Zero2Cool
14 years ago
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/39757341/ns/sports/ 

For 45 minutes each week, the Packers are one of the best teams in the NFL. Unfortunately, for the Packers football games are 60 minutes long.

The Packers have been tied or led in the fourth quarters of all six of their games this year. But opponents have outscored them 52-24 in the fourth quarter and overtime, handing the Packers three losses by field goals, two of them in overtime. When the Packers arent losing tight games in the final period, they are letting the Eagles and Lions get back into the game, turning what should have been blowouts into nail-biters. No lead is safe for the Packers, especially with Brett Favre and Randy Moss in town on Sunday night.

Many people think injuries are the Packers main problem, but they're no more banged-up than other teams. They have bigger issues. Heres a breakdown of the the Packers' issues and the ways the Vikings can exploit those late-game mistakes:

No rushing consistency
Green Bay's running game looks good enough on paper: 101.8 yards per game, 16th in the NFL. But 113 of the 611 rushing yards are from Aaron Rodgers scrambles and sneaks, and 71 more of them came on one Brandon Jackson run. Trim the fat, and the Packers average just 71.2 yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush.

The Packers rushing woes have been especially pronounced in the fourth quarter, when their backs have rushed 32 times for 102 yards (3.4 yards per carry) with just four first downs and a fumble. With Ryan Grant injured, plodders Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn have tried to carry the load, but neither has been effective at chewing up the clock. The Packers best fourth quarter runner -- by a landslide -- has been Rodgers, with seven carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns on scrambles and sneaks. Ideally, you dont want your quarterback to be your leading fourth-quarter rusher.

The Vikings can capitalize because ...
Minnesota's run defense is better than the numbers: 102.2 yards per game, 3.8 yards per rush, and two touchdowns are darn good figures after facing hard-running opponents like the Jets and Dolphins. The Pat Williams-Kevin Williams-E.J. Henderson interior defense is playing as well as ever. Once the Vikings stymie the Packers running game, theyll be able to exploit problem number two.

Strange play calls
Aaron Rodgers has dropped back to pass 23 times in the fourth quarter with the Packers leading. The running backs only have 21 carries in the same circumstances. Balance is all well and good, but youre not supposed to be balanced while winning in the fourth quarter. Youre supposed to be eating the clock.

It gets worse -- the Packers ran 15 plays from the shotgun while leading in the fourth quarter, turning in 12 passes, one handoff, one Rodgers draw, and one Rodgers scramble. The Packers use a shotgun-heavy offense, but cmon coach, were trying to put the Redskins away, here. Lets get Rodgers under center, where hes in better position to hand off.

Rodgers has thrown two interceptions and been sacked twice while trying to ice leads. In one ugly sequence against the Redskins, he was sacked on first down, completed a screen that lost a yard on second down and threw a five-yard pass on 3rd-and-13, all while nursing a three-point lead. An interception on a 1st-and-10 bomb to start the fourth quarter nearly sparked a Lions comeback. Keep handing the ball back to your opponent late in the game, and bad things will happen.

The Vikings can capitalize because ...
Minnesota allows just 9.1 yards per reception, and three of their four interceptions took place in the fourth quarters of its two wins. Passing on the Vikings late in the game is more likely to produce a mistake than a big play.

The disappearing pass rush
While the Packers' offense has gone one-dimensional in the fourth quarter, their pass rush has disappeared. The Packers have 21 sacks for the season, but theyve recorded just one fourth-quarter and one overtime sack in the last five games. Theyve recorded just two third quarter sacks for the whole season.

The lack of pressure made comebacks too easy for opposing quarterbacks. Jay Cutler was sacked three times in the first half by the Packers, then got through the rest of a close game unscathed. Shaun Hill was dumped three times in two quarters, but the Packers then let him pick them apart from a clean pocket. Donovan McNabb endured three sacks through three quarters, then had time in the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit and force overtime.

The Packers must re-think their late-game defense as well as their offense. They have to keep the pressure on with Clay Matthews and their crazy blitzes, even when protecting a lead, because sitting back in zones and watching the clock tick isnt working.

The Vikings can capitalize because ...
While Brett Favre has been sacked 13 times this season, he can still carve up a defense that has eased off (see the Jets game for evidence). You want to give him time to throw so he can generate a bunch of triumphant return headlines? Didnt think so.

General sloppiness
The Packers committed four penalties in the fourth quarter against the Bears, including roughing the passer and pass interference fouls that erased Packers interceptions. (Yes, the fouls helped cause the interceptions, but you get the idea -- sloppiness).

They committed two defensive penalties in overtime to put the Redskins in field goal range. An illegal formation foul erased a punt and led to a fourth-quarter Dolphins touchdown. The Lions stayed with the Packers thanks to a facemask penalty, a fumbled kickoff, and other lapses of discipline. From dumb penalties to coverage lapses, the Packers have a gift for making mistakes at the worst possible times.

The Vikings can capitalize because ...
The Vikings were outgained Sunday 314-188 by the Cowboys. They won because of a Percy Harvin kickoff return touchdown and 91 yards of Cowboys penalties, including an offensive pass interference foul to nullify a Cowboys touchdown and a DPI flag that helped the Vikings kill the clock. If anyone can draw a flag on a borderline roughing-the-passer call, its Favre. The Vikings had to muck out a win on penalties and turnovers. Why not make it two in a row?


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gbpfan
14 years ago
ouch when you read this it sure makes us look bad.
zombieslayer
14 years ago
Hmm....

Seems like a simple solution for me. Lobby the NFL to only play 3 quarters. Say something about injuries and concussions and have the media listening and we might have a shot.
My man Donald Driver
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(thanks to Pack93z for the pic)
2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. 🇹🇹 🇲🇲 🇦🇷
Greg C.
14 years ago
What a horrible article. Mostly he just strings together statistical patterns and pretends he is offering real insights.

What's especially stupid is how he imagines that putting pressure on a QB is a strategic decision, like something you can decide to do or decide not to do. Putting pressure on a QB is mostly a result of your players winning their matchups. Blitzing doesn't always work. The Packers got torched when they blitzed McNabb in the second half, and the Jets got torched when they blitzed Favre in the second half. This guy didn't even notice that. Did he really watch the games or did he just look at the box scores?

When he mentioned the Packers' injuries near the beginning of the article, I almost stopped reading when I reached the line, "...they're no more banged-up than most other teams." I wish I had.
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Packers_Finland
14 years ago

When he mentioned the Packers' injuries near the beginning of the article, I almost stopped reading when I reached the line, "...they're no more banged-up than most other teams." I wish I had.

"Greg C." wrote:



And the really fun part is that he attributes the reason why "Packers are not looking so Super" to the fact that the running game has become inconsistent due to Ryan Grant's injury.
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gbguy20
14 years ago
This article basically summed up everything i've been saying which is awesome. depressing, but awesome.
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Zero2Cool
14 years ago

This article basically summed up everything i've been saying which is awesome. depressing, but awesome.

"gbguy20" wrote:



I find it hard to consider the Packers failures as Awesome, at all.
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gbguy20
14 years ago
Well that's not what my post said so ~
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Nonstopdrivel
14 years ago
I predicted before the season began that if the Packers strung together a pair of losses, articles with just this title would begin to pop up. This is par for the course. If they win two or three games in a row, they will suddenly be Super Bowl favorites again. Sports journalists are pathological bandwagon jumpers.
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wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member
14 years ago
this guy blows back and forth.

first he says

No rushing consistency



Then he says

Aaron Rodgers has dropped back to pass 23 times in the fourth quarter with the Packers leading. The running backs only have 21 carries in the same circumstances. Balance is all well and good, but youre not supposed to be balanced while winning in the fourth quarter.



Next he says

Lets get Rodgers under center, where hes in better position to hand off.



Finally

While the Packers' offense has gone one-dimensional in the fourth quarter,



I want to know how you can have no rushing consistency and yet nearly rush half of the time? How can GB consider GB to be one dimensional when the facts he provided don't show that?
He also complains about their poor rushing avg in the 4th quarter. (3.4 avg) and yet wants them to go from being "one dimensional" in passing to "one dimensional" in running the ball so they can milk the clock. If the other team knows they are going to run the ball their avg would be even worse than it is. Having Rodgers in shot gun would seem to give him and the offense a better chance of getting a 1st down and thus milk the clock instead of 3 running plays and punt the ball.
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Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (17h) : Bengals planning to Franchise Tag Tamaurice Higgins
Zero2Cool (14-Feb) : Packers are hiring Luke Getsy as senior offensive assistant.
Martha Careful (12-Feb) : I would love to have them both, esp. Crosby, but either might be too expensive.
Zero2Cool (12-Feb) : Keisean Nixon is trying to get Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams lol
Mucky Tundra (11-Feb) : Yeah where did it go?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : or did you resctrict access to that topic?
packerfanoutwest (11-Feb) : why did you remove the Playoff topic?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Tua’s old DC won a Super Bowl Year 1 with Tua’s former backup
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : *winning MVP
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Funny observation I've heard: Carson Wentz was on the sideline for both Eagles Super Bowl wins w/guys supposed to be his back up winning
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : NFL thought it would get more attention week preceding Super Bowl.
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Yes, the Pro Bowl. It was played Sunday before Super Bowl from 2010-2022
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : pro bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : From 2010 to 2022, it was played on the Sunday before the Super Bowl
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : They moved it to the BYE week before Super Bowl several years ago.
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : it was always after the SB.....
beast (10-Feb) : Though I stop following pro bowl years ago
beast (10-Feb) : I thought the pro game was before the Super Bowl?
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : ok now for the Pro Bowl Game in Hawaii
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : If I was Philly I would try to end it instead of punting it
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : VICTORY! We have (moral) victory!
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Hey they mentioned that we 3-peted
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : seems to me the 49ers should have traded Aiyuk when they had the chance
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : if the Eagles get it down to the 1, do they Tush Push or give it to Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : 49ers have a money problem if they want to sign their QB
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Wait for real? Didn't he just get an extension two years ago?
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : 49ers gonna trade Deebo. Interesting
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Replays always never seem to show the holdings
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Great throw by Hurts
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Where Carter falls prey to bad off the field influences (to be clear, not saying he'd clip someone though)
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Had Carter not gone to Philly were they already had a lot of old college friends, he ends up in a similar spot to Aaron Hernandez
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : I think some of his coaches told scouts to stay away
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : the street racing incident+conditioning and motivation problems
beast (10-Feb) : Then Carter was street racing, where the other car crashed and people died... and other teams were scared to pick Carter for some reason
beast (10-Feb) : I think the Saints traded up, giving their next year 1st to the Eagles, and then they sucked and Eagles got the 10th overall pick
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : wtf Barkley?
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : Getting Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round in 2023 was pretty darn good
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : for some reason i'm thinking of a draft where the Eagles where in the mid 20s and a top player fell all the way to them
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : I think so. I would need to look it up. Think it may have been Carolina's pick.
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : i'm not sure who i'm thinking of now
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : oh fuck me i messed that up
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Jordan Davis was 13th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Carter was 9th overall
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles had 15th and 10th selections, moved to 13 and 9 to get Davis and Carter back to back
Zero2Cool (10-Feb) : Eagles traded up for Carter, didn't they?
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Obviously he was a huge risk but getting a top 5 talent on the dline in the mid 20s is fortuitous
Mucky Tundra (10-Feb) : Jalen Carter falling into their lap certainly helps
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : And we could only wish to have this type of D
TheKanataThrilla (10-Feb) : It's not like Philly has had low draft picks, but has managed to get themselves a top notch pass rush. We spend so much draft capital of D
packerfanoutwest (10-Feb) : another crap halftime show
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