HarveyWallbangers
11-14-2007, 10:56 PM
Unpredictability has offense looking good
Greg A. Bedard, JSO
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers obviously have been impressive this season on offense. Being ranked as the National Football League's No. 4 unit in total yards is evidence enough of that.
But statistics are one thing. There's another factor that has been overlooked so far, one that will be much more important as the season winds down and the playoffs begin: Green Bay might also lead the league in looks they've put down on film this season.
Let me explain a little. When Wade Phillips or, hopefully, if you're a Packers fan, Bill Belichick sits down to study the Packers, they are going to need to view a whole lot of film. In just about every game this season, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy and his offensive assistants have come up with a different game plan or look to beat the opponent that week.
To individually tailor an opponent-specific game plan, week in and week out, has been one of McCarthy's greatest strengths. Look at Sunday's 34-0 demolition of the Minnesota Vikings, for instance. For the first time, basically, all season, the Packers used five wide receiver sets on about 10 plays.
Knowing the Vikings had injury problems in the secondary, the Packers figured that to be a place to exploit Minnesota. And it worked, almost to perfection.
Quarterback Brett Favre was distributing the ball all over the field and had the Vikings on the run all day. And judging from the smile offensive coordinator Joe Philbin had after the game, that five-wide package isn't going away anytime soon.
Then there was the rushing attack. Again, for the first time all season, the Packers ran a lot of plays to the wide side of the field. They stretched the Vikings' vaunted interior run defense and it finally broke, as Ryan Grant became the only back this season to gain over 100 yards against Minnesota.
If you think back over the entire season, it's not difficult to look at each game and say, "The Packers did this differently in this game."
From the quick slants and short passing game used early in the season, to the deep passes employed against Denver and Kansas City, the Packers, at this point, have put more looks down "on film" than Britney Spears. And that will make them one very tough team to prepare for, come January. It will drive defensive coordinators crazy, and already has.
For a while, it was easy to stop the Packers. Drop the safeties deep, have the cornerbacks play inside the receivers and drop the linebackers almost at the snap. That's what Chicago and Washington did. Then Favre rediscovered his deep passing touch and was able to hit the receivers deep down the sidelines. Defenses adjusted by dropping more players into coverage. But with Grant injecting some life into the running game the past three weeks, play-action fakes now mean something and are opening a whole dimension to the Packers' offense.
Defensive coordinators prefer to face offenses that can be placed in nice, neat little boxes. It makes things very easy. McCarthy and Co. not only refuse to be categorized, they create new boxes with each passing week. That's been a big reason why they are off to an 8-1 start and have the league's top-ranked offense.
Don't be surprised if the Packers' success continues in the post-season. They might just be the toughest offense to prepare for in the league. There's no official statistic for that, but it probably means more than any other.
Greg A. Bedard, JSO
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers obviously have been impressive this season on offense. Being ranked as the National Football League's No. 4 unit in total yards is evidence enough of that.
But statistics are one thing. There's another factor that has been overlooked so far, one that will be much more important as the season winds down and the playoffs begin: Green Bay might also lead the league in looks they've put down on film this season.
Let me explain a little. When Wade Phillips or, hopefully, if you're a Packers fan, Bill Belichick sits down to study the Packers, they are going to need to view a whole lot of film. In just about every game this season, Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy and his offensive assistants have come up with a different game plan or look to beat the opponent that week.
To individually tailor an opponent-specific game plan, week in and week out, has been one of McCarthy's greatest strengths. Look at Sunday's 34-0 demolition of the Minnesota Vikings, for instance. For the first time, basically, all season, the Packers used five wide receiver sets on about 10 plays.
Knowing the Vikings had injury problems in the secondary, the Packers figured that to be a place to exploit Minnesota. And it worked, almost to perfection.
Quarterback Brett Favre was distributing the ball all over the field and had the Vikings on the run all day. And judging from the smile offensive coordinator Joe Philbin had after the game, that five-wide package isn't going away anytime soon.
Then there was the rushing attack. Again, for the first time all season, the Packers ran a lot of plays to the wide side of the field. They stretched the Vikings' vaunted interior run defense and it finally broke, as Ryan Grant became the only back this season to gain over 100 yards against Minnesota.
If you think back over the entire season, it's not difficult to look at each game and say, "The Packers did this differently in this game."
From the quick slants and short passing game used early in the season, to the deep passes employed against Denver and Kansas City, the Packers, at this point, have put more looks down "on film" than Britney Spears. And that will make them one very tough team to prepare for, come January. It will drive defensive coordinators crazy, and already has.
For a while, it was easy to stop the Packers. Drop the safeties deep, have the cornerbacks play inside the receivers and drop the linebackers almost at the snap. That's what Chicago and Washington did. Then Favre rediscovered his deep passing touch and was able to hit the receivers deep down the sidelines. Defenses adjusted by dropping more players into coverage. But with Grant injecting some life into the running game the past three weeks, play-action fakes now mean something and are opening a whole dimension to the Packers' offense.
Defensive coordinators prefer to face offenses that can be placed in nice, neat little boxes. It makes things very easy. McCarthy and Co. not only refuse to be categorized, they create new boxes with each passing week. That's been a big reason why they are off to an 8-1 start and have the league's top-ranked offense.
Don't be surprised if the Packers' success continues in the post-season. They might just be the toughest offense to prepare for in the league. There's no official statistic for that, but it probably means more than any other.