dfosterf
15 years ago
Packers must adjust 

Weekend notes: Packers must adjust

Cowboys pressure will force a change in plans. Matt Bowen


How does Green Bay game plan to stop the Cowboys pressure?

Of all the games Sunday in the NFL, the Packers-Cowboys matchup intrigues me from a game-planning perspective because of the deficiencies in the Green Bay offensive line. We can't sit here and spin it any way we want, or point blame at whomever we want, but the bottom line is that the Packers go into tomorrow afternoons game with a major issue in stopping the Dallas pressure.

Green Bay has given up 37 sacks through eight games, and a week of corrections after watching film isnt going to turn this offensive line into one of the top units in the league. The Packers are not going to find a magic formula thats going to change the way they play up front in one week. Their offensive line is and will be an issue for the rest of the season.

But the Packers can adjust how they attack Dallas offensively by attacking the same pressure that Dallas is winning with.

We know the Cowboys are going to bring pressure because thats who they are as a defense. As we saw last week in their matchup with Philly, the Boys shut down Donovan McNabb and the multiple weapons the Eagles have because of their ability to win one-on-one matchups up front and get to the quarterback preventing the long developing deep routes of Andy Reids offense. McNabb ended up throwing two picks, and the Eagles offensive became stagnant because the deep ball was taken out of their game plan.

And thats why, if Im calling plays for the Packers on Sunday, I script a game plan that can work against pressure teams. For example, the screen and draw especially on early downs the three-step passing game and all the routes that come with it (slant, hitch, fade, out), and the bubble, or wide receiver, screen.

Anything that gets the ball out of quarterback Aaron Rodgers hands quickly and into the hands of his playmakers.

One thing we have to understand with Dallas is that because of all the pressure they bring, they are a heavy man-to-man team in the secondary. Those exact routes I just talked about are big when it comes to using the talents of wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings against man coverage and those same routes can be converted, depending on what looks Rodgers sees on the outside.

A pressed corner? Convert the hitch to the fade, or run the slant. A corner playing off-man coverage at a depth of seven yards? Run the hitch and the out route. But dont get away from what you know works well against a pressure defense. Because against man-to-man teams that bring pressure, theres always an opportunity for receivers to gain big yards after the catch, and Ill take the matchup of Driver and Jennings against the Dallas secondary when it comes to man, and man-free defense.

And if the deep ball is needed, or if the Packers want to take a shot down the field, max protect and run two-man routes usually deep crossing routes that keep eight men in protection. But even then, dont deter from a game plan thats conducive to playing a pressure defense.

But know what youre playing against. Offenses can succeed against pressure teams because they know how to attack them. Yes, the game plan will have to change, and they may become more simplistic from our vantage point, but allowing Dallas to bring six- or seven-man pressure against the Packers offensive line is not going to translate into a win if Rodgers is using the five- and seven-step drop passing game. Those routes take too long to develop, and Rodgers will be forced to eat the ball.

Green Bay is a desperate team right now, and it needs to win against NFC opponents to stay in the wild-card hunt with Atlanta, Philly and the Giants. Chicago has already taken itself out of contention by its performance Thursday night in San Francisco, and Green Bay will join the Bears if it comes up short tomorrow at Lambeau.

However, even with that talk, the offensive game plan will still be the catalyst for the Packers if theyre going to continue to stay relevant when we talk playoffs.

Follow me on Twitter:MattBowen41

buckeyepackfan
15 years ago
One problem....MM is calling the plays.

Great strategy, but IMHO we will see the same ole same ole.

When it doesn't work, then the coaches will have to go over the game film to see "just what went wrong", I am sure "it is fixable".

On and on and on,on and on. The beat won't stop till the break of dawn.

At least after this week there won't be any part time employees shouting "bad" things at MM.
I was addicted to The Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around!
Stevetarded
15 years ago
It wouldn't do any good to dial up plays that work against pressure defenses because nobody plays us that way. Screens don't work so well when all of the linebackers are in coverage.
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gotarace
15 years ago
Maybe we could try something novel and run a true west coast offense this week. Short passes on running downs and hoping the lost art of yards after catch returns.
Smart As a Horse
Hung Like Einstein
Scottish_Packer
15 years ago
Don't you think the Cowboys will be expecting this? There's no way the deep ball would ever get a chance to develop with Ware and Ratlif coming at you. It's all down to Rodgers accuracy and his ability to read and fool DBs, our WRs ability to get YACs and our O-Lines not to cause penalties and give away easy sacks................ awww man I am not confident.
UserPostedImage
evad04
15 years ago
The blueprint on how to get sacks against Green Bay is already well-known.

Mark my words: Dallas will NOT send the house with as much regularity as they have done against other teams. If you look at the film from this season Green Bay is substantially better against the blitz than 4-man pass rushes. I expect to see Dallas do as others have done and only rush four. Not to say we won't see blitzes, but again, the blueprint has already been laid out. Just rush four against the Packers and use the numbers game to mitigate the success of our receivers.

P.S. Obligatory Mike McCarthy is the root of all our problems remark. "Damn playcalling!"
William Henderson didn't have to run people over. His preferred method was levitation.
"I'm a reasonable man, get off my case."
Porforis
15 years ago
The only thing I see here that I don't agree with in his suggestions - the draw. Our O line isn't going to do Grant any favors, and Grant isn't the most elusive or explosive back out there. And we've been terrible at draws for as long as I can remember.
dfosterf
15 years ago
I say get the ball in Ahman Green's hands with some screens, chip and outs, whatever, early and often.

1. I like our chances with him as a pass catcher out of the backfield.

2. I believe this would help open up the rest of our pass AND run game.

3. What I have seen so far has me convinced that Ahman can still mow 'em over, something I rarely see out of Grant.
Tezzy
15 years ago
What happened to our TE play? To me that seems to be the part of our arsenal that has dropped off the face of the planet. I know Finley is out, but seriously, Lee has had more production in the past, and we've seen some flashes from Havner that he at least has the hands and can run. I know we are using them a lot more to chip and help in protection, but I don't remember seeing them pressure the middle of the field much at all, i think that can go a long way to opening up the middle running game.
On top of every beard grows a man.
"The Bears are shell-shocked... and it's breaking my heart."
Pack93z
15 years ago
This will be the best offensive gameplan since 2007 for this regime.. I fully expect a crisp offensive attack..

Will it be enough to win the game.. we shall see.. but my expectations for this ball club today is a very clean efficient performance and a pot full of emotion and fire.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
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