WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Pack Looks to Keep Rolling in Cincy

Fresh off an impressive beast down of the Washington Redskins the Green Bay Packers hit the road this week to take on the Dalton Gang in Cincinnati against the Bengals. Aaron Rodgers and the now high flying Packers offense lock horns with Andy Dalton who has a fairly impressive set of weapons at his disposal. The key to this game will be in the defenses abilities to match up with the opposing offense.

One thing that will allow Dom Capers and the Packer D to breathe easier is the fact they will not be facing a read option running quarterback this week. Dalton has the lateral movement of the Statue of Liberty and his infrequent runs are for his life and not by design. The Bengals do not depend on Dalton to run them out of trouble; the offense is geared around ball control and keeping the rock away from the other team.

This is a defense strategy many teams will choose as Rodgers is playing like a man on fire.

His only blemish on the year is hardly his fault; a pass intended for TE Jermichael Finley bounced off his hands and Finley tipped it to a defender giving Rodgers his lone INT for the season. Finley is showing early signs of finally blossoming and becoming the star the Packers believed he could be when he was drafted.

Finley has had celebrated maturity issues since arriving in Green Bay. At first he was a petulant man child and when his demands for seeing more throws became more public a frosty relationship developed between him and the guy delivering the mail in Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers is hardly exempt from Finley’s maturity process; Rodgers has been slighted at almost every level in his career and has famously had a chip on his shoulder that can resemble a lumber yard. When Finley went to the press to decry the Packers QB Rodgers responded by almost eliminating Finley from the offense altogether.

But things have a funny way of working out. Rodgers and Finley sat down out of the glare of the public eye and hacked out their differences in private like men and not two schoolyard children. While the rest of the world is not privy to the exchange between them it has been evident that whatever issues that once existed are in the past.

Finley has had a long history of drops, especially at key junctures in the game. Those drops drove Rodgers’ confidence in his Tight End into the toilet and Rodgers looked to Finley only as a last resort. Finley, to his credit, began to get that he had as large a role in the fallout as Rodgers. Whining to the press is no way to curry favor from Arod.

Finley began to shut up. And, in the process, grow up.

Starting last year Finley publicly put the blame for his drops on himself. He promised to

donate $100 to charity for every drop he had and slowly began to produce consistently. Finley is a freak of an athlete; essentially he is a wide receiver in a tight end’s body. The size differential mismatch potential against opposing DB’s was what Mike McCarthy had envisioned for the big fella. Finley has the speed to run away from linebackers and the size to outmuscle cornerbacks. All along Finley has had the tools. But using his size and athleticism to his advantage has been a painstaking process.

In the past Finley’s drop he had in the opener against San Francisco would have drawn an icy stare from Rodgers and a spot on Exile Island where he would be treated like a leper. This year Rodgers went right up to Finley on the sideline and said “Don’t worry about it big fella… I’m coming right back to you.”

And Rodgers did just that. On the next play the Packer offense ran from scrimmage Rodgers targeted Finley who held onto the ball. That tiny act of confidence has been huge for Finley and his psyche. Rodgers has been lights out already in the early part of the year and Finley shows all the signs of finally having that monster breakout year so eagerly anticipated.

“He’s reading coverages much better now” said Rodgers. “The game is slowing down for him and he’s getting open quicker and understanding his routes much better and running them cleaner.” The term ‘cleaner’ has become a part of the Packer lexicon in the McCarthy administration. Cleaner simply means precise, exact, defined. Follow the play as it is written, get to the open area quickly and with authority and Rodgers will take care of the rest.

In the moments of improvisation Finley is showing he can also adjust on the fly. Witness his

aerial snag of a touchdown last week against the ‘Skins. From the red zone Rodgers took the shotgun snap, rolled to his right and waited for the play to develop. As Finley broke left he saw the designed play was now in free form. Finley made the adjustment by tracking back to Rodgers and caught Rodgers’ attention as he maneuvered back to the right. In the middle of the vastly overmatched defenders Rodgers threw a Joe Montana-esque air ball that caught Finley at the top of his leap a good 12 feet or so from the ground. The poor sap covering Finley went eyeball to bellybutton as Finley’s 6’5” frame and reach made defending him only possible with a ladder and a 10 foot pole.

The inclusion of Finley into the offense along with the Big 3 of Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and James Jones makes defending the Packer attack daunting.

And as if that wasn’t enough forgotten man RB James Starks had his “Oh yeah??? Well get a load of THIS…” game last week by exploding thru a tough Redskin defense for 132 yards and a TD. Rookie RB Eddie Lacy has not yet been cleared after sustaining a concussion last week so Starks gets the nod to start. The run game will be a key element as the Bengals have stout run defense led by DE Geno Atkins and a linebacking corps headed by Rey Maluaga and James Harrison. While the Bengals have a good front 7 they are susceptible deep and over the middle as their safety and corner play can sometimes get very shaky. CB Leon Hall has moments where he looks like a second skin on a wideout but in the next breath couldn’t cover a bed with a blanket.

Former 1^st rounder S Taylor Mays is an athletic freak who looks for the big hit and yet can

trip over his own feet and has a maddening habit of turning the wrong way or worse turning his back to the ball in coverage. In order for Rodgers to be successful two very important things are going to have to happen.

The Packers must continue to be able to run the ball. Running the ball keeps the clock and the chains moving and keeps the defense off the field. Secondarily giving Rodgers enough time to throw is paramount. While Rodgers has been sacked 6 times already (currently on the same pace as last year’s butt-ugly 51 sacks) there is a huge difference. The sacks have not yet been game changers. The young offensive line shows signs of improving every game and will be tested against the Bengal pass rush.

The Bengals’ Andy Dalton has a fair amount of weapons on his side. Dalton lacks the arm strength to challenge defenses deep but is a very accurate short range passer. More of a West Coast offense the Bengals will look to find A.J. Green, the superb WR who always manages to find open territory and rookie TE Tyler Eifert who is growing into a starters spot. RB Ben Jarvus Green – Ellis has seen his minutes and touches wane as rookie speed back Giovanni Bernard gains more of head coach Marvin Lewis’ confidence. Bernard exploded last week against the suddenly declining Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night for 2 touchdowns. He’ll be a back that B.J. Raji and Johnny Jolly will have to bottle up if the Packers look to throttle the Bengals.

Dalton has the tools on his side. Rodgers has more. And Rodgers is Rodgers. That alone is enough to give the Packers the advantage in this one. It might be close at the half but the Pack pulls away and heads into the bye week looking to get the ailing – Lacy and S Morgan Burnett – healthy when they resume in the divisional matchups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Cincinnati  13   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     GREEN BAY 30