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| Back to the Future-Mike McCarthy Calling the Plays |
For whatever reason Head Coach Mike McCarthy taking back the play calling duties regenerized the lethargic Packers offense to its second best performance of the season with only 448 total yards gained against the Chiefs in week three topping it.
From what I saw there was four things going on that brought about this offensive explosion. First, the Packers were facing a Cowboys defense that has trouble stopping the run giving up an average of 104.6 yards a game coming in. I only mention this because it is true. Beyond the cold hard statistics the Packers this season haven't been known to take advantage of weaknesses and Sunday they did.
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| Back to the Future-Eddie Lacy Bustin' Loose |
Second, I don't know if Lacy or running back coach Sam Gash has noticed, but when Eddie Lacy is on he bursts off the snap, hits the line in less than a second and goes forward. When he is not he is slow to the line, dances around and runs east to west instead of north to south.
Here's what Lacy had to say about his situation: "Just getting back on track," Lacy said, via the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "I know the last few weeks, things were a little different, but I think it was just the way to show me this is what I love to do and, without it, I’m miserable. And with Coach [Mike McCarthy] taking me out and going through that, it just showed me that’s not what I want. And by him giving me a chance to come out and redeem myself, I think it was just a blessing in disguise. It showed me without this game, without this sport, I’m not happy. I’m unhappy because this is what I like. So I think it was just something that had to happen to jump-start and keep my mind focused like I’ve always been."
Third, the play calling. Tom Clements' offense was bland and predictable. Left guard Josh Sitton said a few weeks ago that the defenses knew what they were going to run. Well, unless you're Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, Forrest Gregg, Jerry Kramer, Jim Ringo, Fuzzy Thurston and Bob Skoronski it takes a good game plan to be successful rushing the ball today and the current Packers are a pale imitation of those Greats.
Now, let's not get too excited about McCarthy's play calling. There was a reason he gave it up and it was a needed change, but it turned out Clements wasn't the man to take over the job. The only problem I had with McCarthy is his love for the off-tackle run, which never works. Since he listened to me about taking back the play calling I hope he listens to me again and dumps that play for good.
Deja vu all over again. McCarthy for some odd reason takes his foot off the pedal in the second half and it still happened last Sunday. The Packers punted on its last possession of the first half, on all three possessions in the third quarter and the opening drive of the fourth quarter for five punts in a row.
The offense shutting down in the third quarter combined with the Packer defense not making adjustments and the opposing team making adjustments led to Packer Backer heartburn after halftime.
Also the inability of getting a yard has to be addressed and my thoughts on the matter is since the Packers went to the zone blocking scheme they have been unable to get that yard. Either that is the problem or the line is soft. Either way it is a major issue that needs to be solved.
Fourth, the Packers receivers were getting open. Clements was part of the problem with the passing game. His plays weren't designed to get yardage with the catch. They were totally dependent upon yards after the catch. The Packer receivers have broken very few tackles this season. The catch is where the play ends, so throwing a ball on the line of the scrimmage and expecting to pick up 10 yards was living in a fantasy world.
The plays against the Cowboys were downfield leaving a reasonable amount of YAC, but like I've said before it you need 10 yards run an 11-yard route. Hopefully McCarthy is still listening
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