Packers vs. Texans Discussion Thread

[Joemailman]

Injury Report:

MM says Benson will be out.
Raji and Finley have a chance to play.

Looks like James Starks will get his first action. They will need Raji and Pickett if they are to have any chance of success against Texans running game. Perhaps facing Texans front 7 will convince MM and Arod they have to go to a shorter passing game.

[OS PA]

I am afraid to say that I'm optimistic about Starks returning to form this week. I hate how quick we are to turn on our players. Starks didn't really benefit from a great gameplan, nor did he have much of a line to run behind when he did. He's a serviceable back. I also am afraid to say that the Jeff Saturday experiment has to end. One of the (AWFUL) announcers from the game mentioned that a lot of the line calls were coming from and through Josh Sitton rather than Saturday. That just can't happen. A fair amount of our inside pressure has been a result of Jeff Saturday. Also Sitton and Lang are having down years because they're playing next to the weak link. Any chance EDS could step in and play?

[denverYooper]

Boy howdy, I hope Raji can play.

[wist43]

This game may force both MM and Capers to do things they don't like to do - tailor a game plan to their actual opponent as opposed to simply cut and paste the same game plan from week to week.

Given Houston's run heavy offense, Capers needs to go with a lot of 3 man lines - problem is our personnel really aren't true 3-4 players, so Capers will need to crowd the LOS, run blitz a lot, and hope the back end can hold up in man coverage. I don't expect Capers will do any of that though - we are likely to give up 8,000 yds rushing next week.

MM needs to shorten the passing game up... if he comes out with his 15 yd and deeper patterns that require 5 and 7 step drops, Rodgers won't make it out of the first half alive.

I don't expect us to be very competetive in this game... I expect Houston will put their hand on our head while we flail away with our moronic game plans on both sides of the ball.

[Packers4Glory]

2-4 after this game. The Texans are maybe the best team in football and the most balanced offensively and defensively. Offensively they are really really balanced. They can beat you running or throwing something a lot of teams can't do. They've got 2 elite backs, an elite WR, and a very good TE. We are not playing well in any area of the game right now. Not a good time to be playing them. There is no mojo w/ this team. No sense of urgency. Looks like a lot of guys are just going thru the motions. They are not even fun to watch right now.

[Freak Out]

The Packers stun the world and beat the Texans. The pass rush hammers Schaub and a ball control passing offense keeps the TOP in the Packers favor all day long.

[pittstang5]

A zebra doesn't change his stripes. McCarthy is not going to change his playcalling. Doesn't matter that the entire Packer Nation can see that they need to run the ball more or step up the short game, McCarthy is going to continue to do what he's been doing. Sure, we might see a couple screens or runs here and there and as soon as that stuff starts working, he'll feel cocky and go right back to the deep stuff.

Texans are gonna roll all over the Pack. I expect a loss, I just don't want any injuries.

[Joemailman]

A zebra doesn't change his stripes. McCarthy is not going to change his playcalling. Doesn't matter that the entire Packer Nation can see that they need to run the ball more or step up the short game, McCarthy is going to continue to do what he's been doing. Sure, we might see a couple screens or runs here and there and as soon as that stuff starts working, he'll feel cocky and go right back to the deep stuff.

Texans are gonna roll all over the Pack. I expect a loss, I just don't want any injuries.

Actually, my recollection is that in 2009, following the loss at Tampa Bay, the Packers did start going with more short stuff. Whether it was the actual playcalling, or whether it was Rodgers being less stubborn about wanting to go downfield so much I'm not sure. But from that point on, Rodgers did get rid of the ball quicker.

[Pugger]

I'm not looking for a win here either. I just hope we can get out of Houston in one piece and concentrate on beating our division foes and see if we can get into the playoffs as a wild card. If not it isn't the end of the world. We've had a great run. Even the great teams have bumps in the road (off years in between big years). If we don't make the playoffs we'll get a higher pick in the next draft and go for it again in 2013.

[mission]

We'll win. The NFL is crazy.

[denverYooper]

We'll win. The NFL is crazy.

Funny, last week I was thinking that I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers lose to the Colts and then beat the Texans.

[3irty1]

I'll be surprised if we're not competitive but this sure does look like a matchup from hell right now. Who the hell knows though. This team isn't that different from the Bears. Its all a matter of which team comes to play the one who just wants to be in state farm and NFL redzone commercials or the one that wants to play football. At some point its just all about one-on-ones. Beating the player or coach across from you. With a very few unlikely exceptions, we have not be doing that. Nobody blocks, nobody gets open, nobody calls the right plays, nobody catches, nobody holds onto interceptions, nobody gets the penalty calls right.

Lord have mercy I hope Indy was rock bottom for this team.

[Deputy Nutz]

The Packers will beat the Texans. McCarthy's teams don't like to lose two games in a row.

I am not worried about the Texans running the ball against the Packers. They can't beat the Packers by just running the ball, what will kill this defense is their inability to stop the pass or the run with the same defensive personnel. The Packers played a lot of dime in the second half and they got eaten alive both by the pass and the run.

[Joemailman]

The Packers will beat the Texans. McCarthy's teams don't like to lose two games in a row.

That is true. It happened twice in 2010, but in both cases injuries were a huge factor. It happened late in the year at New England when Rodgers was out. It happened earlier against Miami when the defense was decimated with injuries. Matthews, Pickett and Jenkins missed that game. It was right after that that the Packers picked up Howard Green. In both cases though, the Packers were within an eyelash of winning. They'll be in the game Sunday night, despite what some people might think.

[OS PA]

When was the last time the Packers lost by multiple possessions? (Playoff loss to NYG excluded)