Finley does things no other TE can do

[channtheman]

So what part of Finley's game can no one else in the league do? Is it talking about Tebow during the week instead of focusing on the game? Perhaps it's dropping the first 4 passes that hit him in the hands? Serious question, what does Finley actually do that no one else does? Have potential to be good?

[Harlan Huckleby]

He's tall, athletic, fast. He's not mentally tough.

[Brandon494]

Really?

[Joemailman]

Finley had a bad 1st half and a good 2nd half. 3 catches for 83 yards. Rodgers and Nelson played as bad. or worse, than Finley.

[channtheman]

Really?

Enlighten me please. I've never seen a top 5 player at any position play so poorly.

[vince]

Finley is in a funk. He has all the talent in the world and has shown that he has the ability to catch just about everything that comes his way. It's not as bad, but it reminds me of when Steve Sax, who played second base his whole life, suddenly couldn't throw the ball to the first baseman. It's up to him and McAdoo to get him turned around and get his head screwed on straight.

[Fred's Slacks]

We've seen what he can do when hes on his game. Its very impressive. He's not right now, but if he can figure it out in the next 3 weeks, this team should find its way to indy.

[Teamcheez1]

Is he worth using the franchise tag on and spending $6-8M? That's what everyone is projecting, and I 'm not so sure.

[Brandon494]

Enlighten me please. I've never seen a top 5 player at any position play so poorly.

The guy is in a funk right now but that doesn't take away from the fact that he obviously has talent and is only 24. I don't understand why some fans want us to just let a talent like this guy go but thankfully TT is running the team and knows you don't take weapons like Finley away from a QB like Rodgers.

[Bretsky]

The guy is in a funk right now but that doesn't take away from the fact that he obviously has talent and is only 24. I don't understand why some fans want us to just let a talent like this guy go but thankfully TT is running the team and knows you don't take weapons like Finley away from a QB like Rodgers.


FIVE CLAP POST

[Joemailman]

FIVE CLAP POST

:bclap::bclap::bclap::bclap::bclap:

[Iron Mike]

http://www.packers.com/assets/images/imported/GB/photos/article_images/2011/12-december/111218-finley-jermichael-drop-210.jpg

Oooops, my bad. :(

[Old School]

After the game, he said he had a talk with his hands at halftime. Perhaps he should have a talk with his brain - if he can find it.

[pbmax]

Enlighten me please. I've never seen a top 5 player at any position play so poorly.

How about Rodgers this game? Or Matthews?

[denverYooper]

http://www.packers.com/assets/images/imported/GB/photos/article_images/2011/12-december/111218-finley-jermichael-drop-210.jpg

Oooops, my bad. :(

Wasn't that one going to be picked if he doesn't make a play on the ball?

[Deputy Nutz]

I love the play that Finley had to readjust to the ball and made a fabulous over the shoulder catch.

Finley deserves the franchise tag but not the multiyear deal he is looking for.

[denverYooper]

How about Rodgers this game? Or Matthews?

I thought Rodgers had his worst game in a long time. No picks but that was mostly luck. He threw 3, maybe 4 candidates today, unusual for him and just generally looked off all day.

[Bretsky]

How about Rodgers this game? Or Matthews?


The wind clearly effected Rodgers game but he was just not himself today and was not hitting on throws he normally routinely makes
Matthews was completely invisible. That defense REALLY missed Pickett. The lack of another pass rusher really showed today.

[denverYooper]

I love the play that Finley had to readjust to the ball and made a fabulous over the shoulder catch.

Finley deserves the franchise tag but not the multiyear deal he is looking for.

I loved that play also. And I liked some of the other passes he improvised on. I thought the pic posted above was him adjusting to almost grab the ball and break up a ball that was destined for INT. That said, Finley's day was a mixed bag. It was a game he *could* have taken over and been THE GUY but he only made it halfway there. One or two more plays and we'd be talking about him or this game differently.

[King Friday]

I'm glad he's in a funk...it merely lowers his eventual asking price on a long term deal.

I am concerned about the mental ineptitude. One little thing doesn't go his way, and he's whining like my 2 year old. Hopefully that decreases with age and maturity.

[Fosco33]

The wind clearly effected Rodgers game but he was just not himself today and was not hitting on throws he normally routinely makes
Matthews was completely invisible. That defense REALLY missed Pickett. The lack of another pass rusher really showed today.

How'd it not affect Orton in same manner? I get that KC's receivers were more wide open... but still.

Rodgers gets easily flustered with drops and consistent missed blocks. He expects his teammates to play at a high level - the part he hasn't learned is that he sometimes has to encourage those guys to higher performance.

[gbgary]

fin wasn't great today but how much did the other tightends contribute? zip! nada!

[pbmax]

QB can't go diva, gotta roll with it sometimes. Insisting on better play at a certain point is pointless during a struggle of a game. I thought he held his cool at the end.

It is just odd to see a QB lose his pocket discipline and stay in the pocket LONGER. Understandable as his clock is off, but weird.

Orton threw a lot of short stuff. And it seemed like the Chiefs figured out the wind before the Packers did. One direction worked for passing really well. The other worked for kicking/punting very well. That flyball of a pass to Finley that he corralled was going in the wrong direction for favorable passing. The last TD Rodgers scored (4th Q) was the right direction for throwing.

How Masthay got a 71 yard punt out of that stadium is a mystery.

[Pugger]

Enlighten me please. I've never seen a top 5 player at any position play so poorly.


How about Rodgers this game? Or Matthews?

Today the list of guys who played like crap is pretty extensive. It was a team loss. I won't be unduly worried unless we see more of this kind of play next week.

[Bretsky]

How'd it not affect Orton in same manner? I get that KC's receivers were more wide open... but still.

Rodgers gets easily flustered with drops and consistent missed blocks. He expects his teammates to play at a high level - the part he hasn't learned is that he sometimes has to encourage those guys to higher performance.

W/O Jennings we have no number one talent WR; Brandon Flowers is a shut down CB and he took his WR out of the game. They Chiefs had the Packers off balance all day with a combo of short and downfield throws. We had no pass rush so they were very open.

The Packers WR were getting no separation. The only guy getting open was Finley.

What I question is............DO WE HAVE THAT THING CALLED A SCREEN PASS ?

I'd have like to see a couple throw to the side all the pressure was coming from because they were just Teeing off rushing the passer

[pbmax]

W/O Jennings we have no number one talent WR; Brandon Flowers is a shut down CB and he took his WR out of the game. They Chiefs had the Packers off balance all day with a combo of short and downfield throws. We had no pass rush so they were very open.

The Packers WR were getting no separation. The only guy getting open was Finley.

What I question is............DO WE HAVE THAT THING CALLED A SCREEN PASS ?

I'd have like to see a couple throw to the side all the pressure was coming from because they were just Teeing off rushing the passer

They ran two that I remember. Both successful.

[King Friday]

Rodgers gets easily flustered with drops and consistent missed blocks. He expects his teammates to play at a high level - the part he hasn't learned is that he sometimes has to encourage those guys to higher performance.

It is one of the areas where Favre was better than Rodgers...which is probably true for any gunslinger compared to a more cerebral QB. Favre got the snot knocked out of him numerous times in his career...and if anything, he would get better the more you hit him. Rodgers gets hit once, and his feet start looking like Fred Astaire.

[Pugger]

QB can't go diva, gotta roll with it sometimes. Insisting on better play at a certain point is pointless during a struggle of a game. I thought he held his cool at the end.

It is just odd to see a QB lose his pocket discipline and stay in the pocket LONGER. Understandable as his clock is off, but weird.

Orton threw a lot of short stuff. And it seemed like the Chiefs figured out the wind before the Packers did. One direction worked for passing really well. The other worked for kicking/punting very well. That flyball of a pass to Finley that he corralled was going in the wrong direction for favorable passing. The last TD Rodgers scored (4th Q) was the right direction for throwing.

How Masthay got a 71 yard punt out of that stadium is a mystery.

It was almost like Rodgers had no where to roll out to. And when he did try to get out of there he'd run right into a sack! I'm just glad he didn't get hurt too. :-( It would have been nice to try a few slants today.

[King Friday]

What I question is............DO WE HAVE THAT THING CALLED A SCREEN PASS ?

I'd have like to see a coupe throw to the side all the pressure was coming from because they were just Teeing off rushing the passer

We don't have a dynamic RB capable of being a real threat on the edge. With our mediocre OL, I've always wished we had a speedster with good hands that would make DEs think twice about just flying to the QB.

It is also tough to run a screen pass effectively when you are trotting out a different OL players every 5 minutes...playing positions that they may not practice at a ton.

[King Friday]

How Masthay got a 71 yard punt out of that stadium is a mystery.

Downwind. Didn't you see the last KC kickoff (going the same way) fly into the front row...or close anyway.

[denverYooper]

It is one of the areas where Favre was better than Rodgers...which is probably true for any gunslinger compared to a more cerebral QB. Favre got the snot knocked out of him numerous times in his career...and if anything, he would get better the more you hit him. Rodgers gets hit once, and his feet start looking like Fred Astaire.

I call BS on this. Rodgers has had games where he played better after getting hit a few times. And F-bomb had games where he started getting rid of the ball early b/c of pressure.

Anyhow, Rodgers was pretty wild today, but they had some pretty severe line shuffling going on and it took a few hits for him to go into survival mode. Some of his approach to it might come down to the stakes, too. Considering that his health was more important than the outcome of the game, and they had musical O-line, he might have just been looking to survive.

[pbmax]

Downwind. Didn't you see the last KC kickoff (going the same way) fly into the front row...or close anyway.

Was the punt from left to right on the TV screen? If so, I see your point. That was the direction Rodgers was having trouble throwing into, so yes, I can see that punt going long.

[King Friday]

Was the punt from left to right on the TV screen? If so, I see your point. That was the direction Rodgers was having trouble throwing into, so yes, I can see that punt going long.

Yes...left to right on the long punt.

[Smidgeon]

I love the play that Finley had to readjust to the ball and made a fabulous over the shoulder catch.

Finley deserves the franchise tag but not the multiyear deal he is looking for.

When was the catch? I was only able to watch the first half.

[pbmax]

When was the catch? I was only able to watch the first half.

On the drive that resulted in Drivers TD. 3rd Quarter maybe?

[KalamazooPackerFan]

QB can't go diva, gotta roll with it sometimes. Insisting on better play at a certain point is pointless during a struggle of a game. I thought he held his cool at the end.

It is just odd to see a QB lose his pocket discipline and stay in the pocket LONGER. Understandable as his clock is off, but weird.

Orton threw a lot of short stuff. And it seemed like the Chiefs figured out the wind before the Packers did. One direction worked for passing really well. The other worked for kicking/punting very well. That flyball of a pass to Finley that he corralled was going in the wrong direction for favorable passing. The last TD Rodgers scored (4th Q) was the right direction for throwing.

How Masthay got a 71 yard punt out of that stadium is a mystery.


If the wind really was that big a factor, the Chiefs definitely did a better job dealing with it. It was another game where McCarthy's stubborn "I'm going to call the game the way I want to no matter what" streak came back to bite us in the ass. Hasn't happened in a awhile but it still there. Grant was ripping off a six yard per rush average but we didn't go heavy on the run at all.

[mraynrand]

So what part of Finley's game can no one else in the league do?


I love the play that Finley had to readjust to the ball and made a fabulous over the shoulder catch. .

[/Thread]



(unfortunately not. This will continue endlessly)

[bobblehead]

Finley had a bad 1st half and a good 2nd half. 3 catches for 83 yards. Rodgers and Nelson played as bad. or worse, than Finley.

If finley catches 3 out of 4 that hit him in the hands Rodgers starts looking pretty impressive.

[smuggler]

Finley's now leading the league in drops. He has quite a few less targets than Roddy White, too.

[bobblehead]

The guy is in a funk right now but that doesn't take away from the fact that he obviously has talent and is only 24. I don't understand why some fans want us to just let a talent like this guy go but thankfully TT is running the team and knows you don't take weapons like Finley away from a QB like Rodgers.

I've been with you every step of the way, but finley simply has not looked "great" this season. He has flashed brilliance at times just like Jackie Harris did back in the day. At this point he does not deserve a blockbuster deal (especially since he is still a subpar blocker).

[bobblehead]

How'd it not affect Orton in same manner? I get that KC's receivers were more wide open... but still.

Rodgers gets easily flustered with drops and consistent missed blocks. He expects his teammates to play at a high level - the part he hasn't learned is that he sometimes has to encourage those guys to higher performance.

Orton never gets affected by the things that packer fans use for excuses for their guy. I still remember that bears game in a tsunami a few years back that BF stunk up. A poster declared "name me one QB that could have performed better in that environment?"

I thought it was a trick question but I answered anyway "kyle orton....in the very same game".

[pbmax]

Orton never gets affected by the things that packer fans use for excuses for their guy. I still remember that bears game in a tsunami a few years back that BF stunk up. A poster declared "name me one QB that could have performed better in that environment?"

I thought it was a trick question but I answered anyway "kyle orton....in the very same game".

Yeah, it was very strange to watch this time. Rodgers had a duck come out of his hand on one throw and outside of being hit, its been months since we have seen a throw like that. If I get a chance to watch again, I want to see if the Chiefs called a different game going in one direction versus the other.

[denverYooper]

Yeah, it was very strange to watch this time. Rodgers had a duck come out of his hand on one throw and outside of being hit, its been months since we have seen a throw like that. If I get a chance to watch again, I want to see if the Chiefs called a different game going in one direction versus the other.

I would be very interested to know about that.

[Upnorth]

They seemed to have a lot more room on intermediate routes than we did due to their run game. It seemed like we were running well, I wish we would have had a bit more commitment to the run to help clear the underneath routes. When their d only has to rush 4 for pressure, and they don't really need to worry about the run, Arod had to throw longer which is more affected by the wind.

[mmmdk]

Yeah, it was very strange to watch this time. Rodgers had a duck come out of his hand on one throw and outside of being hit, its been months since we have seen a throw like that. If I get a chance to watch again, I want to see if the Chiefs called a different game going in one direction versus the other.

A duck out of Rodgers hand? Sorry I didn't "catch" that as I love David Copperfield.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Some real good, some real bad from Finley. But what other TE is going to run with the ball how Finley can? He gets some space and it's real dangerous.

[Iron Mike]

But what other TE is going to run with the ball how Finley can? He gets some space and it's real dangerous.

Well, with 13 drops in 14 games, I'd prefer him to just CATCH THE DAMNED BALL!!!!

[bobblehead]

Some real good, some real bad from Finley. But what other TE is going to run with the ball how Finley can? He gets some space and it's real dangerous.

I can show you 20 receivers that can do that, so unless his blocking gets up to par, its not a big deal.

[Pugger]

Yeah, it was very strange to watch this time. Rodgers had a duck come out of his hand on one throw and outside of being hit, its been months since we have seen a throw like that. If I get a chance to watch again, I want to see if the Chiefs called a different game going in one direction versus the other.

The NFL Network is showing an abridged replay of this game Tuesday night. I don't know if I can stomach watching that mess again...

[pbmax]

I can show you 20 receivers that can do that, so unless his blocking gets up to par, its not a big deal.

He would be mediocre as a WR, but as a TE that is pretty special. His blocking has been pretty average.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I can show you 20 receivers that can do that, so unless his blocking gets up to par, its not a big deal.

So it's a good thing we're talking about TEs and not WRs

[denverYooper]

Orton never gets affected by the things that packer fans use for excuses for their guy. I still remember that bears game in a tsunami a few years back that BF stunk up. A poster declared "name me one QB that could have performed better in that environment?"

I thought it was a trick question but I answered anyway "kyle orton....in the very same game".

Orton is 4-0 at home against the Packers.

[denverYooper]

Yeah, it was very strange to watch this time. Rodgers had a duck come out of his hand on one throw and outside of being hit, its been months since we have seen a throw like that. If I get a chance to watch again, I want to see if the Chiefs called a different game going in one direction versus the other.

I only took a quick look thru the gamebook but KC's play selection looked like (just going by the gamebook pass designations):
r=run, s=short, l=long
rrsrrslrssrss(fg)
srsrsrss(fg)
rssrsrsrsrsrrrr(to downs)
rrs
kneel
Half
rrr (punt)
(7-6)
llsrrss(fg)
lrlrss(fg)
rlsrsrrr(td)
victory formation

31 passes - 25 "short", 6 "long", 39 runs.
1 long pass in first quarter (incomplete)
2 long in the 3rd quarter
3 long in the 4th quarter (1 incomplete)

[George Cumby]

The NFL Network is showing an abridged replay of this game Tuesday night. I don't know if I can stomach watching that mess again...

By all accounts, repeatedly stabbing oneself in the eye with a fork might provide more pleasure.