LION IN WAIT

Pack Looks to Rebound at Struggling Lions Expense

 

After opening the season at 6 – 0 the Green Bay Packers have plummeted in the past two games in startling fashion. The high powered offense led by Aaron Rodgers began misfiring. Eddie Lacy hasn’t gained 50 yards a game let alone 100. Injuries have abounded. The revamped defense led by Clay Matthews was riding high statistically and was in the upper echelon of the league. But the D has also fallen on hard times. After post 23 sacks in 6 games the Packers have not had one sack since the 6 -0 start.

Packer fans are beginning to sweat and are calling for the heads of Dom Capers, Tom Clements (who

has been appointed by Mike McCarthy to call the plays this year), Ted Thompson and anyone else perceived to be the villain in this stretch. Yes the Packers have not looked like the Packers the last two games. There are questions about Lacy’s weight and injuries. Randall Cobb hasn’t really jumped out of the blocks yet. ESPN Magazine has labeled the Packers wide receivers “…the slowest in the NFL…” in a recent article. Yes, Aaron Rodgers has looked rattled and even admitted to “…being scared…” in his post-game press conference after the Carolina Panthers toppled the Pack 37 – 29 last week. The defense has not garnered a sack in the 2 losses to Denver and Carolina. Sam Shields went out. So did rookie CB Quentin Rollins. There are whispers about Casey Hayward not playing up to par. And now the hated but vastly improved Minnesota Vikings are tied atop the NFC North with Green Bay.

The only logical conclusion is to see the Packers fortunes sinking like a stone in the water. Let the masses assemble, light the torches and let’s all storm Lambeau Field and overthrow all those perceived to be the root of what ails the Packers… that would make sense, right?

Wrong.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In truth the Packers – right now – are not as good as Denver and Carolina. Right now. But right now is a long distance from December and January and the Packers still can control a fair amount of their own destiny moving forward. To look forward and see the big picture let’s take a step back.

For the first time in the august history of the NFL after 6 games an unbeaten team has had to face

not one but two unbeaten teams in back-to-back weeks. Denver put the first dent on the Packers steamroller and Carolina put a bigger one on. The fact remains both teams are far better than they appear on paper and in some respects are even better than they look statistically. The Broncos can win it all on the strength of their defense. Peyton Manning is not the Peyton Manning of old and has looked, frankly, old in some outings. Against Green Bay he visited the fountain of youth and had a magnificent, efficient and productive game.

Carolina leads the NFL in rushing but has a very suspect passing game. Cam Newton showed why he is in the conversation for the league’s MVP honors last week. The Packers did not get ambushed. They ran into two very good football teams that played their best when the situation demanded it. Denver, Carolina and even Green Bay have fallen victim to the time honored but weary “yeah, they’ve undefeated… but they haven’t really beaten anybody good yet” punch line.

The one area in which Green Bay leads the league is man games lost to injury. Every team has them and every team has to deal with them. Cobb’s shoulder, Davante Adams and Lacy’s ankles, James Jones hamstring, Andrew Quarless is on the IR Designated To Return list, Shields has been out as has Rollins, Sam Barrington went onto IR, Morgan Burnett just began playing and that’s just for openers.

It is not an excuse nor should it be. Green Bay simply managed to run into two hot teams playing their best at a time when the Packers did not play their best. It is an oversimplification but the truth is Green Bay has been outplayed in both losses and the team loss begins with the individual battles that are being lost. The offensive line looked like the Rock of Gibraltar early on but has looked more like a dike in search of a 320 lb. Dutch boy to plug the leaks. The defense began as a swarming, attacking, ball hawking group but they never got to Manning once.

The Packers did show signs of resuscitation in the second half last week against Carolina as they

piled up points and yards and almost pulled off a huge comeback. If the Packers can sustain the momentum they gained it could go a long way to curing the woes and assuaging the horde gathering at the gates.

Every team will lose. Every team will go through injuries. That is a given in today’s NFL. No team will avoid a loss forever. The players, even the ones on awful teams, are still pretty good. Parity is the great equalizer. Right after whacking the Pack Manning looked like an old, tired, arm weary QB as Denver was dumped the following week against the erratic Indianapolis Colts. Coincidence? Probably not. Some teams just naturally draw more focus and intensity. The players are still human and human nature is such that the Broncos inherently knew they would have a tough game against Green Bay. The Colts? Piece of cake. We’ll beat those guys.

Such is the reality of the NFL. Good teams can look great one week and stink the joint out the next. In the case of the Packers they are simply too good, too talented to play below standards for long. Mike McCarthy was bluntly direct in his press conferences after Carolina firing off staccato bursts of one word answers. McCarthy is clearly in no mood to play games with or in the media and it is a pretty fair guess Vince’s chair and whip were dragged out of the closet this week.

Green Bay now has an opportunity to get right against the floundering Detroit Lions this week. The Lions are a complete enigma. They are currently 9^th overall in passing but that’s where anything

positive comes to an abrupt halt. They are dead last rushing, next to last in points and 26^th overall offensively. Head Coach Jim Caldwell has brought some much needed discipline to the Motor City but when the Lions lost DT Ndamukong Suh to the Dolphins in free agency they lost much of their bite. Defensively the Lions still have some growl and are among the Top 10 in several categories.

What is so puzzling about Detroit is how can a team have Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and an emerging star in RB Ameer Abdullah and still struggle to post pints? In any other circumstance this could and most like would be looked at as a ‘trap’ game for the Packers. There will be no such trap this week. After taking it on the chin hard the Packers need a game in which they can flex some muscle and regain the form they had starting out.

It all begins and ends with individual execution. The Lions biggest problem is a line that has more leaks than Nixon’s Watergate regime. The defense has an opportunity to attack and get after Stafford. The Packers are still top 10 in sacks and getting Stafford down will not only help them in the game it will help their psyche. They need a game where they can impose themselves and this looks to be a good time to find that mojo again. One player who may have benefitted most from last week’s thumping is rookie ILB Jake Ryan. Ryan was inserted into the lineup in place of Nate Palmer and responded by leading the Packers in tackles including a big takedown for a loss on the goal line of Jonathon Stewart and was in on a play corralling Cam Newton. McCarthy, perhaps trying to stoke the fire under Ryan, sounded unimpressed when he was told after the game that Ryan had, in fact, led the Packers in tackles last week. While many of the Packer faithful think Ryan could be a long term answer inside with Clay Matthews when McCarthy was asked about Ryan’s performance he bluntly said Ryan was  “Just OK. He had some productivity, but it wasn’t as clean as he would like and as we like. I think he was kind of in line with a number of our performances.”

Rodgers was way off last week. His missed passes and incompletions were shocking. He missed a

wide open Randall Cobb on the Pack’s last 4^th down shot last week by looking off Cobb far too early and into traffic. The sight of Rodgers hurling a tablet that revealed just how wide open Cobb was captured the frustration of the moment. Rodgers is that type of player that will eat a bad game like candy and come roaring back the next. Not to quiet his critics but for himself. Rodgers is keenly aware of his status not only on the Packers but in the NFL. He does not take to having a poor game become his touchstone. Rodgers is just too good to not play well for long.

There is as much chance of the Packers looking ahead to Minnesota next week as there to sunbathing on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Green Bay in January. Green Bay will get back to starting fast. After the last two games the emphasis will be finishing fast. The Lions are without LB DeAndre Levy and that will hurt defensively. Green Bay starts the process of the second half of the season in convincing fashion.

 

 

 

 

  GREEN BAY 37  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Detroit  16