 |
| Don't Say Anything Dad |
There are possibly four things going on with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. The first one could have been avoided and the second and third can be fixed, but the fourth is catastrophic.
The first two weeks have proven one thing the Packers offense and Aaron Rodgers are not elite. A good example is the struggles the Packers had against the Jaguars and the lack of struggle the Chargers and Philip Rivers had Sunday against the same Jaguars scoring 38 points while the Packers limped to 27.
 |
If you ranked the Packers offense right now it would be in the middle or lower. The Packers have trouble getting started and in the second half. That could be contributed to the Coach Mike McCarthy's decision to not use the starters during the preseason and not the release of Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton. The struggles of the offense go far beyond the play of Lane Taylor.
 |
| Fumble No. 1 |
The Packers turned the ball over twice on a late fumble and a final interception, but before that there were two more fumbles that the Packers recovered, at least five badly thrown passes and many 3 yard or less runs. The best offensive plays were pass interference calls.
Right now every team is four games ahead of the Packers, so we might not see the Packers offense everyone thinks we should have until week four and if that is true then the Packers would be 1-2 after another struggling game against the Lions next week.
 |
| Fumble No. 2 |
So the first explanation will settle itself out once the starters play together and get on the same page and the season should be just fine. But remember I'm only talking about the offense and not a defense that gave up Aaron Rodgers numbers to a journeyman quarterback who had only been with the team for two weeks and was playing with a bruised hand. But that is another post.
The second explanation is that everyone in the America's Dairyland has been swallowing CEO Mark Murphy and General Manager Ted Thompson's load of crap, except me, about the strength of the Packers roster. The offensive line is not opening holes for Eddie Lacy and James Starks.
Two things have happened recently concerning the line. The first was the outright release of Sitton. That was a mistake if not only for getting nothing in return. If he was a cancer like the Packer front office is now saying then no one knew it and a trade could have been made early in training camp. Thompson blew it on this one and should be fired.
The second is the evaluation of Thompson and/or McCarthy of the talent. Lane Taylor, we are told, is a great run blocker and a work in progress as a pass protector. Well, the problem so far is running, so Taylor's strength is not all it seems to be or we were being fed a line to take the sting out of releasing Sitton. Either way we're being lied to.
Thompson gave left tackle David Bakhtiari $51 million dollars making him one of the top five highest paid left tackles. I have watched Bakhtiari and while he solidified the position after the chaos following the retirement of Chad Clifton he has hit a ceiling as far as talent is concerned.
It was assumed or maybe I only assumed it that the drafting of Jason Spriggs was to replace Bakhtiari and now with a new contract where is Spriggs going to play. Is he going to be moved to left guard? If that is the plan or if JC Tretter being moved to left guard when Corey Linsley returns to center why say Lane Taylor is the next Sitton.
Don Barclay is the only backup at both guards and at center until Linsley returns from injured reserve. Last night he was in for one play at right guard and gave up a sack. Cheating the offense line is something Thompson does every year and that is another reason he should be fired.
These are questions of judgment at the highest levels. I have had those questions for many years, but the Packers Front Office backed by Vic Ketchman and the In Ted We Trust (or Trust in Tedders) crowd ridicule (Ketchman) or shout down and try to banish (Tedders) those who can see the forest and the trees.
 |
| Fumble No. 3 |
The third problem is play calling. If it wasn't for pass interference and a blocked punt the Packers might have been shutout.
There was a reason McCarthy gave up play calling last year and that was the Packers would get off to a great start in the first half and then go into a shell in the second half. Another problem was the red zone offense had been bad for three years.
Last year Associate Head Coach Tom Clements was terrible, but that didn't mean McCarthy should have taken it back. Maybe Offensive Coordinator Edgar Bennett (you do know Edgar is offensive coordinator because I bet most don't) should have been given the job or someone else should have been hired, but not McCarthy.
So once again the red zone offensive play calling is unimaginative. Another issue I think is splitting the playing time of Lacy and James Starks. Eddie Lacy gets better as the game progresses, but taking him out negates that.
A good example of this red zone problem was in the third quarter when the Packers were facing a 3rd-and-2 at the Vikings 14. I was yelling at the TV get the first down, but McCarthy went for the home run to Jordy Nelson in the left corner and the pass was overthrown (a theme for the game).
Then instead of tying the game with a field goal McCarthy decides to go for the first down. Ok, I can live with that, but instead of having our banger Lacy in it was Starks who got stuffed for a 1-yard gain. To add insult to injury Bradford drives 87 yards on 6 plays to take a 17-7 lead - a 10-point swing.
 |
| Is Sam Bradford the New Aaron Rodgers - At Least For One Game He Was |
The fourth is something I was wondering all last season, the off-season and last week, but not the preseason because Aaron Rodgers did not play. Last year Rodgers had his worst season since he became a starter. The excuses were Jordy Nelson was out, Eddie Lacy was fat, the offensive line was nicked up and Richie Rodgers was slow.
Well, this year Jordy Nelson is back, Eddie Lacy is lean and mean, Jared Cook was signed to replace Richie Rodgers, Josh Sitton was cut so Lane Taylor could progress and the rest of the offensive line is healthy (not counting Linsley, because Tretter is being praised as the next coming of Jim Ringo - another example of talent evaluation and public pronouncements thereof).
So what ' the excuse now? Lack of playing time (whose fault is that?). Not on the same page (whose fault is that?). Jordy Nelson not being Jordy Nelson of 2010 to 2014? He isn't and the best combination during the 2010 to 2015 span isn't.
The passes I saw against the Jaguars and the Vikings are not the passes of Aaron Rodgers the best quarterback the league has even seen from 2009-2014. The passes I saw the first two weeks were the passes I saw all of last season. I wondered aloud if Rodgers had lost it last year. There has been nothing shown this year to dispel that theory.
 |
| Trae Waynes Ends The Comeback Bid With An Easy Pick |
Except for Linsley and Sitton the entire offense is intact and yet with the game on the line Rodgers had a chance to prove he was a champ and not a chump, but on the last two possessions with the Packers down by three he fumbled and threw an easy interception.
We may have to find out if Brett Hundley is the real deal and Rodgers needs to be replaced like Kurt Warner was with the Rams and Giants before he found his second life as a Cardinal. We might see Rodgers in a Bears uniform sooner than later.
Let's hope it's just rust because of the mistakes made during the preseason. Let's hope it's just because Jordy Nelson not quite back yet and he will finally be back streaking down the sidelines and the ball landing in his hands instead of being under or over thrown.
Let's hope.................let's just hope the Rodgers of last year (347-572-(60.7%)-3,821-31TD-
I hope I'm wrong, but this is beginning to look like a Tim Masthayest slump instead of rust. Having Rodgers was great, but right now we don't have our Aaron Rodgers we have Brett Favre at the end of career instead. Heaven help us if that's true.
Rodgers had this to say, "We're not going to overreact. It's been two weeks. We haven't quite found our rhythm yet, but we had some guys working in who hadn't worked a lot together so we trust the process and believe we can get this thing turned around."
Sounds like a plan, but not to be a broken record, but once again shouldn't they have played together in preseason.
Since you don't listen to me here's what Kevin Patra from NFL.com said, "Yet,Sunday's sub-par performance wasn't an aberration for Green Bay. It's the continuation of Rodgers' 2015 struggles. The quarterback hasn't thrown for more than 300 yards in 11 games; eight of those contests he's tossed fewer than 250 yards (including both games in 2016). He's gone 14 straight contests with a passer rating below 100. Last year Rodgers threw for a career-low 6.7 yards per attempt. He's worse through two games this season, at 5.9.
We spent all last season noting how much Jordy Nelson's injury impacted Rodgers. Nelson looks healthy enough, yet Rodgers' problems continue.
"The rhythm in the passing game is not what we wanted," coach Mike McCarthy said. "That starts with me. We'll go back and look at the first two weeks and evaluate everything. We will improve."
The turnovers and carelessness with the ball in the pocket from Rodgers also need to improve. While the Vikings' defense provided pressure, there were times the quarterback saw ghosts in the pocket. Per Pro Football Focus, Rodgers was under pressure on 11 dropbacks, ran once, was sacked five times and threw five incompletions. His mechanics and footwork called to mind last season's problems. Not setting his feet can lead to some brilliant plays, but even for an All-Pro like Rodgers, it leads to inconsistency over time.
"It's Week 2, there's always a lot of work to do," Rodgers said. "We're close at times. We just need to figure out what our identity is. That's created throughout the season. We're trying some different things.
"We had some success with two-tight end stuff at times. We just didn't have enough success on third down and we turned the ball over too much."
The Packers have the talent to make this two-game stretch of ugliness forgettable by season's end. Then again, the struggles haven't exactly been a two-game anomaly for Mike McCarthy's offense."
He agrees with everything I have said since last year. Wake up people this is serious. If the Packers lose at home to the Lions heads should roll, including Rodgers if that's what it takes.
No comments:
Post a Comment