Packers Loss to 49ers Similar to Early Defeats in 2010

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Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were chased up and down the field by the 49ers on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers were outplayed, outhustled and outcoached in their loss to the 49ers on Sunday. Other than that, the Packers looked pretty good.

The game reminded me of how the Packers played in the first part of the 2010 season. If you can remember back that far, the Packers lost three of four from week three through six, and got outplayed, outhustled and outcoached in each one. Nonetheless, each game was close.

  • The Bears beat the Packers 20-17 in week three, forcing a late James Jones fumble and taking advantage of 18 penalties on the Packers.
  • After the Packers beat Detroit in week four, they lost an ugly 16-13 game to the Redskins the following week. Aaron Rodgers threw an interception in overtime and the Packers were penalized nine times.
  • The Packers allowed 150 rushing yards, Rodgers was sacked five times, and the Packers lost 23-20 in overtime to the Miami Dolphins in week five.

It was a stretch of games where the Packers always looked a step behind. Green Bay’s raw talent was obvious, but something was missing.

That’s what it felt like during Sunday’s loss to San Francisco.

Outplayed: 49ers linebacker Navarro Bowman had nine solo tackles and a huge fourth quarter interception to set up San Francisco’s last touchdown. Bownman won his one-on-one matchups more often than he lost them, and he made a big play when it was called for. Other 49ers to do the same included Frank Gore, Alex Smith, Aldon Smith, Vernon Davis, Randy Moss and David Akers. The list of Packers to consistently do the jobs they were assigned and mix in a big play or two was significantly shorter.

Outhustled: Morgan Burnett should be forced to stand outside Green Bay city hall and hold up a giant sign that says “I’m sorry” after the pathetic effort he showed on Gore’s touchdown run. We hear a lot of talk about the Packers focus on fixing their tackling this offseason. It looks like they still have a lot of work to do, especially in the effort department.

Outcoached: The 49ers created and exploited mismatches all over the field in the first half. They isolated Nick Perry in pass coverage a few times and seemed to always get a favorable linebacker vs. wide receiver matchup if they wanted it. And how about Collin Kaepernick’s run to set up Akers’ field goal at the end of the first half? My dog was looking at me and telling me that Kaepernick was running a draw there. The Packers coaches, however, apparently didn’t see it.

All of that adds up to a Packers’ loss. Actually, it was a pretty good ass kicking.

Nonetheless, the Packers only lost by eight points.

Get tougher, fix the tackling and stop with all the penalties. If the Packers address these issues, they’ll be fine.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can make a list of improvements for any team in the NFL, and then call that team a contender if they make those improvements. But here’s the difference: The Packers have a recent history of these same problems, and fixing them.

The Packers were soft, they couldn’t tackle and they committed too many penalties early in 2010. We all saw what happened when they fixed those issues. Their natural talent took over and they marched all the way to the Super Bowl.

There’s still plenty of time for Mike McCarthy and the Packers to make those same improvements in 2012.

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Adam Czech is a a freelance sports reporter living in the Twin Cities and a proud supporter of American corn farmers. When not working, Adam is usually writing about, thinking about or worrying about the Packers. Follow Adam on Twitter. Twitter .

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33 thoughts on “Packers Loss to 49ers Similar to Early Defeats in 2010

  1. You’re right. Problem is, the defense looked eerily similar to the 2011 squad, even with the new faces. Theyve had all offseason to fix this stuff.

  2. The problem is that in 2010 the Pack had Nick Collins, Nick Barnett, and Cullen Jenkins to help fix the defense. Maybe Barnett got hurt.

    Also, teams we have defeated literally or via better record, have worked to improve in talent, system, and physical play too.

    I don’t think Adrian Peterson or MJD would have gotten anymore rushing yards than Benson did-so, the problem is zone blocking out of shotgun with one back-the defenses have figured out how to counter and plug the holes-

    I liked how 49ers pulled lineman and blew up our containment and Gore got lots of yards, and he runs a 4.6 forty-so, lets try their running game-plus, the 49ers are a really good team-

    And, what is with throwing 30 to 60 yards downfield on 3rd and 1-especially when the receiver was double covered and all we needed was a swing pass or slant to move the chains-lets fix that-I don’t think Pack had a single WR “wide open” beyond 10 yards in the first three quarters.

  3. The moment I walked away from the game was Burnett’s patsy-ass little shoulder shrug at Gore. Are you freaking kidding me??? If this team ever stops TALKING about playing tough and actually does it, they’ll have a much better chance of competing with teams like the ‘9ers.

  4. Sunday’s loss to the ’49ers is a very disappointing start to the 2012 season. The Pack still has plenty of defensive issues, poor offensive line play, Cedric Benson looks to be too slow, at least to the line of scrimage and the officiating was unacceptable for both teams. This game was just about unwatchable in many ways for Packer fans. Still it is just the first game and there is a long way to go. Let’s see what happens on Thursday night.

  5. Thanks for keeping me off the ledge Adam.

    I am still deeply disappointed in Capers’ inability to fix his D in over a year. Outside of CM3 there is no aggressiveness at all on the field. Wilson is not good enough to play DE in the NFL. Coverage in the underneath areas is STILL lacking and Smith took advantage of that the whole game. What kind of stupid defense has Perry covering Crabtree on multiple plays?

    OK , that’s over and let’s get ready for the Bears.

    The offense is determined to go down field with the passing game when the Oline could not stop the rush. The whole line played poorly. Newhouse was the leader in lack of ability. He just can’t handle speed. (Note to MM, he needs help) Move the pocket and take advantage of the deep cover 2 that SF was playing. Most obvious example, at the end of the game throwing deep to Nelson when they needed to get the 1st so they could have had a few more plays by playing for the 1 yard.

    Add to that, MM’s, and I’m affraid to say AR’s too, clock management at the end of the 1st half. You expect better of professionals.

    It’s only game #1 and there is time to recover. I sure want to see some improvement in the caliber of the play starting against the Bears.

    Oh, by the way! For my detractors when I said MM would use Cobb more like Sproles this year — Nah, na nah na. He was a bright spot on a gloomy day.

    1. Glad I could help, Ron.

      Don’t get me wrong, though, there’s plenty to be concerned about. I’m not even close to being sold on this defense.

      From about the middle of 2010 on, you could usually count on the Packers winning the coaching battle, winning the turnover battle, making a big play or two on D and hustling. That helps make up for a bad D.

      The Packers lost all of those categories yesterday. They lost all of those categories in the NYG playoff loss. Hopefully this funk doesn’t last too much longer.

  6. I’m going to watch the game against the bears because i have to (haven’t missed a game in over 30 years) – NOT because I want to.

    I am not looking forward to this up-coming game AT ALL.

    Grew up in Wisco – but have to live in IL now… Friday is going to suck balls at work.

    it won’t even be close.

  7. Wow, the Packers defense is still horrible. I can’t believe all of the blown coverages they have. A common theme they had last year. Jarret Bush will be in for a long year. He definitely would have benefited with getting safety help. Tackling was as pathetic as last year. The number of penalties committed is inexcusable.

    I don’t understand why the Packers try taking shots down the field on third and one. Just try for the first down so that you can sustain the drive. I also don’t get why the Packers tried running Cedric Benson to the outside when he is a between the tackles kind of runner. I t also would have been nice to use Randal Cobb more out of the back field in the passing game. The 49ers did not seem to ever find any answers to that, and I would have kept doing that until they actually stopped it. Since the 49ers liked to bring a lot of pressure, it would have been good to see the Packers utilize their screen plays a lot more to burn their blitzes.

    1. I love the deep ball on 3rd and short. Go for the kill.

      The problem is, throwing deep has been a staple of McCarthy and the Packers for a while now. Teams are finally starting to prepare for it. And with no running game to speak of, teams will continue planning for deep throws on 3rd and short.

  8. outcoached, outplayed, outclassed… we can make all the excuses in the world, but what she boils down to is a complete azz whooping in every aspect of the game… I really didn’t think the defense could be any worse than last year but it is a lot worse. TT and MM we are begging and pleading, please wake up and smell the coffee. It appears that everyone sees it except the 2 people that can make a difference. When is the last time that everyone in the division won except the Packers? 3 days to exorcize the demons or it could be Bears 106 and Packers 3. Please wake up Packer organization…

    1. yep. it sucks missing studs at all levels…

      sure miss the days of –

      jenkins
      bishop
      woodson at cb (when he wasn’t slow)
      collins

      the 4-some of

      wilson
      smith
      bush
      woodson (slow version)

      ain’t cuttin’ it.

      1. Wah, wah! And we miss Ray Nitschke too. Looking back at what has been, what could have been, etc. doesn’t help anything. These are the players GB has now; they were picked as the best of 90 from training camp; plus how many from the draft and free agency? [Might I add by those with a proven track record?]. It’s the hand that has been dealt. Just have to play the best you can with the cards you have.

        Middle of fourth quarter in a badly played game, GB was down by only 8, having come back from a much greater deficit. Was this situation hopeless? Not with the cards in the hand; there is STILL so much talent on this offense that it WAS conceivable that they could come back and tie the game. They didn’t, but they could have.

        Something IS missing on this team. When they find it, they may be as unstoppable as they were in the past two years. In the meantime, even when “gettin’ whooped”, they’re still not out of the game.

    2. The last time someone other than the Packers won the division was the 2010-2011 season. The Bears won the division and the Packers won the Super Bowl.

  9. Tarynfor12 says:

    September 6, 2012 at 1:38 PM

    IMO,this game is about the Packers choosing what will hurt them more and can still overcome for the win.

    Stopping the run and create a passing game and have Rodgers outgun them?

    Prevent the pass with coverage and hope the Niners don’t run for 90 yd drives where possession time kills us and doesn’t allow for any non scoring possessions by the Packers?

    Don’t get fooled and rest on the Alex Smith sucks thing,he isn’t what he was during the chaos years and he just may show why he was a #1 even if it took 7 years.

    This is going to be an ugly,ugly game either way and the winner is the last possession team.
    Packers 27-23 on a 2 min score by Rodgers.Yes,we will be biting nails as we look at our possible 1st loss.

    Today I post this;

    We choose to not stop the run or pass and Smith looked like I thought in the above.
    Can anyone imagine if Smith was use to throwing to Moss more…that was a torch in the pocket that simply didn’t get lit enough by Harbaugh.This game wouldn’t even come close to a comeback as it seemed.

  10. Wow, I don’t see the similarities at all. The 2010 team was the best team on the field and lost a close one because of 1 player’s mistake.

    Yesterday the Packers were the worst team by far and were lucky they only lost by 8.

    You got the outplayed, outhustled and outcoached right, though.

    I don’t think it’s the end of the world and 1 regular season game doesn’t prove anything, specially the first one.

    But, to me, it’s nowhere similar to the 2010 team.

    1. It takes a lot more than one player’s mistake to lose to the Redskins and Dolphins, and to committ 18 penalties in a loss to the Bears.

      1. Yet the Packers never trailed by more than 7 in any of those games. They trailed by 19 yesterday.

        There’s also the issue of key players being injuried at that time (Pickett, Jenkins, Matthews, Finley). No such excuse can be made right now.

        1. They never trailed by more than 7 because Washington and Miami are horrible teams. If they were playing a team the caliber of yesterday’s 49ers squad, they would’ve been down by a lot more than 7.

  11. Looks like we picked up where we left off against the Giants. Still no pass rush, no running game, no secondary coverage. If AR can’t out score em’ we don’t win. watched the Ram/Lions game B-4 the pack, how did the Rams get so much better defensively & we stay the same?

  12. I’ll tell you what I feel like. I was literally punched in the face from my prediction. I was insane frustrated for some obvious reasons.

    The Refs only added to the pain

    Laundry List:

    Aaron really didn’t play that well in my mind. Sloppy passes, including a obvious defender for a interception. He had some open receivers but was looking down field. Also his bomb to Nelson was overshot, which was uncharacteristic.

    The pass rush was awesome the first series, and then all over a sudden, it vanished. They simply gave Alex Smith enough time to pick apart the defense in which…

    Well the pass defense was very… well it sucked. Someone was wide open for a pass, and Randy moss was targeted and still got a easy touchdown.

    Madden Arm tackling against Gore. That won’t work 99% of the time. You have a body, use it.

    I am very optimistic of the season up ahead, and I guess I can respect the 49’ers. Now it’s time to wipe off the mud, and let this be the fire that burns. Let tell us how bad we can be, and correct our mistakes.

    I don’t mind in my head losing a close one when our defense and offense plays so well only to lose by a FG. This one just put me in the ZONE of anger. The Packers are full of obvious talent but they decided to lay a egg of laziness this week.

  13. ” Green Bay’s raw talent was obvious, but something was missing.

    That’s what it felt like during Sunday’s loss”

    Minus the obvious raw talent, that’s spot on.

    GBP 4 LIFE

  14. Capers was definitely outcoached. They need a change, his defenses are so ’90’s. The O coaches around the league have learned how to beat it. They burn his coverages and seem to know where his zone blitzes are coming from on play after play. It’s like they have the playbook.

  15. Time to spend some money for quality players instead of the cheaper generic ones. The generic ones seem to be lazy and not care so much. TT see if you can borrow some money from Jerry Jones…..

  16. You hit the nail on the head with the word “soft”. They played very tenantive, especially the d.

  17. This game felt like it was in a time warp. Please, somebody tell me what has changed since 1/15/12?

    1. Clay Matthews got 2.5 sacks! I was happy to see our pass rush back to form. As for our pass defense…ya, it still sucks.

      I agree with comments above that this looks similar to the begining of the 2010 season. People seem to have forgotten that we were capital “A” Aweful the first part of that season…kind of like, oh, the NY Giants were last year. Just saying.

      It is the first game of the season, and I’m not going to lose any sleep over 1 loss. However, if we don’t either, A) develop a run game, or B) figure out how to defend the pass, it’s going to be a very long year!

      1. Oh, and speaking of Matthews, expect some turnovers in the game against Da Bears. Cutler missed a good part of last year, but let’s not forget how jumpy and nervous he gets in the pocket if he gets knocked around a bit. With Matthews harrassing him all day, he will throw at least 2 picks and fumble at least once. Mark it!

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