Observations

 Decision between Tramon Williams and Hayward will be why capers get the big bucks

11. Bud light on ice gets a bad rap.

probably should go in the post game discussion but I watched the NFL Replay last night as well. Its much better watching it after a win -  big plays by the other team are no big deal!  

 

You can tell MM and the staff definitely stressed intensity and physicality going into Baltimore. They clearly wanted to match or beat the Ravens in this area. on many of the off-angle replays that NFL Replay provides, you can see the intensity of the players on the sideline, even those not dressed. I noticed it in game as well. The guys on the sideline were all fist pumping and encouraging the team the entire game. That was great to see. 

 

On replay it was amazing to see how dominant our Run D was against a great strong back like Ray Rice, even without CM3 and other starters.

 

from McGinn: 

"

"I really think a little bit of a message was sent today that the Packers are tough, they're physical, and that's how it's supposed to be," said Daniels. "We're really making it our duty to come across and hit people. Hit 'em hard.

"Attitude. It's definitely here more so than it was last year. I mean, it was there last year, but it's rampant now. I mean, it's all over the place."

The desire for more rugged football, according to defensive end B.J. Raji, became perfectly clear when McCarthy ordered live half-line drills in August.

"Man, I've got to take it back to training camp," Raji said. "I look back at coach (McCarthy). He had the foresight to see how important that stuff is in a game like today.

"We got back to what wins football games, and that's stopping the run and running the football. It was adding a great player like (Eddie) Lacy and a few other components to the mentality."

So Packers-Ravens was won by the more physical team. In Baltimore, no less.

Last year, the Packers didn't even realize they'd let the physical dimension wane. It's back now, and so are they."

 

Your assessment of Boykin is overly harsh and he appears to be developing into a whipping boy for some Packer fans. Some of his rocky start could very well be on AR and if he doesn't hustle and recover that fumble the Ravens likely do and the game could have a different outcome.

 

Not saying there's no room for improvement in his play but the positives outweighed the negatives for me.

This. I like the kid, give him a whole week running with the starters and he'll do fine.

we know Jmike ain't a blocking TE but his efforts at blocking in the Ravens game seemed pretty awful the couple times he caught my attention.  the thing I noticed is that he lets his height hinder him.  he doesn't get low enough.  and yes it's tough for a tall guy to block a shorter guy but he's been around long enough to have figured this out.

Random observation:

 

Does it seem like Rodgers is getting more passes batted down at the line of scrimmage this year?  I don't remember that being an issue in the past, but it seems like there have been a lot of them this season.

People shrink as they get older.

18c3v,

I think that's a result of DCs scouting GB and AR's tendencies and staying in those passing lanes with an eye toward the bat down.  MM and AR get a bit predictable in the hurry up and Cincinnati took advantage of that at the end of our game with them.

1. I can see how the rest of the country outside GB reached "alright, enough already, we get it" when Favre returned to GB in 2009. Manning returning to Indy is suffocating.

 

2. So Brady takes over down by 1 with 3:14 remaining and goes 4 and out leading to a NO FG. Takes over a second time and throws a horrible pick on 1st down. Get's the ball back a 3rd time and leads a drive that only happened because NO committed every "we shouldn't be doing this if we want to kill the clock" move imaginable including a Breese incompletion before the FG and 2 NO's DB's not tackling Aaron Dobson in bounds after Brady inexplicably decided on his own to throw a quick out on 1st down out of time outs with the clock running instead of simply clocking the ball. If either of those two things change NO wins yet Brady is being hailed as clutch. The whole "clutch" discussion is nothing more than a media fueled rambling diatribe driven by a bunch of idiots trying to force an angle while completely glossing over real facts.

 

3. I don't need a few years to grade the Packers 2013 draft. It's an A. Bakhtiari and Lacy have been huge the first 5 weeks. No idea where GB's record would be without them but it's not 3-2 given all the injuries. Hyde has been a great addition as well given Hayward's absence. Now it looks like GB is going to have to lean on Mulumba as well for a couple weeks. If Franklin can find his niche and Tretter is able to contribute next year it's arguably Ted's best draft haul. What a rookie class.

^ forgot to mention how impressed I am with Hyde.

 

After watching the replay, hes a pure football player.

I really like the kid. 

 

7 Tackles, 1 TFL and a huge sack on 3rd down that caused Flacco to fumble.

 he was even telling Kuhn to get away from that muff, you can see his digust

with JK after the flub.

 

Originally Posted by ChilliJon: The whole "clutch" discussion is nothing more than a media fueled rambling diatribe driven by a bunch of idiots trying to force an angle while completely glossing over real facts.

 

 

 

Did you type that without taking a breath??

No idea what just happened. Got caught up in a booze induced zone and just went with it. Need bottled oxygen....

California dreaming.

The sort catch and long run by Brown was due to Tramon trying to knock the ball free rather than tackling the ball carrier.  Wrap up, dammit!

The more I watch Tramon Williams play the more I don't like him.  I can't believe he'll be here next season at his current salary. 

1. I can see how the rest of the country outside GB reached "alright, enough already, we get it" when Favre returned to GB in 2009. Manning returning to Indy is suffocating.

That, and the "OMG!!!111!!! Somebody said something less than 150% flattering of Peyton Manning!" reaction to Jim Irsay's comments.

I agree.  On one of the passes that was bounced to him, Boykin ran to the first down line and AR threw it 3 yards short.  May be a situation where AR expected Boykin to break off his route early but on the one I'm thinking of, Boykin was open at the first down marker (ie: no need to break the route off early).  

 

Remember too, Boykin has played less than 10 snaps in a game.  It takes time to develop a relationship between a QB and his WR and after seeing that bubble screen he took for 40 yards, I think he has the talent.  Guess we'll find out over the next 2 months.  

That screen he took for 40yds is a pretty unique play that showed his ability to RAC.  That play doesn't work more than once or twice a game, if that.  What it doesn't show is whether or not he is going to be able to get separation as a #2 or #3 WR.

Chillijon, I agree.  Lacy and Bahktiari are clearly starting caliber players in this league right now (and will only get better).  If Franklin works on ball security, he'll form quite the duo with Lacy.  Hyde will play in this league a long time with his ability to return punts, play in the slot and be a gunner on special teams.  I have no doubt D Jones will be a starter eventually (d-line is tough to learn in the NFL, just look at Daniels for when it comes together for a d-lineman).  And we'll find out a lot about Palmer and Barrington these next 2 weeks.  And we haven't even seen Tretter or Boyd yet.  Overall, pretty solid class.  Let's hope a few can turn into blue chip players.  

Cannot believe he is here this year at that salary.  

This may be harsh since I always liked the guy's play...but he's been a dingleberry lately.

This reminds me of the recent accolades given Manning by Ditka and a couple others.  Ditka said Manning is the best QB ever and he was asked about Manning's playoff record - something like 9-11.  To me, it was a case of over-applying the idea that one person does not win or lose a football game. 

 

A losing record in the playoffs with the total number of games at ~20?  I remember his performance in his SB win over the Bears.  It was nothing to write home about.  I also recall the INT he threw against the Saints.

 

I mean...I can see using Ditka's argument with respect to (say) Marino (no RB game and generally not a real staunch defense and we're not talking a ton of playoff games).  But, to apply that reasoning to Manning?

 

No.  No way he rates with Montana with his overall performance in the playoffs. 

 

No way and jmo (just my opinion).

We all missed out on Rex Grossman being handed the Super Bowl MVP for the Colts and Manning giving Michelle Tafoya a "It's hard to argue about it. Rex deserved this Michelle. We're not winning this game without him.... we're just not. I'm just doggone happy for Rex" afterwards.

I am tired of hearing former players talk about the new rules regarding hits to the head, saying the the only logical conclusion of limiting hits to the head it to have hits to the knee. After Cobb was hit (the result being Cobb breaking his leg), Strahan and the Fox crew dismissing the hit as a consequence of the new rules made me want to punch my tv. You watch that play, and you see the Ravens Db size him up and dive at his leg. You mean he couldn't size him up and tackle his torso? BS.

I applaud Rodgers doing what he did. These players going for kill shots is the origin of the rule changes. Goodell gets a lot of complaints for ruining the game with the rule changes, but this one has it right in my view. It IS NOT NECESSARY to launch your body into a guy to tackle him. It is also NOT NECESSARY to do the same delivering a block.

In the case of Randall Cobb, the Db easily could have easily hit Cobb in the torso. Some play may be unavoidable, but when they are avoidable, it should not be explained away by players and former players as a result of a rule.

"ESPN HIghlights", etc. always showed players launching at receivers/ball carriers. The way I was taught from the first time I put on pads was "Head up, aim your shoulder at his belt buckle."

Huh. I thought they would be easier to use than that. 

 

 

Lattimore made one of the better tackles I've seen in a while on Sunday when he squared Ray Rice up at the LOS, wrapped him up with both arms and put him on the ground.

 

I do believe I'm developing a bit of a man crush with Jamari.

I would submit Burnett's tackle on Rice near the goalline for that category.  But yeah, it was hard not to like what Lattimore was doing sunday.  OC's don't have game tape on him yet so they can't attack his tendencies but at the least, his fundamentals look really strong.  Reminded me a bit of Bishop.

The reason why they need to have the power game on third and short be constant threat to get the dline to commit.

Not at his current salary for sure.  See if he picks it up again but he is playing soft like Shields in his second season.  

Its a function of having two young OTs. MM/ AR are forced to use more 3 step drops and the ball comes out super quick. That's helped the OTs and kept the sack numbers down. But it also means the defense knows they can't get home, so they are taught to get their hands up. we see it all over the NFL as teams run the up- tempo offenses and quick throws to negate the defensive tactics

 

As the OT's get better and give AR more time, you'll likely see deeper drops and fewer bat-downs

 

 

quote:

As the OT's get better and give AR more time, you'll likely see deeper drops and fewer bat-downs

And please please please more on-target bombs like the TD to Jordy last week. 

I posted this link in the Packers OL #1 in Run Blocking thread yesterday. Very good description from Bowen why that play worked so well.

 

Play-Action Opportunities

Consistent production on the ground can force defensive backs and second-level defenders to get lazy with their eye discipline. That shows up inside the red zone versus Cover 2 defenses (force Mike ‘backer to step to the line of scrimmage) and versus safeties out in the field in two-deep, Cover 4, etc.

This past Sunday, Rodgers targeted Jordy Nelson on a crucial play in the Packers' win over the Ravens. And it started with simple play action to Lacy.

The Packers have their Heavy personnel on the field (one wide receiver, three tight ends, one running back) with Jermichael Finely removed as the backside X receiver. Rodgers uses open side play action on the swap boot scheme and rolls back to the closed side of the formation.

 

 

 

I wouldn't know about that.  I do not drink water.

Gasoline on the "Manning return to Indy" bonfire.

 

Rich Eisen     ‏@richeisen         

Sound the horn!! RT @InsideNFLMedia: Brett Favre will join NFL GameDay Morning live on Sunday morning to talk about Peyton Manning.

 

At some point. Someone is going to notice that Denver's defense is gawdawful. But that probably won't happen until Denver's first playoff game loss at home. That day of reckoning is coming though.

Play action, Baby. A little fakery in the strategery and AR had allllll daayyyyy.

Watched it last night and laughed at Hyde's reaction to Kuhn's snafu on the blocked punt. As if to say, "Who's the rookie here?" House had some nice breakups early on, but not sure if I buy the "gassed from special teams" excuse either. Irked that they kept not showing Baltimore's three-and-outs so we couldn't see how great the D really was.