Winners and Losers - Charger Edition

[Fritz]

Who was the guy The Flower wanted, but Murphy disallowed because it would shake up the pay scale? Was it Toub?

Hell, at this point Pettine and maybe Hackett would give up a chunk of their paychecks to have a really good ST coach. It would make both those guys' jobs easier.

[texaspackerbacker]

Special teams may have been bad, but not in a game changing way. It shouldn't take much coaching brain power to get your outside guy on kick-offs to turn the runner in and don't let him get to the sideline. Even so, there were no TD returns. I get the impression kick receiving is mostly a personnel thing. It might get better with Tremon Smith back there. I also get the impression that with rule changes (that stupid safety stuff), it's harder to set up a good return. Punt coverage hasn't been that bad, has it? And punt returns probably are best just handled with a fair catch and less risk of a turnover.

Defense is currently the biggest problem, and specifically, it all starts with at least two weak D Linemen, with subsequent compensation needed to help them out.

[Fritz]

I am just pointing out that the three parts of your team are interrelated, and special teams doesn't get talked about as much as offense and defense, yet they are contributing to the struggles.

[pbmax]

Special teams may have been bad, but not in a game changing way. It shouldn't take much coaching brain power to get your outside guy on kick-offs to turn the runner in and don't let him get to the sideline. Even so, there were no TD returns. I get the impression kick receiving is mostly a personnel thing. It might get better with Tremon Smith back there. I also get the impression that with rule changes (that stupid safety stuff), it's harder to set up a good return. Punt coverage hasn't been that bad, has it? And punt returns probably are best just handled with a fair catch and less risk of a turnover.

Defense is currently the biggest problem, and specifically, it all starts with at least two weak D Linemen, with subsequent compensation needed to help them out.

Special Teams can help keep your starting field position healthy. Which can make up for some of your defense shortcomings. It hurt to get poor performances from both. Puts more strain on the offense.

[mraynrand]

Defense is currently the biggest problem, and specifically, it all starts with at least two weak D Linemen, with subsequent compensation needed to help them out.

I would lay the primary blame for both losses this year at the feet of the offense. The defense is middle of the road with a weak middle but is mostly good enough against top offenses for them to win games. It cannot shut down a good offense. Packers will need to score 28+ to beat handful of good teams with typical defensive effort.

I don’t see a way for defense to improve unless some guys are hurt and will get better.

[ThunderDan]

I would lay the primary blame for both losses this year at the feet of the offense. The defense is middle of the road with a weak middle but is mostly good enough against top offenses for them to win games. It cannot shut down a good offense. Packers will need to score 28+ to beat handful of good teams with typical defensive effort.

I don’t see a way for defense to improve unless some guys are hurt and will get better.

We just need to play Chicago and Turdbiscuit every week and our D will be fine.

[RashanGary]

I don’t see a way for defense to improve unless some guys are hurt and will get better.

I actually can see them improving. Alexander and King are both in stages of their career where they’re learning nuances of defense. Savage is a rookie so he’ll keep getting better. Campbell might be our dime linebacker so that means we see less of Redmond and Sullivan and that means Amos can stay at safety.....

The guys up front are still ironing out some of the details.....

The Packers have one of the youngest defenses in the league. I actually can picture them getting better. Especially if they stay healthy and have time to gel.

[bobblehead]

how high are you?

Rhetorical?

[RashanGary]

Rivers, Carr, Stafford, Wentz, Prescott.....

It’s not like the Packers are playing the Jets and Dolphins every week. These other guys get paid too. Just small improvements along with some steadier, ball control offense will be enough. Plus improvements in the return game.

I’m in total disagreement with the doom and gloom after the Chargers game.

[bobblehead]

Can you look at this clip?

Is this an inside zone even though the Center and Guard on the play side are reaching to cut off Clark and Lowry? Or is it a designed counter?

https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/st...87062353592321

I think it was an outside zone. The tackle comes out strong and makes a big push. Center tries to cut off Clark, but Clark wont' allow it. Henry make an awesome fast read that Clark "read" and beat the block. Guard got to Martinez so fast that Henry saw the hole and made a fast cut back. Martinez has to beat that block and blow the play up. That is what makes outside zone so dangerous. when the D commits to stopping it and the back cuts back hard it takes an individual effort to stop a HUGE gain. In this case If sullivan gets juked and Henry is allowed to cut back further he gets 30 easy. Sullivan held strong and forced Henry to leap and get tackled.

[bobblehead]

Duh...not sure why I thought that was Tennessee....we haven't even played them. Looked like Henry though.

[bobblehead]

Rivers, Carr, Stafford, Wentz, Prescott.....

It’s not like the Packers are playing the Jets and Dolphins every week. These other guys get paid too. Just small improvements along with some steadier, ball control offense will be enough. Plus improvements in the return game.

I’m in total disagreement with the doom and gloom after the Chargers game.

I'm with you. They played a shit game. It happens. Its not like we have seen that effort and execution every week. They read too many of their own press clippings and got their ass handed to them. How they react will tell the story.

[pbmax]

Lotta speculation that Campbell gets the Nitro S/ILB snaps as Raven Greene was getting.

He played a lot of coverage last year, so it will be interesting.

[Radagast]

I'm with you. They played a shit game. It happens. Its not like we have seen that effort and execution every week. They read too many of their own press clippings and got their ass handed to them. How they react will tell the story.

I agree. Sometimes getting beat is just what it takes to learn more about yourself.

To me the entire team looked tired and lacked energy. Less pads and more focused walkthroughs could be an answer.

Stopping McCaffrey will be the primary mission vs Carolina, Campbell may indeed play a greater role in this week game plan.

[texaspackerbacker]

I remember Campbell as good in coverage too. I think/hope when they go to something like that Nitro thing, they use Amos in the Greene role with Savage and Campbell back as traditional Safetys.

It seems less likely, however, that the Packers use that sort of lineup against a run heavy team like Carolina.