I liked it/I didn't like it (Seattle Edition)

After some of the breaks Seattle has had from the refs the past few years vs. the Pack , I was happy this break went in the Pack's favor.  I don't think anyone knows for sure if the Pack ever really had that ball in the scrum, but the refs weren't going to bail Wilson/Seattle out in a cheap-ass way for their mistake.

 

It would have been a tragedy if Elliot's tremendous INT ended up turning into a Seahags 1st down, so that was a break that the refs gave that ball to the Pack despite Seattle's recovery in the scrum. 

Pete is wrong.  Guys come out of the pile all the time with the ball and you don't know at what point they wrestled the ball away. The play is dead when the whistle blows and whoever has the ball at that point is the owner. The ref saw Jayrone fumble and then two packers dove on it THEN Britt jumped in followed by the pile. So the ref sees Jayron fall on it, secure it and then Britt touches him, he's down and it doesn't matter what happens next. That's how the ref called it and I think it was the right call.

Exactly, GD.

+ run defense

+ defense overall

+ Rodgers - does his mobility make a difference!

+ Starks - having a reserve fill in like that...

+ Elliot

+ Montgomery - another needed reserve doing a great job

+ ST's

+ Crosby - even though part of ST's, deserves his own mention.  Dude is a machine.

 

 

- o-line allowed a fair amount of push for which Rodgers compensated with his exceptional mobility

Watch the replay on the fumble, and you see Elliott cradling it underneath him when he's on the ground. Britt was a punk. Took it after whistle blew.

And that's why the sea****s come off looking like the cheap shot, sniveling punks they are. If a whole element of your philosophy is unprofessional after the play cheap **** it will circle back around and I wouldn't be surprised if refs finally start calling this **** regularly. 

Personally, I thought that was just a great play by the defense. Not a bad play by Starksy.

- Ciara picked up her smoking habit again, at least one pack last night

+

Glad god is on our side after last year when I guess he wasn't!

 

-

Pete Carroll getting screwed over on a refs call.  AGAIN.  When will this guy ever get a break.

 

Just caught this:

 

http://deadspin.com/aaron-rodg...tm_medium=socialflow

 

Apologies if someone has already posted this. Deadspin nails it 'Subtle humor is the best humor.'

 

Always will have a soft spot for Wilson due to his Bucky ties, but I am becoming a bit exhausted by his, for lack of a better term, 'goody-two-shoesness.'

I think the frustration with the defense is that you can see how good they can be in spurts (ie: the first half) and then you see how bad they can be (ie: Bears first half and Seahawks 3^rd quarter).  And it’s not physical/athletic mistakes, they’re mental mistakes.  Palmer being in place to tackle Wilson on a bootleg and just falling down and giving Wilson the first down.  The inability of the OLB’s to contain the read option (then seeing Mike Neal play it perfect, like why can’t they do that every time?).  Dropped interceptions.  Rushing past Wilson and giving him running lanes (10 rushes 73 yards).  Daniels’ personal foul for dragging a Seahawk off the pile.  Blown coverages (looking Hayward’s way).  Even Elliot getting the pick then fumbling…..hold on to the goddamn ball!  

 

It’d be one thing if a QB like Rodgers was fitting passes into tight windows on perfect coverage, but we didn’t see that from Wilson.  We just see the defense mentally screw up.  That’s why it gets frustrating.   Mental mistakes = beating yourself.  And that’s frustrating as a fan.   

 

And it’s not just the defense that does it; holding calls and false starts on the o-line, delay of game, and drops drive me crazy b/c those are mental mistakes.  The defense just does it way more than the offense.  

Yet the Ram's with 4 all pro's on the DL gave up 31 to these guys. 

 

For **** sake the Packers gave up 320 total yards to Seattle and held them to 17 points. Seriously, what more do you want from a defense?

Well CU, they did win.

 

GB played a very talented SEA team, coming off a loss. That was a dangerous team. Not to mention, 75% or more of the LBs in the NFL will miss on Russell Wilson on the read option. Pass rushers will over run on him too, leaving open lanes, every game. Wilson is a pretty special talent. You have to line up and play, and I thought our guys did a pretty damn good job.

 

Speaking of Daniels, I thought Mike Daniels played one hell of a good game. 5 tackles, a sack and 2 QB hurries. Not a bad way to get off the schneid on a tough opponent.

I don't necessarily disagree, but the offense f's up plenty as well. Aaron Rodgers covers up a lot of offensive mistakes. Every game, but last night alone dodged continuous pressure, hit R. Rodgers for a TD when Corey snapped early and there was no route called, etc., etc. 

 

They pay the other guys to play, too. Russ Wilson has made a lot of players look as bad as Palmer did on that one whiff. Ask New Orleans about Beast Mode.

I could have sworn the Packers won.  F***!

I thought the defense played pretty well.  Now I expect them to keep playing well.  There is not reason they don't continue to play well.  If the defense falls down the well, then we'll have something to complain about again.  

 

 

I have been as hard on this D and Dom over the yrs as anyone but last nite they played very well.  After a good first half it seemed in the 3rd qtr that Wilson was going to run them crazy but the lads and Dom were able to regroup and were able to keep him in the pocket and cause a couple of turnovers when it counted. that has not happened enough in recent history, it did last nite.

 

I give credit where it is due....keep it up.

Just in general, Russell Wilson is a nightmare to defend.  He's so quick and strong for his size that if he's out in the open, it's tough to bring him down.  He's not the pure athlete that Michael Vick was in his younger days, but unlike Vick he has a brain, and not only does he have a brain but his overall accuracy is better than Vick's ever was. 

 

I know some talk about the "demise" of Seattle, but I think Wilson will always keep that team competitive no matter what kind of garbage is going on around him.  I don't know if Wilson can be considered "elite", but if he's not elite, he's right up there with the best of the "non-elite". 

Wilson is not a bad QB, but every defense should be gameplanned around getting him to drop back and pass as much as possible.  

and keep him in the middle......most important for 2 reasons.  lots of guys there to get him and if he is in the middle he will get hit and running out of bounds is not an option.

I'll take mental errors over getting physically beaten every day.  Mental errors are easier to fix in the long run.  It's also unrealistic to expect any team to dominate a real good team on both sides of the ball for 60min.  We were held below our home average on offense but considering the injuries, 27 vs. SEA ain't bad.  

 

The best part is they can still improve and they'll be getting Guion back soon.

Wilson seemed to throw pretty well from the pocket last night also. The way to beat Wilson, IMO, is just to limit his opportunities. Pressure him so he doesn't feel comfortable as a passer and spy him so that when he runs it is for 4 or 5 and not 30 or 40. Limiting Lynch is also a major win if you can do that as well. Our D succeeded because Wilson couldn't put consistent drives together. He did in the 3rd because they didn't contain him and he was comfortable in the pocket, after the 3rd Q that changed and he wasn't as effective.

Wilson, as long as he has a lot of room to move, can run his team to a win. Make him move/stay in tight quarters like GB did in the fourth quarter and he can make mistakes. I wouldn't spy him because that just takes a defender off someone else and Wilson is smart enough to find that open guy early. GB finally figured out in the fourth that you rush, but you don't collapse to the inside, that you squeeze Wilson with a narrowing, pocket-shaped rush and you don't run past him. That keeps him home and in tighter quarters. I don't think the D can be so eager to sack Wilson; instead, I think you need to just keep him home and get tight pressure.

 

I spotted the best sign in GB today. Had to stop and take a picture. it made me pretty hungry #3 #ToGo pic.twitter.com/QRGFGyejEd

— Datone Jones (@IAM_Dat_One) September 21, 2015

 

Aside from the first Packer drive and several penalty assisted drives, the Hags were doing a good job limiting the Packer offense for much of the game. Then Rodgers went to Randall Cobb to get the offense moving again. The guy is a great football player and was an ignitor of the offense last night.  After that you saw others like Monty, Rich Rod, etc...making key plays. Great adjustment by Rodgers, coaches, and Cobb to get the offense back on track. Nice work by Starks and James Jones last night too.

 

Thrilled with how the defense played. Stuffed the run, tackled well, and got off the field on multiple 3rd downs. Jayrone can play. Two key game changing plays. Holding one of the better teams in the NFC to 17 ? Take it any day. 

Packers went to a spread formation with 4 WRs & TE & got the matches they were looking for. It also slowed down Seattle pass rush, with that many receivers out AR had more options to get rid of the ball quickly. Going no huddle reduced Seattle's ability to sub & tired their D lineman, which also reduced the pass rush as the longer the drive went. In the third Q we were in classic FB / TB set, got behind the sticks to 3rd & longs & our OTs had no chance vs. their pass rush. 

Agreed the Pack's D played well and deserves praise.

 

But the Rams D did not give up 31 points to the Seahawks. Seattle scored on a punt return and a fumble return. The Rams D also sacked Wilson 6 times and overcame 3 TOs by their offense.

 

I think Seattle's O has regressed, at least for now. Perhaps the OLine will improve and Jimmy Graham will become a factor as the season wears on. That said, last night's defensive performance was encouraging.

 

 

PFF's take on our OT's

 

I didn't think it was that bad but hard to grade o-linemen as a casual fan.  Also, D Jones got a pretty solid grade from them.  I know plenty of posters here think PFF is a crock, but I think their analysis is pretty cool as a casual fan that doesn't really know football.

Few things I noticed when re-watching the game:

 

Positives:

 

I know this has been said before, but I’d just like to restate it; we are spoiled to have a QB like Aaron Rodgers. Watching him play is simply amazing and I think some of us, myself included, have a tendency to take it for granted. Like I said before, when AR12 is healthy, this is the best football team in the world.

 

Also, how good is Josh Sitton? What a total beast. The entire interior offensive line really is just outstanding. Bakh and Barclay held their own but when they got pushed back into the pocket, Rodgers had no trouble climbing up because Sitton, Linsley and Lang were basically a wall in the middle. Totally sweet.

 

Honestly can’t say enough about the DL in this game. Night and day from Week 1. They all played very well, but I will single out BJ Raji. I don’t know what happened to him, I don’t know if it’s the contract year or if he just finally pulled his head out of his ass but he is in 2010 form. Collinsworth commented on it during the game, he looks lighter, quicker and more determined. If any of you can rewatch the game, watch the play at 1Q 10:06. Flashes of 2010 playoffs Raji right there. Also, 2Q 15:27, showcasing his strength and quickness; tremendous play. Again, 2Q 13:26, the quickness and use of hands to bat the OL’s arms away; disrupts Wilson in the pocket; disruption = production. He seemed to fade a little bit towards the end of the game, so hopefully when Guion come back they can get a better rotation going.

 

Russell Wilson got his rushing yards, as most of us knew he would. But other than the 3Q I thought the defense did an excellent job containing him. I noticed on passing downs, when they wanted to keep pressure on Wilson but also drop guys back in coverage, they would rush D. Jones and Peppers as DT’s and have Perry and Neal off the edge. Jones and Peppers would fan out, forcing Wilson up into the pocket, but Perry and Neal would stay parallel with Wilson so when he started to take off up the middle, Neal and Perry could disengage and make the tackle. It happened several times. It’s nice to see the defense making adjustments when they face mobile QB’s like that, which has always been an Achilles heel for this D.

 

Running game. I’d just like to group the OL and Starks into this. Starks stepped up huge and the OL opened up holes all game long.

 

Ty Montgomery. Oh baby. I posted a while back about Monty’s potential to be special with the ball in his hands and I think he showcased that this week. Those short-intermediate throws and WR screens are where he will make his living and he did a nice job with those, breaking tackles and getting positive yardage. I also posted about the potential for him to get some work out of the back field…4Q 10:18. Boom. I suspect we’ll see some more of that. Nice game by the rookie.

Jayrone Elliot. Get this guy some PT. He played 10 snaps and had an INT and a FF.

 

Negatives:

 

Final drive of 1^st half. Indeed, going 80 yards vs that defense in 1 minute with no timeouts is awesome. But to get to inside the 1-foot line and not punch it in for six is frustrating (a la NFCC). I don’t disagree with MM taking the points and I didn’t disagree with any of the play calls (there’s a difference between bad offense and good defense), but very difficult sequence of plays there.

 

Love Micah Hyde (Go Hawks) but I think his limitations in coverage were sort of exposed in this one. He’s a solid slot-CB but he seems sort of out of his element when he’s asked to cover on the perimeter against speedy WR’s. I’d like to start seeing Gunter and Rollins get some of his snaps. Nitpicking here, because outside of a few plays in the 3Q he played well.

 

HaHa Clinton-Dix is going to be a superstar someday but BRUH! Gotta catch that ball! Thought he played very well this game but I’d like to see him hang on to one of those picks.

 

 

Penalties. Two weeks in a row now they’ve struggled with penalties. They’ve been able to overcome them but if they keep it up it’s going to cost them huge. Daniels needs to work on keeping his composure.

 

A huge win for this team.

Also, great play calling 4th Q. With 6:30 left, up by 7, Packers rip off a string of runs with a few passes to Cobb and Monty to convert downs. All told, they killed over 4:30 up to the 2 min warning. Kicked the FG, and left SEA with about 1:30 to get two scores. Nice work by Clements and Rodgers there. And James Starks!!!

Thought Ha Ha played well. Yeah, missed out on two INTs. So did Nate Palmer. Before long he will be turning around to make a play on the ball. Had 2 bounce off his back, also did a nice job breaking up a third throw, and was in position late on the highlight reel reception with one hand by Walker. Palmer was super solid in coverage, and right there. Good work by him on a difficult day trying to stop SEA.

Ha Ha, Richardson and Hyde all did some great work covering Graham.

       
       

I don't know... Yeah, they got pressure, the sacks are an overall function of OL and QB synergy. Rodgers is the best QB in reading how a defense is trying to pressure him and sensing pressure- and as a result he was sacked twice. You would like to see them stymie the rush, but they pushed them outside and then stayed with the block so Rodgers could escape. All of it is a function of the overall design. The best QB in the land dos not take a ton of hits against one of the best fronts in football. Win Packer OL.

So did Nate Palmer. Before long he will be turning around to make a play on the ball. Had 2 bounce off his back, also did a nice job breaking up a third throw, and was in position late on the highlight reel reception with one hand by Walker. Palmer was super solid in coverage, and right there. 

I thought he looked promising too.  It was near jarring to see one of our ILB's sticking to a receiver running down the middle.  We're so used to seeing them trailing by 5+ yards. Great to see him have that kind of speed.  I wasn't able to focus on him on other plays so I don't know how he fared otherwise.  Hopefully he can build on it.

We won the game.

 

AR came out of it healthy and no worse for wear.

 

Starks managed nearly 100 yards rushing after being thrust into a starting role.

 

All against arguably the best defensive front in the NFC.

 

Really people. What else did you want?

Marshawn Lynch has been tackled for a loss 5 times tonight, the most in any game of his career.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 21, 2015

       
       


The goal is perfection....you will fail to reach your goal.  While chasing your goal, you will snatch excellence.

Snatch and excellence,

Excellent snatch.

Well. Played. Sir.

Allie Akberr MF'ers...whatever it takes...to mot-i-vate

 

 

 

 

I wanted cake.