Bright spots and dull spots 1/4 season mark....

[pbmax]

Welker only became a castoff when his brainpan developed a permanent leak.

[Freak Out]

The problem is practically every fucking play takes forever to develop. Don't these mfers have some quick shit that will give the WRs and even the RBs a chance to RAC up yards. I am sick of it getting chucked deep when a simple dump off for 4 yards would have kept the drive alive. I guess at the end of the day that comes down to M3 but it just seems like lack of discipline overall.

It's been hard to watch.

[yetisnowman]

Yeah, Gronk is a "castoff".

Tom Brady has gone through several "up" and "down" seasons through his career. Like Rodgers, he has gone through seasons where his numbers are record-setting and he has also gone through seasons that would be considered good for the Cutlers of the world but not comparable to top performances. We mostly remember him by highlights, as most fans of other teams remember Rodgers by highlights. He didn't top 100 QB rating until his 7th season and then didn't go over that again until his 10th.

In 2013, a down year for Tom Brady, he had an 87.7 rating, 60.5% completion rating, 25 TDs and 11 INTs.

Rodgers in a down year last year playing without much help at receiver had a 92.7 rating, 60.7% completion, 31 TD, 8 INT. He looks to be struggling in some games this year, but let's see the entire season play out first.

He was referring to WR talent. Gronks a TE.
And Brady's "ups" include 10 AFC title game appearances 6 superbowl appearances and 4 championship rings (3 without a pro bowler at a skill position). That's the key difference. The stats that really matter.

[yetisnowman]

Brady has absolutely done more with less.

[pbmax]

He was referring to WR talent. Gronks a TE.
And Brady's "ups" include 10 AFC title game appearances 6 superbowl appearances and 4 championship rings (3 without a pro bowler at a skill position). That's the key difference. The stats that really matter.

Welker? Moss?

Even Edelman.

But more importantly, the AFC East stinks out loud as does most of the AFC outside. They don't get a challenge until the Championship game. Maybe the Divisional Round of its the Broncos or Ravens.

The Bears were better than any AFC East team for 3 years while Rodgers/McCarthy were together. The stinking Bears with no QB. Caleb Hanie.

[King Friday]

Welker? Moss?

Even Edelman.

Welker is NOT an elite WR talent. Welker is a very good WR...probably comparable to Cobb IMO. New England simply knows how to utilize that kind of receiver far better than the Packers do, and since their depth at the position has been rather poor...Welker was thrown to a lot in his career. His numbers are more a result of the system and Tom Brady than the fact that Welker is a guy who could catch 120 balls a year for any NFL team.

Moss...yep, elite talent. He wasn't in NE for long though...but while he was there, Brady rewrote the record books of the league. Just imagine how great Brady would look if he had a talent like Moss to work with for even a considerable portion of his career?

Edelman? The guy has 21 career TD receptions...playing with probably the greatest QB to ever play in the league. You are just proving my point if he's the 3rd guy you are mentioning as an example of tremendous receiving talent in New England.

[yetisnowman]

Welker? Moss?

Even Edelman.

But more importantly, the AFC East stinks out loud as does most of the AFC outside. They don't get a challenge until the Championship game. Maybe the Divisional Round of its the Broncos or Ravens.

The Bears were better than any AFC East team for 3 years while Rodgers/McCarthy were together. The stinking Bears with no QB. Caleb Hanie.

The original post said that Brady has succeeded and been highly productive with , BY AND LARGE, castoffs. Which is 100% true. Yes if course Randy Moss is an all timer, and Welker and Edelman have been solid players. But Brady won superbowls with Troy Brown and Deion Branch. And Moss and Welker had their best years with Brady throwing them the ball. Its not a coincidence. You can poo poo his division all you want, but going to the superbowl half of every season as a starting NFL qb is no fluke.

[pbmax]

How much did those New England Super Bowl offenses score with Troy Brown and Deion Branch? And how much was dependent on the D in those Super Bowls?

You are confusing a middling NE offense with 3 Super Bowl wins its subsequent superstar Tom Brady offense with one.

[yetisnowman]

How much did those New England Super Bowl offenses score with Troy Brown and Deion Branch? And how much was dependent on the D in those Super Bowls?

You are confusing a middling NE offense with 3 Super Bowl wins its subsequent superstar Tom Brady offense with one.

Your homerism and A-Rod apologism is funny. It's gotten better, mainly because it's harder to deny a 20 game trend, than it is to dismiss a handful of playoff losses.

Brady's resume stands alone. You think even an above average quarterback can get to 10 AFC title games in 12 years? No, that's all time greatness. His only superbowl win with a "middling" offense was the first one. Which by the way was his first season as a starter. And also by the way, still featured him leading his team on a game winning fg drive. Every super bowl win includes signature clutch play from Brady, and signature drives to set up the wins.

[Rutnstrut]

IMO, AR's mechanics are breaking down at times and he makes bad throws. To correct that you need a decent coach. I think Rodgers may be a bit of a diva and think he's above coaching. Why else would they not have corrected his shitty play?? Think about this before you come back with a homer answer.

[pbmax]

Your homerism and A-Rod apologism is funny. It's gotten better, mainly because it's harder to deny a 20 game trend, than it is to dismiss a handful of playoff losses.

Brady's resume stands alone. You think even an above average quarterback can get to 10 AFC title games in 12 years? No, that's all time greatness. His only superbowl win with a "middling" offense was the first one. Which by the way was his first season as a starter. And also by the way, still featured him leading his team on a game winning fg drive. Every super bowl win includes signature clutch play from Brady, and signature drives to set up the wins.

Your mind reading skills need work. I am not apologizing at all for A-Rod. He has been playing terribly since Game 6 last year. But I think his coach broke him by changing a successful offense too much in order to defeat two defenses that had stymied his best efforts (San Fran and Seattle). His mechanics indeed have suffered, but that happens when the design of the offense is to wait 5 seconds for a receiver to break open. His O line is just shaky enough (and was much worse last year) to keep him on skates.

I AM saying that Brady playing with lesser talent has not been true since his breakout 2007 performance. Prior to that, his defense was the dominant unit. He performed very well in that early stage, but was not dominant himself.

I AM saying that Brady is not Manning, Elway or Rodgers. He does not have the same physical skills. He is in an offense specifically tailored to his strengths and the opponents weaknesses. McCarthy is reinventing the wheel by emphasizing second order metrics, like tempo and number of plays, over play design success.

We all wanted Stubby to be less stubborn, but in one critical area, he has harmed the team by changing too much.

[yetisnowman]

Your mind reading skills need work. I am not apologizing at all for A-Rod. He has been playing terribly since Game 6 last year. But I think his coach broke him by changing a successful offense too much in order to defeat two defenses that had stymied his best efforts (San Fran and Seattle). His mechanics indeed have suffered, but that happens when the design of the offense is to wait 5 seconds for a receiver to break open. His O line is just shaky enough (and was much worse last year) to keep him on skates.

I AM saying that Brady playing with lesser talent has not been true since his breakout 2007 performance. Prior to that, his defense was the dominant unit. He performed very well in that early stage, but was not dominant himself.

I AM saying that Brady is not Manning, Elway or Rodgers. He does not have the same physical skills. He is in an offense specifically tailored to his strengths and the opponents weaknesses. McCarthy is reinventing the wheel by emphasizing second order metrics, like tempo and number of plays, over play design success.

We all wanted Stubby to be less stubborn, but in one critical area, he has harmed the team by changing too much.

You have been shifting blame for Arod for years. When people criticized his playoff play since the superbowl run, and even last year and and this year you have dismissed his poor play at times. On innaccurate throws and interceptions. Any way not the point.

I obviously hold postseason dominance in a higher regard than you do. It's not about skillsets. The only long term that has been more efficient is Arod. Brady's 4 rings mean something.
You also were poo pooing Belichek few weeks back when people were praising his ability to compete with a backup and a third string qb.....Someone in this equation has to be all time great right? You don't go to 6 superbowls in 12 years being pretty good. If I'm exaggerating or misrepresenting your positions I apologize.

[pbmax]

You have been shifting blame for Arod for years. When people criticized his playoff play since the superbowl run, and even last year and and this year you have dismissed his poor play at times. On innaccurate throws and interceptions. Any way not the point.

I obviously hold postseason dominance in a higher regard than you do. It's not about skillsets. The only long term that has been more efficient is Arod. Brady's 4 rings mean something.
You also were poo pooing Belichek few weeks back when people were praising his ability to compete with a backup and a third string qb.....Someone in this equation has to be all time great right? You don't go to 6 superbowls in 12 years being pretty good. If I'm exaggerating or misrepresenting your positions I apologize.

I hold postseason dominance in very high regard, just not for individual players. While I think the Patriots regular season has been immensely easier than the Packers, getting to the Super Bowl the number of times they have is impressive, even if their Division Round opponent is frequently laughable.

Only the Packers and Colts come close the NE dominance over the last 10-15 years. Belichick should get the most credit for being on top of that list. And he might be the best ever. But starting 3-1 with a backup QB isn't as impressive as his other accomplishments, especially now that the Cardinals seem to be in a free fall. But we will get a small scale version of that Belichick test this week against a good opponent.

Starks has been going nowhere fast in that no-huddle offense and we saw a team dominating the Giants become extremely ineffective when he entered the game after Lacy was injured. In retrospect, Starks coming in the game presaged a return of the no-huddle and its lack of effectiveness.

But with a week to prepare, like BB had months to prepare for no Brady, we'll get to see if M3 can concoct a better plan for Starks.

My larger concern is that this event showcased how specialized Packers preparation has gotten during the week. That perhaps McCarthy was worried that Starks did not know Lacy's gameplan.

As for Rodgers and post-season, one major component of this rut has been McCarthy's changes to his offense after a few post-season struggles offensively. He moved to take advantage of his QB more, not less, which is telling. This offense probably should have given the Packers another Super Bowl in 2014 (despite Rodgers being hurt) though the debacle in Seattle stopped that cold.

But its been a regular season failure since. So yes, I do still hold that the postseason failures have as much to do with coaching as with Rodgers.

And no, that does not change my mind that McCarthy is close to Belichick's level. Even if he is a beat behind in tailoring a scheme.

[pbmax]

Jason Wilde @jasonjwilde 1h1 hour ago
#NFL announces that #Packers' Oct. 30 game at Atlanta #Falcons has been moved to a 3:25 CT start. Had been a noon kickoff.

[yetisnowman]

Jason Wilde @jasonjwilde 1h1 hour ago
#NFL announces that #Packers' Oct. 30 game at Atlanta #Falcons has been moved to a 3:25 CT start. Had been a noon kickoff.

I'll be there!!!!