+/- Signature Win

I’ve been ragging on Pettine and kirksey all year but they did great work last night. Kirksey is definitely a Will and not a Mike

Not keeping the foot on the throttle....drives me crazy!!!!

Negative: AJ Dillon was a big meanie and made some on X4 very sad.

Positive: Pettine proved me very wrong.

Start with the negs because it's an easier list.

• Special Teams.   It's not getting cleaned up this year, we just need to pray it doesn't cost us in the playoff.
• Tonyon slowing down his route and causing a perfectly thrown ball that would have been a TD to fall incomplete.     This led to the blocked kick and then missed 4th down.   It was the start of a momentum shift.

Game Balls

• Pettine finally called a good game.    We need to start playing to the strength of this teams D and that's pass defense.   We have pass rushers and we have a secondary that thrives in man coverage.    Let the boys get after it and create the 3rd n longs by playing 3 DL, 4 LB's and bring Amos in the box.   No more nickle on 1st down unless they are 3 WR set.   No more 6 DB's with some no name safety playing ILB.   

• Young guys on defense are starting to contribute at a high level.   Gary is coming on strong and playing better than P Smith.   Savage has 4 picks in 5 games and it should be 6 picks.     The two rookie ILB's look competent.  Not only is that huge for this playoff run, but it's great news for 2021 and beyond.

• Getting Dillon some valuable snaps in a prime time game.   He started off a little timid but gained some confidence and then started trucking MF'rs.  A Jones / Dillon combo for the next 3 years would make life very easy for the QB of this team.   

• Adams is just filthy.  That catch along the sidelines in the 4th quarter was just amazing.   "Ankles" has developed into the best WR in the game.

Love your advice on the D BrainDed. That's it to me, too, even when we're not facing Derrick Henry.

@BrainDed posted:

Start with the negs because it's an easier list.

• Tonyon slowing down his route and causing a perfectly thrown ball that would have been a TD to fall incomplete.     This led to the blocked kick and then missed 4th down.   It was the start of a momentum shift.

Forgot about this ....Yes! Announcers never mentioned it. "Run hard and then look for the ball....not look for the ball and then run hard"

Just terrible execution on the 4th and 3 play after the blocked FG was wiped out by penalty. GB showed pass all the way and TEN came with pressure and the play was doomed almost immediately.

Fun game to watch.  Very happy to see Dillon fully recovered and looking worthy of his second round draft status.  With Jones hobbled a bit, Dillon may be a valuable piece of this offense. 

Alexander, Gary and Savage all looked great yesterday.  Savage isn't just getting interceptions on poorly thrown balls; he's making plays on the ball using both his athleticism and intuition.  That's what makes a safety great.  And Gary.....he's strung a few good games together.  Really hope this continues because he's going to be an important piece in this run defense in the playoffs. 

And Rodgers and Adams......just wow.  Teams know where the ball is going and there's nothing they can do.  I was pretty down on Adams in his sophomore season and so glad to be proven wrong.  I haven't seen a Packers receiver dominate like this since Sterling Sharpe. 

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Still don't like the decision to go for two after the missed PAT or bypass the FG when the block was called back. A relatively short FG that would have put the Packers up 22-0.

+

Still hard to believe how well the defense played and hopefully it's part of a continuing trend. Darnell Savage is beginning to give off Nick Collins vibes and Gary is really developing into a solid player.

More importantly Adams is a much better person that Sharpe, who was / is a colossal ass.

@michiganjoe posted:

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Still don't like the decision to go for two after the missed PAT or bypass the FG when the block was called back. A relatively short FG that would have put the Packers up 22-0.

I agree. Should have been up 24-0

I was fine with going for it.....should have ran the big fella tho.

+

TEN is a really good team. They have a solid shot of representing the AFC in the Owl. The Packers scored 40 and held them to 14.

And 7 of those 14 were on a somewhat trick play.  Amos bought in on a weeks worth of Henry talk and sucked for a good fake.  It was a great play by the Titans but one that most likely will not work again.

This D is not the 85 Bears but is plenty good enough to win with.

@Pikes Peak posted:

This D is not the 85 Bears '96 Packers but is plenty good enough to win with.

FTFY....

Especially when paired with the 2020 Packer offense

+ Some whipping boys did well yesterday.  Kirksey, Gary, Pettine all were positives yesterday after taking some crap from people (including myself) this year.

Pettine absolutely had to change his philosophy for this game and he called an excellent game on his side of the ball.

- You can never relax with our terrible special teams.  The Pack overcame shaky ST in 2010 to win it all, but they currently look a step down in quality even from the Slocum days.

@H5 posted:

Just terrible execution on the 4th and 3 play after the blocked FG was wiped out by penalty. GB showed pass all the way and TEN came with pressure and the play was doomed almost immediately.

Play action is our greatest strength, yet MLF will sometimes abandon it on big calls. He needs to quit that.

@FLPACKER posted:

More importantly Adams is a much better person that Sharpe, who was / is a colossal ass.

Ironically, Sharpe now also has a colossal ass.

I think he has a backpack under his shirt.

Added Davante Adams, who scored three touchdowns: “People definitely don't want to play in the cold. It's tough, man. It's tough. It makes you a little bit less physical. It takes your speed away. I think that team is a really, really solid team that played with a lot less speed than they typically do. We have guys who go out there every single week and get used to playing in it. We get those reps and we build up a mind-set to kind of block out the weather. I think it definitely gives us an advantage.”

https://www.si.com/nfl/packers...kers-no-1-seed-bears

Perfect thread title. This is the roster. These are the coaches. This is the time. This is it. This is happening, right now. Offense and Defense.

As far Special Teams: Opie can punt, Crosby can kick, and Burks and Summers  can cover. Austin on returns. They’re fine.

My favorite game in years.

I have been very tough on Gutekunst's draft picks and many had great games yesterday. Nice  to see.

Savage could join Alexander as a legitimate star. Dillon looked  like a bigger,stronger MaCarther Lane.

Along with the pressure, Gary pursued and tackled--I loved it. St. Brown could be the right 3rd receiver.

Scott made a tackle, although wiped off the books  by yet another gift penalty---the Packers have a king sized rabbit's foot this year---hopefully that fortune will continue.

Amos is a very good safety.

and for me,  the most positive thing: the Packers will have to be at full strength against the Bears to get the first seed.

It's Bear week!

@Goalline posted:

Play action is our greatest strength, yet MLF will sometimes abandon it on big calls. He needs to quit that.

This. Horrible play call. Had Jones there for blitz pickup, not a threat to run, and that cost us.

Huge confidence builder honesty. That may be the biggest positive of all because generally that’s the deciding factor for this team. They have stars at every level of the team, but they generally play like crap when they’ve been punched in the mouth and things aren’t breaking their way. That goes for everyone from Rodgers to Smiths to Savage to Adams. They remind me of the 2010 team in that way, they had so much confidence going into the playoffs then won in the wildcard, stomped the presumptive SB team in their own house, then gritted out a NFCC win against their biggest rival. The 2011 team lost steam after a dominant season with the BYE I think and couldn’t match the momentum that NYG were riding. I would rather the playoffs go through Lambeau, but I would almost rather see this team build confidence week to week in the playoffs and roll into Tampa with no fear. We can go into NO or SEA or anywhere and leave with a win, no doubt in my mind.

" but they generally play like crap when they’ve been punched in the mouth and things aren’t breaking their way."

Agree..  I think the way the offense bounced back after the Titans got the score to 14-19 was huge.   In previous weeks, they didn't answer that bell.   Their two TD drives in the 3rd quarter and subsequent D stops might just be the events that changed this mentality. 

I will always believe that Philbin's son's death was a big factor in that Giants' loss .

@FLPACKER posted:

I will always believe that Philbin's son's death was a big factor in that Giants' loss .

Me too.

@FLPACKER posted:

More importantly Adams is a much better person that Sharpe, who was / is a colossal ass.

Agree with you Flpacker and not with the Boris thumb down.
I'll try to find an audio file I have of a Jim Rome traveling show in GB.
Shawn Jones came on and talked about what an ahole Sharpe was especially during his hold out.

Can't remember who it was against, but late-season game when Lindy was coach. Magik threw a pick in front of Sharpe who proceeded to stop playing and jog out-of-bounds rather than attempt to tackle the DB....hard to win with guys like that.

Yep, hard to win with a receiver who tops 100 catches every year.

- st play, give me heartburn every touch

+ pretty much everything else, like the way the d played, stay in your lane, do your job, but ya, it works

+ 12 / 17 is next level football right now.  like some kind of yoda/jedi thing going.

couple other notes, someone mentioned it, like 52's progress, but he is only possessing 1 move - a bull rush, i would hope (although i doubt it this year) to build on that.  26 is playing real loose right now, love it. and even the ilb's have found their groove.  they blew the tannehill run call but i don't mind being aggressive and getting burned every now and then. 

we are going to have to pay 33, yes, dillon played real good, but it's a batman/robin thing, 33 is the game breaker - he can make a house call anytime he touches the ball.

and how about 23? this guy is playing out of his mind right now.  should give 20 some of that powder he's mixing in his drinks.

I just marvel at the ability for this OL to take injuries and just keep going. Previous seasons would be derailed when guys would go down and they some dude would get turnstiled for 2-3 games, creating a cascading effect that would cost them critical stretch time games.

Now they have guys like Runyan just plugging in as a rookie, Jenkins moving back and forth from C to G to RT and back. Wagner fills in at RT for Turner who has played inside and outside. They have versatility and talent and are 8 deep with starting quality players.

On a night when the Packers woodshed a Super Bowl contender in the snow with your running game going 34 times for 237 yards (taking Boyles kneel downs out of it). That’s almost 7 yards/carry. That fucking unbelievable...

On the blocked kick, the Titans use a play I've never seen before. Watch the video. The D-lineman over the guard just steps back when the ball is snapped. GB's center and right guard literally fall on their faces going forward for the block, which opens a huge hole for the other D-lineman to run right through and block the kick. Creative play!

Watch here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1343384235902689282

I wish GB had a ST coach who could come up with stuff like this...

@Fandame posted:

I wish GB had a ST coach

Fixed

Sounds like a wrestler designed that part of the play.

Found on the internet: Dominique Dafney had another good game. The undrafted rookie blocked well for the run and the pass, and he even caught a ball. He looks like a player.

I’ve been pretty critical of Gute and his draft picks and personnel moves but last night several of them showed up and had good performances.

55 was a beast and seems to have recaptured his dominant play from last season.  26 is coming on strong and made one pick and should have had a pick 6 in the game.  Tonyan just continues to impress.  Jenkins might be the best OL in the league.  It’s incredible what he has done at just about every position along the line.  You could make a case he’s the best OL in the league regardless of position.  I railed on Dillon during the game but he had a good second half in garbage time.

Right now, this team is clicking and I think it’s awesome that they play the Bores for the 1 seed and the chance to knock those fuckers out of contention.  Much like Minnesota, just play good enough to contend but not really.

Bears can lose and still get in.