level to block, so it is no wonder that few runs go past 5 -7 yards. Grant lacks finish and goes out of bounds too easily. Wish that he had some of Driver's interest in getting extra yards - course he needs to stop fumbling if he is going to get hit.
Coaching - is there no such thing within the ranks as adjusting? It's the same pattern all the time with no innovation on either side of the ball. I am not sure if there is any scheme to any special teams play.
A special note of appreciation to the architect of this mess - the wonderful Mr. T who has not solved the O-line dilemma, and has left us with an overweight, slow, front seven who can't tackle. Defenders of this regime may say it was only one game. I think the game exposes the real issue that everyone who counts has overrated this team and made excuses for each failure. It is not a good team - it only appears that we are competitive due to being in the NFC north and the saving grace of turnovers.
Sincerely,
New Hampshire Packer Backer
Aside from Stinko which applies to everyone (save perhaps Aaron Kampman), this game exposed what a sham the defense is. Aside from turnovers, this defense has not stopped anyone. Being last in stats can be overstated, not here. It really does mean something. NFL requires both size and speed. The Packers lack the latter. The DL can be strong and stout without looking like overstuffed rag dolls. I'd comment on linebackers, but how can you comment on something that is not there!! They were invisible - how do you describe a slow ghost?
Special teams deserve some mention - not positive of course. Have the Packers not heard of a wedge on a kickoff return?
Speed also kills the offense - lining up a running back 10-12 yards behind the line of scrimmage and running a slow developing running play merely gives a quick defense time to shed blocks which are not sustained and allows linebackers time to react and fill the hole. The only sustained running is between the tackles on fairly quickly developing plays. But nobody can get to the second level to block, so it is no wonder that few runs go past 5 -7 yards. Grant lacks finish and goes out of bounds too easily. Wish that he had some of Driver's interest in getting extra yards - course he needs to stop fumbling if he is going to get hit.
Coaching - is there no such thing within the ranks as adjusting? It's the same pattern all the time with no innovation on either side of the ball. I am not sure if there is any scheme to any special teams play.
A special note of appreciation to the architect of this mess - the wonderful Mr. T who has not solved the O-line dilemma, and has left us with an overweight, slow, front seven who can't tackle. Defenders of this regime may say it was only one game. I think the game exposes the real issue that everyone who counts has overrated this team and made excuses for each failure. It is not a good team - it only appears that we are competitive due to being in the NFC north and the saving grace of turnovers.
Sincerely,
New Hampshire Packer Backer
Thursday, November 27, 2008
McGinn Recalls McCarthy's Summer Cockiness
In his November 26 piece, "Unable to Pull Out the Stops" Bob McGinn pulls out some verbiage from Mike McCarthy's pretraining camp press conference. "The football team has moved forward with the emphasis on defense, because that's what I believe in, and that's what the philosophy as we move forward will be."
It was easy to see where MM was coming from. The defense had won some games early in the 2007 campaign and played well enough to make 13-3 possible. It was full of young talent that could easily project as "ascending". Subtract Cullen Jenkins and 2007 Nick Barnett and 2007 KGB and not even McCarthy would have uttered this hubris.
Of course take away the top 3 CBs on the Packers roster and you would expect ugliness. The Saints survived without their top 3 CBs just fine. So the Packers are left with talk of the need for defenders to "step up". That's NFL-speak for guys on defense getting beat and for young players failing to emerge.
One of my primary contentions in this blog is that TT & MM have overrated their young defense and their OL. There are no "Blue" - NFL stars on this defense. Woodson is the closest, but is probably best rated as a "Red" player - a solid NFL starter. At their best, Jenkins and Barnett are "Red" minus guys. We see a lot of great NFL defenses without standout "Blue" players but full of "Red" and "Green" guys. The Greens are adequate fill-ins and strong situational players.
AJ Hawk is looking more Green than Red these days. Mike Montgomery, Jeremy Thompson, and Jason Hunter are struggling "Yellow" players - warm bodies that might be worth keeping around to see if they get better if there is no one better.
But I am not arguing for a wholesale house cleaning. I think there is some talent here. It's just not coming together this year. MLBs tend to come back slowly from ACL injuries. Barnett's injury surely will impact the Packers off-season strategy. So will the evaluations of Jolly, Cole, Montgomery, Thompson, Propingga, and Hunter. Cole & Jolly might grade out as "green" players but the rest are "yellow" in my book.
What is emerging is the need for another Blue-Red player on the DL to help Kampman and smart Red-Green LB who can allow Barnett to comeback at his own pace. That doesn't mean the Packers should reach for some Joe Johnson-type FA, but if a "blue-red guy" is available, they shouldn't worry about current players complaining about the unfairness of Free Agent salaries. This year's guys have no claim to top money.
Cory Williams was a "red-green" player. Having that extra dependable body made a lot of difference last year. He could be playing RE now if he were here. There is an exponential effect that strong depth can have on a DL. That could well explain why Cory Williams is having a "green" season, not a "red" one with the Browns. Now McCarthy and Thompson can fess up to that. It will be interesting to see if defensive coordinator Bob Sanders gets to play sacrificial lamb.
The tendency of McCarthy to play guys who can't run due to injury is alarming. Not only were Rouse and Bigby limping around out there so was James Jones. Where the heck is Ruvell Martin? His catches came after it was over against the Saints. McCarthy keeps saying things in the media like "James Jones has got to learn to deal with his knee injury". Jones plays, but can't do anything against a beat-up secondary. Then Jordy Nelson has a bad rookie game. This is a coaching issue. Why not throw to Donald Lee, Tory Humprhies, and Ruvell Martin more?
What is encouraging is the
It was easy to see where MM was coming from. The defense had won some games early in the 2007 campaign and played well enough to make 13-3 possible. It was full of young talent that could easily project as "ascending". Subtract Cullen Jenkins and 2007 Nick Barnett and 2007 KGB and not even McCarthy would have uttered this hubris.
Of course take away the top 3 CBs on the Packers roster and you would expect ugliness. The Saints survived without their top 3 CBs just fine. So the Packers are left with talk of the need for defenders to "step up". That's NFL-speak for guys on defense getting beat and for young players failing to emerge.
One of my primary contentions in this blog is that TT & MM have overrated their young defense and their OL. There are no "Blue" - NFL stars on this defense. Woodson is the closest, but is probably best rated as a "Red" player - a solid NFL starter. At their best, Jenkins and Barnett are "Red" minus guys. We see a lot of great NFL defenses without standout "Blue" players but full of "Red" and "Green" guys. The Greens are adequate fill-ins and strong situational players.
AJ Hawk is looking more Green than Red these days. Mike Montgomery, Jeremy Thompson, and Jason Hunter are struggling "Yellow" players - warm bodies that might be worth keeping around to see if they get better if there is no one better.
But I am not arguing for a wholesale house cleaning. I think there is some talent here. It's just not coming together this year. MLBs tend to come back slowly from ACL injuries. Barnett's injury surely will impact the Packers off-season strategy. So will the evaluations of Jolly, Cole, Montgomery, Thompson, Propingga, and Hunter. Cole & Jolly might grade out as "green" players but the rest are "yellow" in my book.
What is emerging is the need for another Blue-Red player on the DL to help Kampman and smart Red-Green LB who can allow Barnett to comeback at his own pace. That doesn't mean the Packers should reach for some Joe Johnson-type FA, but if a "blue-red guy" is available, they shouldn't worry about current players complaining about the unfairness of Free Agent salaries. This year's guys have no claim to top money.
Cory Williams was a "red-green" player. Having that extra dependable body made a lot of difference last year. He could be playing RE now if he were here. There is an exponential effect that strong depth can have on a DL. That could well explain why Cory Williams is having a "green" season, not a "red" one with the Browns. Now McCarthy and Thompson can fess up to that. It will be interesting to see if defensive coordinator Bob Sanders gets to play sacrificial lamb.
The tendency of McCarthy to play guys who can't run due to injury is alarming. Not only were Rouse and Bigby limping around out there so was James Jones. Where the heck is Ruvell Martin? His catches came after it was over against the Saints. McCarthy keeps saying things in the media like "James Jones has got to learn to deal with his knee injury". Jones plays, but can't do anything against a beat-up secondary. Then Jordy Nelson has a bad rookie game. This is a coaching issue. Why not throw to Donald Lee, Tory Humprhies, and Ruvell Martin more?
What is encouraging is the
Correction on Rouse
Rouse was hurt during the Saints game too. Apparently, that is why Bigby returned despite not being able to run at full speed. Jarrett Bush was next on the bench. If he's not fit to play in a pinch why is he on the roster?
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saints 51 Packers 29
As Larry McCarren says, "a trip to the dentist". Let's start with the offensive line. Playing RG, Spitz totally let a guy in underneath him. It was like he was playing with concrete shoes. Moll wasn't much better playing for Tauscher. A lot of the pressure on Rodgers was coming from the right side - and we are talking about 3 & 4 man rushes in the second half. I can't fault AR for tucking it under and taking off like he did when things were getting ugly in the second half.
Rodgers finally found Ruvell Martin when it was too late. The middle screen the Packers ran successfully in the first half was the first time I've seen that play since Mike Sherman. They had 3 guys out in front of it and about five Saints chasing it. The Saints d-line was charging and not worrying about their lanes.
Now the defensive front seven can be summed up in my crazy friend Jill's remark in the middle of the second half. When one of the ESPN announcers said that the Panthers are a physical team the Packers will have to play next week. She quipped that "this week we're playing an intellectual one."
Why was Bigby in the game? He was obviously slow because he was hurt. After some RB ran past him, he was still out there later. They have Aaron Rouse. He's OK. Watching AJ Hawk trying to run with a back up TE was also not pretty. Hawk is suppose to be a fast guy and it had nothing to do with coverage skills exec pt knowing you have to turn and run with a Billy Miller.
Colin Cole got knocked to the ground after Pierre Thomas ran thru what I believe was his gap and into the endzone. Did the Packers play with a left defensive end? Montgomery, Hunter, that draft pick?
Now how about the kick return unit. There were some guys not blocking. Some guys were not giving effort. Jason Hunter seems too slow for this duty. The coverage unit wasn't so good either. I couldn't see who some of those guys on coverage and return units were, but some of them need to leave.
Aaron Rodgers was not the biggest problem, but that second interception was the sort of thing a nervy QB needs to do when the defense isn't holding. He needed to keep the Packer defense off the field and let Drew Brees cool his heals. That was a bad time to screw up for a QB.
Now the scalp-hunters are out on the post-game show knocking coordinators. I'm really not sure that's the answer here. I saw players getting beat, not schemes.
Rodgers finally found Ruvell Martin when it was too late. The middle screen the Packers ran successfully in the first half was the first time I've seen that play since Mike Sherman. They had 3 guys out in front of it and about five Saints chasing it. The Saints d-line was charging and not worrying about their lanes.
Now the defensive front seven can be summed up in my crazy friend Jill's remark in the middle of the second half. When one of the ESPN announcers said that the Panthers are a physical team the Packers will have to play next week. She quipped that "this week we're playing an intellectual one."
Why was Bigby in the game? He was obviously slow because he was hurt. After some RB ran past him, he was still out there later. They have Aaron Rouse. He's OK. Watching AJ Hawk trying to run with a back up TE was also not pretty. Hawk is suppose to be a fast guy and it had nothing to do with coverage skills exec pt knowing you have to turn and run with a Billy Miller.
Colin Cole got knocked to the ground after Pierre Thomas ran thru what I believe was his gap and into the endzone. Did the Packers play with a left defensive end? Montgomery, Hunter, that draft pick?
Now how about the kick return unit. There were some guys not blocking. Some guys were not giving effort. Jason Hunter seems too slow for this duty. The coverage unit wasn't so good either. I couldn't see who some of those guys on coverage and return units were, but some of them need to leave.
Aaron Rodgers was not the biggest problem, but that second interception was the sort of thing a nervy QB needs to do when the defense isn't holding. He needed to keep the Packer defense off the field and let Drew Brees cool his heals. That was a bad time to screw up for a QB.
Now the scalp-hunters are out on the post-game show knocking coordinators. I'm really not sure that's the answer here. I saw players getting beat, not schemes.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Week 11: Packers 37 Bears 3
Wow - with their backs to the wall, the Packer offensive line and RBs really took it to the Bears defense. Almost 200 yards rushing. What could explain this sudden outburst?
a. Anything can happen in a Bears - Packers game?
b. Anything can happen in the NFL?
c. The O-line knew jobs were on the line?
d. Ryan Grant finally is healthy?
e. Timing & assignments have been improving the last few weeks and it finally jelled?
f. Early success on the ground made play-action passes deadly again?
g. The Bears suck? (Two completions to WR?!?)
I guess you could say some of everything. The quality of NFL teams is measured on long averages - not single games. But it was performances like this one that gave us hope last season.
Here in Chicago the Bears secondary has been taking alot of heat and so has Devin Hester. The pass successfully defended by Al Harris shows why Hester should be a kick return specialist. He's not big, he's not strong, and he doesn't have the instinct to fight for the ball first and go down field second. And his reverse field attempt that led to the Packer FG at the end of the first half shows why he needs to focus on doing THAT well.
As an O-line skeptic, I have to give the Packer O-line a standing-O and hope that they can keep it up. Not only did they get push and execute some nice blocking schemes, but they also managed to cut down on those drive killing penalties - finally! Yes - it CAN be done.
A lot went on in the trenches this game. I can only tell a zone blocking play from a power play some of the time. I'll be sure to read the analysis in the J/S and report the mix. I'm guessing they did some of both. Some of those early Ryan Grant runs looked zone blocked because of his cut-back lanes. Those are good plays to watch on tape with a finger on the pause or slow-motion button. But it was striking that guys in Green were winning physical battles like on Grants TD run to the right.
a. Anything can happen in a Bears - Packers game?
b. Anything can happen in the NFL?
c. The O-line knew jobs were on the line?
d. Ryan Grant finally is healthy?
e. Timing & assignments have been improving the last few weeks and it finally jelled?
f. Early success on the ground made play-action passes deadly again?
g. The Bears suck? (Two completions to WR?!?)
I guess you could say some of everything. The quality of NFL teams is measured on long averages - not single games. But it was performances like this one that gave us hope last season.
Here in Chicago the Bears secondary has been taking alot of heat and so has Devin Hester. The pass successfully defended by Al Harris shows why Hester should be a kick return specialist. He's not big, he's not strong, and he doesn't have the instinct to fight for the ball first and go down field second. And his reverse field attempt that led to the Packer FG at the end of the first half shows why he needs to focus on doing THAT well.
As an O-line skeptic, I have to give the Packer O-line a standing-O and hope that they can keep it up. Not only did they get push and execute some nice blocking schemes, but they also managed to cut down on those drive killing penalties - finally! Yes - it CAN be done.
A lot went on in the trenches this game. I can only tell a zone blocking play from a power play some of the time. I'll be sure to read the analysis in the J/S and report the mix. I'm guessing they did some of both. Some of those early Ryan Grant runs looked zone blocked because of his cut-back lanes. Those are good plays to watch on tape with a finger on the pause or slow-motion button. But it was striking that guys in Green were winning physical battles like on Grants TD run to the right.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Strange Challenge
Packers fans have come to expect that when our coach threw the flag, there is a darn good chance the review would come out in the Packers favor. When opposing coaches threw the flag, you could sometimes chalk it up to wishful thinking. But not the Packers.
That's what made McCarthy's flag challenging that Adrian Peterson didn't cross the goal line bizarre. If the challenge had been won, the Vikings would have almost certainly scored and left the Packers with no time to come back. As it was, they got off a 52 yard FG try. What would you choose:
A. Defend first & goal at the one
B. Receive kickoff with 2:22 on the clock and 3 time outs
So I guess they just blew it in the booth. Seems this was not directly addressed in the Monday press conference. Just let's not have that happen again. We don't need that going wrong too.
That's what made McCarthy's flag challenging that Adrian Peterson didn't cross the goal line bizarre. If the challenge had been won, the Vikings would have almost certainly scored and left the Packers with no time to come back. As it was, they got off a 52 yard FG try. What would you choose:
A. Defend first & goal at the one
B. Receive kickoff with 2:22 on the clock and 3 time outs
So I guess they just blew it in the booth. Seems this was not directly addressed in the Monday press conference. Just let's not have that happen again. We don't need that going wrong too.
From the New Hampshire Packer Backer
I saw only portions of the game in my hotel room in Dallas. Here are quick observations:
How long will the team tolerate inadequacies of OL, including excessive penalties? Play calling only exacerbates the inadequacies - OL cannot sustain blocks, so you run delays and slow developing running plays???? One feels for Rodgers, but he has taken on the "deer in the headlight" look of Drew Headslow
Ryan Grant - on the few times that he is able to run for a few yards - does not have finishing drive ala Peterson and other top running backs
McCarthy's challenge of the late TD was one of the more ill-advised challenges I have seen but even if successful would have resulted only in Packers having less time to try to score - to think his defense could have stopped Vikings from scoring from the half-yard line was monumentally stupid.
The hallmark of this team is late period drives by other teams that move the ball at will. There are few real players on this defense- injuries alone fail to account for its inadequacies in these crucial times. An interesting statistic would be the amount of yardage given up within the final 3-4 minutes of each half by the defense.
New Hampshire Packer Backer
How long will the team tolerate inadequacies of OL, including excessive penalties? Play calling only exacerbates the inadequacies - OL cannot sustain blocks, so you run delays and slow developing running plays???? One feels for Rodgers, but he has taken on the "deer in the headlight" look of Drew Headslow
Ryan Grant - on the few times that he is able to run for a few yards - does not have finishing drive ala Peterson and other top running backs
McCarthy's challenge of the late TD was one of the more ill-advised challenges I have seen but even if successful would have resulted only in Packers having less time to try to score - to think his defense could have stopped Vikings from scoring from the half-yard line was monumentally stupid.
The hallmark of this team is late period drives by other teams that move the ball at will. There are few real players on this defense- injuries alone fail to account for its inadequacies in these crucial times. An interesting statistic would be the amount of yardage given up within the final 3-4 minutes of each half by the defense.
New Hampshire Packer Backer
Herb Adderley Takes It To The (court) House!
NFL Players Association to pay $28.1 million to retired players after finding the union failed to properly market their images. Packer Hall of Fame cornerback Herb Adderley filed the lawsuit on behalf of 2,056 retired players who claim the union failed to actively pursue marketing deals with video games, trading cards and others sports products.
"...a 2001 letter from an NFLPA executive telling Electronic Arts Inc. executives to scramble the images of retired players in the company’s popular “Madden NFL” video game, otherwise the company would have to pay them." Of course the NFLPA represents current AND former players.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflretirees&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.gridirongreats.org/
Some guys never stop making great plays!
"...a 2001 letter from an NFLPA executive telling Electronic Arts Inc. executives to scramble the images of retired players in the company’s popular “Madden NFL” video game, otherwise the company would have to pay them." Of course the NFLPA represents current AND former players.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflretirees&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://www.gridirongreats.org/
Some guys never stop making great plays!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Dangerous Offense
The Packer offense is dangerous - to the health of its players. Rodgers looked like Kitna taking punishment. He's inflicting it on his receivers too by hitting them in stationary positions or in positions they will pay for. Of course this is because he often has little time to throw. There were times guys were closing on Rodgers DURING his drop.
That free-runner took the cake. Rodgers standing in and trying to deliver the ball down field to Driver was the icing. It is only a matter of time until Rodgers is splattered for good if this keeps up. McCarthy and his offensive coaching team can't continue to expose players in exchange for desperately needed yardage. When your offense can't stay on the field, the other team is going to run a lot of plays.
The result is 30 carries for Peterson and 10 for Taylor. The Packer defense did a good job keeping it close with a 2-1 time of possession in front of the Vikings. OL adds to its workload with penalties putting them in the hole. McCarthy can call it "unacceptable", yet is being accepted every game.
That free-runner took the cake. Rodgers standing in and trying to deliver the ball down field to Driver was the icing. It is only a matter of time until Rodgers is splattered for good if this keeps up. McCarthy and his offensive coaching team can't continue to expose players in exchange for desperately needed yardage. When your offense can't stay on the field, the other team is going to run a lot of plays.
The result is 30 carries for Peterson and 10 for Taylor. The Packer defense did a good job keeping it close with a 2-1 time of possession in front of the Vikings. OL adds to its workload with penalties putting them in the hole. McCarthy can call it "unacceptable", yet is being accepted every game.
Vikings in the Dome
Two safeties in the first half. The Packers could still win this game, but like Wayne says, safeties are embarrassing. Probably not as embarrassing as getting two safeties and only being ahead by 4 points at the half.
Titans Tramp On
Not much to say about Packers vs. Titans game. Packers stayed even with a top team. That was encouraging. But their known weaknesses cause them to lose. As you can tell those weaknesses have me watching with a lot less passion than the last two years.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
