Pos/Neg Packers Saints

+Lacy still a beast and now as a screen receiver

-Running behind your bench burner rookie G on multiple short yardage situations.  WTF?

+ Lacy

   Cobb

Started using SCREENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- MM:

A. Peppers slant- with the receivers we've got???????????

B. fake kick-off- calm down mccarthy, don't start puking **** that early in a game

C. go for it 4th and goal on OUR 40- Geezus H. Kryst, mccarthy

Couldn't force a punt AGAIN

Frikin run D

First time in my life I couldn't bear watching a whole game. Total frik up from the head down.

Post 2011.  (Not including the 8 games started by non-AR QBs)

Record vs NFC North

11-2  (4-0 vs Chicago, 4-1 vs Min, 3-1 vs Det)

Record vs teams with winning records outside of NFC North

3-9

Record vs teams with losing records outside of NFC North

9-1 (only loss yesterday)

Those are interesting numbers. They may illustrate one of MM's key ideas. Win your division first. However it may also show a lack of readiness to face unfamiliar teams. The team is generally good enough to beat poorer unfamiliar teams but lacks something when it comes to dealing with better teams, even when the Packers are the better team at the time. I wonder if reduced practice times in recent years has hampered a team's ability to prepare for unfamiliar teams.

Also a factor may be in the high turnover on the bottom 1/3 of the roster. Clearly they missed Burnett and Shields last night. I like Micah Hyde a lot and he has a place on the team but it is not as a starting S.

Their 3 losses this year are at three of the toughest road venues in the league.

How does this break down rad vs home?

Record vs teams with winning records outside of NFC North

3-9 

Yup and those 3 places plus San Fran and Philly may be post season destinations.....

Everyone knew a win in NO would be tough, but it would have been nice if Brees didn't have his best game of 2014 yesterday.  He was a surgeon yesterday.  

Home: 0-2

Away: 3-7

And the losing records breakdown

Home: 8-0

Away: 1-1

Which then also begs the question

Home post 2011: 14-2

Away post 2011: 8-11

Home post 2011 vs non NFC North: 8-2

Away post 2011 vs non NFC North: 4-8

To me it was not Brees having a vintage Brees-like game (with Shields and Burnett) sidelined that was so concerning.

Instead, it was seeing nobody back like Mark Ingram run for 178 yards. Ingram has been criticized for 4 years for his poor play, yet he has a career night against our 32nd ranked run defense.

If you can't stop the run in the playoffs, you will be 1 and done in the playoffs (unless something called Joe Webb is quarterbacking the opposition) as has been the case the past 3 years.

the best thing that can happen to Green Bay's run defense is the Green Bay Packer passing offense.

 it would have been nice if Brees didn't have his best game of 2014 yesterday.  He was a surgeon yesterday.  

 

But that is not uncommon, especially in the Dome.

Brees putting up 44 against the Packers D (minus Shields and Burnett) with a contributing Jimmy Graham is not at all shocking to me.

The turnovers and the Packers offense being unable to keep up with the scoring were as big of factors.

I would guess that not forcing a punt led directly to going for it at our own 40.

Agree. The very quick 21-0 lead against the Panthers was a huge reason the defense looked good last week.

Little surprised with the angst over the Peppers slant call. To me, it was perfectly designed and executed...except for the drop. Peppers could possibly be the best athlete on that team and I have no doubt that had full confidence in the play. It wasn't like they put Mike Neal out there.

I thought the defense was starting to show something the last few games, but after the NO game they are just the bag of suck I thought they were in August.

Go back to Boston where you belong.

4 of the next 5 are at home, with the Bears and Falcons in that mix, the only place we travel to is MIN, so the D should be better, and everyone will overreact and say the D is coming around.

We do have the Eagles and Pats in that mix, which should be good test for the D.  

"To me, it was perfectly designed and executed...except for the drop."

Can a slant pass designed to go to a DE be considered perfect design?   I don't think so.   A perfect design including a pass to a DE on offense would probably include some play action where he is left all alone and the ball can be floated to him. 

We have Cobb, Nelson, Lacy and others.  We were not having any problems scoring in the Red Zone this year until that play call.   Just strange. 

They played alright in the 1rst half.  (Bend but don't break)  They just got deflated after Rodgers got hurt and we lost all the mo. 

Again, the big diiference is they weren't playing with a multi-score lead.         

Exactly.. They can't stand on their own. 

For everyone saying the defense sucks, how were you expecting the game to go? We're you expecting this D to hold Brees to 17 points? It's an offense that is very similar to GB: elite QB, fast and reliable group of receivers, Pro Bowl Guards, average Tackles, etc. Do you go into games expecting opposing defenses to shut GB down? I don't, I expect defenses to try and manage the game against GB knowing that they will give up big plays and points. I know its frustrating and disappointing, but it's one game, there are 8 more. This D did their job against mediocre QBs, that's undeniable, and they struggled against Brees, but that doesn't mean they are bad. If the D is this rough heading into the playoffs then there is cause for concern, but right now there's no point labeling them as anything because there's a lot of football to be played. Things have to get fixed, the run D has to stop being atrocious and they can't give up those big plays like they did, but teams under McCarthy generally finish the season strong so I have faith.

Also, all "good" defenses make their living building up stats against crappy offenses. That's just the NFL, it's not this D's fault that their best stats came against mediocre teams. 

I was hoping it would go like the 1st half.   I was happy with their performance, low expectations I guess, up until the Rodgers injury. 

Expectations should always be low for any D facing an offense like NO or GB or NE or DEN.

Do you think SEA would be happy giving up 32 points and not forcing a punt?   No, expectations are not low for every D.   

I don't expect us to be SEA, but I don't think I am asking for too much by wanting to see the opponent punt once or twice a game.   No matter who you play. 

Agree with BD... 

Christ, let's not spin this pile of **** into a "It's supposed to happen that way" scenario.  Brees is a stud, there's no denying that.  But when you don't make an opponent punt ONCE and a crappy running back looks more like Jim Brown than Terdell Middletion, there's a problem.  

I hoped our defense wouldn't open up to give the QB and the RB the best days of the season.  

I'm certain no one would have been OK with that lowered expectation on Saturday.   

8-11 on the road in the NFL is not terrible, and the non NFC north road record of 4-8 is not a surprise considering they are playing other division winners every year. That also goes for the home record of 8-2 versus non NFC north since there are div winners there too.

Goodell and his parity party.

I didn't expect the D to do much but it would have been nice if they could pick the offense up just ONCE in that game. Didn't force a punt at all, couldn't get off the field...couldn't stop them from scoring points whether it be FG's or TD's.

RE: No punts.

I won't be surprised if there are 2 or 3 more games this season where neither team punts. The rules have made it very easy to move between the 20's and more PKs are kicking 40+ at a very high rate.

The context of the "no punts" should be couched in the fact that they did force a 4th down attempt (which they got a stop).  

True, and both teams kicked 3 FGs in the 1st half. To my point, easier to move between the 20's in the current league.

Agree, we need to give them credit for that 1 stop.  

From the JSO article today from TT:

"Both offenses were pretty efficient. Both defenses hung in there and forced field goals."

The Rodgers injury snowballed everything for sure, and it was clear he wasn't playing at his best/100% after that the rest of the way. Had the 2 flukey INT's, then there was the terrible 4th down run behind the backup RG vs the stacked box(what the hell, MM?)

I agree there is some positive to be taken from the forced FGs and the 4th down stop.

The "never forced a punt" line is being overblown.

Did anyone notice the brief interview with Clay Matthew just before the game?  He said something like, "sometimes the best defense is good offense".  Did not exactly inspire me that the defense was planning on having a good day.

That may have something to do with it.  But it looks more like they're better vs. their division because the rest of the division has simply sucked the last 3 years, not because they are more prepared vs. them.  So "they are not too good against good teams" seems a better way to put it.  If they can't beat PHI or NE, I don't see much optimism for them in the post season.  It would be a pretty strong indicator that they can't beat good teams.

Both of those games are at Lambeau... have to hold serve at home to make the playoffs.

Sunday's game was the third in NFL history in which neither team punted. The Packers and Bears were involved in the second such game, earlier this season at Soldier Field