‘A.D.’ = ALL DONE

Packers Put Peterson Away/

Vikes Flounder WithoutPonder
 

 

The lead up to the NFC Wild Card game between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers seemed to be ‘Adrian Peterson this’ and ‘Adrian Peterson that’. Peterson –also known as A.D. (‘All Day’ for his relentless pounding running style) had a remarkable MVP-worthy campaign in falling just 9 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time NFL season rushing record and he did it on a surgically repaired knee that fixed both the ACL and MCL which were shattered only one calendar year ago. The Packers offense woke up and the defense rose mightily in turning back the Vikings with a 24 -13 win, and win aided largely when Viking QB Christian Ponder, fresh off his finest game as a pro the previous week against Green Bay, was unable to play after a whack he absorbed from S Morgan Burnett last week.

It would be up to the redoubtable Joe Webb and Peterson to run Minny further in the playoff race.

The praise heaped on Peterson was well earned. Peterson had strapped the Vikings on his back and carried them all year and ran them into the playoffs after he racked up 199 yards last week against the same Packers in a last do or die game. Peterson is respected, nay feared, in most quarters in the NFL and with good reason. His size, strength, speed, vision and cutting ability put him in a class by himself. His totals for the year were so astounding he was 500 yards ahead of his nearest competitor at the running back position. When considering the Packers leading rusher for the season Alex Green had a TOTAL of 464 yards that fact is staggering.

But sometimes ‘respect’ can turn into ‘fear’ rendering a defense unable to make a play and making the player even better.

In the opening round matchup the Packers defense simply had enough of the Adrian Peterson love fest and went back to a basic, smashmouth pound Peterson relentlessly and force him to beat them mentality. And – it worked.

Adrian Peterson is a great eventual Hall of Famer. Dom Capers is a pretty smart guy who has a pretty good defense at his disposal as well. After watching Peterson gain 418 yards against his defense the message was sent loudly about stopping Peterson and tackling better. Check and check; the Packers executed their game plan on both sides of the ball almost to a ‘T’ in running away with the win. The only area of any concern truly was the Vikings opening drive and the fact that, unlike Tennessee 3 weeks ago, the Packers could not finish off with authority against the pass starved Vikes.

When Ponder took the field to try to throw with a badly bruised elbow and triceps he got when Burnett whacked him on a blitz last week he could get nothing on hid throws – no velocity and less accuracy. Inserted into the lineup was the former 6^th round pick Joe Webb who could also have been mistaken for Cob Webb from sitting in the bench so long. Entering the game he became the first QB in NFL history to start a playoff game with zero pass attempts for the year. Yikes.

Some in the media, like the NFL Network’s Tony Dungy, had a serious case of man-love for Webb and his 4.4 speed and the X-Factor quality he brought to the table. Webb showed his elusiveness on the Vikings first drive in engineering a march that stalled at the Packers 11. Yes, Webb used his head and his feet to get Minnesota in position and was an early nightmare matchup for the Packers but sooner or later, in a passing league a QB is going to have to throw the ball and use his arm.

 

The Vikings would have been better off with Ponder. Webb’s throws sailed high, wide, long, short, skipped like stones on a pond and in general were an eye-covering disaster. His first pass attempt fell 3 yards short of a wide open Kyle Rudolph and bounced off the Lambeau turf and struck the Viking TE square in the shins.

Once the Packers and Capers realized what they would be facing after spotting the Vikings a 3- 0 lead it became open season on Webb. In the process the Packers defense finally found the answer to Peterson. Peterson’s vision and cutback on a dime ability gives him the chance to hit the edge and cut upfield where he does most of his damage. Knowing how AD had gashed the Packers in the past Capers stressed the importance of such fundamentals as gap control, patience and tackling. Peterson can put the fear of God into opposing CB’s who attempt to tackle a runaway truck when he gets going.

But this day and game would be vastly different. For one thing Charles Woodson was back after missing 9 games with a broken collarbone. No one will ever accuse Woodson of being afraid to lay a lick on someone. Energized by the return of their defensive leader the Packers contained Peterson by stretching defensive players along the outside edge and eliminating the holes Peterson could exploit.

And when the Packers tackled it was seldom one on one, an unfair advantage Peterson enjoys. Unless it was B.J. Raji or Ryan Pickett, both of whom were terrific in bottling up the middle of the field, the Packers were gang-tackling Peterson whenever and wherever they could. Keeping Peterson in check was made much easier without Ponder as Webb was in over his head.

Containing Peterson and tackling better were not the only things the Packers improved. The much maligned offensive line looked like a completely different unit. While DE Jared Allen was credited with 1 sack LT Marshall Newhouse more than held his own against the Vikings’ sack master. On the other side of the line rookie RT Don Barclay rebounded from an awful game against Brian Robison and Robison was held in check. Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy made some subtle adjustments to the blockings scheme employing his TE’s in chip blocks before releasing into their routes. In spite of an end zone drop TE Jermichael Finley had a good game especially in helping out on chips. Robison was kept off balance literally; a Finley chip sent Robison staggering into the middle of his own pass rush like a drunk looking for a lamppost on New Year’s Eve.

Aaron Rodgers wore the look of a man determined to shut up the talk heads’ gushing over Peterson. No one wears a chip on his shoulder better than Arod and Rodgers responded with a big game in a big game. In all Rodgers hit 10 different receivers throughout the day making it all but impossible for the Vikings to key on any individual. Former car salesman and rookie RB DuJuan Harris continues to grow and provide enough yardage to force defenses to respect the Packers running game. Harris picked up 1 TD on a sprint up the middle and he stretched the entirety of his 5’8” frame over the goal line for the score.

Longtime Packer folk hero John Kuhn resurrected the “Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhn!!” call with 2 TD’s of his own. Kuhn has grown so well into his role he even has his Lambeau Leap all but perfected launching himself into the seats on both of his touchdowns.

And yet, even as the Packers held a commanding lead at 24- 3 a blown coverage gave Minnesota the faintest flicker of hope and their final 7 points when Webb hit Michael Jenkins for a 50 yard bomb. Over the last 20 minutes of the game the Packers were more content to run the clock down and pin the Vikes deep on P Tim Masthay’s booming punts. And in those final 20 minutes Webb’s passing yardage went from a pedestrian 61 yards to 180 yards where he finished for the day.

The Packers deferred the opening kickoff once again and Minnesota marched down the field, stalling only when Webb was forced into becoming a passer. The tactic paid off as Rodgers led a furious hurry-up drive to end the first half when he zinged a missile into Jordy Nelson at the 2 and Kuhn bulled it in from there. Packers took the kickoff to open the 3^rd quarter and marched down the field much like the Vikings did, and when their own drove stalled Minnesota did what Minnesota does best… they loaded the gun, cocked the hammer, took aim at their own foot and then pulled the trigger.

On a 4^th and 4 from their own 12 as K Mason Crosby lined up for a field goal somehow the Vikings managed to slip a 12^th man onto the field. Viking coach Leslie Frazier’s actions said it all when he yanked off his head set and angrily rolled his eyes. The call of too many men on the field gave the Packers exactly what no team wants to do if they want to be successful; they gave Rodgers another bite at the apple, a bite he turned into another 6 points with a 9 yard toss to Kuhn who pinballed his way into the end zone. On consecutive half ending and half opening drivers the Packers drove the stake right through the heart of the Vikings with 14 points.

The Vikings self-destruct was activated fully when punt returner Marcus Sherels took his eyes off a punt as the Packers herd closed in giving Green Bay the ball and more time to kill the clock. Webb also sacked himself and Clay Matthews was given credit as he was lying face down on the ground and Webb tripped over the prone Matthews’ legs. Matthews looked more conventional later in a sack, strip, fumble and recovery on Webb later in the game.

Matthews’ play was made possible by the terrific outing by opposite OLB Erick Walden. When the season opened 1^st round pick Nick Perry was taking the snaps but after a season ending wrist injury put him out Walden stepped in and has stepped up his play. Walden had a great day with a sack and his constant harassment of Webb.

For his part Rodgers was 23 of 22 for 274 yards, 1 TD and no picks, but afterwards his description of the offense was they were just “average” and all too true assessment.

Now the Packers must fly to the left coast to take on a vastly different team than they faced in the first week of the season in San Francisco. But clearly, the Packers are not the same team they were when they lost by a count of 30 – 22.

The game against Minnesota minus Ponder was largely a laugher, a throwaway game. It was also a great warm up to another team with an athletic running quarterback, a strong ground game and a good front four that can generate a pass rush. Rodgers, McCarthy, and Matthews & Co. know they have no such luxury in preparing for the heavyweight match against the Niners. While Frank Gore is not Adrian Peterson, Colin Kaepernick is not Joe Webb.

It’s the 90’s all over again as the powerhouse Packers face the resurgent 49ers.