Key Battles for Packers at Titans
Can the Packers slow down DeMarco Murray? It's up to the defensive interior to get the job done.
By andrewgarda
With the division lead once again close and two games between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings, the Pack has an opportunity to continue to close the gap. The Vikings, a staggering defense and shaky offense, could very well lose to Washington this Sunday.
So the Packers have to take advantage of a very winnable game on the road against the Tennessee Titans.
The Packers will take to the air again this week, and against a Titans defense which allows an average of 260.4 yards per game and has given up 14 touchdowns through the air so far.
Ultimately, the best way the Titans can slow Aaron Rodgers and the passing offense is by draining the clock with DeMarco Murray.
The Titans have a very good run game—144.2 yards per game, with ten touchdowns on the ground. That’s the third best rushing game in the NFL this year, behind the Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are a team the Packers know well, losing to them in Week 6 with the help of a 157 yard Ezekiel Elliott outing.
Murray isn’t as good as Elliott by any stretch, but he has scored a touchdown in each of the last four games and topped 100 yards in two of them.
The Packers are pretty good at defending the run, of course, averaging 75.8 rushing yards allowed per game, and only four touchdowns to date.
Two of those came last week by Frank Gore and the Colts, and one via Devonta Freeman and the Falcons (Freeman added a second touchdown on a pass), so there’s a recent slippage in the red zone. That said, in both cases, the defense kept the back under 100 yards.
In other words, it’s been a mixed bag.
The key to stopping Murray is the interior of the defensive line and linebacker position. Jake Ryan at inside linebacker, along with Mike Daniels and Letroy Guion all have to keep their game on point. Ryan was on fire against the Colts last week and while I don’t expect 11 tackles again (and would prefer he not need to rack that up) he should have a fruitful day, as should rookie MIKE linebacker, Blake Martinez.
Martinez is quietly building a very nice first year, and is second among the front seven and third overall in the defense in tackles.
Those two, along with the defensive tackles, need to contain Murray, who is battling a toe injury. It might slow him down a little but the middle of the defense still needs to keep stepping up their game.
If they can do that, they shut down the run game. If they can shut the run game down, the Packers have an excellent chance to get past Tennessee.
Comments (16)
NickPerry
November 11, 2016 at 06:18 am
"Murray isn't as good as Elliot by any stretch". HUH?? Elliot is special, I'll give you that but so is the Dallas O-Line. James Starks could run for 1000 yards behind THAT line. Your statement Andrew suggests to me Murray isn't in the same ballpark as Elliot and he is IMO, he's certainly closer than "Any Stretch". The Titans also have been building an excellent O-Line themselves. A big question for me is can Capers Defense defend the "Read Option" with a QB as fast as Mariota. Not only that he's starting to grow a lot as a passer.
If the Packers USE Montgomery, communicate with Rodgers who's actually available to play and not just active, and they use some of the 4 and 5 WR sets, I believe this Offense can be successful. If McCarthy calls the same type of game as he did against Indy, starts throwing 50 yard passes on 3rd and 2, and Rodgers ignores the open man for a 7 yard gain and opts for the pass ten yards out of bounds, then EXPECT the same results as we had against Indy.
Short passing game = yards and first downs..That's good Mike. Bombs away on 3rd & 1 = 3 & outs...That's bad Mike.
RCPackerFan
November 11, 2016 at 07:34 am
'If the Packers USE Montgomery, communicate with Rodgers who's actually available to play and not just active, and they use some of the 4 and 5 WR sets, I believe this Offense can be successful. '
Completely agree... I get that Montgomery was on a snap count but it really makes no sense to me that he was on the field for 3-4 plays then disappeared for stretches. Couldn't they have managed that better?
IMO, the Packers best offense right now is lining up 4 and 5 WR sets. Spread them out, use a short passing game, and use Montgomery out of the backfield as a WR.
Also the TE's offer very little to the offense. Until Cook comes back they need to be on a snap count per game.
dobber
November 11, 2016 at 07:51 am
The Titans are weak on the back end, but they can get after the passer. Any offensive game plan that DOESN'T spread them out and take advantage of quick hitters, draws and delays to the "RB", and underneath stuff to set up double moves on the outside and the like is a fail. The Packers should hang 30+ on these guys this week.
RCPackerFan
November 11, 2016 at 08:21 am
The Part I don't get is why McCarthy is reluctant to stick with the 4-5 WR sets. I get you can't do it 100% of the time, but it has been working. So why get away from it?
Also against the Colts they seemed to want to use the TE's a lot more. Probably because they saw a weakness in their defense. The problem with that is, without Cook, the Packers TE's are the weakest link of the offense. Even without any RB's.
Stick with what works. spread them out and stick with the shorter passes. Hit the WR and let them make a play.
rdent
November 11, 2016 at 11:09 am
I hope they can score 30 plus I thought they would against Indy but surprise! I was wrong, hopefully they can get some guys back on D or they may have to score 30 or more to win some of the remaining games and from what we have seen so far I am not real confident that they can,hard to know what to expect from MM week to week.
RCPackerFan
November 11, 2016 at 07:23 am
Key Matchups -
-The Packers front 7 vs the Titans run game.
This will be the 2nd time this year the Packers will have faced a Read Option style offense. The first was against the Cowboys and we know how that went. But in this game the QB is a bigger threat to run. That will be the key battle in this game for the defense.
-McCarthy vs McCarthy vs Rodgers
-Against the Bears the Packers had no real RB's. So they came out and threw the ball 56 times. Still though when they did run the ball Montgomery became the main RB and ran 9 times for 60 yards. After the game Rodgers comes out and said that they will likely have to play this style of offense for a while.
Against the Falcons in the first half they continued what they started against the Bears and Rodgers was 17 out of 21 for 170 yards 3 TD's. The 2nd half he was 11 out of 17 for 76 yards and 1 TD. The problem was McCarthy stating that they have to find a way to run the ball more in the 2nd half. That point until the 4th Quarter of the Colts game, they started to use the TE's a lot more and use a lot less 4 and 5 WR sets. Not only did they use the TE's a lot more against the Colts they were clearly one of the featured targets in the game.
The 4 and 5 WR sets have been what has made this offense take off, and they seemed to go away from that from the 2nd half of the Falcons game.
Then after the Colts game Rodgers said that he didn't know why Cobb wasn't playing as much and no one knew that Montgomery was on a snap count.
I don't have any proof of anything, but it seems like to me that there is an issue between the QB and coach. They simply aren't on the same page, and they need to be.
McCarthy and Rodgers have to get on the same page.
McCarthy has to do a better job of getting the best players on the field, and using them to their abilities.
croatpackfan
November 11, 2016 at 07:59 am
I upvoted you because finally somebody recognize that MM and AR are not on the same page. They need to come together quickly or... I do not know what would happen if they continue to agree in only one thing. That is that they agree how they completely disagree....
jeremyjjbrown
November 11, 2016 at 10:55 am
Rodgers wasn't even aware of Cobbs status in the first quarter against the Colts. So he has no idea if his 2nd WR is even going to be on the field at game time. WTF?
I suggest the Packers hire a 4th Offensive Coordinator to manage these issues.
NickPerry
November 11, 2016 at 12:52 pm
A 4th OC...Now that's funny! I wonder if it's in McCarthy's plans. Maybe they'll promote the guy who had WR's catching bricks in TC. I guess I shouldn't knock it, Adams is much better this year but it didn't do a damn thing for Janis..(See Sunday's Bomb)
jeremyjjbrown
November 11, 2016 at 02:34 pm
It's funny but it is also sad. What it means in reality is that those guys are spending a ton of velocity communicating and dealling with each other. So there is less time to just formulate at damn game plan and communicate it to the players.
There is also what is a Venn diagram around the responsibilities. How could there not be? So if they don't understand their roles and the roles of the other guys 100% then they don't understand thier roles. "Who told Aaron we are trying to keep Cobbs snaps down and he won't play unless we are desperate? Oh one of the other guys did, I'm sure."
RCPackerFan
November 11, 2016 at 12:25 pm
There just seems to be something there. I don't know what it is. Does Rodgers not like the game plans? Does he not like the play calls or the players he is playing with.
I just question it because after the Bears game he said they may have to play that way for a while (4 and 5 WR sets and him throwing the ball a lot). Not trying to read to much into it, but a lot of times he makes comments like that to get others to listen. Might have been his way of saying to McCarthy, Just put the ball in my hands...
Tundraboy
November 11, 2016 at 08:27 am
Yes something is going on with those two. Since the infamous, NFCG, I think Rodgers wants to have Peyton Manning autonomy, maybe before then. That was the first time he publicly questioned the play calling I'm not so sure that he is not right on that.
jlc1
November 11, 2016 at 02:42 pm
Keeping the Titans offense on the field to stop the Packers' offense is Plan B. Plan A is the one the NFL has known about for a year now, play press coverage and Rodgers has nowhere to throw the ball. Until these receivers prove they can get loose from that pressure the Pack offense is going to sputter.
Razer
November 11, 2016 at 08:21 am
Game is a toss up. Pretty even on both sides of the ball.
The Titans can attack down the middle where we are weak. Without a consistent pass rush we will be hard pressed to force Mariotta into errors. Titan run game will keep our front 7 honest and will leave the secondary on their own for extended periods. The Titan will get their points.
The Packers on the other hand will hinge on the offense's ability to get its head out of its ass. If we do a lot of Atlanta game scheme we can win this game. If we do our vertical pass game hoping that Nelson, Cobb and Adams win their one-on-ones, I will be mowing the lawn at halftime.
EdsLaces
November 11, 2016 at 06:23 pm
You still gotta mow dude ?
al bundy
November 12, 2016 at 08:33 pm
If tenn can use the middle passing and run sparingly and man cover on d they may have a chance. If rogers has new pass routes someone who can get open, a d with speed to corral marietta, they have a chance.