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

chickenboy posted:

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?

I just don't buy that Seattle is going to be affected by cold.  It's not like Seattle is exactly Miami in terms of weather this time of year.  Russell Wilson is the kind of guy that can thrive in basically just about any kind of weather you throw at him.  He's got an arm that can pierce through windy weather, he's got the balance and quickness to stay upright on a bad field.

I think Minnesota can play them tougher than they did last time as they are healthier on defense, but I still think Seattle is better and likely the winner in that one.

It almost seems like the disposition of the players is totally different when they play like ****, and all excited and happy when they are clicking.

Someone should do a study.  

We can hope Washington watched the game last night......if so overconfidence could come into play.   Every little bit helps

It's also the by-product of "football players over athletes" when you lose a good athlete the entire team suffers because the team then lacks speed/athleticism. Shields and Jordy are two of the best athletes on the team. Hyde, while having good instincts, gets exposed for lacking speed, as does Heyward. Jones and Adams are not only slower than molasses, they also lack quickness and agility, as does Richard Rodgers .  

Jake Ryan, while seemingly having a sound foundation, can't keep up with decently quick backs even. 

Rockin' Robin posted:

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.

Great post, and it's hard to single out which point is most valid or impactful.  Clearly, there is a lack of talent and speed at the skill positions, especially at TE and WR.  McCarthy is also his own worst enemy because of his stubborness and loyalty.  Can't fathom why he never went to a 4-WR set with #84 at all last night in an effort to open things up.  

On point number three, it was really evident that there is something wrong between the two of them when the camera's panned to the sideline when the Vikings were lining up for their last punt with just over a minute left.  McCarthy was standing there and Arod was about 10 yards to his left, just standing there with no expression or emotion showing.  You would figure they would be huddled together, planning their next, and last possession.  

"It almost seems like the disposition of the players is totally different when they play like ****, and all excited and happy when they are clicking."

LOL.  Yeah, I get that but even when things do go right they still seem to be in some sort of funk. Maybe it's the dumb a** in me showing but I don't get it. Low BFI ?  LOL  Meh, whatever. Better days ahead.

Good athletes can't also be good football players? I think Jordy is a pretty good football player AND a good athlete. 

Uncle Ted looks for athletes who are focused on football, not on only being athletes. 

Herschel posted:

Jake Ryan, while seemingly having a sound foundation, can't keep up with decently quick backs even. 

And why should he?

Grave Digger posted:

Good athletes can't also be good football players? I think Jordy is a pretty good football player AND a good athlete. 

Uncle Ted looks for athletes who are focused on football, not on only being athletes. 

You basically just restated my point. In a perfect world, your best football players are also great athletes, but what trade-offs do you make when you get to the lower end of the scale? Do your coaches turn better athletes in to players, or are your coordinators better at scheming to cover deficiencies? 

Again, you'd love to have both, but how many of those staffs even exist? Joe Whitt seems to be a guy who can make athletes in to players. Winston Moss, not so much (if you consider guys like Brad Jones to be good athletes, which is also open for debate.). 

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.    

I agree. I was hoping that turning point came shortly after pissing away a Super Bowl berth last January. I fully expected this team to show up for camp with a huge chip on its shoulder. The 6-0 start, even with flaws, I think became a bigass pot of fool's gold.

As the season has worn on, it's pretty apparent that things have broken down behind the scenes. I wouldn't begin to speculate. I jokingly said to my stepson last night....that years from now we will find out....and before I even finished he exclaimed "that there were coke parties going on?" That's how obvious it's become to those who watched this total free fall.

I hope it's able to be fixed, but the performance this year just seems too ominous. The offense has been stale the entire year, the enthusiasm and urgency only seems to show up when they must play from behind, and even then it's only evident in a handful of guys.

What is there to feel good about heading into DC? I thought 3-4 weeks ago that the only chance this team had in a playoff run would be a run game and defense....bring the game to a muddied halt and grind. Dominate TOP and win ugly close games. MM rode Starks during the 2010 playoffs....now he has 2 guys he could lean on. But I think the tendency to need to prove the passing game can work upends any gameplanning going on.

I'll root for them next week, and I hope they can summon some sort of magic, but this year has been nothing but one big frustrating mess to watch, and I won't expect anything different vs. the Skins.

ChilliJon posted:

I can't get past Bill B breaking down Denver - GB tape and getting pissed thinking he might be watching a huge middle finger. 

 

They've been flipping everyone the finger since they were 6-0?   

Rodgers or Cousins ? : Who would you take?

wow....what is in the water in DC? I guess years of ineptitude does something to your brain

"I guess I’d probably take Cousins. Yikes. Now I’m thinking about deleting that sentence, but whatever, you only live once, and this is just an intellectual exercise.

Cousins just put together a better year, despite it being the first full season of his career. He did it despite playing without his best receiver half the year (and yes, I know about Jordy Nelson). He threw fewer interceptions down the stretch. He comes cheaper. And I’m not worried about his prime possibly ending soon, since he’s taken so few hits and is five years younger. It seems like he could get better still, in other words, and I’m not sure Rodgers could, "

even the justifications for taking Rodgers are absurd....

"Cousins may well have the greater career and future, but we’re talking five years here. Rodgers."

Henry posted:

Juan und dun.

One season does not a career make, so I can't choose Cousins. I can state, however, that Cousins has been significantly better this year.

what have you done for me lately?

Lambeau Lobo posted:

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.  

I think GB goes into DC and gets a win, and I predicted they'd lose the last two games. This is Kirk Cousins we are talking about. The Redskins and Danny Boy are just happy to be in the playoffs  

The problem will be the Packers will get blown out by either Carolina or Arizona after that. 

I'd like to see Mm just go Riverboat Ron in the playoffs. A lot of going for it on 4th down, on sides kicks. Etc. 

i don't think he can go run heavy again. Go 5 wide, get Abby and Janis on the field and just say Fukk it. 

Need to score to use the onside kick.....that has been a problem.  And the first time they did not make it on 4th down in a tight/unfavorable position heads would explode.

I don't disagree Peak, but they have nothing to lose. 

The problem with run heavy is that out TEs aren't great blockers and we struggled to score TDs in the red zone even when the offense was humming in previous years. Lacy isn't a home run threat and this team needs some home runs. Starks is a little better shot, but this team is built on the philosophy to score by passing  and it's hard to run into 7 or 8 guys in the box anyway even with a guy like Adrian Peterson  

Id be disappointed if we played ultraconservatively like last night again. Granted, Bakhs absence drove this, but this team needs to try to go downfield again. Enough 2 yard passes to RichRod and Cobb. The message MM has sent the last month with the offense is that we have no confidence in what should be our strength. Screw it.  Just be aggressive and see what happens. We still have a HOF QB and guys that have been successful before. Go down firing instead of running Lacy into a pile for 3 yards or throwing dump downs. 

Green Bay - The following is a summary of Packers coach Mike McCarthy's Monday even press conference:

(On message today) We need to clean our own house. Didn't have a team meeting, got right into Washington.

(On being steady)  I think anytime you’re in charge of a group of people, particularly our profession. You have direct and indirect communication, direct is in the meetings. You can usually have a good pulse of your team once you walk into the door. There’s certain levels of energy. I look at the indirect is the filtering of the message throughout the key people in your program.
(On anything you can draw on) There's a lot of things. We all grow up, we have to go through things. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth and there's a part of me that likes where we are. We fully intend to get into this football team. Lot of video to get through. I'm looking forward to the challenge.
(On playoff fresh start) It's a new season. These are the most important games. You have to win format and that's what you work for. You carry all your lessons from the season. You have to be realistic to have a fresh start for the right season. The things we have done wrong are just as important as the things we've done right. We want to keep it real.
(On opportunism on defense) We had good field position after Micah's turnover. You get the looks you want and you get the execution and you get a penalty. we didn't overcome the penalty. That was a big momentum play in the game.
(On big plays) That's a fundamental of winning in this game.
(On 2-minute offense) We perform pretty good in that. We've done some good things. I think you have to be real careful in situational offense and down and distance. If you're having success in one situation i don't think it carries over to another situation.
(On tempo) It was poor. We can do better.
(On overcoming homefield advantage) We didn't maximize ours here. It's just preparation. When playing on the road, it's all about communication. Communication network is important. Evaluating their personnel more this week. That's all part of game-planning. As far as traveling and things we do i have confidence in that.
(On playcalling) Lots made of play-calling. I have a different opinion then general view of it. The change was in the process, the way we put together a game plan. You work together for nine years and you have a way of doing things. When torch gets passed, that changed. That was a bigger part of it. Not about what Tom was calling. I wanted to get back to the old process. I believe in it.
(On schoolyard football) Aaron is a great player, he wants the ball in his hands. The risk and exposure he puts himself to, you can't do that. He knows that. That's just him competing. The second quarter was my disappointment. We had some things there we should’ve been able to take advantage of.

And that's it for McCarthy.

Someone needs to post that article about Cousins being better than Rodgers inside Rodgers locker.

Also mention how short Rodgers is too.

That should be good for starters

Green Bay — The following is a summary of defensive coordinator Dom Capers' press conference on Monday:

(Opening statement) I thought our guys did a good job of things that are a must for us in games. Obviously at the top of that list is limiting Adrian Peterson, and I thought we did a good job of that. … I thought our guys did a pretty good job of containing (Teddy Bridgewater) and disrupting his rhythm. We felt we needed to get off the field on third down. They converted two against us. … I thought that we did a nice job of responding to adversity on the very first series, where we force a punt and they run a fake punt 41 yards. … We forced a field goal. At the end of the half, we went out and forced a punt in the 2-minute situation. Then at the end of the game we had the 4-minute situation. … We were able to get the ball back and give ourselves a chance to go down and get points. There were a lot of positives. Unfortunately we didn’t make enough plays to win the game.

We had three defensive penalties. You get to this time of year and you move into the playoffs, you need to make sure you don’t hurt yourself with defensive penalties.

I think our guys are excited about playing this game. Kirk Cousins has really been on a roll lately. Their offense has been efficient. They do a good job of mixing the run and pass. I’ve felt all along that what you want to do is enter the playoffs with the arrow pointing up, and I think we can build off some of the things we did last night.

(On the defense being frustrated with the offense) I don’t think so. One of the things you can’t do in this business is expend energy on something you can’t control. I think as far as our team goes, we have a tight-knit team. We have an excellent locker room. … It’s all about every phase of your team playing off the other phase. You can’t ever get concerned about what somebody else is doing, because if you do that you’ll fall off a cliff. That attitude is so important to your team. To me, you show the strength of your defense by going out in those tough situations and performing.

(On adjusting the expectations on defense given offensive limitations) What we do is kind of standard operating procedure. I don’t think you change a lot. You’ve got a process that you go through. I put up the positive things that we did, then I put up the things we have to improve to have a better chance of winning.

(On the defensive improvement lately) I think consistency and some of the younger players that have had to develop because they’ve had to go in with certain guys being injured. We try to make an effort to modify the reps in certain areas. … You hope you find your niche of what’s working, what’s going well for you. I think over the last few weeks our possession downs, third and fourth downs, have improved. We’ve made a significant improvement from what it was earlier in the year. … Even a week ago, going down to Arizona, they really scored 24 points on us there. I felt yesterday really was 13 points yesterday. You’ve just got to keep emphasizing things that you think give us the best chance to win.

(On the passing attack for Washington) They have good skill. They have speed. They make a lot of big plays. That’s why they score a lot of plays. … They can spread you out and throw it. Kirk Cousins has been very accurate. It’s a little different scheme than what we faced this week.

(On this defense being Super Bowl-caliber) I thought Micah Hyde’s interception was a rare play, the way he intercepted that ball. Those are the plays you have to make in the playoffs. … You have to find a way to make two or three plays to get the momentum heading in your direction.

(On the Vikings isolating the linebackers) We felt going in we had seen them use No. 31 (Jerick McKinnon) more, he’s kind of a matchup guy for them. We had an issue with that the week before in the Arizona game. … I thought we adjusted so we played a little different scheme with No. 31 in the game.

(On the performance by Clay Matthews) I thought Clay played a real good all-around game. He was effective rushing and was real close to having a multi-sack game. … Clay is probably as healthy as he’s been for a while. You saw his explosion show up.

(On Julius Peppers’ performance this season) I think he’s been able to play consistently for us all year. In the short period of time you’re with Julius you start to expect those things. … Hopefully he’s got his best football here for the playoffs. I haven’t seen the wear and tear have any negative effects on him.

"We felt we needed to get off the field on third down."

Where's my dancing wizard photo?

CAPackfan posted:

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

The thing of it is they are not finished yet.   Let's revisit this next Sunday about 8:30 LFT. 

Have others looked at who is starting for the Redskins secondary? 

CB Will Blackmon - 31 years old and had played 4 years in Green Bay and left BEFORE the Super Bowl year. He was released by both the Jaguars and Seahawks in the 2015 off-season. 

CB Bashaund Breeland - 4th round CB, Ran a 4.62 40 at the combine two years ago. 

S DeAngelo Hall 32 years old. They had to move him to safety because he couldn't cover anyone anymore. 

S Dashon Goldson 31 years old. On his third team in 4 years. Cut by Tampa Bay this past off-season. 

That's the starting defensive backfield. If they can't attack that group with multiple WRs, they can't attack anyone. Two mostly washed up retreads, a converted CB and another CB that lacks foot speed. 

Washington is 26th against the run,and 25th against the pass. Unless Rodgers continues with his recent(****ing bizarre) turnover issue, the Pack should move the ball. 

Breeland actually ain't too bad. But he's young and slow, and he'll be matched up on Cobb so.... he'll probably catch 1 or 2 WR screen passes for -4 yards.

Stop being so overconfident. You'll jinx em' 

A few things I will be watching :

- can we keep the Redskins O off the field? - can't believe I just said that.

- can we 'man' cover the WR's without always double covering?  Either 88 or Jackson

- can we cover that Redskin TE, he's a weapon - scary good.

- can the Redskins 'iso' Jake Ryan on their TE or RB - we have seen that he can't run, although I like his other qualities and I am glad he is getting baptized by fire

- can 18, 17, 27,44,81 and the OL get on track?  would love to see some 84

- will 37 have rust or will he be ready to go?

- I also think ST's will be crucial this game, with jackson on their side, he's a game breaker...worries me a little

(1/03/2016 09:54:00 PM) - Al 

Lost in the angst as Packers' fans are often too close to see things clearly...ARI and MIN are the 5th and 6th best defensive teams in the NFL. They have certainly struggled to move the ball, but they have been up against top 20% defensive units too.

The only team not in the top 12 defensively (as measured by points allowed) that made the playoffs? Their opponent next week, if they do not come back, of course; the Redskins.

WASH has a bottom ten run defense, which likely means a big day for Lacy. That may be the best matchup they could hope for.

Not over yet, however.

(1/03/2016 10:41:00 PM) - Al
KC  3  Hou
Pit  2.5  CIN
SEA  7  MIN
WASH  2  GB

3 of the 4 road teams are favored, and the Seahawks by 7? That would make them a 13 point pick were the game in Seattle? That's just silly talk.

I'm shocked the Packers are not favored, as the Redskins are not a powerhouse by any means. 

I feel better now.

Sportsradio 105.7 The FAN

56 mins · Racine, WI ·

VIDEO: After the 20 - 13 loss to the Vikings, Aaron Rodgers said the pass heavy style of offense the Packers ran in the 4th quarter is what they should be doing throughout the game. Tonight Mike McCarthy said while Rodgers is a great player who makes incredible plays, he exposes himself and the team too often when he scrambles "and that's unacceptable." McCarthy said there were packages in the second quarter against Minnesota that were not executed properly. The tempo was off. McCarthy said play calling is not so much calling the plays in game, but the preparation during the week. "The process is what I needed to get back to being involved in" - MIKE CLEMENS

Interesting comments RE: Rodgers vs. MM. It appears from Mac's comments AR is still going off and doing his own thing at times and perhaps MM has finally reached his end point with that. The riff is there. It's MM's job to nip this.

MichiganPacker2 posted:

Have others looked at who is starting for the Redskins secondary? 

CB Will Blackmon - 31 years old and had played 4 years in Green Bay and left BEFORE the Super Bowl year. He was released by both the Jaguars and Seahawks in the 2015 off-season. 

CB Bashaund Breeland - 4th round CB, Ran a 4.62 40 at the combine two years ago. 

S DeAngelo Hall 32 years old. They had to move him to safety because he couldn't cover anyone anymore. 

S Dashon Goldson 31 years old. On his third team in 4 years. Cut by Tampa Bay this past off-season. 

That's the starting defensive backfield. If they can't attack that group with multiple WRs, they can't attack anyone. Two mostly washed up retreads, a converted CB and another CB that lacks foot speed. 

 

4.62 that's much faster then either Jones or Adams, and Mach speed compared to Rich Rod

They say more than half of interpersonal communication is Non-verbal.  Watching the sidelines, the locker room interviews, and the on-field interactions it looks like there's not much love or trust on this team?

What's even more disappointing is MMC's cliched weekly sound bites.  Either he's not in touch with his own team (hard to believe that's the case), or thinks he can mask some sort of dysfunction with the team chemistry with saying the same old stuff about how it all comes down to execution or whatever.   Is he even talking to Rodgers?  A house divided cannot stand.  Rodgers looks like his puppy just died, and I don't see him on the same page.   Heck, I don't even see him interacting with teammates (except for the dog pile on Richard Rodgers after the Hail Mary), and that's really not good.

Another example--Aaron has made it clear in several interviews that they need to have Abby on the field at WR more because he gets open.   Did Abby even have snaps at WR last night?  I only saw him catch a punt after Hyde had taken a nasty hit.   Are the coaches just trying to show Aaron who's in charge?   Considering how awful Adams has been, I can't fathom why they wouldn't honor Aaron's request and give Abby a try.

I think it's possible we could beat Washington, but that's it.   I can't see any scenarios where there aren't massive changes after the playoffs.

RoyalWulff posted:

 

What's even more disappointing is MMC's cliched weekly sound bites.  Either he's not in touch with his own team (hard to believe that's the case), or thinks he can mask some sort of dysfunction with the team chemistry with saying the same old stuff about how it all comes down to execution or whatever.   Is he even talking to Rodgers?  A house divided cannot stand.  Rodgers looks like his puppy just died, and I don't see him on the same page.   Heck, I don't even see him interacting with teammates (except for the dog pile on Richard Rodgers after the Hail Mary), and that's really not good.

 

MM's stuff is stupid coach speak for the media.  As for Rodgers, about the only time he seems to interact with teammates is to berate them on the field when they do something wrong.  It was actually refreshing to see Lang publicly bitch at Rodgers in the Oakland game for changing a run play to a pass to Adams---which pass Adams naturally dropped.

It’s not that far-fetched to think the Redskins have a shot at the Super Bowl

"On Sunday, Washington begins its playoff run at home against the Packers — its best possible opponent. Green Bay ended the regular season with two straight losses and went 4-6 down the stretch after starting the year 6-0."

They say you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back to the top.  This may qualify.

Letters to Lambeau

Packers' defense might have to carry unfixable offense in playoffs

Hard to believe we've actually reached the point where the defense is the strength of the team.

Well, the offense is below average right now so the defense being mediocre is better by default. Unfortunately, this defense isn't carrying them anywhere unless they can morph into the 85 Bears or 2000 Ravens defense

Why can't we find guys like this: "One guy I'm really liking is LB Su'a Cravens. He can be an amazing ILB for us, especially lined up next to Compton/Foster. He can also play safety."

The GBP Rules posted:

They say you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back to the top.  This may qualify.

Letters to Lambeau

I never believed the letters to Lambeau I read until it happened to me....