Packers Question of the day - Takeaways from the lo-- I mean win
It's a nice change indeed. The Packers improved their record on the year to 5-6 after their win in Philadelphia on the Monday Night Football stage. Thanks to a huge night from Aaron Rodgers, something that has seemed like clockwork at this point, and a secondary making key stops when they needed to despite the struggles they've faced in 2016, the Packers will live to fight another day.
What were your takeaways from the win against the Eagles, and how confident are you moving down the five-game stretch to end the season?
__________________________
Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].
Comments (27)
Yooper
November 29, 2016 at 09:14 am
Nice to have a win - Reminded me of the excitement I felt during the Atlanta game but with a better outcome - Def ....my only comment!!!!
Handsback
November 29, 2016 at 09:35 am
Was extremely happy to see the Oline perform like they did. The defense looked better, but how are they going to field a team w/o any MLBs? Well, we sort of saw it last night. CM in the middle (he may not make it to end of the season) along with Thomas. No reserves mean they will need to call up another guy from the PS.
dobber
November 29, 2016 at 10:37 am
I think Ryan might play next week. He was practicing on a limited basis toward the end of the week leading up to Philly. But what we saw the last two seasons, as others have commented, is that CMIII stayed healthy playing more ILB than OLB. Not knowing Martinez's status going forward, I suspect we'll see CMIII continue to split time in the middle even when Ryan comes back.
RCPackerFan
November 29, 2016 at 09:37 am
This was a good win. A good team win.
Special teams was good, Defense played good, and the offense played good.
Rodgers was on Fire!
2 of his throws to Adams were perfect. The TD and the deep throw. Not many QB's can make those throws.
The way the offense played is how they should try to play the rest of the year. Keep the offense on the field for as long as they can. The short quick throws are the same as a run. Keep the clock moving and try to get an early lead.
Hoping that Mathews and Rodgers injuries will allow them to play effectively.
NickPerry
November 30, 2016 at 05:22 am
RC..I for one appreciate your undying optimism and comments here and agree with you about the short passing game. While it's not the same, it's an "Extension" of the run game, at least that's what the late great Bill Walsh called it who WAS a HC in the NFL. I knew exactly what you meant, some just have to piss on others Corn Flakes.
RCPackerFan
November 30, 2016 at 08:23 am
Is it exactly the same... NO. Its 'essentially' the same. I guess people take every word literally.
NMPF
November 29, 2016 at 09:42 am
Good team win. Extends the season 1 more week.
dobber
November 29, 2016 at 10:37 am
Well...keeps our hopes up for another week, at least. ;)
Bert
November 29, 2016 at 04:02 pm
Yep. Houston and Brock Osweiler should be right up their alley for a win this week. Even with the banged up defense I can't see them losing to Osweiler and Houston.
Gianich
November 29, 2016 at 10:00 am
Jordan Mathews and Nelson Agholor being out helped the young corners immensely! Micah Hyde is terrible. The safeties weren't as invisible as they have been the past month and kept everything in front of them. The Front 7 got some pass rush. Ryan Mathews being out definitely helped the run defense.
3 takeways for the 3 phases of the game;
1.the defense was helped out huge by some key injuries to the Eagles skill players.
2. the Offense was absolutely awesome and unstoppable! The rub routes and motions kept the eagles off balance and I haven't seen pre-snap motion and formations like that with 11 personnel in a while! It was lights out and fun to watch!
3. The Special Teams was pleasantly quiet for the first time in a month.
All 3 phases for all 4 quarters for once! That felt good!
Gianich
November 29, 2016 at 10:02 am
Oh yeah, almost forgot. When Davante Adams is on top of his game the his route running is a work of art!
stockholder
November 29, 2016 at 11:11 am
No- He learned how to run with the ball. The routes never changed.
dobber
November 29, 2016 at 12:04 pm
It helps that #12 is quicker getting the ball out and hitting his windows. Adams isn't going to run away from many CBs, so when the timing is good, so is Adams.
dobber
November 29, 2016 at 10:41 am
"The safeties weren't as invisible..."
Even though Randall looked tentative out there, having him on the field, IMO, allowed the safeties to settle back into normal roles and play more aggressively. I thought Burnett looked good last night from both ILB and SS positions...and I've not been a big Morgan Burnett fan over the years.
"1. the defense was helped out..."
What comes around goes around. I'm not too proud to turn down a win over a team when its struggling. Next week, they play a Houston team that doesn't move the ball consistently and has a struggling QB, but has a quality RB (Lamar Miller) and some good WR (Hopkins and Fuller). If Osweiler -- one of the biggest big-money FA mistakes in a long time, IMO -- is on, this defense will have its hands full. But Houston is a run-first team, which may allow this defense to continue to get well.
Tundraboy
November 29, 2016 at 01:49 pm
" the Offense was absolutely awesome and unstoppable! The rub routes and motions kept the eagles off balance and I haven't seen pre-snap motion and formations like that with 11 personnel in a while! It was lights out and fun to watch!"
Only wish MM adjusted much earlier. Much much earlier.
zoellner25
November 29, 2016 at 10:18 am
Sucks I only caught the first 10 minutes and the last 5 minutes of the game. When I got home, couldn't believe the score was 24-13 and we had only given up 13 points. Shocking.
RocsCave
November 29, 2016 at 10:18 am
Nothing like a win over a team with a deeply depleted offense via injury, since injuries are never used as excuse in Green Bay.
The offense looked like it should have in week one and at least as much each week hence. While the defense still looks like it's looking for some players to play less the garbage time heroics and interceptions that fine a way into one players hands without having to play for it.
A win is a win and that may bring true the expectations of the season has a little thicker straw to grab upon for another week.
ejr450
November 29, 2016 at 10:38 am
Building blocks - finally something we can build on. QB1 was hot and it made a world of difference. He stood in the pocket - the 50 yd pass to 17 was a great example of him trusting the OL.
Offensive variety was a plus. I'd like to see more of 88/32 and less 44, but he's solid in the pass game and that's our game right now.
Defense - well, we will take it. This may be shades of 2011 for the rest of the year - get a stop once or twice and hope the O is hot.
Need 47/50 healthy for the SEA game...
dobber
November 29, 2016 at 10:46 am
"Defense - well, we will take it. This may be shades of 2011 for the rest of the year - "
Like you say...building blocks. Getting Randall back on the field helps. This defense will never be what was originally expected when Shields was holding down one side of the field, but CMIII gives them the flexibility to hold down the fort on the inside until people get healthy. Ryan should be back soon, it seems. But 2011 is very different...that was a wide-open, win games all by itself offense. This offense is much more of a ball-control passing game...it's topped 30 points twice all season, but is very consistently in the mid-20s. It's going to need the defense to be more than what it was in 2011 in order to get on a hot streak. Given that there's only one "good" offensive team left on the schedule (Detroit), it could work out.
Since'61
November 29, 2016 at 10:50 am
My takeaways are great game plan and excellent execution by the offense. Adams is looking like he is evolving into ARs go to guy. Still would like to see more of Monty. And we still need a better run game.
Defense played hard and well for the most part. Still need to work on not beating themselves with penalties.
Need our ILBs back ASAP. Pass rush still needs to be more effective to help out our CBs. Middle of the field remains wide open.
STs had their best game maybe of the entire season. If we chuck Janis our offense will be able to start at least one drive per game beyond our own 10 yard line without his weekly stupid penalty.
Good solid game by all three phases. On to the Texans at home, finally. Go Pack Go! Thanks, Since '61
SpudRapids
November 29, 2016 at 11:10 am
My takeaway is this team is slowly getting healthier and we saw the improvements as a result.
Having Randall on the field showed improvement. I watched him closely on a few plays and his angles are just better than what they have had. If him and Rollins can grow a bit in the next few weeks when they get Ryan back the D might turn out serviceable.
Offensively they are starting to click.... Since the start of the Chicago game Rodgers has averaged around 3 TD's and 320 yds a game. If they get to the point where they are torching teams it really is going to change the dynamic of this team.
Cobb finally looked explosive. Cook was absent but Philly's D has been the best in the NFL at covering TE's. Would like to see Michael be involved in the offense more.
Just win the next game every week and who knows how the division will play out.
Gianich
November 29, 2016 at 01:43 pm
Cook was off. On his few opportunities he wasn't even ready for the ball and the safeties for Philly have blanketed TEs all year. I think Michael will get more touches as he learns more of the checks and run pass options and lingo at the line of scrimmage. THere were a couple of times where James Starks stuck his nose in there and stoned a blitzer in pass protection that lead to Rodgers having extra time to find lane and take off or rip a laser to his receiver. I don't think Michael can be trusted to do that as much as Starks at this point.
croatpackfan
November 29, 2016 at 12:46 pm
My biggest takeaway from last game is Aaron's smile on his face. He is playing again with joy and you have the result of that. Throws through ears, eyes and hands of the opponent defenders... I think our old Aaron is back...
Paul Ott Carruth
November 29, 2016 at 01:52 pm
West Coast Offense: A Primer
A) An offense built on possession passing - Low Risk
B) Progression reads w/ Alerts (1,2,3 Outlet)
C) Spacing & Stretches - Make the defense defend the entire field (horizontally, vertically, outside/inside hashes
D) Timing of the Throws (slants, ins, hooks, P.A.)
E) Assignments don't change but personnel & formations will
F) All routes run thinking man coverage (adjust to zone)
G) Checkdowns to keep the chains moving (possession is 9/10 of the law but 10/10 in football)
First Touchdown: 200/300 Jet Smoke with Zebra Personnel (3 step drop)
Second Touchdown: 2/3 Jet All Go (5 step drop)...again with Zebra Package
Letters A through G were on display in the game. Amazing what a well coordinated system can do and how it can compensate for deficiencies in personnel on both sides of the ball.
Have a great day everyone.
NickPerry
November 29, 2016 at 05:29 pm
Thanks Paul....Great comment!
dobber
November 30, 2016 at 05:21 am
Why did this get 5 dislikes? Good info from someone who really knows football.
MarkinMadison
November 29, 2016 at 04:28 pm
1) hamstring pulls linger and will limit #12's mobility. I'm a bit worried going up against Houston with Clowney.
2) I love the win but I still don't expect to see the Packers make the playoffs unless the health of the team improves. Some guys came back this week, and we may get another next week. I guess it remains to be seen how much the new injuries will limit Matthews and Rodgers.