Welcome back to The Coach Clarahanson Show !!! In Coach’s Humble Opinion: the monkey is officially off LaFleur’s back... Today is not my birthday. Well, unless you’re reading this on November 27th. But if it were my birthday (or is), I’d be blowing out the candles on something that tastes a whole lot like a LaFleur-led Packers victory over Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers! I say we all pause to celebrate together, even though it’s not my birthday (probably). Going into the season it felt like if the Packers intended to take the next step toward winning their 5th Super Bowl anytime soon, they would need to knock off the Niners at their place. And they did. Sure, the boys in the gay bay were banged up a bit, but who isn’t halfway through the season? No need to apologize for a win on the road in the NFL. If the naysayers don’t like it or still want to complain, they can suck a lemon. Grandma used to say “Laugh, and the whole world laughs with you; cry, and you cry alone.” Unfortunately, she was also a sanctimonious bigot, but I try to remember her by her good traits, and that race-neutral idiom was one of them. She also made a killer German potato salad (Not in the literal sense, like a weaponized food used by Nazi death squads at Polish labor camps; rather, I meant it tasted delicious.) But I digress… My point is it’s okay to feel good about beating a nemesis even if they aren’t at 100%. Hey, when we lost to them, we didn’t play at 100% of our capability either. …and, honestly, right before kickoff last Thursday night, didn’t you still feel a little concerned that the Packers could lose this game, too? BUT THEY WON. If you hit a shitty shot in golf, and it ricochets off a tree and rebounds onto the green, it still counts, right? You don’t have to draw the path your ball took to get a birdie; you just need to write down the score. And if that birdie led to you finally beating your brother who always beats you even though he probably cheats when you’re not looking, well that’s even sweeter. Until the playoffs start, all that really matters are the number of W’s on your scorecard. And at the halfway point, LaFleur’s looks pretty good. ...at least, in my humble opinion. ADVERTISEMENT Create A Seam Here – X’s & O’s about the game or a scheme Kicking the Niners ass in Corduroy Stadium is just what the doctor ordered and now the Pack are 6-2, tied for 1st Seed in the NFC. Fer-sher there are some who point to the Niners as an NFL M.A.S.H. unit…but you can only play who’s on your schedule. Aaron Rodger’s reminded everyone after the game that no one feels sorry for anyone else in the NFL, and certainly we received no “compensation wins” the two years that AR was hurt. In an amazing “what goes around comes around” moment of Zen and symmetry, Coach finds it satisfying and ultimately ironic that this game was almost a mirror image of the NFC Championship Game in January of 2020. They served us a 17-point loss and we returned the favor with a 17-point win, but almost the same score (reversed). That got Coach thinking about where LaFleur lines up with the other Coaches in Packer history. As you can see in the chart above, LaFleur is better than Vince Lombardi…well, OK, hold on a minute there, Coach. LaFleur is off to a better start than any Coach in Packer’s history, but obviously he has to bring home some hardware before we crown his ass (Credit: D. Greene). It also begs the question: “Who the hell was Hugh Devore, and why haven’t we studied him and looked for insights from his three-week reign as Head Coach?” That is a really good question, something we’ll get around to analyzing someday very soon. Or not. Either way… We now beget the question: “How does LaFleur stack-up on the all-time list of NFL Coaches?” Amazingly, LaFleur is actually the second winningest Coach in NFL history (six Coaches with less than one Season were excluded from the list). Holy whah, purdy good dare Coach. Coach learned a few things here as well, Elgie Tobin was the best Coach ever and the Chicago Bears had Co-Head Coaches during WWII and they had very interesting names (“Hunk” & “Johnsos”). Let’s absorb all of this info and reflect for a moment … turns out LaFleur is a pretty f’ng good Coach. Doesn’t mean he’s perfect or that the team is … but it does mean that Coach was right and we should have fired Melissa McCarthy much, much sooner. (Take a wild guess which current Coach will be getting this treatment, further below.) LaFleur is an Offensive Coach and his impact has been evident in the numbers… Offense The chart above starts in 2009 and runs through the first 8 games of 2020. The vertical bar shows the Offensive Rank in Points/Game, green being Top-10, Yellow being 11th-20th and red being 21st-32nd (left side vertical axis). The blue line shows the Regular Season average Points/Game (right side vertical axis). What you can see is a steady decline in offensive performance after 2011…you can literally see the McCarthy Offense getting stagnant and obvious to NFL defenses. No surprise, the team quit on him after his coaching debacle in Seattle left them short of the Super Bowl. We have suffered many injuries and have not had any games this year where the entire “starting” Offense played in the game (13 or 14 guys depending on how you count them). The recent upward trend in the LaFleur regime looks really good and it’s scary how much better we could be if we eliminate simple mistakes on Offense. The Offense is ranked No. 3 in PPG at 31.6 and is scoring even more when both Davante Adams and Aaron Jones are available. The Niners game opened with Aaron Jones getting the ball on the first four plays, and 75 yards later the opening series ended with a Davante Adams TD. Both Jones and Adams make the Offense go. The TD above and the run below tell the whole story. The Niners were absolutely loading up to stop the run. In the play above the Niners are lined up in a 4-4 Stack Defense, with a Safety “up” (9 in the box total). The 4-4 was a staple of the old NFL, College and HS Defenses in days-of yore. 4 DL who can tie-up the OL with 4 linebackers behind them that can flow to the ball or drop into pass coverage. You will see a bit further below why this is a better scheme than what we run, but no matter, Aaron Jones proves the old adage that “talent beats scheme”. Not to be outdone, Bobby Tun-yan had another good game and Alan Lazard is getting close to coming back from his core-muscle injury. That all sounds good Coach, so does the number 3 receiver really matter? Well yes, Jimmy, it does. We have a whole stable full of receivers who are passable for No. 5 or 6 receivers … and they have been trying to play the No. 2 and the No. 3 role (the No. 2 role while Lazard is out) …and the one that plays the most is the worst. MVS has had 39 targets and has caught less than half of the balls thrown his way. The drop in the clip above was on 3rd down and killed the drive. Coach has been really confused how an NFL receiver could drop so many balls, and suggests MVS should “pursue other career opportunities.” In reality, our best No. 3 receiver is either Aaron Jones and/or Jamal Williams. Andy you know what, that’s ok (if they both are healthy for the playoffs). None of that Offensive fire power is possible without one of the best Offensive Lines in the NFL. We are ranked 2nd in sacks with 1.2 per game, give LaFleur credit for the quick passing scheme, but also remember that the Offensive Line has had 8 different guys playing with no particular drop-off (except the Tampon Bay game). Hat’s off to Gutey for getting the horses and OL Coach Adam Stenovitch for coachin’-em-up. LT -Bahktiari (injured) LG/LT/RG - Jenkins C -Linsley (injured) LG/RG/C - Lucas Patrick RG – Taylor (injured, out for season) RG/RT/LT - Turner (injured) RT – Wagner LG/RG - Runyan Special Teams Whadda ya want Coach to say? Here’s hoping that Crosby continues to recover and is in prime form for the playoffs. He kicked 2 FG and 4 extra points and looked good. JK Scott continued kickoff duties while Crosby recovers and kick another squibby short kickoff, that might be a weapon later in the year … but there have been mixed results covering it … aaargh, sigh. An even bigger concern is that, after we had a punt blocked in Houston two weeks ago, we have a target on our backs. This is one of two punts that the Niners almost blocked. The method of attacking seems to be from a delayed rush up the middle. The “up-guys” seem to be more interested in skipping their blocks and getting down field. Of course the easy and obvious fix for this is to make John Lovett (#45) the up-back to call the punt and be in position to run fakes (or pass). Lovett is fast, he can block, he can tackle and very importantly, he’s smart and can throw a pass (college QB from Harvard). Come on Menningitis, put Lovett back there and fix the Punt Team. You’re no Nolan Cromwell (or even Shawn Slocum for that matter, great name). Defense Oh boy, what can you say? We are going in the wrong direction. Packers Defensive Coordinator Mike Poutine has a mixed track record, but the teams he has coached tend to get worse as time goes on and the players get to know him. (Go back thru the archive of this blog and you’ll see the same was true of Capers.) The Packers have invested a ton of resources, high draft picks and free agent money into the Defense, and the Defense isn’t performing. Those are the facts, like ’em or not. Period. After extensive research it has been conclusively proven that scoring more points than the other team leads to more victories. We have improved to 6.1 in Point Differential for 2020, shown on the blue line, but the Defense is holding us back (Green Off Line minus the Red Def Line gets you to the Blue Pt Diff Line). Positive is better than negative, but recall the Median SB Winner is at a 10-point differential. We need to fix our defense if we are going to win the Super Bowl. Poutine is not getting the job done… There’s always that argument that we need better defensive players, but for crying out loud we have ProBowlers at every level on the D, so shit or get off the pot, man. The last several weeks Coach has shown the D making several good plays, only to be followed by poor plays. Yes, you can blame the players, but the scheme is not making it any easier. Poutine’s D is focused on disrupting the pass, and when we are ahead by two scores this is effective (because the other team can’t run). This approach led to Preston Smith getting a QB pressure (below), which turned into an interception. The play above was fantastic and is the kind of play we will need much more of to become a Top-10 D. UDFA ILB Krys Barnes continues to play extremely well. He is getting much better at recognizing the play and he moves up very smartly here (much better than the FA hurt guy from Cleveland that we signed in the Offseason, you know – Whuts Hisname). There are even signs that the Run Defense may have life. Coach’s favorite whipping boy, Dean Lowry (#94), sheds the block and makes a tackle down the line. One thing that Coach wants you to note is that there is only one LB (51 – Krys Barnes) off of the LOS. The Poutine D usually has 5 or 6 DB’s on the field, so when we have 3 DL and the 2 OLB up in a 5-man formation on the LOS, this is only 1 LB and the DB’s are in a shell behind. After the snap there is confusion among the DB’s leading to a 43-yard gain, after holding them to 3 yards on 1st down (the Lowry tackle), we got gashed. This is a scheme issue. With Poutine’s approach we need the Offense to run the play we want to defend. If they run a different play, we get gashed. Another example … with everyone committed to the LOS, if the RB makes it past the DL he has open field running. In the clip above Krys Barnes is by himself and the LG makes it out to block him. But not to worry, there are signs of life. The path to winning the Super Bowl is to fix the D (whatever that takes this year) and we will win our 14th NFL Championship and collect the 5th Lombardi Trophy. WTF – Coach’s take on football news that’s messed up Wife Decides Final Minute Of Football Game A Perfect Time to Strike Up Conversation La Jolla, CA—NFL fan Alan Goldstein was on the edge of his seat Sunday afternoon watching his Chargers as they marched down the field against their division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chargers were down by 5, with no timeouts, when their final drive ensued. Their quarterback, rookie sensation Justin Herbert, came out of the huddle in shotgun formation, and Goldstein stood up off the couch for a better view of the game. Ten seconds later his wife entered the room. “Hey, honey, remember my friend, Lisa? We met her at the party last weekend.” Goldstein jumped in the air as the Chargers passed for a long gain to get into Raiders territory. “What? I can’t really talk right now, honey,” he said, as he stared into the television. Then the receiver dove out of bounds to stop the clock, creating a break in the action. Goldstein used this time wisely. “Yeah, Lisa,” he said. “She’s the weird cat lady, right?" Now the offense approached the line of scrimmage and Goldstein’s attention went back to the screen. He watched as Herbert hurled the ball all the way down to the 1-yard line leaving just a few seconds on the clock, but enough to spike the ball with 1 second left. “So she invited us to brunch, want to go?” his wife asked. Just then, Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr. hauled in what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown pass in front of Raiders cornerback Isaiah Johnson at the end of regulation. “Yeah, baby! Let’s go! Let’s go! WOOO!!!” Goldstein screamed as he jumped in the air and ran circles around the room. “Okay, I’ll let her know,” his wife said happily. “Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be this receptive.” The Raiders eventually won the game, however, upon a lengthy replay review. Goldstein purportedly made it through 2 additional conversations with his wife by the time the referees officially reversed the touchdown call. The Bears Still Suck – Coach has proof Matt Nagy Dismisses Talk Of Locker Room Turmoil After Bears Burn Matt Nagy Effigy On Field CHICAGO— Promising that the team was all on the same page heading into this week’s matchup with the Vikings, Chicago head coach Matt Nagy dismissed rumors of turmoil in his locker room Friday after Bears players burned an effigy of him at midfield. “The media is trying to start a narrative by saying the players pelting an effigy of me with rotten fruit, beheading it, and lighting it on fire is a sign of dissatisfaction, but I assure you we are all just focused on winning,” said Nagy, dodging a trash can that was hurled at him by wide receivers Allen Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson. “All these writers saying the players have quit on the team just because they overturned my car, that’s just bullshit. You talk about all the photos of me with my eyes gouged out that are pinned to the wall with hunting knives as if it’s a story, fine, but we are unified and taking it week by week. And as far as all the firearms and explosives being stockpiled in the locker room, I have no comment. Right now, my only concern is that our pad level is too high.” At press time, Nagy was praising the teamwork and hustle of the players who broke into his house and spray-painted “Resign,” over every surface. Udder Stuff – Commentary from the Badger Underground "Hello Girls!" said the blind man as he walked passed the fish market... Last week's Badgers game was cancelled so The Underground went fishin. This week Bucky is back from COVID self-quarantine and plays Michigan. Badger Underground will leave you with 2 thoughts for the upcoming game: MERTZ. FUCK MICHIGAN. We’re Gonna Kick Your @$$ – predictions for the upcoming game The math of the stats gives us a 14.6 pt advantage (plus whatever you want to assign for home field advantage) and Vegas is throwing shade on the Jag’s too. The Packers are favored by 13.5 points! Historically we lead the series 4-2, we’ve won the last two games and we average a 4-point win. Wow, we don’t even have to play the game, do we? Trap game is printed all over this package. Before the season Coach predicted that THIS was one to watch out for… Fortunately, Coach came to his senses and remembered that the Jag’s are Coached by another “Mike McCarthy.” Doug Marone is in his 6th and last year as an NFL Head Coach with a total winning percentage of 42%. That, and the Packers “tank” game was already played out against the 1-5 Vikings so the “What the F game” that greets the Packers each year is past us. Coach actually thinks now that this might be a “get well” game for the D. We are averaging 0.8 takeaways per game and are tied with Dallas for 29th position. The good news is that the Jags are averaging 1.4 Turnovers/GM and ranked No. 23. The Jags have had a schedule about as easy as the Packers, but have been blown out by teams like the Lions. If we play even a modicum of Defense, we will kill the Jags. Unfortunately for you, the avid football consumer, we will be stuck watching the Jaguars this weekend, when we should instead be benefiting from eyeballing their crosstown counterparts, the Jacksonville Breeze. The Jacksonville Breeze of the Lingerie Football League based in Jacksonville, Florida, that is. Unfortunately the LFL announced in January of 2015 that the Breeze had suspended operations with plans to relaunch in another Florida market within the next three years…we’re still waiting. Talk about taking the wind out of your sails. The Jags are confused, their fans are confused, their mascot is confused, they just know that they want their LFL Team back…can’t blame’em. This one will not be close. Dip into to the kids' College Fund, the Packers are going to cover the spread. Packers 35 Jags 19 Chevon McNuggets - G.O.A.T. facts to chew on JB – Packers you forgot about, but stories you’ll remember about them Coach spent last week in a tree seeking trophy bucks, and my bird hunting lab is also named “Buck.” It’s a great name for a great dog, and we’ll leave it at that. So Coach dug into the Packers annals (gross) looking for former players with the name “Buck” and he came across a few interesting considerations for this week’s JB homage. However, this week Coach is flipping the tables and UN-salutes a former Packers player, Bucky Brooks. You’re saying, “Hmmm…that name sounds…familiar…but I just can’t place it.” Don’t confuse Bucky Brooks with Robert Brooks, oh no – an entirely different sphere of talent. Bucky Brooks is a football commentator on NFL Network, probably their worst. Still, he is highly touted by his media cohorts, and – dare I say, respected? Bucky Brooks first caught Coach’s eye when he was predicting NFL drafts, and in particular those the Packers should take. I thought to myself, “What does this guy know about the Packers?” Then his colleagues would say something inane like “Great insight from former Packers player, Bucky Brooks.” Then Coach thought, “When did this guy even play for the Packers?” I got even more infuriated when he’d say things like “Well, when I played for the Packers, ….” Drove me nuts. Since you probably don’t know either, here’s the skinny on Bucky Brooks:
In addition to the Bills and Packers, Bucky Brooks also played for Jacksonville, Kansas City and Oakland across 5 NFL seasons. After his playing career was over in 1999, Brooks joined the Seattle Seahawks' pro personnel department and later the Carolina Panthers as a regional college scout, before joining and ultimately destroying CNNSI.com as a football analyst.
Who does this punk think he is? A vital part of a Super Bowl winning team? A savvy veteran with insight for what it takes to win championships? He somehow parlayed being a backup kick returner on a Super Bowl champion into a “successful” media career. For you kids scoring at home, this is what grownups refer to as “riding on the coat tails” of others’ success. I wouldn’t opine so much about Brooks' status in the media if he was good at football analysis, but I contend he was a better player than pundit … and he sucked as a player. En so, Bucky Brooks, in this time of shallow divisiveness and projection, we refuse to salute you as a JB honoree, and suggest you pursue an alternative career ... something more suited to your abilities as a phony poser ... like Washington politics. Good day, sir!
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Author"Coach" is the insightful collective brain and funny bone of a few legendary Packer fans who provide everything you need to know (and what Packers beat writers often plagiarize) about the Green & Gold, plus a weekly guest appearance by The Badger Underground. Archives
November 2022
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