BEATEN, BUNGLED AND BITTEN

Pack Loses Ugly on Late Fumble as Injury Bug Bites

Well, that was ugly.

In another record setting performance of a game best described as sloppy the Green Bay Packers dropped to 1 – 2 to open the campaign after blowing a huge lead to the Cincinnati Bengals who came back to take the contest 34- 30.

It was an eye-hiding display, perhaps one of the sloppiest jobs since Mike McCarthy arrived on the scene. The lowlights included a return game charitably categorized as ‘shaky’, a comeback from a 14 point deficit to blowing a 16 point advantage – an NFL record by the way -, two – not one but two – fumbles returned by the defenses for touchdowns, a defense that stuffed the run but could not close out when needed, an uncharacteristic out-of-sync game turned in by Aaron Rodgers, more injuries to key personnel, some very questionable decisions made by the coaching staff both before and during the game and a publicly viewed angry confrontation between Rodgers and McCarthy.

If this game was a smorgasbord it will be one that was preceded by a very nasty appetizer, a sumptuous 9 course banquet and followed by a rancid desert. The Pack put up 30 unanswered points largely due to the effectiveness of their defense. They had to – the offense looked as out of step with each other as the US Congress. The defense did their job by forcing 4 turnovers and producing a TD.

Whew.

Lost in the mess of this game was the unexpected brilliance of rookie Jonathon Franklin who filled

in when the equally unexpectedly brilliant James Starks wrenched a knee. But Franklin will be seen less for his first 100+ yard game as a pro and more for the game altering fumble that gave the lead back to the Bengals.

Give the Bengals some credit. They are not a flashy offensive team. The offense consists of 1) QB Andy Dalton 2) A.J. Green, his superb wideout 3) TE Tyler Eifert, a rookie from Notre Dame who will be a mismatch headache for many years and 4) another rookie in RB Giovani Bernard, the cat quick scatback who is harder to catch than a pig wearing a Crisco flak jacket.

The Packers have learned how to stop the run. Once again they held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing. But the facts are the facts. The Pack is the overall leader in the NFL in points scored but is a measly 28^th in points against. Ugh. That is in Jaguar and Raider territory and NFL playoff teams don’t come from this morass.

Playing without Eddie Lacy, John Kuhn and Morgan Burnett wasn’t made any easier when Jermichael Finley, James Starks and Clay Matthews all went out with injuries. McCarthy made several decisions that will invite the second guessers to have a field day when he chose to go with only 2 healthy running backs, a move even Aaron Rodgers semi questioned after the game. When Starks sprained a knee shortly before the first half closed rookie RB Jonathon Franklin was pressed into service.

Franklin had not seen an NFL field yet. All he did in less than one game was to post 103 yards rushing on 13 carries that included a 51 yard gem that materialized when he swung wide, slowed down like a cagey vet and let the play open up in front of him. As the swarming Bengal defense overran the lanes Franklin sharply cut back against the grain, hit a seam and was gone on a 51 yard dash that showed why the Packers took him in the draft. Whatever Franklin was missing in camp was not evident during the game.

Until.

His last carry was one that will haunt the Packers and McCarthy. After Randall Cobb took a Rodgers

3^rd down pass and stretched himself out to grab a key first down late Bengal boss Marvin Lewis threw the red flag to challenge the spot of the ball. The initial play had Cobb getting a nose of the ball over for the first down; after review the refs moved it back several inches forcing a 4^th and inches situation from the Bengal 29.

McCarthy had plenty of time to decide what to do during the timeout as the zebras went under the hood. He uncharacteristically chose to go for it rather than send Mason Crosby out to try a field goal that would have put the Packers up by 6 and the game in the hands of his defense, a defense that had shut down the explosive Green and Dalton combination all day. It would be a decision McCarthy would come to regret.

While the decision to go for it was suspect the play choice was even more curious. Franklin took the ball and attempted to hurdle the mass of humanity in front of him rather than skirt the edge where he’d had so much success previously. At 5’11” and 205 lbs. Franklin isn’t built like a Lacy or Starks-like power back that can push a line backwards.

DE Michael Johnson, Rodgers personal tormentor all day punched a hand in and found the ball and knocked it free from Franklin’s casual carry. DB Terrence Newman grabbed the ball as Rodgers missed a tackle and went the distance to turn a potential 6 point lead into a 4 point deficit.

The impact was deflating and demoralizing. Rodgers marshaled the troops back down to the Bengal 25 only to have his 4^th down pass batted down by none other than the Bengals Michael Johnson.

The mistakes, lack of focus and commitment to each play was largely lacking. When the Packers offense did find their stride it was in short, staccato hiccups and not the machine that has chewed up yardage and defenders. There is nothing wrong with the Packers running game. The passing game is the Packers’ strength. In this game that strength was not as daunting.

Rodgers threw 2 picks for the day, something he hasn’t done since ’10. So coolly efficient has Rodgers become that the days of the ol’ gunslinger have become as distant as the Packer sweep. Brett Favre was as capable of throwing 6 picks as he was 6 TD’s. But a pedestrian QB rating in the 60’s? For Rodgers?

That’s another matter altogether. Rodgers first interception came when James Jones failed to run a

slant route, a route the Packers use to bludgeon defenses. When Jones cut his route off Rodgers threw the ball where he expected Jones to be but directly into the hands of a wide eyed Terrence Newman. CB Leon Hall maintained superb body position and angle to steal one away from Cobb later. Both Cobb and Jones acknowledged their shortcomings; Jones later took the blame for hanging Rodgers out to dry by getting creative when he did not need to and Cobb said he did not do enough to make sure the pass would not be intercepted.

The Bengals were hardly a model of efficiency. The Dalton Gang looked sharp on their opening drive moving 90 yards in 5 ½ minutes tom open the scoring. Return man Jeremy Ross added to his unimpressive resume of return gaffes by butterfingering the ensuing kick that gave the ball right back to the Bengals on the 2. There was no Bungle in the Bengals as they quickly pounced upon the gaffe to open a 14 point lead early.

But it was the defense that got the Packers into the game. After the early handicap the Packer defense forced Cincy to kick the ball timer and again. Mason Crosby hit all his field goal attempts and it wasn’t until Clay Matthews flying strip of the ball that safety M.D. Jennings took back to the house that the Pack had a touchdown to show for their efforts. Matthews was a clear force in the game until he exited after pulling the same hamstring that planked him numerous times in the past. The absence of Matthews hurt the Packers in the 3^rd period when Dalton was able to drive the Bengals to 2 scores.

30 unanswered points should be more than enough to demoralize a team and put them away. But the Bengals kept coming back in the second half. Dalton found Green for a TD strike to begin the Bengals comeback then later hit Marvin Jones for a TD and all of a sudden the Bengals were in the thick of things. The Bengals refused to fold under pressure and their superb front four continued to apply pressure on Rodgers all day.

While the line has become far more adept at opening lanes for the Packer backs (this is a true anomaly – Green Bay has posted consecutive 100+ yard outings by a back since the days of Clark Hinkle) their protection of Rodgers, rather their glaring lack of protection of Rodgers, is something that needs to be addressed during the bye week.

The bye week, while early, may be coming at an opportune moment. Jermichael Finley took a

vicious blow to the head from S George Iloka and was staggering as he was led off the field. While the league has emphasized penalizing players for head high hits the fact remains the Packers have suffered an inordinate amount of injuries stemming from such acts. Finley figured to play a large role in the Packers game plan and his absence was sorely felt. TE Andrew Quarless dropped the first ball his way and the TE positions was never able to take advantage of the speed mismatch against the slower Bengal LB’s after Finley departed.

One moment that may play out repeatedly over the down time was that of a furious Aaron Rodgers visibly tearing into McCarthy. B.J. Raji was seen leading Rodgers away and after getting an earful from his star QB McCarthy fired right back. While Rodgers and McCarthy will never be mistaken for coach killer Jay Cutler and Lovie Smith it was an unsettling sight to witness the Packers squabbling among themselves. No doubt the national media will take this ball and run with it, especially considering the oncoming bye week. Afterwards both Rodgers and McCarthy refused to publicly divulge what was said and, to their credit, each essentially said the same thing about the other man being “…passionate and competitive and things are said in the heat of the moment…”

Rodgers seemed particularly irked by what appeared to be erratic play calling and package substitutions by McCarthy in the red zone. “It’s hard to get a rhythm with guys coming in and out” said Rodgers afterwards, and his visible frustration after a short running attempt was stuffed at the goal line was the first shot across the bow.

To be fair McCarthy, like Rodgers, has had better games. Perhaps lost is the steady consistency both have demonstrated over the years that the thought of them not being on the same page and the sight of a public quarrel is cause for concern. On game time decision that is certain to draw criticism was McCarthy’s choice to play with only 2 healthy running backs, and invitation to disaster. While Franklin showed the explosive flash for which he was drafted he nonetheless was at the eye of the hurricane on the backbreaking fumble that gave the Bengals the lead. Even Rodgers questioned the boss’ decision to play with only 2 backs. And given Starks own history of injuries in retrospect the decision was rife for disaster.

Given time both will return to their own ways. Of a bigger concern to McCarthy than his QB has to

be the suddenly awful decision making made by return man Jeremy Ross. Going back to last year Ross famously fumbled a punt against San Francisco in the playoffs that let them back into the game and jumpstarted the Niners to a momentum changing win. Ross has not run with authority and put the Pack behind the 8 ball when a hesitant return against the same 49ers in the opener put the Pack on the 9 to start the drive.

This game was just as ugly for Ross. After Dalton opened the game with a scoring drive Ross immediately misplayed the kickoff and Cincinnati recovered on the 2 to go up 14 – before the Packers even touched the ball.

Later Ross was even shakier when with one foot in bounds and the other out of bounds he fielded a wobbling kickoff that just barely went out of bounds at the 1. Had Ross even touched the ball in that scenario it should have drawn a penalty and there was surprising little mention of the sanity of Ross’ allowing such a shaky play to develop. McCarthy may have to entirely rethink the return game. The decision to go with Ross over camp sensation Antoine Walker as the 5^th WR is being challenged. Will this open the door for CB Micah Hyde or even Franklin? McCarthy simply cannot afford to have Ross give away any more points and at this point Ross cannot be trusted to get the job done.

In the bye week this Packer team must look at itself in the mirror. Rodgers and McCarthy will mend their fences quickly. Mending the ailing and infirmed may be more daunting. Lacy, S Morgan Burnett and missing FB John Kuhn are all expected back as is Finley.  Starks and Matthews now have 2 weeks to heal.

Healing the body is one thing. But the mental aspect of what a game like this can do to a team will test the resolve of everyone from the coaches on down. Easily the Packers could be 3 – 0. The offense can put points up. The offensive line has to cut down on the hurries, hits, pressures, knockdowns and sacks of Rodgers and Dom Capers has to cut down on the scoring as well as tightening the pass defense. Burnett has been a far greater hole in the secondary than most realize. The safety spot has suddenly become a very weak area and opponents are now firing at will, daring the Packers to make a play. Jerron MacMillian has played so poorly he has been benched in favor of rookie UDFA Chris Banjo. Burnett’s return is sorely needed and should greatly improve the position immediately.

 

As the Packers enter the divisional play part of the season they are already 2 games behind unbeaten Chicago and have to extricate themselves from the early hole they have dug. Detroit continues to be their own worst enemy while Minnesota has yet to post a win. Green Bay has to do more than hope for a back door trip into the playoffs. The bye week is here, and while early not a moment too soon.