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God I hate these Sunday Night games. By the time I listen to all the post game pressers, check out the box score, and think about what I'm going to talk about; it's always past 1am before I even start. Bill would say, "Just suck it up, DO YOUR JOB, and stop whining". So I will. 
This was an over hyped game against a good offense that didn't turn out to be much of a game in reality. All week long we were prepared to see another shoot out that would rival the KC game in its magnitude. But instead it was the DEFENSE that stood out and stole the show (at least imo). The Packers might be a flawed team, but it's offensive fire power is as good as we are going to see short of the Superbowl, and we (relatively in today's game) shut them down.
It was also a game where the Offense without Gronk, Sony, and Shaq scored 31 points, had no short fields, and yet infuriated me no end through most of this game. Maybe I'm spoiled but it seemed that for most of the game it was the Pats who got all the breaks and calls, and yet squandered so many of those breaks in the worst ways. I was so pissed at Josh McDaniels that I was tempted to start rooting for the underdog Packers just to teach him a lesson about being too cute and not just doing the obvious. Not scoring when you have first and goal from the one is a venial sin (I may be Jewish, but I coached at a Catholic HS for 8 years), and one boarding on being mortal.
You had a 230 lb guy who had run HARD for 50 yds on 5 carries available on first an goal, and INSTEAD you run a mini-back who can't create yardage on his own AND who injured his knee and had to sit out a lot of the 2nd quarter.....and the results were predictable. Then on 3rd and 4th down you DON'T have Patterson in the backfield to at least pose a threat of a run making it easy for the defense to defend in that shortened area. The results weren't just failures, they were UGLY failures. Two plays that had NO chance at success.
I mean I found it stunning that these plays came from an OC who was freakin' BRILLIANT in his game plan for this game with 3 key guys missing. That opening drive was sheer genius. It is hard to believe both situations were handled by the same guy. Here's the thing. The Pats red zone passing offense just sucks right now. Something like 0-6 in the last 2 games. Where are the pick plays, the bunch formation's, the creativity? If it's there I'm not seeing it. Or am I just overreacting. The GB defense was wounded coming in and it got only worse as the game went on. Even missing those guys, the offense should have done better.
OK I have vented a bit and I'm feeling better. Lets break it down, and start with the real starring unit the Defense.
1. General defensive thoughts - Aaron Rodgers really IS a great QB, and he made a LOT of throws into tight coverage that made you want to go WOW! Just perfect placements that left you shaking your head. And yet in the end it was the defense that ended up making more plays than Rodgers did. Holding the Packers to just 7 points the entire 2nd half was AWESOME because the GB has some serious offensive threats with Adams, Cobb, Graham and it was a rookie that had the 100 yd game. Their RB looked good to me as well (aside from the fumble of course). The best they've had there for a while. So holding Rodgers to just 250 yds passing and by and large keeping him contained, and putting fairly consistent pressure on him, is an accomplishment. A very promising one at that.
2. Front 7 - They were a little soft I think vs the run game. They had zero tackles for a loss in the run game. But that might have been because they were playing for the Packer passing game. Adam Butler was in for a lot of first and tens and not just 3rd downs. You had to figure GB would be throwing the ball over 40 times. (43). Still I wish it were a bit better. OTOH it was the Front 7 that turned the ball over (Guy) in the key play of the game.
As to the pass rush, it keeps getting a little better every week. We haven't seen it turn into multiple sacks just yet, but IIRC late in the game Collingsworth mentioned that the Rodgers was getting pressured on about 45% of his dropbacks while Brady was down in the twenties. So if the most important question that you need to have answered yes is, "is the defense getting better?"'; then you can check that box off.
3. Secondary. There were 2 things that popped out to me about the secondary. First, this was by far Jason McCourty's best game as a Patriot. He made a number of important plays over the course of the game, and even a few of the catches that were made on him were just great throws into tiny tiny windows. The 2nd thing is that Stephon Gilmore is earning EVERY penny of that big contract he got. He saw time covering either Adams or Graham, and wound up giving up 2 catches for 16 yard to Adams and zero when he was covering Graham. THAT is a good night's work. Plus he's proven to be a tough tackler as well.
The rest of secondary didn't suck either they just didn't excel like those 2 (though Chung was his usual gritty self and probably deserved a nod as well). If I were to nitpick one play, it would have been the GB TD to Graham. I thought Harmon should have recognized Graham running BEHIND him and gotten deeper and been in position to help on that play. Of course you could also blame the lack of any rush on that play as well. But in the end they held Rodgers to a 58% completion rate which is OUTSTANDING in this era.
4. I would also like to tip my cap to Brian Flores for a nice job of mixing up the play calling. It's hard to do with a QB like Rodgers who has seen a lot. All you can do is hope you can confuse him a few times. Just as Mike Pettine got Brady a few times in that 3rd Quarter. (BTW- was Pettine the Jets DC for that 2o10 playoff loss?)
5 Offensive general thoughts - Well I covered most this in my opening and stick by what I said. There actually was a lot over really good things in this game like that opening drive. But a lot of curious ones too. Like who would have thought that Dwayne Allen would have more catches than Chris Hogan. Christ, Dorsett came out of obscurity to have 3 catches. Why is Hogan seemingly being frozen out? Was he even targeted last night?
6. QB- For a period of this game Mike Pettine got into Brady's head where we saw him throw 7 out of 8 incompletions in one stretch where the offense didn't do anything. He was, as noted, also frustrated in the red zone. In today's game having a 63% completion rate is almost at the Mendoza line, at least with someone like Brady at the controls. I didn't see too many throws where he just missed. I DID see a number of plays where he just didn't have anyone to throw to.
There was one play that I thought spoke the difference between Brady and Rodgers. You know the blitz that came in from G/T gap that got Brady sacked. The Pats tried what looked to be the same one and Van Noy came in just as clean as the GB LB. The only difference was, while Brady just had to stand and take it, Rodgers almost effortlessly made KVN miss and rolled outside. In the end the play resulted in an incompletion, but it just struck me as to why some might think that that ability would make Rodgers the better QB, even when the full picture SHOULD tell you differently.
But like most of his career Brady ended up doing more for his team than the other QB did for his. Once again he proved he was the best QB on the field tonight.
7. OL - Decent night. I thought overall they did a good job protecting Brady. The first sack just a case of, "I thought YOU were taking him". "No I thought YOU were taking him" and in the end no one took him. (Andrews and Thuney). The second one (the blitz I mentioned above), I THINK that James White anticipated the blitz coming from outside the OT and kind of overran it and couldn't get back. He had a very pained look on his face after the play.
As to the run blocking it was OK. They got their 100 yds rushing (27 carries) and there were holes to run through (except on the GL, which needs to get fixed)
8.RBs - We really need Michell to get back so we have can have a REAL running game again. Either that or we should just put Patterson back there and train him to expand his game. Maybe one of the reasons he WASN'T the game on that GL series was they aren't confident he can pick up a blitz or do anything more complex than run a sweep or a wham play. The fact that Gillislee isn't back just shows how wrong they were on that decision. (I loved it at the time). Are we really going to go ANOTHER Game with just 2 RB's in the game plan.
KBarner might have only played a few snaps, but his blitz pick up of Clay Matthews is going to wind up of Bill's "this is how you pick up a blitz" teaching real for the next decade.
9. Receivers - Josh Gordon's size doesn't impress me. His speed actually disappoints me. However his hands just WOW me. I know that sideline catch that was called out might not have counted, but it was worth the price of admission to the game. Like I said, I find his lack of ability to create separation to be a bit disappointing. But it looks like he doesn't NEED any separation to go and get the ball. A 50% target to completion ratio isn't very Patriot-like, but his 130 yds more than makes up for it, especially this early in the game.
Julian had a drop that ended a drive, but had 6 catches in 10 targets, plus another completed pass on play that was beautifully designed and executed. All in all a decent night
Dorsett was 3-3 including a couple of first downs.
James White now has 61 receptions in just over half the season. We have proven we can win without Gronk. I just hope we don't have to find out if we can win without White. Who would have thought we'd ever be saying THAT!
Could be that this week they will be calling Chris Hogan, "Waldo" as in Where's Waldo. I know he's out there with the first unit, but his production has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. Is it time to wonder why?
10 Miscellaneous:
a. I thought the refs were properly innocuous. Though for those haters who like to think that the Pats get all the calls, tonight's game would be one that they could make a good case for. I think the refs made 2 bad calls in the Pats favor (the roughing the kicker penalty for a first down, and ejecting the player instead of just giving him the penalty). Though it should be noted that they gave the Packers a great spot on a big 3rd down play.
But all in all there weren't many flags thrown and I ALWAYS enjoy those games more, even if they missed some holds along the way.
b. I like Chris Collingsworth. I hate the other guy. I hated all the GOAT hype, as if it were even a question. And the thing I hated the most about this broadcast was all the commercials that had Aaron Rodgers in them.
c. Greg Bedard did a great piece on some of the differences between Rodgers and Brady and why he thinks there is no question that Brady is the GOAT. BTW- Bedard covered Rodgers for 4 years before he came here, so he got to know him up close. Since it's 3:30 now I won't get into the details, but I will if anyone is interested tomorrow.
d. Saints and the Rams was a GREAT game to watch. Looks like they will do it again in the playoffs. I can't wait. Also I'm looking forward to the next SD/KC game. SD might just be a more complete team, especially when Bosa comes back. The Chargers are very quietly having a great season. Very under the radar.
e. When you watch a Raven's/Steeler's game you end up hoping BOTH teams will lose, though James Connors is a great story. I know a lot people on the draft board liked him.
f. I'm thinking this team needs a bye. Hopefully we can get by the Titans. I have the Cowboys in my pool (4-0 this week with one to go ), so I hope they can soften them up some as well as give me a perfect weekend. I can use it.
OK I'm done. I'm sure I will think of more things to say, but later. Comment on what you disagree with and add your own observations. Until tomorrow.
This was an over hyped game against a good offense that didn't turn out to be much of a game in reality. All week long we were prepared to see another shoot out that would rival the KC game in its magnitude. But instead it was the DEFENSE that stood out and stole the show (at least imo). The Packers might be a flawed team, but it's offensive fire power is as good as we are going to see short of the Superbowl, and we (relatively in today's game) shut them down.
It was also a game where the Offense without Gronk, Sony, and Shaq scored 31 points, had no short fields, and yet infuriated me no end through most of this game. Maybe I'm spoiled but it seemed that for most of the game it was the Pats who got all the breaks and calls, and yet squandered so many of those breaks in the worst ways. I was so pissed at Josh McDaniels that I was tempted to start rooting for the underdog Packers just to teach him a lesson about being too cute and not just doing the obvious. Not scoring when you have first and goal from the one is a venial sin (I may be Jewish, but I coached at a Catholic HS for 8 years), and one boarding on being mortal.
You had a 230 lb guy who had run HARD for 50 yds on 5 carries available on first an goal, and INSTEAD you run a mini-back who can't create yardage on his own AND who injured his knee and had to sit out a lot of the 2nd quarter.....and the results were predictable. Then on 3rd and 4th down you DON'T have Patterson in the backfield to at least pose a threat of a run making it easy for the defense to defend in that shortened area. The results weren't just failures, they were UGLY failures. Two plays that had NO chance at success.
I mean I found it stunning that these plays came from an OC who was freakin' BRILLIANT in his game plan for this game with 3 key guys missing. That opening drive was sheer genius. It is hard to believe both situations were handled by the same guy. Here's the thing. The Pats red zone passing offense just sucks right now. Something like 0-6 in the last 2 games. Where are the pick plays, the bunch formation's, the creativity? If it's there I'm not seeing it. Or am I just overreacting. The GB defense was wounded coming in and it got only worse as the game went on. Even missing those guys, the offense should have done better.
OK I have vented a bit and I'm feeling better. Lets break it down, and start with the real starring unit the Defense.
1. General defensive thoughts - Aaron Rodgers really IS a great QB, and he made a LOT of throws into tight coverage that made you want to go WOW! Just perfect placements that left you shaking your head. And yet in the end it was the defense that ended up making more plays than Rodgers did. Holding the Packers to just 7 points the entire 2nd half was AWESOME because the GB has some serious offensive threats with Adams, Cobb, Graham and it was a rookie that had the 100 yd game. Their RB looked good to me as well (aside from the fumble of course). The best they've had there for a while. So holding Rodgers to just 250 yds passing and by and large keeping him contained, and putting fairly consistent pressure on him, is an accomplishment. A very promising one at that.
2. Front 7 - They were a little soft I think vs the run game. They had zero tackles for a loss in the run game. But that might have been because they were playing for the Packer passing game. Adam Butler was in for a lot of first and tens and not just 3rd downs. You had to figure GB would be throwing the ball over 40 times. (43). Still I wish it were a bit better. OTOH it was the Front 7 that turned the ball over (Guy) in the key play of the game.
As to the pass rush, it keeps getting a little better every week. We haven't seen it turn into multiple sacks just yet, but IIRC late in the game Collingsworth mentioned that the Rodgers was getting pressured on about 45% of his dropbacks while Brady was down in the twenties. So if the most important question that you need to have answered yes is, "is the defense getting better?"'; then you can check that box off.
3. Secondary. There were 2 things that popped out to me about the secondary. First, this was by far Jason McCourty's best game as a Patriot. He made a number of important plays over the course of the game, and even a few of the catches that were made on him were just great throws into tiny tiny windows. The 2nd thing is that Stephon Gilmore is earning EVERY penny of that big contract he got. He saw time covering either Adams or Graham, and wound up giving up 2 catches for 16 yard to Adams and zero when he was covering Graham. THAT is a good night's work. Plus he's proven to be a tough tackler as well.
The rest of secondary didn't suck either they just didn't excel like those 2 (though Chung was his usual gritty self and probably deserved a nod as well). If I were to nitpick one play, it would have been the GB TD to Graham. I thought Harmon should have recognized Graham running BEHIND him and gotten deeper and been in position to help on that play. Of course you could also blame the lack of any rush on that play as well. But in the end they held Rodgers to a 58% completion rate which is OUTSTANDING in this era.
4. I would also like to tip my cap to Brian Flores for a nice job of mixing up the play calling. It's hard to do with a QB like Rodgers who has seen a lot. All you can do is hope you can confuse him a few times. Just as Mike Pettine got Brady a few times in that 3rd Quarter. (BTW- was Pettine the Jets DC for that 2o10 playoff loss?)
5 Offensive general thoughts - Well I covered most this in my opening and stick by what I said. There actually was a lot over really good things in this game like that opening drive. But a lot of curious ones too. Like who would have thought that Dwayne Allen would have more catches than Chris Hogan.
Christ, Dorsett came out of obscurity to have 3 catches. Why is Hogan seemingly being frozen out? Was he even targeted last night?6. QB- For a period of this game Mike Pettine got into Brady's head where we saw him throw 7 out of 8 incompletions in one stretch where the offense didn't do anything. He was, as noted, also frustrated in the red zone. In today's game having a 63% completion rate is almost at the Mendoza line, at least with someone like Brady at the controls. I didn't see too many throws where he just missed. I DID see a number of plays where he just didn't have anyone to throw to.
There was one play that I thought spoke the difference between Brady and Rodgers. You know the blitz that came in from G/T gap that got Brady sacked. The Pats tried what looked to be the same one and Van Noy came in just as clean as the GB LB. The only difference was, while Brady just had to stand and take it, Rodgers almost effortlessly made KVN miss and rolled outside. In the end the play resulted in an incompletion, but it just struck me as to why some might think that that ability would make Rodgers the better QB, even when the full picture SHOULD tell you differently.
But like most of his career Brady ended up doing more for his team than the other QB did for his. Once again he proved he was the best QB on the field tonight.
7. OL - Decent night. I thought overall they did a good job protecting Brady. The first sack just a case of, "I thought YOU were taking him". "No I thought YOU were taking him" and in the end no one took him.
(Andrews and Thuney). The second one (the blitz I mentioned above), I THINK that James White anticipated the blitz coming from outside the OT and kind of overran it and couldn't get back. He had a very pained look on his face after the play.As to the run blocking it was OK. They got their 100 yds rushing (27 carries) and there were holes to run through (except on the GL, which needs to get fixed)
8.RBs - We really need Michell to get back so we have can have a REAL running game again. Either that or we should just put Patterson back there and train him to expand his game. Maybe one of the reasons he WASN'T the game on that GL series was they aren't confident he can pick up a blitz or do anything more complex than run a sweep or a wham play. The fact that Gillislee isn't back just shows how wrong they were on that decision. (I loved it at the time). Are we really going to go ANOTHER Game with just 2 RB's in the game plan.
KBarner might have only played a few snaps, but his blitz pick up of Clay Matthews is going to wind up of Bill's "this is how you pick up a blitz" teaching real for the next decade.
9. Receivers - Josh Gordon's size doesn't impress me. His speed actually disappoints me. However his hands just WOW me. I know that sideline catch that was called out might not have counted, but it was worth the price of admission to the game. Like I said, I find his lack of ability to create separation to be a bit disappointing. But it looks like he doesn't NEED any separation to go and get the ball. A 50% target to completion ratio isn't very Patriot-like, but his 130 yds more than makes up for it, especially this early in the game.
Julian had a drop that ended a drive, but had 6 catches in 10 targets, plus another completed pass on play that was beautifully designed and executed. All in all a decent night
Dorsett was 3-3 including a couple of first downs.
James White now has 61 receptions in just over half the season. We have proven we can win without Gronk. I just hope we don't have to find out if we can win without White. Who would have thought we'd ever be saying THAT!
Could be that this week they will be calling Chris Hogan, "Waldo" as in Where's Waldo. I know he's out there with the first unit, but his production has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. Is it time to wonder why?
10 Miscellaneous:
a. I thought the refs were properly innocuous. Though for those haters who like to think that the Pats get all the calls, tonight's game would be one that they could make a good case for. I think the refs made 2 bad calls in the Pats favor (the roughing the kicker penalty for a first down, and ejecting the player instead of just giving him the penalty). Though it should be noted that they gave the Packers a great spot on a big 3rd down play.
But all in all there weren't many flags thrown and I ALWAYS enjoy those games more, even if they missed some holds along the way.
b. I like Chris Collingsworth. I hate the other guy. I hated all the GOAT hype, as if it were even a question. And the thing I hated the most about this broadcast was all the commercials that had Aaron Rodgers in them.
c. Greg Bedard did a great piece on some of the differences between Rodgers and Brady and why he thinks there is no question that Brady is the GOAT. BTW- Bedard covered Rodgers for 4 years before he came here, so he got to know him up close. Since it's 3:30 now I won't get into the details, but I will if anyone is interested tomorrow.
d. Saints and the Rams was a GREAT game to watch. Looks like they will do it again in the playoffs. I can't wait. Also I'm looking forward to the next SD/KC game. SD might just be a more complete team, especially when Bosa comes back. The Chargers are very quietly having a great season. Very under the radar.
e. When you watch a Raven's/Steeler's game you end up hoping BOTH teams will lose, though James Connors is a great story. I know a lot people on the draft board liked him.
f. I'm thinking this team needs a bye. Hopefully we can get by the Titans. I have the Cowboys in my pool (4-0 this week with one to go
), so I hope they can soften them up some as well as give me a perfect weekend. I can use it.OK I'm done. I'm sure I will think of more things to say, but later. Comment on what you disagree with and add your own observations. Until tomorrow.
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