Postgame: Packers @ Ravens

[bizarro]

If you can turn around the toughness equation by drafting one good running back, were you ever really not tough enough? It's not like Bakh is a mauler.

On the other side of the ball, the biggest difference maker has been Daniels, one of the poster boys of McGinn's "TT has been drafting size exceptions and it's limiting the team" crusade. You can talk about Perry and Neal but it's not like Moses was soft. He was slow and generally not very good, but he was definitely tough and not undersized.

I love McGinn but he's been wrong in his diagnosis. It's never been size and toughness and it's always been ability. You'll note he hasn't said too much about the Cobb pick. My guess is Daniels is off the list, now, too.

I hear you. And, I agree with a lot of what you say. Bakh is definitely not a mauler. McGinn has completely overplayed his hand but I still agree with some of his premise. And, as I pointed to earlier, as a journalist he's been masterful in writing a tune to death so much so the average fan now thinks about toughness - whether or not it is sensible or accurate in this case is now irrelevant...he's impacted the locker room to the tune of direct comments. Whether or not they were 'tough' enough, McGinn's overemphasis has seeped into the locker room and the coaching room and it's been a focus and they're now playing with an overtly displayed and discussed edge. How else do we explain the significant improvement in run defense? And, in the end. I think it's a combination of the two. Firstly, you must have the ability - toughness with a lack of ability and/or talent is simply a guy who can take a lot of punches but deliver very few. And, I also think with the emergence of Daniels (who no doubt has been a force) who is just a damn good football player who uses his leverage very very well combined with the improbable comeback by Jolly have been the two catalysts on the defensive line. Daniels has had more impact, but I think Jolly's attitude and edge and his ability to spell Pickett and Raji have been equally affective. My two cents. Thanks for your thoughts!

[Bucksfans1and2]

If you can turn around the toughness equation by drafting one good running back, were you ever really not tough enough? It's not like Bakh is a mauler.

On the other side of the ball, the biggest difference maker has been Daniels, one of the poster boys of McGinn's "TT has been drafting size exceptions and it's limiting the team" crusade. You can talk about Perry and Neal but it's not like Moses was soft. He was slow and generally not very good, but he was definitely tough and not undersized.

I love McGinn but he's been wrong in his diagnosis. It's never been size and toughness and it's always been ability. You'll note he hasn't said too much about the Cobb pick. My guess is Daniels is off the list, now, too.

I hear you. And, I agree with a lot of what you say. Bakh is definitely not a mauler. McGinn has completely overplayed his hand but I still agree with some of his premise. And, as I pointed to earlier, as a journalist he's been masterful in writing a tune to death so much so the average fan now thinks about toughness - whether or not it is sensible or accurate in this case is now irrelevant...he's impacted the locker room to the tune of direct comments. Whether or not they were 'tough' enough, McGinn's overemphasis has seeped into the locker room and the coaching room and it's been a focus and they're now playing with an overtly displayed and discussed edge. How else do we explain the significant improvement in run defense? And, in the end. I think it's a combination of the two. Firstly, you must have the ability - toughness with a lack of ability and/or talent is simply a guy who can take a lot of punches but deliver very few. And, I also think with the emergence of Daniels (who no doubt has been a force) who is just a damn good football player who uses his leverage very very well combined with the improbable comeback by Jolly have been the two catalysts on the defensive line. Daniels has had more impact, but I think Jolly's attitude and edge and his ability to spell Pickett and Raji have been equally affective. My two cents. Thanks for your thoughts!

His writing has not seeped into the locker room and the coaching room. Decisions are not being made based on McGinn's recent drivel.

This team is playing better against the run because Daniels is 1000x better against the run this year than he was last year and he's miles better than Neal was in a similar spot. Daniels didn't get tougher in the offseason, he got stronger and he got smarter about using leverage and angles to take on blockers. The reason Hawk is looking so damn good right now has a lot to do with the fact that we're now keeping him clean. Prime Ray Lewis isn't going to get TFL if the offense is successfully doubling down on him.

We're not blocking better because of some perceived toughness crap. We're playing better for a thousand different reasons:

1. Bakhtiari is a better zone, reach, and backside blocker than Newhouse was.
2. Lang is healthy whereas he was hurting for most of last year.
3. EDS is a year more experienced at that Center spot. A lot of playing Center comes down to reps and EDS was playing with a severe shortage last year.
4. Barclay has finally gotten an offseason in a pro facility. He's stronger than he was as a rookie and more experienced as well.
5. Lang and Barclay have gotten more reps playing together. That **** takes reps to learn and you're not getting it in practice. That takes game time together and they've gotten WAY more than they had at the end of last year.
6. Finley is bigger and stronger than he was last year and that's helped his blocking quite a bit.
7. We've finally found backs that have both eyes and legs. Benson had eyes and no legs. Green had legs and no eyes. Starks legs were broken. Now we've got Lacy and Franklin and Starks is back to healthy again.

McGinn is little more than a troll on this topic.

[bizarro]

BF, McGinn's articles certainly aren't affecting any of the decisions being made. But, I was alluding more to the comments made by Daniels after the Ravens game. He specifically came out and addressed the 's' word. So, it was my deduction that his comments have stoked the fires (or ire) of the players.

And, the reps are definitely helping the O-Line. And, clearly, a moving corpse would have been more successful @ Center than Saturday. I think EDS has been one of the pleasant surprises this year. He's been super consistent and more than formidable in my opinion. He and Lang pretty much shut down Geno Atkins who is arguably the most dominant DT in the game.

I totally agree on Finley as well. He had an absolute pancake block in the 2nd half of the game. That was a moment for me when I realized he had truly arrived in the running game. I mean it was a pancake!

Thanks for your insights. Adding more depth to the conversation. McGinn may be a troll on this topic as you say and I still think he's a troll with impact.