Week 11 Metrics It's hard to come away impressed with this game, but it's also really hard to understand how Josh Freeman got to 342 yards passing. Tramon Williams was bested for 3 early completions on the backshoulder or stop fade, which could clearly be a problem in Detroit, but let's remember, that's not the easiest route to stop for any corner, nor is it the easiest pass to complete for any QB-WR tandem. Generally takes a lot of practice and reps.
Teams are really throwing away from Woodson. I think he's clearly instilled the scare against teams using his reputation and some extremely crafty cuts and reads that he knows what they're doing before the receiver comes out of his break. When you have a corner making those types of breaks on the ball, any quarterback looking to protect the ball will look to avoid that player when possible. Love seeing him more involved near the LOS again too. Half that TD number and that's a 1st team all-pro right there, though still on a different playing level than Revis.
It really isn't fun to watch Bishop and Peprah in man coverage. While I love the idea on the perimeter, it's getting to the point where it doesn't matter much if we can't get that type of ability in the middle of the field. Bishop isn't athletically endowed down the field or when he has to turn his back to the line. Peprah just is also limited in what he can do. I think the Packers have been hesitant to use Burnett in that role with the cast on his hand. Can't WAIT to see him take that damn thing off. Eliminate the cast and the miscommunications he's potentially been responsible for and that's one helluva boost to the lineup down the stretch. Definite potential area of improvement if he can get healthy soon.
Shields just got caught flatfooted on the long completion over the top. He was clearly expecting the route to be broken off at about 10 yards of depth, but Benn just took it downfield. Right there Shields illegally contact Benn and instead of trusting his deep speed to get him back into position, he basically panicked instead of looking for the ball and played the receiver, which is not his strength. On the touchdown, he played outside leverage given how often the Bucs were attacking the fade and considering how Hawk was supposed to help protect against the slant. Hawk got sucked up too close to the LOS and it was easy pickings at that point.
You want to see night and day in run defense, check these numbers out:
Against the 3-4 front: 7 att., 1 yard (0.1 YPC) including 3 stops behind the line of scrimmage. Longest run of 3 yards.
Against the 2-4 front: 9 att., 98 yards (10.9 YPC) including 3 runs > 10 yards.
Against the 2-5 front: 1 att., 2 yards (2.0 YPC)
That was easily one of Pickett's best games in recent memory. The man was really doing it all. He absorbed double teams, shot the gap, chased a play from behind...LIS more or less everything. Incredibly impressive performance. Clay also looked pretty good in this area. Bishop missed the point blank tackle on LeGarrette Blount on the 54 yard rumble.