PG: Packers win over OAK

HKPackFan · Post #1 » by **HKPackFan** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:53 am

A couple positive thoughts.

This is a 10 win team with a playoff birth locked up, possibly a division title, and still a chance at a #2 seed. That's a good thing. There's a lot of teams that would love to be in our situation.

Abby had a productive day 3 catches, 33 yards, 3 targets. I believe a couple of them were 1st downs. He caught everything thrown to him, and he didn't break anything in the process. Hope this means he gets more snaps. I trust him more than Davante.

The team can win ugly and away from home.

Finally, one ray of hope for the offense. We had an excellent 95 yard drive that took up 7+ minutes from the end of the 3rd to the 4th quarter. That is friggin impressive. It gave us some momentum, it got our defense some rest, it kept Carr and Cooper off the field. Gave some confidence back to the Packers. We couldn't punch it in, but it was a very solid drive.

My analysis of this game is a bit limited because I watched the entire game on my phone, running around getting my daughter ready then heading to the airport, and shipping her off for her Christmas holidays. So there may have been things I missed and wasn't able to notice some of the finer details.

H2tObes · Post #2 » by **H2tObes** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:57 am

That 95 yard drive reminded me so much of what we have been used to with Rodgers over the years. We can beat anybody if that offense shows up sometimes in the playoffs

HKPackFan · Post #3 » by **HKPackFan** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:05 am

I did notice they used Janis more in the redzone, which I thought is kinda weird, wouldn't you prefer him in the middle of the field with a threat to run deep? Some corners give him large cushions which he can take advantage of, so why not try? Instead he seemed used as a redzone threat? I never really thought of him as a redzone target, I actually think that's where dick is more useful inside the 10. Janis also needs to catch the ball when it hits both hands.

Rollins continued to impress with his athletic skills, although he still goes too low on a lot of tackles and can get beat at times.

I've been a huge fan of Randall was a little disappointed to see him get schooled by Cooper. It's a growing experience, glad he got the pick 6, but Damarious has some work to do. I still think he's a starting caliber corner and will be a solid part of this defense.

Jake Ryan also had an awful day so it was tough to see the rookies struggle.

Really pathetic on the 3rd and goal pick play where JJ picks his DB and Cobb. These guys are the veterans and leaders of the WR unit. WTF guys. At least JJ had a fairly decent homecoming 6 rec 82 yards and a TD. On that one drive he was trolling the DB with back shoulder throws all day. That was fun to watch. He still has some crazy catches with the sideline play reversed and the double catch earlier in the game. Too bad he doesn't have the ability to separate anymore.

Other things not happy about: **** Starks man. He's much shiftier and quicker and getting better yards per carry but WTF man hold on to the F****** BALL!! And Lacy did not look good today. No mean lacy today like last week. Where was the fire? And he almost get Rodgers killed when he made a weak ass block attempt at a blitzer and let the guy slam Rodgers. WTF Lacy but some of that body to use.

Ron Swanson · Post #4 » by **Ron Swanson** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:05 am

I'm much more confident going into Arizona right now than I was two weeks ago. Passing game still needs a lot of work, but this team has proven that they can win with defense and the run game.

Getting the ball in the hands of actual playmakers other than Davante and Dick-Rod has also given me hope going forward. Cobb had a game that made him look like the $11 mil per year WR he is for probably the first time this season. Good signs.

HKPackFan · Post #5 » by **HKPackFan** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:19 am

Ron Swanson wrote:I'm much more confident going into Arizona right now than I was two weeks ago. Passing game still needs a lot of work, but this team has proven that they can win with defense and the run game.

Getting the ball in the hands of actual playmakers other than Davante and Dick-Rod has also given me hope going forward. Cobb had a game that made him look like the $11 mil per year WR he is for probably the first time this season. Good signs.

Overall I agree. MM likes Cobb and Kuhn over Clements who likes Davante and Dick.

Use Cobb! We paid that man for a reason. And I also saw some 1 yard tosses to the outside WR which gains a nice chunk of yardage, its good to see that play resurrected. While its not fixed there is improvement and a bit more creativity. Its not the same vertical routes with zero separation 60 plays a game with a check down of Dick for zero yards. For me that's an important improvement.

Combined with the defense playing tough and able to handle themselves in close games is a good sign. I just hope to see continued improvement against a top 5 team in the NFL next week.

JackSIKMA43 · Post #6 » by **JackSIKMA43** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:25 am

Not sure what to think about this team right now. The defense and special teams? Very few complaints. Our rookies in the secondary got gashed today a bit, which is to be expected. Not gonna harp on them too much. This has been our best special teams coverage unit, in years. I can't even remember the last time, they were this good. Probably in the mid-late 90's? I'm generally not the negative type at all, but in today's game ... if not for two horrible Carr throws early, this could have gone either way. Also, I can't believe that McCarthy won that challenge. Jones absolutely did NOT catch that ball on the sideline. Sure, if I'm gonna be a biased fan, I take it, but that was bad. No way around it.

That all said, we clinched a playoff spot, and that's nice. Hard to believe, in this team's 90+ year history, this is the longest streak of consecutive seasons with a playoff berth. That's saying something. I don't take it for granted. But, until the offense can resemble some sense of consistent pass/run balance with playmakers who can move the chains throughout a game, I'm skeptical about how they're gonna look, come playoff time.

Post #7 » by **MickeyDavis** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:34 am

After losing at Denver and Carolina it would be huge to win in Arizona. Very tough but doable

JackSIKMA43 · Post #8 » by **JackSIKMA43** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:45 am

As for Starks ... love the guy as a # 2 back, always have. It seems as though he's beaten the health bug. The ball got knocked out today. BUT ... his carrying the ball like a loaf of bread, remains a huge problem. Drives me nuts. Tuck the f**king ball into your chest, for god's sake. It seems as though he thinks he can pick up speed, by extending his arm out, with the ball in his hand. Horrible mechanics there. I think that is beating a dead horse, at this point. He probably never does it in practice, but can't help himself, during games. Mind-boggling.

trwi7 · Post #9 » by **trwi7** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:58 am

JackSIKMA43 wrote:Tuck the f**king ball into your chest, for god's sake.

Don't even have to do that. Just have your index finger hold the ball at the point and tuck it tight to your side and it shouldn't get knocked out.

JackSIKMA43 · Post #10 » by **JackSIKMA43** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:47 am

Good lord. Rodgers looks really annoyed during this entire press conference. Almost as if he's searching for answers.

http://www.packers.com/media-center/videos/Rodgers-happy-about-another-playoff-berth/e23ceebf-d280-4823-8b40-19a0625242dd?campaign=sf17476631

HKPackFan · Post #11 » by **HKPackFan** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:00 am

trwi7 wrote:
JackSIKMA43 wrote:Tuck the f**king ball into your chest, for god's sake.

Don't even have to do that. Just have your index finger hold the ball at the point and tuck it tight to your side and it shouldn't get knocked out.

Edgar needs to take a break from OC duties and teach starks how to hold the damn ball.

GB_Packers · Post #12 » by **GB_Packers** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:36 am

MM won the challenge because it was obvious Jones caught it and secured the ball with two knees down in bounds right before rolling out of bounds. They even froze the replay when the refs were looking at it under the hood.

DanoMac · Post #13 » by **DanoMac** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 10:54 am

JackSIKMA43 wrote:Good lord. Rodgers looks really annoyed during this entire press conference. Almost as if he's searching for answers.

http://www.packers.com/media-center/videos/Rodgers-happy-about-another-playoff-berth/e23ceebf-d280-4823-8b40-19a0625242dd?campaign=sf17476631

I'd be annoyed too if the local media were publishing their own agendas and labeling me as a diva despite winning a Super Bowl for you.

MartyConlonOnTheRun · Post #14 » by **MartyConlonOnTheRun** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:26 pm

Did he say that is a bad question, I don't want to answer it or That's not a bad question I don't know how to answer it.

MartyConlonOnTheRun · Post #15 » by **MartyConlonOnTheRun** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:27 pm

I'm optimistic but this had a Kohl era bucks win to it. Yeah, we beat a bad team and headed to the playoffs but no excitement to actually contend.

WiscoKing13 · Post #16 » by **WiscoKing13** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:32 pm

MartyConlonOnTheRun wrote:I'm optimistic but this had a Kohl era bucks win to it. Yeah, we beat a bad team and headed to the playoffs but no excitement to actually contend.

I mean on down on this team, but we're entering the playoffs with a above average defense, solid run game when we commit to it and Aaron Rodgers. In no way is this the 8th seed vs 1 seed in the East.

MartyConlonOnTheRun · Post #17 » by **MartyConlonOnTheRun** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:03 pm

WiscoKing13 wrote:
MartyConlonOnTheRun wrote:I'm optimistic but this had a Kohl era bucks win to it. Yeah, we beat a bad team and headed to the playoffs but no excitement to actually contend.

I mean on down on this team, but we're entering the playoffs with a above average defense, solid run game when we commit to it and Aaron Rodgers. In no way is this the 8th seed vs 1 seed in the East.

I agree it is a very different situation but I that's how I kind of felt watching the game. Yeah, we won but I wasn't that excited or invested in this team.

Ron Swanson · Post #18 » by **Ron Swanson** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:30 pm

Meh, I understand being a bit down on this team, but the playoffs are an entirely different beast, and the one thing that we do have on other teams like Carolina and Arizona is the experience factor. And really, as bad as we've played for stretches, we've still won 4 of our last 5 games.

Even without an elite passing game, so long as we get angry Lacy for the playoffs, I still think we can beat anyone.

FAH1223 · Post #19 » by **FAH1223** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:47 pm

[tweet]https://twitter.com/AaronNagler/status/678827102284726272[/tweet]

Rodgers basically shat on MM

crkone · Post #20 » by **crkone** » Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:16 pm

FAH1223 wrote:[tweet]https://twitter.com/AaronNagler/status/678827102284726272[/tweet]

Rodgers basically shat on MM

Seems like he is not happy with MM right now.