motife
10-05-2006, 05:21 PM
THURSDAY, Oct. 5, 2006, 10:13 a.m.
Week 4 analysis
They don’t have any playmakers. You can dink and dunk all game long, but you have to have somebody who can get vertical and get teams out of that two-deep zone. First, the Packers have to force these teams to bring a safety up, either in the box or closer to the box. To do that, they need to run the ball. Then, they have to find a way to stretch the field. Maybe Koren Robinson can do that, where teams will have to put a safety over the top of him. I haven’t seen (Donald) Driver be able do it. He’s always getting pummeled across the middle. And not only don’t the Packers have any game-breakers, they don’t have a tight end. If Bubba Franks is lucky enough to catch the ball, he falls down or he can’t turn fast enough. He’s not like a Keith Jackson, who could sneak down the seam for 10 or 15 yards. When was the last time Franks had a run after the catch of more than two yards? Because everything the Packers do on offense is underneath, these teams sit there like an umbrella. They don’t have to worry about anything over the top, so they just play safe. And most offenses can’t go 80 yards without making a mistake. That’s why field position is so important. The Packers just don’t have that guy where when it’s second-and-15, he can get the 15; or the other team has to match-up on him with its best corner and bracket him over the top, which frees up somebody else. That’s the Cincinnati Bengals. Teams say, “We’ve got to bracket Chad Johnson.†Then, T.J. Houshmandzadeh catches those 15 yard passes because he has that ability. That’s what opens up the game and allows you to make explosive plays. But when you don’t have explosive players, all the defense does is sit back, lets you catch the ball and makes the tackle. They have to make the tackle – that’s the most important thing -- or you might get Greg Jennings running 75 yards like he did in Detroit. But these teams are just keeping everything in front of them and waiting for the Packers to self-destruct.
I thought the offensive line played better. (Brett) Favre got beat up, but any offense is going to have problems blocking that defensive line. I just thought they weren’t peaking as much in the run blocking. That everything seemed to be more fluid. They seemed to stay lower, get some extension and flow off blocks. That’s a sign that maybe they’re becoming more comfortable with the system. I thought the three inside guys had their best game this year. At least, they got some push. In the past, in the Chicago game, there wasn’t any push.
I wasn’t that impressed with (Vernand) Morency. I thought he had good explosion out of his first cut. If you can do that, you have good hips. But first of all, you have to hang on to the dang ball. And, then, I like backs who run with their shoulder pads out in front of their toes, head down and they’re going to get that extra yard no matter what. Morency was a little bit slippery. He seemed to turn his hips well. But he’s not a punishing runner like Ahman Green. And down on the goal line, you got to put your shoulder pads down and get a yard. Plus, I don’t think he’s a game-breaker. Game-breakers have two qualities: Great vision where they can see that hole happening and make the cut and get there, and great speed. I didn’t see either one in Morency. He showed some vision, some explosion out of his cuts, but there were times he could have gotten more yards. That’s probably the reason he isn’t a starter.
I thought A.J. Hawk had his worst game of the year. First of all, he didn’t play ferocious. On that first touchdown when McNabb ran into the end zone, did you see Hawk? That was a designed draw. Hawk lined up on the two-yard line and got pushed three yards deep. That is horrible. It shows what long arms can do. L.J. Smith, the tight end, extended on him and Hawk couldn't get to his body to get off the block. He needs to be more powerful and use his feet to run through that block. At the point of attack, I just don’t see Hawk getting it done. He’s great in space. Nobody is going to run away from him. If you’re going to complete a pass against him, good for you, he’s going to tackle you. But he doesn’t have that, “You’re not going to run on me,†attitude - that “I’m going to blow you up and I’m going to make a play on you,†attitude. I thought on Monday Night Football, he might have a breakout game. But it didn’t happen. Brian Urlacher put on some weight after he came out of college. Ray Lewis put on some weight. I think Hawk needs to get bigger and stronger, especially lower body. He’s short, so he has short arms. That means he has to use his feet or brute strength to get off blocks. On blitzes, if he sees a window and can shoot it on one of those delay blitzes, I think he’s great at that. Where he’s not effective is when he’s assigned to go to a gap and has to beat a blocker.
I don’t know what (Charles) Woodson was doing on that 30-yard touchdown to Greg Lewis. He just let him go. It looked like Woodson was playing zone and everybody else man. Woodson is a nine-year vet. You’d think if there were two safeties over the top and everybody else was playing man that he should be playing man, too. But he pulled up like he was in a zone and there was nobody within 15 yards of Lewis when he caught the ball. Some of that has to be coaching. If it happens once in a game, you can say, ‘Shame on the player. He’s an idiot.’ But this is a pattern that you’ve seen for the last four games. It’s not just Woodson. Nobody seems to know where they need to be. You got guys running in late. Ten guys on the field. That’s coaching. I’m not just jumping on the bandwagon that it’s got to be (Kurt) Schottenheimer’s fault. It has to be (Bob) Sanders, too. I’m going to beat on both of them, mostly Sanders, because last year you didn’t see those stupid mistakes with (Jim) Bates.
Doesn’t cutting (Ahmad) Carroll remind you of Forrest Gregg? He’d cut guys on Tuesday if they had a lousy game. But I guess they had to cut ties with Carroll. He just couldn’t learn. He’d come up and make a tackle. But he couldn’t seem to turn his hips and run. He had flat-line speed. I think he could still be a player. I think he could be a solid nickel guy. He’s only 23 years old. But he has to decide if he’s going to learn from his mistakes. Or maybe he’ll get in another system where they’ll do a better job of teaching. But the Packers couldn’t continue on with him if he’s going to commit those stupid penalties every play.
Week 4 analysis
They don’t have any playmakers. You can dink and dunk all game long, but you have to have somebody who can get vertical and get teams out of that two-deep zone. First, the Packers have to force these teams to bring a safety up, either in the box or closer to the box. To do that, they need to run the ball. Then, they have to find a way to stretch the field. Maybe Koren Robinson can do that, where teams will have to put a safety over the top of him. I haven’t seen (Donald) Driver be able do it. He’s always getting pummeled across the middle. And not only don’t the Packers have any game-breakers, they don’t have a tight end. If Bubba Franks is lucky enough to catch the ball, he falls down or he can’t turn fast enough. He’s not like a Keith Jackson, who could sneak down the seam for 10 or 15 yards. When was the last time Franks had a run after the catch of more than two yards? Because everything the Packers do on offense is underneath, these teams sit there like an umbrella. They don’t have to worry about anything over the top, so they just play safe. And most offenses can’t go 80 yards without making a mistake. That’s why field position is so important. The Packers just don’t have that guy where when it’s second-and-15, he can get the 15; or the other team has to match-up on him with its best corner and bracket him over the top, which frees up somebody else. That’s the Cincinnati Bengals. Teams say, “We’ve got to bracket Chad Johnson.†Then, T.J. Houshmandzadeh catches those 15 yard passes because he has that ability. That’s what opens up the game and allows you to make explosive plays. But when you don’t have explosive players, all the defense does is sit back, lets you catch the ball and makes the tackle. They have to make the tackle – that’s the most important thing -- or you might get Greg Jennings running 75 yards like he did in Detroit. But these teams are just keeping everything in front of them and waiting for the Packers to self-destruct.
I thought the offensive line played better. (Brett) Favre got beat up, but any offense is going to have problems blocking that defensive line. I just thought they weren’t peaking as much in the run blocking. That everything seemed to be more fluid. They seemed to stay lower, get some extension and flow off blocks. That’s a sign that maybe they’re becoming more comfortable with the system. I thought the three inside guys had their best game this year. At least, they got some push. In the past, in the Chicago game, there wasn’t any push.
I wasn’t that impressed with (Vernand) Morency. I thought he had good explosion out of his first cut. If you can do that, you have good hips. But first of all, you have to hang on to the dang ball. And, then, I like backs who run with their shoulder pads out in front of their toes, head down and they’re going to get that extra yard no matter what. Morency was a little bit slippery. He seemed to turn his hips well. But he’s not a punishing runner like Ahman Green. And down on the goal line, you got to put your shoulder pads down and get a yard. Plus, I don’t think he’s a game-breaker. Game-breakers have two qualities: Great vision where they can see that hole happening and make the cut and get there, and great speed. I didn’t see either one in Morency. He showed some vision, some explosion out of his cuts, but there were times he could have gotten more yards. That’s probably the reason he isn’t a starter.
I thought A.J. Hawk had his worst game of the year. First of all, he didn’t play ferocious. On that first touchdown when McNabb ran into the end zone, did you see Hawk? That was a designed draw. Hawk lined up on the two-yard line and got pushed three yards deep. That is horrible. It shows what long arms can do. L.J. Smith, the tight end, extended on him and Hawk couldn't get to his body to get off the block. He needs to be more powerful and use his feet to run through that block. At the point of attack, I just don’t see Hawk getting it done. He’s great in space. Nobody is going to run away from him. If you’re going to complete a pass against him, good for you, he’s going to tackle you. But he doesn’t have that, “You’re not going to run on me,†attitude - that “I’m going to blow you up and I’m going to make a play on you,†attitude. I thought on Monday Night Football, he might have a breakout game. But it didn’t happen. Brian Urlacher put on some weight after he came out of college. Ray Lewis put on some weight. I think Hawk needs to get bigger and stronger, especially lower body. He’s short, so he has short arms. That means he has to use his feet or brute strength to get off blocks. On blitzes, if he sees a window and can shoot it on one of those delay blitzes, I think he’s great at that. Where he’s not effective is when he’s assigned to go to a gap and has to beat a blocker.
I don’t know what (Charles) Woodson was doing on that 30-yard touchdown to Greg Lewis. He just let him go. It looked like Woodson was playing zone and everybody else man. Woodson is a nine-year vet. You’d think if there were two safeties over the top and everybody else was playing man that he should be playing man, too. But he pulled up like he was in a zone and there was nobody within 15 yards of Lewis when he caught the ball. Some of that has to be coaching. If it happens once in a game, you can say, ‘Shame on the player. He’s an idiot.’ But this is a pattern that you’ve seen for the last four games. It’s not just Woodson. Nobody seems to know where they need to be. You got guys running in late. Ten guys on the field. That’s coaching. I’m not just jumping on the bandwagon that it’s got to be (Kurt) Schottenheimer’s fault. It has to be (Bob) Sanders, too. I’m going to beat on both of them, mostly Sanders, because last year you didn’t see those stupid mistakes with (Jim) Bates.
Doesn’t cutting (Ahmad) Carroll remind you of Forrest Gregg? He’d cut guys on Tuesday if they had a lousy game. But I guess they had to cut ties with Carroll. He just couldn’t learn. He’d come up and make a tackle. But he couldn’t seem to turn his hips and run. He had flat-line speed. I think he could still be a player. I think he could be a solid nickel guy. He’s only 23 years old. But he has to decide if he’s going to learn from his mistakes. Or maybe he’ll get in another system where they’ll do a better job of teaching. But the Packers couldn’t continue on with him if he’s going to commit those stupid penalties every play.