Chubbyhubby
10-21-2007, 11:13 PM
Eric Goska column: McCarthy's defense delivers touchdowns
By Eric Goska
Packers columnist
Mike McCarthy's Packers have proven they can win on the road. The team has shown it can be successful with little or no running game.
In Sunday's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field, McCarthy's club demonstrated another quality that sets it apart from many Packers teams: The defense is capable of scoring.
Cornerback Charles Woodson raced 57 yards to the end zone with a Santana Moss fumble to give Green Bay a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter.
Defensive tackle Corey Williams forced the fumble and Woodson jumped over Moss to get the loose ball. Defensive end Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris provided enough escort to keep Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell from making a tackle.
It was Woodson's first career fumble return for a touchdown, and the longest by a Packer since Keith McKenzie returned one 88 yards at Pittsburgh on Nov. 9, 1998.
Woodson's play was the sixth time under McCarthy that his defense has scored a touchdown. No other Packers coach had a defense score that often in his first 22 regular-season games on the job.
Gene Ronzani's defense returned four turnovers for scores in the early 1950s. But Ronzani's record of 6-16 in his first 22 games isn't close to the 13-9 McCarthy has produced.
Last year, Green Bay's defense scored five touchdowns, with four coming in victories. Safety Marquand Manuel and Woodson returned interceptions for touchdowns in wins over the Lions and Dolphins, respectively. Safety Nick Collins and cornerback Patrick Dendy scored after intercepting passes in a season-ending 26-7 romp in Chicago.
Linebacker Abdul Hodge got his six-pointer in a 34-24 loss to Seattle. He returned a Matt Hasselbeck fumble 29 yards after defensive end Kabeer Gbaja- Biamila delivered a fumble- inducing sack.
Woodson's touchdown against Washington was huge because Green Bay's offense failed to generate much after halftime for a second week in a row. Brett Favre and his teammates managed 70 yards and a field goal in the final two quarters, one week after posting 98 yards and three points against the Bears.
While the Packers' offense struggled, the defense tightened. Before Woodson's recovery, Green Bay had given up 235 yards on 47 plays, an average of 5 yards a play. After going ahead, the Packers allowed 69 yards in 22 plays, an average of 3.1 yards per snap.
The Packers' defense turned in a number of big plays to thwart Washington in the fourth quarter. Safety Atari Bigby caused running back Clinton Portis to fumble, linebacker Nick Barnett held running back Ladell Betts to no gain on a fourth-down pass and Kampman recorded a pair of sacks.
The defense had to pitch a shutout as the offense gained just 15 yards in the final 15 minutes.
Before the season began, talk was Green Bay's defense could rank in the NFL's top five. It has yet to crack the top 10, but yards allowed is only one measure of how good a defense can be.
Eric Goska is a Press-Gazette correspondent, a Packers historian and the author of "Green Bay Packers: A Measure of Greatness," a statistical history of the Packers.
By Eric Goska
Packers columnist
Mike McCarthy's Packers have proven they can win on the road. The team has shown it can be successful with little or no running game.
In Sunday's 17-14 victory over the Washington Redskins at Lambeau Field, McCarthy's club demonstrated another quality that sets it apart from many Packers teams: The defense is capable of scoring.
Cornerback Charles Woodson raced 57 yards to the end zone with a Santana Moss fumble to give Green Bay a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter.
Defensive tackle Corey Williams forced the fumble and Woodson jumped over Moss to get the loose ball. Defensive end Aaron Kampman and cornerback Al Harris provided enough escort to keep Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell from making a tackle.
It was Woodson's first career fumble return for a touchdown, and the longest by a Packer since Keith McKenzie returned one 88 yards at Pittsburgh on Nov. 9, 1998.
Woodson's play was the sixth time under McCarthy that his defense has scored a touchdown. No other Packers coach had a defense score that often in his first 22 regular-season games on the job.
Gene Ronzani's defense returned four turnovers for scores in the early 1950s. But Ronzani's record of 6-16 in his first 22 games isn't close to the 13-9 McCarthy has produced.
Last year, Green Bay's defense scored five touchdowns, with four coming in victories. Safety Marquand Manuel and Woodson returned interceptions for touchdowns in wins over the Lions and Dolphins, respectively. Safety Nick Collins and cornerback Patrick Dendy scored after intercepting passes in a season-ending 26-7 romp in Chicago.
Linebacker Abdul Hodge got his six-pointer in a 34-24 loss to Seattle. He returned a Matt Hasselbeck fumble 29 yards after defensive end Kabeer Gbaja- Biamila delivered a fumble- inducing sack.
Woodson's touchdown against Washington was huge because Green Bay's offense failed to generate much after halftime for a second week in a row. Brett Favre and his teammates managed 70 yards and a field goal in the final two quarters, one week after posting 98 yards and three points against the Bears.
While the Packers' offense struggled, the defense tightened. Before Woodson's recovery, Green Bay had given up 235 yards on 47 plays, an average of 5 yards a play. After going ahead, the Packers allowed 69 yards in 22 plays, an average of 3.1 yards per snap.
The Packers' defense turned in a number of big plays to thwart Washington in the fourth quarter. Safety Atari Bigby caused running back Clinton Portis to fumble, linebacker Nick Barnett held running back Ladell Betts to no gain on a fourth-down pass and Kampman recorded a pair of sacks.
The defense had to pitch a shutout as the offense gained just 15 yards in the final 15 minutes.
Before the season began, talk was Green Bay's defense could rank in the NFL's top five. It has yet to crack the top 10, but yards allowed is only one measure of how good a defense can be.
Eric Goska is a Press-Gazette correspondent, a Packers historian and the author of "Green Bay Packers: A Measure of Greatness," a statistical history of the Packers.