More Banjo: Week 1 versus Bears

[Rutnstrut]

evryone likes to talk about how good a-rod is at extending plays

but maybe, just maybe. he would be much better if he just stood in the pocket and got the ball out quick, instead of looking for the long TD and thinking about escape routes

as he gets older, its something we HAVE to implement. and in that case we also have to completely change the blocking scheme imo

last night was not the first time we've seen the offense go into that type of scheme and have it work really well. stubby and a-rod just need to stick to it, and get away from that other shit they always go back to

That makes sense, but for it to work GB needs a solid line. What they have now is mediocre on a good day.

[Zool]

Despite what half the whiners say on this forum, our O Line is not half bad. We don't have road grade maulers, but when they are on, they work as a pretty cohesive group.
Bulaga needed some time to get his feet under him and unfortunately it was against Mack in the first game. Mack will not have the impact he had last night on the second go round.
The communication and switching was off, and that favors a good defense like the Bears.
If Rodgers is healthy, we win going away at Soldier Field.

The o-line was horrendous in the first half. When Chicago’s fat boys in the middle got tired in the second half is when the protection improved.

[Fritz]

It will be interesting to see if McCray can do better this week.

[pbmax]

It will be interesting to see if McCray can do better this week.

The worrying part is that as nuts as we thought it was to release Sitton, Lane Taylor was pretty solid from the get go.

Akeem Hicks is no picnic, but I'm not sure Taylor ever looked that bad replacing Sitton as McCray did replacing Evans.

[bobblehead]

Packer Report @PackerReport
McCarthy was planning to go with Kizer until they were returning to the field for the third quarter.

So basically Rodgers looked so good because he was using the Kizer 2nd half gameplan.

[bobblehead]

I don't have a problem with the play call. I wouldn't necessarily be going all out trying to score in the last minute of the half, but I would try to run some legitimate plays, hopefully successfully, to give Kizer (and the offense as a whole) some success to build on. Taking a knee does nothing to give him confidence. A couple safe passes gaining a few yards could build his confidence.

Being scared to run real plays for fear of failure is like using your starters for about 10 plays in preseason for fear of injury. It might protect against the undesirable result, but it does nothing to prepare the team.

MM "plays it safe" more than I would like as it is.

He could have called a run play and hammered mack...maybe have someone cut him and put his ass on the ground a couple times before half to take some steam out of his britches.

[bobblehead]

They were drafted to pass protect - agile guys with good feet mostly. Well, then there's McCray - but you can;'t have everything. The no-show pick from out west also has great feet, but so-so anchor. It's a passing league and you have the best passer in Rodgers, so it makes sense. Hope that line can block close to as well next week as quarters 3 and 4 last night. Might win the game.

I disagree and its part of the reason I bitch we don't run the ball enough. We don't allow the OL to beat up the DL. Bak, Bulaga, McCray and Linsley are actually ALL PLUS run blockers. Taylor is adequate. Maybe McCray is only adequate as a guard, haven't seen enough yet.

[pbmax]

The Packers learned something with that screen int though.

On the TD to Allison, they had a back release late not quite to the flat, almost a naked screen, on their right. Mack saw it and dropped his pass rush. Gave Rodgers one of the best pockets he had to that point for the throw.

I too like McCarthy to be aggressive generally. But throw it downfield.

[mraynrand]

I disagree and its part of the reason I bitch we don't run the ball enough. We don't allow the OL to beat up the DL. Bak, Bulaga, McCray and Linsley are actually ALL PLUS run blockers. Taylor is adequate. Maybe McCray is only adequate as a guard, haven't seen enough yet.

Yeah, I don't agree, but it's hard to argue the point, since the run game plays off the success of the passing game. I don't see this line being able to just line up and run the ball effectively, consistently, though they did for some stretches last year.

One thing perhaps we may agree on is that the offense is not patient, but I think that comes from an overall coaching philosophy to get ahead and force the opposition to play catch-up, and get them one-dimensional. Probably comes in part from less confidence in the defense.

Maybe with more confidence in the defense, they'll grind out a few more drives in the ground this year? Is that too hopeful?

[mraynrand]

The Packers learned something with that screen int though.

On the TD to Allison, they had a back release late not quite to the flat, almost a naked screen, on their right. Mack saw it and dropped his pass rush. Gave Rodgers one of the best pockets he had to that point for the throw.

Good observation. It looked strange when Mack stopped his pass rush, but there was no one else there with outside responsibility - probably because the receivers dragged the coverage downfield. An advantage of having a vertical passing offense versus the more horizontal offense of the Bears.

[Zool]

I don't have a problem with the play call. I wouldn't necessarily be going all out trying to score in the last minute of the half, but I would try to run some legitimate plays, hopefully successfully, to give Kizer (and the offense as a whole) some success to build on. Taking a knee does nothing to give him confidence. A couple safe passes gaining a few yards could build his confidence.

Agreed. I watched the play a couple more times and Mack made a hellova play. Once he recognized screen, he bounces back off Bulaga a yard or 2 and gets his eyes and hands up. Lindsley holds his block for 1 more second or Bulaga cuts Mack and it is a different outcome.

[Patler]

He could have called a run play and hammered mack...maybe have someone cut him and put his ass on the ground a couple times before half to take some steam out of his britches.

He could have, sure. I was thinking more about trying to get Kizer going, especially after the fumble.

[Packgator]

Clay Matthews is the lowest graded "edge rusher" in the entire league for week 1....

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Article/Clay-Matthews-lowest-graded-edge-rusher--121750065/

[channtheman]

evryone likes to talk about how good a-rod is at extending plays

but maybe, just maybe. he would be much better if he just stood in the pocket and got the ball out quick, instead of looking for the long TD and thinking about escape routes

as he gets older, its something we HAVE to implement. and in that case we also have to completely change the blocking scheme imo

last night was not the first time we've seen the offense go into that type of scheme and have it work really well. stubby and a-rod just need to stick to it, and get away from that other shit they always go back to

Completely agree. I can't stand it when the announcers start talking about how great Rodgers is out of the pocket. Sure, Rodgers is good when he hold the ball forever, but he's better when we go simple, quick passes. Plays that are designed to get a guy open. The first 3 incomplete passes to start the game were so frustrating to watch. Reminded me of when I was a kid and the play on the playground was "go deep."

[3irty1]

Clay Matthews is the lowest graded "edge rusher" in the entire league for week 1....

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-...er--121750065/

When PFF finished rating all the edge rushers they did find one guy worse than Clay:

"Just how bad was Clay Matthews? Out of 114 edge rushers, Matthews was ranked No. 113 according to Pro Football Focus — just ahead of Kyler Fackrell, which is awfully poetic."

https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/corys-corner-who-is-clay-matthews-112