December 23, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Packers Stock Report
As Green Bay Packers fans, we tend to always look at the big picture. If the Packers beat a team like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3, we’re happy about the win, but we’re a little concerned about “only” scoring 20 points and what that might mean for the offense heading into the postseason against stronger teams.
We’re also happy about being 11-4 heading into the season’s final game with an opportunity to win the division, secure a first-round bye and play at least one home playoff game. But we’re also concerned that the Packers haven’t been dominant for the last 10 quarters and if that might lead to an early exit against a quality playoff opponent.
Three’s nothing wrong with looking at the big picture and peeking ahead. I do it all the time and it’s part of what makes following the Packers and the NFL so much fun. But the NFL is a week-to-week league, especially this season. Or at least a month-to-month league.
Heck, just this season I think the Broncos, Patriots, Seahawks and Packers have gone through stretches where the experts pegged them as the obvious Super Bowl “favorites.” Even Philadelphia and Indianapolis have been mentioned as Super Bowl “favorites” at some point. Most recently, Dallas has joined that list.
Any team that survives the ups and downs of a season like this one to be in the mix for a division title and a first-round bye on the season’s final day is rising. It’s an added bonus if, like the Packers, that team has an MVP quarterback and an offensive line playing at the top of its collective game.
There’s a lot to be excited about on this Packers team. There are also a few areas of concern. Regardless of how you look at this team as January approaches, it’s been a fun ride.
On to the Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Morgan Burnett
What a bounceback season for Burnett. He seems to be playing closer to the line of scrimmage, which gets him involved in stopping the run and even rushing the quarterback every now and then. For a guy left for dead after last season’s disaster, it’s been quite the transformation.
Aaron Rodgers
Anyone who completes 78 percent of his passes and throws for 318 yards with the flu on a bum leg makes the rising category in my book.
Clay Matthews
Ever since taking more snaps inside, Matthews has been steady. His play on Sunday elevated him back into the rising category. I love this new hybrid role for Matthews. Stick him inside if teams start gashing the defense up the middles, then put him on the edge in obvious passing situations.
Steady
Mike Daniels
He blows up at least a couple of plays per game. A lot of us pegged Daniels as one of the keys to the Packers season and, with the exception of the opener in Seattle, he’s delivered.
Jordy Nelson
Jordy should probably be in the rising category, but I’m still kind of mad at him for dropping that pass in Buffalo. My favorite thing about Nelson is his ability to make a big play when the Packers are spinning their wheels. It’s like he says, “Ok fellas, ya’ll are playing like horse manure, so I’m gonna go ahead and make a ridiculous catch and see if that gets us going.”
T.J. Lang
According to Pro Football Focus, Lang has graded positively in six consecutive games and led the team with a 4.8 grade on Sunday. Overall, the offensive line has been tearing it up. We’ll see how they hold up against strong fronts like Detroit and Seattle, but if they keep playing like this, it’s hard to see the Packers losing.
Falling
Nick Perry
If Perry would step up just a little bit, this defense could take another step forward. Perry doesn’t need to morph into Lawrence Taylor, just play a little better than he is now and fill the void on the edge if Matthews moves inside.
Mason Crosby/Tim Masthay
Listing both the kicker and punter as falling might be a little harsh, but both need to play better heading into the postseason. Crosby has missed a few makable kicks and Masthay’s punts have been shaky. Remember when the Packers beat the Bears in the NFC title game during the 2010 season? Masthay neutralized Devin Hester and pinned the Bears deep in their own territory often. The Packers will need their kicker and punter to be at the top of their game in the coming weeks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Not only is the team awful, but the stadium was half full of Packers fans. Not a good situation going on in the other Bay.
December 21, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
I’ve been thinking real hard this week, and I can’t remember ever seeing the Green Bay Packers play well in Tampa Bay. I know they’ve only won once in Tampa, but I don’t remember that win and I don’t really remember any losses where the Packers came up short, but at least played well.
All I can ever really remember about the Bucs are their so-bad-they’re-awesome sherbet orange uniforms with the pirate holding a knife in his teeth on the helmet. Talk about a classic look and a killer logo. If the Bucs weren’t the Bucs and actually backed up their awesome uniforms with some victories, we’d probably be talking about Tampa Bay as America’s Team instead of the stupid Cowboys and their lame star on the helmet.
Too bad Tampa ditched those unis for whatever it is they throw on their bodies today. Combine their boring new uniforms with that stupid pirate ship at their stadium (and the annoying commercial where they turn that dumb fan’s living room and backyard in a Bucs’ shrine) and Tampa Bay deserves all the misery it’s had to endure in recent history.
As bad as the Bucs are today and have been in recent years, they’ve handled the Packers in their house. Here are five reasons why that won’t be the case again this afternoon:
Angry after a loss
Don’t get in Aaron Rodgers’ way after a loss. In three games following defeats this season, Rodgers has amassed 963 yards with 13 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 138.9 passer rating. Be afraid, Tampa Bay. Be very afraid.
Invincible Eddie
It doesn’t sound like Eddie Lacy is very excited about the possibility of wearing goggles to protect his injured eye, but I think he needs to embrace the new look. What if the goggles give him special powers? What if they provide an extra burst to truck defenders even harder than he already does? What if they give him x-ray vision so he can oogle at the fine ladies of Florida in the stands when the offense is resting? What if the goggles allow him to shoot lasers out of his eyes? Eddie needs to accept the goggles for these possibilities alone.
Another weak secondary
Unlike Buffalo, the Bucs are mostly weak in the secondary, especially at safety where the once hard-hitting Dashon Goldson appears to have been neutered and Bradley McDougald is just a guy. Whenever the Packers have come up against a weak secondary, they’ve usually shredded it this season. I see no reason why that won’t happen again against the Bucs.
No McCoy
The strength of Tampa Bay might be its defensive line, but with stud Gerald McCoy out, that strength might not be much of a strength at all.
Playoff time
I like how Mike McCarthy has already put the Packers into playoff mode. He adopted a similar mindset in 2010, when the Packers had to win their final two games to get into the postseason, then rode that wave all the way to the Super Bowl. The circumstances are a bit different today, but the Packers still haven’t clinched anything. And if they win out, they’ll have no worse than the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game. Nothing wrong with naming “playoff captains” two weeks before the playoffs if it helps the team get into the proper mindset.
Surprisingly, the Bucs have managed to win games despite their boring new uniforms. If they continue their run of good fortune against the Packers in Florida, here’s how it might go down:
Big-time WRs
Bucs’ wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans are the real deal. Remember what Julio Jones did to the Packers a couple of weeks ago? Either Jackson or Evans is more than capable of doing the same. Of course, the caveat is quarterback quality. Josh McCown is nowhere near as good as Matt Ryan, but he’s capable, especially if Evans and/or Jackson start going off.
December 16, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Packers Stock Report
Every season during the Mike McCarthy era, the Green Bay Packers have a post-Thanksgiving game where they take a giant dump on the field.
On Dec. 23, 2007, the Bears beat the Packers 35-7 at windy Soldier Field. Brett Favre threw zero touchdowns, two interceptions and appeared to be frozen.
In 2008, the Packers lost five straight, four coming after Thanksgiving and culminating in a rough Monday Night loss to the Bears on Dec. 22.
On Dec. 20, 2009, Ben Roethlisberger torched the Packers for 503 passing yards as the Steelers snapped Green Bay’s five-game winning streak.
Of course, you all remember Dec. 12, 2010. That’s the day the Lions beat the Packers 7-3 and knocked out Aaron Rodgers with a concussion.
I’m guessing you all also remember Dec. 18, 2011. That’s when Kyle Orton, aka the Packers-killer, and the Chiefs ruined Green Bay’s hopes for an undefeated season with a 19-14 shellacking at Arrowhead Stadium.
Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, saw the Packers lose to Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings, 37-34. The loss cost the beat-up Packers a first-round bye.
Last season’s meltdown came on Thanksgiving with the Lions stomping Green Bay 40-10.
And, of course, Rodgers decided to play one of the worst game of his career last Sunday as the Bills humbled the Packers in Buffalo, sending Green Bay tumbling all the way to the No. 6 seed if the playoffs began today.
Late-season missteps happen. They’re hard to watch and they seem to incite increased levels of panic because everyone is eyeing the playoff picture right now.
Instead, let’s try to keep an eye on the big picture. Despite Sunday’s meltdown, the Packers are still rising.
We might not ever see Rodgers play as poorly as he did on Sunday ever again. We hopefully never see Packers’ receivers drop eight passes again. The Packers’ special teams are bad, but hopefully they’ve now bottomed out and can improve in the season’s final weeks.
Despite an injury to Bryan Bulaga, the Packers remain healthy, the most healthy they’ve been in a long, long time.
I like the Packers’ chances at beating the Bucs this week and the Lions the following week. That would mean the No. 2 overall seed and at least one playoff game. We’ll see what happens from there.
For now, on to the Packers stock report:
Rising
Bryan Bulaga
Why list a player as rising when he exited the previous game early with an injury? Because both times Bulaga has left a game injured this season, his replacement has surrendered a game-altering sack. On Sunday, Mario Williams got around J.C. Tretter for the strip sack on the Packers’ final possession. Perhaps the key to the Packers entire season is making sure Bulaga never has to leave injured in the middle of a game again.
Eddie Lacy
There were several times Lacy rumbled through a gaping hole up front, picked up steam on the second level, then leveled some poor sap in the secondary to cap off a nice run. Too bad he only got 15 carries. Who knows what kind of damage he could have caused with 20-25?
Steady
Clay Matthews
It was another solid game from Matthews. We haven’t seen Matthews take over a game lately, but he’s been good all around for the last six weeks or so.
Randall Cobb
The only wide receiver who managed to get a little separation against the Bills was Cobb. He also took part in the drop party, but his miscues weren’t as egregious as a few of the others (*cough* Jordy Nelson *cough*)
Letroy Guion
Ideally, the Packers would like someone bigger and stronger than Guion to try and slow down the other team’s power running game, but with B.J. Raji out, Guion is what they have. Guion might not be the stout man in the middle this defense needs, but he’s athletic and shoots through a gap at least once or twice per game to make a play.
Falling
Davante Adams
Perhaps someone needs to sit down with young Mr. Adams and explain to him that he can’t live off his big game against New England the rest of the season.
A.J. Hawk
The Packers played a lot of base defense on Sunday, which meant more snaps for Hawk. He held up ok, until the game’s final drive where he was an obvious liability.
December 14, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
In a couple of hours, the Green Bay Packers will play the Buffalo Bills and try to win at Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time in team history.
I don’t know why bad things have happened to the Packers the six times they’ve played Buffalo on the road. It makes no sense. The Bills are terrible, the Packers are not.
Here are five reasons why the Packers will finally put one in the win column in Buffalo:
Annoyed defense
If you think you’re annoyed that the Packers’ defense melted down in the second half against Atlanta last week, imagine how the players feel. Guys like Clay Matthews and Mike Daniels will want to nip the “here we go again” sediment in the bud before it creeps further into the defense’s mindset.
Offensive line
Buffalo’s biggest strength is its pass-rushing defensive line. Since losing to New Orleans, one of the Packers’ biggest strengths has been their offensive line. This will be the Packers biggest test up front since early season matchups against Seattle and Detroit. Things didn’t go well for the Packers o-line in those two meetings, but I think they’ve turned it around and will prove so against the Bills.
Q and RichRod
While Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb get all the hype, tight ends Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers have been coming around. Having a tight end to throw to comes in handy against a team with a strong pass rush like the Bills. That’s especially true if the Bills take away the running back checkdown like Atlanta did in the second half on Monday.
A Challenge
Only one quarterback — Tom Brady in week 6 — has passed for more than 300 yards against the Bills at home this season. Sounds like a challenge for Aaron Rodgers, one he’s more than capable of completing.
It’s the freaking Bills
C’mon. Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and Bruce Smith aren’t going to magically take the field on Sunday. The Bills are toast.
Don’t get too cocky. Remember back in 2011 when crappy Kyle Orton ruined the Packers’ undefeated season in Kansas City? His team very well could throw a wrench into the Packers’ machine of 2014 as well. Here’s how:
The usual
It’s not rocket science. The way to beat the Packers is to generate a pass rush with your front four and sit back in coverage. Actually, that’s the recipe for beating any team, but it seems especially effective against the Packers in the Rodgers/McCarthy era. Unlike most teams, the Bills have the defensive personnel to actually pull it off.
December 10, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Packers Stock Report
My throat is scratchy. My nose is runny. I’m sneezing every 8 minutes and the bags under my eyes are turning a weird shade of black and purple.
Do I have a common winter cold, the same affliction that knocks down most of us for a few days when the weather turns cold? Or do I have something much more serious? An illness only contracted by Packers fans called “Capers-itis.” Capers-itis sets in when the Packers’ defense starts playing like it’s 2011 all over again.
Symptoms of Capers-itis include the following happening to your favorite football team’s defense:
- Sam Shields getting completely out-physicaled on deep passes.
- No pass rush.
- One player (see: Jones, Julio) does whatever he wants up and down the field without repercussion.
- Brad Jones actually plays defensive snaps.
- Defensive backs peeking in the backfield and getting burned deep.
I’ve been to several doctors, none of which have given me a diagnosis yet. They all said to wait until after Sunday’s Packers vs. Bills game. If Kyle Orton stands in the pocket and throws for 300 yards, or Sammy Watkins catches 10 passes for 198 yards, I probably have Capers-itis. The only way to get rid of it is to drink large quantities of beer.
Personally, I think I just have a cold, not Capers-itis. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are really good. What they did to the Packers on Monday night, they also did one week earlier against Arizona, a team most people say has a legitimately good to great defense.
The Packers also might might have just checked out for a bit to start the second half, and by the time they woke back up, they were in a fight.
Either way, you don’t want to deal with a potential case of Capers-itis this late in the season. Hopefully it’s just a common cold and we don’t have to start talking about quarantines or anything like that.
To help me recover from whatever is ailing me, let’s knock out this week’s Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Aaron Rodgers
As long as he keeps doing what he’s doing, I’m going to keep putting him in the rising category. Over his last five games, Rodgers has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,560 yards, 16 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a QB rating of 127.1. If I do have Capers-itis, Rodgers might be the cure instead of beer.
Jordy Nelson
Any time you let Nelson run freely off the line and into the secondary, you’re asking for trouble. The Falcons found that out the hard way on the Rodgers-to-Nelson 60-yard touchdown Monday night.
Offensive line
I can’t pick just one offensive lineman so I’m going to cheat and just list the entire o-line as rising. I’ve been saying it the last two weeks and I’ll say it again: If the Packers offensive line continues playing this well, the Packers will win the Super Bowl.
Steady
Eddie Lacy
Let’s hope Lacy’s hip bruise is nothing to worry about. Like he did last season, Lacy is rolling now that the weather has turned cold. He’s also catching passes, making him that much more dangerous.
Clay Matthews
The run defense has been much better with Matthews inside. Matthews also registered the Packers only sack on Monday night. I like how Dom Capers is using Matthews in this new hybrid role. It takes advantage of Matthews’ explosiveness and frees him up more often. When Matthews only rushed from the outside, sometimes he’d repeatedly just bang into double teams and not really get anywhere.
Falling
Sam Shields
Shields looked like he should’ve sat out last night after missing an entire week of practice. But really, he hasn’t played all that well over the last month or so. Hopefully, he pulls it together down the stretch. Otherwise, McCarthy should’t hesitate to use more of Davon House.
NFC South
Does the NFC South winner really have to play in the playoffs? Can’t we send them on a nice all-expenses-paid vacation somewhere instead?
December 8, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
Only teams like last season’s Green Bay Packers should be allowed to win a terrible division with a mediocre or bad record and qualify for the playoffs.
The Packers had to deal with their best player, Aaron Rodgers, missing half the season with a broken collar bone. Once Rodgers returned, the Packers were a legitimate team, deserving of a playoff berth, as demonstrated by their road win over Chicago and last-minute loss in the wild-card round.
This year’s Falcons? Pfffffft. They’re worthless and don’t deserve the opportunity to stumble into the playoffs at 6-10 and possibly pull a wild-card win out of their you-know-where.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to step in and do something to stop the NFC South winner from making the playoffs. Goodell has no problem just making up rules whenever he feels like it, so why not?
Instead of letting the crappy Falcons into the playoffs (or whatever bumbling team wins the NFC South), Goodell should award an NFL playoff berth to TCU, the college football team who was jobbed out of a spot in the new four-team college football playoff.
It’s only fair. The Falcons don’t deserve to play in the postseason. TCU does. Make it right, Roger. You have the power.
Meantime, here are five reasons why the Falcons will get run out of Lambeau tonight:
Have a picnic
The Falcons’ pass rush is so poor and the Packers’ pass protection so good that Aaron Rodgers should be able to have a picnic in the pocket before throwing the ball. The Falcons are 31st in the NFL with only 14 sacks. That’s led to the Falcons having the worst pass defense in the entire NFL.
No picks
If the Falcons are going to pull the upset, they’ll have to force a couple of turnovers. Is that really going to happen against Rodgers, a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a pick at home in over two years? Doubtful.
William Moore
Atlanta’s strong safety is a play-action, rollout, throw-it-deep-for-a-Jordy Nelson-touchdown waiting to happen. Moore is tough as nails and tackles well, but he has no chance in coverage against Nelson, Cobb, or anyone for that matter. If Mike McCarthy can scheme a few plays to match up a Packers receiver against Moore, buckle up.
We’ll win next week
After the Saints got throttled at home on Sunday, the Falcons will still hold down first place in the awful NFC South regardless of what happens on Monday night. Perhaps the Falcons will be like, “Meh. We’re in Wisconsin. It’s cold. The Packers are good. I smell bratwurst. Let’s just throw in the towel tonight and try to win next week against some team that isn’t as good as the Packers.” Unfortunately, this probably won’t happen. Mainly because if it does, Falcons coach Mike Smith could get canned.
(Lack of) power runng
The once-great Steven Jackson rumbled for 101 yards last week against the Cardinals. Uh-oh. The Packers usually get run over by power runners. We should be worried, right? Nah. Jackson’s outburst last week was the first time an Atlanta running back topped 100 yards in 36 games. I don’t see it happening two weeks in a row.
While Packers fans are talking about earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC and MVP discussion has focused almost exclusively on Aaron Rodgers, the Falcons are fighting for a fluke division title and have a few weapons in Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. If the Falcons humble the Packers tonight, here’s how it might happen:
Ryan to Jones
It’s been a while since a wide receiver went completely crazy on the Packers in a Michael Crabtree or Reggie Wayne kind of way. Julio Jones is totally capable of torching the Packers by himself, and Matt Ryan is a quarterback capable of helping him do it. Last week, Ryan was a perfect 3-for-3 on passes thrown 20 or more yards downfield. Sam Shields might be out, Tramon Williams has looked a bit shaky in coverage lately and Davon House has been up and down. If you’re in your fantasy football league’s playoffs, make sure you don’t accidentally leave Jones on your bench this week.
December 2, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Packers Stock Report
If you listen to the Boston homers employed by ESPN, you’d think the Patriots dropped 10 touchdown passes and had 14 pass interference penalties mistakenly called against them during Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.
They’ll tell you the Patriots just had an off game, that a few bounces in the other direction and a call here or there would have resulted in a Pats’ victory.
Nonsense. The Patriots were lucky the game was as close as it was.
If Green Bay scored touchdowns while in the red zone instead of field goals, the game’s a blowout. If Davante Adams doesn’t drop an easy touchdown pass, the game is more of a blowout. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t misfire on a couple of early throws, the rout would’ve been on. If Mason Crosby doesn’t whiff on a late field goal, the margin of victory would have been wider.
Despite what the Boston homers at the Worldwide Leader would have you believe, it was the Packers, not the Patriots, who kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Of course, I’m not saying the Packers are head and shoulders better than New England. If this game is played 10 times on a neutral field, the Packers probably win six times and every game would be a nail-biter.
Unfortunately, we’re not going to see these two teams play each other 10 times this season. But we might get a chance to seem them square off again in February. On a neutral field. In a little game called the Super Bowl.
Rising
Aaron Rodgers
The best player in football. There’s really nothing else to say about him. Tom Brady is still a great quarterback, but Rodgers has without a doubt passed him by. That’s not a knock on Brady, he very well could eat the Packers’ lunch should these two teams meet again the Super Bowl, but Rodgers is the man now.
Mike McCarthy
This piece from Greg Bedard at Sports Illustrated summarizes how I feel about McCarthy perfectly. The No. 1 people forget about when discussing McCarthy is his role in resurrecting the end of Brett Favre’s career and helping shape Aaron Rodgers into the quarterback he is today.
Sam Barrington
Yeah, I’m probably putting Barrington in the rising category prematurely, but how nice was it watching a middle linebacker wearing Packers’ colors delivering big hits to running backs as they try to explode through a hole? Barrington delivered a couple of shots on Sunday to the Patriots’ power runners. If this kid can learn the defense and operate inside without being told where to be and who to cover all the time, watch out.
Steady
Tramon Williams
This is another controversial selection, but hear me out. Yes, Williams got beat a few times in pass coverage, but he made several open-field tackles that prevented big plays and kept Patriots’ receivers short of the first-down marker. Remember when Williams wanted no part of tackling anybody a few years back? Those days are long gone. He’s now a willing tackler. On Sunday, he was willing and effective.
Mike Daniels
The way to contain Tom Brady is to pressure him up the middle. Daniels has been solid all season, and delivered interior pressure all day on Sunday before finally getting home and sacking Brady on the Patriots’ final offensive play from scrimmage.
Randall Cobb
Cobb line up here, there and everywhere on Sunday. He managed to get open from all angles, and even sealed the game on a catch from Rodgers before the two-minute warning where he really wasn’t that open.
Falling
Darrelle Revis
The BS was flowing off of Revis Island after the game. Revis said Nelson pushed off on his 45-yard touchdown catch. Wah. Wah. Wah. You got beat, Darrelle. Badly. Man up and stop with the excuses.
December 1, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
I was at Lambeau Field on Sunday to see the Packers beat the Patriots. What a game. I’m not sure there’s much more to be said about the win that hasn’t already been said, but I’ll try and offer up a few more nuggets on what I observed from my seats in the south end zone, section 138, row 44, seat 18.
- Before packing up our tailgating supplies and walking to the stadium, a middle-aged guy approached us and asked if we had any lobster or marijuana. Unfortunately, we had neither.
- Not saying I told you so, but…..well, I told you so. Sam Barrington can play. Barrington delivered more hard hits in one game than A.J. Hawk has delivered in three years.
- Eddie Lacy misses some obvious holes. Too often, he chooses to bounce outside instead of making a hard cut and hitting the lane. Part of me wonders if he’s a little hesitant to put his head down and plow every single carry because of past concussions.
- I have no idea why teams don’t sit with two deep safeties against Green Bay 100 percent of the time. Whenever there’s only one safety deep, it’s not just Aaron Rodgers who gets excited. The entire stadium starts buzzing. It also feels like so much more of a struggle for the Packers against two-high safeties, even if they’re moving the ball.
- There was a middle-aged gentleman sitting in front of me who was about 100 pounds overweight and whose mustache connected directly with his nose hair. His family also referred to him as “Pud.” Heckuva nice guy. We high-fived after the Rodgers-to-Rodgers touchdown. Now I can tell people that I high-fived a guy named “Pud.”
- Rob Gronkowski is unbelievable to watch in-person. He’s unguardable. On a play deep in Packers’ territory, Gronk lined up wide one-on-one against Morgan Burnett, and before the ball was snapped, I knew what the result would be. Sure enough, Gronk beat Burnett, then ran over like eight Packers after the catch. Somehow the Packers dragged him down before he stomped into the end zone.
- If the Packers’ offensive line continues playing like this, Green Bay will win the Super Bowl.
- Hats off to Mike McCarthy. He really worked hard to get favorable matchups for Cobb and others and it showed. However, the first time Cobb lined up in the backfield, Darrelle Revis followed him and stood in the middle of the defense, waiting to track Cobb wherever he went. It spooked Aaron Rodgers, who called a time out. But Revis never followed Cobb out of the backfield again. Strange.
- Watching the Packers’ defense pre-snap reminds me of watching pre-schoolers during snack time. Just complete chaos and confusion. Everyone is pointing, yelling, moving, looking around, scattering. But hey, it worked, so perhaps all that chaos is by design.
- Tramon Williams blew a couple of coverages, but also made some great open-field tackles. Speaking of tackling, that was the best I’ve seen the Packers tackle against a quality opponent in a long time.
- Unfortunately, we could not hear Tom Brady’s barrage of F-bombs from our seats.
- The vibe in Lambeau was off-the-charts. People were amped up for this game, and rightfully so. During the Packers’ final drive, the offensive line and Jordy Nelson had to admonish the fans for cheering too loud.
- My wife and I have had the privilege of seeing Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady all play at Lambeau Field and get beat by the Packers. We’ve also seen the Packers beat Vinny Testaverde, Shaun Hill, Kyle Orton and Joe Webb at Lambeau. The one quarterback the Packers couldn’t beat with my wife and I in the stands? Christian Ponder. Go figure.
That’s all for my thoughts from the south end zone. Now where’d I put my lobster and marijuana…
November 30, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers
The main reason I write these 5 reasons posts is to mock, ridicule and tear down the Packers’ weekly opponent and/or their fanbase. Since the Packers play the Vikings, Bears and Lions six times each season, I usually have plenty of material to work with.
But how am I supposed to make fun of the Patriots? They’re a model NFL franchise, in the same class of the Packers. Tearing down the Patriots would make me seem petty and mean, wouldn’t it?
I don’t know. Maybe.
I suppose I could rip Patriots’ fans for being entitled East Coasters who don’t appreciate everything their team has accomplished the last 15 seasons.
Or I could rip Tom Brady for saying things like this and once having hair like this.
Playing the (alleged) murderer at tight end card is also an option, but we’ve done a pretty good job forgetting about that already.
What about Spygate? The Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since they were caught cheating in the 2007 Spygate scandal. But that was before everyone thought Roger Goodell was an evil corporate woman-hating monster, so people didn’t get overly mad when Goodell let the Patriots off with a slap on the wrist.
Bill Belichick seems like a total douche. How about ripping him? They guy keeps winning, so people give him a pass.
Or how about all the Boston homers on ESPN and the Patriots apologists that permeate the national media?
I could go on and on, but I won’t talk about any of those things. The Patriots are just so perfect, after all…
Here are five reasons why that perfection will be disrupted by the Packers later today:
Deep passes
Tom Brady is an amazing quarterback, neck and neck with Aaron Rodgers for best in the league. But if I had to pick a quarterback to complete a deep pass, it wouldn’t be Brady. Brady completed over 50 percent of his passes that traveled 20 yards or more in 2007. Since then, he hasn’t come close to that percentage and is only completing 34 percent of deep passes this season according to Pro Football Focus. Obviously, the Patriots are more than capable of winning without launching deep passes, but if Brady overshoots a couple of open receives downfield like Teddy Bridgewater did last week, it’ll be a boost for the Packers’ defense.
Lambeau Field advantage
The Packers have outscored opponents 219-85 at Lambeau this season. Combine that with the fact that I’ll be in the stands, and the Packers’ homefield advantage is real.
Josh Boyd
The Packers are going to need all the help they can get to slow down the Patriots’ offense. Out of nowhere, Josh Boyd has started playing well. Seriously, he has. Watch him the last couple of weeks and you’ll see a guy darting through gaps and generally being disruptive in the base defense. Winning 1-on-1 matchups up front is going to be the key to the Packers coming out on top later today. Boyd’s been winning more than he’s been losing lately.
Tight-end production
Who needs Gronk when you have Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers? Ok, ok, ok, I’m being factious, but Quarless and Rodgers have steadily improved in recent weeks. If Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner frustrate Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, it’s nice to have a couple of tight ends for Aaron Rodgers to turn to, even if they aren’t one-man wrecking crews like Rob Gronkowski.
Balanced attack
I’m a little hesitant to get too hyped up about Lacy’s big game against the Vikings. Yes, it’s nice that he gained 125 yards and closed out the game, but if you ask any Packers’ opponent if they’d rather see Lacy run the ball 25 times at the expense of Rodgers throwing a couple extra passes downfield, they’ll gladly give the extra carries to Lacy, even if he’s having a good day. Against good teams like the Patriots, the Packers will live and die on the arm of Rodgers. Lacy will come in handy if the Packers build any sort of second half lead or have an opportunity to close out the game in their four-minute offense. Again, I’m not dragging down what Lacy means to this team. Having a run/pass balance when both facets of the game are effective is a good thing. But let’s not forget that the Packers’ go as Rodgers goes, especially against the NFL’s best.
If the Patriots win this game, we’re going to have to listen to people bloviate about how the Packers can’t win a big game against a quality opponent with a good quarterback for the rest of eternity. It’ll drive me crazy, but it could happen because of…
Gronk
If you’re getting old like I am, odds are good you played the arcade game “Rampage” growing up. While little Army men shot at you and helicopters tried to take you down, your “Rampage” character — either a giant gorilla, lizard or werewolf — destroyed buildings, ate people and stomped on vehicles. The entire point of the game was to cause as much destruction as possible before you were taken down. That’s Rob Gronkowski in a nutshell. Gaining yards and scoring seems like a bonus to Gronk. His main objective is to just cause chaos and reign destruction upon whomever gets in his way. I have no idea how the Packers, or any team, can stop Gronk. I suppose you just have to grab onto him and hope he falls before he knocks down all of your buildings, or eats all of your defensive players.
November 25, 2014 /
Adam Czech
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Adam - ALLGBP.com, Adam Czech, Packers, Packers Stock Report
Now that the Green Bay Packers have gotten the junior varsity game against the Minnesota Vikings out of the way, it’s time to focus on the real deal and the New England Patriots.
I’ll be in the stands at Lambeau for the Sunday showdown. The Packers have never lost with me in Lambeau. They’ve tied, but never lost. Take that for what it’s worth.
But before I fire up the grill in the parking lot of the Green Bay Distillery, pop open a Spotted Cow, and cook up some three-cheese brats from Grundhofer’s Meat Market, we must bang out this week’s Packers Stock Report:
Rising
Eddie Lacy
An illness? 10 defenders in the box? Game on the line? It didn’t matter. Eddie Lacy kept plowing forward to help the Packers rumble to another win. Just like he did last season, Lacy tore up the Vikings and looks to be gaining steam as the season heads into the home stretch.
Aaron Rodgers
QB1 doesn’t get top billing over Lacy this week, but he still had another great game, even if his numbers weren’t as great as they’ve been in recent weeks. That throw to Cobb to set up the Packers first touchdown was amazing, as were several scrambles that turned dead plays into positive gains and first downs.
T.J. Lang
Hats off to Lang (and Josh Sitton) once again for not only playing hurt, but playing well while not 100 percent. Given how cautious the Packers staff is with injuries, I thought Lang’s day was done when he hobbled off in the first quarter. But he was back out there next series, helping Lacy pile up yards.
Steady
Mike Daniels
If the Packers are going to beat the Patriots on Sunday, they need more of what Daniels did on his sack of Teddy Bridgewater: Win a 1-on-1 matchup and get to the quarterback. Brady will tear apart excessive blitzes or tricky looks that might work on the other 31 teams in the league. Victory for the Packers will happen if they win individual matchups up front on defense.
Bryan Bulaga
According to Pro Football Focus, Bulaga has graded out positively four of the last five weeks. Let’s hope that knee/hip/whatever else Bulaga has injured in the past holds up the rest of the season.
Falling
James Starks
Before Sunday, Starks was already fading, not because of anything he did wrong, but because Lacy was running so hard and starting to catch passes. Well, after fumbling in his first and only carry against the Vikings, Starks is no longer fading, but falling.
A.J. Hawk
Hawk has gone from slow, to sloooooow, to slooooowwwwwwwwww.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are now looking up at the Packers in the NFC. They’re also back to their dirty and desperate ways. The sooner the bottom falls out of their season, the better.
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