CAROLINA ON MY MIND
Packers Host Cam Newton
and Panthers
as they Look to Keep Rolling
After a sluggish
start at 1-2 the Green Bay Packers are getting ready to start hitting their
stride. Up until the first half of the game in week 4 against the Bears the Packers
had been the epitome of an up and down squad destined for the NFL’s black hole
of mediocrity… make that parity.
Then
something happened. The Pack swarmed all over the Bears in the 2nd half, stomped the hapless
Vikings, pulled out a nail-biting, last second Aaron Rodgers miracle against Miami and now the Pack is riding high
once again. The numbers haven’t been pretty, especially on defense. At or very near
the bottom in run defense and points allowed and the offense wasn’t exactly
lighting it up either. A bottom dwelling run game looks as ugly as it sounds.
Thus far James Starks has outplayed Eddie Lacy although Lacy has shown
signs of getting back to his record breaking rookie of the year form.
In the comic
strips Charlie Brown once told Lucy “Tell
your statistics to shut up.” Mike McCarthy
is also of the same mindset implying stats are for losers who can manipulate
them to say anything they want to have them say. True enough. If the Packers
are to be measured by their stats alone the above would paint a very bleak
picture and give fuel to the media frenzy driven angst among the fans.
Statistics
do not tell the entire story. Rodgers
and McCarthy have come to the understanding that stats can be but are not
exactly a necessary tool. The only stat that either one really cares about is
the only one that really matters… the W-L column. Tied with the Detroit for 1st
place in the NFC North the Packers are ready to flex some muscle. Under new
coach Jim Caldwell the Lions are a clear
and present danger as Caldwell has
them playing a much more disciplined game and has cut down on the mistakes for
which Detroit had become famous. But the Lions now are faced with playing the
next few games without Calvin Johnson,
and Megatron is only the most important piece in the Lions attack.
Those are
circumstances over which the Pack has no control, and it all becomes a moot
point if Green Bay can’t make hay while the sun is shining. This week the Pack
faces the Carolina Panthers and Cam
Newton. Historically the Packers have had trouble in facing these ‘new-age’
QB’s whose combination of passing prowess and ability to run make them so
lethal to Green Bay. The list of rogues would in include Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick who have been veritable thorns
in the side of the Pack’s D. Now they have to contend with Newton.
Newton is a big, rangy athlete whose
exploits are well documented. In his rookie season he set new records for
passing yards against the Pack. There is no measure of revenge to be sight;
give the devil his due… Newton is a
pretty solid QB. CB’s Sam Shields (knee)
and Tramon Williams (ankle) are both questionable and Shields’ injury will probably keep him out on Sunday. Williams is progressing but no word has
been made yet about his availability. DE
Datone Jones’ bothersome ankle is cause for concern. McCarthy said earlier this week of Jones “He’s not recovering as fast as we thought. It’s not
coming along. Tested it yesterday”. No word has been made of ILB Jamari Lattimore’s neck that has kept
him to limited practice time this week. On the recovery front LB Sam Barrington and DT Josh Boyd were
both full participants in practice this week.
Boyd’s return would
help to take the load off Letroy Guion
in the NT position. Guion has done
the unheralded grunt work inside and has helped to create a pass rush the likes
of which the Packers haven’t seen in some time. Even if Guion and DE Mike Daniels
aren’t getting the sacks there is a consistent amount of pocket pressure,
hurries, and hits on the QB to disrupt opponents attack strategies. Guion has found new life in Green Bay
after being cut free from the Vikings. Guion
was a free agent and while Julius
Peppers grabbed the headlines the signing of Guion, a former first rounder, may turn out to be a long term
bonanza along the lines of signing Ryan Pickett.
The Panthers are much more than Newton and his ability to stretch the paly with his feet. Head Coach Ron Rivera has cobbled
together a ferocious defense even with the loss of DE Greg Hardy suspended for his off field domestic violence issues.
MLB Luke Kuechly has a choir boy’s
face and an assassin’s heart as he is a relentless ball of terror chasing down opponents.
His high motor approach is infectious; the Panthers feed off Kuechly’s intensity.
On offense the Panthers are banged up. The entire backfield
of Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whitaker and
DeAngelo Hall are all struggling with leg injuries and only Stewart has been cleared to play. Hall and Whitaker both remain doubtful
for Sunday’s game. WR Kelvin Benjamin
has yet to clear the concussion protocol and will probably miss the game. Cincy’s
Vontez Burfict tried to rip the
ankles off Newton and his favorite
target TE Greg Olsen last week, a
classless move that drew Rivera’s
ire.
Olsen remains
the Panther’s most consistent threat in the passing attack. Chicago GM Jerry DeAngelo called releasing
Olsen “…a huge mistake. We should
have never let him (Olsen) go…” Olsen is a big guy with great hands and
can gash a D over the middle as well as provide Newton a good target in the red
zone. Peppers and Clay Matthews will
have their hands full trying to corral the big fella.
On defense the Panthers’ strength is in their outstanding
linebacking corps. Kuechly leads the
group that also has Thomas Davis, New
York Giant castoff Chase Blackburn and Antoine Cason. Keeping this bunch away
from Aaron Rodgers will be a key in
beating Carolina. The Panthers have been confusingly inconsistent. They barely eked
out a W over a hapless Tampa Bay team and yet tied Cincinnati after Mike Nugent missed a chip shot field
goal in overtime. This same group handed Detroit a solid spanking and did the
Packers another favor by upending Chicago but were humiliated by the Steelers
and the Ravens.
The Packers are on a high after there last second
(literally) W over Miami and the 100 degree heat last week. McCarthy
and Rodgers have acknowledged
that the Packers are steadily improving on offense and “...are not there – yet…”
according to Rodgers. Week by week
rookie Davante Adams has shown
improvement and is gaining more trust from Rodgers.
Last week his efforts on Rodgers now
famous fake spike not only kept the drive alive it saved the game as he got the
ball down to the 3 and had the presence of mind to get out of bounds to kill
the clock. With #3 WR Jarrett Boykin
still not cleared from a groin injury Adams
is solidifying his case to become the Pack’s #3 guy.
In an interesting move last week the Packers did a bottom
of the roster shuffle in releasing TE
Ryan Taylor and calling up WR Kevin
Dorsey. Rookie WR Jeff Janis has
been suited up and it will be fun to see the speedster from the small school
get a shot. Against Carolina he just might. Casey Hayward made a big play with his first INT of the season last
week and with Shields and Williams
hurt he, along with Davon House and
Micah Hyde, will most likely see a good bit of game time. Ha Ha Clinton- Dix is coming off what
McCarthy called “…probably his best
game so far…” after the win in Miami.
Hyde’s punt
return in the last 2 minutes of the game helped to set up Green Bay’s final thriller
of a drive. If Hyde is needed at
corner McCarthy and Special Teams coach
Shawn Slocumb may test Janis with
some kick return duties. Lacy would
love to get rolling and the Pack is waiting for that to occur. Jordy Nelson will have another big game
in what has become a career year for him so far. Don’t be surprised to see a
few new wrinkles this week. Would McCarthy
try WR Randall Cobb in a jet sweep package?
The final bit of interesting trivia comes from the fact
that Carolina Special Teams Coordinator
Richard Rodgers will be looking across the field at his son by the same
name in green and gold. Richard Rodgers,
the younger version, is waiting for his shot at TE to get on the field. How he
would love to do that and stick it to his pop is well understood. But he’ll
have to earn his stripes first.
The Packers offense is gaining steam and if history is
accurate they will continue to do so. Newton
will take his shots and hit a few. But the Packers can overwhelm teams, and they
will do so against the Panthers on Sunday as the offense kicks into high gear. They’re
not rolling – yet – but they will roll over Carolina.
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