Unpredictability has offense looking good

[HarveyWallbangers]

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.

[esoxx]

M3 has had some nice gameplans for sure.

A big factor is the freedom M3 has given Favre in the offense with a run/pass option at the line. He reads the defense, the personnel groupings and makes the call accordingly. M3 and Favre are in sync and it's a beautiful thing to watch.

[Joemailman]

One thing I think has been overlooked is the faith McCarthy has showed in his OL's ability to protect Favre without keeping extra people in to block. Not much max pro this year. This has allowed MM to open up the offense. I don't think there were any 5 WR sets, and probably few 4WR set last year . Favre simply has more targets to pick from this year. That is one reason, but not the only one, for his increased accuracy this year.

[Bretsky]

I'd like more detailed examples but this was this guy's best article so far

[Guiness]

I haven't seen the Minnesota game, but am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy. How the heck did we burn Minn for those yards...it really doesn't make a lot of sense. I figured we'd win in the air, but never for a moment thought we'd gash them for 100+ on the ground.

[mmmdk]

M3 has had some nice gameplans for sure.

A big factor is the freedom M3 has given Favre in the offense with a run/pass option at the line. He reads the defense, the personnel groupings and makes the call accordingly. M3 and Favre are in sync and it's a beautiful thing to watch.

Yup, sans the second half vs Bears it's been pretty darn good.

[Spaulding]

One thing I think has been overlooked is the faith McCarthy has showed in his OL's ability to protect Favre without keeping extra people in to block. Not much max pro this year. This has allowed MM to open up the offense. I don't think there were any 5 WR sets, and probably few 4WR set last year . Favre simply has more targets to pick from this year. That is one reason, but not the only one, for his increased accuracy this year.

Max protect was definitely needed last year but also the WR depth wasn't there. This year although I'm definitely a homer, I'd be hard pressed to name another receiving corp as deep as the Packers now with Koren back in the fold.

Driver, Jennings, Jones, Robinson, Martin - looks good to me

[fan4life]

M3 has had some nice gameplans for sure.

A big factor is the freedom M3 has given Favre in the offense with a run/pass option at the line. He reads the defense, the personnel groupings and makes the call accordingly. M3 and Favre are in sync and it's a beautiful thing to watch.
I couldn't agree more.

A local radio host, Steve "the Homer" True, has been interviewing everyone who ever caught a pass from Favre, in a series callrd "The Favre TD Countdown." Yesterday, he talked to Wesley Walls, who played with Montana, Young and Favre, amongst others. True has given up asking guys who's the "best" because no one will answer that (good for them!) But Walls did make the comment, "Favre may be the best football player I've ever seen, and when it comes to QBs, Montana and Favre are in a class by themselves."

I have said for years that the coach who could channel Favre's enormous football intelligence and manage his athletic competitiveness into on-field performance would unleash a powerful force. Holmgren was close, but couldn't quite do it. Sherman failed miserably.

Now, at 38, Favre and McCarthy may finally have gotten it right. Enjoy the ride, fellow fans. To paraphrase Walls, GB football with these two is in a class by itself.

[Merlin]

M3 has had some nice gameplans for sure.

A big factor is the freedom M3 has given Favre in the offense with a run/pass option at the line. He reads the defense, the personnel groupings and makes the call accordingly. M3 and Favre are in sync and it's a beautiful thing to watch.

Yup, sans the second half vs Bears it's been pretty darn good.

The Washington game wasn't very good. If you remember correctly, that's the game we did the fake, fake, fake, dump off. fake, fake, fake, draw. And I think the first few games we were testing to see more of what we had so that's why it wasn't as outstanding. I think McCarthy has learned a lot from the early games and his offensive game planning since the Washington game has been outstanding.

[wist43]

Draws, screens, balanced presnap looks that have plays going both ways, running to the weak side, shovel passes, etc... When you put together game plans like that, a traditional running game isn't as important.

None of this would be working w/o Favre... Favre has been great this season, and I'm sure that's making McCarthy's and Philbin's job easier trying to devise ways to conger up a semblance of a running game.

The OL has shored up their pass blocking to the point where they don't need help, (against most DL's) unless there's a blitz on, and that has allowed more receivers into the pattern. That, combined with Favre's recently rediscovered touch on the deep ball, and the emergence of Jennings has teams playing them honest, and that has helped create some room to work underneath.

The game plans I've seen so far this year have made me a believer in McCarthy. Had he come out and tried to "establish" the run, we would have seen a lot more 3 and outs, and a lot more of Jon Ryan; but, McCarthy has shown pragmatism in saying he's "not going to run, just to run".

That's good coaching.