"Chips Report" from Week 8 Packers Win at Vikings
The Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson connection looked unstoppable on Sunday night en route to a 44-31 Packers victory over the Vikings.
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 8 win over the Minnesota Vikings...
Blue Chips
- Wide receiver Jordy Nelson––Last week the Packers were without Randall Cobb and James Jones. This week add Jermichael Finley to the mix and it still didn't matter. Nelson was the only one of the Packers' top four receiving targets suiting up Sunday night and displayed quite a set of hands, grabbing balls in tight coverage and snatching another right before it hit the ground. He finished the evening with seven receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns, one he took 76 yards, outrunning the Vikings defense on the way to the end zone.
- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers––As impressive as it was for Nelson to step up without other receivers to take pressure off him, perhaps even better was the way Rodgers spread the ball around to Nelson and what was basically a cast of interns. He fit the ball into some pretty tight windows, including both touchdowns to Nelson. Rodgers threw only five incompletions all night, finishing 24 of 29 for 285 yards, two scores, no interceptions and a passer rating of 130.6. Rodgers' running shouldn't go under the radar either, with three of his four rushing attempts that weren't kneel downs going for first downs.
Red Chips
- Defensive lineman Mike Daniels––Daniels stepped up for two sacks of Christian Ponder, helping to rattle the Vikings quarterback. Minnesota could get very little going through the air, and it was partially due to Daniels' rentlentless pass rush. He now has four sacks on the season, displaying the most pressure from a defensive lineman probably since Cullen Jenkins left after the 2010 season.
- Running back Eddie Lacy––Lacy's average yards per carry of 3.2 was nothing special, but the way the Packers could rely on him to touch the football over 30 times was sorely needed for a team that's missing so many weapons to injury. He had 94 yards on 28 carries on the ground and added four receptions for 18 yards through the air. Lacy was a huge part of the reason the Packers more than doubled the time of possession, 40:54 to 19:06, taking tough hits but remaining sure handed.
Cow Chips
- Running back Johnathan Franklin––Following Cordarrelle Patterson's 109-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game, Franklin could only get out to the 10-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, looking woefully incompetent by comparison. Then on his second kickoff return, he was indecisive and only got out to the 11. He was replaced on kickoff returns by Micah Hyde in the second half and didn't get an opportunity to play on offense either.
- Safety Morgan Burnett––Despite initiating contact short of the goal line, Burnett got ran over by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on his way to scoring a touchdown with just four seconds left before halftime, which cut the score to 24-17 at the time. He also got trucked by Toby Gerhart for a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter.
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 (60)
October 27, 2013 at 11:01 pm
NOW can we have a week without bitching about playcalling? Sheesh!
October 27, 2013 at 11:11 pm
Can't bitch about play calling this week. However it's tough not to think these injuries are almost a blessing in disguise for the packers. It's forcing them to not rely on Rodgers all the time. Our o line showed they can hang and we gave two great rb's. So much is taken off of Rodgers shoulders and then it allows him to do much more. Go pack go!
October 28, 2013 at 07:47 am
It's forcing them to adhere to FUNDAMENTALS.
Instead of going to the no-huddle, so as to score as quickly as possible, they actually cultivated Time of Possession.
That Minnesota defense was WHIPPED in the 4th quarter.
Minny came back hard at the end, but it was already garbage time.
October 27, 2013 at 11:15 pm
blue chip, Mike McCarthy. he's leading a mishmash of walking wounded that makes no excuses and is playing very well
October 27, 2013 at 11:37 pm
agreed! also, blue chip to ted thompson for finding these guys and providing the team with valuable depth
October 28, 2013 at 12:52 am
love seeing TT get shown and respected on National TV
October 28, 2013 at 01:04 am
Ted Thompson is a effin God in my book!! I worship that guy. I wish they had TT jerseys I would effin buy one. They need to build a giant statue of Ted Thompson the size of the Statue of Liberty that towers over Lambeau Field so when people drive or fly into Green Bay the first thing they see is Ted Thompson looking down at them like a sheppard looking over his flock of sheep. I doubt Ted would agree to it though but he's damn worthy of it I tell you what!!
Longshanks
October 27, 2013 at 11:16 pm
Red Chip to David Bakhtiari. That was Jared Allen out there. You might have not noticed.
Also Rodgers was fantastic with his footwork, slipping away when he needed to.
Red Chip to Micah Hyde for a 93 yd return for TD. Boykins made a terrific play to convert 3rd & 11. He's a good player.
Cow chip to Datone Jones for playing past the whistle and keeping the Vikings on the field after a failed 3rd down.
October 27, 2013 at 11:21 pm
Hyde has answered the bell. Even if Cobb was available tomorrow, it's his job now.
October 28, 2013 at 12:08 am
Bakhtiari- blue chip. he was that good
October 27, 2013 at 11:34 pm
+1
October 28, 2013 at 09:46 am
Hyde had a big play w/ the punt return. I really like how he gets up field and doesn't dance and try to make extra moves. However, I'm hesitant to give him too much credit, cuz he also had the best tackle attempt at Patterson on the opening kickoff and blew the tackle. He had one really glaring error and one really BIG play. Kinda evens out in my book.
October 28, 2013 at 02:14 pm
Good point lucky because David chad cliffton'd Jared Allen last night. I think in 3 games Clifton and Allen got matched up Allen's stat line was 0 tackles 0 sacks 0 pressures 0 knock
Downs not sure if David dominated like that but I don't remember Allen making a single play.
October 27, 2013 at 11:16 pm
Agree with your guys Brian. Rodgers was unbelievable tonight!! I can't help it but I have to give a shout out to my guy Shaun Slocum who once again had an incredible day coaching his cover units. Thank God they only allowed one return tonight so I consider that a positive. He also made up for it with Hyde returning one later. I see Slocum's coaching expertise finally starting to pay off a little.
Longshanks
October 27, 2013 at 11:17 pm
What was that on Rick spielman's pinky? That was like some illuminati shit.
October 27, 2013 at 11:58 pm
It was a ring Catholics use to help them pray the Rosary.
October 27, 2013 at 11:21 pm
I don't agree w/ Burnett being a red chip. Any Safety having to step up and take down AP man on man is gonna lose. Burnett didn't disgrace himself nor distinguish himself on that play. Don't remember the Gerhart run, but if it was the TD run, it seemed he was dealing w/ a WR at the same time, not sure tho...
Either way his playcalling in the secondary is excellent and IMO overshadows anything else. Gotta look at the game as a whole not just the 2 most obvious plays.
October 28, 2013 at 02:17 pm
Ahh, hadn't noticed somebody else had already made the point I was trying to make +1
October 27, 2013 at 11:22 pm
Blue Chip - No significant injuries!! (That I recall)
October 28, 2013 at 07:49 am
First game all year where we didn't lose a starter.
October 28, 2013 at 09:39 am
So true... and so sad. Need lady luck on our side the rest of the way.
October 27, 2013 at 11:23 pm
Outside of Daniels no one really distinguished himself on D. DId the Packers match up Shields on Jennings all nite? Seemed I saw Tramon on Jennings a lot more often.
That's not a knock on anyone either. Just selfless play and good gap discipline in the front 7 for the most part.
October 28, 2013 at 02:25 pm
I gotta say that the entire dline deserves a TON
Of credit. Its been their play that has allowed hawk Jones & lattimore to shine, it hasn't mattered who was out there. I even think Jones is really picking it up (incredible stupid penalty tho) but I mean we've got two rookie outside LBers out there and you can't tell really. I mean sure they haven't been Mathews and Perry but wow...
October 28, 2013 at 02:27 pm
"(incredible stupid penalty tho)"
Do you know what actually happened?
October 28, 2013 at 02:38 pm
Actually no, because I was coming out of the pisser but I heard collinsworth say that Jones made contact with ponder 2-3 seconds after the play.so regardless just make sure after the play don't touch the qb plain and simple
October 28, 2013 at 02:41 pm
Even if you weren't in the pisser you wouldn't have seen what happened - they never showed a replay.
A personal foul is a personal foul, but I'm gonna kill the guy when I honestly have no idea what happened. With these refs, it's 50-50 that it was total BS.
October 28, 2013 at 02:45 pm
Although I also heard him be like ohh yea that's an obvious pass interference on Williams even tho he never touched the guy. And on the p.I. tha was called when Rodgers under threw white he was like there isn't a lot there even though the cb CLEARLY made contact about 10 yards down field and then clearly grabbed whites jersey to prevent him from being able to go back to the the ball so who knows
October 27, 2013 at 11:24 pm
Lattimore continues to impress. Another week, another great effort.
October 28, 2013 at 07:50 am
Think he could make Hawk expendable?
Start B Jones and J Lattimore next year?
October 28, 2013 at 09:39 am
Really? Hawk has been playing wonderfully the last few weeks. Quietly having his best season, IMO.
October 28, 2013 at 10:08 am
He's been looking good, because they're letting him be the attacker, not his usual role as the reactor.
When Clay et al come back, that could change.
October 28, 2013 at 11:28 am
Hawk is a player. Keep him
October 27, 2013 at 11:39 pm
I said this earlier. This team is like the 2010 SuperBowl team. And an interesting stat was that 50 out of 53 guys on the team have only played with the Packers.
October 28, 2013 at 10:09 am
I'd rather be compared to the 1967 Superbowl team.
October 28, 2013 at 02:33 pm
I'd rather them play like the 96 championship team, one of the most under rated championship teams ever. Number 1 defense && number 1 offense. Also they too dealt with a lot of injuries (to WR also) but to my knowledge that team is still the only team in NFL history to finish ranked number 1 on both sides of the ball
October 27, 2013 at 11:49 pm
Jordy made nice catches on his two TD's, but pulling in those low throws, especially on the slant are the things that made him special.
The Packers took control of the game on their first series. They could have been dejected after the kick-return, but instead they went 90 yards,I believe, with no one big play. Rodgers looked really focused.
October 27, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Blue Chip: Masthay getting the night off!
October 27, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Except for all of the kickoffs and holds :)
October 27, 2013 at 11:58 pm
Agreed there were no obvious statistically stellar performances, just a bunch of guys performing their jobs at an incredible level, making it look easy.
October 28, 2013 at 12:41 am
Masthay got paid $69,000 tonight for not punting.
October 28, 2013 at 07:00 am
Who was that masked man putting kickoffs in the back of the end zone?
October 28, 2013 at 07:31 am
Cow chip to Tramon Williams for giving up 2 PI penalties that lead to 2 Viking scores.
October 28, 2013 at 07:37 am
First one was 100 percent bullshit.
October 28, 2013 at 07:51 am
Officials have an agenda to keep the game close.
This hurts good teams, like ours, but it maintains TV ratings. Which is more important, I suppose.
October 28, 2013 at 09:40 am
+1
October 28, 2013 at 07:39 am
Man I just loved watching all the parts work together. Lots of pieces that look good together, its called plug and play.
October 28, 2013 at 07:52 am
It's called being forced to adhere to fundamentals.
October 28, 2013 at 09:51 am
Its called overcoming adversity too...
October 28, 2013 at 10:10 am
I wish this team would show up for 60 minutes on a regular basis.
Seems like they need "adversity" before they really try.
October 28, 2013 at 08:00 am
Looking at the replay, I am ok with them giving up the Gerhart rushing touchdown simply because he obliterated Jennings on the way into the end zone. The score didn't really matter, but the hit was pretty sweet.
October 28, 2013 at 08:15 am
I'll give a cow chip to capers 4th quarter play calling.
October 28, 2013 at 09:54 am
Nevemind that the Packers were ahead 41-17 when that 4th qtr started and that was w/ the kickoff return to open the game. Do you realize that his D gave up only 10 pts when the game mattered? But all you care about is the 2 meaningless TD's late. Com'on man!!!
October 28, 2013 at 10:28 am
Lacy looked great. Starks looked extremely fast. Hyde continues to impress. White got a little bit of confidence with his catches hopefully. This team just amazes. Getting healthier every week...next week maybe Perry and or the Jones'. Run game/AR/good defense...wow. Hey NFL ....time to start worrying about the packers!
October 28, 2013 at 11:16 am
I think the cow chips were Tramon and Barclay. The first PI call on Tramon was bogus, but both have cumulatively struggled as of late.
October 28, 2013 at 11:23 am
Oh, how about another cow chip on the refs for not calling Peterson for lowering his head into the defender in the first half.
October 28, 2013 at 11:46 am
Whatever happened to that rule? I haven't seen 1 flag on that play yet this season.
October 28, 2013 at 02:05 pm
speaking of cow chips.......whatever happened to that brown cow chip 42 guy??
October 28, 2013 at 02:06 pm
Ok....my thing with the chips thing you lose all cred ability when you limit or must have to each....Morgan Burnett really a cow chip? Because with a full head of speed one of the most powerfully and talent HBs to EVER play the position was able to push a much smaller Morgan Burnett back the required 2 inches? Wow.....and really trucked by Toby? If that's what you call it sure .....while up an impossible margin to over come he was way out of position to defend a draw play as he was covering the deep half of the field.....w.e. pretty sure he broke up at least 1 deep ball and also added in limiting AD to 60 yards. While properly lining an entire secondary correctly. If you don't think thas important see week 1. I agree with your list except Morgan Burnett. But I guess because of your format you absolutely HAD to have two "cow chip players" dudes a straight up gamer.
Brian Carriveau
October 28, 2013 at 02:09 pm
For what it's worth, Morgan Burnett received the lowest grade of 20 Packers defenders on Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus.
October 29, 2013 at 11:50 am
I say Blue chips for the whole darn team. When you only punt once, stop the best running back in the game, have your biggest nemesi score two meaningless td's at the very end when the game was already decided and bascially dictate the entire game from start to finish, its one big blue chip baby. Lets savor this huge moment. This was a dominant performance against our biggest rival. Never gets better than this.