More Banjo: Week 2 @ Minnesota

[red]

i am going to throw a name out there in reference to d-rand. they seem similar, both had talent, both could make plays, both got burned a lot. both were first round picks of GB at CB....

T-Buck

[Joemailman]

i am going to throw a name out there in reference to d-rand. they seem similar, both had talent, both could make plays, both got burned a lot. both were first round picks of GB at CB....

T-Buck

Buckley failed here because he was an undisciplined player. Randall had a bad game after a good game in Week 1. I don't see the comparison yet.

[vince]

+1

If being "in sync" is so important, why fritter away the opportunity to get "in sync" by sitting Arod the entire preseason? It sure is getting hard to tell the difference between a team out of sync and one that just ain't very good anymore?

In the case of Nelson, he wasn't ready. There was no option to fritter or not in his case.

They get "in sync" in meetings, film study and at practice more than in preseason games because everything they see is vanilla in the preseason. They can't really practice the whole hard-count read-and-adjust the run/pass option calls/adjust protections and routes "call it at the line" offense they run because the defense isn't disguising anything or changing things up preseason. They practice against and study film together about more disguised coverages and complex packages they expect to see throughout the week.

Those complexities are a big part of the problem at this point - both for Rodgers - who isn't confident in what's going on - and the rest of the guys getting "in sync."

When Rodgers throws back shoulder based on what he sees and Nelson doesn't even consider the possibility of the ball coming his way on a back shoulder throw, that's out of sync. Nothing to do with not being very good from a skills standpoint. It's communication and coordination. That's something you'd expect from Janis but not Jordy.

Although the question of how "good" Jordy is - and how good he will become again (and how quickly) at his age is anybody's guess. The mental aspects of getting past his injury is still affecting his ability to run and cut - and the overall crispness of his game I'd say.

My money's on Jordy continuing to progress but he's not close to the Jordy of old yet and they need that guy to soften up defenses so they can impose their will more with how they want to play. The problem is the only way to get that guy back is to work through the process of him progressing from semi-reliable, stiff-legged Jordy back to explosive, sneaky-fast Jordy who can separate from defenders and snatch the ball way from them with the slightest of mis-steps or head-turns.

Hopefully the upcoming slate of home games against some suspect defenses (although the Giants seem to be playing well defensively) and continuing to correct what's correctable, will be the elixir they need. My bet is they stay aggressive with forcing the dynamic read-and-adjust on-the-fly learning curve together more than regressing/simplifying the offense as many of us are calling for.

In the end it appears that there no adjustments that work well against teams that can get away with pressuring the line of scrimmage, get after the QB and press-man receivers with eight-in-the-box and a single-high safety. We'll see how it goes. Until they can soften defenses up by getting over the top, it's pretty clear it's not going to go well.

[run pMc]

I honestly don't know how much we can or should bank on Jordy being the Jordy of 2014 ever again. He's on the wrong side of 30 coming off a torn ACL. Plus, having him back hasn't solved the offense's problems from what I can see.
It's tough to win on the road, especially when you go -2 on turnovers and your QB does his best Joey Harrington impression. I'm not seeing the accuracy Rodgers used to have, it's like he's afraid to pull the trigger on throws that he used to whiz past defender's helmets.

I'm also puzzled by the WR rotation...if the route running isn't clean, put in Abbrederis. If you want to expose the CB depth, put in 5 WR. What else are the 7 WRs for? You could go no huddle and gadget-run plays with Cobb and Monty out of the backfield. Not sold on the QB or play calling right now, but it is week 2. They have a lot of things to "clean up" with their "fundamentals".

[Maxie the Taxi]

Vince, thanks for the explanation. A lot there I didn't know and still don't understand, but I trust you know what you're talking about. I just heard Steve Young compare the complexity of today's pro game as 50 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10. He said high school game is 2 on that scale. College, 4. A lot more going on Sundays than what the ordinary fan sees on TV.

[vince]

Vince, thanks for the explanation. A lot there I didn't know and still don't understand, but I trust you know what you're talking about. I just heard Steve Young compare the complexity of today's pro game as 50 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10. He said high school game is 2 on that scale. College, 4. A lot more going on Sundays than what the ordinary fan sees on TV.

When there's no one like Diggs (or hopefully Jordy soon) who can go out and beat his guy downfield and/or with the ball in his hands in space from the flat to turn a 5 yard pass into a 20 yard gain, there's not much room on the field for passing or running lanes regardless of scheme. Quick hitters to big bodies like Cook and Rodgers might help. At least that's my theory.

[Maxie the Taxi]

When there's no one like Diggs (or hopefully Jordy soon) who can go out and beat his guy downfield and/or with the ball in his hands in space from the flat to turn a 5 yard pass into a 20 yard gain, there's not much room on the field for passing or running lanes regardless of scheme. Quick hitters to big bodies like Cook and Rodgers might help. At least that's my theory.

I'd love to have Darrin Sproles or a guy like him (David Johnson, say) who can slide across the line and catch a pass for significant yardage. He keeps the LB's honest.

[vince]

Yeah someone who can make a guy miss. Guys might bounce off Lacy every now and again but they usually don't miss him unless he has a head of steam and defenders don't want any part of that.

Cobb can do that some and I think that's the idea behind him lining up in the backfield but I can't recall them throwing him the ball from out of the backfield much at all. Plus teams just match the safety in the box rather than with a linebacker like true RB's often get.

And you're a glutton for punishment wishing for David Johnson. I wish the Packers had Johnson and Diggs. They'd solve a ton of problems.

[pbmax]

When there's no one like Diggs (or hopefully Jordy soon) who can go out and beat his guy downfield and/or with the ball in his hands in space from the flat to turn a 5 yard pass into a 20 yard gain, there's not much room on the field for passing or running lanes regardless of scheme. Quick hitters to big bodies like Cook and Rodgers might help. At least that's my theory.

Monty can do this, but they chose to ride the big guys deep. At some point, he needs to get in.

[pbmax]

In defense of Randall:

Jersey Al - GBP @JerseyAlGBP 2h2 hours ago
I saw a few plays last night where I thought Randall was expecting safety help and didn't get it. Good to hear Capers say that in his PC.

Capers said in his PC today that Randall should had help from other zones on a couple of his plays. I don't think Ha Ha had a good game reading action away from the intended target.

[pbmax]

McCarthy's personnel versus Jacksonville. Remember when he was all about personnel grouping?

This tempo no huddle thing has been the death of his offense.


Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq 8h8 hours ago
By my count, here's what GB's personnel looked like vs Jacksonville (first digit RB/FB, second digit TE):
01-12 (empty backfield, 1 TE)
11-48 (1 RB, 1 TE)
20-7 (RB+FB, 0 TE)
22-1 (RB+FB, 2 TE)

Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq 8h8 hours ago
GB's lone 2 TE set was a kneel to end it. Had more no back sets than two back sets. Every true offensive play had three WRs on the field.

Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq
At one point, GB ran 31 straight plays out of 11 personnel, almost four full drives (4-7)

[Pugger]

Buckley failed here because he was an undisciplined player. Randall had a bad game after a good game in Week 1. I don't see the comparison yet.

Me neither.

[vince]

McCarthy's personnel versus Jacksonville. Remember when he was all about personnel grouping?

This tempo no huddle thing has been the death of his offense.


Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq 8h8 hours ago
By my count, here's what GB's personnel looked like vs Jacksonville (first digit RB/FB, second digit TE):
01-12 (empty backfield, 1 TE)
11-48 (1 RB, 1 TE)
20-7 (RB+FB, 0 TE)
22-1 (RB+FB, 2 TE)

Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq 8h8 hours ago
GB's lone 2 TE set was a kneel to end it. Had more no back sets than two back sets. Every true offensive play had three WRs on the field.

Justis Mosqueda @JuMosq
At one point, GB ran 31 straight plays out of 11 personnel, almost four full drives (4-7)

Tempo is important. They don't have it yet. They go no huddle but run the play clock down to nothing almost every time. They need to play faster. The problem in my opinion is they can't force teams to back off and respect the big play threat. That's why Rodgers is slowing everythign down with hard counts so he can figure out who's coming and from where, then adjust the protection and/or playcall. When he's right they can block it up reasonably well usually but guys still can't get open vs. man coverage and everybody packed up to fill running and passing lanes.

[hoosier]

FWIW. 6 of their losses are against playoff teams (5 on the road) with top 5 defenses, including both superbowl teams from last year and both NFCC teams from last year. Their offense has almost always let down in those instances.

The only truly embarassing loss in that record was the Bears @Lambeau.

Don't forget Detroit at home, when they let one of the worst defenses in the league shut them down.

[Pugger]

Don't forget Detroit at home, when they let one of the worst defenses in the league shut them down.

And unless things are fixed it's gonna be a long afternoon this Sunday.