January 30, 2016 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
Clay Matthews
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Age: 29
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Ht./Wt: 6’3″,255lbs
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College: USC
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NFL Experience: 7 years
View Career Stats and more
Expectations coming into the season: Packers general manager Ted Thompson once again did not address the inside linebacker position,leaving it up to Matthews to play the spot instead of his usual outside linebacker/pass rush position. Not only was Matthews expected to fill the void inside,he was expected to play well and help hold together the run defense. Matthews delivered. Unfortunately,Matthews didn’t have too many moments where he went beyond simply delivering.
Player’s highlights/low-lights: Matthews’ six tackles helped hold Adrian Peterson to 45 yards in a must-win game against the Vikings on Nov. 22. Matthews’ two sacks against Kansas City in week three contributed to the Packers hot start. Down the stretch,Matthews failed to record a tackle in games against Oakland and Arizona. He also rarely beat his man when rushing from the edge as the season wore on.
Level of Expectations met: I can confidently say that Matthews met expectations. He even had a few games and key moments where he exceeded expectations. That said,I didn’t feel like Matthews made the impact of a star defensive player consistently enough. With a star player like Matthews,you expect expectations to be exceeded — especially during big moments. Is it unfair to expect a player to exceed expectations,especially when that player is playing a new position? Maybe. But I didn’t feel like Matthews made the impact that he typically makes. He rarely won his matchup when he did rush from the outside (especially late in the season) and he had too many moments in later weeks where he disappeared. Overall,it was a good season for Matthews,but not quite the type of Clay Matthews season we’ve grown accustomed to.
Grade: B
Player’s contributions to team success: Who knows what would have happened to the Packers defense if they were forced to play Nate Palmer,Joe Thomas or Jake Ryan full time inside instead of Matthews? I know I sounded critical of Matthews in the expectation section,but he really did everthing the Packers asked him to do. Without him,the Packers defense would not have had the type of year it had.
Grade: B+
Player’s contributions in the playoffs: The main thing preventing Matthews from earning an “A” for the postseason was his inability to win his matchup when rushing from the edge. How nice would it have been to have Matthews discard an Arizona tackle and sack Palmer late in that game?
Grade: B+
Intangibles/misc: Matthews made himself a star by becoming one of the NFL’s best edge pass rushers. Midway through last season,the Packers moved him inside. Matthews wasn’t exactly overjoyed about the decision,but he’s played his tail off and did exactly what the Packers needed him to do inside. Matthews has also turned into an ornery son of a gun as he’s gotten older. Matthews attitude and aggressiveness has helped the Packers’ defense shed the “soft” label.
Grade: A
Overall Grade: B
January 19, 2016 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
After the Green Bay Packers lost the 1960 NFL championship,head coach Vince Lombardi told his team that they would never lose another championship game.
He was right. Lombardi and the Packers won their next nine postseason games.
Under current head coach Mike McCarthy,the Packers have lost seven playoff games. Of those defeats,five have come on the game’s final play.
When it comes to postseason success,McCarthy is no Lombardi. But are the Packers playoff shortcomings – especially in close games – really McCarthy’s fault? Would Lombardi have fared different if he were transplanted to the modern era and roamed the sidelines during each of the Packers heartbreaking playoff defeats?
I have no idea. But I do know this: The Packers shortcomings during clutch playoff situations is maddening. Even after another miracle Hail Mary on Saturday night,in the back of my mind,I kept thinking,“That was awesome,but the Packers typically don’t win these types of games. Things will go south in overtime.”
Unfortunately,my negative mindset proved to be correct. Why have the Packers typically come up short when it matters most in the playoffs under McCarthy? Let’s try and figure it out.
Coaching
We’ve touched on it a bit already,but is McCarthy the one to blame?
I pointed the finger at the coach after last season’s NFC title game meltdown. I’ve also been critical of McCarthy after other playoff defeats,but what coach isn’t going to face criticism after his team loses in the playoffs?
There wasn’t much to be mad at McCarthy about following the loss to the Cardinals. He added a few wrinkles to his normally static game plan that helped keep his team in it despite a long list of injuries.
I believe any criticism of McCarthy cannot be strictly based on his postseason results. What gets me frustrated at McCarthy is his stubbornness,unwillingness to make pass-protection adjustments in-game and set-in-stone pass concepts that don’t adjust to the personnel available to him or what the defense is doing.
When those criticisms carry over from the regular season to the postseason (and sometimes they do),then McCarthy definitely shares in a big chunk of the blame for the Packers playoff failures. But to say these problems are exclusive to McCarthy’s playoff game plans and that they happen every single playoff game is shortsighted.
Young roster
The Packers typically have one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Does youth and inexperience contribute to late-game postseason meltdowns?
Maybe. But look closer at who’s been screwing up in the big spots during these nail-biting contests.
· On Saturday,Sam Shields – a veteran – dropped three interceptions that would have wiped 10 points off the board for Arizona.
· In last season’s NFC title game collapse,Morgan Burnett (veteran) picked off a pass late,then followed the instruction of Julius Peppers (another veteran) to kneel down despite a wide open field in front of him.
· In 2013,Micah Hyde had a game-winning interception slip through his hands late in the game. Hyde was a rookie,so maybe we can chalk that mistake up to youth.
· The overtime period of the 2009 wild-card game loss to Arizona saw Aaron Rodgers – in only his second season as a starter but his fifth season overall – overthrow an open Greg Jennings for a touchdown,then fumble on the game’s final play to give the Cardinals the win.
· Finally,it was Brett Favre – the most veteran of veteran players – who threw the overtime interception that cost the Packers the 2007 NFC title game against New York.
Obviously,there were more plays that led to each Packers loss in the aforementioned games than the ones I’ve highlighted,but it’s been more than the Packers young guys messing up when the game is on the line.
Injuries
Nobody likes to use injuries as an excuse,but do the Packers have a case?
On Saturday,the Packers top four receivers when training camp opened were hurt. Rodgers was,basically,playing on one leg against Seattle in 2014. The 2013 loss to San Francisco featured a laundry list of injured Packers.
Every team is banged up when January rolls around,but the Packers seem to always be a little more banged up than others.
Bad luck
Whether it’s the regular season or the postseason,almost every NFL game comes down to a handful of key plays. For some reason,with the exception of the 2010 Super Bowl run,most of these plays have not gone the Packers’ way.
Was it luck that the Cardinals got two first downs by a single chain-link on Saturday night? Or that Russell Wilson’s desperation heave in 2014 on a late two-point conversion was caught by one of his own players instead of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix? Or that Arizona got away with an obvious offensive pass interference on their last regulation touchdown on Saturday and a facemask on the game’s final play in 2009?
When the ball bounces late in these playoff games,it typically doesn’t bounce the Packers’ way (Saturday’s Hail Mary being a major exception,of course).
All of the above
If the Packers struggles could be tied to just one issue,they probably would have solved it by now. Unfortunately,it’s not that simple.
Everything I’ve mentioned here,and likely several other issues I haven’t even thought about,contribute to the Packers late-game postseason shortcomings.
Is this something that can be fixed? Can a study be conducted and specific changes made that will turn things around? Or is it just a matter of players stepping up,the coaches coaching better and the Packers’ late-game luck turning around?
That’s a question McCarthy will have to address this offseason. Maybe he needs to try a Lombardi-style speech where he tells his team that “They will never lose another postseason game on the final play again.”
Whatever might work,I’m all for it. We’re all sick of seeing the Packers walk off the field in defeat after another late-game playoff loss.
December 28, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
At this point,it really doesn’t matter who the Packers play in the playoffs. With an offense this anemic and an offensive line obliterated by injuries,the playoff future of our favorite football team looks bleak.
But,this is the NFL. We’ve seen mediocre teams catch fire and win Super Bowls before. Right now,it doesn’t look like the Packers will be that mediocre team this season,but you never know.
Let’s pretend we’re all more hopeful than we actually are for a moment. How does that feel? Being optimistic feels good,doesn’t it? Let’s stay in that mindset and ask ourselves a question: Should the Packers throw in the towel against the Vikings on Sunday?
I’m not advocating that the Packers should concede Sunday’s game and another division title,but,well,it kinda sorta makes sense.
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The Packers offensive line is an injured mess. Do we want to force all those guys back out there to play through whatever ailments they have on Sunday night? Or would it make more sense to give them a week off to recover and get healthier for the postseason?
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Aaron Rodgers was a tackling dummy against Arizona. He could probably use a week off,too. And do we really want him playing on Sunday night if his tackles are once again Don Barclay and Josh Walker (or J.C. Tretter)?
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Speaking of injuries,another week for Sam Shields to heal would be nice. Clay Matthews has also disappeared,he could probably use a rest. Julius Peppers is old,you can’t tell me he couldn’t use a week off at this point in the season.
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If the Packers lose Sunday,they would travel to Washington to play the team with a racial slur for a nickname in the first round. If the Packers win,they’d host Seattle or Minnesota at Lambeau. Washington is nowhere near as good as Seattle and not as good as Minnesota. The Packers chances of catching fire in the postseason go up,way up in my opinion,if they start out against Washington instead of Seattle or Minnesota.
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“But we should try and host a home playoff game!” The Packers lost to Detroit at home and Chicago on Favre/Starr night. I don’t think homefield advantage helps them much.
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“But we should try to win another division title!” Nobody cares about division titles. Nobody.
See,I told you taking next week off wasn’t a crazy thought. There are reasons beyond simply trying to avoid a playoff matchup with Seattle.
Will the Packers do it? Not a chance. Should they do it? I don’t know.
Either way,here’s to the Packers pulling a rabbit out of their hats and making some kind of improbable playoff run. Go Pack Go!
December 17, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
Remember when we were all kinda mad that Packers general manager Ted Thompson didn’t trade for Vernon Davis near the NFL trade deadline? Let’s take a look at Davis’s stats since the trade and compare them to the numbers put up by Packers tight end Richard Rodgers over the same time period.
Vernon Davis: 19 catches,196 yards,zero touchdowns.
Richard Rodgers: 26 catches,237 yards,5 touchdowns.
Rodgers also had one of the most memorable catches in Packers history to beat the Lions on a Hail Mary. Davis dropped a fourth-down pass last week that cost his team a shot at beating the Raiders.
Does all of this mean Ted Thompson was absolutely 100 percent correct in not trading for Davis? Of course not. Who knows what might happen the rest of this season? And who knows what type of numbers Davis might be putting up right now if he had Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball?
All I’m saying is a lot of the consternation we saw from some Packers fans when Davis went to Denver instead of Green Bay was probably an overreaction. You have to let these things play out before you grab the torch and the pitch fork.
I have no doubt Thompson did his homework on Davis and determined he wasn’t worth giving up a draft pick. So far,Thompson appears to be right.
December 7, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
I’ve been sitting here trying to think of a way to frame this post,and I can’t do it. Instead of trying to come up with an angle or re-telling my entire “cancer story” for the 500th time,I’m just going to say what I want to say.
Early last week I was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The prognosis is not good,but I’m going to fight like hell to try and beat it.
At first,I wasn’t in much of a fighting mood. Thinking about my 2-year-old son growing up without a father and my pregnant wife having to raise our family without me was devastating. It put me in an emotional black hole that I thought was impossible to claw my way out of.
I was discharged from the hospital on Thursday,about 5 hours before the Packers-Lions game kicked off. Despite my state,I wanted to watch the game. My wife,who is my rock and my everything,and I never miss watching Packers games together and we weren’t going to start that night.
Before continuing,let me get back to the emotional black hole I mentioned earlier. I wouldn’t wish falling into that black hole on my worst enemy. It’s an awful place. Not only did being in that black hole turn me into a sobbing,emotional,uncontrollable mess,it made me incredibly bitter.
After my initial diagnosis on Tuesday,I was wheeled on a hospital bed from the emergency room to a permanent room. Every person I saw along the way – from smiling nurses to families on their way to visit loved ones – I wanted to bludgeon with a hammer.
Why do they get to be healthy? Why can’t they be on this bed instead of me? Don’t they know my wife and I were just told that I have cancer? Quit fucking smiling. Don’t look at me. Get lost and go away.
That attitude continued into the next day. There was also a lot of crying. Check that,it wasn’t crying. It was all out blubbering. Just a flood of tears and a category five hurricane of emotions.
Then it got worse. Way worse.
On Wednesday,an oncologist informed us that my cancer had spread beyond my colon into my abdomen and lymph nodes. The prognosis was bleak. My wife looked at the guy and said we have a 2 year old at home and another due in early May. Can’t you tell us something hopeful?
He said he was sorry. I wanted to stab him with the I.V. needle that was stuck in my arm. I hated not only him,but every healthy person in the entire world. This is bullshit. Why me and not someone else?
Bitterness. Unimaginable bitterness. On top of the sadness,agony,worry,anxiety,depression and everything else,bitterness had not just crept in,it had taken over my mindset.
I pleaded with my wife to,among other things,help me get over this bitterness. It felt unhealthier than the actual cancer. My wife was a wreck herself,but because she’s the best,she started doing what she could. Seeing my parents and my pastor later on Wednesday night also helped start the process of ridding my thoughts of bitterness.
Fast forward to Thursday. Before kickoff,my wife set up a Caring Bridge page so others could follow my fight. I also mentioned my diagnosis on Facebook and Twitter.
By this time,I had seen my son for the first time as a dad with cancer. My in-laws were also at my house to help and my parents had just went home. Having my wife,parents and in-laws either with me or helping out back home during this whole mess was the first big step in ridding myself of this God-awful bitterness.
Getting my son out of his crib after he woke up from his nap also worked wonders.
Progress was being made. I was still an absolute wreck,but the giant cloud of bitterness was starting to break. Instead of being mad at other people for no good reason,I could at least start to focus my energy on the long journey ahead.
As we sat down to watch the Packers-Lions game,I opened my phone to see if anybody had commented on my “announcement.” A lot of people had. A whole lot of people. I really didn’t pay much attention to the game because 1) the Packers were playing awful and 2) I couldn’t keep up with all the well-wishers on Twitter,Facebook and Caring Bridge.
We’ve all wished someone well on social media who’s shared bad news,whether it’s health related or not. Sometimes we send prayers,sometimes a word or two of encouragement. We might not think much about it after we type the words and hit send.
Let me tell you something: They help. A lot. Really,they do. Each and every message,even if it’s the standard “sending thoughts and prayers” or “you can beat this.”
The love and support of my wife and family had already helped me make great strides in ridding my mind of the bitterness. The outpouring of support from social media – from both people I knew in real life and people that I’ve never met – also helped.
I was still stuck way,way,way deep in that emotional black hole,but my wife,my family,my friends,returning home and the social media outpouring had started me on the journey to try and get out of it. Yes,believe it or not,social media can be a good thing. Hearing encouraging words from strangers or people you haven’t seen in a long time is a great cure for excessive bitterness (not to mention an overall morale booster).
Then Aaron Rodgers hit Richard Rodgers on a Hail Mary to get the Packers an improbable win. When Richard Rodgers caught the ball,I yelled like a little school girl,“He caught it! He actually caught it!” Then some weird giggling sound came out of my mouth.
My wife looked at me and said,“That’s the first time you’ve smiled since this started.”
Yup,I was smiling. It didn’t last long,but it was a smile. I didn’t think smiling would ever be possible again. The Rodgers-to-Rodgers Hail Mary made me forget about having cancer for like two seconds. In my state,those two seconds felt like an eternity.
Another step in the right direction.
Obviously,a football game isn’t going to make me better. Neither are notes of support on social media,no matter how many there are. But combined with the efforts of my rock star wife,an incredibly loving family and ready-to-take-action friends,it’s a small piece of the complicated puzzle that,when finally together,will have me ready to fight like hell.
Fast forward to today. I’m still stuck in my black hole,but I can actually see a light above me as I continue to claw my way upward. Once I’m out of this hole,the fight begins.
And I will get out of this hole. The bitterness is gone. The depression,the worry,the anxiety and a whole bunch of other stuff is still there but my wife,family and friends are continuing to push me toward that opening above me that I can now actually see.
Get this: My 2 year old tinkled in his potty for the first time on Saturday night! He sat down,ripped a fart,then tinkled a few drops. If that’s not a pick-me-up,I don’t know what is.
This post has already gone on way longer than it should have,so I’m going to wrap things up. I wish I had some creative way to tie together all the random thoughts I just laid out,but I don’t. Unfortunately,it’s impossible to wrap up situations like this in a neat little bow.
I’m not sure how often I’ll be posting in the coming weeks and months. If you’d like to follow along as I begin this fight,check out my Caring Bridge page or find me on Twitter.
Any and all support is appreciated,especially from the CheeseheadTV community. I need all the help I can get to emerge from this black hole and fight,fight,fight.
Editor’s Note: If you would like to keep abreast of Adam’s upcoming battle,the best thing to do is check
his Caring Bridge page. You just have to create a login,nothing more. Alternatively,you can also follow him on twitter at
@adamczech
November 30, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
This is the NFL on Nov. 30,2015:
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The cheating New England Patriots are no longer undefeated,but once they get a couple players back from injury,should be on track to win the Super Bowl
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A player who beat his naked four-year-old son bloody with a tree branch might win league MVP
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A player with strong evidence against him in a sexual assault case from his college days is the front runner for rookie of the year
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A team with a racial slur for a nickname is leading the NFC East
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And,perhaps most depressing of all,the Packers have gone into a tailspin and are currently looking up in the standings at the Minnesota Vikings.
Basically,this entire season is in the falling category of the legendary Packers Stock Report here at CheeseheadTV.com.
The good news? There are five weeks left for this season to get back on track. That means the Packers start winning again and regain control in the NFC North,the Patriots flop in the playoffs (complete Tom Brady excessively whining to the officials),Adrian Peterson gets his head permanently stuck in a Minnesota snow bank,Jameis Winston goes away and Dan Snyder stubs his toe.
But for now,all we can do is get to the Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Brett Favre and Bart Starr
I was fortunate enough to be at Lambeau on Thursday night. Despite the result of the game,it’s a trip to Lambeau I’ll never forget. Seeing Favre and Starr at midfield was an incredible moment. I have absolutely no regrets about dropping half a mortgage payment to get rained on for 4 hours and witness the halftime ceremony live and in-person.
Mike Daniels
Let’s skip the silly song-and-dance where you wait until the minute before free agency opens to agree on a new contract for Daniels,Ted Thompson. Pay the man now.
Steady
Clay Matthews
The Packers desperately miss Matthews’ presence on the outside pass rush,but if he’s moved away from the middle,the Packers would then desperately miss his presence inside against the run.
Sam Shields
Shields made a nice play to break up a touchdown to Alshon Jeffry on Thursday night. He also held up well whenever he was one-on-one with Jeffry. Quite the difference from week 1 where Jeffry owned Shields all day.
Falling
Aaron Rodgers
Set aside Rodgers’ overall struggles against Carolina,Detroit and Chicago and consider the fact that he and the Packers had a chance to win all three games in the final minutes. They failed every time. If that doesn’t merit a spot in the falling category,I don’t know what does.
Davante Adams
Since returning from his ankle injury,Adams has gone from bad to worse to a total disaster. He’s rarely open,and when he is,he can’t catch the ball. I won’t pile on the young man — the pile is high enough already. Here’s hoping he snaps out of it and fulfills the promise Rodgers and others seem to think he has.
Mike McCarthy
Yup,it’s time to put McCarthy in the falling category. Being in the stadium on Thursday,it was maddening to see just how basic the Packers pass-route concepts are. If it’s not a screen pass to James Starks,the Packers are calling basic slant/flat routes,or verticals where every receiver tries fruitlessly to run past their defender,and if that fails,break off the route and hope to be on the same page as Rodgers. They are rarely on the same page as Rodgers,and the results are a mess. Adjustments need to be made,but with McCarthy at the helm,I don’t think it’ll happen.
November 24, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
The defense learned how to sack a quarterback again,Eddie Lacy re-discovered his power-spin move and the Green Bay Packers figured out a way to get back in the win column with a nice road victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Yes,a lot of the same problems continued to rear their ugly head on offense,but six sacks and a 100-yard rusher go a long way in masking whatever the Packers are still trying to work through in the passing game.
One thing I don’t understand — maybe some of the better X’s and O’s minds who hang around CheeseheadTV.com can explain it to me — is why the offensive brain trust insists on using Richard Rodgers as a receiver in four-receiver sets. It’s painfully obvious by now that Rodgers is only effective in or near the end zone. He’s too slow to separate in space and not nearly nimble enough to make defenders miss and pick up extra yards after the catch.
Unless there are some blocking assignments better suited to a bigger body that I’m not seeing,Jeff Janis should be taking Rodgers’ spot as the fourth receiver in those sets. Yes,the Packers fans who treat Janis as the Second Coming are annoying,but c’mon. Enough is enough with Rodgers as a wideout. Let’s see what Janis can do.
At the very least,hopefully Ty Montgomery returns soon so he can take Rodgers’ spot in four-wide sets.
Now that I’ve give the Packers coaching staff all the advice they need to help improve their passing game,let’s get to this week’s Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Mike Daniels
Have you ever notice how often Daniels knocks over whomever is trying to block him. If you ever take your eye off the ball when the Packers are on defense,lock in on Daniels once. He doesn’t always make the play,but man,he beats the hell out of the unfortunate soul assigned to tray and stop him.
Datone Jones
We saw Jones line up on the outside on Sunday and the plays came in droves. Staying healthy and consistent has always been Jones’ main challenge. We’ll see if he can continue rising over these final six games.
Clay Matthews
Over and over again,the Packers defensive line would fence in Adrian Peterson and Matthews would swoop in for the tackle. The defense appeared to be working as it was designed to work. The fat dudes up front wreck havoc allowing the linebackers to come in and make plays.
(Note: Some might argue that I should have included Mason Crosby in the rising category. These people have a good point,but I have yet to forgive Crosby for whatever the hell that was at the end of the Lions game.)
Steady
B.J. Raji
For the second week in a row,Raji could be seen caving in an entire side of an offensive line.
James Jones
Jones changed it up a big in going from the sleeveless turtleneck to the hoodie. Whatever fashion statement works for Jones,he should keep doing it.
Sam Shields
How about Shields making an open-field tackle on third down on the opening series? That’s something you never would have seen from Shields early in his career.
Falling
Randall Cobb
There’s not much else to say about Cobb besides the weekly drops needing to end. Now.
Adrian Peterson
Eff this guy.
November 18, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
Early in the season,I wrote that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has a permanent place in the rising category of the weekly Packers Stock Report. Readers of this fine website were to assume Rodgers was a riser every week,until told otherwise.
Well,spoiler alert: Rodgers has lost his permanent spot and winds up in this week’s falling category.
I’m not flabbergasted that the Packers have lost three straight games started by Rodgers. Even though the Packers typically respond well to regular season adversity,it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that a a prolonged slump could be caused by defensive ineptitude or special teams meltdowns.
But bad quarterback play? Nah,that’s not going to happen. Rodgers is human — he’ll have a bad game here and there — but he won’t struggle over an entire month.
That’s what I thought,anyway. And I guess I thought wrong.
Rodgers’ receivers are having a tough time getting open,and when they do break free,Rodgers has been missing them. The Packers offensive line has sprung a few leaks,but when the line holds up,Rodgers often dances out of the pocket anyway with his eye on the pass rush instead of downfield.
Rodgers’ fundamentals in the pocket are also out of whack. We’re seeing sidearm flings with both feet off the ground instead of strong throws where everything is pointed at the target.
Even Rodgers’ postgame press conference game is off. Instead of adequately addressing questions about why his team just lost to the @#%^&%$ Lions at home,Rodgers made a political statement on Sunday. Hey,good for Rodgers for calling out that idiot “fan,” but could you at least answer the football-related questions before climbing up on your soapbox?
Everything about this Packers team has been weird since the bye week,including the quarterback.
There are seven games left to play,which is plenty of time for things to turn from weird to normal again. And by normal,I mean the Packers start rolling over inferior teams like the Lions again and seizing control of the NFC North.
If that’s going to happen,Rodgers needs to re-claim his permanent spot in the rising category.
On to the Stock Report:
Rising
Justin Perillo
He might look like the aging drummer from an 80s hair metal band you listened to as a kid,but just like Ratt with their 1984 release “Out of the Cellar,” Perillo has brought it recently. When Rodgers needs a to make a play in the middle of the field,he’s not afraid to sling it to one of the oddest looking players in the NFL.
Damarious Randall
I shuddered every time I saw Randall line up in single coverage against Calvin Johnson,but the kid held his own.
Steady
T.J. Lang
Lang has been the most consistent Packers offensive lineman all season and his steady play continued against the Lions.
Falling
Aaron Rodgers
I want to blame Rodgers’ skittishness and disappearing fundamentals on the offensive line’s struggles,but Rodgers has had bad lines before and still managed to more than hold his own. For most of Rodgers career,we saw teams sitting back in a cover-2 shell,scared to death of blitzing. Now,everyone is stacking the box against the Packers and blitzing Rodgers like he’s a rookie 7th-round draft pick making his first NFL start. Nobody is scared of the Packers offense right now,and until Rodgers get back on track,expect that unfortunate trend to continue.
Randall Cobb
Catch. The. Damn. Ball.
Julius Peppers
The Packers haven’t recorded a sack in their last three games. Those games have been against the Broncos,Panthers and Lions,all teams whose offensive lines do not exactly resemble the mid-90s Cowboys. Dom Capers’ blitzes aren’t getting home and Mike Daniels has been the only defensive linemen to get much of a push. Julius Peppers has also dropped off the face of the Earth. Has age finally caught up with ‘ol Julius? Or is he just in a weird rut like the rest of this Packers team?
November 15, 2015 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
At noon Lambeau Time today,the Green Bay Packers will throttle the Detroit Lions at home for the 25th time in a row.
It will be glorious,as all Packers wins are. Brats will be eaten. Beer will be consumed. “Go Pack Go!” will be chanted. Loudly.
But at the end of the day,it’s a win over the hapless Lions. Packers fans will be happy,but we’ll still be wondering if the problems plaguing this year team truly took a step forward to getting fixed,or if they were fixed temporarily because today’s opponent was the Lions.
Instead of going over five reasons why the Packers will win today,I’m going to examine five things I’d like to see from the Packers today. It’s a given that the Packers will win the game. They’re playing the freaking Lions. Let’s focus instead on moving forward and addressing some the issues that have cropped up recently:
Rhythm,rhythm and more rhythm
I want to see the Packers offense get in a groove and execute the play called as it’s supposed to be executed. That means Aaron Rodgers take his drop,plants his feet,and hits his initial read as the play was drawn up. No dancing around going from read to read. No dodging numerous unblocked rushers. No sandlot,schoolyard stuff. The Packers are very fortunate to have a quarterback who can improvise and make sandlot-style football work,but that can’t be the basis for a consistently successful offense — no matter who the quarterback is. It’s time for the Packers offense to get its timing down and start clicking.
A sack
The Broncos and Panthers offensive lines don’t exactly resemble the Dallas Cowboys’ lines from the early and mid-90s,yet the Packers haven’t recorded a sack for two weeks. The pass rush was a strength for the Packers early this season. It’s time to make it a strength again.
Enough with the injuries
Can we please get a game where at least one Packers starter isn’t shown making the walk back to the locker room with a game-ending injury? Thank you.
Eddie Lacy to do something…anything
In half a season,Lacy has gone from one of the most exciting young players in football to a second-stringer. I don’t expect Lacy to magically come back to life and return to his old self overnight. But perhaps the Packers can help him a bit. Lacy caught at least 35 passes each of his first two seasons. He only has 10 catches in 2015. Get him the ball in space on a few screen passes,or as a safety valve for Rodgers. See if you can get Lacy rumbling forward on a head of steam and running over defensive backs again. Perhaps that will light his fire.
Just win,baby
The Packers haven’t won a football game since Oct. 18. That’s almost an entire month! I don’t care if it’s against the Lions. The Packers need a win. I need to see the Packers win again! Just win,Packers! That’s what we want to see most of all.
November 10, 2015 /
Adam Czech
/
Adam - CheeseheadTV, Uncategorized
The Green Bay Packers fourth-quarter comeback against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday was:
A) A sign of hope that the Packers offense is coming back to life
B) Meaningless since the Panthers were sitting back in a prevent defense trying to kill the clock like the Packers typically do once they build a nice lead
C) I have no idea. It was just nice to see the Packers actually put up a fight and come back.
My answer to that question is “C.”
The offense is still in some state of disarray. When Aaron Rodgers & Co. finally got rolling in the fourth quarter,they used a strange combination of screen plays that Carolina had no interest in defending and sandlot-style run-around-and-make-something-happen passes.
It’s not like the Packers designed offensive plays suddenly kicked into gear and began spitting out wide-open receivers. It was all still very disjointed. (And Mike McCarthy has used some form of the term “ass” during a news conference two weeks in a row now.)
The defense finally got aggressive late in the game,but if Cam Newton wasn’t one of the most inaccurate passers in the league,the Panthers would’ve hung 50 on the Packers and that comeback probably never happens.
The first half of this Packers season has been just plain weird. The team has some gigantic flaws (defense,offensive line,playing on the road),underperforming stars (Eddie Lacy,Josh Sitton,Julius Peppers) and major injuries (Jordy Nelson,Sam Shields,Lacy).
Yet the Packers are 6-2 and in prime position to make a run once the real season kicks in after Thanksgiving. Rodgers is on pace for nearly 4,000 yards,38 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Mike Daniels is a monster on the defensive line. Damarious Randall makes his share of rookie mistakes,but also has moments where looks much better than a typical rookie.
Imagine if some of the underperforming players find their groove again. Or the offensive line snaps out out it. Or if the trend of losing at least one starter per week to injury ends.
This season still has great potential to be a very rewarding one. It also has potential to drive all Packers fans insane. Right now we’re being fitted for straight jackets,but it’s not time to lock us in a padded room just yet.
On to this week’s Stock Report:
Rising
James Starks
If Starks keeps this up,he might earn himself a decent free-agent contract this offseason. Not sure if it will be in Green Bay,though…
Damarious Randall
Yeah,Randall gave up the long pass to Devin Fuchness and had the pass interference on Greg Olsen,but both of those plays seemed fluky. Overall,Randall stepped in and covered for Shields just fine.
Mike Daniels
The defensive line has taken a major step backward,but Daniels is still plowing straight ahead. Pay the man,Ted.
Steady
Nobody
This is part of the Packers’ struggles. They need more steady players,more players who are simply doing their jobs and not screwing up. If the offense gets turned around,you’d ideally like to see a bunch of offensive lineman filling up the steady category.
Falling
Josh Sitton
Not sure what’s going on with one of the best guards in the league,but lately Sitton hasn’t looked anything like one of the best guards in the league.
Bryan Bulaga
Bulaga has never been the most nimble of tackles,but he rarely gets bulled back into the backfield. Too often over the last two weeks,Bulaga has ended up in Rodgers’ lap.
Eddie Lacy
It’s looking more and more like a lost season for Lacy. Ugh.
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