Packers Vs. Falcons: First Impressions

My immediate thoughts following the Packers-Falcons game.

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There's nothing the Packers can do to limit Juilo Jones, and I can't help but think having Damarious Randall shadow him isn't a good idea.

The more Ty Montgomery does, the better you can feel about the Packers keeping up with the Falcons on the scoreboard. That's going to be crucial if they keep playing defense the way they are.

Any "Clay Matthews is washed" narrative needs to just be kicked aside. He can still play, he can still be disruptive. He's shown it these last two weeks.

Justin McCray has done a phenomenal job in place of Bryan Bulaga at RT tonight. He's had some help, but unexpectedly efficient performance so far.

Martellus Bennett is having a rough night. Getting him involved is proving to be a risk; he has two drops on two targets. Would've been three had one not been wiped away by a penalty.

The Packers' defense is just tired. Short offensive possessions, lengthy drives on defense. That's not going to end well.

Pressure beginning to get in the face of Aaron Rodgers. No Nelson, no Adams on that last drive, and the Packers are woefully venturing into offensive purgatory.

Geronimo Allison stopped at the end of his route, Aaron Rodgers still may have overthrown him. Either way, obvious miscommunication just killed the Packers. Price you pay without Jordy Nelson.

The makeshift offensive line has held up well so far tonight. That's not why the Packers are losing so significantly.

Vic Beasley's gone with an injury. Maybe a chance for the Packers to take advantage?

The Packers need life offensively. They just look sluggish, the tempo is poor, but either way, a 17-point deficit is a 17-point deficit.

Penalties have been killer tonight. Packers are in double digits with them after having eight against Seattle last week. Sheesh. That's not going to help erase a big lead.

Another subtle contributor to tonight's woes: The Packers have been putrid in run defense, and probably because the massive body of Mike Daniels isn't there to clog up the middle.

300 career touchdown passes for Aaron Rodgers. Officially the fastest player to reach that milestone with that few of interceptions.

The Packers may very well just lick their chops, get healthy after this beating and rebound against the seemingly incompetent Bengals next week. No Hail Mary magic tonight.
 

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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].

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Comments (92)

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Bedrock's picture

September 17, 2017 at 10:58 pm

The Packers didn't lose tonight. The Packers I know were on the sidelines nursing injuries.

Kidding aside, some key injuries and a few key plays were the difference.

I have no issues after tonight saying the GB I know can beat this team.

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RobinsonDavis's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:11 pm

Until we learn:
1) How to get pressure in Ryan's face, not allowing him to step into his throws
2) Disrupting crossing patterns over the middle, and
3) Finding a way to consistently drive and score in the 1st half,

we will have troubles beating the Falcons. Last, I would rather not cover the big Falcon receivers with a small DB. I think I would take my chances with King and some of the larger safeties on the team.

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FAN24583's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:29 pm

GB cannot beat Atlanta not in the same league. Not sure if you watched the last 2 games against ATL.

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Bedrock's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:46 pm

"GB" hasn't played Atlanta. Backups have. We've played a full strength squad at less than full strength.

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RobinsonDavis's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:02 pm

I'm saying a few Hail Mary's for the injured players! "Sheesh," is right!

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Tundraboy's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:02 pm

Losing Daniels and Jordy doomed this team. Refs put nail in coffin.

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Since'61's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:10 pm

First off we'll never know how this game would have gone if we had our 2 starting tackles and had not lost Daniels in the 1st quarter.
Terrible OPI call against Bennett killed a promising 2nd quarter drive.
For their part the Packers had too many penalties.
As soon as Jordy went out it looked like the offense was lost again until garbage time and Atlanta defense backed off.
Rodgers pick before halftime hurt. Then the "fumble" return for a TD was the killer. Rodgers should have taken the sack there, he still took the hit anyway. We gave Atlanta 14 points.
I don't understand why House or King wasn't covering Jones from the beginning of the game and on every play.
What was Capers thinking with Rollins on him, then Randall and then whoever.
Another very poor showing in Atlanta. For all the changes made in the offseason nothing changed for the Packers against Atlanta tonight.
This team needs to heal up, regroup and take the next 2 games against Cincy and the Bears and then take the benefits of a mini bye.
It's only week 2 plenty of time to get back on track.
Thanks, Since '61

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RobinsonDavis's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:42 pm

I don't get why House was not covering Jones either, 61. Wasn't House supposed to be our answer to the bigger receivers? But the Falcons have 2 large receivers, so maybe House had Sanu.

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JerseyAl's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:54 am

House was not covering Jones because he's not good enough (and then he got injured at some point). The only guy with a shot at staying with Jones is the rookie, King. Packers realized this after two (I think) series and threw him out there. He did ok - didn't embarrass himself.

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Since'61's picture

September 18, 2017 at 11:43 am

Al - I agree that King did OK, but I think it was more than 2 series before King was assigned to Jones. If I have extra time I'll watch my tape of the game to get a better handle on when King began to cover Jones. I knew that House was injured but I thought that happened in the second half.
If you are correct, and you usually are, that House isn't good enough to cover Jones then I'm not sure why he is our #1 CB.
Thanks, Since '61

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Finwiz's picture

September 18, 2017 at 11:52 am

Yeah I saw midway through the 2nd QTR they started experimenting with combo's and 31 was outta there. He was struggling. He couldn't cover Jones so they went with speed in King. He did OK, but they moved Jones around and still got him free with match-ups. House isn't looking like the best signing, and I had my doubts having seen him when we played the Jags last year. He looks OK technique-wise, but he doesn't play aggressively, he's more passive in coverage. He won't be the long term answer unfortunately.
Then again let's temper this a bit, because JJ is one of the best, if not THE best WR in the game. But House didn't do anything dominating against the 'Hawks either, did he?

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NickPerry's picture

September 18, 2017 at 04:57 am

"I don't understand why House or King wasn't covering Jones from the beginning of the game and on every play."

Amen Since '61!

I hate to kick a man when he's down but at no point in the last 2 years has Randall showed he was worthy of being a 1st round choice. The first thing the Falcons did was get Randall lined up on Jones and once again Randall didn't disappoint the Falcons. Randall is the Packers #4 CB at best and needs to be played that way, at least until he shows he can handle a bigger role consistently. Randall and his groin were just fine this week, just like it was against Minnesota last year when he was torched by Diggs.

Montgomery was involved in the first series quite a bit. WHY did it take McCarthy so long to get him RE-INVOLVED again??? NE gave teams an excellent recipe to play with the Falcons. All week long I heard RB like Montgomery give the Falcons problems when catching the ball. First drive right down the field and then......gone, at least for the next drive. WHY NOT give Aaron Jones a shot?? Jamal Williams is slow as hell, not a fan of Williams a bit.

I agree the Packers need to get healthy. I doubt it changes the game much if at all. Losing Daniels and not having Brooks was a killer. Hopefully Daniels can be back by week 5 against Dallas. Brooks should be back next week.

Make the Players watch the tape and then flush it. Make Randall watch it 3 times and ask him each time WTF was he thinking?? HOPE the Falcons end up losing one more game than the Packers lose over the season so it doesn't come down to the tie-breaker. I still really like this 2017 Packers team.

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dobber's picture

September 18, 2017 at 05:33 am

Thanks, NP, for saving me the time to type something like this myself!

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Since'61's picture

September 18, 2017 at 11:46 am

Nick - excellent post from you as usual. Looks like we're thinking along the same lines. I expected Randall to be our #4 CB and to be used like it. I thought House #1, King #2, Rollins #3, Randall #4.
Also, I agree completely that the Packers need to get the ball to Monty more often. Not just against Atlanta but every game going forward.
Thanks, Since '61

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dobber's picture

September 18, 2017 at 05:48 am

"This team needs to heal up, regroup and take the next 2 games against Cincy and the Bears and then take the benefits of a mini bye.
It's only week 2 plenty of time to get back on track."

That's the track that needs to be taken. Last night's game was about as pleasant to experience as colonoscopy prep, but it's only one game. Yes, it could play a role in playoff tiebreaks way down the road, but there's a lot of season left and it could turn out to be nothing, too. Lots of trouble-shooting to do.

The injury situation is far more worrying than this one game. If the injuries end up costing you players and games you should win (and I wouldn't call this a game the Packers SHOULD win), like these upcoming games against CIN and CHI, then that's the real loss.

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Since'61's picture

September 18, 2017 at 11:50 am

Dobber - I agree with your post.
However, the Falcons could have been had last night.
Injuries, penalties and Rodgers 2 turnovers hurt us last night. I don't know if it would have mattered but I would like to play the Falcons with a healthy team for once and preferably at Lambeau.
Thanks, Since '61

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fthisJack's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:05 pm

the only way they beat this team is to pressure Ryan all game. that's not going to happen anytime soon.

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GBPDAN1's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:06 pm

Ouch

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al bundy's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:07 pm

Almost speechless. Observations:
1.Collingworth is a total a hole. He never mentioned "Gee Rogers cannot go no huddle and speed it up due to two new guys who need to know the play and snap". Hell that alone costs the team 15 minutes. Throw in the no pick, that's seven points and the othe fiasco fumble that would not have happened and thats a 14 point swing.
2. Tackling and pass d was piss poor. One pass rusher is hurt and the defense goes totally to hell? Capers has to go or we admit the pass d guys cant cover and it is what it is capers or not.
3. Team never gave up. Made a go of it and again Collingsworth, the Falcons arent that good.

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GBPDAN1's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:09 pm

It's only game 2 and we're missing a bunch of key players...jeez! If this team could manage to stay somewhat healthy, they can beat anyone. Would love to see the Pack play Atlanta in Green Bay!

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RobinsonDavis's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:28 pm

Yeah, the Pack can't catch a break when playing the Falcons with injuries. But, we did not lose this game solely because of this. Once again, we can't stop the Falcon offense. The loss of Daniels so early was a huge blow in my mind, but that would be the only injury I can point to that could have made a difference in the scheme that was played tonight.

We had little impact from Clark, Perry, and Dial. Note: The 49ers sacked Wilson 2 or 3 times and held the Seahawks to 12 points, so maybe we are not as strong upfront as some think?

.

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JerseyAl's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:59 am

um, Packers held the Seahawks to 9 points with three sacks and completely shut down their running game. So I don't understand the point of bringing up the 49ers-Seahawks.

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rdent's picture

September 18, 2017 at 09:53 am

Al, I think what he was trying to convey is that Seattle doesn't appear as good as they were projected to be but neither are the Packers, Atlanta is simply the better team.

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JerseyAl's picture

September 18, 2017 at 10:14 am

by listing those stats, the only thing it implies is that the 49ers and Packers are of similar capabilities defensively. I had little doubt the Falcons were the better team - I picked them and I rarely pick against the Packers.

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rdent's picture

September 19, 2017 at 07:34 am

The defense looks better on paper and it's early but after Sunday night it appears they still have a lot of holes to fill.

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johngalt's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:18 pm

Injuries suck. 12 was trying his best and played strong. Why can't Janis bring one out of the end zone???

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EdsLaces's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:19 pm

This one was painful to watch...and killed my phone battery for all the "man what's up with GB" messages. Only thing that kept me from kicking my tv was 1. Montgomery coming along, and 2. Kevin King is progressing nicely. Everything else ...especially the injuries..suckeddddd.

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Colin_C's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:22 pm

Well, I was quite impressed by King, and Ty continues to ball out. Allison looked sharp as well. Otherwise, pretty ugly game. Still, I think come playoff time (barring no major injuries), we can beat these guys. I just hope this game doesn't determine home field.

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badaxed's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:22 pm

Basically same actors, same director, same producer, predictable ending to this show.

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croatpackfan's picture

September 18, 2017 at 02:26 am

Do not forget to count zebras into this...

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Duneslick's picture

September 18, 2017 at 05:02 pm

Best post yet

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HankScorpio's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:24 pm

Kevin King looked good. That's about all I got on the positive side.

The OTs were not good but they didn't really stand out in the stinkfest. We'll call that a backhanded compliment.

The rest...well, between the dropped passes, missed throws, Randall/Rollins playing like it was late '16, some big names injured, turnovers and penalties, the list of negatives is pretty long.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:28 pm

Well, they got whipped. It's just one game. I think if the Tackles, Nelson and Daniels had played it would have been closer. There was just no push up the middle on defense and Rodgers was clearly uncomfortable in the pocket.

Again, it's just one game and not one I expected them to win anyways. There's more of a chance they will learn from this than if they just barely lost.

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HankScorpio's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:41 pm

That's right. Just one game and a September one at that. Coming out of TC, I thought this is a very good Packer team that is capable of being the one holding the Lombardi when all is said and done. I didn't change my mind after watching tonight. Even without knowing all the injuries, I was expecting 1-1 record after two games.

Home games vs Cincy and Chicago next will hopefully let them get through some injuries and start putting together the identity we want to see come January.

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cpabandit's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:40 am

Yes, injuries hurt. However, the Packers are just not good enough to beat Atlanta whether the game is played in Atlanta or Green Bay. The Packer defense looked great last week only because Seattle has no O-line. Pressured Wilson and the D looked great. Daniels' injury was not the difference. I was led to believe that Rodgers was loaded with offensive weapons. Aside from Nelson, where were they last night? Short passes and more short passes. Dropped balls. We have some speedsters on the team. Why not air out a few of those passes? Whether you want to admit it or not, Atlanta has a much better offense, a slightly better defense, a QB just as capable (though certainly not better) than Rodgers, certainly a better defensive coach than Capers. While the Packers have weaknesses, Atlanta has very few and none glaring. Hey Capers, did you get an opportunity to review the last Super Bowl 2nd half tapes? Oh, ya did 'ol buddy? Can you tell us what you learned from watching those tapes? Why did your defense make the first drive look so easy or is Atlanta just that good Capers 'ol buddy? Why did third down conversions look so easy? Why were the Falcon receivers so open last night?

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:20 am

You didn't watch the falcons putter vs the Bears last week did you?

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HankScorpio's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:22 am

The Packers are plenty good enough to beat the Falcons. They just have to avoid shooting themselves in the foot on offense. On defense, getting their new guys acclimated to the emphasis on speed will help. A turnover of two can work wonders, as well.

Yesterday night, disaster going in and out of the half was a 17-21 point swing. Without the questionable PI on Bennett, the Packers are at midfield and moving to a FG or TD...and getting the ball to start the 2nd half. The potential was there to at least tie and maybe take the lead. Instead, a bad pick on Rodgers sets up the Falcons with a short field TD before half. Coming out of the half, the Falcons scored a defensive TD. That 4-5 minutes of game time with those 2 Packer turnovers and Falcon TDs off those turnovers accounted for about twice the final margin. Later in the game, another questionable offensive PI took 4 points from the Packers. Good breaks and better execution last night means 7-10 more points for the Packers and 14 less for the Falcons. I'm no math wiz but that seems to be well within the final margin.

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Finwiz's picture

September 18, 2017 at 01:51 pm

Plenty good enough huh?
I want to know what game you were watching, cause I must of missed it.
Those two paragraphs look like excuses, and that's not good enough!

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HankScorpio's picture

September 19, 2017 at 08:30 am

I watched the Packers-Atlanta game with the understanding that past performance does not guarantee future results. If it did, Seattle would still "own" the Packers. Or San Fran. Or Dallas.

It's the NFL. Things come and go. Streaks continue until they end. The gambling industry thrives on the unpredictability of it all. Certainly the Packers won't ever beat Atlanta if both teams perform as they did on Sunday night. But football teams are not static. They are constantly evolving. Players get hurt and then get healthy. Young players improve, older players decline. Teams come out of nowhere and fade back to mediocrity. The Falcons picked 8th in the 2015 draft. Just a few years ago, they were among the 10 worst teams in the league. And I'm supposed to believe they are suddenly invincible? Maybe what I've saw last night was in the context of it not being the first game I've ever seen.

You are right that excuses won't change the outcome. But examining the circumstances of the game's outcome will provide context to understand that what happens one week is not pre-destined to happen in the future.

And above all else, I choose to be optimistic about the team I support. Instead of wallowing in the misery of why things are hopeless, I choose to believe that they can succeed. With #12 pulling the trigger, that outlook is not foolish optimism, IMO.

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Since'61's picture

September 18, 2017 at 11:52 am

Jonathan - I expected Bennett to be targeted often last evening and he was.
Problem was that he didn't catch anything.
Thanks, Since '61

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GVPacker's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:35 pm

Daniels injury was big and it proves he's the Heart And Soul of the Defense. Kevin King got some much needed experience and I think his future is very promising. Hat's off to the two o-line replacements they came to play!

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RobinsonDavis's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:45 pm

Positives: King, Montgomery, Taylor, Cobb, Matthews,

Bennett had a bad game, but I think he will come back strong. He has pride. I am more worried about the injury with Daniels though. I would put him on the shelf until he is 100% healthy as I consider him far too valuable.

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stockholder's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:38 pm

Wish we had Julio Jones. A-rods lucky he didn't get hurt. Thought Cobb did well. To many penalties. This game was over at 1/2 time. Sigh.

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Flow49's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:40 pm

Big win from tonight is Rodger isn't hurt

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Flow49's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:39 pm

Adams quietly stepped up in Jordy's absence, although I saw Alison's game differently than some comments. I'm an Allison fan but tonight he dropped some passes and gave up on or ran the wrong route on the int. He can do better and needs to do better. Marty B and Rodgers will get on the same page eventually but tonight was definitely not the night. Monty is a stud plain and simple. Defense will get better with the rookies progression and Daniels hopefully coming back soon. They gave up in January they had a pretty decent second half considering. Can't judge the offense too harshly tonight because of the green horn tackles we had in but dam that game plan to start off was not meant for them. Move on to next week, if we protect home field I can see 4 wins on the road provided we get our tackles back. 12-4 should do it. Like to see Atlanta in the cold this January.

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rdent's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:54 am

Hate to say it but Atlanta here in January, not going to happen. It's a nice dream though.

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HankScorpio's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:29 am

Why is it "not going to happen'? What makes it a dream?

Is Rodgers incapable of playing better than last night? Is the 2 costly TOs he had normal for him? if they have their two starting OTs available, will Rodgers get more time to work? Let's make those into rhetorical questions because we all know the answers and they are reality way more often than a dream.

Less obvious is whether working in King and Jones into the secondary will help slow down a very good Falcon offense. But I saw enough from King last night to believe it will. Having Mike Daniels & Ahmad Brooks available would help coverage by forcing Ryan to make quicker decisions.

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rdent's picture

September 18, 2017 at 09:37 am

Simply put HANK, Atlanta is a better team. Like I posted here earlier, I know it is hard for some fans to come to grips with but the reality is there are better teams out there than GB and Atlanta is one of them.

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rdent's picture

September 19, 2017 at 07:49 am

Pom pom waver, wake up take off your green and gold glasses,Atlanta has beat GB 3 times in a row, the talent gap is obvious, yes the Packers are a good team but they are not a great team. Everytime they go against an elite team it's the same story, if Rodgers isn't playing lights out they lose, when was the last time that defense had a signature game against a good offense? 2010?

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HankScorpio's picture

September 19, 2017 at 08:53 am

Try not to confuse your opinion with reality. You are certainly welcome to giving your opinion but that does not in any way turn it into a hard reality. The reality of the NFL is that they play the games because how the teams match up on paper is not always going to reveal the winner.

I have no doubt that Atlanta is a very good team that is very tough to handle in their home stadium. I expected the Packers to lose on Sunday night. I would view a game between the two teams in Green Bay very differently. Just a few years ago, a string of games vs Seattle in Seattle convinced many Packer fans that Seattle was a team the Packers could simply not beat. A few games in Green Bay have shown that notion to be incorrect.

Even so, if you believe that Atlanta is so much better than GB, have you ever seen a game where "the better team" lost? I certainly have. You have to pay scant attention to the game to have not seen that. It happens all the time. Because "the better team" is such a fluid dynamic in the NFL. It can and does change from week to week, never mind month to month or year to year. Two years ago, Atlanta was among the 10 worst teams in the league. Maybe that is forever behind them. Maybe not. We won't know the future reality until the future plays out.

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billybobton's picture

September 18, 2017 at 02:09 pm

Getting King and Jones on the field MAY not help but getting Randall and Rollins OFF the field will help.

Adams did not step up. Garbage time stat padding. He was a non factor when the game was there to be won or lost.

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OrganLeroy's picture

September 18, 2017 at 02:14 pm

It's not going to happen because of our schedule and our defense, and probably many more injuries to come. I can smell the blood in the air!

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dobber's picture

September 18, 2017 at 08:16 pm

...I think the word you wanted was "water"

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FAN24583's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:40 pm

This defense cannot stop Atlanta period Rollins/Randall are not good. The end of the 1st half was ridiculous. Just go into half down 10. Yes there were some bad calls but this team cannot match up with Atlanta. They did what they wanted on offense. We had no answers and injuries are no excuse. It is what it is.

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Flow49's picture

September 17, 2017 at 11:42 pm

They need to force turnovers against Atlanta, think the O can put up points with them if we have at least Bahk in the line up.

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HankScorpio's picture

September 18, 2017 at 12:18 am

Aside from Bakh being healthy, it would be a big help if the offense didn't shoot itself in the foot with multiple drops, turnovers and costly penalties.

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baldski's picture

September 18, 2017 at 12:16 am

I agree. The db's looked like they were wearing lead shoes versus Falcon receivers and their tackling was atrocious. We used to have the "Dallas" syndrome. We could not beat Dallas. Now it is Atlanta. If the road to the SB is thru Atlanta, forget about it! I mean Atlanta has over 1000 yds. offense in the last 3 appearances. The talent level between their offense and our defense is abysmal. Why????

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rdent's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:57 am

Why? Ask TT & Dom Capers.

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daveinTX's picture

September 18, 2017 at 01:07 am

IMO, McCray was best thing to happen for the Packers vs Atlanta. The team now has a legit 6th OL to replace Barclay this season, and maybe Evans next.

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HankScorpio's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:54 am

I agree that McCray played well. if you grade on the curve of an undrafted rookie playing his first game on the outside when he looks more like an inside OL, he was pretty good. That's encouraging because he'll only get better.

But he's the 7th OL, at best, maybe the 8th. Or maybe it is more appropriate to say McCray is the 5th option at OT. Murphy is clearly higher in the pecking order. And I have to believe that Spriggs is, as well. It wasn't just that the Packers were down their 2 starting OTs, they were down 3 of their top 4. I know everyone and their brother is down on Spriggs after the preseason but the inconsistency he showed is fairly typical of young, inexperienced players.

Maybe the backup OL isn't nearly as bad as some guessed based on the preseason.

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Andrew Lloyd Peth's picture

September 18, 2017 at 03:07 am

Martellus had 3 drops, not 2, and another wiped out by penalty. He only caught 5 passes of 11 targets--worst on the team. He was 3 of 6 against Seattle, while the rest of the team was 25 of 36.

He's a mess out there. His head isn't in the game.

Look, I don't support "Black Power!" or "White Power!" because I don't support hate of any kind. I love all people equally. But if Martellus wants to choose one of those sides, that's his thing--free country.

But he needs to leave his activism at the gate and GET HIS HEAD IN THE GAME. That's way too many drops already this season--plus he kept Seattle alive with an insanely stupid penalty protecting his QB who "fully supports" his activism.

Seriously, I would have this same problem if Martellus wore an Antifa hat, MAGA hat, BLM hat, or NRA hat--doesn't matter. His mind is split between activism and football INSIDE THE STADIUM, and that's not acceptable.

Leave your activism at the gate, Martellus, like the rest of the team. If you can't respect your country, at least respect the helmet.

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SpudRapids's picture

September 18, 2017 at 12:39 pm

Why are you even going there? There are a multitude factors that could contribute to Bennett's poor play that are more likely than his activism affecting his play. For example, it was evident he was used a lot to help the tackles in pass protection and he blocked extremely well. He also hasn't build any rapport with Rodgers so he might not be used to where Rodger's places the ball and probably doesn't have the best feel for the offense as a whole. Blaming the activism is speaking to you somehow knowing what is going on in Bennett's brain and it's a pretty unfair assumption to assume it affects his play.

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Andrew Lloyd Peth's picture

September 18, 2017 at 03:17 pm

1. I didn't go there. Bennett took us all there. He wants to make a statement on the national stage, so that invites comment.

2. I have applauded Bennett's blocking, and did so after the Seattle game when some others were criticizing his play.

3. Ball placement? It's hitting his hands. Please.

Look, it's bad enough for a player to inject politics into a state that votes 50-50, assuring he'll offend half the fans. But Martellus doesn't care; he literally cares nothing about the fans he offends and causes to squirm. He loves it.

If you think he doesn't, that's your right, but I think you're kidding yourself. This guy deeply, deeply resents all the Wisconsinites who voted for Trump and support law enforcement. Offending them brings him immense pleasure.

That's his choice, and his right.

But you can't waltz into the stadium knowing you're offending half the fans and not have that occupy some large portion of your thoughts. This guy is supposedly a sure-handed TE, and he has been utterly unfocused on game day.

He has the right to be hurtful. But let's remember all players have that right, and yet about 98% have too much love for their socially-politically divided fanbases to inject their anger on Sundays.

And once again, yes, I would say every word of this if he were taking the opposite political side. Bennett has brought politics to Sundays, and he has also been poorly focused on the field.

It's time he learned to love ALL the fans--not just his political half--and start focusing 100% on that football whistling toward him.

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fastmoving's picture

September 19, 2017 at 03:35 am

Its more 70 to 30 right now, thanks to the smart guy who talks as funny and kind of twisted like you. but dont get me wrong, I would say that for the 30 procent too, no matter what.
And Bennett, by the way, did not say something different, whatever you try to make out of it.
Seems to me you only looking for something to throw your wisdom around a little bit.
Thanks for AR12 in so many ways................

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Andrew Lloyd Peth's picture

September 19, 2017 at 07:06 am

You posted this same silly response on another thread. Read my response there.

Suffice it to say, you excuse whatever Bennett does because he shares your political philosophy. I treat all sides equally, wanting all of them to leave politics at the gate and focus on the game they're paid to play.

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fastmoving's picture

September 18, 2017 at 01:26 pm

The does make not much sense to me. what leads you to believe Martellus does not respect our country......for me its just the opposite.
I know only one guy who does not respect our values, and his name is not CK.
Besides that Bennett still has a lot to prove, but Im pretty sure your "reasons" have nothing to do with it...........

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Finwiz's picture

September 18, 2017 at 01:44 pm

Thanks for that post ALP. I agree 100%.

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Andrew Lloyd Peth's picture

September 18, 2017 at 03:23 pm

Thanks, Fin.

It amazes me how some homers want to convince themselves this sure-handed TE suddenly lost all focus for reasons having nothing to do with the fact he is gladly offending half the fanbase before the ball is kicked off.

How do you willfully enter a stadium knowing you're offending millions of people in Wisconsin...

...and not have that affect your concentration?

Sundays are about football--that thing he's actually being paid to do--and Martellus needs to leave everything else at the gate and get his head in the game.

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acularw's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:41 pm

If you think half of Wisconsin is offended by his comments or position I think you are delusional. There is nothing offensive in his stances (I don't agree with every position he has but I'm adult that doesn't get offended because someone else has a different experience and opinion than me.

Also, I love how Packers fans will use any major personal information we find out about players as justification for why they are playing bad (it's the GF, it's the political position, etc). Grow up.

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Andrew Lloyd Peth's picture

September 19, 2017 at 07:11 am

Oh, I think at least half the fans cringe and wish Martellus would leave his politics outside the stadium. For you to say "there is nothing offensive in his stances" when he holds up a "Black Pride" fist during the song honoring our nation and those who died to protect it...well, your statement says a tremendous amount about you.

You obviously hold some of his stances, so you willfully blind yourself to the offense he causes those who don't. This is typical in this day and age--people tend to ignore hurt feelings on the political side they don't share. To them, all those hurt people just cease to exist.

That's really sad.

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croatpackfan's picture

September 18, 2017 at 03:48 am

After I watched the game for 1st time my 2 impressions are:
1. this is the most disgraceful game officiated from any official referees I ever see;
2. Pre season snaps for the 1st team O should be increased in the future, if Packers would like to start fast with 0 in losing column...

Everything I saw in this game tells me that Falcons had to win because of the new stadium, no matter what. Because, all "mistakes" in officiating was negating actions which could brought shifting the momentum to Packers side... But, I can not believe that NFL would allow themselves setting-up of the result...

It must be my paranoia..

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

September 18, 2017 at 05:05 am

Murphy and McCray belong on a NFL 53 man roster. Never seriously thought of Murphy as a LT before.

Monty can play RB and be a match-up nightmare. I'd hoped to see Aaron Jones on turf, but MM decided otherwise.

I am a little disappointed in our WRs. I thought the OL gave AR enough time for the most part. Cobb carried us early. Adams made some plays, but too little too late. Too early to say since the OL has not had time to gain any cohesion, but most of the yards gained on the ground are through creases rather than holes. I credit the RBs and not the OL for the rushing yards to date.

Bennett's first 6 targets resulted in no completions, 4 drops, two of which were erased due to penalty. Yet I loved Bennett's knocking the crap out of Reed when he was just chipping and leaking out. The potential for creating mismatches and switching out of a pass play to a run play is there, imo anyway.

Clay had a good Clay game. He was disruptive and good in space. 1.5 sacks, and got in the backfield, showing some speed and closing burst. He also voluntarily took an outside rush and watched Coleman cut inside him for 35 yards on a first and 10.

King looked promising. Burnett was okay. House looked like the #2 or #3 CB that he probably is, but w/o all-22, its hard to understand how all those deep crossing patterns were open all day.

Lack of talent in the CB corps could be the problem. Scheme is something to look at, but no scheme is going to work w/o some talent. Still, it has been pointed out that we were in dime on a 3rd and goal play from the one yard line against 21 personnel. CM3 immediately commits to an inside rush and gets major penetration since the RG lets him go by so the RG can go pick off Martinez, the RT lets CM3 go by so he can kick out and demolish House, Sanu blocks down on Dix, the 233 pound FB demolishes Brice, and Freeman takes a toss around the right end and beats Burnett to the goal line, since Burnett had to scrape down the LOS after lining up across from the OC. 7-0 Atlanta. I have to wonder what CM3's assignment was on that play.

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Lphill's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:00 am

Well we found some good o line depth, Josh Jones and Kevin King look good , if not for the drops and dumb penalties this was a closer game which could have gone either way. It's not the end of the world . But home field will be tough now being as the Falcons have a pretty soft schedule . We will see

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TKWorldWide's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:52 am

Maybe ATL will lose their #1 receiver, both OT's, and their best defensive lineman. Might affect their season (even though "injuries are no excuse").
~~~~~

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Donster's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:43 am

Team speed sums it up for me. Atlanta has it. The Packers don't. The Packers defense were a step or more behind on almost every play. The only way this defense gets fixed is not through the draft alone. It will take to long and Rodgers won't be the player he is now by then. The Packers have to use Free Agency to address this, that means spending the money to do so.

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FAN24583's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:53 am

Agree. And our Defense is not physical enough for ATL

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Kubyskins12's picture

September 18, 2017 at 06:54 am

Not saying that this would've change the outcome from a loss to win but it definitely would've made the game a lot closer if the refs didn't have a couple terrible offensive pass interference calls on the Packers and them not Calling same thing against the Falcons on their touchdown right before the half when they did pick play. The one right before Rodgers threw the int where cobb caught the slant and took to the 40 they called the Opi on Bennett when he was clearly within 1 yard of line of scrimmage. That was huge call in the game. Rodgers end up throwing pick and Atlanta scores a td on a pick play that's not called before half. That's potential 7-14pt swing in score cause if they don't call that maybe gb scores fg or td and at worst Atlanta doesn't get td and it's 10 pt game at half. Huge call the affected the outcome greatly imo.

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rdent's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:33 am

A rerun of last year. But this time injury cannot be used as an excuse for Randall and Rollins. They are a waste of a no.1 & no. 2 pick respectively and House is not the answer, just another attempted cheap fix by TT, though how many times was he matched with Jones? Can TT be that bad at drafting defense? or has Capers become that inept as a DC? I know it is only the second game but this loss has already put a damper on my enthusiasm for GB getting to the SB. Watch them pad their record on teams like Cincy and Chicago only to get their ass handed to them by good teams. Face it, despite the fact that TT went outside his m.o. and signed Free Agents for this season, his poor drafting the last 5 years has caused too much long term damage for this team to get back to the SB in the Aaron Rodgers era, what a waste of a great QB.

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FAN24583's picture

September 18, 2017 at 07:54 am

Absolutely agree!!

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Archie's picture

September 18, 2017 at 08:11 am

It's everything in the front office - TT is NOT a good drafter, MM is NOT a creative HC and DC can NOT turn out a good defense to save his life. Nothing much has changed since AROD was drafted. He is the team. The team goes as AROD goes. Against mediocre competition he is good enough to win w/o much help. Not so against the better teams. Because Of AROD's accomplishments, teh Pack picks low in the draft every year but that might not matter given who we have doing the picking e.g., Hawk, Raji. The answer is to clean house and to trade away Rodgers and everyone else of any value and start over. If not, Packer fans are doomed to reliving Groundhog's Day over and over and over.

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dobber's picture

September 18, 2017 at 08:20 am

Archie has an alarm clock that goes off when the Packers lose.

Welcome back, Archie!

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Archie's picture

September 18, 2017 at 08:14 am

I should state for the record that I say what I said despite being as big an A-ROD fan as there is. In fact, I drafted him in R1 of fantasy this year, same as every year.

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Don Hutson's picture

September 18, 2017 at 08:52 am

Two seasons in row Rodgers and offense start sluggishly. But they didn't engsge during preseason, why should we be surprised. If you want ti be ready to play football, you need to play football. Enough of this swill of 'we know how to play', reacting to game speed requires refreshing. They call that preseason!

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Spock's picture

September 18, 2017 at 09:48 am

Tough game to watch, but some promising things (play by King, Josh Jones tackle on ST, better than expected play by backup Tackles, etc.). The Bennet PI totally changed the way the game was going IMHO, but GB got a lot of calls the other way last week. As pointed out above by many it was only the 2nd game and I had said the same thing to my wife as someone did above, "If you had told most Packer fans before the season with those two teams to play first, most would be happy to be 1-1." Hopefully, the injuries are not long term. Mike D. was questionable to play with his hamstring for this game so I wasn't too surprised to see him go out early. Wish MM would have used Ty more in the first half. On to next week.

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daveinTX's picture

September 18, 2017 at 10:49 am

As a big supporter of TT in general, it's hard for me to understand the repeated drumbeat on his so-called bad drafting and lack of using FA more aggressively. That said, the loss of Daniels pointed out how the recent releases of Francois and Ringo may have cost us this game. For whatever reason TT chose Dial over both of them. Dial was totally lost out there while the game was on the line. He seemed reluctant to commit himself to whatever he should have been doing. It almost looked like he was holding back on every drop back thinking there was a screeen developing or a draw. Or, maybe he thought his job was to spy on the QB. He made one good play vs the run that I saw, otherwise it was like he backed away from the action, a lot.

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stockholder's picture

September 18, 2017 at 12:48 pm

Have to agree with you. I watched Jones at ILB last night. Thought TT would take him. He took Spriggs. But Martinez was taken later? SO as much as TT knows the draft. He has become a GM First. Mis management is starting to crack TTs armor. Dial was lost. And anyone that has followed the Superbowl teams that win. The DT is the position that is the most important. Last night you saw the results of where the Falcons went. TT again seems to Reserve a spot his draft picks can contribute. Meaning, the guy will be cut when Adams is ready.

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Finwiz's picture

September 18, 2017 at 12:57 pm

I can't decipher any of this. Edit and resubmit?
Different language - broken Eng-rish?

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Jaypack's picture

September 18, 2017 at 01:05 pm

That Rodgers pass to Adams was yet another impossible pass/catch TD. So fun to watch and we are so spoiled! Love watching the look on the defenders faces who have perfect coverage.

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Pauly's picture

September 18, 2017 at 02:44 pm

Observation:
Falcons traded 5 draft picks over 2 yrs to move up to pick J Jones at # 6.
TT always trades down wanting more bodies.

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Spock's picture

September 18, 2017 at 03:25 pm

Pauly, That trade worked. It was not the norm by ANY means. Kudos to the Falcons for that risky move which worked for them. 99% of the time committing to one player for multiple draft picks doesn't work. But, hey, I will always be grateful that Atlanta traded their 2nd round pick, Brett Favre, to Ron Wolf!!!!!!

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dobber's picture

September 18, 2017 at 04:08 pm

Yeah...ask Mike Ditka how that worked out for him! ;)

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Duneslick's picture

September 18, 2017 at 05:15 pm

I don't think Green Bay is as good as Atlanta Especially in Atlanta or on artificial turf. The only one that gives them a chance to win is AR. Jordy is good but I think the receivers are overrated because Arod is throwing to them.

Cure for excuses after a game WIN

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