Packers 17 Washington 31: Game Balls & Lame Calls

The Green Bay Packers played one of their worst games in recent memory Sunday and got run out of FedEx Field by a Washington football team that came markedly more prepared to win.

The Packers fell victim to a collection of Alex Smith, Vernon Davis and Adrian Peterson, who collectively have over 40 years of NFL experience.  Green Bay also fell victim to themselves, which makes this column particularly easy to write.  On to the day's best and worst.

Game Balls

JK Scott

Scott was actually out kicked by his counterpart Tress Way by an average of .6 yards per kick, but Scott put one in perfect position to be downed at the Washington one-yard line.  Scott has been one of the best punters through the first three weeks, although I don't know that we want to celebrate the fact that he's had plenty of opportunities to rack up the numbers to do it.

That's your lone game ball: the punter

Lame Calls

The Green Bay Packers Players and Coaching Staff

This was one of the worst games, from start to finish, that I can recall in my 35+ years of watching Packers football.  Below is a running commentary on the areas that were particularly prominent in this loss.

Head Coach Mike McCarthy

Is in his 13th season and still can't figure out how to get his team up for a game.  This Packers team came out sleepwalking and completely unready to play a football game.  That falls squarely on the head man's shoulders.  The switch that controls the heat on his seat is starting to move.  I'll give him a bit of credit for getting on the officials, whether warranted or not, and trying to support his team.

Aaron Rodgers

Was tough, yes he was.  Some of you want to hand him a game ball for that because he's our guy, our hero.  Not here.  Yes his receivers had many drops.  But Rodgers also missed some throws that were there for him and if you're going to suit up and play, you need to play well.  He made some very Rodgers-esque throws, as he does, but too many misses.  The knee injury is clearly going to be a factor and a problem that Rodgers and the Packers will have to manage this season.

Drop after drop after drop

Sloppy football by all of the pass catchers not named Geronimo Allison (Allison busted coverage and got open deep for one of the touchdowns on the day but Washington's secondary blew the coverage so while it was  big play, no game ball.) 

Davante Adams, Lance Kendricks and Randall Cobb all had bad drops.  Cobb was particularly awful today.  A big drop on fourth down and a pathetic fumble to boot.  Burn the tape on today, 18.  This is a game that your doubters said you'd have too many of to stay on this roster. 

11 penalties on the day

Including the show stopper courtesy of the image above.  Clay Matthews is a liability to this defense.  Gripe all you want about how the rules are being enforced and how unfair it is but Matthews' roughing the passer call in this game looked an awful lot like last week's infraction.  That's on Clay for not adjusting or learning from a mistake.  

The officiating

Was, once again, really bad.  The Packers were called for penalties on plays where there easily could have been offsetting.  There's no recourse for the league allowing the officiating to make this much of an impact to games, let alone to the same team each week.  Not much else to say, this is the new NFL.

That said, the sack on Aaron Rodgers where he's flung to the ground wasn't called because, believe it or not, the NFL does still have some desire to maintain its product.  The defensive player didn't launch himself and didn't land on Rodgers so, bada bing - bada boom: no flag.

Injuries

Kevin King being out led to more Davon House which led to more eating and feasting by the Washington receivers.  King's worst ability is his availability and the missed games are racking up. 

Bryan Bulaga had to come out with a back injury and it was more Jason Spriggs, which meant more Washington defenders in Rodgers' face.  No surprise there.  Jason Spriggs doesn't belong on an NFL roster and he's the Packers' top back up tackle.  Process that.

The worst injury of all: Muhammad Wilkerson left on a cart after hurting his ankle and was taken to a local-area hospital.  The extent of the injury isn't known but having to leave the stadium to go to a medical facility means Wilkerson will miss many or all of the remaining games.

Nothing is more bruised than the Packers' ego.  They have one week to get ready for a motivated Buffalo Bills team who just ran the Minnesota Vikings out of their own building.

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Jason is a freelance writer on staff since 2012 and also co-hosts Cheesehead TV Live, Pulse of the Pack and Pack A Day podcasts.  You can follow him on Twitter here

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Comments (88)

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Royalty Free GM's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:04 am

Love how FOX, CBS, ESPN and NBC will not pan their cameras into the stands any longer or they show a certain spot where they bribe fans to crowd into.

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Roadrunner23's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:25 am

The Packers should have had the guts to swing for the fences and trade for Mack. He has single handily turned the Bears Defense back into the 85 Bears haha. Snooze you lose Gute!

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MikeDV34's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:43 am

You do know he tried to get Mack, right? It's not like it was a sure thing in the first place.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:52 am

Also everything that I heard was the Raiders said NO to any team they thought would make the playoffs. They ruled them out meaning they were not trading to them no matter what.

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Sam Freeman's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:19 pm

And now the Bears might win the division :p only half kidding but Vikings and packers looked terrible yesterday.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:38 pm

its early...

The NFL is all over the place right now. I mean even the Browns won this weekend. Patriots lost. Dolphins are 3-0. I mean its a crazy world right now.

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JohnnyLogan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:10 am

Seems like I'm the only one that agrees with you Nostradamus. The others all have their excuses for not signing Mack; have to give up too many high draft picks, salary too high, blah blah. A likely future Hall of Famer, at our position of greatest need, still very young, available on the open market by a fluke, and all it would have taken were our two firsts and a 2nd to trump the Bears. The Bears went all in and Gute didn't call the bet. He didn't sign Mack, or Eric Reid, trade for Thomas, find a good backup tackle... and we trot out Perry, HaHa, Brice and Spriggs. Gute stands for gutless so far. His big signings?... Wilkerson, at our position of greatest strength, a blocking tight end who doesn't play, and an aging TE who was supposed to be a game changer but doesn't seem part of the game plan. He drafted three speed receivers, none of whom play so we're as slow on offense as always. It's early, but it seems obvious that HaHa and Brice need to be replaced, that a pass rusher must be found somewhere, on someone's practice squad, who's better than Fackrel. Patience huh? All the problem areas I enumerated were obvious before the season began so no surprises. Pettine must be shaking his head at the lack of talent wondering what did I get into?

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Royalty Free GM's picture

September 24, 2018 at 03:53 pm

Johnny. You are absolutely right about gutless Gute. You listed his “actions “ very well.
He doesn’t have anything big to show.

And what an awesome thing would be Nelson teaching this Ridley kid in Green and Gold! Another wasted move. Cobb will fade away (Packers) and Ridley(Falcons) will shine.

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Klincker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:28 am

Well done Jason. I think you hit on all your points. I'm still looking for Nick Perry. Nagler said last night, that Perry is getting almost-Matthews-like money, but certainly hasnt showed up enough.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:31 am

You're still looking for Nick Perry?
Fear not, the President of the Perry fan club will surely show up to not only tell you where is but why he isn't where he 's suppose to be...Oppy, Oppy, you out here somewhere, Oppy. : )

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Skip greenBayless's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:18 am

lol.. Oppy.

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:22 pm

Lol. User who hides behind a different user name.

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:23 pm

I have no fears. We can look at Perry over the last two seasons or Perry over the last two games. I’ll take the larger sample size.

He hasn’t set the world on fire this season by any means, but he’s proven himself over the last two seasons, especially when you consider he played through injury literally The entire year in 2017.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:45 pm

' YAAWWWNNNN '

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:51 pm

Yawn all you like.
List of some LBs and LB/DE hybrids from 2017.. First number is number of snaps per sack. second number is total number of sacks.

Chandler Jones.......61 (17)
Ryan Kerrigan.........63 (13)
Terrell Suggs......... 77 (11)
Aaron Donald......... 72 (11)
Khalil Mack........... 88 (10.5)
Von Miller.............. 77 (10)
Justin Houston .....100 (9.5)
Jadeveon Clowney 94 (9.5)
TJ Watt .................107 (7)
Nick Perry .............77 (7)

Nick Perry was as or more efficient on a sacks per snap basis than Suggs, Mack, Miller, Houston, Clowney, Watt.. And CMIII, for that matter, in 2017- a year in which Perry played injured literally all year with a broken wrist/hand, knee injury, and shoulder injury.

In 2016 (relatively injury free) Perry recorded a sack every 55 snaps, total of 11 sacks..

Perry has health / availability issues, but his production when on the field and remotely healthy speaks for itself. He's a good OLB that generates sacks when on the field. His actual production shows that.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:50 am

Game Balls:

Allison - He has been the most consistent of WR's so far.

Aaron Jones - His first run- 10 yards. His 2nd run- 8 yards. He had a long run of 17 yards. In all he finished with 42 yards on 6 carries. A mere 7 yards per carry average.

2nd half defense - Whatever changes they made, whatever they did at half time, the 2nd half defense played a LOT better! They allowed 3 points in the 2nd half. Which on that drive they started on the 46 and made it to the 19. They gave up 27 yards on that drive.

Lame Calls:

Shooting themselves in the foot to many times -
You simply can't drop 3- 3rd down passes, and a 4th down and hope to win. Just way to many drops.

To many penalty's -
Not counting the Mathews play, they had to many holding and pass interference penalty's.

Ref's -
The roughing the passer penalty's still piss me off! It pisses me off that Mathews was called and the one on Rodgers wasn't!
The missed penalty that IMO changed the game, was the missed holding penalty on the RT against Perry in the endzone. It was 2nd down. They drop back to pass, and there was a clear hold against the RT. The exact same holding penalty that they called on the Packers at least 3 times. But this one was in the endzone which would have been a safety. At that point they were down 14-3. Had that been called correctly it would have been 14-5 and Packers would have had the ball. That would have been a HUGE momentum swing. Instead the penalty wasn't called, they march down the field and score a TD on a 98 yard drive, making it 21-3.
The part that pisses me off the most about refs is calling it one way. Be consistent. Call it on both teams.

Davon House - I thought House would be a great 5th CB. One that could come in if needed. He has been nothing but horrible since playing.

Injuries - Wilkerson's injury sounds like it could be bad. I haven't heard any updates. Bulaga having a back injury is not good and then losing McCray to a shoulder injury also not good. Losing your right side of the OL in 1 game is not good!

Notes -
While the game was ugly I feel like this game they lost more then Washington won. Players played like crap. To many dropped passes and penalty's. All of which I think can be corrected.

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Johnblood27's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:41 am

You can't correct Jason Spriggs.

Junius Coston or whoever that is/was at RG cannot be corrected.

The OL all but guarantees that Rodgers will not be playing better anytime soon.

on to MM - you can't fix stoopid.

He has said many, many times that motivating his team is not his job, that they are professionals and that motivation needs to come from within themselves and the locker room.

He is wrong.

There are weeks/days where a coaches boot in their asses is just what they need. This week was one of those. Instead he gives them a day off.

MM needs to go right now. This is a lost season of rebuilding anyway. Can MM, hire an interim and then be the first to scoop up the best man for the job after the football season dust settles.

IT IS TIME!!!

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:18 am

Was this meant to be a reply to me?

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Lare's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:20 am

Well, it looks like Pettine is doing all he can to take himself out of the running for the HC job when McCarthy gets fired.

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marpag1's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:53 am

My takeaways, roughly in order of importance…

1. The Packers’ safety play is beyond atrocious. When Josh Jones comes back (IF Josh Jones ever comes back), he better be an absolute ball of burning death and destruction or this defense is screwed.

2. If a Nick Perry falls down in the woods and gets injured, but no one is able to see him there, does it make a difference?

3. If someone had told me that this year’s defense will depend on the availability of Kevin King, I would have said we are in trouble. Well, they ARE saying it, and now I am too.

4. Losing both members of an already suspect right side of the O-line is going to be a problem. Mercedes Lewis might be our best right tackle, and he’s an unused tight end.

5. Losing Wilkerson isn’t going to help, either. I heard some people saying that Dean Lowry held up OK, but I saw at least a few big running plays where Lowry got blasted right out of the picture and into a different television broadcast. Guess I’ll need to go back and look at that.

6. Horrible day from the receivers. In fairness, it should be noted that ARod wasn’t great yesterday, either. He missed a number of throws that he usually makes, and should have made.

7. NFL officiating and rule changes are stupid and absurd. Maybe they haven’t completely destroyed the game, but there’s still time for that. And even if they don’t destroy the game, they have certainly made it much, much worse.

8. For as much grief as CMII has taken, at least give him credit that he was close enough to the QB at key moments to get called for roughing. Granted, you can now get flagged for roughing if the referee imagines that you had a naughty thought, but he has been getting pressure, and sometimes he even avoids the flag.

9. I’m not normally one to question play calls, but what is the Packers’ love affair with weak-assed, kinda-sorta-maybe wide receiver screens? Apparently, they are guaranteed to gain a good yard and a half on third and 8, yet we continue to run them.

10. One game ball this week… to the Minnesota Vikings. At least we’re not New England. Or Pittsburgh. Or Atlanta. Hmm. Rams vs. Chiefs in the Superbowl?

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Ben Bramm's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:30 am

The Perry observation was gold.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:18 pm

It wouldn't be if I had said it.

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egbertsouse's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:54 am

When your punter is your best player, it’s time to take stock.

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marpag1's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:22 am

The most impressive thing about Scott's punting is that he was dealing with a cross-eyed long snapper all night. Most of those snaps were headed for the sideline. Scott did botch a hold on Crosby's long field goal attempt though.

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PAPackerbacker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 07:54 am

Plenty of blame to go around but it's the coaching staff that gets the biggest blame on this one. The running game was doing well yet Jones had 6 touches and that was all. Game management was absolutely horrible.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:08 am

The problem with blaming play calling and coaches for play calling is who calls the plays at the LOS. How many run plays did Rodgers check out of?

We have no idea how many plays were changed.

So we can't blame the coaches entirely for play calling.

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croatpackfan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:11 pm

RCP - It vain effort here, bacause:

1. MM is the guilty one, from tactics, for preparation, for drops, bad passes, play calls, bad tackling, injuries, penalties, everything. I remember game Packers won 55-14, there was a lot "fans" who thought game was called wrongly, pedal was not to the metal, team was unprepared etc...

2. We all knows, that is very well documented from several sources (also from McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers), that AAron Rodgers have all the rights to change original play call, due to the D outlook. Also, many of "fans" here spit on TO usage of MM. As I recollect in those 3 games Aaron burned 15 of possible 18 TO (OT not included)...

3. It is also interesting how many experts here thinks that Aaron Jones runs all by himself, with no help of OL, TE and WR. Just put Aaron Jones in and he will surely run for 6-7 yards... When that not happened, those experts will spit on MM why he did not rest a little Aaron Jones...

4. This game was total black out of Packers O, Packers D played excellent second half, but we also need to take into the account that, maybe, Gruden did not pres the pedal to the metal...

If anyone need to be cut, the best candidate is Davon Haouse... By my opinion, he did not deserve to survive cuts...

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Tundraboy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 03:14 pm

6. Yes 6 carries!

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4thand10's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:46 am

Jones is a good player...won’t deny that at all. But he can’t be in 70% of the snaps simply because he cannot block. He also dropped a big catch as well. You have to be able to do multiple things otherwise a defense can key in on that. But , yes he can run.

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Coldworld's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:56 am

Thank you for saying this. Frustrating though it is, it is critical. Given the sackfest against the Vikings by our next opponent plus a possibly cobbled together right side of the O line, we simply can not put Jones in every down.

I would like to see Kendricks replaced by Lewis and Montgomery behind Jones or use Monty in a two back set with Williams as prime blocker, or Jones with Monty as prime blocking option.

For #%^}’s sake, let’s be creative. We have the tools to put defenses on the back foot but we are not using them.

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Rebecca's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:11 pm

Oh yeah, the “tools” on the right side of the o-line are scaring the hell out of the next opponent. Ha.

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Flow49's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:05 am

Please tell me what Anyone would have done differently on the play Matthews was flagged. If that’s a flag we might as well give rusher free runs at Rodgers on every 3rd and long and get a first down every time. Pull up and you get the Daniels play in week 1. NFL is getting hard to watch

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Spock's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:53 am

Agreed Flow49. MM's lips were pretty easy to read (And it was good to see him fired up at the official, too bad the team didn't seem to have that fire) and I believe the 'shortened' form of it was this, "That's B.S, B.S. WTF is he supposed to do?!!!!!"
IMHO, this team and the Vikings were too mentally exhausted by the game last week and neither team could be inspired to come out "hot". On to the next game, which I hope is watchable as the new rules seem to give the refs the ability to completely change the game flow. Legalized gambling certainly doesn't make any kind of 'conspiracy theory' not seem too crazy right now. :(

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Minniman's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:00 pm

A good point Spock re mental fatigue by both the packers and vikes - if not for the injuries it would be easy to say put a line through it and onto the Bills next week.

Interesting that Matt Patricia was able to pull off an ambush on NE - I guess that he had enough time scouting a Josh McDaniels offense to be able to nullify it!

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Skip greenBayless's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:31 am

It's actually a brilliant strategy in some respects but I say replace Rodgers with someone expendable like Kizer. Give Kizer a few acting lessons from say a stuntman and let him take all the hits and watch those chains move forward without a pass fired. We can actually trade Rodgers for multiple no. 1 draft picks and use those to draft all cover guys as OLB's/ pass rushers will become extinct due to rule changes and liability issues with the qb. I wouldn't be surprised if Clay Matthews simply retires this week. I wouldn't blame him. He's now a liability to his team for actually doing his job. Thank you Roger Goodell.

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Rebecca's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:15 pm

His hamstrings will act up next. Ha.

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Roadrunner23's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:06 am

Pack is trash they will fight with lions for Cellar!
Clean house!

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marpag1's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:14 am

The Lions clobbered the Patriots last night, and the Vikings got humiliated by the worst team in football (BUF). Chicago barely managed to escape Arizona, who are 0-3 and average less than 7 points per game.

There may be some competition for space in the cellar.

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Coldworld's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:09 am

I agree on most of this except that Adam’s drop was on one of the few poor throws.

I truly agree on the coaching. McCarthy better bounce back because we look stale and predictable to say the least in the scripted and first half plays. That is on the caller and planners. Mix it up or die in the first half.

I think the team also needs leaders to step forward. The Matthews farce could be a source of motivation.

I fully endorse the comments on the officiating. Leaving the QB hit calls out of it, the officiating this year in our games has been dire. The Washington game was by far the worst because it was one sided as opposed to simply inept on a roughly equal basis.

Finally, I note that the official said he couldn’t see the Washington hit on Rodgers. To me, if a rule is safety driven, that is an inexcusable flaw that demands a review after any sack. We review for less.

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John Galt's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:17 am

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2018/09/23/week-3-more-empty-seats-plag...

Meanwhile 1/2 full and nearly empty stadiums around the NFL on Sunday.

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Crackerpacker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 11:44 am

Hope this is wrong, Because this would probably cause the cap to fall, And teams like Green Bay with a lot of money tied up in one player would not be able to compete until those contracts have expired.

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Razer's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:21 am

I saw the first 10 minutes of the game and turned off the tube. I spread top soil on the lawn, raked, reseeded and fertilized for the fall. Came in around 5 to watch Tiger re-energize the golf world and have a couple of well-earned beer. Saw the highlight of Matthews newest roughing the passer penalty and quietly muttered "best Packer game of the season".

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David Slaymaker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:22 am

In regards to your comment about the officials not throwing the flag on the Rodgers sack- I'd probably agree with you if not for the officials last week specifically saying they flagged Matthews not for the "body weight" rule but because he lifted the passer and slammed him to the ground, which is EXACTLY what happened to Rodgers in this game, except far more egregious in the case.

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Since'61's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:23 am

Agree on the game ball.

Lame calls: The Packers beating themselves aided by another game of atrocious officiating. I have already seen plenty of hits on QBs in other games much worse than CM3s hits and none were flagged. Yet Rodgers is thrown around with no flags. Something not right.

Regardless, this game was over at halftime. You can't depend on your QB making heroic comebacks each week, especially when the receivers don't catch the ball and the OL is falling apart.

As for the Bills beating the Vikings, the script was pretty much the same in that game. It was over at halftime and the Vikings had 3 first half TOs in their own territory. They basically beat themselves except they were at home and played worse than the Packers.

Either way, time to move on to the Bills. Thanks, Since '61

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:49 am

'As for the Bills beating the Vikings, the script was pretty much the same in that game. It was over at halftime and the Vikings had 3 first half TOs in their own territory. They basically beat themselves except they were at home and played worse than the Packers."

I thought the same thing. That the Vikings loss is much worse then GB's.

The Bills were 17 point underdogs, with a rookie QB. And they go into Minnesota and destroy them.

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dobber's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:16 am

Where the loss to the Bills is especially bad is that it was a home loss in what should've been a gimme. Now the Vikes go on the road to play the best team in the NFC (Rams) and an Eagles team that should be getting healthier. 1-3-1, anyone?

Losing a road game to the Redskins isn't nearly so damning. What's the old adage: protect home field, go .500 on the road. The worst thing about it is that it's a conference game, whereas the Vikings lost to an AFC team. Whatever the case, I think the Packers will take the heads off the Bills next week...and get flagged for it.

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RCPackerFan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:37 am

And they should have lost to the Packers too...

Also I will add, losing their first road game in the rain, with a QB still dealing with health issues.

I'm not overly concerned with GB right now. They beat themselves more then anything.

I think the one thing we can be sure of. Mathews will get a roughing the QB penalty!

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:00 am

" Regardless, this game was over at halftime. You can't depend on your QB making heroic comebacks each week, especially when the receivers don't catch the ball and the OL is falling apart."

Good thing you didn't mention the defense, that would be blasphemy.

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Johnblood27's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:51 am

Troll be Gone!!

Over at half implies the defense let so much by that the O (AR) cannot come back.

Read, comprehend, then please DO NOT COMMENT!!

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:11 am

It's disrespectful to not answer a childish comment and ignore his cry for help.

Troll be gone !!

How original and child like. Don't worry none, I'll be here to help you overcome whatever has turned you into the child you act like.

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croatpackfan's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:15 pm

Especially when that QB misses easy throws, he usually do them with closed eyes...

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EdsLaces's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:36 am

Game balls . Geronimo, Clark, and Alexander. Geronimo needs more touches . Because when he touches it...he catches it. Clark and Alexander and even Martinez give me hope for our defensive future.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:48 am

I bet you really enjoy the song from Little Orphan Annie right?

How does it go...Next year,next year, the defense will come next year but I'll say it for as long as I can !!!

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EdsLaces's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:42 pm

Can't say that I've heard it...I prefer metal \m/

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:40 am

I'm sure there's a smaller read that would have sufficed as the main point for the Game Ball/Lame Call here.

" None " and " Everything "...

Thanks for stopping by and reading.

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cheeseomlette's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:44 am

The way our defenders tackle has to change. I find it very disingenuous of our Head Coach to not change the way things are taught. If you ask me what could Clay done any thing different, I dont have answer to that. But I have to believe that our coaching staff knows but they do not believe in changing the way things are taught.
The league is not going to change this during season. Thats for sure. Are we ready to keep doing same thing and expect different result? This is INSANITY.
But in all fairness, that is not what cost us the game.
Now with the way our O line is depleted with injuries, i just AR12 does not get killed.

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Minniman's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:37 pm

I feel for CM3 on this one. He's been taught since a child to tackle a certain way that is totally instinct to him - and it's now a team liability.

He may as well be assigned zone coverage every play as he's now a marked man to the NFL and referees.

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Lare's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:27 pm

Matthews is getting paid almost $1 million per game, he can learn how to wrap up a QB without getting a penalty that hurts his team. And if he can't, cut him.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:30 pm

The inability to change as an excuse, for the most, is as lame as with a baseball hitter,a professional of .300 average, to claim he cannot hit to the opposite field when the defense is doing the shift.

The reason is more about having to not do what made you...hit a single instead of a homer via a pulled ball...just getting a QB hurry instead of the sack.... because that's your highlight reel...a personal accolade of glory that has nothing to do with helping the team win.

The Mark Gastineau effect...highlight sack while losing by 30 points...doing an end zone dance or some bs while losing by 30 points....there is nothing beneficial to the team from these things.

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Tundraboy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:31 pm

Spot on Taryn!

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Minniman's picture

September 24, 2018 at 03:45 pm

Taryn, Lare, I'm not a CM3 apologist, I posted after his week 1 call (and week 2 too) that he needs to follow Mack's and Miller's leads in playing for the ball - not the man.

My main point here is more about the capacity to change a behavior learned over 20+ years - I probably should have prefaced my comment with the above statement as a recap of my personal view.

Taryn, I totally agree that perhaps Clay gets carried away with splash over the functional.

On a related note - WRT the saying "happen once shame on you, happen twice shame on me" would it be fair to say happen 3 times shame on coach? .... or does the above statement about Clay getting carried away over-ride this? either way he's now a liability.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 05:19 pm

The Packers FO and MM by retaining Matthews have already accepted the liability Matthews brings, either injury or now penalty. Matthews will not likely rein his aggression in as he is in a contract year and must sense he will not return...I hope he doesn't.
If Matthews gets it as he says, the spirit of the rule, he should start now as to adding a hitch to the hit on a QB from various angles to help negate the penalty look sack. A good looking attempt may carry weight, as to the officials finding the flag a little heavy, to take out and throw.

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Lphill's picture

September 24, 2018 at 08:58 am

I see Mike Daniels on the field with Nick Perry but I don't hear their names called . Clay should just try and hurt the QB now since he is getting a flag anyway .

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Razer's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:17 am

Trying to change Matthews into something else isn't going to happen or at least isn't going to help this defense. I agree that Matthews needs to keep hitting and hitting hard to have the best impact for this weak defense. A gun-shy QB may be our best defense.

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Minniman's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:49 pm

It's sad that a blown o-line assignment doesn't get punished.

If the NFL isn't preempting OC's exploiting this to try and draw penalties then they aren't thinking.

This rule inequality has to be re-balanced by making any ball dislodged from a QB on his feet (not "down") live

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

September 25, 2018 at 04:08 am

Perry had 7 tackles, including 4 solo tackles, good for 3rd on the team. Running the ball is still part of the NFL. The issue isn't that Perry is the problem but rather that at his level of compensation he isn't more of the solution.

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Roadrunner23's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:04 am

Time to flush the turds Mathews-Perry-Bulaga-Brice-Dix-Cobb-Kendricks-McCray-House....flush....listen to the Packer season circling the bowl. Better flush Big Mike down in another session, he would clog it haha!

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Lambeau_West's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:10 am

Looked to me like the guy that sacked AR did land on him after he body slammed him. How is slamming a guy to the turf different than landing on him?

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Coldworld's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:01 am

Because the official didn’t see it. Rule is bad, interpretation is bad and the lack of review is the gas on the dumpster fire. Riveron’s mantra that all is logical is the match that sets it all off.

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packergal's picture

September 24, 2018 at 02:59 pm

Packer Fans: Before we get into whether players or coaches are at fault...please do not make excuses for either Players or MM and the Coaching Staff.

We need to admit we have marginal talent on both sides of the ball--including the FAs that we signed in off season (repeated by Taryn over and over again).

We also should acknowledge that players like Kendricks (who consistently dropped balls during pre-season yet are played before Tonyan etc.) will keep dropping balls during game. This is a direct result of MM and Staff poor decision making (Hello Reggie Gilbert!).

Finally, time to re-post the tweet below for ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY ALL SANE PACKER FANS!

Ian O'Connor

@Ian_OConnor

Tom Brady once told an NFL coach, if Aaron Rodgers had Patriots' offensive scheme & institutional knowledge on opposing defenses, "He'd throw for 7,000 yards every year. He's so much more talented than me."
10:40 PM - Sep 9, 2018

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Razer's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:30 am

To your point on marginal talent, I totally agree. Getting rid Dom Capers didn't fix a defense that doesn't have safeties, linebackers or enough depth at CB or on the DL. Gutekunst has a lot of work ahead to get better talent, particularly on defense.

As for the offensive scheme and play-calling, we are witnessing a gross misuse of talented. Rodgers waiting on WR separation and vertical route development is our 2010 offense. I doubt that teams are surprised by the Packer offense or play calling. And now that we have a glut of TEs, we need to figure out what to do with them. MM let go of play calling and gave it to Tom Clements. It was the right thing to do BUT the wrong guy to give it to.

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packergal's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:45 am

Razer,

Agree. You said: "...Rodgers waiting on WR separation and vertical route development is our 2010 offense"..

I said in a prior post--"...Sandlot football is not a viable strategy for our Offense"...

And... I refuse to get into an argument of how many plays AR changes at the line...

The MM change and better talent on both sides of the ball will be our only solution.

Finally, when the HATED Bears and Matt Nagy performance prove they are better than MM and our beloved PACK, will fans finally admit our lack of talent and coaching issues?

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:44 am

Thank you for recognition shout out and I'm sure the majority here will still deny what is obvious. : )

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Pack204's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:17 am

Disappointing sloppy loss for sure. But look at the rest of the league it is hard to get up every week emotionally every week in the NFL particularly after last weeks emotional tie with Minnesota. Washington was coming off an ugly home loss and you knew they were gonna be focused for this one.

The pass rush and safety play still concerns me. The reality is no matter who the dc is on this team until they get a realible safety (which they havent had since Collins) and have a guy a team needs to gameplan against as a pass rush threat we will always get the mixed bag results on D and needing to rely on Rodgers to score more than 30 points vs the better teams with good quarterbacks.

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Spock's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:23 am

I finally get to actually watch a Packers game televised here in Arizona and THIS is what I get (sigh). I did watch the game from start to finish, but I knew by half time it was going to be a loss. The team just seemed to be numb from last weeks Viking game (apparently the same trouble Minnesota had). I can't really come up with any positive thoughts except that this one is over and I'll just have to try to forget the experience. It seemed like the game turned early on Brice's inept play which took what might of been an interception or at least batted down pass into the first TD for Washington. If Brice doesn't take BOTH himself and his team mate out of the play I don't think Washington's receiver has any chance to catch that floating pass. That may have been the single play that turned the momentum to Washington which might have inspired Green Bay had it gone the way it should have. I was particularly unhappy when the camera panned to the sideline afterwards and Brice looked like he wasn't listening to his coach. Then Brice (albeit inadvertently) takes out ANOTHER team mate later in the game, this time injuring MO. Our safety play is beyond atrocious. Ha Ha was damn lucky to have that gift interception because the play before he was (as usual) tepidly watching his team mates tackle the other team's player while he softly came up in standing position (no indication he would try to tackle) and put out an arm that the Washington dude ran through for extra yardage. Pathetic effort.

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ILPackerBacker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 11:56 am

this is the best written and one of the few rational and accurate posts including the apparently brain dead writers who have columns. Thank you

It is not coincidence that both GB and MN came out like this v inferior teams and to blame the head coach for recievers unable to catch is childish. As is blaming Rodgers for throws when his stat line would have been un real outside the drops and that is not including the terrible OL play. 4 sacks! Constant pressure

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

September 25, 2018 at 04:17 am

HHCD's interception was a tremendous play on HHCD's part. I am not the president of the HHCD fan club (I wrote back in March that I'd rescind his 5th year option and let him become a free agent). But that was a really fine play. HHCD runs the route for the TE, jumps in front and cuts off the TE's path, forcing the TE to stop his route (the defensive player has as much right to the ball and to the path to the ball as the offensive player) and then makes what is now an easy interception.

HHCD read the situation, read the route and jumped it. Great play.

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Fire_Gute's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:27 am

The Matthews penalty was worse than last weeks bullshit. Hes had 4 penalties coming into this season, and 3 this year. 4 penalties over 9 seasons where he actually used to get to the qb a few times a game. I dont think its him. I don't care about the NFLs predictable defense of the calls, unless you officially make it flag football theres was absolutely nothing wrong with that hit in any way shape or form. But that call meant nothing this week. This team could not have looked worse if the practiced trying to look bad.
Rodgers is truly amazing. But if hes hurt and its going to affect every single throw, it's time to sit. Id rather have 8 or 9 great games to end the year than 13 mediocre ones.
MMs offense sucks, its been done for since the chiefs game during the 15-1 season. Romeo showed the league something and they caught up.
This offense still has no speed. And the one player who might be a true game breaker gets 6 carries.
Maybe, just maybe, Capers wasn't the problem. Its possible TTs abhorrent drafting the last few years, compounded by his fear of free agency, has left a serious talent void on this team. Aaron covers the offensive lack of talent like no one else can. But without a Khalil Mack or Aaron Donald, a true top 5 defensive stud, theres certainly no one on this D good enough to pick up anyone else's slack.

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:36 am

Clay's sack of Smith looked NOTHING like the sack of Cousins.

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TarynsEyes's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:49 am

Thumbs up for that Oppy...but going against the induced brainwashed accepted truth of some is hard work and needs vigilance.
Ex: Perry being a worthy OLB
: )

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Coldworld's picture

September 24, 2018 at 10:06 am

Your point being Oppy? Both were thought by most to be legitimate. Both raise questions about what a LB should or can do. Neither were more egregious than other hits that have not been flagged. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get it.

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:24 pm

Point being I read the article and the author gave CMIII a lame call specifically because his sack of smith supposedly looked identical to his sack of cousins and he dinged clay for not changing his approach.

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Lare's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:50 pm

It doesn't matter what any of us think, it doesn't matter what Matthews or McCarthy think. The bottom line is that Matthews 15 yard penalties are killing his team. One way or another he has to learn how to adapt or else they have to get him out of there.

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Oppy's picture

September 24, 2018 at 05:20 pm

New qb sack will be run up and hug the QB until ref blows whistle. No taking the qb to the ground. No attempt to affect the throw byvway of impact.. just hug the qb.

I don’t think there is any other reasonable expectation for a pass rusher in the current climate. That does not seem reasonable to me. I can not fault CMIII for being penalized for reasonable plays. I would not t ask him to simply hug the qb. I think nfl teams are at an impass.

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Gianich's picture

September 24, 2018 at 09:43 am

Ha Ha and Brice are THE WORST SAFETY COMBO IN THE NFL!!!

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Crackerpacker's picture

September 24, 2018 at 11:56 am

According to packers.com JK Scott almost has the same passer rating as Kizer. Scott 39.58 Kizer 42.86

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Barazinho's picture

September 24, 2018 at 12:03 pm

#1) I went back and looked at Payne's sack - you see see the ref have a clear line of sight when the tackle starts, and he is moving forward, to presumably keep his line of sight. Another question - even if he was impeded, did noone else see the body slam tackle that exactly fits the (NFL provided) definition of roughing the passer?
#2) Brice is truly awful. He has no ball tracking skill or spatial awareness - on the Theilen TD, it looked like he just needed to extend his arm to break up the pass. On the Richardson TD, he runs himself out of the play. When he broke Mo's ankle, he did a wild lunge as the ball carrier went past him. HHCD is awful too. They don't have a safety who can track the ball - Boston would have been great, Thomas would be even better. Maybe Raven Green needs to play - he can't be any worse than Brice (who argues with his coach after blowing a TD on the third play.

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Lare's picture

September 24, 2018 at 01:58 pm

This is why I've finally joined the "fire McCarthy" bandwagon. Continuing to start players that are hurting the team and not playing players that could help the team. Poor play selection, poor game management, poor coaching, poor fundamentals, poor motivation skills.

The Executive Board needs to sit down with Mark Murphy, Gutekunst, Ball & McCarthy and give them an ultimatum- if you can't figure out some way fix this thing we'll bring in someone who can.

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