Drew_Smith's Blog

So where do the Packers go from here?  After thrashing the Bears, the expectations for the Packers has to go up.  They lost to the best team in football (Tennessee) in overtime, and to Minnesota by a missed field goal late, so we knew they weren’t far off, but to see an explosion like this is impressive.

In talking with some of the players in and out of the locker room, they all seem to think the ceiling is even higher than this.  Darryn Colledge told me his last play of the game against the Bears was a disaster for him, so he has a bad taste in his mouth, even after the 200 yards rushing display for the Packers.

Some other thoughts from the game:

• It’s good to see Bob Sanders adjusting during the game.  Early in the game, he had Charles Woodson blitz off the corner, but at the same time had Ryan Pickett and Aaron Kampman run a stunt.  That left the right tackle alone to handle Woodson, while Pickett tried to make it around the corner to fill the hole.  It was a totally useless play, that ended up with a completion for Orton, who had plenty of time as Pickett was struggling around the edge.  Later in the game, they ran the same blitz, but this time from the opposite side, without a stunt, as the Bears play faked.  Woodson came in untouched for the sack. (Thanks to Greg Olsen, who blocked no one on the play)
• The wide receiver blocking was tremendous against the Bears.  Watching Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver leading the way on a couple of runs that were almost scores was impressive.  Donald told me they were challenged during the week by Jimmy Robinson to make their blocks better.  It worked.
• For those still opining the loss of Corey Williams, did you see him against the Bills this week?  The Browns won, but Williams has a total of ½ a sack, and is averaging about 2 tackles a game.  He’s also injured, something that happened routinely in the second half of the season for the Packers.

We’ll see if the Packers can keep this up- if they can they will be a dangerous team come playoff time.

   What a blow to the Packers playoff chances.  A win would have put the Packers back into a tie for first place in the division (there is only one team making the post-season from the North, and I will hear no argument…) and also would have given them the unequivocal tie-breaker over the Vikings with the season sweep.  Now the Packers have an uphill battle, with the November 16th match-up with the Bears looming larger than ever.  A loss there would all but seal their fate.

      Some observations from the game:

• Is it just me or does Chad Clifton get a false start in every game, especially in a dome?  I understand the dome is loud, but that is a reoccurring problem.
• Speaking of the offensive line, poor Aaron Rodgers was jumping round more than a Dance Dance Revolution champion trying to get out of the way of the Vikings pass rush.  Is it a line problem, pick-up problem, or is Rodgers not seeing the hot reads?
• How good is that secondary of the Packers?  Three more interceptions, one (Collins) returned for a TD, and the Packers still don’t win.  The offense giving the other team a short field so often doesn’t help the defense either.
• The Packers finally challenged a play, their first of the season, one that they were fortunate not to win.  Sure Crosby missed the field goal at the end of the game, but the Vikings could have run the clock almost all the way down before scoring (or at least another 30-45 seconds) after a first and goal on the one if the challenge was successful. I understand anything can happen in the NFL, especially around the end zone, but this was the most challengeable play of the year?
• Next week’s game against the Bears is almost a must win.  A loss to Chicago would put the Packers two back with six to play, without tiebreakers against either the Bears or Vikings.  Granted, they have one game left against Chicago, as well games against the Lions, Texans, and Jaguars, but they would need some help.
• Holy mackerel the penalties are killing the Packers.  That’s got to be a coaching problem.  Ten penalties is Raider-like in the frequency.

    We’ll see how Coach Mike McCarthy can get these guys to bounce back.  It is touch to win when your quarterback is often on his backside.

     What?  Matt Millen was fired? No!  That's disasterous news... to Packers fans.  Perhaps now the Lions will actually get a legitimate shot at coming back to the NFL after seven years away.

    The worst record (by 10 games!) in the NFL in the last seven plus years isn't just Matt Millen's fault.  However, his coaching hires, draft picks and free agent signings have been terrible, so it starts there.  How this lasted this long is beyond me, and may have damaged the Lions franchise for years to come.

    Oh yeah- I promised on TV some Lions jokes- here they are from Geoff Mott from Detroit:

• The average American travels 100 miles on Thanksgiving except for the
Detroit Lions. They can't go past 10 yards.
• What do you call a Detroit Lion with a Super Bowl ring?
A thief.
• How do you keep a Detroit Lion out of your yard?
Put up goal posts.
• Why doesn't Grand Rapids have an NFL team?
Because then Detroit would want one.
• What do opposums and Detroit Lions have in common?
Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.
• How do Detroit Lions count to 10?
0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.

    Funny stuff, though sad as well.   The Lions were at one point a relevant team, but haven't really been for years.  This is one instance where the Fords needed to shut down this assembly line years ago.

OK, so the Dallas Cowboys are better than the Packers.  No big deal.  At least not right now.   The best part about the Packers loss to the Cowboys  is that it is only week three, and Green Bay has plenty of time to fix what is lacking.  Remember last year, the Packers did about the same thing to the New York Giants at the Meadowlands in week two, and the Giants ended up being just fine.

Here are some of the things the Packers need to address:

Offensive Line: Hopefully the return of Scott Wells at center is imminent.  That would allow Jason Spitz back at the guard.  Tony Moll is a good back-up, but has gotten beaten a few too many times.  Thank goodness for Aaron Rodgers mobility, or it could be pretty bad.

Defensive Backfield- Mostly injury problems.  Is it worth sitting Charles Woodson for a couple of weeks to let his toe heal?  I would lean to yes, but if Al Harris is out a significant amount, the Packers may not be able to afford it.  Atari Bigby was also missed, though he and Nick Collins (back) shouldn't be out long.

Running Game- Could be an offshoot of the offensive line, but I think it is more to do with Ryan Grant not quite at full speed yet.  He still averaged more than 4 yards a carry against Dallas, but by the end of the 3rd quarter, it was chuck it up time.   I think Grant will be better against teams that aren't as good as Dallas.

     Don't worry Packers fans, however.  Dallas is probably the best team in the NFL right now.  There is no shame in losing to the guys on the top of the heap.  The question is how you learn from it, and rebound to make you better.  We'll find out that next Sunday in Tampa.

   It only took five days, but the first weekend of the NFL is now in the books, and we've learned a few things about the season already:

* Brett Favre still has plenty left in his tank.  I'm not ready to say it was inexcusable for the Packers to trade him (See next point), but it will be fun watching.  Plus, we can all watch without caring who wins!  It's like real fan fantasy football.  By the way, how many times did we see those Hail Mary's land in the other team's arms over the years?  Of course not as many as were caught by the Packers...

* The Packers will be just fine with Aaron Rodgers.  He was able to scramble better (three first downs) than the other guy who used to be here, and still hit on two long bombs (though the Driver one was called back).  Will he be in the pro bowl this year?  Maybe...

* The Patriots aren't going undefeated.  They aren't going to the Super Bowl.  They may not be going to the playoffs.  Has there ever been a better player get hurt worse in week one?  Wow.

* How lame is it that Chad Johnson's Ocho Cinco isn't ready from Reebok?  Having to see "C. Johnson" on his back just seems wierd now.  So he has to pay the $500,000 to recall the shirts- isn't that worth it to him? I mean, he already changed his name, for crying out loud.  What's a few hundred g's to go all the way?

* How good are the Cowboys this year?  Pretty good.  Easily double digit wins, and look out in two weeks.  However, the bad ribs of MBIII may still be hampering, but their offensive line were absolute MEN.

* Matt Ryan?  Really?  Did anyone expect this?

*  The NFL just got more parity.  Like they need any more, of course.  But the NFC has caught back up to the AFC, and after last year's Giants Super Bowl win, the balance may be moving back to the middle at least.

    Of course, I'm just glad football is back. 

    Game two of the Aaron Rodgers era wasn't quite as promising as game one, but let's not go overboard on critisizm.  There is plenty to go around in this one, so one player shouldn't be to spotlighted.

    Rodgers didn't have a great game, but did keep his composure.  He held the ball a little too long at times, and didn't get enough time to throw in others.  He had receivers drop passes again (Is he throwing a ball that is difficult to catch?  Bubba Franks doesn't play for the Packers any more, but the drops are getting worse...) and also had some timing trouble with his receivers that has to improve in a couple of games when the action counts for real.

      So what did we learn from the game against the Niners?  A few things:

    1.  The interior offensive line problems are far from solved.  The moving of the players from side to side is little more than trying to straighten the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

    2. Jarrett Bush- great guy, not so good at football. Tough night for him in San Francisco, and he may have played his way off the team.

    3. How about Jordy Nelson in the return game!?  And people were worried when Koren Robison was not re-signed.

   4. Rodgers didn't play well, but if he gets hurt, Heaven help the Packers.  Neither back-up has looked good yet.

    Hopefully some of the problems are just typical preseason stumbles.  The starting defense looked good except for one play, and we haven't seen the running game yet, so there are still some things to look forward to. 

     So are you worried?  Sound off here!