Just kidding, I didn't really think we were gonna beat the Broncos by 14+ points. ;-) Watching close up camera shots during pre-game warm ups, I could already tell the game would be lost. Rodgers did not look like himself when going through the motions … he looked burned out (perhaps an afternoon snack at a local Denver hash bar, or maybe overtired from an extra hour of daylights savings sleep?), with concern and doubt across on his face -- not the WWE belt confidence and swagger that we’ve come to know and appreciate. There’s a lot of blame to go around for the loss (see the X’s & O’s section below for the weekly gag on Capers’ failure to put 7+ in the box on every snap), but the brass tacks is A-Rod laid an egg Sunday night. He gets paid to perform better than the other QB’s and lead the guys on his team through tough games like that, but he was not able to. Who did show up for GB? Clay Matthews, that’s who. Like Rodgers, when Clay is out of the lineup, his side of the ball is effectively, well, ineffective. The Claymaker brought it on every play against Denver. He looked like the only guy off of the line of scrimmage who was willing to make a tackle. Alligator arm tacklers peppered the secondary, reminiscent of the Mike Sherman d-backs that bounced off of ball carriers instead of wrapping them up. When Clay was in there prior to rolling his ankle and forced to imitate "the Gimp" from Pulp Fiction, the defense remained competitive and he was leading the others by example – they responded with good play at the end of the 2nd Q and in the 2nd half until he got hurt. When he was out for 4 plays, Denver’s mediocre-at-best offense easily marched down the field in healthy chunks across the middle (running and passing). As Pat Bowlen so eloquently and ironically once stated, it was a forgettable night. The good news? (1) That game really didn’t matter. As Coach pontificated previously, an AFC loss means nothing if we beat Cam-olina this coming weekend - we would then have the tie breaker for home field advantage. (Conversely, if we lose to the Pants'ers, were behind them by 3-games for playoff seeding. Yikes - big game!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIcCPgP9mu4 (2) If lack of motivation or over confidence was a factor, a humbling dose of reality was doled out in front of 17 million household viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 (twice as many viewers as those who watched the final game of the World Series, which was the highest-rated World Series in several years). (3) Special Teams played pretty well. More notes on that below. (4) The Bears still suck. (more on that later, too…) Create a seam here - X's & O's about the game or a scheme “Clearly the better team this evening. For us, a very humbling loss. Frankly, Gary Kubiak had his team playing a lot faster than I had my team tonight. I thought that was evident early and often. I don’t feel good about the way we performed. … Very humbling loss.” “You have to run the ball; you have to run against an excellent pass rush as Denver has. We got some things going on offense; we really just couldn’t sustain it.” “You’ve got to compliment Denver. That’s a humbling loss. I haven’t had my ass kicked like that in a long time. They covered us very well. I thought we pass protected particularly well in the first half and there was a lot of green grass out there. So they did a heck of a job covering us.” ----- Mike MacCarthy, Sunday, November 1st 2015. Let’s cover the good right away: Special Teams continue to climb in the Dallas Morning News rankings and we are in the top-half of the league. The Zook-McCarthy team has had the biggest impact on Punt & KO Coverage where we are now top-10 in allowed return yardage. Crosby is almost automatic and Mastay had his best game of the year. Returns are average to below and could use some work, but when Montgomery comes back healthy and Abbrederis is trusted more, look for 2 or 3 return touchdowns in the last half of the season. Special Teams may not be winning games yet, but at least they are not losing them……which is a very big improvement over the last several years. The Defense has been roundly critized, and deservedly so, over the course of last week. Going into the game we were giving up fewer points/game than any other team, which obviously was a key component of going 6-0. Coach believes strongly that if you score more points than the other team it greatly enhances the odd of winning the game, so preventing the other guys from scoring is probably a good idea. Arguably the next most important defensive statistic is the average number of yards gained/play; that is, how many yards to the other guys go with each snap of the ball. Obviously if they get fewer yards/snap they will have fewer first downs and more stalled drives. Thru the first 4 weeks we were giving up 4.9 yards/play for a respectful 7th place in the NFL. The last three weeks we have given up 6.2 yards/play putting us between Tampa Bay and Baltimore at 28th in the League. In Denver we gave up 7.9, just a tenth of a yard better than the NYG and the Skins for 30th. This is also reflected in Time-of-Possession where over the last 3 games where we are dead last in the NFL at 35 minutes for the opposition. The Chargers and Broncos combined for 1,048 yards of offense against the Capers led defense…..interesting to contemplate that, in 7 games, the Broncos have only given up 1,828 yards. While stats make for interesting for bar talk, the more important discussion is “What the hell is going on out there?” One guy thinks he knows... “Our play style wasn’t what it had been, we have to take a good look at that” opined defensive coordinator Dom Capers. When pitted against good running backs we consistently brought 7 and 8 players into the box pre-snap and then dropped into coverage. The last few weeks we’ve lined up 6 or 5 in the box, 2 defensive linemen and the safeties very deep. The play in Denver that epitomizes this is the running TD Denver scored in the 3rd Qtr. On 2nd and 7 from the 28 yard line, GB was line up with the safeties on the goal line, so once C.J. Anderson broke through the first tackler (Joe Thomas) he was free to get into the end zone (see also, WTF). “Running has such a big influence on every aspect of the game, we ended up giving up five big runs. To me the biggest culprit of the game was their ability to get big runs, and that allowed them to get into their play-action game.” Coach Capers observed. We’ve got to come back in here on Wednesday and get back to work. We’ve got to make sure we get back to our play style … against a team with a diverse offense and a quarterback that can do a lot of different things.” That insight from Coach Capers was heartily echoed by Coach McCarthy “It starts with the run, and that was my number one coaching point for the defense. We needed to stop the run…we didn’t accomplish that at all.” That kind of critical thinking and insightful analysis prompts this Coach to blurt out: “No sh#!, Sherlock”. It’s not hard to see we are playing so poorly on D. On Offense we have seen a similar collapse in effectiveness over the last several weeks. While the opposition has averaged 74 plays per game we’ve averaged a mere 51 plays/gm for dead last in the league, when paired with our 20.3 points/game, the offense can be called nothing but anemic. Over the last 3 games we are tied with St Louis for 23rd most prolific scoring offense. What’s wrong? Coach thinks it’s too much P…..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH9qnOb9ghc WTF - The Coach's take on a bad ref call or a bad play call or the like Dom, c’mon, man. You just saw this same offense 2 weeks ago in your last game (when you gave up over 500 yards). Rivers out, Manning in, same game plan … short timing routes designed to get rid of the ball before the QB can get sacked (and another 500 yards gained). Have you no answer for this, my toupee wearing genius? Let me answer for you: load the box, but drop 1 or 2 into coverage after the ball is snapped. Duh. Don’t like that answer? Go watch the game tape of Super Bowl 48 to see how the Seahawks befuddled Manning. That’s the blueprint to stop him. And the run defense? I don’t know what the hell you were trying to do dropping 2 safeties into the end zone with Denver on the 28 yard line – which they still ran in for a touchdown. I realize Matthews was out for that play, but you gotta coach better than that. As one of your last remaining apologists left in Green Bay, I am losing my patience. I won’t go Dan Devine on your puppy, but get it together man or I might succumb to peer pressure soon. Make some damn adjustments, man! WTF! WARNING: this is a preemptive WTF to give you the opportunity to not make this topic next week: ...if I see Cam Newton run a QB draw from the 5 yard line and easily trot up the middle into the end zone, I WILL kill your dog! Clemmy, c’mon, man. It’s no secret your receivers can’t get open, but that’s never stopped A-Rod (or Favre, or even Joel Stave) before. Geez, man, just do the same damn thing that the AFC West is doing to Dom… short timing routes. All you need is a top 10 QB (Rodgers certainly qualifies), and a willingness to release the ball quickly on a 3 step drop. I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt, Tom, and blame this loss on Rodgers for not throwing the ball – but you only get this one. When bored of short timing routes, run the ball (repeat). Even the hapless Colts were effective running the ball against Kuechly & Co. …not obvious in the 1st half, but the continued pounding paid off in the 2nd half and then they could run at will in the 4th quarter. So, Tom, if we stop running Lacy and force more long-developing pass routes into the game plan, Edgar Bennett will be talking into your laminated play sheet on the sideline the following week. ...and you won't get that Titans head coaching job that you've been eyeing up. Teddybear, c'mon, man. You didn't even attempt to get Vernon Davis? ...the guy that was drafted right before you picked AJ Hawk! Davis went to Denver for a 7th round pick -- AFTER we lost the game to them (largely in part because we have zero threat at TE). That's like losing twice to Denver in 2 days. WTF! I hope Davis has some serious bipolar, locker-room-cancer baggage that I don't know about. (exhale / sigh) The Bears Still Suck - the Coach has proof “Hello. I am the Chicago Bears. I suck. I was ahead of the Minnesota Vikings by 7 points with less than 2 minutes left in the game, and I lost by 3 points. In regulation. At home.” Thank you, Bears, for sucking so bad. I knew you would lose, I overtly predicted it, and you did. Why do I care? Because you kept the loathsome Vikings within 1 game of da Pack. …Coach likes the added pressure, as we are capable of not bringing it each week -- which is incited by the local fans in their broasted chicken and beer belly-stretched Packers sweatshirts, who dote over 2nd string offensive linemen making guest appearances at local supper clubs that host Packer-themed radio shows in northeast Wisconsin. It is way too easy to drink the “you’re great” Kool-Aide in Green Bay. But - with those pesky purple shadows, we can’t just rest on our laurels like Christian Laettner. The trade deadline has come and gone. It’s hilarious to Coach that football pundits annually list Bear players as the most likely trade bait as the deadline approaches. The bridesmaid Bears are always the midseason “sellers” and never the mid-season “buyers” – especially ironic that they spend carelessly during the offseason on crap talent and/or force-fit big names into roles they aren't suited for, and then dump those players the following year for a song when they realize that they have no chance to make it to the post season (a.k.a. the “real” season), and that their investment did not pay off (see Jared Allen). This year’s trade-deadline candidates were Alshon Jeffrey (or is it Jeffrey Alshon?) – potentially to Carolina, and Matt “Will” Forte – potentially to Pittsburgh. Even veteran PK Robbie Gould’s name was being “kicked” around (ha ha) as trade material. You might not know that as a young man, Robbie was a heartthrob teen idol acting the lead male role in Ice Castles, and later was the voice of “the Beast” in Disney’s Beauty & The Beast. But he’s no Chester Marcol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA2fHoUkG2g Udder stuff - commentary from the Badger Underground Last Saturday, Bucky took apart the hapless Scarlet Knights of Rutgers 48-10 whose only claims to fame is having played in the original college football game and having Ray "punch her in the face" Rice on their team a few years ago. Around college football, there were more cool things going on with "The Play II" in Miami http://bit.ly/1MfzbgY and Temple screwing up their Cinderella story by almost beating Notre Dame who of course came out of it unscathed with a #5 ranking. Why TF do we not get rid of rankings and use the Badger Underground plan to decide playoff teams? I know, it is too logical. As for this weekend, it looks like the Badgers are falling into their stride as they travel to College Park to dismantle the Maryland Cirque du Soleil Clowns. MD does have an X-factor, Will unLikely. He will be fun to watch running back kicks, but hopefully won't catch Bucky snoozing. Unless he is the second coming of Devin Hester, I look for a replay of last Saturday’s result -- Bucky should wipe the floor with the glad rags out in MD, winning 35-10 and the loss to Iowa will loom bigger and bigger as a woulda shoulda coulda nightmare. Their QB can put up the rushing yards, but not the passing yards. Given Wisconsin’s outstanding LB group, I’m not concerned about him putting up a bunch of points on us. We are much more vulnerable to really good passers, but fortunately have none on our schedule. ILB Orr likely will not play, but WI does get Goldberg back. Maryland has an outstanding DE and very good pass rush. With WI’s OL issues, that would have been a real concern two weeks ago. With Clement back, defenses now have to respect our running game rather than simply teeing off on Stave and daring one of his 4.9 40 receivers to get behind the DBs. Loading the box runs the risk that he gets through the first wave of tacklers and breaks big runs. Being two dimensional should also make it easier for even our receivers to get open. In response to about a thousand emails wondering where the Badger Underground name came from, here is the history. No, it is not a sewer pro expert in Milwaukee. Back in 1986, three bored 20 something professionals living in the Fox Valley decided to take a little road trip. Where the hell is Neenah? To make it more interesting, they gave the quest a mission which was to entice the then Governor, Tony Earl, to sing on the David Letterman show. To accomplish this, they formed Badger Underground as a “non-violent terror” organization to change all those wooden signs saying “Wisconsin Welcomes You” to show the sitting governor as David Letterman. Starting at Kenosha and working in a clockwise fashion, the media picked up on the caper in LaCrosse. A “sleeper cell” in LaCrosse immediately claimed responsibility for the act and the story went viral in a 1986 sort of way, meaning it was on the AP wire service the next Monday. This led to a TV interview on the WBAY Green Bay News (with bags overhead - like the "Unknown Comic" from The Gong Show, and Arab sounding aliases of Omar, Abdul, and Melvin) and a challenge to Tony Earl who characteristically wimped out. It was still fun, though. We're gonna kick your a$$ - predictions for the next game The Carolina Panthers are undefeated, but their resume of victories is unimpressive. In fact, they stink. They smell – like a used diaper filled with Indian food. It’s time to break them Panthers into tiny bits and make musk out of them. They've done studies, you know: 60% of the time, it works every time. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKiSPUc2Jck In reference to defenses slowing us down, McCarthy said “That would be a common approach toward our offense, to just get up and lock the receivers down and make them win. But there’s more to offensive football. We have a lot more to offer than drop back and run pass plays versus bump-and-run.” And this Coach agrees with that comment from coach MM. He is basically saying we’ve become too predictable…so what do we do? Let’s take a page out of coach Eminem’s playbook from 2007.
“Establishing a precedent amid the Green Bay Packers’ kind of history isn’t easy. It’s sort of like a quarterback just shy of his 38th birthday standing exposed for much of a game in an empty backfield, when a Super Bowl-level opponent just knows you’re going to pass, and throwing for 369 yards on the way to an NFL record.” ------ Mike Hunt, September 24, 2007, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Brett Favre didn't need a rocket arm to become the winningest quarterback in NFL history on Sunday. His 17 years of football knowledge and a near-perfect second half against a bad defense were plenty. “ ----- ESPN, September 21st, 2007. “Brett Favre, quarterback, Packers: He did a lot more than establish the all-time NFL record for victories by a starting quarterback (149). Favre was the offensive catalyst for Green Bay, completing 29 of 38 passes to eight receivers for 286 yards, three touchdowns and a passer rating of 112.4” ----- Dick Pufall, Packer Plus, September 20th, 2007. To win Sunday, Coach says use a heavy dose of 5 wides, interspersed with full house backfields and 2 TE’s, will be completely out of character and will put a beat down on one of the best defenses in the league. On Defense we have done well this year when we crowd the box and put the cornerbacks in press-man coverage on the outside. Hey, Dom-Dom, let’s play aggressively like we were a few weeks ago. Let’s go single safety high, press man on the outside and get 8 in the box. Being doubly negative, it hasn't not worked for us yet this year. JB - Packer players you forgot about, but stories you'll remember about them You remember Jeff Query, don’t you? Back in the day, Jeff Query, a.k.a. “White Lightning” was the original Wes Welker -- before being a quick little guy was cool. Of course, in today’s NFL Jeff would not be allowed to play, having both a given name and a nickname that are blatant diversity fouls. Political correctness aside, he was a fan favorite. The same fans that just can’t get enough of Jeff Janis on the field today woulda loved watching Jeff Query play 25 years ago (wait… “Jeff” Janis, “Jeff” Query … both from tiny football college programs and the only Jeff’s to have ever played wide receiver for the Packers? … that’s freaky … just sayin). White Lightening was hard to cover because he was wicked fast, and hard to tackle because he was diminutive and quick. …the kinda guy Belichick keeps around after final roster cuts are made. Jeff’s flowing blond “business in front, party in the back” mullet hairdo was all the rage back then (that, and Metallica back patches on stone washed jean jackets). Query played during the “we almost made the playoffs” years of 1989-1991. He averaged about 14 yards per catch, 21 yards per kick return, and almost 10 yards per punt return. Not bad for a half-pint from tiny Millikin University in Decatur, Illinoise. His QB in GB? …None other than another fan favorite of the day donning a similar haircut, the almost legendary Majic Man, Don Majkowski. Query was a down-to-earth, Midwestern kid and a refreshing break from the receiver that started on the other side of the field, the self-absorbed and smug Sterling Sharpe – who constantly shunned the local media and later, ironically, turned to the media for employment when his football career was cut short by a freak accident that forced him to strap his chin to the back of his helmet. So, as we look forward to battling Carolina, and sorely miss having a receiver that can beat coverage, we pay tribute to a little engine that could: Jeff “White Lightening” Query … sa-lute!
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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
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