As expected, the trading deadline came and went with no moves for the Packers. In fact, the Roy Williams trade is really the only one in the NFL worth noting.
Somehow, the Packers got thrown in with the Tony Gonzales rumors… I don’t understand how that could possibly make sense. The Packers could certainly benefit from an upgrade at tight end, but with Finley hopefully developing and Lee being a good enough starter, why give up a 2nd round pick (or multiple picks) for a guy now? Plus, the offensive line and the entire defense have so many holes that it seems tight end is probably about the least of their problems (along with receiver and QB).
In other news, with week 6 coming and going, Justin Harrell is off the PUP list. It sounds like the team is going to bring Harrell in for practices right away, so the team will have 3 weeks to decide whether to active the injury-prone tackle. While the defensive line could really use some help, I just can’t get excited about Harrell. He hasn’t shown he can stay healthy his entire college and pro career, so forgive me for not being too hopeful.
Yes, Aaron Rodgers looked great… but the team still showed no sign of improvement other than the ability to stick with the run. The Packers actually surprised me, running 39 times (for only 113 yards, 2.9 avg). So even though they finally kept running the ball, they really didn’t go anywhere. They also did no better stopping the run, giving up 4.9 per carry. They also have Ryan Pickett getting an MRI today on his tricept… we’ll hopefully get news on that shortly.
If you haven’t seen, ESPN.com lets fans vote on the job their coach is doing. Mike McCarthy received a 32% approval rating for week 5. Not good, but well deserved. The bad thing, is the logic many fans and reporters are using for the poor performance of the Packers. Whenever I read articles about the team, the “F” word always comes up. So many people seem to think that Brett would do a better job run blocking. They feel he would stuff the middle of the line on defense or get penetration on the end. Apparently Favre would do a far better job covering the tight end or stopping a running back from turning the corner. Favre would also be able to punt more consistently and get flagged less often for holding.
Blame Mike for not putting a well prepared team on the field. Blame Thompson for not filling the roster with quality depth on both lines. Don’t expect that Favre would fix any of the problems we are seeing right now.
After 3 straight losses, many Packers fans may be saying “what’s wrong?” This team almost made the Super Bowl last year. I’m sure many people will blame Rodgers. Well, more specifically, the fact that he is NOT Brett Favre. If Favre came back, this was supposed to be a championship team, right? Well, I don’t know about that.
This time last year, Favre had 1500 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs. Rodgers? He has 1270 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs. The big difference is the run game has actually produced more yards per game which has allowed Rodgers to throw less.
So what is it? Two things really. Sloppy play and no run defense.
Let’s look at penalties:
Last year through 5 weeks – 37 penalties, 269 yards.
This year through 5 weeks – 44 penalties, 419 yards.
How can you expect a team to compete with that many mistakes? Going into week 5, the Packers were 3rd last in the NFL in penalties, dead last in yards penalized. I’m sure with 9 for 97 yards today that number will just go up. They are giving away 84 yards per game so far. That’s 84 extra yards that either the offense has to move the ball or that the opposing offense gets for free. There’s no excuse for so many foolish mistakes.
As for the defense… teams are just running wild. The Packers were giving up the 4th most rushing yards in the NFL coming into week 5. The Falcons put up 176 yards on them. I’m sure they will be moving down a few spots when the final stats come out for the week. The team is obviously going to miss Cullen Jenkins and the trade of Corey Williams is looking worse and worse every week as the middle of the line is constantly pushed backwards. Last year at this point, the Packers were giving up just over 100 yards a game rushing. Part of that is they were scoring a lot, but even if you score you still have to stop the other team. This year, teams are finding that they can give up scores to the Packers and not change their offensive gameplan. The defense is just getting pushed around, the linebackers look slow and injuries are building up.
If the mental mistakes can get cut in half, the team might be able to be competitive. That seems to be asking a lot, however. The announcers this week said McCarthy ran a training camp style practice to go back to basics this week. I think he might have to go with a Pop-Warner style practice this coming week.
I’m going to focus on 1st down, this week vs. Tampa Bay.
1st Quarter – Drive 1:
1st and 10 at GB 42(14:51) R.Grant left end pushed ob at GB 48 for 6 yards
1st and 10 at TB 48(13:06) A.Rodgers sacked ob at TB 49 for -1 yards
1st and 10 at TB 33(11:51) R.Grant left tackle to TB 25 for 8 yards
1st Quarter – Drive 2:
1st and 10 at GB 20(8:48) A.Rodgers pass short right to D.Driver to GB 28 for 8 yards
1st and 10 at GB 31(7:00) A.Rodgers pass incomplete short right to R.Grant.
1st Quarter – Drive 3:
1st and 10 at GB 23(2:32) A.Rodgers pass short left to G.Jennings to GB 29 for 6 yards
1st and 10 at GB 35(1:10) R.Grant left end pushed ob at GB 38 for 3 yards PENALTY on GB-C.Clifton, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at GB 35 – No Play.
2nd Quarter – Drive 1:
1st and 10 at GB 11(12:03) R.Grant right end to GB 5 for -6 yards
2nd Quarter – Drive 2:
1st and 10 at GB 22(6:36) R.Grant right guard to GB 21 for -1 yards
1st and 10 at GB 42(5:27) A.Rodgers sacked at GB 34 for -8 yards
2nd Quarter – Drive 3: (about 1min left in half – not counting this drive)
3rd Quarter – Drive 1:
1st and 10 at GB 44(11:32) A.Rodgers pass short left to G.Jennings pushed ob at GB 45 for 1 yard
3rd Quarter – Drive 2:
1st and 10 at GB 40(6:14) R.Grant right tackle to GB 38 for -2 yards (fumble – returned for TD)
3rd Quarter – Drive 3:
1st and 10 at GB 40 (5:48) A.Rodgers pass incomplete short middle to D.Lee.
3rd Quarter – Drive 4:
1st and 10 at TB 42(3:18) R.Grant up the middle to TB 42 for no gain (J.Haye).
4th Quarter – Drive 1:
1st and 15 at GB 15(9:40) R.Grant up the middle to GB 17 for 2 yards (G.Adams).
Last two possessions of the game were 2min drill.
15 normal 1st down plays in the game (ie – not 2min drill, not 1st and 20, etc). 8 plays were runs, 5 of them between the tackles. Only two of those runs went over 2 yards. Change things up, maybe? I’ll have to look up some more stats when I have time, but the plays where they passed on 1st down, it was very obvious they were going to pass.
Week 1, first time as a starter, first game without hall of famer QB Brett Favre on the team, prime time game, division rival, enormous expectations. The only way Aaron Rodgers could have more pressure tonight would be if he had been the one telling Favre to take a hike over the Summer. The entire football world was focusing on this kid tonight, seeing how he would handle things. It was expected that he would stumble here and there. Maybe some bad throws, even an interception or two. People expected the Vikings to win. The Packers had a different game plan.
Rodgers certainly understood the importance of this game, not only for the team, but himself personally. He wasn’t going to let that bother him though. This was no typical first time starter at quarterback. Having Favre on the team has given Aaron Rodgers the luxury of being groomed for this job. You hate to make the comparison, but it’s extremely similar to the situation with Montana/Young. You really have to go back to that as there really aren’t many other examples. Philip Rivers is the next best example of a QB who has had time to learn before being thrown in. The time learning the offense and getting comfortable with the job and the team certainly looked to have paid off tonight. Aaron Rodgers looked as if he had been starting for years. He had command in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. He avoided the blitz, carefully selected his receivers, knew when to run and when to throw it away. It was as close to a flawless performance as you could get out of ANY quarterback and an absolutely over the top showing given the circumstance.
Rodgers ended up 18/22 passing, 178 yards, 1 TD throwing and 1 running. In classic west coast fashion, he completed passes to seven different receivers. Most importantly, it’s easy to argue he outperformed Brett Favre. Yes, Favre had a good day for the Jets, but Rodgers was more efficient passing and did it against a much better team. All and all, a great start for Aaron’s career as the man in Green Bay.
Yeah, it was pre-season. Yeah, it was agains the pitiful Bengals. Yeah it was just one quarter. However, Aaron Rodgers still looked pretty darn good. A lot of his incompletions and his interception were the fault of dropped passes. He looked confident and did a good job progressing through his reads. You could definitely see the difference between Rodgers, who has studied for 3 years and Brohm, who is fresh on the scene. Brohm (and Flynn) looked very aprehensive and unfamiliar in the offense. They repeatedly locked in on their first receiving target and never looked elsewhere. They rushed throws, missed targets, either stood too still or moved too much. They basically looked like rookies. Rodgers moved really well and looked like he saw the whole field. It’s only 12 minutes of pre-season football, but it makes you feel better about the direction of the team.
I don’t understand Favre going to the Jets. I don’t think this makes the Jets a contender, even in their own division. I don’t know if NY has something sneaky up their sleeves like trading Brett back to Minny, but at the moment it seems like Manginni is just really desperate to win and he’s willing to sacrifice his QB of the future to do so.
Either way, I am pumped for two reasons. 1) Favre is gone from not only Green Bay, but the conference. 2) I get to watch the Pats cream him twice this year (and hopefully next year if he is willing to come back).
In some of the best news I’ve heard since “Favre-gate” started, it was reported today (I believe Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Setinel first broke the news) that the Packers are shopping Favre around. It’s likely a sign that the team is worried that Brett Favre might actually report to training camp. Word is they spoke to Baltimore so far as well as some other teams. Sounds like the reasonable compensation is a 3rd round pick, maybe a player (definitely not a starter). As everyone has said, Tampa is a spot with great potential for Favre.
So now the way this is probably going to play out is 1) Favre will have to show he is serious about playing and report to Green Bay (or do something to indicate he wants to play). 2) Favre will have to agree to play for whatever team the Packers have negotiated a deal with. 3) He will be gone before he ever gets a chance to put on his green and gold uniform.
To show a bit more comitment to the future, 7th round pick Matt Flynn, the QB from LSU, signed a contract today. He’s probably going to be our #3 guy this year unless he has a fantastic preseason.
Batman and Robin. Super hero, understudy. Always has been that way, always will be. Robin is always an afterthought compared to Batman, because Batman is Batman. It has nothing to do with what Robin has done or hasn’t done. In fact, unless you are the type of person who really studied the comics, you don’t know much about Robin at all. The common person thinks of Robin from the aweful TV show where he was (in)famous for saying things like “holy uncanny photographic mental process, Batman!” You can’t judge the entire potential of a character on a poorly written spoof sitcom. Robin still got the bad guy a few times and he always put in a good effort. Not only that, but he learned from Batman! It’s not like it was some character with superhuman abilities like Spider Man trying to teach something that can’t be taught. Sure, there is some inherit ability in being Batman, maybe some good instincts or reflexes. However, a lot of it is based on experience and a knowledge of his craft. Let’s face it, large fortune aside Batman is a regular guy like anyone else. Sure, he’s a tad more pissed off than most, but regular guy nonetheless. So why is it impossible to believe that someone who maybe has a similar skillset couldn’t learn Batman’s craft? Maybe if Batman takes a vacation for a month, is it impossible to believe that Robin couldn’t go off and take out Dr. Doom? Is it even beyond comprehension that Robin could do Batman’s job better? Or at least, do it better than an old, overweight George Clooney Batman? Well, obviously I’m not the only one who wondered this, because there was a comic series (maybe more than one) based on the Robin character going solo.
So why can’t this philosophy apply to Favre? Aaron Rodgers has all the tools necessary to be a quarterback, we know that. He’s learned from a great quarterback. Maybe Favre didn’t take on an active role as a teacher, but Rodgers could at least have learned by watching. On top of that, sure Favre has had some success recently, but he also threw 29 interceptions not too long ago. McCarthy admitted he has had to shorten up the playbook based on Favre’s abilities (mainly his inability to throw a deep ball). You don’t have to do that with Rodgers. I’m not saying Rodgers will be breaking ANY of Favre’s records, ever. I’m saying, that there is a possibility that Rodgers could have a better next few seasons than a guy who is 14 years older than him.
