Most depressing part of this year

[HarveyWallbangers]

Out of the top FIFTEEN QBs in QB rating (who have played at least 9 games), only one plays on a team with a losing record. That's Aaron Rodgers. If you had told me that we'd be 5-8, I would have guessed that Rodgers either sucked or was hurt. That tells me that the QB play has been solid, but we don't have a good team around the QB. To me, that's depressing. The defense and special teams have both been bad this year. The running game was bad early on. That goes on Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy. I still think there's good, young talent on the team--but Ted needs to shore up the DL. He could use another playmaker on defense in the back 7. I'm a big Coach Mac guy, but he needs to do better next year. Next year will be a big year for both guys. I'm hoping a lot of this falls on injuries, tough schedule, and some bad luck, so I have confidence that we'll turn it around next year. However, I wouldn't mind seeing the ZBS and Bob Sanders head elsewhere.

Philip Rivers, SDG - 102.0
Kurt Warner, ARI - 99.1
Tony Romo, DAL - 96.9
Drew Brees, NOR - 96.2
Chad Pennington, MIA - 93.7
Jeff Garcia, TAM - 92.5
Aaron Rodgers, GNB - 92.1
Matt Ryan, ATL - 92.0
Eli Manning, NYG - 90.1
Jay Cutler, DEN - 89.2
Peyton Manning, IND - 88.8
Brett Favre, NYJ - 88.2
Jason Campbell, WAS - 85.4
Matt Cassel, NWE - 85.3
Donovan McNabb, PHI - 85.2

[Bossman641]

We should probably destroy this evidence before Partial catches hold of it. He would be crushed.

[3irty1]

Philip Rivers plays on a losing team. Of course the fans in San Diego are probably just as depressed as us.

[HarveyWallbangers]

And no, I don't put most of the blame on the close losses on Rodgers. Some of the blame? Yes. However, he's done more late than some want to give him credit for.

vs. Detroit - we fell behind in the 4th quarter, but we immediately took the lead back.

vs. Atlanta - he brought the team back to tie in the 4th, he did throw a pick, but led them down again to close the gap. The defense had a chance to stop Atlanta to give the offense another chance, and they failed.

vs. Tennessee - he led the team to a game-tying drive (against a team that doesn't give up many TDs), and then the defense couldn't get off the field.

vs. Minnesota - got the team within FG range to win the game (although this one was due to luck). McCarthy chose to go conservative. Crosby missed the FG.

vs. Carolina - Led the team on a drive to take the lead late. McCarthy got conservative and ran the ball. Defense gave up the lead.

vs. Houston - Led the team on a drive, and the officials and OL let him down.

Sure, he could have played better late in some games, but he's young and he's shown that he can do it. I expect he'll improve with more experience.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Philip Rivers plays on a losing team. Of course the fans in San Diego are probably just as depressed as us.

Good catch. Kind of funny since Charger fans probably wish Brees was still there.


Point stands.

[hoosier]

I've never been able to see what was so attractive about the ZBS. It works very well in Denver, but it's been pretty unimpressive in GB over the last three years, especially in short-yardage. And its basic philosophy seems to me to be at odds with the physical, smash-mouth mentality that MM says he wants to reestablish in GB. But if the Packers scrap the ill fated ZBS this offseason where does that leave them? Do they have most of the personell in place to convert back to a non-zone BS, or would they be rebuilding? This is mainly a question about the three players who seem to be more or less established as long-term answers: Spitz, Colledge and Sitton. Tauscher and Clifton are both proven non-ZBS blockers and possibly on their way out the door.

[Patler]

I agree Harvey, it is surprising.

Early on the abundance of penalties hurt them badly in several games.
I expected STs to be a real strength of the team. They have been disapointments.
I expected the D to be good (not great). The last few weeks it has been awful.
They consistently lost field position on punting.

Sure, Rodgers has made mistakes and hopefully will do some things better in the future. But the entire team besides Rodgers has played very poorly at times, negating situation in which Rodgers has performed well.

[Partial]

Chad Pennington always has a really good quarterback rating because he is efficient and doesn't make mistakes. He's never took a team anywhere, though.

A-Rod reminds of him right now.

Last week was A-Rods best game, so I agree he is getting better. This week was one of his worst as he left a lot of yards on the field. I'm sure he'll get better playing in the cold, but I'm not convinced that the cold affected his accuracy THAT much, but its very possible that it could.

The depressing part is dissecting the roster and trying to figure out where the talent is and isn't:

QB - Not great yet, has so much potential to be great with big arm, toughness and mobility
WR - Talent all across the baord
RB - Grant hasn't gotten it done but he's been hurt. When healthy he looks to be pretty good

CBs - Excellent group that is 3 deep. Can compare with any in the league
S - Very good group when healthy

It's evident to me a good amount of their problems are either A) in the lines, or B) coaching related, because when I go through player by player at the positions I listed they can match up with just about anyone (or at least will be in a year or two when A-Rod reaches his potential).

I think its gotta be coaching. The play calling has been poor, the scheming has been poor, and their have been dumb gamesmanship calls, as well as WAY too many penalties.

[sheepshead]

Very telling stuff I'd say. Good work

[Partial]

I've never been able to see what was so attractive about the ZBS. It works very well in Denver, but it's been pretty unimpressive in GB over the last three years, especially in short-yardage. And its basic philosophy seems to me to be at odds with the physical, smash-mouth mentality that MM says he wants to reestablish in GB. But if the Packers scrap the ill fated ZBS this offseason where does that leave them? Do they have most of the personell in place to convert back to a non-zone BS, or would they be rebuilding? This is mainly a question about the three players who seem to be more or less established as long-term answers: Spitz, Colledge and Sitton. Tauscher and Clifton are both proven non-ZBS blockers and possibly on their way out the door.

I don't think they'd have any problem switching over. Colledge will be a tackle though I'm sure, so they'd still be shy a guard. Hopefully they would look into adding a really fat bastard there.

[Bossman641]

I've never been able to see what was so attractive about the ZBS. It works very well in Denver, but it's been pretty unimpressive in GB over the last three years, especially in short-yardage. And its basic philosophy seems to me to be at odds with the physical, smash-mouth mentality that MM says he wants to reestablish in GB. But if the Packers scrap the ill fated ZBS this offseason where does that leave them? Do they have most of the personell in place to convert back to a non-zone BS, or would they be rebuilding? This is mainly a question about the three players who seem to be more or less established as long-term answers: Spitz, Colledge and Sitton. Tauscher and Clifton are both proven non-ZBS blockers and possibly on their way out the door.

I don't think they'd have any problem switching over. Colledge will be a tackle though I'm sure, so they'd still be shy a guard. Hopefully they would look into adding a really fat bastard there.

You called?

[HarveyWallbangers]

Chad Pennington always has a really good quarterback rating because he is efficient and doesn't make mistakes. He's never took a team anywhere, though.

To be fair, in Pennington's 6 seasons as a starter, he led the Jets to 3 playoff appearances and won one playoff game in two of those years. In the 3 other years, he missed 13, 7, and 6 games. If he wasn't a bit fragile, he might have done better.

In that same span, Brett Favre led the Packers to 4 playoff appearances and won one playoff game in two of those years. He didn't miss any games.

When healthy and in the right system, he's a pretty good QB. He might lead the Dolphins to the playoffs this year. Their schedule is pretty soft (San Fran, KC, and the Jets).

[Kiwon]

The most depressing part of this year is that the Pack is better than their record.

They are a playoff team, when relatively healthy and avoiding the mental breakdowns.

The problem is that they have had injuries at key positions and have managed to mess up at the most inopportune times, especially in this latter part of the season.

It's a shame too. 13-3 last year (even minus Farve) had raised everyone's hopes.

[Bretsky]

Re: Most depressing part of this year

Out of the top FIFTEEN QBs in QB rating (who have played at least 9 games), only one plays on a team with a losing record. That's Aaron Rodgers. If you had told me that we'd be 5-8, I would have guessed that Rodgers either sucked or was hurt. That tells me that the QB play has been solid, but we don't have a good team around the QB. To me, that's depressing. The defense and special teams have both been bad this year. The running game was bad early on. That goes on Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy. I still think there's good, young talent on the team--but Ted needs to shore up the DL. He could use another playmaker on defense in the back 7. I'm a big Coach Mac guy, but he needs to do better next year. Next year will be a big year for both guys. I'm hoping a lot of this falls on injuries, tough schedule, and some bad luck, so I have confidence that we'll turn it around next year. However, I wouldn't mind seeing the ZBS and Bob Sanders head elsewhere.

Philip Rivers, SDG - 102.0
Kurt Warner, ARI - 99.1
Tony Romo, DAL - 96.9
Drew Brees, NOR - 96.2
Chad Pennington, MIA - 93.7
Jeff Garcia, TAM - 92.5
Aaron Rodgers, GNB - 92.1
Matt Ryan, ATL - 92.0
Eli Manning, NYG - 90.1
Jay Cutler, DEN - 89.2
Peyton Manning, IND - 88.8
Brett Favre, NYJ - 88.2
Jason Campbell, WAS - 85.4
Matt Cassel, NWE - 85.3
Donovan McNabb, PHI - 85.2

[Gunakor]

Re: Most depressing part of this year

Out of the top FIFTEEN QBs in QB rating (who have played at least 9 games), only one plays on a team with a losing record. That's Aaron Rodgers. If you had told me that we'd be 5-8, I would have guessed that Rodgers either sucked or was hurt. That tells me that the QB play has been solid, but we don't have a good team around the QB. To me, that's depressing. The defense and special teams have both been bad this year. The running game was bad early on. That goes on Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy. I still think there's good, young talent on the team--but Ted needs to shore up the DL. He could use another playmaker on defense in the back 7. I'm a big Coach Mac guy, but he needs to do better next year. Next year will be a big year for both guys. I'm hoping a lot of this falls on injuries, tough schedule, and some bad luck, so I have confidence that we'll turn it around next year. However, I wouldn't mind seeing the ZBS and Bob Sanders head elsewhere.

Philip Rivers, SDG - 102.0
Kurt Warner, ARI - 99.1
Tony Romo, DAL - 96.9
Drew Brees, NOR - 96.2
Chad Pennington, MIA - 93.7
Jeff Garcia, TAM - 92.5
Aaron Rodgers, GNB - 92.1
Matt Ryan, ATL - 92.0
Eli Manning, NYG - 90.1
Jay Cutler, DEN - 89.2
Peyton Manning, IND - 88.8
Brett Favre, NYJ - 88.2
Jason Campbell, WAS - 85.4
Matt Cassel, NWE - 85.3
Donovan McNabb, PHI - 85.2

I generally do not call for big FA signings, but this year I am going to make a rare exception. Sign Haynesworth and draft a DE, or sign Peppers and draft a DT. Both positions need to be immediately addressed, and it's extremely doubtful that both could be filled with immediate starters via the draft. In any case, the DL must be fixed this offseason or next year will look very reminiscent of this year.

I'm still hopeful for the ZBS system. ZBS is reliant on timing, which is hard to get when you are shuffling linemen around from guard to tackle to center as the season goes on. I'd keep the system, but find an adequate backup at each position on the line so when a tackle goes down we don't have to move a guard over and replace the guard. If a tackle goes down, replace him with a tackle. Leave your guards starting where they are, where they've gotten the timing down, where they're comfortable. I think this much would have done a great service to our running scheme this season.