Studs and Duds - Playoff Edition - One and Done

[sharpe1027]

He missed on more than two passes. And he just couldn't make up his mind to throw. You can't tell me that our recievers were blanketed every play.

Of course he did. I was referring to the two passes that I remembered him missing badly on: one to Jennings for a likely TD and another to Finley for a first down. He threw almost 50 passes, I am sure he missed a few others.

He ended up being 26/46, which is 56%. He had at least 5 drops. He could easily have been been 31/46 or 67%. The drops would also have put him over 300 yards. He threw for 2TDs and 1 Int and he had a fumble. He also ran for 66 yards at 9.4 yds/att. Not his best outing, but a dud? Not in my book.

[Shoal]

When everyone knows that our pass rush is poor, why do we EVER only rush 3 men? Every time I saw that 3-man rush, I knew it was going to give Eli at least 97 seconds in the pocket.

[sharpe1027]

When everyone knows that our pass rush is poor, why do we EVER only rush 3 men? Every time I saw that 3-man rush, I knew it was going to give Eli at least 97 seconds in the pocket.

It was really bad a few times. I was surprised Eli didn't just hold the ball to run out the clock for the quarter on a few of the plays.

[mmmdk]

I find it hard to call Rodgers a dud. I didn't see the happy feet some claim. What I saw was him picking up a first downs after first down with smart decisions to run. I don't fault him for recognizing that the Giants were dropping everyone in coverage and not accounting for the potential for the QB to run. Smart move on his part.

He certainly missed badly on two passes. However, if all those other passes don't get dropped, Rodgers probably ends up with two more TDs. Add that to all the rushing yards he had and I just don't see dud at all.

I agree! AR had his "worst" game this in PO game but that'll happen again when winning games hinges 99% on your star QB. To Bert-like for me! And AR isn't asking for this either.

[mraynrand]

I love Rodgers, but he was a mess (by his standards) yesterday.

At no point did he seem comfortable. He started getting happy feet and turned to run whenever the opportunity arose. He rocketed passes that he didn't need to. And a lot of the drops would've been tough catches anyway. Like a pitcher, he just didn't seem to have his stuff last night. And in a sophisticated timing-based offense with many moving parts relying on pinpoint accuracy, this was a tough break.

I think the offense might sometimes get "too" sophisticated. Like a Ferrari, when things are working properly, it's art to watch. But if anything goes wrong, it can't function.

I agree that Rodgers was somewhat off - he missed a few throws, but the drops were inexcusable. Take away the drops and two fumbles and it's a win. Rodger's running was a thing of beauty. I don't agree that he ran too soon. His running was highly effective. The mistakes erased a great ground game by Rodgers.

[Tarlam!]

I thought he onside kick was fucking stupid. Kick the damn thing deep and at least make them work for it. There was no good reason to try it at that point.

You Fuck! Oh, wrong thread!!

But back to the matter at hand; Did you think it was stupid when NO did it in SB XXIV? Just asking/taunting.

[Bretsky]

You Fuck! Oh, wrong thread!!

But back to the matter at hand; Did you think it was stupid when NO did it in SB XXIV? Just asking/taunting.

I'm going to bite on this one. IMO you do the surprise onside kick when you are the underdog and think you need some luck in order to win the game. NO was rolling the dice all day long when not many expected them to win. That was an ok gamble. My first onside suprirse kick I remember was when I was at a game in the late 70's or early 80's. Bart Starr was the coach and we were playing Dallas. We opened the game with an onside kick and I think we went up 7-0. We ended up losing around 42-14 if my childhood memory serves me right. That's a good spot

We are 15-1
We are at home
We are suppose to win that game

The onside kick at that point in the game was Beyond Stupid IMO

[Patler]

I'm going to bite on this one. IMO you do the surprise onside kick when you are the underdog and think you need some luck in order to win the game. NO was rolling the dice all day long when not many expected them to win. That was an ok gamble. My first onside suprirse kick I remember was when I was at a game in the late 70's or early 80's. Bart Starr was the coach and we were playing Dallas. We opened the game with an onside kick and I think we went up 7-0. We ended up losing around 42-14 if my childhood memory serves me right. That's a good spot

We are 15-1
We are at home
We are suppose to win that game

The onside kick at that point in the game was Beyond Stupid IMO

I have to admit, my first thought was, "Is MM already that desperate to get and extra possession?"

[Tarlam!]

I have to admit, my first thought was, "Is MM already that desperate to get and extra possession?"

Or, it was game planned; or, he was sayin' "I believe in our defense". IMO, It's futile second guessing either TT or M3.

[denverYooper]

I agree that Rodgers was somewhat off - he missed a few throws, but the drops were inexcusable. Take away the drops and two fumbles and it's a win. Rodger's running was a thing of beauty. I don't agree that he ran too soon. His running was highly effective. The mistakes erased a great ground game by Rodgers.

Agree with all of this. He was laying it out there with his running, too, and made some gutsy dives for the first down.

Also, Manning had probably as many errant throws as Rodgers did. I can think of a couple of throws against Green Bay's 3 man rush where he had time and still threw high but his receivers went up and plucked them.

[denverYooper]

Or, it was game planned; or, he was sayin' "I believe in our defense". IMO, It's futile second guessing either TT or M3.

It sure looked like he did not trust the defense with that one. The side effect, probably unintended was that the D sure played with a bounce in their step for a few series after that. Take out the whole hail mary series and they put together 2 good quarters keeping the game close enough.

[Smidgeon]

I have to admit, my first thought was, "Is MM already that desperate to get and extra possession?"

I didn't look at it that way. I looked at it as a way to catch the Giants off guard and get some more points. It backfired, but I liked the call from the start.

[King Friday]

I didn't look at it that way. I looked at it as a way to catch the Giants off guard and get some more points. It backfired, but I liked the call from the start.

The problem with that mindset is that Coughlin is crazy about special teams. If any team in the league is NOT going to be caught off guard, it will be one coached by Coughlin.

It smacked of something that happens when a coach has 2 weeks to think up what "wrinkles" he can put in the gameplan. At home...#1 seed...it was a dumb move.

[Bretsky]

The Giants are so dam discliplined they seemed like they knew the onside kick was coming; that player was hardly turning. It was like Hoody was up there stealing signs for Couglin

[pbmax]

The Giants are so dam discliplined they seemed like they knew the onside kick was coming; that player was hardly turning. It was like Hoody was up there stealing signs for Couglin

Except Hoody had fallen for it last year. I think KYPack had a great point, if it was McCarthy's request, then he wanted an extra possession to help/guard against his defense. If Slocum thought he saw something, he was very wrong. And most teams with a brain know the Packers can pull that play off and they must prepare. And if they prepare for it, then the film isn't going to reveal that weakness.

I think everything you need to know about the coaches opinion of their defense was said with Bush starting as nickel corner. Terrible tackling esp. in nickel.