Packers QB Matt Flynn all fired up after learning he made it in this week’s rising category.
The Packers win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday was their best victory since winning Super Bowl XLV.
Sure, the Packers won 15 games and lit up scoreboards all over the NFL in 2011, but none of the 15 triumphs was as fulfilling as Sunday’s comeback over America’s (Most Annoying) Team.
Yes, the Packers persevered through a bunch of injuries and won a playoff game in 2012, but even the postseason win wasn’t as awesome as what happened in the Jerry Dome on Sunday.
Now that Justin “Robo Leg” Tucker connected on a 61-yard field goal that put the Packers back in control of their own destiny, the Frozen Tundra is buzzing about a possible repeat of 2010’s late-season magic. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before that happens, though.
Can the defense get it together for a full game? As the Packers offense goes, so goes the defense. If the offense sputters for more than a half, can the defense pick up the slack?
Will Dr. Pat McKenzie clear Aaron Rodgers? C’mon, Doc. Rub some dirt on the QB’s collarbone and let him play.
What’s wrong with Clay Matthews? The team’s second highest paid player can’t win a one-on-one matchup to save his life right now. He showed some burst when he rushed from the middle linebacker slot on Sunday. Perhaps that will get him going.
Who made this week’s Packers Stock report? That’s the most important question of them all. Let’s find out:
Rising
Matt Flynn I was convinced that it was Tolzien Time at halftime on Sunday. Flynn’s release is so slow and everything he does seems to be a half-second behind where it needs to be. I thought McCarthy might give Tolzien and his stronger arm with a quicker trigger another shot after the first half debacle, but he stuck with Flynn, changed the gameplan around, and pulled out a victory.
Eddie Lacy Lacy might not be able to run away from defenders, but he makes defenders want to run away from him with how hard and physical he runs.
Jarrett Boykin Week in and week out, with Rodgers, Flynn, Tolzein or whomever at QB, Boykin contributes. Over the course of a year, he’s gone from a slow-footed longshot to a dependable receiver. And he’s tough to bring down. Once he gets a head of steam, would-be tacklers are flying backwards after contact.
Steady
Tramon Williams He never did become the shutdown corner we thought he would, but there’s nothing wrong with “only” being a dependable corner. What has impressed me most about Williams over the last six weeks is his sudden desire to play physical. He’s still not a great tackler, but he at least brings it now. No more half-assing it by diving at the feet of running backs or retreating in fear when a strong back comes barreling around the edge.
Sam Shields Kind of a younger and faster version of what Williams has become. Shields won’t shut down anyone for a whole game, but he makes plays and has developed a physical streak to him that wasn’t there earlier in his career.
T.J. Lang Whenever I see Lang pulling and heading upfield at a linebacker or a frightened defensive back, I know something good is about to happen. On Sunday, Lang showed his speed by getting to the second level on the Starks’ screen that went for a TD. He also held Jason Hatcher (nine sacks) without a pressure all game.
Falling
B.J. Raji I am completely baffled by Raji’s disappearance over the last six weeks. He was a little bit better against the Cowboys, but still got outplayed by the more active and energetic Josh Boyd, in my opinion. If the Packers run defense is going to turn things around, Raji will need to awaken from his slumber.
Morgan Burnett You could easily put M.D. Jennings in this slot, but Burnett just got paid, so he gets the honors. Burnett isn’t fast enough to close on balls that hang in the air and he’s not physical enough to tackle or scare anybody crossing over the middle. Ted Thompson should demand a refund.
Jason Garrett For as much grief as we give McCarthy for his playcalling, imagine if Garrett coached in Green Bay? The Packers often put eight defenders in the box to stop the run in the first half and DeMarco Murray still rattled off long gains. For some inexplicable reason, Garrett decided to ditch the ground game with a big lead in the second half and it cost his team a victory.
Not even a mustachioed Aaron Rodgers would have saved the Packers on Thanksgiving.
Would Aaron Rodgers even be able to save this Packers team?
The former MVP can cover up a lot of blemishes, but I don’t think even he could patch up the festering wound that is 2013 Green Bay Packers.
The Packers can’t tackle, cover the middle of the field, prevent big plays, get off the field on third down, contain the run, pass block, pass, or stop Jeremy Freaking Ross on special teams.
Yeah, I know. If Rodgers turns just one of the Lions turnovers into a touchdown and a two-score lead in the first half, the entire game changes.
But even if he did that, the Packers defense was so overmatched that I don’t think it would have mattered.
I could go on and on wondering if having Rodgers would have mattered on Thanksgiving, but it’s a pointless exercise. At this point, Packers fans are better off just preparing for the NFL draft in April.
On to the stock report:
Rising
Nobody.
Steady
Sam Shields Shields had absolutely no chance stopping the slant to Calvin Johnson, but neither does anyone else when they’re lined up one-on-one against one of the best receivers of all time. When Johnson and Matthew Stafford challenged Shields down the field, the free-agent-to-be stood strong and even out-battled Johnson for an interception in the end zone.
Clay Matthews We haven’t seen him dominate a game for four quarters since returning from a broken thumb, but he’s making something happen every now and then.
Josh Sitton Kudos to Sitton for calling the Lions a bunch of names before the game. Extra kudos to Sitton for standing behind what he said after the game. I never understand why we ask athletes questions, then get mad when they either a) give an honest answer like Sitton did or b) recite some mind-numbingly boring cliche. I’ll take open and honest over boring and cliched any day.
Mason Crosby No offense to Crosby, but I’m sick of seeing him in the rising or steady categories. When a kicker or punter ends up in one of these categories, it means there aren’t many offensive or defensive players playing well.
Eddie Lacy He didn’t have any room against the Lions, but it sure was fun to watch him knock over Vikings defenders. Lacy has been the least of the Packers problems during this awful stretch.
Falling
The rest of the Packers roster, coaching staff and front office.
T.J. Lang has been one of the few rising players for the Green Bay Packers recently.
My two jobs, a newborn baby and extended visits to family hours away from where we live has made it very difficult to write about the Packers this season. The way the Packers are playing also makes it difficult to write about the Packers.
I don’t have time to do the in-depth and comprehensive posts that I’d like to do, so I do what I can in the free hour I can manage to find here or there. As I type, my kid has been up screaming for the last 2 hours. Why is he screaming? Who knows.
All I know is that my wife is feeding him to see if that gets him to calm down and I got a few minutes to bang out a stock report, so let’s get to it:
Rising
Jordy Nelson When in doubt, just launch a pass somewhere in the vicinity of Jordy Nelson. Nelson is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career. I wish some of his toughness could be transferred to the defense.
T.J. Lang Teams have been stacking the box against the Packers with Aaron Rodgers injured, but the interior of the offensive line has held up well. Lang showed his versatility two weeks ago by taking over at center and had another solid game against New York even though the Packers couldn’t gain much traction running the ball.
Steady
Jarret Boykin Can Boykin replace James Jones in 2014? That question doesn’t sound nearly as ridiculous as it did at the beginning of the season.
Josh Sitton See the write-up about Lang above. The same applies to Sitton.
Mike Daniels Daniels is the only defensive lineman who has provided some consistency in getting after the quarterback. If Datone Jones continues showing signs of life, it’s a step forward in transforming the d-line from a bunch of space eaters to a more dynamic and diverse unit.
Falling
Marshall Newhouse Why. Is. Marshall. Newhouse. Still. On. This. Team?
B.J. Raji Who made the worse decision: Raji turning down $8 million per year from the Packers or the kid who founded SnapChat turning down $3 billion in cash from Facebook? Raji is not worth $8 million per season. He’s way too inconsistent and he’s stuck in one of his disappearing spells again.
The Packers season If the Packers can’t beat the lowly Vikings on Sunday, I’ll be crying alongside my kid late at night.
Packers safety MD Jennings isn’t doing much to help Dom Capers’ defense snap out of its two-week funk.
I’m fine with Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson not firing Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers after yet another defensive meltdown against the Eagles.
Would canning Capers and replacing him with a defensive position coach really make the defense tackle better or the safeties cover more ground and pick off a pass here or there? I don’t know. Maybe.
What I don’t get is the people who argue that firing Capers would be a “knee-jerk” reaction. The Packers defense has been average at best for the better part of three seasons now. In the last two weeks, when Capers and the defense had an opportunity to truly step up and cover for a banged-up offense, they failed. Miserably.
We’ve seen a steady pattern of issues from the Packers defense over the last three seasons:
Poor tackling
Confusion in the secondary
Minimal pass rush from the defensive line
Relying heavily on turnovers
Playoff meltdowns
That’s plenty of reason for dismissal.
I suppose you could say firing any coach midseason is a knee-jerk reaction in an of itself. But I don’t necessarily agree with that.
When it comes to Capers, the failures are consistent and prevalent enough that his dismissal would not be considered “knee jerk.” Again, I’m not saying it would be the right decision, but it would not be knee jerk.
Anyway, hopefully Capers figures it out and we can add him to the rising category once again.
On to the stock report:
Rising
T.J. Lang All season, Lang has been clearing a patch for Eddie Lacy on the inside. When injuries struck the offensive line Sunday and claimed C Evan Dietrich-Smith, Lang stepped up and played center for the first time in his career. He never screwed up a snap and did an adequate job blocking. Bravo, Mr. Lang.
Jarrett Boykin Lost amidst all the injury chaos is the emergence of Boykin. After looking totally lost against Baltimore trying to fill in for the injured Randall Cobb and James Jones, Boykin has come to life and turned into a confident and reliable receiver for the Packers rotating stable of quarterbacks.
Clay Matthews’ club This thing is awesome. It’s bigger than me. If the Packers defense doesn’t turn things around, though, Matthews might take his club and start swinging it at his own teammates in an effort to wake some of them up.
Steady
Jordy Nelson He’s quietly remained one of the most reliable WRs in the league, even with Aaron Rodgers out. Oh, and he caught that pass in the end zone on Sunday that would’ve made it 27-20. I don’t care what sort of discombobulated explanation Mike Carey gave saying it wasn’t.
Eddie Lacy The numbers were down for Lacy against the Eagles, but he did about as well as could be expected given how the entire stadium knew the early game-plan was to hand him the ball. Then he started losing offensive linemen and yards became even tougher to come by.
Falling
Marshall Newhouse Why is he still on the team? I get that now the offensive line is also banged up, but you can find a lineman as good as Newhouse on the street. Plus, Derek Sherrod is healthy now. Let’s throw him into the deep end of the pool and see what he can do.
M.D. Jennings The safety position was supposed to be stabilized after Morgan Burnett came back, but it’s taken another turn for the worse. Nick Foles closed his eyes and tossed up a number of dying quails on Sunday and not one of them ended up in the hands of a Packers safety. Oh, how I miss the days of Nick Collins, LeRoy Butler and Darren Sharper. And why is Chris Banjo not getting more snaps than Jennings?
Casey Hayward How many times can one man injure the same hamstring during the course of an NFL season? Hayward is going on three times and left Sunday’s game early…again. I think it’s time to shut Hayward and see if he can rebound in 2014.
It hurts just looking at this photo. Avert your eyes. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is injured.
OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is hurt.
Now what?
Can Seneca Wallace keep the Packers alive until (if?) Rodgers returns?
Should the Packers call Favre?
Should the Packers call Flynn?
Where’s Graham Harrell when you need him?
What the hell happened to the defense on Monday?
Did the Rodgers injury somehow cause the Packers to forget how to tackle and pass protect?
What is a Shea McClellin and why did it do that to our quarterback?
The Bears still suck. Ok, that made me feel a little bit better.
Oh damn, I just remembered that Rodgers is hurt. OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod.
Now I’m starting to panic. How can I snap out of this?
Maybe writing the Packers stock report will help. Let’s see.
On to the stock report:
Rising
Eddie Lacy I totally forgot how awesome it is when your favorite football team has a running back that just trucks people over. Getting excited about long pass plays is awesome and everything, but there’s something about the feeling you get when a stud running back starts plowing over defenders and ripping off large chunks of yards. It makes you want to tear off your shirt and start posing like Hulk Hogan. Ok, maybe it’s just me who wants to do that every time Lacy runs someone over…
B.J. Raji It’s been a solid run for Raji the last three games. He sniffed out a couple of screen passes against the Bears and has done an excellent job of making plays at the point of attack. Big, nimble and smart. That’s been Raji over this recent stretch of games.
Brett Favre Wait a minute. What’s he doing on this report?
Steady
James Starks Did Starks install a turbo button on his back when he was out? Seriously, I don’t remember him being nearly this fast. He’s firing through holes like he’s been shot out of a high-caliber rifle from a deer hunter perched high up in a tree in the woods of Mondovi, Wis.
Tim Mashthay Punts from Masthay kept pinning the Bears deep on Monday night. Too bad the Packers defense didn’t follow through and force a turnover or make a stand late in the game.
Falling
Dom Capers What the hell was that, Dom? I try to avoid putting coaches on the falling list because I find people who constantly yell about playcalling to be nauseating, but the defensive calls on Monday night were atrocious. Josh McCown is a backup quarterback. Blitz him, Dom. Rough him up. Put some heat on him. Don’t treat him like he’s the second-coming of Tom Brady.
Casey Hayward It’s been a lost season so far for Hayward. He’s missed most of training camp and the first six games. He also missed a tackle late in the game on Monday that gave the Bears an opportunity to pick up the first down on fourth-and-1 and break the Packers hopes of pulling out a win.
Seneca Wallace I knew it would be bad. Did I think it would be that bad? Yeah. Yeah, I did think it would be that bad.
Micah Hyde’s punt return for a TD elevates the Packers rookie into this week’s rising category.
The Packers closed down the Metrodome in style Sunday night, bowling over the Vikings and filling the cavernous white bubble with the sweet sounds of Go Pack Go!
Hearing Go Pack Go echoing throughout the Metrodome as the Packers beat the Vikings is one of the best sounds in all of sports. I won’t miss the Dome, but I will miss the times when the Packers play well enough to allow Cheeseheads to take the place over.
Now that the Packers have dispensed of the Vikings and Christian Ponder, it’s on to the Bears and Jay Cutler Josh McCown. Instead of extending this intro any further, prepare for Bears week by watching this educational and informative video:
On to the stock report:
Rising
Micah Hyde On his Tuesday afternoon radio show, Aaron Rodgers wondered how Hyde fell to the fifth round in the draft. The rookie is a solid all-around player — a decent tackler, decent cover guy, decent slot blitzer, and now he has a punt return TD under his belt. In a secondary filled with young talent, Hyde is fitting right in.
Mike Daniels The type of relentless pass rush and the ability to finish a sack once he gets in the backfield is just what the Packers needed this season. Many thought it would come from rookie Datone Jones, but it’s actually coming from Daniels. Daniels added two more sacks on Sunday. Christian Ponder is not a good quarterback, but he is elusive and not easy to bring down. Daniels got him twice.
T.J. Lang What’s left to say about the interior of the Packers offensive line? Lang has been battling some bruising defensive tackles all season and keeps on winning those battles much more often than he loses. Lang might be a bit undersized, but he’s athletic and excels on combo blocks when he’s asked to get to the second level.
Steady
Jordy Nelson It’s like Nelson and Rodgers had a devious plan on Sunday night against the Vikings:
Rodgers: “Hey Jordy, instead of getting wide open tonight, just glue yourself to the nearest defender so I can show off by whizzing a pass right by the guy’s ear hole and into your hands.”
Nelson: “Whatever you say, boss. As long as the ball doesn’t get lodged in someone’s ear hole, I’ll catch it.”
Eddie Lacy Lacy has been the definition of a steady running back so far. He’s not going to wow you with his moves or break off long runs on a regular basis, but if you need someone to help you consistently move the chains, Lacy is the guy. It’s also refreshing to see a Packers running back deliver a few blows instead of just taking them. He doesn’t shed many tacklers, but when Lacy gets tackled, he’s usually the aggressor and drives the tackler(s) backwards.
Falling
Tramon Williams With two more pass interference penalties on Sunday, Williams has been flagged in three straight games and in four of the last five. That’s unacceptable, regardless of how well Williams has been playing otherwise. I’m not part of the crowd that is screaming for Williams to be benched, but he needs to cut out the penalties and play better.
Greg Jennings Calvin Johnson had 329 receiving yards on Sunday. Greg Jennings has 336 receiving yards for the entire season. Jennings only has 101 more receiving yards than Jarrett Boykin. I’ll never say Jennings made a bad decision to sign with Minnesota — you gotta make as much money as you can when your window is open in the NFL — but…well…ok…I don’t care how much they’re paying him, Jennings made a bad decision to sign with Minnesota.
ALLGBP.com intercepted a series of text messages between former Packers teammates Greg Jennings and Aaron Rodgers.
The staff here at ALLGBP.com managed to intercept a series of text messages between former Packers and current Vikings WR Greg Jennings and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. The following is an exclusive transcript of how their chat went down:
Greg Jennings: sup aaron
Aaron Rodgers: Who is this?
GJ: c’mon man. it’s greg. ur old friend!
AR: Greg from 7th grade? The kid who smelled funny and always ate ketchup and mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch?
GJ: nah man! greg Jennings. number 85! my catches got u ur first super bowl ring, remember? #BeGreat!!!!!!!!!!!
AR: Oh. Hi Greg.
GJ: i knew you’d be glad to hear from me again! so…….how r things?
AR: Fine.
GJ: how r my boys james, randall and Jordy? Do they ever ask about me? Do they ever say damn, it’d sure be nice if No. 85 was still around to provide us some tips on how to #BeGreat!!!!!!!!
AR: They’re also fine. And no.
GJ: that’s ok. Im sure they r overwhelmed with gratitude toward me since I decided to leave GB and give them the chance to get out from under my shadow.
AR: I’m sure that’s exactly how they feel, Greg.
GJ: so……how’s the weather in GB? still cold?
AR: Greg, what do you need? I’m busy. I just signed a $131 million contract extension and it’s a lot of work trying to decide how I want to spend all of this disposable income.
GJ: right, right, right. I signed a big contract 2 ya know? did u see that? i’m now the #1 WR on the Vikings!!!! SKOL!!!!!! they play a loud horn whenever i catch a first down!!!
**30 minutes later**
GJ: u still there, Aaron? u must have lost cell reception???????
AR: Greg, you always knew more about technology than me. Can you tell me how to block someone from ever texting me again?
GJ: Sure, just open ur settings, go into users, tap the block button…..hey, wait a minute! ur not trying to block me r u?????
AR: Ummmmm…..no. I’m asking for a friend…..
GJ: lets meet for dinner on Saturday night and I can show you. my treat. we can catch up since it’s been so long since we’ve hung out!!!!
AR: Ummmmm…..I have plans that night. Sorry.
GJ: oh. what’s going on?
AR: I’m having a giant vat of boiling hot acid delivered to my hotel room and I am going to stick my entire face in it.
GJ: cmon aaron. You don’t gotta be a jerk about not wanting to hang out with me. Fine. We don’t have 2 b best friends like we were. But please please please tell ted to trade for me!!! Pretty please?
AR: LMFAO
GJ: aaron please! Ive had 3 qbs here already and they’re all so bad, it’s dangerous. it’s like spergon wynn and brian brohm had triplets and all three of them now play qb for the vikings.
AR: I bet they’ve all got mad leadership skills, though.
GJ: u know I was joking with all that leadership stuff, right? RIGHT??????
**30 minutes later**
GJ: aaron, please!
**30 minutes later**
GJ: aaron, rescue my career! Please take me back! i’ll do anything!
**2 hours later**
GJ: aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrroooooooooooon!!!!!
**4 hours later**
GJ: if u don’t respond im going to destroy my phone!
AR: Kind of like you did your career?
GJ: aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
On to the stock report:
Rising
Aaron Rodgers With his receivers dropping left and right, Rodgers has zeroed in, taking better care of the ball and putting together a good second half against Baltimore before playing lights out against Cleveland. The Packers offense has been difficult to watch at times this season, but the results have mostly been there. Rodgers (and the offensive line) deserve a lot of credit for holding things together and continuing to win during this string of not just injuries, but scary injuries.
Davon House House was making plays the previous week against Baltimore before mysteriously getting benched. He was back in a big way against Cleveland, picking off a pass and hanging tough in coverage. He added a tackle on special teams and is another piece of the secondary puzzle that has chipped in with Casey Hayward out.
Morgan Burnett Besides Jerron McMillian falling all over himself, we haven’t seen receivers running free over the top of the Packers defense for big plays ever since Burnett came back. The man with the fat new contract is also playing tough in the run game and contributing to the newfound toughness of the Packers defense.
Steady
Evan Dietrich-Smith There’s nothing flashy about the Dietrich-Smith, but is there ever anything flashy about a center? Dietrich-Smith has gone up against some tough defensive tackles this season, including Phil Taylor on Sunday. It hasn’t slowed down the Packers running game and pressure up the middle has been manageable. Might we be hearing about a contract extension for Dietrich-Smith soon?
Eddie Lacy There have been at least a dozen runs so far this season where Lacy has made something out of what appeared to be nothing. Instead of facing second and 9 like they would have in 2012, Rodgers and the offense can operate in more manageable down and distances thanks to Lacy’s efforts.
Falling
Don Barclay Barclay has allowed eight hurries, three QB hits and two sacks over the last three games. He’s getting pushed back into Rodgers’ lap by power rushers and isn’t making up the difference in the run game, either. We figured Barclay would hit a slump at some point this season. Now we’ll if he can snap out of it.
Brandon Weeden How in the hell could Mike Holmgren — a Super Bowl winner and the man who played a key role in developing Brett Favre and other great quarterbacks — draft Brandon Weeden in the first round?
Morgan Burnett brings down Ray Rice and plays a key role in a second quarter goal line stand for the Packers.
Every year the NFL schedule comes out and we try to boldly declare which teams have tough schedules and which teams appear to have a bunch of patsies and a clear path to the postseason. Every year our analysis is wrong and what once looked like a tough or easy schedule in July is completely the opposite come October.
The Packers appeared to have a nasty schedule initially, but the outlook isn’t so bad now. The Vikings are terrible, the Giants stink, the Steelers are bad, the Lions are the Lions and the Falcons are regressing. There isn’t another game on the schedule where I’d say the Packers are an obvious underdog.
Of course, that could all change in another couple weeks if any of the aforementioned teams get back on track.
The stock report is kind of the same way. Who knew that someone like Mason Crosby would make the steady category two weeks straight and A.J. Hawk would be a riser after week six?
Onto the stock report:
Rising
Morgan Burnett Mr. Burnett earned that fat new contract he got this offseason during the Packers goal line stand in the second quarter against the Ravens. The free safety was in on three tackles during that key series of plays, including a stop on 3rd and 1 where he out-maneuvered ace blocking back Vonta Leach before bringing down the ball carrier.
A.J. Hawk Remember when we couldn’t figure out why Ted Thompson cut Desmond Bishop and kept Hawk around? After three sacks on Sunday,
Hawk is having one of the best stretches of his career while Bishop tore his ACL and is out for the season. Chalk up another one in the smart move column for Thompson. (Side note: Best of luck to Bishop. He seems like a great guy who has experienced terrible luck these past two seasons. Here’s hoping you get another shot down the road, Desmond, and have better luck staying healthy.)
Eddie Lacy Saavy investors bought stock in Lacy a few weeks ago. I’m always a little hesitant to put rookies in the rising category — especially a rookie running back on the pass-happy Packers — but Lacy belong here after a steady game against Detroit and strong finish on the road to help close out Baltimore.
Steady
Jordy Nelson Aaron Rodgers hitting Nelson for a 64-yard touchdown on a play-action rollout brought back memories of 2011 when that very same play seemed to work whenever Mike McCarthy dialed it up.
Micah Hyde Another rookie makes an appearance in the stock report. Hyde had a sack on Sunday and is a threat when blitzing. He’s also holding his own in pass coverage and provides a decent option on punt returns when moving forward instead of dancing around and trying to juke his way into space.
Mason Crosby Shhhh. Don’t tell Crosby that he made the steady category yet again. I don’t want to jinx him.
(Side note: Mike Daniels could easily be in the steady category as well. Once again, he maximized his time on the field on Sunday.)
Falling
Jerron McMillian Literally, McMillian is falling. He fell right over on a fourth-and-21 heave that resulted in a 63-yard completion that allowed the Ravens to hang around. McMillian is still young, but so far it looks like he just can’t play. M.D. Jennings has shown some improvement. McMillian is going from bad to worse.
John Kuhn Kuhn made a boneheaded play on a blocked punt and danced around instead of driving forward to get a first down on a dumpoff pass. Someone remind me why he’s on the team, again?
Chicago Bears Why did I randomly put the Bears in the falling category for no apparent reason? Because the Bears still suck and it’s important to remind people of that fact.
The Packers took a big step in the right direction this week with a boring, but thorough beating of the Lions. The Packers won the game where they haven’t won many lately – in the trenches.
The offensive line, especially the interior three, showed what they are capable of, going up against some of the toughest, baddest (over-rated?) hombres in the NFL and controlling them for pretty much the entire game.
The defensive line was stellar; something we first saw in the preseason and it has been consistently good four games into the season.
So let’s take a look at who’s trending and in what direction after Sunday’s game:
Rising
T.J. Lang When matched up against Ndomukong Suh and the other bruising interior defensive linemen for the Lions, Lang did exactly what needed to be done: Control their pursuit upfield and use their own momentum against them to create running lanes. It was the second straight solid performance from Lang against a group of elite interior defensive linemen.
Josh Sitton After a horrible opener against the 49ers and battling back problems against Washington, Sitton has played a key role in shutting down Geno Atkins and quieting Ndomukong Suh. Thanks in part to Sitton’s efforts, the Packers are fifth in the league in rushing and Aaron Rodgers has had a pretty clean pocket to step into. Moving Sitton to the left side has paid off so far.
Jordy Nelson You could put any of the three receivers in the rising category. I chose Nelson because his toughness is second to none. It doesn’t matter if he’s covered on the sideline or absorbing a big hit over the middle, Nelson makes the catch, then gets up and does it all over again. He hasn’t busted out the Jordy Stiff Arm yet this season, but the Jordy-Makes-a-Miraculous-Catch-With-a-Defender-Draped-All-Over-Him-as-he-Falls-Out-of-Bounds plays have more than made up for it.
Steady
Evan Dietrich-Smith If we’re going to give Sitton and Lang props for controlling some monster defensive tackles over the last few weeks, it’s only fair that we show Dietrich-Smith some love too. The free-agent-to-be is putting together a nice little season so far. Nothing spectacular, but more than holding his own against some quality interior defensive linemen.
A.J. Hawk Whatever the Lions tried to do on Sunday, Hawks was there to snuff it out. Much like Dietrich-Smith, Hawk hasn’t been spectacular this season, but he’s done his job and gone above and beyond in a few instances, with Sunday’s Lions game being the prime example. Now the Packers equipment crew needs to figure out how to keep Hawk’s helmet on his head. Given the Packers injury luck, I can see Hawk’s helmet flying off and hitting Aaron Rodgers in the elbow, causing the QB to miss the rest of the season. To be fair, Pro Football Focus was not impressed w/ Hawk. I disagreed with PFF’s assessment, but wanted to point it out since I used PFF to back up my placement of Lang in the rising group.
Mason Crosby Stop adjusting the resolution on your computer screens. Quit rubbing your eyes. No, you’re not drunk or stoned. Both A.J. Hawk and Mason Crosby are in the steady category this week. Has this ever happened in the history of the Packers Stock Report? I’m too lazy to go look, but I highly doubt it. Two of the most chastised Packers in recent history are now together in the steady category. Hopefully both players take this honor as a reason to continue playing well in order to one day make it all the way up to the rising category. For now, though, baby steps. Here’s hoping Hawk and Crosby keep making positive contributions.
Falling
Ryan Taylor Remember when we thought that the tight ends behind Jermichael Finley were at least halfway decent? Turns out we were probably wrong about that. Taylor’s dropped pass against the Lions caused every Packers fan on Twitter to demand the return of Tom Crabtree.
Jonathan Franklin I was one of the few people who kept his arms crossed and refused to get too excited about Franklin after the Bengals game. The guy’s fumble led directly to the winning touchdown. Any time that happens, it casts a serious shadow over anything else that player may have done during the game. Too harsh? Perhaps. But Franklin fumbled again against the Lions. Fumbles in consecutive weeks get you a first-class seat on the falling category train.
Dominic Raiola Raiola allegedly verbally assaulted members of the Wisconsin marching band on Sunday. Yes, you read that right. An NFL player — a grown man who makes $1 million per year to play football — yelled insults and homophobic slurs at a marching band. Raiola isn’t just falling in football terms, he’s falling in the category of life.
Packers WR Jordy Nelson celebrating yet another week in the rising category of the Packers Stock Report.
The Packers went into the bye week 1-2 and so far have accomplished all of their bye-week goals:
Stay out of prison. No players arrested yet during the bye week. If no Packers end up in jail over the weekend, that gust of wind you’ll feel on Monday morning will be everyone in Packers management exhaling a giant sigh of relief.
Don’t Tweet stupid things. I haven’t been on Twitter much this week, but I haven’t heard of any Packers accidentally tweeting a naked selfie or using a homophobic slur. Packers management must cringe every time they see a Tweet pop up from one of their players during the bye week.
Do something really awesome. Technically, this didn’t happen during the bye week, but it deserves another mention. Major kudos to Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and the entire Packers organization for making Cody Monroe’s day.
Ignore the fans. Why ignore the fans?See the comments section of this post.
Rest heads and hamstrings. Unless they’re going skydiving or playing pickup soccer games, all the Packers with concussions or hamstring injuries should come back at least one step closer to returning to the field.
Read the ALLGBP.com Packers Stock Report. Without further ado:
Rising
Jordy Nelson Remember in Varsity Blues when the QB would knock the other team’s mascot off his horse when throwing the ball away? If Rodgers tried doing something like that, Nelson would probably catch the pass. He’s that good on the sideline.
Clay Matthews His play on the field was more than enough to move him to the rising category, but after he got hurt, his stock went up even further. Unless Dom Capers schemes an unblocked blitzing defensive back, the Packers pass rush goes bye-bye when Matthews isn’t on the field. Just in case we forget, we’re reminded of how valuable Matthews is to this team every time he goes out with his annual hamstring injury.
Mike Daniels Daniels’ violent style of play has so far made up for him being undersized. He’s got a sack, three hurries and four defensive stops this season and might be the only defensive lineman capable of bringing a pass rush at this time. Will Daniels continue to impress now that other teams are becoming more aware of his aggression and his strengths?
Steady
Sam Shields He got burned by A.J. Green on a touchdown Sunday, but that’s going to happen when you’re locked one-on-one with the world’s second best WR most of the day. Earlier in the game, Shields got the best of Green and came up with an interception. After a subpar game against the 49ers, Shields has really come around.
T.J. Lang I was all set to write a piece about Lang’s lackluster play at the end of last season and in the opener against San Francisco but I just didn’t get around to it. Good thing I didn’t because Lang his picked it up since. He handled all-world defensive tackle Geno Atkins on Sunday and has posted a Pro Football Focus rating of 4.8 and 3.6 in his last two games.
Falling
Nick Perry A batted down pass against Washington is the only stadout play Perry has made so far. When it was time to step up and get after the QB after Matthews went down Sunday, Perry was nowhere to be found.
David Bakhtiari A rough, rough game for the rookie on Sunday. He shouldn’t be asked to cut block ever again.
Packers in late game, high-leverage situations By now we’ve all heard Aaron Rodgers’ statistics in “clutch” situations:
5-17 in games decided by four or fewer points
Only five fourth-quarter comebacks
Another late-game flop against the Bengals
It’s unfair to pin all of those numbers solely on the quarterback. The performance of other players deserves blame. Mike McCarthy’s playcalling deserves blame. The defense giving up leads deserves blame.
We can argue forever about why the Packers have consistently failed late in close games, but the bottom line is it needs to change. Whether Rodgers, McCarthy, or someone else steps up to change it, I don’t care. Just get it done.
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