macbob
  • macbob
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
An article with something for everybody...from Maddenites to ground hogs...it's a little schizophrenic :-"

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/PRN/125860508.html 

We continue our series of reflections on the Packers Super Bowl season as we wait and hope for an end to the collective bargaining stalemate and eventually a return to NFL football.

There is an old adage in the NFL, “run the football, stop the run.” It is a formula that best determines who is winning the war in the trenches and who is a Super Bowl contender. But every rule has exceptions and the Green Bay Packers of 2010 were the exception to that rule. Last season due to the loss of thousand-yard rusher Ryan Grant in the first half of the opener in Philadelphia, the Packers struggled to run the football. They ranked 24th in rushing yards per game (100.4 yards) and 25th in yards per play (3.8 avg. yards). Defensively injuries and a suspension took a toll. It began with the season long suspension of defensive end Johnny Jolly who led the defensive line in tackles in 2009.

Injuries to starting inside linebacker Nick Barnett, who led the team in tackles a team record five seasons in his career, strong safety Atari Bigby, the revolving door at outside linebacker opposite Clay Matthews and the late season calf injury that took defensive end Cullen Jenkins out of the last month of the regular season took a toll. That toll was seen largely in the run defense. The Packers slipped from first in the league defending the run in 2009 (83.3 yards/game) to 18th in the league giving up 114.9 rushing yards per game in 2010.

In my opinion, the genius of Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers is his ability to adapt to the personnel he has available to him in a given week or season. Such was the case last year. Capers started four different players at outside linebacker. He utilized in season “street” free agent pickups like NT Howard Green and OLB Erik Walden to help win key games at the Meadowlands over the Jets and against the Bears in the playoff-clinching win in Green Bay. While the Packers struggled statistically to stop the run during the regular season, they allowed only 6 rushing touchdowns last season, 3rd best mark in the league. The longest run against this defense was 40 yards. You could say, when it counted most, they were able to play effectively against the run.

The team that best reflected the “run the football and stop the run” mantra was the New York Jets. Last year the Jets ranked 4th in rushing the football while they were 3rd in stopping the run. The Vikings with All Pro RB Adrien Peterson were 10th in rushing and 9th in rushing yards allowed per game behind the “Williams Wall.” Neither team was in Dallas for the Super Bowl.

The best teams in the league, the Patriots and Falcons were only solid in either category. New England was 9th in rushing yards per game 11th in stopping the run. Atlanta was 12th running the football 10th in run defense.

So how did the Packers make it all the way to the Super Bowl with their numbers in these normally critical categories?

First off, as everyone knows the NFL in this day and age is a “pass first” league. The Green Bay passing game ranked 5th in the league, quarterback Aaron Rodgers was third in the league in passer rating. The club had 3 wide receivers reach the 50-catch mark for the first time in the 92-year history of the franchise.

Secondly, down the stretch coach Mike McCarthy invested in the ground game. In the final seven games of the regular season the Packers rushed for 108.3 yards per game on 30.4 rushing attempts. That was a fine supplement to the Packers dangerous passing game.

In the post season rookie runner James Starks came to the fore with a 23-carry 123-yard breakout performance in the Wild Card victory at Philadelphia.

The Packers rushed for 138 yards at Philly, 96 yards at Atlanta, and 120 yards in Chicago. Defensively the Eagles made just 82 rushing yards, Atlanta only 45, and the Bears 83 rushing yards.

The Super Bowl was a different story, in part because of the game plan. The Packers only attempted 13 running plays against the vaunted Pittsburgh front seven. McCarthy knew if he could get the game into the secondary of the Steelers, they would not be able to stop the Packers passing attack. He was right!

But in the end, while the 2010 Packers were neither a great running team nor a team that was especially good at stopping the run in the regular season, they proved in the playoffs, you must “run the football and stop the run” if you are on the road to the Super Bowl.

JSOnline.com wrote:

13 years ago
No mention of all the nickel D they played last year? 🤨
beast
13 years ago
So basically the phase “run the football and stop the run” failed this year?

Don't we have articles that have said “pass the football and stop the pass” (not called that but same idea) have worked time after time again and worked last year?


UserPostedImage
Stevetarded
13 years ago
More like "pass so well that it stops them from running and stop the pass".
blank
13 years ago
Yeah, this mantra is not accurate anymore, at least for the time being. I think it was Pete Prisco's power rankings that I just looked at, and it was a 4-piece ranking system: 1) QB 2) pass rusher 3) pass defender 4) LT.

As he says in the article, the NFL is a perimeter game now.
UserPostedImage
Greg C.
13 years ago
It's kind of a funny article. He starts with an outdated premise, eventually admits that it is outdated, but then embraces it again at the end. Maybe Wayne should stick to play-by-play.
blank
nerdmann
13 years ago
They changed the rules in 1970. Previously to that, it had been a power running league. Subsequently to that, it has become a passing league, with guys like Don Coryell and Bill Walsh perfecting their systems based on how to take maximum advantage of the rule changes that benefitted the passing game.
It would have been very interesting to see how Lombardi would have reacted. People look at him as being such an "old school" guy, but he was actually VERY cutting edge in his day.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
macbob
  • macbob
  • Veteran Member Topic Starter
13 years ago

It's kind of a funny article. He starts with an outdated premise, eventually admits that it is outdated, but then embraces it again at the end. Maybe Wayne should stick to play-by-play.

Originally Posted by: Greg C. 



I had similar thoughts reading the article (though I didn't go as far as the play-by-play thought).

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beast (4h) : What does the weather look like?
Martha Careful (9h) : You can wear long-johns mittens and a hat. We want Hill and their other skill guys FROZEN
Zero2Cool (13h) : I'm not sure I hope for that. I'll be at the game.
Martha Careful (25-Nov) : I hope it is colder than a well-diggers ass on Thanksgiving night.
Zero2Cool (25-Nov) : doubt he wants to face the speedsters
beast (25-Nov) : Dolphins offense can be explosive... I wonder if we'll have Alexander back
Zero2Cool (25-Nov) : No Doubs could be issue Thursday
Mucky Tundra (25-Nov) : Bears. Santos. Blocked FG
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : Bears. Vikings. OT
Mucky Tundra (24-Nov) : Thems the breaks I guess
Mucky Tundra (24-Nov) : Two players out and Williams had an injury designation this week but Oladapo is a healthy scratch
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : Packers inactives vs 49ers: • CB Jaire Alexander • S Kitan Oladapo • LB Edgerrin Cooper • OL Jacob Monk
TheKanataThrilla (24-Nov) : Aaron Jones with a costly red zone fumble
Zero2Cool (24-Nov) : When we trade Malik for a 1st rounder, we'll need a new QB2.
packerfanoutwest (23-Nov) : Report: Aaron Rodgers wants to play in 2025, but not for the Jets
beast (23-Nov) : That's what I told the Police officer about my speed when he pulled me over
packerfanoutwest (23-Nov) : NFL told Bears that Packers’ blocked field goal was legal
packerfanoutwest (22-Nov) : 49ers are underdogs at Packers, ending streak of 36 straight games as favorites
Zero2Cool (22-Nov) : 49ers might be down their QB, DL, TE and LT?
packerfanoutwest (22-Nov) : Jaire Alexander says he has a torn PCL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : Even with the context it's ... what?
Mucky Tundra (20-Nov) : Matt LaFleur without context: “I don’t wanna pat you on the butt and you poop in my hand.”
beast (20-Nov) : We brought in a former Packers OL coach to help evaluate OL as a scout
beast (20-Nov) : Jets have been pretty good at picking DL
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He landed good players thanks to high draft slot. He isn't good.
Zero2Cool (20-Nov) : He can shove his knowledge up his ass. He knows nothing.
beast (20-Nov) : More knowledge, just like bring in the Jets head coach
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : What? Why? Huh?
beast (19-Nov) : I wonder if the Packers might to try to bring Douglas in through Milt Hendrickson/Ravens connections
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : The Jets fired Joe Douglas, per sources
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Jets are a mess......
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Pretty sure Jets fired their scouting staff and just pluck former Packers.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Jets sign Anders Carlson to their 53.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : When you cycle the weeks, the total over remains for season. But you get your W/L for that selected week. Confusing.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the total and percentage are the same as the previous weeks
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : the totals are accurate..nrvrtmind
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : I don't follow what you are saying. The totals are not the same as last week.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : ok so then wht are the totals the same as last week?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : NFL Pick'em is auto updated when NFL Scores tab is clicked
Martha Careful (19-Nov) : The offense was OK. Let's not forget the Bear defense is very very good.
packerfanoutwest (19-Nov) : Who updates the leaderboard on NFLPickem?
beast (19-Nov) : Has the Packers offense been worse since the former Jets coach joined the Packers?
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Offense gets his ass in gear, this could be good.
Zero2Cool (19-Nov) : Backup QB helped with three wins. Special Teams contributed to three wins.
bboystyle (18-Nov) : Lions played outside thats why. They scored 16 and 17 in the only 2 outside games this year
Zero2Cool (18-Nov) : The rest of the NFL is catching up to Packers ... kicking is an issue throughout league
packerfanoutwest (18-Nov) : Packers DL Kenny Clark: We knew 'we were going to block' Bears' game-winning field goal attempt
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