[. . .] The coaching staff, however, scores every play. According to MM, our D has been beaten 5 plays per game more frequently than last year. That's quite a few.

TheHardRightEdge wrote:

Sure, I don't disagree with that. I have called them a little above average this year. Which is quite a bit lower than they were last year when they were one of the top Ds in the league. 5 plays a game sound about right.

However, you have to also consider the league leading turnovers. Some times a huge play on D makes up for a couple where you just were not as good as the other team.

Like I have said before, the 100 rating they allowed Eli is something that would concern me. Personally I don't care about the yards. They don't mean anything. But that rating wasn't good.

It was better than the Saints allowed him though.

holyterra wrote:

And like I have said before, you cannot rely on takeaways in every game, particularly against QBs that make a habit of protecting the ball, the kind we're likely to run into in the playoffs. You can, however, rely on a fundamentally sound defense, if you have one.

I don't care about yards either in any one particular game, provided you get the takeaways. However, the yards will matter a lot without them.

Occasionally, a D will step it up a notch in the playoffs, but for the most part a unit's personality and performance is established by this point in the season. It is beyond the point where much can be done about it.

This defense has played best when playing man press coverage and blitzing, but we've not done a lot of that in combination. It is probably viewed as too risky, but it seems to get the guys focused on staying with the receiver and less about "making plays", which more often then not turns into "bad technique", i.e., guessing wrong about where the receiver and/or the top side help is going. We stink in zone when the Newtons and Rivers are not throwing behind or airmailing balls over their receivers. We'll see how far it takes us. I guess we'll just have to keep out-shooting opponents.

Lets hope everybody is healthy for the playoffs, and Go Like H*ll, Pack, Go!

TheHardRightEdge wrote:

I don't see why the picks have to slow down. We have been doing this for the last 18 straight games. Against playoff teams.

They don't just get picks, they give up 40 yards and force a punt, they make teams go for it on 4th down and get nothing out of it because they are so far behind they take risks.

They may be getting beat 5 more time a game than last year, but I still think overall they win more than they lose. Which is the whole point.

Yes it would be nice if they were better, that should go without saying. But I think they are a better than average D that has been playing prevent a lot. Allowing yards and scores that don't mean anything.

holyterra wrote:

The Packers' loss gives hope to the rest of the league's potential playoff field. As it turns out, you can beat Green Bay if you pressure Rodgers consistently, hit him often enough, and make him play tenatively in the pocket. Just like any other NFL quarterback. The Chiefs sacked Rodgers four times (three by outside linebacker Tamba Hali) and that doesn't even begin to tell the story of how effective and relentless their pass rush was against Green Bay.

For the Packers, their shaky offensive line play just became concern No. 1 as they look ahead to the playoffs. Green Bay's offensive line hasn't exactly been the Great Wall of China even in the best of times, but it got overran by the aggressive Chiefs, who at times beat the Packers with just a three-man rush.

Even worse for Green Bay, its line is now banged up at the wrong time of the year. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga left the game in the first half with a knee injury, and his replacement, rookie Derek Sherrod, the team's 2011 first-round pick, broke his leg in the third quarter. That required right guard T.J. Lang to shift over to right tackle, leaving only right guard Josh Sitton and center Scott Wells in the slots they began this season in.

Green Bay should remain the overwhelming NFC favorite heading into the postseason, but the Packers suddenly look vulnerable in ways they haven't all season. The loss of injured receiver Greg Jennings (knee) to the passing game was noticeable, with Rodgers completing just 17 of 35 passes (his first sub-50 percent completion showing of the season) for 235 yards, a mere 59 of those in the first half when Kansas City held a 6-0 lead. Green Bay's other pass-catchers did not pick up the slack, dropping at least five or six of Rodgers' throws.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/12/18/week.15/index.html#ixzz1gwQ2GlsJ 

Don Banks wrote:

The blueprint is to play your best game of the year against a disinterested Packer team and barely win.

If they can manage that, they got it made.

Originally Posted by: Dexter_Sinister 

The blueprint is to play your best game of the year against a disinterested Packer team and barely win.

If they can manage that, they got it made.

Originally Posted by: Dexter_Sinister