NFC Wildcard Round: Packers @ Washington (Sunday Jan 10 @ 3:40 LFT)

GO PACK GO! Hate that franchise and I want them to know one of their rare playoff berths was ended by the worst Packers team in 20 ****ing years.

Jay Gruden's a bitch.

I, for one, want them to win

Me two.

Count me in.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Let's hope the 2nd season is more satisfying - Go Pack

They will win......book it.

The Pack play better on the road, they will win.

Should be able to win this one if Shields and Bakh both are back.

mercy killing.... let this **** season end, look towards the draft and hopefully staff changes  

Sucks, but losing the division gave us the best road in the playoffs.

I'm not feeling confident that they will take advantage, but will always remain hopeful.

YOU LIKE THAT?!?!

Save your glee queens. No, cherish it. 

This makes it all so better!

Last time we lost the division we won the Super Bowl.  I'll take that trade off.

WolfPack posted:

mercy killing.... let this **** season end, look towards the draft and hopefully staff changes  

Did you say mercy killing?

Have zero expectations with this team but they're in so let's go. Getting Shields back would be huge for this game considering the Skins weapons

Worried the most about Reed. They can't possibly put Hyde on him, can they?

Washington used to be one of the teams I didn't particularly care for, but really didn't have anything against. Over time, even developed some respect for their history and tradition.
Then came Snyder. And much like Jerry Jones, he represents everything that is wrong with the "new breed" of owners in the NFL. They have been generally inept since, and I've loved every minute of it. To hell with them, and I hope they never win another game. Unless it is beneficial for the Packers.

Normally, we would squash them like a bug. They know it, and we know it. But if our offense can't find any traction, they have a better than 50/50 chance, IMHO.

Juan und dun.

Does that mean win 1 game & then done? Or lose our first game vs. Washington?

"Whoa Whoa Whoa take it easy there Chuck"

The loss to the queens is a blessing in disguise:

1) Next year we play Sea/Atl rather than Car/Zona

2) We get to play the Redskins as opposed to the queens again

3) If we lose next week, combined with losing the division, maybe it's enough to force some changes within the orginization. (I'm not advocating firing MM)

But here is what is going to happen:

We beat Washington and sort of find our groove on offense.  Mn beats Seattle on a last second hail mary aftet being down by 21 points with 12 minutes to go.  Mn beats Arizona after knocking out Palmer in the first quarter and AP running for 215 yds.  Our newly confident offense goes into carolina and and scores 28pts.  We get a Janus KO return for a TD and win 38-30.  That's when things get interesting.  You see, the Vikings know they are not the class of the NFCN and we reinforce that by handing them a beatdown on their home field to go to the Super Bowl.

"MARK IT AN 8 DUDE!"

Going to be a interesting day for sure.  My wife is a lifelong Redskins fan who has suffered a lot over the years.  She isn't saying much because I think she believes her team can beat the Packers. 

Washington is scoring points like crazy but I'm not exactly sure they have beaten many teams this year that are any good 

What's working for GB is that they are battle tested having played a lot of really good teams

So yeah- I'm going to play that card 

Henry posted:

Juan und dun.

Pablo and kaput.

But in all seriousness, the road is more appealing with the loss rather than the win. I also like the late Sunday game. The team is on life support but still breathing.

Stage 1 of our 5th SB title and 14th championship overall. It's gonna happen! 

Being the wildcard, being dogged in the media, etc....it's all creating a chip on our QBs shoulder. Get that chip back Rodgers! 

Tschmack posted:

Washington is scoring points like crazy but I'm not exactly sure they have beaten many teams this year that are any good  

Green Bay isn't any good right now. Absolutely no reason right now to believe the Packers can go to WAS and win on Sunday. Even with Aaron Rodgers, the best QB in the league, I don't see them winning the WC game.

I thought their offensive woes were for two reasons:

a - injuries limited their options

b - Clements didn't adjust with the limited options

I figured that with McCarthy taking the play calling back that they'd get creative with the players they had... but the 3WR, 1TE, 1RB alignment seems like all they know.

Went heavy vs DAL and ran to the win.

Went heavy yesterday early and had success with Lacy ( 7 for 28) but only 3 points, then went back to the 3WR, 1TE, 1RB alignment. Abby gets open but doesn't play a single offensive snap yesterday?

I am happy we made the playoffs.  I am not happy how the team is playing.  If there was a silver bullet/magic switch/whatever these guys want to call it - the genie better come out of the bottle, my spidey senses say, we are oneanddone.

Boris posted:

Does that mean win 1 game & then done? Or lose our first game vs. Washington?

I'd REEEALLLY like to think this team can beat a woeful NFC East team but that belief is about the same as believing in a god.  You don't know and I don't know so spin the ****ing wheel.

They just met the "mighty" buzzsaw that is the Spermheads and failed.  At home.  For the division title.  At home.  For the division title.

Hungry5 posted:

 

I thought their offensive woes were for two reasons:

a - injuries limited their options

b - Clements didn't adjust with the limited options

c - Aaron Rodgers. We've been spoiled by his ability to make chicken salad out of chicken **** but he had his worst year as a starter. Accuracy vanished at times, decision making was uncharacteristically poor, and from the outside his demeanor and leadership was not acceptable. Great players raise the play of their teammates. Too many times this season Rodgers failed to do so.

It's not how you start but how you finish and GB finished as a 4-6 team their final 10 games and needed a Hail Mary vs a 7-9 team just to avoid 3-7

This is a bad team as of now

I think the thing that will be important for the next year is righting the psychological state of this team.  Personally, I think the only way that happens is a purge of certain assistants and hire coaches who actually coach, not just draw up sooper genius game plans and make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy but can't implement or adapt for ****.  

This is a turning point.  This team with a little infusion from Uncle Ted could be a ****ing monster next year or completely fall into oblivion.  It all depends on the head space of this team actually being hungry instead of admiring itself.    

Yep. They just need better coordinators on the staff....find some speed/athletes on offense....some damn speed/athleticism at ILB and they're in great shape

MM can't let his damn stubbornness get the best of him like it has this season. The "we do what we do" narrative failed miserably with this offense.

Rogers looks bored. He used to be the spark to get things going but I just haven't seen that from him on a consistent basis for some time. You get flashes of it. But then you get something like the interception he threw when they were driving to tie the game. It really looked like he's thrown in the towel at this point. I think the Packers have enough personnel and McCarthy hasn't forgotten everything he knows about calling plays in order to beat the 'skins. But the guy that can turn it around just doesn't look like he heart is in it. Hope I'm wrong. 

Hungry5 posted:

 

Green Bay isn't any good right now. Absolutely no reason right now to believe the Packers can go to WAS and win on Sunday. Even with Aaron Rodgers, the best QB in the league, I don't see them winning the WC game.

 

That's exactly right.

Let's be honest, they have given us no reason to believe they can win at Washington this week, and even if they do find a way, they still aren't getting by Carolina, Arizona, or eventually Seattle. Minnesota is easily the weakest team of the five others in the NFC, and we saw how that went last night.

What should be of greater concern than this game and playoff run for Packer fans is the following:

1) For the first time in a while, this roster is riddled with talent holes. They've had talent gaps before - namely at ILB and Safety. But this is becoming too much for any one draft to address. By my count, you've got serious questions at TE, OT, WR, ILB, and OLB. 

2) The coaching of this team has been horrific, and it's on all sides of the ball. Jake Ryan schemed on McKinnon with no help? Lucky that wasn't a TD. 9 seconds left and you throw a quick pass to a TE who can't break a tackle? And let's not let ST off the hook either…completely fooled on a punt fake. And they get bailed out when the Kicker hustles back and strips the ball to save a back breaking return.

3) Perhaps the greatest concern is there is clearly a schism between the franchise QB and the coach and face of this organization for the last 10 years. I don't know how else to explain it, but clearly something is very, very, wrong there. Rodgers has been showing up MM. And MM is clearly showing up Rodgers when he effectively benches 84 two weeks after Rodgers went public saying he should play more. These two absolutely need to get on the same page this off season for this franchise to move forward from this train wreck of a season.

It's a new season.  We'll see.  

The draw of the Redskins on the road may be the best possible outcome for us.  While the Redskins have a winning streak going, they haven't beat a team with a winning record all year.  And we've got a group of veterans that have been here before, while this is uncharted territory for Washington.  This defense is playing playoff football; if we can just get an average game from the offense, we can leave with a W.

I realize there is little reason to believe it can happen, but the fact remains that an opportunity exists: the 2015 Packers can reshape everyone's view of this season in the next few weeks.  

Lambeau Lobo posted:

It's a new season.  We'll see.   

I know this is a popular and comforting cliche about the postseason. But it's not really a new season. It's simply an extension of the current season. It's going to take far more than a week to get through all the issues that are plaguing this team. The biggest concern I have is will the off season provide enough time to solve these issues? For the first time in a long time, I have serious reservations about that. They need talent, coaching, and a meeting of the minds with the QB and the coach.

New season, same old team.

I kinda like Doc's scenario above. It's going to be colder than heck here next week and maybe Seattle folds in the cold (I can see red-faced Carroll shivering on the sideline). AZ doesn't recover from the beatdown and Minny beats them.

In the meantime, GB muddles through a win in DC, goes ATL on the Panthers and then gets the opportunity to go to the bowl by beating a rival on their own turf just like last time.

That would be fun huh?

Henry posted:

I think the thing that will be important for the next year is righting the psychological state of this team.  Personally, I think the only way that happens is a purge of certain assistants and hire coaches who actually coach, not just draw up sooper genius game plans and make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy but can't implement or adapt for ****.  

This is a turning point.  This team with a little infusion from Uncle Ted could be a ****ing monster next year or completely fall into oblivion.  It all depends on the head space of this team actually being hungry instead of admiring itself.    

Great post Henry.  I think this offseason in GB is probably one of the most important one in a long time.  As for the coaching I am starting to think that perhaps they are trying to scheme things TOO much and have gotten away from what has made them successful in the past.  I have noticed that they don't really use the rhythm pass game as much.  Now they run deeper patterns and with slow WR's it is easy for teams to game plan against.  I say get back to what has worked in the past and for god sake Ted please get us some speed on offense.  

I also agree that this team is going to come out as a monster with a chip on their shoulder or they will fall in to a 6-10 hole.  TT is going to have to work some magic this offseason and I for one have a lot of trust in him.

"Rogers looks bored"  I would add that the whole team looks bored or more, disinterested.  For the most part they look like they can't wait for the season to end.

Anyone else notice the lack of emotion by the team after RRs  TD ?  No high fives, no chest bumps, no smiles and no leap or at least I didn't see it if there was one. Just hand the ball to the ref and head to the sidelines. This team is and has been  playing flat, uninspired football for weeks now and that's as big a problem as any if you ask me. 

Unless MM actually does something different with the O, there won't be a "new season".  However, with a makeshift OL it's hard to tell what will actually be effective.  For example, the 2 TE sets last night were intended to help with run blocking and to some extent Sitton at LT.  It worked OK on the first drive, but not so much after (R.Rodgers can't block either).  If Bak is back, maybe 2 TE will be more effective?  Quarless is back, but was he targeted?  Use of 2 TE also minimized chance of snaps for Abby or Janis. 

Back to the upcoming playoff game: you can't overlook the strong possibility that we will have Shields and Bak back for this game.  Those would be huge additions to each side of the ball.

I can't recall the last time a Packer team entered the playoffs with lower expectations.  No one expects us to win, including much of the Packer fan base.  Perhaps that will also work in our favor.