Pack hurt in short yardage

[eagle13]

article on JSweb...

Wildly successful in area after area, coach Mike McCarthy's club already has clinched the NFC North championship and is tied for the third-best record in the National Football League at 11-2.

The Packers have achieved all of this despite the fact that their offense ranks dead last in the NFL in overall conversion rate on third and 1 and fourth and 1.

"We probably need to improve in that area, huh?" general manager Ted Thompson said Friday. "Obviously, you'd like to convert those. I don't know what the problem is, but we want to be good and efficient in that area. So we will have to improve."

The Packers have converted just eight of 21 third-and-1's and one of three fourth-and-1's, giving them nine of 24 for 37.5%.

Not only does that rank 32nd in the NFL through 13 games but the 37.5% conversion rate is worse than any team in the league from 1996-2006, based on statistics supplied by STATS LLC. The Dallas Cowboys had the poorest mark in the last 11 full seasons at 40% during a 5-11 campaign in 2001.

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why is this?

[ReasonablySober]

Interesting but not exactly surprising. How many times have we seen them come out with five wide on 3rd or 4th and short?

My guess is their percentage had been better the last few games with the emergence of their running game.

[Neusch23]

Geez...I guess we should have picked up corey dillion when I suggested it!!!

[WRau1]

It's because they're passing on 3rd/4th and 1's.

[notoriousTJ11]

There's been at least 8 times we've had 3rd and 1 and ran the ball and gotten stuffed short of the first down or for a loss. I know this because I am very critical of our guards and pay very close attention to them during games.

[ReasonablySober]

Since the bye week, when our running game essentially arrived:

(team)
(down)
(player, result)

Denver:
3rd
Grant - 4 yard rush

KC:
None

Minnesota:
3rd:
Grant - 2 yard loss
4th:
Favre - 8 yard pass

Carolina:
3rd:
Jackson - 1 yard gain
Favre - 4 yard pass

Detroit:
3rd:
Grant - 1 yard loss

Dallas:
3rd:
Favre - Incomplete pass
Grant - 62 yard rush
Grant - No gain
Rodgers - Incomplete pass

4th:
Rodger - Incomplete pass

Oakland:
3rd:
Grant - 4 yard rush
Grant - 2 yard loss

Total 3rd and 1 Conversions - 5 for 11
Total 4th and 1 Conversions - 1 for 2

Total percentage of 50%.

There's nothing to worry about.

[ReasonablySober]

Unreal. They have a 3rd and 1 and not only do they take Grant out, but they put Morency in motion and go deep.

[th87]

O-line doesn't seem to consistently get a push like Dallas' or ours in 2004. That's the tradeoff with rangier athletes.