From the Press Box: And So it Begins

Finally, we start the great journey that is the NFL season and thank goodness for that.

Photo by Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports.

Photo by Kirby Lee - USA TODAY Sports.

Finally, we start the great journey that is the NFL season and thank goodness for that.

If we had to go another week where the the top story was something like Wes Welker's "I didn't inhale" defense of Molly's and PEDs, I think we'd have all gone a little crazy.

We've got some ground to cover and as always we'll start with some Thursday Night Football—Packers fans might want to come back in a few minutes.

 

Stop They're already Dead

 

Man that was brutal.

You know, before we get into this, let's take a moment to talk about the NBC Sports live streaming or as I like to call it "the constantly behind, bringing you back from commercial in time for commercial happy funtime hour."

I had issues with the feed, can you tell?

Of course, it was slower than the TV feed, which is fine. My problem came in that it kept falling far behind. And then it would jump to ads and when I came back, it;d be to mid-action. For one Marshawn Lynch touchdown I literally came back just in time to get thrown to a break.

What the what?

There were a few times I had to refresh as well, but that's the price of doing business when it comes to internet streaming. Depending on your provider, computer, and type of internet you could have to do that no matter what.

But the stream seemed a mess for others as well, so I think it's not just me. Which is a bummer because really, there is a huge market for it if done right.

As for the game, well, plenty of Packers fans might have preferred the feed died after the half.

I've gone back and forth with a few people on twitter about the offensive line. I've been harsh on the level of play since the game ended last night, but it was pointed out to me  that very few teams (probably none) could lose two or three of their starters and not collapse. It's a fair point and really my concern boils down to the play of Derek Sherrod.

As an offensive lineman he made a great roller skater.

Cliff Avril absolutely decimated him and it won't get easier next week against the New York Jets and Sheldon Richardson, Damon Harrison or Muhammad Wilkerson. Nor will it get better against the Detroit Lions in Week 3 (Suh and Mosley and Ansah OH MY) or Tampa Bay and Carolina.

That's not to say there are long term issues, just that Sherrod is going to have his work cut out for him if the team needs him.

More of a concern will be the middle of the defense, where Marshawn Lynch was able to run with virtual impunity. According to Pro Football Focus, Lynch ran through the "A" gap eight times (either side of the center), and the "B" gap four more times and was most effective off the left side. While part of that is Lynch's incredible ability to shake tackles in the backfield, and some of it was good blocking by his line, a fair amount of the blame must go to the lack of cohesion and ability up the middle.

Losing Raji was a much bigger deal than we thought it would be and teams are going to attack the middle on the Packers early and often to negate what actually looked like the beginnings of a decent pass rush. Overall I felt like the defense played well for long stretches of the game and there is a lot to build on (once you teacn Clinton-Dix how to tackle in the open field).

As CHTV founder Aaron Nagler says "whole lotta ballgame left." It's early and there is time to fix things.

For the Seattle Seahawks—well, they are a pick of mine to get back to the Super Bowl and last night we saw why. They have flaws.....somewhere...I think.......

The aforementioned Lynch was a pain to tackle, Percy Harvin was every bit as good as we expected, Russell Wilson played very strong ball and the defense was what the defense always is—tough as nails. There is a lot of jabbering on Twitter about how Richard Sherman is clearly not as good as people think because they keep him on one side of the field.

I disagree. There are many ways to use a corner like Sherman or Darrelle Revis or Patrick Peterson and Seattle's way works. The Packers wanted no piece of Sherman (never passes his way once) and that left them playing in half (maybe three quarters) of the field. Which just makes life easier for the rest of the defense. Couple that with the offensive line injuries and you have a tough defense.

I look forward to watching this again because I want to see how far off Sherman played Jarrett Boykin. If he gave the receiver five yards or so—and sometimes he does, while others he'd press the line—I would have run some short slants to take advantage of the cushion and give myself some space on the other side of the field. Risky, sure, but I'd rather not cede half the field.

Heck that might be the worst idea ever—Rodgers, Peyton Manning and many other top quarterbacks might agree. I'm just saying, I'd rather screw up at 100% than die by tiny cuts. I'm not alone in this.

This may be why I coach Pee Wee football, not NFL football.

In the end, Seattle is looking great and that's bad news for the NFC and a very weak AFC as well. Everybody had better know—if you come at the kings, you best not miss.

That's all for today—we'll take a look at next Thursday's game as well as news and notes next week. Until then, enjoy the weekend.

 

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Comments (6)

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HarlanHuckleby's picture

September 05, 2014 at 11:21 am

I'm not ready to give up on Sherrod just yet. Yes, he had a horrible second half, but the guy he replaced had a horrible half against basically the same group of guys last time the Pack played in Seattle. Let's see how he does after having a long week to practice with the starting group.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 05, 2014 at 11:28 am

I don't exactly remember for sure, but he had what 2 really bad plays? Did he have more then that?
I just remember the 4th and 5 play which really wasn't his fault, the whole play was a disaster. Then there was the sack by the goal line.

I didn't feel to bad with him last night outside of a few plays.

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Packer_Pete's picture

September 05, 2014 at 04:14 pm

I re-watched it. He was decent during the 1st half. In the 2nd half, he basically didn't block well anymore, got walked back a few times. He contributed nothing to the run game. He wasn't playing against slouches, but it won't get much easier. Ansah or the other Detroit pass rushers will eat him alive. What is even scarier is who would be next in line. He came up limping briefly. With the current roster, they'd probably move TJ Lang to RT (where he started in college), and insert Garth Gerhart or Lane Taylor at RG.

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Clay's picture

September 05, 2014 at 01:09 pm

Can anyone answer this?

Forgot my password on this site. Operating on one-time log in. To SET new password I need to know my old password! Hilarious. Admin please help with this? Makes no sense. Please check format of password reset.

Also having to log in every time to comment is kind of annoying. Anyone?

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Clay's picture

September 05, 2014 at 01:16 pm

With my limited log in I want to ask a question for all. I am amatuer in my football knowledge but....

Let's move Clay Matthews to inside linebacker. Throw Neal/Peppers on one side, and Perry on the other, or even Eliot for God's sake.

Matthews is an epic football player who understands the game. I know you are taking away some pass rush by moving him, but we are bleeding so bad against the run it is painful. I want to see him patrolling sideline to sideline like Ray Lewis. Yes I know that is asking a lot.

Maybe once they get a team into 3rd and long, THEN move him outside.

But for now I think the Hawk/Jones combo inside are the scapegoats and they have earned it. I will have to go with the consensus and be real about it. Our inside linebacking stinks. Horrible.

What say you all? Let's put Clay in there.

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Imma Fubared's picture

September 05, 2014 at 02:38 pm

The Packers proved to me what I suspected all along, this is not a talented football team who may be in line for the superbowl, Seattle or not Seattle.
Matter of fact I thought a well balanced team with a 4 man rush could make it tough on Seattle.
Ya they have talent throughout and numerous playmakers but I still am not crowning them kings. They played an untalented team.
1. Eddie Lacy lacks speed.
2. Rogers is becoming average and part of that is because his ability to fire the ball at an open receiver is gone since we no longer have open receivers. Jorday ran away from no one and Cobb took forever to get open.
3. Sherrod was awful pre leg break to the point he was only in a back up role and now people think, Oh he is the answer.
4. Quit trying to think Datone and Perry will live up to number one picks. Like Sherrod, they were bad picks. PIcks at least 26 other teams passed on and for reasons.
5. Burnett has no clue. The defensive backs can't cover. Who the hell came up with zone packages that leave receivers so alone it looks like we don't have any dbacks playing.
6. If Dix played any further back he would have been selling peanuts in the stands.
7. Say does MM actually practice tackling anymore. Probably not or the whole team would be on IR. I see the team going 1-5 through the first six. Don't get your hopes up for a quick fix, the Jets are talented too.

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