GT: Packers @ Jags Noon Fox

[Ron Swanson]

Thought the last redzone possession was terrible (3 straight goal-to-go run plays lol), and the toss to Lacy on 2nd down on the last drive was a microcosm of McCarthy's sometimes baffling attempts to establish the run in "run out the clock" situations.

Yeah, we almost got McCarthy'd yesterday. Should have been able to run out the clock in that situation and not relied on the defense (which just allowed 4 straight 4th down conversions), but that was a character building win for the defense overall. They just need to become better at getting off the field on 3rd and 4th down.

[crkone]

I wish Rodgers could just go into straight no-huddle when the calls are getting ridiculous. MM really needs someone to tap him on the shoulder and ask him WTF is he doing sometimes.

[Kerb Hohl]

Thought the last redzone possession was terrible (3 straight goal-to-go run plays lol), and the toss to Lacy on 2nd down on the last drive was a microcosm of McCarthy's sometimes baffling attempts to establish the run in "run out the clock" situations.

Yeah, we almost got McCarthy'd yesterday. Should have been able to run out the clock in that situation and not relied on the defense (which just allowed 4 straight 4th down conversions), but that was a character building win for the defense overall. They just need to become better at getting off the field on 3rd and 4th down.

I think Rodgers audibled to that run on 3rd down. Had the line heard his audible, it looked like it may have been a score.

[Flames24Rulz]

Rodgers was beyond pissed after that 3rd down play. I think he legitimately thought that they were going to go for it based on that third down play call if they didn't get in the end zone. I just don't understand the logic behind that play calling, and MM seems like he does it way too often when you have #12 as your QB. Three straight runs without letting Rodgers attempt to get a score on his own? Makes no damn sense.

Other than that, I can't really complain too much. They got a road win against a team that should be much improved this year, and they did a fairly good job on defense stopping a pretty explosive offense. There were a couple of blown coverages on the long passing plays, but the Jags do have some pretty talented playmakers at the skill positions.

A win's a win.

[RRyder823]

Thought the last redzone possession was terrible (3 straight goal-to-go run plays lol), and the toss to Lacy on 2nd down on the last drive was a microcosm of McCarthy's sometimes baffling attempts to establish the run in "run out the clock" situations.

Yeah, we almost got McCarthy'd yesterday. Should have been able to run out the clock in that situation and not relied on the defense (which just allowed 4 straight 4th down conversions), but that was a character building win for the defense overall. They just need to become better at getting off the field on 3rd and 4th down.

I think Rodgers audibled to that run on 3rd down. Had the line heard his audible, it looked like it may have been a score.

He did audible to a run and the Oline just didn't hear it. It's why the line was pass blocking when the ball was handed off

Hense why people complaining about the MM play call there because he didn't put it Rodgers hands makes no sense.

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[Ron Swanson]

McCarthy gets **** on by uninformed fans way too much, but I think yesterday there was a legitimate gripe in the way he called that 4th quarter on offense. The stretch-run and toss to Lacy out of the shotgun needs to be abolished (at least run it with Starks or Cobb instead). I understand that you risk stopping the clock even be throwing a bubble screen there, but the little dink and dunk pass plays were working against a Jags secondary that was giving big cushions to our wide outs for most of the game.

They seemed way too focused on running out the clock and forgot that you still had to secure a 1st down to ice the game. The last redzone possession followed the same formula. Two separate chances to essentially ice the game and 5 of the 6 plays are runs against a team that would gladly concede the 2+ minutes of possession time to keep the margin at one score and get another chance on offense. If you're going to trust your defense to stop them on that last drive, then why not trust your defense to stop them at their own 3 yard line if you don't make the 4th down conversion after 3 straight run plays?

That's the only thing that bothered me. Rodgers seemed to only audible to the last run play because he was under the assumption that they'd go for it anyways. There was some obvious QB/HC miscommunication there. Luckily, the defense bailed them out and we got the win, so whatever. But it's worth noting for future game management situations.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Thought the last redzone possession was terrible (3 straight goal-to-go run plays lol), and the toss to Lacy on 2nd down on the last drive was a microcosm of McCarthy's sometimes baffling attempts to establish the run in "run out the clock" situations.

Yeah, we almost got McCarthy'd yesterday. Should have been able to run out the clock in that situation and not relied on the defense (which just allowed 4 straight 4th down conversions), but that was a character building win for the defense overall. They just need to become better at getting off the field on 3rd and 4th down.

I think Rodgers audibled to that run on 3rd down. Had the line heard his audible, it looked like it may have been a score.

He did audible to a run and the Oline just didn't hear it. It's why the line was pass blocking when the ball was handed off

Hense why people complaining about the MM play call there because he didn't put it Rodgers hands makes no sense.

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Yeah there were legitimate complaints about some playcalling but that 3rd down play isnt one of them. **** if the line run blocks thats a td or even if starks cuts right quicker he might have scored anyway. I get rodgers wanting to go for it on 4th down but imo kicking was the right move there because it put them up 7.


I mentioned it earlier but one thing they need to clean up is getting the damn plays off quicker. Running the playclock to 0 has been a problem for a year now. Not sure if the coaching staff needs to get the plays in faster or rodgers needs to chill out on the adiudibles but that needs to get better before it bites them in the ass with wasted timeouts and delay of games.

[JimmyTheKid]

Yes, kicking the FG was eventually the right call there on 4th down. But 1st-3rd was an abortion. Oh well, got the win, just hope the stars align perfectly for McCarthy come playoff time. Rodgers can't be Superman 100% of the time. (see last season)

[Kerb Hohl]

Once again - Aaron Rodgers called for the run on 3rd down.

[GBPackers47]

They seemed way too focused on running out the clock and forgot that you still had to secure a 1st down to ice the game. The last redzone possession followed the same formula. Two separate chances to essentially ice the game and 5 of the 6 plays are runs against a team that would gladly concede the 2+ minutes of possession time to keep the margin at one score and get another chance on offense. If you're going to trust your defense to stop them on that last drive, then why not trust your defense to stop them at their own 3 yard line if you don't make the 4th down conversion after 3 straight run plays?

This feels like our formula for the last several years. We just don't put games away and that's my gripe. Five minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter always feels like 30 minutes in real life. We were lucky the Jags burned their TOs early, but this team has to find a way to go up by two scores towards the end of the game. I know it's only Week 1 and we were playing against a Jags team that seemed like they were fighting for their lives, but a team that is one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl shouldn't be consistently fighting until the clock says 0:00 against teams that aren't even guaranteed to make the playoffs.

[BUCKnation]

Yeah, that was an easy TD if the line doesn't go into pass protect. Starks ran right into Taylor and the play died, even though there was a huge hole right there.

[RRyder823]

They seemed way too focused on running out the clock and forgot that you still had to secure a 1st down to ice the game. The last redzone possession followed the same formula. Two separate chances to essentially ice the game and 5 of the 6 plays are runs against a team that would gladly concede the 2+ minutes of possession time to keep the margin at one score and get another chance on offense. If you're going to trust your defense to stop them on that last drive, then why not trust your defense to stop them at their own 3 yard line if you don't make the 4th down conversion after 3 straight run plays?

This feels like our formula for the last several years. We just don't put games away and that's my gripe. Five minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter always feels like 30 minutes in real life. We were lucky the Jags burned their TOs early, but this team has to find a way to go up by two scores towards the end of the game. I know it's only Week 1 and we were playing against a Jags team that seemed like they were fighting for their lives, but a team that is one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl shouldn't be consistently fighting until the clock says 0:00 against teams that aren't even guaranteed to make the playoffs.

It's actually pretty common in a league where the difference between 6-10 and 10-6 is generally a handful of plays. Case in point look at Seattle



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[Ron Swanson]

Again, let's not make this into something that it isn't. I felt that there were some legitimate question marks in regards to the play-calling in the 2nd half yesterday. Let's not have this turn into an exercise in confirmation bias against McCarthy and past playoff defeats.

Because, as it's been pointed out many times, the "play-calling" complaint is such a blanket statement to try and assign any and all blame on the coaching staff over the players who have to actually execute on the field. I just felt that this was indeed one of those rare instances where we won in spite of the offensive scheme implemented in the final 6 minutes.

[GBPackers47]

They seemed way too focused on running out the clock and forgot that you still had to secure a 1st down to ice the game. The last redzone possession followed the same formula. Two separate chances to essentially ice the game and 5 of the 6 plays are runs against a team that would gladly concede the 2+ minutes of possession time to keep the margin at one score and get another chance on offense. If you're going to trust your defense to stop them on that last drive, then why not trust your defense to stop them at their own 3 yard line if you don't make the 4th down conversion after 3 straight run plays?

This feels like our formula for the last several years. We just don't put games away and that's my gripe. Five minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter always feels like 30 minutes in real life. We were lucky the Jags burned their TOs early, but this team has to find a way to go up by two scores towards the end of the game. I know it's only Week 1 and we were playing against a Jags team that seemed like they were fighting for their lives, but a team that is one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl shouldn't be consistently fighting until the clock says 0:00 against teams that aren't even guaranteed to make the playoffs.

It's actually pretty common in a league where the difference between 6-10 and 10-6 is generally a handful of plays. Case in point look at Seattle


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What I mean by this is we often take our foot off the gas once we are up. I want to try and stay away from blanket statements and try to provide more concrete examples, but I'm sure people understand from at least the eye test. Understandably, even as a Super Bowl favorite, you aren't going to blow every team out, so it would be unreasonable for me to think otherwise. Obviously the Seattle playoff game is probably the most memorable for all of us, but even looking at the regular season last year, there's no reason why the outcome of a game against a 4-12 San Diego team needs to come down to the last play.

[Kerb Hohl]

The thing is - we ran the ball well on 1st down of the 4 minute offense series. Then there was the stupid playcall (but I agree with a run on 2nd and 3) to toss it to the outside. I hate that play. Then the **** to get the play in.

Long story short, the only complaint I had was the play call on 2nd down. I was fine running it there. The play not getting in is also somewhat on the staff but that is unrelated in this argument.

I had gotten into a debate about this a few months back and it is not so cut-and-dried since you never really know what the outcome would have been. Most believe that running it cost us the game against Seattle 2 years ago when trying to drain the clock. I think a few other games, we've choked after taking our foot off the gas.

Let me put this out there: I'd rather put my foot on the gas in some cases and let Rodgers throw in the 5 minute drill or the 3 minute drill. That said, every game sans Atlanta on the Super Bowl path involved McCarthy being conservative (mixed results on getting 1st downs), and the defense holding on for the win. You can unpackage the **** out of those, though. Did we win because McCarthy drained the extra minute off? Did he leave us in peril? Could there have been a tipped pass and then INT in those games if we threw?

[crkone]

Again, let's not make this into something that it isn't. I felt that there were some legitimate question marks in regards to the play-calling in the 2nd half yesterday. Let's not have this turn into an exercise in confirmation bias against McCarthy and past playoff defeats.

Because, as it's been pointed out many times, the "play-calling" complaint is such a blanket statement to try and assign any and all blame on the coaching staff over the players who have to actually execute on the field. I just felt that this was indeed one of those rare instances where we won in spite of the offensive scheme implemented in the final 6 minutes.

In general, McCarthy also has to be aware of his personnel and their limitations. He can say "we didn't execute" but maybe he should have called a screen pass to Cobb instead of a Lacy outside toss. Or run more natural pick plays to get some of the slower WRs open instead of precision perfect back shoulder throws.

[thomchatt3rton]

McCarthy gets **** on by uninformed fans way too much, but I think yesterday there was a legitimate gripe in the way he called that 4th quarter on offense. The stretch-run and toss to Lacy out of the shotgun needs to be abolished (at least run it with Starks or Cobb instead). I understand that you risk stopping the clock even be throwing a bubble screen there, but the little dink and dunk pass plays were working against a Jags secondary that was giving big cushions to our wide outs for most of the game.

They seemed way too focused on running out the clock and forgot that you still had to secure a 1st down to ice the game. The last redzone possession followed the same formula. Two separate chances to essentially ice the game and 5 of the 6 plays are runs against a team that would gladly concede the 2+ minutes of possession time to keep the margin at one score and get another chance on offense. If you're going to trust your defense to stop them on that last drive, then why not trust your defense to stop them at their own 3 yard line if you don't make the 4th down conversion after 3 straight run plays?

That's the only thing that bothered me. Rodgers seemed to only audible to the last run play because he was under the assumption that they'd go for it anyways. There was some obvious QB/HC miscommunication there. Luckily, the defense bailed them out and we got the win, so whatever. But it's worth noting for future game management situations.

Not passing in that situation is, of course, conservative play-calling. I'm not convinced it's the wrong thing to do though, even if you don't get the first down doing it.

A coach's priorities in that situation are probably something like:
1) Don't turn the ball over.
2) Use up clock/don't stop the clock.
3) Get a first down and ice the game right there without turning the ball over or stopping the clock.
4) Gain as much yardage as possible without turning the ball over or stopping the clock (thinking about field position if you punt).

All 4 of those priorities call for running the ball.

"Getting a first down to ice the game right there nevermind the risk" moves up that list to become the priority probably only because the coach has a good reason to believe his defense can't get one stop (in this case vs a team with no time-outs left).

Since the D wasn't playing terribly, is there an overwhelming enough need to ice the game right there that overrides the risk involved? Reasonable people could disagree.
The most likely risk if you pass is stopping the clock. That's pretty high-probability to me. With Rodgers you don't worry so much he'll throw a pick (but obviously the downside of that is pretty bad).

One might argue that killing the clock, even though you didn't get a first down, still "worked" in the sense that it contributed to the win. Though they didn't run out of time, JAX undoubtedly has a higher chance of success if you gift them the considerable amount of time represented by an incomplete pass. People might underrate this aspect. I wonder if some don't even think about it and judge any result that isn't a first down to be 100% a failure.

Also, why are you so sure Rodgers audibled because he assumed it was 4 down territory?

Maybe you know something I don't but I assume he did because it was a great read. Had the o-line not missed the call, that was a certain touchdown.
And I took his frustration after it failed to be due to that, not because he had assumed 4-down territory. That he wanted to go for it on 4th isn't proof to me because he always wants to go for it in that situation. Most offensive players do.

I would've been fine with going for it on 4th there, but let's not forget, that FG ended up being the difference- no points there and JAX's final drive with no timeouts just became a ton easier because all they need is FG range.

[HKPackFan]

The audible on 3rd down seemed like a good call. I'm gonna chalk that up to not playing together enough as to why Rodgers called run and the oline had no clue. Is that tretters fault or just the entire oline fault or Rodgers for not being clear enough in his audible. We don't know but I'd say not being on the same page with such a limited preseason could have been a factor.

It was painful to settle for 3 but it was the right call. That offense was out of sync half the game it could have easily sputtered on 4th down. And Jax gets momentum and a much shorter lead to overcome . All things being the same they did reach the 20 yard line on the last drive so they could have been kicking for OT instead of being forced into a TD. The Fg was the right call while this offense is getting the kinks out.