What was good, what was also good?

+ Loved the way the RBs were running. Green, Grant, and especially Harris ran hard and found the holes.

+ The holes were there to run through. Great job run blocking.

+ Harris definitely has 4.4 speed, he could be a really good situational player...screens, draws, swing passes, etc. Get him out in space and let him do his thing. I'd like to see him spell Cobb on kickoffs if he is capable.

+ Cobb's catch was amazing. Dude has serious skills (as if we didn't already know that). What's better than have Greg Jennings on the field? Two Greg Jennings on the field.

+ McCarthy gave Barclay help when he needed it managed his rookie RT very well.

+ The CBs were really good. Aside from a couple great throws and great catches, they really limited Detroit's offense to a bunch of modest gains.

+ Raji was a monster in there.

- McCarthy's play calling baffles me sometimes. Their opening drive in the 3rd quarter was perfect. Great play calls, great decisions, etc. It's like that was too boring though because we didn't see the efficient, methodical offense the rest of the night. I don't know if that's him or Rodgers, but once they got a lead it seemed like they got greedy and wanted to keep scoring quickly.

- Rodgers again seems satisfied taking a sack rather than hurt his stats. I know that's a knee-jerk fan thing, but it really seems that way. I know he's buying time, buying time trying to make a play, but there's nothing positive about a sack versus a throw away. He really seems opposed to just throwing it away, but he seems mad when he's sacked (who wouldn't be). It's his fault though.

- OLB's have to do a better job against the run. Mozes and Zombo were brutal. They consistently bit on fakes and got sucked inside. If CM3 is in there, Detoilet doesn't get half the running yards they did. Terrible.

funniest part of the game was when Suh had the penalty on Rodgers and McCarthy showing the flag to Suh. Like "Good Play dumbass"

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:
+ Cobb's catch was amazing. Dude has serious skills (as if we didn't already know that). What's better than have Greg Jennings on the field? Two Greg Jennings on the field.

I think they gotta keep Jennings.

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:

- McCarthy's play calling baffles me sometimes. Their opening drive in the 3rd quarter was perfect. Great play calls, great decisions, etc. It's like that was too boring though because we didn't see the efficient, methodical offense the rest of the night. I don't know if that's him or Rodgers, but once they got a lead it seemed like they got greedy and wanted to keep scoring quickly.

- Rodgers again seems satisfied taking a sack rather than hurt his stats. I know that's a knee-jerk fan thing, but it really seems that way. I know he's buying time, buying time trying to make a play, but there's nothing positive about a sack versus a throw away. He really seems opposed to just throwing it away, but he seems mad when he's sacked (who wouldn't be). It's his fault though.

I was stunned also that he immediately abandoned what they were doing the previous series, my guess is since I couldn't see the coverage on TV is that the Bears had brought a safety down out of the Cover-2 to stop the run and MM was trying to then take advantage. Remind me, but was the 1st down play the deep pass over the middle?

As far as Rodgers, I thought he did a much better job of getting out of the pocket. The fumble was a bad consequence of this, but I think he is playing to his strength of extending plays until the zone breaks down, its just he can't sit in the pocket and do that or he will get beat up.

quote:

- McCarthy's play calling baffles me sometimes. Their opening drive in the 3rd quarter was perfect. Great play calls, great decisions, etc. It's like that was too boring though because we didn't see the efficient, methodical offense the rest of the night. I don't know if that's him or Rodgers, but once they got a lead it seemed like they got greedy and wanted to keep scoring quickly.

- Rodgers again seems satisfied taking a sack rather than hurt his stats. I know that's a knee-jerk fan thing, but it really seems that way. I know he's buying time, buying time trying to make a play, but there's nothing positive about a sack versus a throw away. He really seems opposed to just throwing it away, but he seems mad when he's sacked (who wouldn't be). It's his fault though.

.

....without an end zone, full field view, we can't see what the defense is showing, which dictates what plays are called. Yes we may have looked great running the ball on one series, when Lions were in their Nickel package" & had 6 guys in the box. However you are pretty certain to be unsuccessful if you run the same plays vs. base defense & 7 guys in the box.
.... not nearly as easy to throw the ball away when inside the tackles for fear of intential grounding or throwing an INT, when outside the tackles, AR throws the ball away often.

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:
- Rodgers again seems satisfied taking a sack rather than hurt his stats.

3 sacks last night and only the last could be argued as he held the ball too long
1 - Jackson came from behind (strip/fumble) when AR was scrambling to his right
2 - Fairly walked EDS straight back into AR
3 - Avril capitalizes on what seemed to be a busted play and AR slides down (in bounds) rather than throwing it a way and stoping the clock

In high school, as far as I got in this sport, one of the first things you learn is the importance of setting the edge, holding the perimeter.

And there's Zombo crashing the line, like he could do anything with all the bodies piled in there, and letting Stafford stroll into the end zone.

Guy needs to go. Is there anyone else who could keep him off the field now? He's the Jerrett Bush of Linebackers.

Did you see Zombo get blocked on one play by Stafford? I forget which play it was, but it was a big play. That should never happen. I agree, that guy gives the Packers nothing.

Was almost as if Zombo was ignoring (didn't see) the RB and only zoned in on taking on Stafford's block.

He was zoned in on taking Stafford's block and Stafford still drilled him. That is embarassing.

quote:

Originally posted by Fandame:
Even Campen can get a guy like Barclay ready to play and be more than serviceable.

I call bull****.

That was an awful play by Zombo. But that's what happens when you have a guy with limited skills and almost no playing time in the last 2 years. I don't think Stafford scores if CMIII is out there. Once CMIII is back, I don't think Zombo sees the field much, if at all.

Zombo should not be on the field, but it is hard to plan for losing Bishop, Smith, Perry and CMIII.

Wasn't there and OLB drafted last season that didn't work out?

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:
+ Cobb's catch was amazing. Dude has serious skills (as if we didn't already know that). What's better than have Greg Jennings on the field? Two Greg Jennings on the field.

and his drop was equally as frustrating. I chalk that up to youth, his potential is really sky high.

As for Zombo, he should be taking a lot of grief in the locker room today for not taking stafford head on and blowing him up.

+Not ready to anoint the running game yet, but it's the best I've seen from this group in a long while. Green's really proven the last couple of weeks that he can be productive if his line plays decently. I'd like to see more Harris too.
+Daniels, just because I want to see him do well. (Worth pointing out that during that play 'We are the Champions' was playing over the sound system at the bar I was at.)
+Cobb. Steal of the 2011 draft.
+Grant. Glad to see a solid guy like him back. Can he coach RB's next year?
+No injuries.
+Welcome back Shields.

-Loins playing cheap as usual and the refs ignoring it. I'd love to see a player "accidentally" kick Schwartz in the nads or McCarthy confronting Suh before Schwartz gets fired.
-Zombo.com. His time is over. Also, Walden is not a starter.

quote:

Wasn't there and OLB drafted last season that didn't work out?

Yep, Elmore. He had an awful camp and hasn't been a roster since.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:

quote:

Wasn't there and OLB drafted last season that didn't work out?

Yep, Elmore. He had an awful camp and hasn't been a roster since.

Then there was Terell Manning who was drafted this year and I don't think he's been active in any games yet, has he?

Nope. Had the mud butt through TC, then got hurt. I really wanted to see what he could bring to the table.

After the 2 offside penalties... Moses didn't get many snaps.

quote:

Originally posted by BrainDed:
After the 2 offside penalties... Moses didn't get many snaps.

....the one really hurt, could have accepted the offensive PI & put them in a poor down & distance.

quote:

Originally posted by Hungry5:


3 sacks last night and only the last could be argued as he held the ball too long
1 - Jackson came from behind (strip/fumble) when AR was scrambling to his right
2 - Fairly walked EDS straight back into AR
3 - Avril capitalizes on what seemed to be a busted play and AR slides down (in bounds) rather than throwing it a way and stoping the clock

He also took a lot of unnecessary hits. During training camp they forced them get the ball out in like 2.5 seconds, but it seems that has gone out the window.

quote:

Originally posted by FLPACKER:
....without an end zone, full field view, we can't see what the defense is showing, which dictates what plays are called. Yes we may have looked great running the ball on one series, when Lions were in their Nickel package" & had 6 guys in the box. However you are pretty certain to be unsuccessful if you run the same plays vs. base defense & 7 guys in the box.
.... not nearly as easy to throw the ball away when inside the tackles for fear of intential grounding or throwing an INT, when outside the tackles, AR throws the ball away often.

No I didn't have the "all 22" view, but the Lions weren't selling out against the run or at least putting extra men in the box against the Packers. I don't care how successful the run game is, the bread and butter of this offense is the vertical passing game. It's like playing the Vikings, you rarely play Nickel or Dime against the Vikings because they're going to feed the ball to Peterson 2/3 of the time and you need at least 7 or more in the box to stop him.

And really I speaking less about keeping up with the running game and more about the overall play selection. That first series they hit several short and intermediate routes, in addition to the running, and moved the pocket. They ate up the clock and took the lead. The next few series they seemed unsatisfied with that and started going vertical. It felt like they were wanting a quick strike rather than being satisfied dinking/dunking down the field.

I guess I mis-read your post.... I thought you wrote about taking unnecessary sacks.

As for the hits, I don't think EDS or Saturday will ever keep AR clean of hits from the likes of Suh and Fairly.

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:
He also took a lot of unnecessary hits. During training camp they forced them get the ball out in like 2.5 seconds, but it seems that has gone out the window.

Jordy Nelson and Driver were interviewed during TC about MM's new toy and both said they quickly ignored it or didn't even hear it during practices. So in 2013, I'd say MM will either scrap that idea or come up with something else. It sounded (no pun intended) like a good idea at the time but appears players didn't take to it well.

I agree I don't think EDS and Saturday will ever truly give him the time he needs, but I get frustrated with Rodgers/McCarthy for being the position where you rely on those guys in the first place. I don't know if it's Rodgers holding it too long or McCarthy calling plays with long developing routes, but they need to be getting the ball out quicker. Rodgers is one big hit away from a multiple game absence for a concussion, so it's in everyone's best interested to utilize the quicker routes. The Packers receivers have always been great after the catch, so when you strong receivers like Nelson, Jones, and Finley, why not give them short/intermediate routes to work with and let them make a play. The ball comes out quicker, you have the personnel to make it work, I don't understand why they seem adverse to doing it.

Rodgers has been pretty silent on his new Center and probably for good reason. Aaron is pretty good at complimenting his fellow players and praising those team mates he feels are exceling or helping the team out in a big way.

He's been very quiet about his interior OL and I think his taking hits comes from happy feet and jitters he gets because he simply doesn't trust most of his OL. And that's likely not to change until next season.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:

quote:

Wasn't there and OLB drafted last season that didn't work out?

Yep, Elmore. He had an awful camp and hasn't been a roster since.

I was going to say So'oto. Was he an OLB or an ILB? I couldn't find out in a quick search.

EDS had a good game run blocking.. He abd Barklay opened up the gaping hole for the TD run and EDS collapsed the line inside on Grants 15 yarder.

But yeah, he can't pass pro at all. It's been said several times but I can't help myself.. The best OL they can field is moving EDS to C and Lang back to LG with Barclay remaining at RT.

quote:

I was going to say So'oto. Was he an OLB or an ILB? I couldn't find out in a quick search.

I think he was DE at San Diego.. Undrafted.

Scratch that.. Originates from San Diego, played DE at BYU.

quote:

I'll be honest, I was being a negative POS the first half.

You're not a POS all the time?

(I suppose I should be glad I was flipping back and forth between the game and The Amazing Race during the first half and not posting here. I might have come across as a POS for the first time myself.)

quote:

I think he was DE at San Diego.. Undrafted.

I think he went to BYU. At least, if his Wikipedia page is to be believed. You're welcome to edit it to say he went to San Diego. Wikipedia says he played some TE and DE in addition to LB in college.

Didn't post anything in the game thread last night, I was just negative about the way the game was unfolding. I'll be the first to admit I get a little too sideways for no reason when GB fails to open a 28-3 lead in the 1st quarter.

Boris posting the 32-6 thread was kind of a "WTF is wrong with you???" moment for me.

quote:

Originally posted by BrainDed:
EDS had a good game run blocking.. He abd Barklay opened up the gaping hole for the TD run and EDS collapsed the line inside on Grants 15 yarder.

But yeah, he can't pass pro at all. It's been said several times but I can't help myself.. The best OL they can field is moving EDS to C and Lang back to LG with Barclay remaining at RT.

I agree that getting Lang back to LG is key. I don't think MM makes a move of EDS to C at this late stage of the season unless he has to. I agree with everyone else, that Saturday is awful and I would be surprised to see him there next year, but I don't see them risking a blown snap or call at this stage.

That's good to see, Chili. Too many folks are willing to eat their own s**t and make total asses out of themselves in that thread every week. Worst repeated thread on this board by far.

Unless you like wallowing in the stupid of whiny dumdums, stay away from that thread - you'll have a better game experience.

One thing I just remembered about the good from last night - Shields running that returner down just as he looked like he was going to reverse field and break a big one. It sure is nice to have that type of speed back out there.

Having Shields back in general was awesome to see. Honestly I think the Packers have the most talented group of CBs in the NFL.

For his 1st week back, Shields IMO played a hell of a game. I think his sitting on the sidelines and watching Hayward/House nearly take his position away for good got him especially motivated. He was playing well before the injury but I think he knows all too well now why the NFL can stand for Not For Long.

It's a nice problem for the Packers to have when you see some of the crap DB's that are starting in the NFL.

quote:

Originally posted by Grave Digger:
Having Shields back in general was awesome to see. Honestly I think the Packers have the most talented group of CBs in the NFL.

After the cluster**** that was last year, that is so weird to hear.

Which really make you wonder how they started Bush in the first game against SF.

Yes, Bush. I forgot about him...as a DB.

quote:

Originally posted by JJSD:
That's good to see, Chili. Too many folks are willing to eat their own s**t and make total asses out of themselves in that thread every week. Worst repeated thread on this board by far.

Unless you like wallowing in the stupid of whiny dumdums, stay away from that thread - you'll have a better game experience.

I think you have to take the game thread as what it is...therapy. I, and many others, need to vent at times. I try to be less apocalyptic than some, but sometimes you just need to let it out and get it off your chest (we got rid of the dog a year ago). Again, I agree some of the posts are way over the top, but I just take it for what it is (hopefully); a devoted fan blowing off the steam.

I also want to echo the sentiment about Shields. He has always been a favorite of mine and he played very well last night.