I really don’t have much to rant about except maybe the active list. I feel Tolzien should be starting in
place of Flynn. What little time we have seen Flynn this year he has not impressed me. He throws very dangerous passes when he does throw and even on the hand offs he is either running into the running back or he telegraphs his play so the defense knows whats coming. Also I understand that Janis is still raw and they are bringing him along slow but I believe he is better than Dorsey so why was Janis benched again soon as they brought Dorsey of the practice squad? This in my opinion does not make much sense!
place of Flynn. What little time we have seen Flynn this year he has not impressed me. He throws very dangerous passes when he does throw and even on the hand offs he is either running into the running back or he telegraphs his play so the defense knows whats coming. Also I understand that Janis is still raw and they are bringing him along slow but I believe he is better than Dorsey so why was Janis benched again soon as they brought Dorsey of the practice squad? This in my opinion does not make much sense!
If they want this young man to learn then give him some playing time. Especially when they have a lead like this game he could have been playing to get the feel of the game but by having him inactive, he misses these important opportunities. Jones is another one in my opinion that can not play football he has had how many years now to prove he is worth a spot on the roster and has yet to show he has what it takes so bench him and activate Bradford and same with him as Janis if they get that big lead put him in to get some playing time. It’s the only way these young men will get better.
Ok Raves, What was not to like? The offense came out smoking their first possession and the defense did the same thing on theirs with a three and out.This was pretty much the message that set the tone for the rest of this game. The defense holding the Panthers to five yards total for the first quarter was just epic defensive ball and Newton was pinned in the pocket for most of this game which is how you beat a read option offense. Matthews finally had a game worthy of his talents. I said before the game if Matthews showed up they would win hands down and that’s exactly what happened. As a whole the defense was stellar against the run and the secondary was all over the receivers to stop the pass. If the defense keeps playing this type of football I will start to get giddy again about having a shot at the Super Bowl! And what can you say about this offense that everyone doesn’t already know? Aaron is on top of his game! He just keeps getting better each game if that’s even possible. With 19 of 22 and 255 yards with 3 TD’s and a 154.5 passer rating he will be hard to beat against any team. If the critics are not sold on who is the best tandem receivers in the NFL they are not watching Nelson and Cobb because those two are amazing! Their ability to gain yards after the catch is off the hook. The moves Cobb and Nelson puts on defenses secondary is pure poetry in motion. And Eddie Lacy looks to be getting back into last years form as well and if that is true, this offense will be hitting its stride at just the right time to make a big run down the stretch.
Okay I know everyone needs to get to work so leave me your thoughts in the comments section below.
GPG
Jeff
Post-Game Rant and Rave
I said the same thing about our defense, particularly the OLB’s. If they can stay outside on the read option, it would take away a dimension of C.Newton’s game. I too thought this was C. Mathews best game so far. Very disciplined.
Rants:
I assume Jeff that you’re referring to Brad “Jones”? I didn’t see him on the field. I agree that Brad Jones should not be on our roster. Barrington got the start and shared time with Lattimore opposite Hawk. All 3 played well. I’m not convinced that Bradford or Hubbard would have done any better. I hope you’re not referring to Datone “Jones”, who is a valuable piece of our D.
Playing Dorsey was strange. Maybe they designed that play specifically for him. I think Janis’ speed would be more effective than Dorsey’s size on that play.
I agree that Tolzien should be playing instead of Flynn. I’m grateful to Flynn for what he has done in the past, but he has not moved our offense at all this year. Tolzien outplayed Flynn in every preseason game, so the decision to go with Flynn is mind boggling to me. He put us in a very tough spot punting from the end zone with the ball on the 1 yard line. Flynn looks for his primary short receiver, and then looks to run. He does not follow his progressions and seems afraid to throw over 5 yards. To be fair, I’m not sure how much McCarthy’s play calling was a factor though. When you call run, run, pass (and the D knows you’re trying to kill the clock), it puts a lot of pressure on Flynn to make his few passes count.
Speaking of play calling, we wasted great field position at the end of the half as he called a sweep with Lacy on 3rd and 4 which lost 6 yards and forced us to punt. Newton was then able to get a FG. If we’re going to run in that situation, call a play which has Lacy going into the line with a head of steam, rather than east and west. Lacy’s weakness is that he hesitates to pick a hole. Sweeps and draws play to that weakness, so run him at the line so that he reacts instead of thinks. That drive, and that specific play, ruined an otherwise almost perfect half by our offense.
McCarthy’s challenge was ridiculous. At least he’s consistent in that regard.
I’d like to have seen our D finish as strong as they started. We dominated time of possession early, but it was even by the end of the game. The Panthers should not have gotten 2 TDs at the end.
Matthews needs to keep his mouth shut. His taunting penalty resulted in a TD, instead of 3rd and 16 with a sack. Having said that, I don’t know what was actually said and it seems there’s a fine line between trash talking which is allowed on every play, and taunting which is rarely called.
Too many penalties. Late in the game we looked sloppy, need to clean that up.
We’re going to struggle with the Saints if we can’t cover a TE. Olsen is a good TE, but not as good as we made him look. If we could have limited his receptions and yards after the catch, the Panthers would not have scored 17 points.
Harris is not a kick returner. He fumbled a kick resulting in starting from the 10 yard line. When he fields it cleanly from deep in the end zone, he almost always brings it out. We’re better off starting from the 20 without risking him being tackled short of it or getting penalties during his run backs. This is where I’d like to see Janis getting on the field. No way we should be risking Cobb and Hyde on punts. Janis has shown better decisions than Harris, more explosiveness, and ensures Cobb and Hyde can remain healthy. Every returner had problems in the rain game, so Janis should get a chance to prove himself again.
Raves:
The offense looked incredible for the most part. Rodgers missed 2 throws the entire game, 1 being an open Rodgers in the back of the end zone. If he completes that, he has a perfect QBR.
McCarthy called more plays with Rodgers under center. Running from that formation is much more effective than handing the ball to flat footed Lacy/Starks from shotgun. Both Lacy and Starks made big plays when hitting the line with speed. The play action pass was also more effective in that formation.
Matthews and Peppers bull rushed constantly rather than going around the edge or through the middle. That’s how you beat the read option, don’t give the QB a read. Very well done! Guion, Boyd, Daniels, and Pennel constantly pushed the pocket back from the middle so that Newton had nowhere to go. Excellent play by the entire front 7 in this game – until the 4th quarter.
Stuffing Newton on 3rd and 4th down runs was huge. We had penetration from several positions against running plays all day long. Excellent effort by everyone.
Our CBs took their WRs out of the game all day long. Hayward got another INT and it’s great to see him returning to form. House and Williams were solid.
S play was outstanding. HHCD made some great plays and only whiffed on 1 tackle that I recall, while leading the D in tackles for the first time. Richardson also stepped up big vs the run. Hyde also made plays and was sound. I don’t like to see anyone get hurt, but I still say we’re better off without Burnett on the field for the most part.
This was the most complete game this season by the Pack on both sides of the ball. I was shocked to see how well they shut down Cam and his WRs until the 4th quarter. I expected this game to be close, and possibly an upset. Nelson and Cobb made huge plays. Our run game looked better. Our D played great as a unit. ST wasn’t special. We still have room for improvement, but I’m very happy with our team in this game. Go Pack go!
Yes David I mean Brad Jones and I know he did not play but he was active and what I was trying to point out is he needs to be inactive and let Bradford be so if they do get a lead like this in a game he could get some play time to learn the speed of the game! If he is unactive he misses out on opportunities like this.
David & Jeff, I feel that you have too many rants.
Tolzien over Flynn? Who produced in games that mattered last year? Tolzien gets less practice time than Flynn during the week, what makes you think he’d be better?
Janis? He’s a very raw 7th round pick at a position of strength. Speed alone is not enough to make it in this offense. Dorsey must have graded higher on special teams coverage.
Play calling? You do realize that Rodgers can audible out of every formation, right? It wasn’t a bad call, it was poor execution.
How many catches did Olsen have in the first half? Why do you think he was open in the fourth quarter? When you are up by 30+ points the safeties are moved deeper in coverage to prevent a quick score. Let them throw underneath all day. Wins matter more than points. If you really need to blame somebody for those 14 points blame McCarthy for pulling Rodgers, that sent a message that Green Bay was taking its foot off the gas.
Complaining about who is the 5th receiver, or the backup QB, or playing loose with a 30+ point lead late in the game? I’ll take it. Just be glad that Green Bay isn’t imploding like the Chicago Bears, THEY have real problems.
Why does everyone go back to last year? This is football and it is a what have you done for me lately game not what did you do for me last year! I respect as much as anyone what Flynn did last year but IMO the only reason he is even on the roster is because they gave him a one year deal! Tolzein out played him all through camp and preseason so yes he should be #2 and will be after this year mark it down as me going on record for saying that Flynn will be gone after this year!
Actually you’re not the first person I’ve seen say that Flynn will be gone after this year. And it’s not the first time that I’ll point out that he still has another year left on his contract – but Tolzien does not. I’d be surprised if they don’t resign Tolzien and keep both for another year.
David he will not make the 53 next year Tolzein will and Flynn will go to the PS not saying he will be gone all together but he will not be on the active roster IMO.
I believe they’d have to cut Flynn, and then resign him to the PS – unless they want to pay his full salary for not being on the active roster. I doubt that either of those things happen.
Scott if only seeing the good in wins floats your boat, good for you. Lombardi was tougher on his players after wins than losses. That’s the train of thought to which I subscribe. The perfect football has never been played. You will strive for perfection and never obtain it, but in the process you will achieve excellence. Not a direct quote, but you get the idea.
McCarthy calls the plays and personnel for an entire series at a time. Rodgers can audible, but only to what personnel he has on the field. EG; when you don’t have a TE on the field it’s more difficult audible to a run. Execution is part of the problem, but it’s not the entire problem. I don’t know how well McCarthy would react to changing from a sweep to a dive play, and neither do you. But I bet Rodgers does. His audible options are somewhat limited.
Olsen was targeted 3 times in the first half and had 3 receptions for 27 yards. He was critical in the 2 minute drill where the Panthers got a FG before half time. He was targeted 8 times total for 8 catches.
And points always matter, as does getting opposing offenses off the field.
Flynn only gets more practice time because he’s ahead of Tolzien on the depth chart. I think you and McCarthy have this one very wrong.
Even if you insist on going back to last year, then be fair to Tolzien. He was picked up from San Fran’s practice squad in week 1 – after we cut our 2 backup QBs. He came off the practice squad when Rodgers was hurt, and was thrust into action the following week when Wallace was hurt. Tolzien had 0 practice with the number 1 offense prior to that, and was learning the offense from scratch. He still moved the team pretty well, but his turnovers got him benched. Rodgers, Manning, and Brady would not have fared much better in that situation with a new team, new offense, and no practice time.
In comes Flynn, who knew the offense very well and had not only practiced with the 1st team, but played in games with them previously. He had a good 3rd quarter vs MN, then couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the 4th quarter and OT. He squeaked out a win vs Atlanta who were without their top 2 WRs. He had 1 terrible half and one great half vs Dallas’s worst D in the NFL.
Your argument for Flynn is largely hypothetical. We’ll never know if Tolzien would have accomplished the same results as Flynn when he wasn’t playing, and visa versa.
I disagree that preseason games don’t matter. They mean everything for backups who are fighting for jobs. There was tremendous pressure on Tolzien to perform in order to win a spot on the roster, and Tolzien outplayed Flynn in every one of them. Flynn was only sharp in the last game. Tolzien was sharp in all 4 of them.
Fast forward to the regular season. Flynn’s first pass was an INT. It was a terrible decision and terrible pass vs the Vikings. He hasn’t scored in 2 full quarters and hasn’t managed to keep a drive alive. But he’s your man? We’ll have to agree to disagree. Go Pack go!