Well, I am here to take my lumps and admit I grossly misjudged this game. Far from being a painfully boring game, it turned out to be one of the most interesting games of the year. Perhaps the most interesting aspect was watching Aaron Rodgers with the headset and playbook calling plays. The Packers actually scored more points (24-21) with Rodgers calling the plays than McCarthy. In my opinion, that was an incredibly selfless thing for Rodgers to do, helping out his backup in a game that very likely cost him MVP votes. Shallow bandwagon jumpers that they are, there are sure to be some voters that will look at Flynn's performance yesterday, look at Drew Brees' performance yesterday, and conclude that Rodgers' accomplishments this year aren't all that impressive after all. On the other hand, I wonder if yesterday was a harbinger of things to come and Rodgers will be given the freedom to call some of his own plays next year. We may be on the cusp of some even more exciting times in Packerland.
Positives for the day:The offense had its highest output of the year, both in terms of yards and touchdowns, on a week in which the starting quarterback, one of the running backs and two of the wide receivers were on the shelf. Anyone who doubts that Matt Flynn could step in and lead this team to the Super Bowl were Aaron Rodgers to go down has probably been silenced now.
Jordy Nelson on the long bomb remains nothing short of amazing. Who would have thought he would finish second to Calvin Johnson in touchdowns and lead the league in average yards per catch?
Tackling returned to this defense. There were still some players -- most notably, Brad Jones -- who seemed to think catapulting themselves obliquely at their targets is sufficient to bring their man down, but overall, we saw some real tackling yesterday.
The defense forced some turnovers, a couple in eye-catching fashion. Unfortunately, the turnovers were the only way they could get off the field, as usual, but it can't be denied that they gave the offense chances to get back on the field.
Jermichael Finley could suddenly catch again. There was only one pass that could even possibly be considered a drop yesterday, leading me to ask why he can catch for Flynn but not for Rodgers?
Ryan Grant had a solid game. His catch and run on the screen pass -- which looked almost impromptu, I'm not convinced it was a called screen -- was nothing short of spectacular. I think he will turn out to be a pivotal weapon in the playoff run, particularly if Starks continues to struggle.
Negatives for the day:The running game failed to get into the end zone again. Of course, on a day when the backup quarterback throws 6 touchdowns, who needs a running game, but it would be nice if the Packers could manage a few rushing touchdowns.
Yes, the defense tackled, but not before 10 or 15 yards. They were playing so soft and deep that almost every forward pass was a guaranteed gain. The purpose of tackling is to stop forward progress, preferably before the first down marker. These guys didn't think it was necessary to touch their man until he had gained the first down.
Tramon Williams looked simply abysmal. He was repeatedly caught flat footed and forced to play catchup, and his tackling, such as it was, involved the bare minimum amount of required contact. He played exactly as if he was trying to avoid injury, which made him virtually ineffective. At least his uniform ended up stained all over, which is more than could be said for some of our other defenders.
Mike Neal didn't just look outmatched out there -- he looked positively impotent. His idea of playing defensive line seems to consist solely in holding both of his arms straight out in front of him and blindly trying to stiff-arm the guy in front of him. He gets little to no penetration and shrinks away from contact. He needs to find his balls if he hopes to play much longer in the NFL.
C.J. Wilson is just as bad. Whereas at least he had one nice hit last week, he was utterly invisible this week. He hangs out on the perimeter and shies away from contact whenever possible. He has the cleanest uniform of anyone on this team because he refuses to go to the ground if it at all possible. I can't tell if he's lazy or terrified of getting hurt, but I can't see him making the roster next year unless Ted Thompson drafts no more defensive linemen or one of our key players gets hurt.
Overall, our defensive line got essentially no push into the backfield, leaving the secondary exposed.
Scott Wells seemed off yesterday. I lost count of the number of times Flynn had to jump up for the ball. Kevin speculated that Wells might have failed to adjust to Flynn's height, but Flynn is listed at the same height and weight as Rodgers. Nothing bad came of it, but it did make me nervous that a sack might result from Flynn's being distracted by a bad snap.
This is a minor gripe, more wistful than anything, but it would have been cool if some of Flynn's stats had gone to Rodgers. He had the chance for a truly historical season, but it was cut short by being pulled out of a total of 7 quarters this year. Allowing Flynn to shine yesterday was no doubt great for Flynn's career and will net him a ton of cash, but the fact remains he won't be on the Packers' roster next year and Rodgers will. I fail to see what the Packers really gained by showcasing Flynn in this way.
Either way, as I said, after the frustrations of the first quarter, this was one of the most exciting games of the year. I only wish I hadn't come down with that headache, so I could have enjoyed it even more.