We won/but.....(+/-) Jacksonville

Boris - 3rd down defense was actually outstanding. The Jags only converted 4 of 15. I think we'll take that any day. The 4th down conversions hurt obviously (3 of 4), but if you lump 3rd and 4th down defense together, 7 or 19 is still not awful.

What this shows is that having 4 chances to pick up a first down instead of 3 is usually a good thing for the offense. The 3 4th down conversions were a short pass that required a measurement, a short pass in the middle, and a Burnett penalty. They weren't defensive breakdowns.

4-4-GB 49 (8:45) (Shotgun) 5-B.Bortles pass short right to 15-A.Robinson to GB 45 for 4 yards (23-D.Randall).

4-3-GB 38 (7:29) (Shotgun) 5-B.Bortles pass short middle to 15-A.Robinson to GB 29 for 9 yards (36-L.Gunter).

4-14-JAC 44 (1:53) (Shotgun) 5-B.Bortles pass deep middle intended for 80-J.Thomas INTERCEPTED by 21-H.Clinton-Dix at GB 35. 21-H.Clinton-Dix to 50 for 15 yards. PENALTY on GB-42-M.Burnett, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at JAC 44 - No Play.

Yup, a lot of the successful passing plays are a result of when the play breaks down and they go "play-ground"...I mean adjust their routes.  Hard to sustain over time. Glad they were able to switch things up with the hurry up to change the game tempo, it got the offense going. 

Great win in a tough environment. Jax has a very good offense and loaded with talent  on defense too. 1-0 baby !!

Defense : 

Clay Matthews is a treasure. He's the best defensive player we've had for quite some time.  A "Game Changer" who did it again yesterday. Speed, power, and absolute "want to" .

Daniels and Guion played really well and were somehow able to sustain it in that suppressing swamp heat. Did'nt see much from Clark or Lowry(they were almost as invisible as Julius Peppers). Front 7 were helped big time by the play of the elephant ends. Thought Nick Perry and Datone Jones played well.

Who the heck was the new linebacker in Joe Thomas' jersey ??!!! Either he has improved greatly and or the light has gone on. Great game from him. Thought Martinez and Ryan were solid in run fits, but suspect in pass.  (Ryan was awful on the screen to Julius Thomas). 

Morgan Burnett was good around the LOS but struggled in coverage - again. He needs to pick it up. Capers needs to address the coverage in the middle of the field. They are great at pressuring the QB and pressing the outside, but seeing guys get so open underneath and/or on slants and curls is stunning. Is that safeties and/or ILB responsibility ? Been going on for too long. HaHa is stepping into the next level. He got trucked by Yeldon early, but made some great plays on the ball and was (legally) physical on several break-ups. Ha Ha !!

Randall played well. Rollins not so much. Was telling when they benched him(man is Gunter slow) but glad to see he was able to come back and play better. Hope Sam is ok, he was up and down before he went out. 

Defense closed it down when it mattered. Great play by Randall, Hyde, Burnett and Thomas to swarm to the ball.

Offense:

Was worried that the early "3 and Outs" we're going to wear down the defense, but the up tempo changed the flow of the game. Good strategy. Jordy being back was big, we know it makes Cobb better and saw it again. Nice day from him. Good to see Adams make some plays, hopefully it helps his confidence. 

Need to get Cook more involved. Should happen as the season unfolds. Does DickRod have great hands or what ? Dude rarely drops one. 

Eddie was good. The bust out was a good call with well executed blocking. Thought Starks missed a few seems. That toss pitch to Lacy has been garbage since they began running it. Lacy going laterally is rarely successful. Not to mention, if memory serves, they ran behind Bak and Rich Rod on that play - poor strategy and poor design. 

O-line seemed to hold up well. Rodgers was scrambling a lot , even when there wasn't much pressure. It seems that has become his MO which is ok as it appears to buy time as well as open up passing lanes with how he positions himself . The OL kept a talented Jax defensive front from doing any damage. Lane Taylor was decent it appeared the few times I watched him .

Aaron was the difference maker on offense. That play to Adams where Ramsey was hanging on his back was another amazing "how the heck did he do that" play that we have been spoiled with. The guys is special. That said he has to take some of the blame for the busted plays (goaline snafu) and the horrible time mismanagement. Should have been able to put the game away, offense and McCarty almost gave the Jags a unnecessary chance to win the game. Got to get that cleaned up !!

Good win against an up and coming opponent. 1-0 baby !!

Negatives: This game has emotionally scarred me to the point that on two separate occasions I assumed Cobb was done for the season. On each, he returned to the field a few snaps later. Shields is legitimately concerning as I believe his last concussion had him out for more than a month.

I worry about Randall too. Kid's as tough as a stump and fearless but running him between the tackles isn't going to prolong his career.

While watching the game yesterday and seeing Monty on the field, oft times with Cobb, I was initially calling for MM to put 88 vice 18 at running back to lessen the chances of exposing Cobb. Then it hit me that Monty is still coming back from that bad ankle and surgery and also simply needs more practice and game reps. I think he is still getting eased back in. IMO Having he and Randall as interchangeable but different Swiss Army knives, especially when they're on the field at the same time, is going to cause opposing coordinators lots of grief down the line.

Would be extra sweet if Jhurell Pressley can develop enough to get 3rd down reps, too. You can't teach 4.38.

Secondary steps down a notch w/o Shields.  Hope he is ok.  Diggs could be a headache next week for Randall or Rollins.

JAX offense is not a juggernaut.  Passing game is very good but they don't have much on the ground - unless Ivory makes that much of a diff.  49 of the 50 drunk nuns asked would say we would have the better QB stats and given up less passing yards yet it was the other way around.

I don't think the DB's backing off on the wides vs. their 4th downs was a failure.  I think that was MM/DC playing it safe in not allowing a big gain or TD vs. a 1st down.  The Allen's are known for big plays and the D was designed to try to minimize that.  It was them taking their chances of surviving assault by a thousand paper cuts vs. sword slashes.  In the end it worked.

It was a mixed bag on both sides of the ball in +/-.  I know I saw some really exciting things on D (Thomas, Perry, Randall, Jones, CM3)  so there is a lot of reason to believe they will keep improving.

I assumed Cobb was sandbagging when he was getting up slow. Maybe someone won't take him seriously if they think he's hurt!

It shouldn't be disregarded how well Bortles threw the ball yesterday. That TD to Julius Thomas was placed perfectly. Thomas had a step, but Bortles nailed it. He hit several other passes like that. Kid is getting better and better and looks like a legit NFL QB. If he can clean up the INTs then that O can be really good! I don't think GB will be the only D they hit some big plays on this year!

DH13 posted:

.... I think that was MM/DC playing it safe in not allowing a big gain or TD vs. a 1st down.  The Allen's are known for big plays and the D was designed to try to minimize that.  It was them taking their chances of surviving assault by a thousand paper cuts vs. sword slashes.  In the end it worked.

Excellent points. I'll make Bortles throw more shorties all day. His big wind-up and inconsistent accuracy makes it likely he'll miss a few of those. Deep throws are his forte and he has guys who can go up and get them if they have time to adjust to off-kilter throws. He had a couple of wounded ducks out there for sure yesterday.

RE: Shields and concussion.

The upside to me is the hit didn't "look" that significant and he was up walking fairly quickly. Add in the heat and potential dehydration and he could've been effected from that alone. The downside, as noted, it would be his 4th concussion.

McCarthy talks at 3:45pm LFT today, so I'm sure we'll know nothing more after that.

GD has a good point, we can't discount how good Jacksonville might really be this year.  Robinson, Hurns and  J Thomas might be better than our top 3 receiving targets and may be as good as any top 3 in the NFL.  And Bortles was a top 3 draft pick and has flashed big time in his first two years.  He might be at the point that those flashes become more consistent.  

And their defense has a lot of talent - Jackson, Fowler, Ramsey and Jack all have all-pro potential.  And Odrick, Marks, Cyprien and House are quality starters too.  Would not surprise me to see the Jags contend in the AFC South.  Throw in that it was on the road in ridiculous heat and the close win makes me feel a little better.

Grave Digger posted:

It shouldn't be disregarded how well Bortles threw the ball yesterday. That TD to Julius Thomas was placed perfectly. Thomas had a step, but Bortles nailed it. He hit several other passes like that. Kid is getting better and better and looks like a legit NFL QB. If he can clean up the INTs then that O can be really good! I don't think GB will be the only D they hit some big plays on this year!

Bortles threw 35 TD's last year. I agree that he looks legit. Very good receivers , and now to mix in Julius Thomas could make for a top level offense.  Should be better in the RZ too if Chris Ivory can stay healthy. 

A few things to consider, Packers did not lay out their entire play book on offense. Many plays with limited to no success are to set up things moving forward.

This week is the one to open up the playbook a bit more.

On the road in the NFL and in hot weather, especially week one, just win and go home happy.

Boris posted:

TDog - You know the WR's are in the QB meetings too. They read the defense just like Rodgers does. Once they're all on the same page, that's why the offense is unstoppable. There is no defense for their offense. You have to hope the Packer offense makes the mistake (bad throw, fumble) or tip a ball into a defenders hands.

 

It depends on the team's philosophy, I think. Defenses with strong talent have an easier time with the Packers offense when the receivers aren't just beating their men. But if they can win those matchups, they can wear out a defense pretty quickly. 

Then there's Tennessee using the old Pittsburgh/Washington-style of shifting formations near-constantly, putting more pressure on the defense to get lined up correctly pre-snap and stressing their discipline more than their talent.  

Pikes Peak posted:

The Heckler posted:

Positives:

We got the W against a team that is going to be a lot better, hungry to win, and in almost 100 degree weather

Jordy is back and you can see the difference it makes for the entire offense

Aaron spread the ball around nicely

Front 7 on D and the run D was solid

Punting was good

Negatives:

I worry about Shields and if he got another concussion

At times the D was on its heals and played a little soft

 

I too am overjoyed at Jordys return and he did catch 5 and appeared ready to be the old Jordy. The entire offense was not appreciably better.  One game means little but they currently rank 24th, one spot behind the Shaun Hill led Vikings.

lots of room for improvement I'd say.

Could not agree with you more Peak. Jordy's return was awesome.

However, just like much of last year, the receivers seem blanketed and if not for 2 spectacular throws/catches (ARod to Adams for the TD and Richard Rodgers in the red zone) there would be a different tune this morning. The Pack's receivers look very slow. 

Interesting Wall Street Journal article on the Pack's LAST PLACE (based upon yards per pass play) passing game.  

Only one game, but it is something to keep an eye on. Last season when we won both the turn over & average-yards-gained-per-pass-attempt stat., we were 7-0. 

Jags were 7.1 yesterday and the Packers 5.7. Last year the Packers averaged 6.7. All sorts of room for improvement in the passing game and in the offense in general.

Jet's, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Miami, Buffalo all behind GB in average yards per pass play. 

Adams catches the deep ball and GB is probably top 10.

You know what is said about stats. 

Negatives:

I didn't think the Packers looked like a team that could win a Super Bowl yesterday.

Positives:

I didn't think anybody I saw this weekend looked like a team that could win a Super Bowl.   Maybe the most impressive thing I saw was New England going into Arizona and winning without Brady/Gronk/ and some others. 

By default, someone has to win the Super Bowl, so even though nobody looked like a Champion this weekend, there's still plenty of time for the Pack to get their act together and play like one. 

ChilliJon posted:

Jet's, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Miami, Buffalo all behind GB in average yards per pass play. 

Adams catches the deep ball and GB is probably top 10.

You know what is said about stats. 

Especially stats that don't exist.....

ChilliJon posted:

Jet's, Carolina, Dallas, Seattle, Miami, Buffalo all behind GB in average yards per pass play. 

Adams catches the deep ball and GB is probably top 10.

You know what is said about stats. 

Yes, and the points scored by those other teams were; 22,20,19,12, & 7. Was driving & did not see the game, did the pass you referred to take place on a drive in which we did not score? 

GB punted after Adams drop. 

'Embarrassing' blunders give Packers' offense plenty to work on

Good piece from Demovsky on the offensive struggles yesterday. No bigger critic of the performance than AR himself.

And they need to hear it.  It was embarrassing with a series of plays where they couldn't even get the damn play in.

ChilliJon posted:

GB punted after Adams drop. 

So with the completion they would have scored at least 3 more points, possibly 7, & scored 30+ pts to go along with an increase in average-yards-gained-per-pass-attempt? Do you see how they are connected? 

That last drive can't ever happen with the veterans this team has on offense. Especially after AR picks up 8 yards on first down and slides to keep the clock moving. I mean, after watching some of the dumbasses yesterday not understand how sidelines and clocks and things work that was refreshing. Even after that gott dammed pitch toss to Lacy you're still thinking "clock is running, 3:30 left, 3rd and 4, I hate that gott dammed call beyond all measure but pick this up and this up and this game is all but done. I mean Jax had no time outs. 

And then the clown show broke out. For me the worst part of that entire sequence was ****ing up 2nd and 2 in a clock killing situation so far beyond reason they had to resort to a low percentage pass on 3rd and 9 that fell incomplete and stopped the clock. 

Aaron always says he can live with the drops. He can live with the physical mistakes. He can't live with the mental mistakes. 

How he, they ****ed up "Lacy. Middle" on second and two and "Lacy. Middle" on third down if necessary by not being able to get guys in the right alignment in short yardage situation. 

It turns out the gott dammed pitch toss to Lacy that lost two yards was damn near the smartest thing they did that entire drive. 

FLPACKER posted:

ChilliJon posted:

GB punted after Adams drop. 

So with the completion they would have scored at least 3 more points, possibly 7, & scored 30+ pts to go along with an increase in average-yards-gained-per-pass-attempt? Do you see how they are connected? 

No. I saw a stat yesterday that this continues quite a long stretch for AR that he's failed to hit 300 yards. I don't think MM wants to hit 300 yards. More to the point I don't think gives a **** about 300 yards. I think MM would like to see 30-35 passes and 30-35 rushes every game. Yesterday was 34-25 split. I'm sure MM would have like to run it more. 

Jordy had a pretty thick coat of rust on yesterday. He didn't look game ready by the end of the 3rd which is expected. 

There was a play right before Adam's TD that I think AR is going to start hitting soon. AR rolled left and overshot an open Cook in the end zone. I think Cook beat a LB and had a safety coming with help. A good throw and that's 7. Pass was too high. Cook and AR are going to figure each other out. 

TDog - You know the WR's are in the QB meetings too. They read the defense just like Rodgers does. Once they're all on the same page, that's why the offense is unstoppable.

Now if the OL can just figure out whether it's a run or a pass.

michiganjoe posted:

'Embarrassing' blunders give Packers' offense plenty to work on

Good piece from Demovsky on the offensive struggles yesterday. No bigger critic of the performance than AR himself.

Yoko is gonna be PISSSSSSED!!!

+ schedule gets easier next week.

fightphoe93 posted:

Negatives:

I didn't think the Packers looked like a team that could win a Super Bowl yesterday.

Quick question:

Which team in the NFL DID look like they could win a Super Bowl

To be fair, Fightphoe did say pretty much that in the rest of his post. 

@Boss - Painful to say,  but considering that Gronk and Brady were out of yesterday's game, I gotta say that the Pats look pretty good...or, the Cardinals just SUCK!  

Boris posted:

fightphoe93 posted:

Negatives:

I didn't think the Packers looked like a team that could win a Super Bowl yesterday.

Quick question:

Which team in the NFL DID look like they could win a Super Bowl

Seattle fail, Fail Larry, 2015 hangover

Rewatching first half:  JAX had some really nice mis-direction plays with lots of pre-snap movement that helped spring guys open.  48 was a near beast yesterday.  Around the ball for TO's, trucking Denard Jackson on a blitz and getting to the ball to stop the final 4th down were all eye opening plays.  Hope he keeps it up.  Helluva player yesterday.

I wonder if Sam's concussion history prior to 2015 had any influence in TT drafting so many DBs last year.  Or he's got a crystal ball in his lap.  Not looking good for our #1 corner.

Interesting story on how amazing the run defense was.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/...-vs-yeldon/90306258/

winning

"Successful bachelor party in Vegas this past weekend capped off with a Packer victory!" fb.me/1v3pe73bm

McGinn player ratings from the JAX game just went online:

http://www.packersnews.com/sto...rs-jaguars/90259854/

"The Packers didn’t exactly have targets running free."

Second verse, same as the first.   Either our WR group isn't as good as we think or the D knows whats coming.   Granted, Jags are really talented at corner, but since it's been the theme for the Pack it's hard not to be concerned. 

I vote for the second

cuqui posted:

McGinn player ratings from the JAX game just went online:

http://www.packersnews.com/sto...rs-jaguars/90259854/

... Lane Taylor was a portrait of intensity and focus as he took several final sets on the field moments before kickoff. It was his first game as the man at left guard, and he made a favorable impression. He passed off stunts two or three times with veteran aplomb. He moved people on a pair of short-yardage runs. He outmuscled some defenders, depositing them on the ground. Of 22 straight dropbacks, Taylor had help 12 times and was by himself 10 times. He faced five different rushers on those 10 one-on-one’s, with DE Jared Odrick the leader with three. He allowed 1 1/2 pressures of the mere four yielded by the unit; his only terrible play in pass pro was a whiff against DT Malik Jackson. His “bad” run count was two halves for a total of one. 

Nice job, kid