More Banjo: Divisional Playoff vs. Seattle 2020

[mraynrand]

Sullivan came back and at least played on special teams kickoff coverage. Could only run about 3/4 speed on the play where Burks and Whitewater Jesus crunched the return man.

Always go with the sideline reporter

[Fritz]

A couple of observations:

- Back in the day, announcers doing Packers' games always said that they were never out of it as long as #4 was under center. I always thought that was baloney, as it takes 22 guys. But watching Russell Wilson in the second half, I get it now. I get it. That dude singlehandedly almost won that game for them. He had Lockett, who looked like their Davante Adams, but man oh man, Wilson was a one-man force of nature. He almost broke the Packers' backs on that third and nine or ten run for twenty yards later in the game. They couldn't get that dude on the ground, at least not in the second half until Preston Smith finally, finally got him at a key moment. Wilson had maybe two bad throws; otherwise he was spot-on. He had juice on the ball when needed and threw floaters when it worked best for his receiver. I've never seen anything like it. He really did almost win that game single-handedly. I'd say that he and Patrick Mahomes are the two best quarterbacks playing the game right now. As for that poll Bretsky did about who was the better QB, I said in that thread that if the Packers had Wilson and the Hawks had Rodgers, the Packers with Wilson would steamroll the Seahawks with Rodgers. I stand by that.

- Speaking of QB's, I was highly critical of Rodgers after the Detroit game, and said he had to play way better if the Packers were going to win against Seattle. Well, he did play better. Way better. Dude had a good game, a really good game. He made some really nice throws, was accurate, controlled the play calling nicely, made great adjustments. He just didn't make many mistakes. And his two third-down throws at the end of the game were beautiful. Well, maybe Graham's wasn't perfect, but still, Rodgers deserves credit.

- Kudos to The Flower, too, for not shriveling up at the end of the game and just running the ball on all three downs and hoping his very gassed defense could stop Seattle again. Screw that. So hooray to The Flower for calling passes on both those third down plays. Kudos to him, too, for adhering to the run game earlier, when the Packers were inside the Seattle five and couldn't run it in on first and second down. I liked the play calling in this game. He schemed Adams open a few times, trusted the running game. And by the way, does it look like he - or Rodgers, or both? - have finally decided to pretty much quit spreading the ball around and just going with the guys Rodgers trusts? Graham and Adams, more Adams, some more Graham. One to Allison at a key moment, a quickie to MVS, but really, Rodgers just went with the guys he trusted. And I imagine this was reinforced when Kumerow dropped that one pass he did get...

- I very mistakenly thought the defense would have to win this game because the offense looked so inconsistent throughout the season. But in fact, the offense won this game. They won it by running well and dominating the first half, and they won it in the second half by answering Seattle's first touchdown with one of their own, and by running out the clock so Wilson didn't have a chance to win it at the end. You know that Green Bay defense was absolutely gassed, so it would have been suicide to just run the ball three times and punt it back to Wilson. The offense won this game. Hats off to them. And boo to Fritz for thinking the defense would win it, and double-boo to Fritz for whining toward the end of the game that it looked just like that 2014 season NFC Championship game, that the Packers were surely going to lose.

- As I said earlier, I really thought that with the Packers having such good health, it would be terrible to waste that good luck and let Seattle come in and steal the game. I really thought the Packers were a better team - so I am so glad and relieved they won. They should have, at home. So now it's all house money - I really think San Fran is just too physical and has too much talent on defense, and offensive weapons in places the GB defense is weak (tight end, the running game), for Green Bay to be able to pull out a win. But I'm okay with that - I think the Niners are a better, more talented team. So if the Packers lose, it'll still have been a great season. The one weak link I think SF has is Jeanine Garrapolo. I think that if the Packers can somehow stop the run, and get some pressure on Garrapolo, he'll throw a couple of INT's. But I just don't think that, especially with an ailing Kenny Clark, the Packers can stop the SF running game. I think it would take that, and a fast start by the Packer offense, for an upset to happen.

- Finally, any word on injuries coming out of the game? I wonder about Clark, especially. Also, Jamaal Williams disappeared in the second half. Was that a conscious decision by The Flower, or did he re-injure himself?

[beveaux1]

A couple of observations:

- Back in the day, announcers doing Packers' games always said that they were never out of it as long as #4 was under center. I always thought that was baloney, as it takes 22 guys. But watching Russell Wilson in the second half, I get it now. I get it. That dude singlehandedly almost won that game for them. He had Lockett, who looked like their Davante Adams, but man oh man, Wilson was a one-man force of nature. He almost broke the Packers' backs on that third and nine or ten run for twenty yards later in the game. They couldn't get that dude on the ground, at least not in the second half until Preston Smith finally, finally got him at a key moment. Wilson had maybe two bad throws; otherwise he was spot-on. He had juice on the ball when needed and threw floaters when it worked best for his receiver. I've never seen anything like it. He really did almost win that game single-handedly. I'd say that he and Patrick Mahomes are the two best quarterbacks playing the game right now. As for that poll Bretsky did about who was the better QB, I said in that thread that if the Packers had Wilson and the Hawks had Rodgers, the Packers with Wilson would steamroll the Seahawks with Rodgers. I stand by that.

- Speaking of QB's, I was highly critical of Rodgers after the Detroit game, and said he had to play way better if the Packers were going to win against Seattle. Well, he did play better. Way better. Dude had a good game, a really good game. He made some really nice throws, was accurate, controlled the play calling nicely, made great adjustments. He just didn't make many mistakes. And his two third-down throws at the end of the game were beautiful. Well, maybe Graham's wasn't perfect, but still, Rodgers deserves credit.

- Kudos to The Flower, too, for not shriveling up at the end of the game and just running the ball on all three downs and hoping his very gassed defense could stop Seattle again. Screw that. So hooray to The Flower for calling passes on both those third down plays. Kudos to him, too, for adhering to the run game earlier, when the Packers were inside the Seattle five and couldn't run it in on first and second down. I liked the play calling in this game. He schemed Adams open a few times, trusted the running game. And by the way, does it look like he - or Rodgers, or both? - have finally decided to pretty much quit spreading the ball around and just going with the guys Rodgers trusts? Graham and Adams, more Adams, some more Graham. One to Allison at a key moment, a quickie to MVS, but really, Rodgers just went with the guys he trusted. And I imagine this was reinforced when Kumerow dropped that one pass he did get...

- I very mistakenly thought the defense would have to win this game because the offense looked so inconsistent throughout the season. But in fact, the offense won this game. They won it by running well and dominating the first half, and they won it in the second half by answering Seattle's first touchdown with one of their own, and by running out the clock so Wilson didn't have a chance to win it at the end. You know that Green Bay defense was absolutely gassed, so it would have been suicide to just run the ball three times and punt it back to Wilson. The offense won this game. Hats off to them. And boo to Fritz for thinking the defense would win it, and double-boo to Fritz for whining toward the end of the game that it looked just like that 2014 season NFC Championship game, that the Packers were surely going to lose.

- As I said earlier, I really thought that with the Packers having such good health, it would be terrible to waste that good luck and let Seattle come in and steal the game. I really thought the Packers were a better team - so I am so glad and relieved they won. They should have, at home. So now it's all house money - I really think San Fran is just too physical and has too much talent on defense, and offensive weapons in places the GB defense is weak (tight end, the running game), for Green Bay to be able to pull out a win. But I'm okay with that - I think the Niners are a better, more talented team. So if the Packers lose, it'll still have been a great season. The one weak link I think SF has is Jeanine Garrapolo. I think that if the Packers can somehow stop the run, and get some pressure on Garrapolo, he'll throw a couple of INT's. But I just don't think that, especially with an ailing Kenny Clark, the Packers can stop the SF running game. I think it would take that, and a fast start by the Packer offense, for an upset to happen.

Really an excellent post. By the way, did anyone expect the Titans with Tannehill to crush the Ravens in Baltimore or the Vikings with Cousins to beat the Saints in New Orleans.

I'm hoping the 49ers think they've got this game won because of how handily they crushed us in November. Wouldn't be the first or even the biggest upset of the playoffs if we win.

[ThunderDan]

Always go with the sideline reporter

That hit was 30 feet away from us. I can see my hat on the YouTube video replay that I watched.

Lynch led with the crown of the helmet and makes contact with it first before sliding off and hammering Sullivan in the back with his shoulder.

It was almost completely quiet as the staff worked on Sullivan. The head ref was about 20 feet from us. I screamed at him that not only was it an illegal block in the back but that he could also of kicked Lynch out of the game for initiating contact with the crown of his helmet. The woman behind screamed, "What he said." The ref looked visibly shaken after the hit and wouldn't make eye contact with anyone in the section.

[Fritz]

Lets hope the Niners are reading all their press clippings and re-watching that earlier game in which they blew out the Packers.

And let's hope Kenny Clark prays to the same Jesus that Reggie White did, so he can heal as miraculously.

And dammit, fellas, wash your hands! Quit spreading that flu everywhere!

[RashanGary]

Good stuff fritz

I'm glad to see the offense all of a sudden come alive too.

Rodgers, Adams, Jones with a veteran OL. They finally settled in with an identity. Just in time.

Defensively, I thought that was a really good game against an elite QB. They did just enough to contain him.


Seattle and SF both play that pete Carrol cover 3 bail mixed with man defense. That's back to back weeks getting to hone in on plays designed to expose presnap and then beat this scheme. I expect the offense to he dialed in and razor sharp.

Rodgers had all damn day at the line of scrimmage to do hard counts and what not. I'm not saying they're gonna do hard counts in SF, but it shows that their operation is finally settled in and smooth if they can get to the line that quickly and have that much extra time.

The offense is sneaky good right now and they get an advantage in back to back weeks that nobody is talking about.

[George Cumby]

Lets hope the Niners are reading all their press clippings and re-watching that earlier game in which they blew out the Packers.

And let's hope Kenny Clark prays to the same Jesus that Reggie White did, so he can heal as miraculously.

And dammit, fellas, wash your hands! Quit spreading that flu everywhere!

Their flagship radio station is really hard to take right now. Knbr is usually pretty good but it’s disgusting right now.

The Packers are but a speed bump between them and the Owl.

[mraynrand]

Preach it!

[pbmax]

as far as drawing a line between the markers I thought only one side was THE mark----the other being a reference so to try and draw any inference from a line drawn between the two is non sense....

This is true. The official chains are on the home side of the field. That line that Rand's pic shows gives you a glance at those markers.

[pbmax]

Sullivan came back and at least played on special teams kickoff coverage. Could only run about 3/4 speed on the play where Burks and Whitewater Jesus crunched the return man.

I like a guy who says I will take it easy due to the back condition so I will only play Special Teams.

Its like a vacation, right?

[pbmax]

Hell of a pickup by Jones.

https://mobile.twitter.com/JuhKipp/s...53407923871744

On the other side of that blitz, is Linsley injured? He got beat almost clean on a pretty slow rush.

[pbmax]

Nice post Fritz. I'd give Wilson even more credit if I understood why the Packers were playing such a loose zone with little variance in pressure.

They weren't even in their muddle 6 on the line with everyone standing up except Clark formation.

Duane Brown made a heck of a difference for Seattle is pass pro.

[pbmax]

Rashan Gary with some praise and getting held in an obvious way.

https://twitter.com/RossUglem/status/1216801615103119361

[pbmax]

Huh. Contested throw, tight window, bad mechanics, no follow through. Receiver he (mostly) trusts.

Who does this remind me of?

https://twitter.com/CSimmsQB/status/1216796417773182976

[pbmax]

Also Fritz's post just reminded me: Kudos for The Flower for throwing the ball (with a back in the backfield) when they needed a first down and not just a 25 second clock run.