"Chips Report" from Week 12 Packers Tie vs. Vikings
Matt Flynn and Eddie Lacy were the heroes in the Packers' unlikely tie against the Vikings on Sunday.
Our weekly "Chips Report" will always include two blue chippers (outstanding, exceptional play), two red chippers (good, though maybe not great) and two cow chips (dud performances). From the Week 12 26-26 tie against the Minnesota Vikings...
Blue Chips
- Quarterback Matt Flynn––It's as if the Matt Flynn of 2011 never left. Substituted for an ineffective Scott Tolzien in the third quarter, the Packers offense looked rejuvenated with Flynn at the helm. Able to operate the team's hurry-up offense, Flynn may not have made many outstanding plays, but he proved to be an outstanding leader who can put the team in position to be successful. His final statistics read 21 of 36 for 218 yards, along with a touchdown pass to Jarrett Boykin and didn't cost the team any turnovers.
- Running back Eddie Lacy––Minus Aaron Rodgers, the Packers need Lacy to be a workhorse back and he was every bit the part on Sunday afternoon. Lacy did his best imitation of Adrian Peterson, refusing to go down on first contact and spinning his way out of several tackles. He converted several first downs, including one on fourth down in the fourth quarter that helped set up a field goal to pull the Packers to within three points. Lacy went over the 100-yard mark, rushing for 110 yards on 25 carries and adding 48 more receiving yards on six receptions.
Red Chips
- Linebacker Clay Matthews––Matthews officially finished the game with three quarterback hits, the only player on the team to accumulate more than one. Of those three hits, Matthews got two quarterback sacks, but one his best moment of the evening might have been when he flushed Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder from the pocket in overtime, allowing defensive lineman Mike Daniels to finish off the play for a sack. Continuing to play with a fiberglass cast, Matthews finished with four tackles.
- Offensive guards––Most of the struggles the Packers offensive line came from the tackle position, but the guards were solid, pretty much as they've been all season long. Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang were a big part of the reason the Packers were able to grind out 196 yards rushing for an average of 5.8 yards per carry. They also allowed very little pressure up the interior of the line, allowing Flynn ample time to find receivers and set up several scoring opportunities.
Cow Chips
- Safety M.D. Jennings––Many Packers defenders had poor games. A.J. Hawk looked bad on several plays, but at least made up for it with two tackles for a loss and sack. Davon House gave up several receptions but at least had the big pass deflection in the end zone to prevent a touchdown. With M.D. Jennings, however, he didn't have a saving grace. He had an opportunity to tackle Rhett Ellison short of the end zone but fell off. Jennings also applied no pressure on a safety blitz on a play that ended in a 31-yard reception to Jerome Simpson deep down the right sideline in the second quarter.
- Offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse––The Packers gave up only two sacks on the day, one of them to Brian Robison, who beat Newhouse around the edge for a sack on Scott Tolzien early in the game. Among Newhouse's other big blunders was allowing Matt Flynn to be sacked in overtime on a play which defensive holding was called, nullifying the sack. This is the third consecutive game with a "cow chip" for Newhouse, leaving the Packers praying for Don Barclay or Derek Sherrod to get healthy enough to take over.
Brian Carriveau is the author of the book "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor of Cheesehead TV's "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].
Comments (43)
November 24, 2013 at 04:55 pm
Eddies run in the first half where he carried the pile and somehow managed to sneak out of it was one of the best ten or so yard runs I have ever seen. As I have been saying all along #beastmodejr.
November 24, 2013 at 05:38 pm
His carry on 4th & 1 was nothing short of inspirational.
November 24, 2013 at 06:34 pm
It sure was. What a great draft pick. I haven't seen people praising TT enough for that pick.
November 24, 2013 at 08:17 pm
Dude wants to win.
November 24, 2013 at 09:16 pm
Mr smith you kdding? Ive said hes going to be a top 5 back for a fee months now
November 24, 2013 at 09:31 pm
You're one of few then. I don't read all the comments here as most of them are garbage, but haven't seen too much praise around the internets. Kudos to you for calling it though.
November 25, 2013 at 09:58 am
yeah, everyone likes to rip Thompson for the draft picks that haven't turned out to be as good, but no one wants to praise him for the ones that do.
Eddie Lacy, Bakhtiari have been very good very early. Jones is coming around, and Hyde has played well... Good draft with very good early results.
November 24, 2013 at 04:55 pm
Sherrod has to be pretty bad if they haven't even taken A LOOK at him yet.
November 24, 2013 at 05:08 pm
All I've heard was Sherrod physically looks better than ever. Why they don't give him a shot is beyond me.
Hated MM's play calling in OT when they got it down to near the ten. You're not going for it on fourth in that situation, so why waste two downs and then hope a tough pass into the corner will work?
Lacy plays with heart. He's supplanted Bahktiari as TT's best draft choice this year.
November 24, 2013 at 05:49 pm
i think they're being extra cautious with sherrod. the guy hasn't played in 2 years and never really had a full offseason to get ready. i have a feeling that we won't see the guy play until next season (if that)
November 24, 2013 at 06:04 pm
He plays on FGs.
November 24, 2013 at 06:52 pm
nerd- i can play on field goals! haha
November 24, 2013 at 08:45 pm
Give him a shot. Not playing in two years I don't think he could be any worse then Newhouse. How he is still playing is insane. Makes me really question OL coach and MM evaluations...
November 24, 2013 at 06:42 pm
I sure agree with your comment about MM's play calling... and why on earth go for two?????
November 24, 2013 at 08:01 pm
They were down by 16. 2 TD's and 2-2 point conversions and they would have been tied.
simple math...
November 24, 2013 at 04:57 pm
I would throw Masthay in as a red chip too. Some fantastic punting from him tonight. Shame when that's a highlight though.
November 24, 2013 at 05:03 pm
I'm pretty sure Eddie Lacy is tougher than this whole team put together.
WTF Newhouse. Seriously. What is wrong with Sherrod? The coaching staff sure is acting weird about his status.
When we settled for the field goal in OT, I knew we weren't going to win it.
Didn't even notice Worthy was playing until I happened to see his number. Same with Datone Jones. Really need Jolly.
And how do we manage to not take a single shot downfield on our last possession? Are the MN corners so good that Jordy and James aren't open, or is our blocking that bad??
November 24, 2013 at 06:44 pm
Didn't look like the tackles were giving enough time... but sure agree... why not go for the longer passes?... (redundant?)
November 24, 2013 at 09:32 pm
Just a guess here, but I think that Flynn's elbow injury was seriously limiting his range on deep throws.
November 24, 2013 at 05:24 pm
Vikings support drunk driving by not suspending a thug like Simpson for atleast 3 games.
Also 43 should be off the team tomorrow
November 24, 2013 at 05:34 pm
Poor Matt Flynn. McCarthy's seems to be the only offense in which he can operate at a high level. That's great, but as long as we have Rodgers… Poor kid. In any case, Thompson is nuts if he doesn't try to sign Flynn to be our backup for next year. Tolzien Smolzien… Kid's got heart, but I've seen enough. I'd be fine with him as a third QB.
November 24, 2013 at 05:37 pm
Cowchip on McCarthy for going for 2 down by double digit points.
November 24, 2013 at 05:49 pm
agreed...too early to lose a point
November 24, 2013 at 06:46 pm
woulda won by a point!
November 25, 2013 at 10:01 am
At that point in the game, it was a smart decision... 2 TD's and 2-2 point conversions and its a tied game.
They weren't proving they could move the ball or stopping the Vikings enough. He was banking on the fact that they would have had only 1 opportunity to tie it up.
November 25, 2013 at 01:27 pm
Captain Hindsight here..
November 24, 2013 at 05:40 pm
Corn-speckled cow chip for Marty McCarthy and his putrid play calling in the OT.
November 24, 2013 at 06:47 pm
That good! Lol
November 24, 2013 at 05:52 pm
Players I don't want to see on next year's team:
1) Marshall Newhouse
2) Marshall Newhouse
3) MD Jennings
4) MD Jennings
5) Half the defensive line.
November 24, 2013 at 06:47 pm
Agree with the 1st 4... not the 5th...
November 24, 2013 at 10:04 pm
I have to agree, I am sure a few more could be added but that is a good start.
November 25, 2013 at 05:49 pm
5) The Raji half. Glad he said no to the $8mil. Pickett, Jolley, Daniels, Jones, Worhty, and Wilson are good enough. Wish the Bears hadn't taken McClellen, looks like CMIII lite to me and Perry just looks out of position.
November 24, 2013 at 06:29 pm
Eddie. "If" we can ever get everybody healthy and on the field at the same time, Eddie could be the piece that puts this offense over the top. The kid is fun to watch.
November 24, 2013 at 06:36 pm
Agreed. With a healthy offensive line, that kid will be competing for the NFL rushing title.
November 24, 2013 at 07:09 pm
MM should have used the last timeout to prevent the 10 second runoff from 45 to 35 seconds on the false start. Those 10 seconds were much more crucial than saving the TO for a FG try.
November 24, 2013 at 07:30 pm
I think we need to get real. I too want 1/2 the D gutted and fire Dom. However: 1) TT rarely does anything in free agency, 2) How can the D be that re- tooled in a season?, 3) Until Mark Murphy changes the philosophy of this organization, ie field an actual D, not this bend don't break BS, just out score your opponents, ,,,,, it isn't going to change!
Draft and develop..ok. But there are options. That doesnt have to be the only method. We have the $$ means.
Were are just going to fing waste Rodgers time here!!!
November 24, 2013 at 08:33 pm
Santa, here is my,
Packer christmas list:
1)New DC. Get that stupid elf off our shelf!
2)New Safety. Goodbye Jennings and McMillan.
3)New 330 lb. DT to take on 2 blockers. (Also one who won't shake his finger at the opponent ala Dikembe Mutombo after he has done nothing all game except get ran over by AP)
4)Someone not named Franklin to return kickoffs that has some speed for cripes sakes. At least Hyde is sure handed.
5)New TE that doesn't talk, get concussions, and can break a tackle. He doesn't even need to be "God's Gift".
6)A pair of stilettos for Scott Tolzien so he can see over the line. Vikings looked like Stokos and Sinjin Smith batting balls down out there.
7)Finally, one of those electric race car tracks where the cars take that damn loop up the wall, glow in the dark style if you can! Mom, Dad, I am still waiting!
November 24, 2013 at 08:38 pm
You gave away your age with #7
November 24, 2013 at 08:51 pm
I hear you. I never got one of those either.
November 24, 2013 at 10:12 pm
"(Also one who won’t shake his finger at the opponent ala Dikembe Mutombo after he has done nothing all game except get ran over by AP)"
I second that shit.
November 24, 2013 at 08:36 pm
MM has a big problem. He doesn't play people because of how they looked in practice. Playing a real game is totally different, hell he even canceled the padded practice. Flynn is a perfect case and point, MM said Tolzien practiced better. WTF who has more experience? Thank God Detroit and the Bears sucked too. Sherrod riding the pines when that excuse of a RT Newhouse is playing? Give him a chance, how muck fuckin worse could he be?
November 24, 2013 at 08:53 pm
please go after pat narduzzi.
get rid of Raji. he's not worth 5 million, let alone 8 per year, and i've been a fan of his.
I'm going to pray that Neal, Perry, Clay, Jolly, Datone, Worthy and Daniels get healthy and get better next year. no more pickett and Raji. Just not getting it done
Need to draft Linebacker, Safety and DT in the draft. again and again. and maybe a solid DT free agent. The offense will be fine when they get healthy.
November 25, 2013 at 05:32 am
I puked in my mouth when I saw Raji watch AP on that huge run. Raji had beat his man, gotten in position for containment and didn't have a single muscle twitch as AP cut inside the tackle and ripped off what seemed like 20.