Felipe's Positives - Week 9, 2024
The Green Bay Packers lose 24-14 to the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.
Week 9 was tough for the Green Bay Packers. They fell 24-14 to the Detroit Lions and dropped to 6-3. While the defense held the Lions' offense to 17 points, the offense struggled with costly, self-inflicted mistakes that stifled any chance of a comeback.
Waking up on Monday after a Packers' loss is tough for any fan, but there are still some positives to take from the game.
Let's get to it:
1-The defense
The Detroit Lions entered Sunday with a top-four offense in EPA/play, EPA/pass, and EPA/rush, scoring 31+ points in their last four games. Yet Green Bay’s defense, missing Jaire Alexander and Evan Williams, held them to just 17 points. They limited Jared Goff to 145 passing yards and held Detroit’s run game to 3.9 yards per carry. The defense did everything possible to keep Green Bay in the game.
2-The Offensive line
Jordan Love was pressured 18 times on Sunday, but wasn't sacked. The Packers’ ground game produced 138 yards at an average of 6.0 yards per carry. The offensive line effectively pushed back Detroit’s front, opening lanes for the running backs. While Elgton Jenkins had a few botched snaps, the line’s overall performance was strong.
3-Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs rushed for 95 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Early in the game, the Packers’ best plays came when he touched the ball, but they moved away from feeding him once they trailed by multiple scores. Still, Jacobs continues to prove why Green Bay invested in him as a top-five-paid running back.
4-Jayden Reed
Reed surpassed 100 receiving yards for the third time this season. He made a clutch contested catch in the fourth quarter, converting on fourth down to keep Green Bay’s drive alive. Although drops have been an issue for him this year, he caught five of his six targets and had no drops in the game.
5-Daniel Whelan
Though he only punted twice, Daniel Whelan pinned the Lions inside their 20 both times, including one punt downed at the 8-yard line. He’s been a game-changer for Green Bay and, frankly, the only reason their special teams have earned the “special” in the name.
The Packers now head into a much-needed bye week before facing a stretch of three games in eleven days. They’ll first visit the Bears in Chicago, then host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12, and take on the Miami Dolphins at home on Thanksgiving.
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Felipe is a Brazilian Packers writer covering the #GoPackGo for CheeseheadTV, Zone Coverage, and Packers Talk. Additionally, he contributes to Cheeseheads Brazil. Follow him on twitter at @Aceti_Felipe.
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Comments (24)
EricTorkelson
November 04, 2024 at 02:17 pm
I just watched MLF post game interview, when asked about J Love limping around right before half time and after Love major
pick-six GAFF...
MLF said he went up to Love and asked him if he was all-right could he continue to play ?
Instead he should have said to him YOUR LIMPING, YOUR THROWING BEHIND RECEIVERS, YOUR BLOWING SNAPS ... Im playing Malik in the second half ....
Packerpasty
November 04, 2024 at 05:21 pm
he's an OC should not be a head coach...the team reflects this coach...wishy washy and soft..
Minniman
November 05, 2024 at 12:32 pm
I fully expected Malik Willis to play the second half too - predominantly for his wheels - it was evident that Love was one-dimensional, and the Lions are too good a team to not have that option (I did find myself several times during the game thinking "tuck it and run", so there were easy yards to be made there).
Not sure if the epidemic of drops was on the WR's or Love - they certainly looked catchable to the eye, but lots of those passes were low or behind receivers....... and it was raining.
Since'75
November 04, 2024 at 03:37 pm
"......., Jacobs continues to prove why Green Bay invested in him as a top-five-paid running back."
Meanwhile....Gary is paid as a top 5 edge rusher. So i guess Gute is batting .500
PhantomII
November 04, 2024 at 03:45 pm
Yea, I was pretty pissy after the game...I keep looking at how low scoring the game was and if you take away spotting the Lions a 7 and the kicker makes the field goal....It's a tie game. I still feel the wise move was and is to let JL heal up and start Willis while having him take all 1st team snaps. I thought the game plan was pretty weak in the passing game area. We have had A LOT of dropped passes....I think JL starts pressing more after this starts happening and it kinda starts effecting every play the more it happens. I was against a legit #1 WR...but now think these youngsters need an All-Pro level WR to learn how to be a pro from someone who has been there and done that. Reed will be able to do this eventually because he will....Will himself to greatness...but it takes time. We made a ton of mistakes and so much so we could not bail ourselves out. If I were GM maybe get a top tier WR-1 and a good CB and I think that would help the defense some and bring some strength to the WR room with more accountability.
Coldworld
November 04, 2024 at 04:04 pm
1. Jacobs. A career day beckoned
2. E Wilson.
3. Run blocking without Myers. Best since Linsley.
4. Jayden Reed reemerging, although it took a half and he wasn’t used enough.
5. On the whole, the defensive performance being good enough against a good O, if we had one as well.
Leatherhead
November 04, 2024 at 05:33 pm
You just can't help yourself.
The run blocking was excellent,and the Packers got 138 yards on the ground. We've only done better than that FIVE times already this year, including Willis' two starts.
Our offensive line played a really good game, IMO, but it's hardly the only good game they've had. You've been too busy badmouthing Stenovich and Butkus and Myers to notice.
It is very possible that if everybody remains healthy, the Packers may go with this configuration for the rest of the season. Equally possible is that as soon as Myers is healthy enough, he'll start as usual.
Coldworld
November 04, 2024 at 06:08 pm
You really don’t watch games do you. 95 yards in the first half before the collapse, but some lovely big holes. You just won’t see anything that might not be what you want to witness.
Bitternotsour
November 04, 2024 at 08:30 pm
you are arguing vibes here. you're metric driven when it suits you, and then vibes when it suits your narrative. They count both the first half and the second half of the game, Leatherhead pointed that out, and now you're changing the story. That line also managed some pretty bad shotgun snaps that belong in the equations. Although I think PFF grades are next to useless, don't be surprised if Jenkins are not great.
Coldworld
November 05, 2024 at 09:51 am
In the second half Jacobs ran twice for 6 yards, I think in the early 4th quarter. Wilson did have I think 3 runs for about 6 ypc, from memory, late. After the pick 6 the run essentially ceased to happen because we were so far behind.
However, the second half results don’t actually change anything material. The only real variance is the Jacobs stuff in the red zone. Even the Lions great OL gets stymied at times. Indeed that did several times in that game. One play doesn’t change statistics or represent a trend.
The reason for highlighting the first half was that they knew it was coming and we still opened holes frequently that led to a stellar YPC and more ore contact yards than we’ve seen and against a pretty decent D.
Per TGR, Jacobs averaged 8.9 yards per carry in the first half. Without the 37 yard run it was still 5.2 per carry. Thats not subjective, or vibe driven, it’s just what happened. If anyone wants to go back and watch the first half gap creation and frequency, I encourage that too.
I could have pointed out that we did so while keeping an immobile Love clean at a higher than season average level. I didn’t get into that because I’m not sure if the current Lions rush is good enough to draw too much from that.
Leatherhead
November 05, 2024 at 09:57 am
Jacobs didn't get the rock because we were behind. We were behind because we weren't scoring any points. This is called, "stuffing the run", and we did it to ourselves.
The turnover right before the half was as big a turnover as we've had this year. It changed the game right before the half. Love cannot...cannot...throw that.
Against a good team, the strategy should always be keep it close in the first half and then take your chances in the second half. You don't want to blow yourself out in the first half.
Coldworld
November 05, 2024 at 10:01 am
Stuffing the run is not the absence of running due to the opponent being significantly behind. Thats just taking the run game out of the equation. Stuffing the run is when the front 7 renders it wholly ineffective.
I don’t disagree on the pick 6 throw. However, my point was not about that, but what the OL did and how well whilst the game was still competitive and we were running consistently.
barutanseijin
November 05, 2024 at 05:22 am
I don’t know why you watch games, cw. Your mind is made up before it even starts, and you’re never wrong about anything ever. So why not just kick back, pour yourself a cold one and bask in the glory of knowing it all.
Coldworld
November 05, 2024 at 10:03 am
Hardly. Ironic when the comment was essentially go and watch something that stood out as different.
TXCHEESE
November 04, 2024 at 04:20 pm
Defense did it's job. All those lamenting the dropped passes, need to watch the game again. Almost all those were behind the receivers, and on a very wet day, those are tough grabs, especially when coming in hot and having to pick it up with the rain in your face. I do think Jenkins playing center caused issues for Love. Many of the snaps were low and off target...maybe that was affecting Love's ability to go through his progressions.
It is what it is. GB had way too many mistakes on the offensive side of the ball against a really good Detroit team. Bye week. Time to heal up, re-energize and get ready for the second half. Last year at this time, the Pack was 3 - 6, so a 3 game improvement. A tough climb to win the division, but if they focus on just winning the next one, and improving throughout the remaining schedule, they can still make the playoffs. From there it's a crap shoot.
Encourage everyone on this thread maybe take a few days off from football and enjoy life. Get out to vote and respect your fellow citizens. GPG!
Packerpasty
November 04, 2024 at 05:22 pm
if just one of those passes were on target the outcome could have been different...but they weren't...
Leatherhead
November 04, 2024 at 05:14 pm
IMO, the Packers are going to have to come to terms with who and what they are: One of the best running teams in our history. The Packers should use that, and their defense, and try to grind out a couple of wins the old fashioned way.
It strongly looks to me as though we could score enough points to win if we don't turn it over and drop easy catches. We get guys blocked consistently. And we have a defense that can keep it close....we should go Old School on our next three opponents (@Bears, 49ers and Dolphins at home) and just try like hell not to beat ourselves. I'd lean more on our running backs and the offensive line and less on Jordan Love doing magic with Watson and Wicks.
In the preseason, we were agog over the awesomeness of our receivers; now, we have two starters in Doubs and Reed, and two backups who are inconsistent in Watson and Wicks, and two others in Melton and Heath that haven't gotten a lot of snaps. Watson does stretch the field, and he's very capable blocker. Wicks will eventually overcome the yips or he won't. If he does, great. If he doesn't, it's going to hurt us.
Jacobs & Co. get about half the plays. After that it should be Reed, Doubs, Kraft for about 25 targets . That's the meat of our offense, and that's not a bad group at all, and they're getting some good blocking. The rest of these guys....Watson, et. al.... are just side dishes.
Bitternotsour
November 04, 2024 at 06:51 pm
I'm going to disagree with your police work here. They just need to play better on offense and LaFleur needs his spine stiffened when he enters the opponents half of the field. All gas no brakes my ass.
NickPerry
November 04, 2024 at 06:37 pm
Jacobs was tearing it up until he wasn't. I got news for MLF. The way his QB was throwing the ball and his WR's were catching it, I would have used Jacobs a hell of a lot more regardless of the score. I would have REALLY liked to see them use Jacobs more with Willis on the field too. I think the two of them would have tore it up.
If you would have told me the defense would hold the Lions to 17 points offensively and under 300 yards with Goff less than 150 yards, I'd have signed up ALL DAY. The defense did it's job most of the day. No Alexander or Williams, not bad defense.
Get healthy, then run the table!
Grandfathered
November 04, 2024 at 08:07 pm
I tried Carry The G Beer from Superior and a liked it well enough. Not too creamy and a mellow hop impression. That's a positive!
GregC
November 05, 2024 at 05:38 am
Arron Moseby gets his first sack! It was shared with Rashan Gary, but Moseby got there first after plowing through one of the best right tackles in the league.
Coldworld
November 05, 2024 at 10:14 am
Mosby is a different build. He’s much more sudden as a result. Sometimes variation helps? I think a few of us have wondered if the similarity of our rushers was a problem in itself. Perhaps Mosby popping up and being different caught the defender out?
Mosby didn’t test particularly well, but his speed was the exception. He’s notably more explosive and faster in a straight line over 10 and beyond than Gary, who has a stellar RAS (I pick Gary only because I’m too lazy to collate all our DEs’ metrics but they are relatively similar).
Of course Mosby is also not nearly as big a man, but it emphasizes the difference in proposition for a defender. The little I’ve seen of him, he seems more agile than his testing too, though that wouldn’t be hard (Gary looks like a gymnast in comparison to Moseby’s testing).
GregC
November 05, 2024 at 10:24 am
Yeah, I've been wondering if they could use a DE who is more of a speed rusher. The biggest disappointment about the Hafley defense is that it has NOT unleashed the potential of Gary and Van Ness, as many of us hoped it would. I don't know if that's due to the scheme or the players themselves, but at this point it would be worth trying something different. And maybe it's time to either play Brenton Cox or replace him.
Coldworld
November 05, 2024 at 10:44 am
Van Ness is a very fast, sudden man for a man of his size, but Moseby, no great athlete by NFL standards, is faster and more sudden. Van Ness is not a speed rusher. He’s not going to win solely by being fast and elusive very often in the NFL. He should be able to use his speed combined with power to be more that, but do far we are still waiting.
Van Ness is the kind of player that makes me wonder about coaching. I can’t believe he’s happy with his results. I can’t believe his coach hasn’t told him and tried to teach him new moves. Yet I don’t see him trying any (if others have id be interested to hear). If that’s due to not listening then he needs to sit till he starts. If that is in fact just coaches not interfering then no wonder we don’t improve. Which one is it in his case?