Ex-Packers Dropping Like Flies

With 6:57 remaining in the 1st quarter of the Minnesota Vikings game on October 15, 2017 the Green Bay Packers season ended. With the exception of the inept Da’ Bears the Packers lost to the Vikings, the Saints, the Lions, (thank god for Da’ Bears) and the Ravens to drop 3 games behind the Vikings, 1 game behind the Lions for the North title and 1 game behind the Lions, Seahawks and Falcons for the last wildcard spot with 6 games remaining. UPDATE: The Vikings beat the Lions on Thanksgiving.

So technically the Packers could right the ship by “running the table” to finish 11-5, but no one thinks that’s going to happen, so for the 1st time since 2008 the Packers will not be playing in the playoffs snapping a string of 8 straight seasons, which tied an NFL record, but that was because Rodgers was quarterback for all of 9 games out of 128 games. He missed 1 game with a concussion in 2010. He missed 1 game in 2011 because Mike McCarthy was afraid Ndomukong Suh was going to hurt him. He then missed 7 games in 2013 with a broken collarbone. He had started 55 straight games when the Vikings cut him down.

His highly qualified replacement Brett Hundley has gotten worse instead of better. Last week was probably the worse quarterback performance by a Packer since T.J. Rubley on November 5, 1995 against the Vikings. The shutout orchestrated by Hundley was also the 1st since Mike McCarthy’s first game ever as the Packers coach against Da’ Bears on September 10, 2006. The Packers had gone 184 games without being shutout until the man Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy stubbornly believe in and won’t bench because the only other quarterback on the roster they evidently don’t believe in at all did the honors. On any other team Hundley would have been benched 2 weeks ago, but not in Green Bay. Hundley must have naked pictures of Thompson or McCarthy or both or both together to keep his job because it can’t be his play on the field, but I digress.

However, since the unmasking of the Packers former Packers have lost their luster. Since October 15 eight former Packers have been cut in the 7 weeks since and one former No. 1 draft pick has been cut twice and 3 times since the beginning of the season

Let the Games Begin

The start of the season is now upon us with the hated Seattle Seahawks coming to Lambeau Field for the doubleheader game on FOX on Sunday.

In the latest NFL Power Rankings on NFL.com the Seahawks are rated No. 1 and the Packers No. 4. I guess that is about right with the Seahawks ahead of the Packers, but I think the pickers aren’t thinking enough about the Packers defense being a liability and the Packers should be a bit lower.

Defense A Work In Progress

Holding the Cleveland Browns to 11 points was a bit of an illusion. Actually the Packers could have lost the game if the touchdown pass in the second quarter had counted. What I saw didn't look good as far as the starters were concerned.



Defensively it was sadly same old, same old. First: Missed tackles. Second: Busted plays resulting in long gains. Third: Being suckered into being out of position on outside containment resulting in long gains, especially the left side. Four: Only two passes defensed on 23 pass attempts. NOT GOOD.

 

Dean Lowry (#94) Has Jumped Ahead Of No. 1 Pick Kenny Clark

The defensive scheme was basically a 2-4-5 most of the game after starting the game in a 3-4-4. The official starting unit was #4 pick Dean Lowry at left end, Letroy Guion at nose tackle and Mike Daniels at right defensive tackle. I hope you notice there is no right defensive end in Dom Capers' scheme, but 2 interior linemen.

 

Deja Vu Every Year

There are some certainties in the world you can depend upon. Death (I'll vouch for that one), Taxes (I'll vouch for that one, too) and Packer injuries (Hell, I will write about that one). Heading into Sunday's Hall of Game against the Colts the best laid plans of mice and Mike McCarthy have been derailed by flurry of second week injuries.

 

The first thing that came out of the Bill Belichick Injury Report this week was the declaration by the Trust in Ted press corps that "There’s no sign that the latest training-camp injuries are serious." Now how in the HELL can they say that with any certainty?

 

The Pick Is In And The Reaction Is Mixed

The New Man On Defense Kenny Clark from UCLA

General Manager Ted Thompson was in the cat bird seat when pick 27 rolled around and he had some big names and some cheaper names to choose from and true to form he chose cheap.

The big names that made the same slide Aaron Rodgers did in Thompson's first draft at a position that I consider the most important to fill were outside linebacker Myles Jack, inside linebacker Jaylon Smith and inside linebacker Reggie Ragland.

Thompson and I truly mean Thompson, because he made the pick and nobody else, especially the scouts, picked a 6-3, 314 defensive tackle from UCLA Kenny Clark. Many felt linebacker and defensive line were the top two need areas and Thompson evidently thought so too, even though the smoke coming from Lyin' Ted was wide receiver, tight end and running back.

Sad State of Affairs

As Always Aaron Rodgers is the Key to Victory

The Packer season has at least two games left with the Packers assured of the third seed or the fifth seed in next week's playoffs.

If the Packers win then they host the wild card playoff game against the sixth seed, which would be against the Vikings if the Seahawks beat the Cardinals or against the Seahawks if Seattle loses. If the Packers lose then they hit the road against the fourth seed Washington.

The best scenario might be to lose and go to Washington that hosting either Seattle or Minnesota. It's sad to think about how far the Packers have fallen under Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy when it would be better to play a road game than play at Lambeau Field.

Post-Game Analysis: The Defense - Wart Hog Report

The defensive line is a mess, but you all can take solace because in a Dom Capers defense you don't need a defensive line. The starting defensive ends were out (2012 No. 4 (132) pick Mike Daniels with an ankle and 2014 free agent from the Vikings Letroy Guion with a hamstring) and this week in practice backup defensive tackle Bruce Gaston (who was signed off the Arizona practice squad last year) has been out with an illness.

 

B.J. Raji Closing Off the Middle

The game opened with three down lineman of 2013 No. 5 (167) pick Josh Boyd at left end, 2009 #1 (9) pick B.J. Raji at nose tackle and defensive tackle turned out of necessity right end 2014 undrafted free agent Mike Pennel, who played real well. He finished with 2 tackles and one for a loss and Boyd had one tackle. Raji controlled the middle so much so the Patriots didn't run up the middle.

Mike Pennel

 

Pennel then moved back to the middle when Raji came out with 2013 No. 1 (23) pick Datone Jones taking over left end and 2014 No. 3 (85) pick Khyri Thornton at right end. Jones had a good game with 2 tackles, but both were sacks (although they came against the reserves) and Thornton, who along with Jones is fighting for his life, had an assisted tackle.

 

Khyri Thornton Tasting It

Thornton slide over to left end when (another player out of position) Gaston played right end. Later 2105 No. 6 (210) Christian Ringo (another defensive tackle) also played right end and Gaston went to left end and 2015 undrafted free agent Lavon Hooks took over in the middle.

 

None of the other down linemen had any tackling stats, but that's no surprise because in a Dom Defense they aren't supposed to make tackles.

 

Now that was some what misleading because the only time Capers uses three down linemen is on first down. Most of the time he goes with two down linemen and an extra defensive back.

 

I absolutely hate two down linemen. I would like to go back to a 4-3 and control the line of scrimmage, which would solve two of the many problems the Dom Defense has had - stopping the run and rushing the passer. You would say that seven sacks would seem to a good stat, but most of those sacks came against the reserves.

 

I know you guys think there would be no place for Clay Matthews, but just think how much better he would be as the fifth rusher coming in free. Think about it. How much better would the Packer defense be if you had a front seven comprised of Datone Jones at left end, B.J. Raji at nose tackle, Mike Pennel at defensive tackle and Mike Daniels at right end with Matthews at one outside linebacker, Julius Peppers at the other outside backer and Sam Barrington in the middle.

 

To sum it up Pennel played well and looks like he will be in the rotation. Raji looked good pushing the center back and clogging the middle. Boyd hasn't looked good since he was a rookie and was so-so against the Patriots. Thornton was ok, Jones looked good against reserves, Ringo looked good in spots as did Gaston and Hooks. I thought the line played well, so it would be interesting to see how they play against the Steelers.

Post-Game Analysis: The Big Picture

My first impression of the Packers-Patriots pre-season game was same old, same old. A big deal was made of Coach Mike McCarthy not calling the offensive plays and it was evident because for the first time since he became head coach we got to see his face during a game instead of just his eyes and the hat as he hid behind the play sheet to make sure no one could read his lips as he called the plays.

 

Mike McCarthy and his Beard

I never understood why he was so worried about it because without reading his lips I predicted almost every play he called in the second halves of game for the past five or six years, at least. It was no mystery to anyone with half a brain (Rush Limbaugh) that the Packer offense would go into slumber mode and would be punting more often than make first downs and adding to their advantage.

 

It seems McCarthy got used to having his lower face covered and decided to grow a beard to obscure his mouth. Maybe the refs won't notice and ignore him when he calls for a replay. Oops, I forgot. He asked for a replay and won on a first-down or fourth-down issue. Let's hope that doesn't fall back to the same old, some old, and he wins more than he loses or throws the red flag on the strangest of calls.

 

However, I regress on an old, but satisfying rant, so let's get back to Tom Clements and his inaugural play calling duties. The first drive was a great example of the acorn not falling far from the tree. Like has been the situation over the past two seasons the Packer offense bogs down in the red zone. My thoughts on the problem has been the lack of a play-making tight end is, at least, part of the problem, but the major problem being uninspired play calling.

 

Brett Favre had Mark Chmura and Bubba Franks as prime end zone targets and Aaron Rodgers had the much maligned Jermichael Finley, but Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers are no Chmura, Franks and Finley (to steal a phrase from former Vice Presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen). Quarless and Rodgers haven't progressed as much as I would like him to.

Do the Raji

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNgMnsT63xY

 

The first week of training camp has started and the reviews are positive, very positive about the return of B. J. Raji to the field. In fact, everybody's favorite punching bag, except mine, has had such a good start to camp that Mike McCarthy and Dom Capers are more than considering moving Letroy Guion to left defensive end.

 

Making the move more intriguing is that 2013 No. 1 draft pick Datone Jones, who was slated to occupy the left defensive end spot has been suspended for the season opener leaving just Josh Boyd as the only other player with experience after Luther Robinson was released during the summer.

 

I DECIDED TO ACCEPT THE MISSION TO GO ON A FOOL'S ERRAND

You will find a 100 different mock drafts with this or that scenario leading to the 30th pick in the first round. When it comes to the other 31 teams, or maybe the other 30, since the Raiders seem to defy logic a lot of time, most of them are very logical and end up picking someone at a need position.

 

But in the case of the Packers it's a fool's errand to predict what General Manager Ted Thompson is going to do, so the art of predicting is a very imprecise. But I will try anyway because...I'm the smartest guy in the room and...whoops, you heard that. I didn't realize I was thinking out loud. Be that as it may let's continue.

 

First let's look back to see what Thompson has done over the past 10 drafts. He has the reputation (through his own words prior to each draft) of drafting the best athlete available (BAA) regardless of position, but does he deserve it? Let's see.

 

Ted Thompson in the War Room

 

2005: 1-24 (QB Aaron Rodgers) - Needs: guard, safety, defensive end, strong side linebacker and running back. However, Brett Favre was nearing the end and the only quarterbacks on the roster were future Hall of Famers (tongue deep in both cheeks) J. T. Sullivan and Craig Nall, so when Rodgers had dropped from No. 1 overall to be available at 24 a future replacement for Favre became the biggest need. NEED.