Game Balls and Lame Calls: Packers 22, Falcons 21

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Andrew Quarless had a big day against the Falcons, and now the Packers are eyeing first place in the NFC North.
Andrew Quarless had a big day against the Falcons, and now the Packers are eyeing first place in the NFC North.

Maybe the Green Bay Packers didn’t save their season and keep themselves in the playoff hunt Sunday with a win over the Atlanta Falcons, but maybe they did.

Along with the Packers’ 22-21 win came a Philadelphia snowstorm and a Detroit Lions loss, which puts Green Bay only a half-game behind the Lions for first place in the NFC North. And while the Packers are certainly happy they were able to get a win without Aaron Rodgers, the possibility remains that the Packers’ quarterback will be ready to play Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

If Rodgers is back for the team’s final three games, the Packers could win out (at DAL, vs. PIT, at CHI) and squeak into the playoffs. That’s assuming the Lions (vs. BAL, vs. NYG, at MIN) lose one more game, which wouldn’t be the most shocking thing in the world.

But, once again, it will probably be a late-week decision on Rodgers, and the playoffs are still a long way away.

Now, after winning Dec. 8 for the first time since Oct. 27, the Packers are 1-4-1 since Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone, leaving them at 6-6-1 on the season. And it took everything the Packers had on both sides of the ball.

With seven of Atlanta’s 21 points coming on a Sean Weatherspoon pick-six before halftime, the Packers’ defense tightened up and allowed just 14 points on the afternoon, thanks to a second-half shutout. The Falcons put together a methodical 78-yard drive to tie the score at seven, but their only other scoring drive was set up by a Matt Flynn fumble deep in Packers territory.

Flynn and the offense turned in a much-improved performance after last week’s stinker, but the defense rose to the occasion and powered the Packers to a much-needed win.

Clearly, Jerron McMillian was the only problem with the Packers’ defense.

Game Balls

Matt Flynn

Coming into the game having given up at least 27 points in their last six games, many expected the Packers would need to light up the scoreboard in order to get past the Falcons. That wasn’t the case, but Flynn and the offense still mustered up 22 points and earned their sixth victory in the process. Flynn made some poor throws, but his lone interception came on a (that-kind-of) ‘WOW’ play, and he was efficient with the football throughout the day. Quite the difference from the debacle on Thanksgiving.

Eddie Lacy

The box score won’t blow you away (62 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries), but Lacy shook off a rolled ankle and provided the Packers’ offense with some consistency. Despite having missed two games (save for one carry against Washington), Lacy is now just 113 rushing yards shy of 1,000 on the season. He’s probably the Packers’ MVP up to this point of the season, and he very well may be the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Andrew Quarless

It may not be saying overly much for a starting tight end in the NFL, as Quarless currently is, but he turned in a career day with six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons. The Packers’ haven’t gotten that kind of production from the tight end position since Jermichael Finley was forced out of the game Oct. 13 against the Cleveland Browns.

Dom Capers

Say what you will about Capers, but he’s certainly deserving of some credit for Sunday’s performance. On top of holding the Falcons scoreless in the second half, one of the Falcons’ two scoring drives was on a 13-yard drive set up by a Matt Flynn fumble in the second quarter. The defense played better on Sunday with its back against the wall.

Lame Calls

Paul Worrilow’s foot

Are you kidding me? Shades of the Lance Briggs’ interception off Donald Driver’s foot in the 2011 NFC Championship Game. It was an unlikely, albeit momentum-changing play right before halftime. It would be the Falcons’ final score of the day.

Dirty birds

Does A.J. Hawk have an all-time great football name, especially for a linebacker? Yes. Is he a plays-every-Sunday-type throwback? Yes. But is Hawk an overly emotional player, at least on the field? Absolutely not. But after a Falcons lineman seemed to dive at Hawk’s knees late in Sunday’s game, the usually even-keeled linebacker lost his temper. This is the same offensive line that has been called out by B.J. Raji, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck and others for being dirty. It certainly seem like that’s the case.

Boo birds

If you’re going to go to a game to boo your team, don’t go to the game. It sort of defeats the home-field advantage, doesn’t it? You know, when the home team’s “fans” boo the team they supposedly support on their home field. Booing is something you shake your head at when other fan bases do it. It’s just not a good look.

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Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

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116 thoughts on “Game Balls and Lame Calls: Packers 22, Falcons 21

  1. The aspect of this game, and a lot of games in the NFL that leaves you wondering is whether the Packers won because they made more plays, or did the Falcons lose because they didn’t.

    Tony G’s non-catch and Douglas’ drop on their last couple of drives come to mind.

    Maybe just karmic balance for Weatherspoon’s pick 6.

    1. Maybe the Packers won in spite of Flynn not changing the play at the line when he got drilled and fumbled. Or, Morgan Burnett blowing coverage twice and allowing both Atlanta TD’s. The defense played better today. They kept things in front of them and tackled much better. Nick Perry was getting close all day causing Ryan to rush many of his throws.
      The Gonzales non catch was actually a good play by Bush. The drop by Douglass, that was karma for the crazy INT return.

      1. Capers still has to go, Atlanta, if Douglas catches the ball, were only ten yards away from field goal range. Just horrible D.

        1. ” if Douglas catches the ball, were only ten yards away from field goal range”

          You can make yourself crazy picking isolated plays like this. The bottom line is they won.

          …I don’t think anyone will argue that the D has been lousy (or worse), but Sunday they were good enough.

      2. It seemed to me that the strip sack on Flynn was Lacy’s fault, not Flynn’s. Lacy has to see the free rusher coming, but he barely even got a hand on him. That doesn’t work.

        Having said that, Flynn does need to learn when to get rid of the ball.

        1. Moore was a yard off the line. it was pretty obvious he was coming. Lacy couldn’t get over in time because they continued through with the play fake. The play never had a chance. Surely Flynn has been in the NFL long enough to see that. I saw it from my couch.

          1. And in that case Lacy needs to abandon the play fake and block the rusher. He didn’t. It’s his job to make that call.

        2. To me, it looked like Flynn should have called out the blitzer to Bak, who never saw him coming. Instead of picking him up, Bak went and double teamed the DT with Sitton, letting the defender blitz untouched.

          1. Bakhtiari is the Packer closest to the play. He knows better than anyone that there is an overload in front of him – two rushers but only one ‘him’. So he needs to choose which of the two rushers he will block. The rule is, “Block the one with the shortest distance to the QB,” which he does. That leaves the outside man coming free. Lacy’s job is to call off the play action fake and pick up the free rusher, which he didn’t do.

            Flynn didn’t change the play because, schematically at least, the rusher WAS accounted for. Lacy was supposed to pick him up.

            1. There weren’t “two rushers and only one him”. There were two rushers, Bak and Sitton. Bak double teamed the inside DT with Sitton leaving the blitzer on the outside untouched. Bak should have taken the outside rusher and Sitton the inside DT. I don’t think Bak saw the outside blitzer move up to the line to rush. Flynn should have pointed him out.

        3. In general, that’s the quarterback’s responsibility to know the set versus the defense will result in an unblocked rusher and to adjust the protection or just know he’s going to have to look for an early read. I don’t think running backs are generally asked to completely change their role on a play on their own.

          1. I would put it on Bahktiari not blocking the correct rusher. He doubled the DT along w/ Sitton. He’s got to be more aware than that IMO.

          2. It IS the running back’s responsibility. When I say that Lacy should have “called off” the play fake, I don’t mean that he should have vocalized his intentions or called some sort of an audible. I mean that his assignment is conditional. What he does at the snap of the ball depends on what he sees coming from the defense. If there is no unblocked rusher, he executes the play fake. If there is an unblocked rusher, he abandons the play fake and blocks the rusher. I don’t claim to be Lombardi, but these kind of responsibilities have been common in every football offense that I have known.

            When Flynn surveys the defense, he sees Moore coming from outside and assumes that Lacy will do his job and pick him up. Lacy didn’t do that, and Flynn got creamed.

            Bob McGinn just released his ratings of the game. He said, “Lacy did make an improper read and, as a result, Flynn was sacked by blitzing SS William Moore.” I agree. It’s on Lacy.

      3. Flynn doesn’t know the offense well enough yet to change plays. He’s learned 3 other offenses since he left GB. He knows most of the passing game but has only learned a small amt of the run game, which has been completely revamped in the offseason. Besides which every play call has about 4-6 sight adjust plays associated w/ it. That’s the whole reason Flynn and Tolzien have struggled running the offense! They don’t know the sight adjust plays well enough. For Flynn the run game is completely new to him and Tolzien didn’t have enough time to really learn everything since he wasn’t here for training camp.

        Its also a big part of the reason why criticizing play calling is really criticizing Rodgers and makes you sound kinda stupid when you do.

        1. There you go again Stroh, calling people names. Why does ANYONE have to be stupid, and idiot, or what ever else you call not just me, but anyone you don’t agree with. But based on your many examples of your vast knowledge on play calling, conditioning, and football in general, it’s becoming increasingly clear that no one else should have a opinion or comment.

          1. Call it like I see it… If you knew that every play call has a few sight adjust plays, which I’m assuming you don’t or you would have recognized that FACT and not continually blame McCarthy’s play calling, you would have recognized the stupidity of blaming the coach/playcaller!

            Try to deflect facts all you want, it doesn’t change anything!

    2. Lots of football games are decided by the team that makes the fewest mistakes. That’s just another result of parity in today’s NFL.

  2. Agree on Quarless Marques, he looked good Sunday. A Quarterbacks best friend is a TE. Quarless, at least on Sunday looked like the TE the beat writers were writing about in the summer.

    1. I’ll give Quarless a bit more credit once he grabs a dictionary and looks up the word “block.” He’s been a flat-out liability in the run game.

      1. I’ll have to disagree with that. I didn’t notice in this game, but in some previous contests, I’ve noted him making some key blocks to spring Lacy for nice gains. He’s considered the most well-rounded tight end on the roster by the coaches.

        1. Agree w/ you and Chad. Quarless’s blocking isn’t an issue. Just always been his ability to make plays in the open field. He did a little this week but I don’t know that he made an open field play. He was at least a viable option if not a playmaker. He can suffice if he keeps this level of play. Be nice to see him get open deep or break a long one. He actually has more speed than Finley. Just doesn’t seem to play to his speed.

        2. Fair enough, I can handle opposing points of view, but I’m completely disagreed. I’m not the only one, either.

          You say that the coaches consider Quarless as the most well-rounded. OK. Here’s what his position coach (Fontenot) said about Quarless less than a week ago: “We need to get more in the run game, especially movement at the point of attack. He makes the right reads. He’s smart enough. I just think that we’ve continually emphasized his fundamentals to get our pad level and leverage on guys. He plays high. We need more out of him at the point of attack and finish.”

          It doesn’t sound like a vote of confidence from his admiring coaches.

          Bob McGinn was more harsh. I could quote at length here, but let’s summarize. Concerning the Detroit game, McGinn said, “Although Quarless wasn’t charged with a sack in Detroit, his run blocking was brutal.” In his review of the Vikings game he said, “Week after week, Andrew Quarless just isn’t getting it done in the running game.”

          Frankly, I have very little regard for PFF’s opinions, generally speaking.

          1. If we were to judge the Packers based solely on the Detroit game there would be a huge number of pink slips.

            1. True, but even a mountain of pink slips does not mean that Quarless is a good blocker.

              Besides, neither Fontenot nor McGinn were talking only about the Detroit game. Fontenot said that they were emphasizing better blocking “continually.” McGinn said the problem was “week after week.” And that’s how I see it, too.

              1. Quarless is an excellent initial blocker. The problem the coaches have referred to is finishing, or sustaining the block for the 4-5 seconds that a typical NFL play lasts.

                Talent-wise Quarless is the best blocking TE on the roster, including Finley. He had a poor game in Detroit but who didn’t?

  3. The Worrilows foot play instantly made me feel like our season was over. Good come back by the rodgersless Packers. And here’s to the D , Yes, the Falcons are bad, but they had their starting QB, and they had White, Harry Douglas, T Gonzales and Jackson. Boy I miss Nick Collins.

    1. Actually it was nice to see Jennings get benched for the 2nd half. Richardson must have done something right as the Falcon’s run game ceased producing. Just saying. Now why it took till DEC 9 of his 2nd year of sucking to remove Jennings is a question I have no answer for.

      1. McMuffin – Blown Pick
        The Dr. – Sucked
        Richardson – Not cleared until last week.
        Banjo – Should’ve been playing all along
        Burnett – Clearly Regressed

        For once I agree with you.

      2. Well Richardson was only recently clear to practice much less play! That MIGHT have a little to do with it don’t you think?! Richardson is very good vs the run game, his issue was a lack of instincts and experience in the passing game. Guessing soon as he misses a coverage you’ll be blaming Thompson for ever signing such a shitty Safety!

    2. Off season? Everyone should have seen this coming! SS, bu-QB, bu-RB, C all looked weak. Was really cheering for Ross as returner, but ball security got him and that was the concern in the off season, too. Another could have seen it coming. No returner hurts worse than I realized. And every Packer fan now understands the importance of the safety position. It’s a shame, those are two relatively cheap positions in FA[dare I suggest a FA]

  4. I’m praying that Rodgers is back this week, although I’m worried he won’t be. Last weeks bone scan kept him off the field. Can a bone scan 7 days later show a completely healed collar bone that will clear him for play? I hope so, because it’s very unlikely this team will win at Dallas without him.

    1. My thoughts exactly. And he’s still and exceptional special teams player. The kick and punt coverage seemed better yesterday.

      Anybody else notice yesterday that the Lions had a huge punt return AND kick return… both for TDs? Whats-his-name again?

      1. Marpag…that would be a player who repeatedly, for some unbeknownst reason kept dropping the ball and choking for us, Jeremy Ross.

    2. …I’d also add Mason Crosby. Fans had doubts as recently as a couple games ago and there he was drilling 3 FG’s down the middle in less than ideal conditions. He scored 10 points in a one point win.

      1. Crosby has been one of the few consistent contributors on this team this year. Amazing how a little competition in camp seems to have turned around the train wreck of a year ago…

  5. I wouldn’t criticize the “boo birds.” Maybe the boos the Packers heard at halftime as the ran back into the tunnel motivated the defense to play shut-down ball in the second half. Could it be the boo bird deserve a “game ball” instead?

    1. I have to agree. I would never boo at my own team, but there are valid reasons to do so. Fans have every right to express their displeasure in the team’s performance, especially those fans who have bought tickets or contributed stock money to the franchise.

      And like JH9 says, it might have provided a little extra motivation for the team in the second half.

      1. I have no problem with fans booing their team AFTER they’ve had a chance to see what kind of day they were having. Right out of the gate? No way. At half? Sure.

  6. You have to hand it to the Packers for sticking in there and getting back into this game after the half. You also have to thank the Falcons for making enough mistakes to not win this after the half. I am not a boo’er but the team didn’t deserve much better as it left the field in the first half.

    I am thankful that we started to use our TE in the offense. Took us a while. And, I agree with you on Eddie Lacy – he didn’t have the numbers but he pulled the team forward. I wouldn’t extend this comment to Starks. He is starting to dance behind the line of scrimmage and that doesn’t work on this team.

    Ultimately, you have to thank the defense for showing up. We can win with this D. All we need is Rodgers to complete the picture.

    1. We can not win with this D, it is awful. They get shredded every week. The safeties could not play on my all grandma team. Just terrible. Also, McCarthy gets out coached every game day.

      1. I am not going to call this defense top ten. In the second half, they didn’t allow a point or any give-me plays. They forced 3 and outs and they made Atlanta work for everything. They showed up when needed and gave the offense time to get on track. They helped us win with our backup QB.

        At times I am like you Dave – nothing is good about this year. But I will acknowledge that the defense put in a fairly good effort to earn that win yesterday. Look for the good plays, they are there.

    2. Fully agree re: Lacy. He’s got heart and is the real deal. Great complement for AROD going forward.

      I also agree with re: booing.

      Lastly, I agree with you that using lots of 2 TE formations seemed to make a huge difference for Flynn. It took James Jones off the field a lot but Flynn was in better sync with the bigger slower TE type of receiver.

      1. After the Lions game, Suh, Fairley and others said that they knew that Flynn takes a long time to get the ball out, so their plan was to stop the run on the way to the QB…pressure Flynn and force him to get rid of the football before he’s ready.

        Even the Falcons–with their bottom-of-the-league pass rush–found Flynn frequently yesterday. Is that on the OL? Somewhat, but Flynn has to shoulder some of that…and finding the TE might have more to do with the coaches leaning on him to move the football this week. Might have something to do with regainin some comfort in the offense.

  7. Couldn’t disagree with you more re: booing. To accept horrendus play is unacceptable. The only way to get it to change is to turn up the heat on the entire organization, from the players to the coaches to the GM. If you bought rotten food at the supermarket, you’d return it for a refund. No different with football. The Packers are selling a product and lots of folks are getting mighty rich off that. That’s OK but only if they deliver on their end of the bargain and give us a product worthy of standing up and cheering for. If you accept crap that is all you will get.

    1. “If you bought rotten food at the supermarket, you’d return it for a refund. No different with football.”

      Nowhere near the same. When you buy a product (car, food, clothing), you’re buying a finished good with a certain level of guarantee. It might be similar if, when you left the store, someone tried to slow you down with the intent of detaining you long enough for your hamburger to spoil, or if they intentionally were trying to rip/tear/stain your new clothes before you could wear them.

      I have no problem with booing professional athletes (college kids is another matter) and coaches. But when you buy a ticket, you’re buying an experience. It’s fine to layer expectation and hope on top of that, but there’s no guarantee. I think your analogy is pretty flawed.

    2. Booing doesn’t fix anything. Ever make a mistake at work and have your boss tell you how bad you are, how you’re not a team player, how you used to be so much better? Only discourages and tends to make one not want to try anymore. Must be nice to work for McCarthy!

      1. People with real jobs don’t even get to make the same number of errors those guys have. Booing is a really mild reaction from folks who would have been fired for the same kind of performance.

  8. Definately an ugly win, but I will take it. At least SOME areas improved. Would someone tell Flynn he can throw the ball away instead of taking 17 yard losses. If Atlanta doesn’t drop 7 passes it is a blowout win for Atlanta. Glad it was the other team dropping passes instead of us. Lets assume we back into the playoffs, does anyone here honestly think our defense will be able to stop a playoff caliber team. The Falcons are one of the worst teams in the league right now and at times were shredding our defense.
    Cheers to Jolly, what a stud, he is the only one on the line playing with heart. Stick Raji in the one and done season category. And he turns down 8 million a year, he isn’t worth 8 cents.

    1. I really don’t care if anybody here thinks the defense can stop a playoff caliber team. What matters is the 11 on the field truly believing it. I haven’t seen that type of play or attitude yet.

    2. Big T…great minds think alike…Resign Jolly, unload Raji…We need some major help on defense: Starting ILB alongside Lattimore and 2 Safeties…Brad Jones has to go…not starting caliber…A.J. Hawk…gutsy, but, slower than molasses…Burnett is below average…maybe Banjo and Richardson can help, maybe not…but, we need at least one big-hitter stud at Safety…

  9. Bottom-line, this performance was still not very good. It would finish the season 0-3. Yet, sad to say, I think this group is capable of no more. It is Rodgers or bust at this point. Even then, I’m not sure Rodgers will be ready to lead us to victory in his first game back. But that is the only shot left. At the same time, I believe he should not play unless he is 95 to 100% healed. It’s a long shot to make the playoffs even with Rodgers and the post-season would likely be one and done again. It may be time to look ahead to 2014. Of course, if he does play and if we do win, I’ll be out front leading the cheers for another SB run.

    1. I think you’re right: Dallas, Pit, and Chicago are all capable of taking this defense apart. As bad as Pit and Dallas have looked at times (and as much as we maligned the schedule earlier), they both have picked things up. Rodgers makes a tremendous difference and puts a lot of pressure on opponents. Without ARod, the Packers will struggle to win another game.

      That said, as soon as he’s strong enough to play, he should. I’m not sure what that threshhold is, medically, but I wouldn’t hold him out longer if he’s cleared for contact.

  10. Hey, I understand that this has been a disappointing season and we will not get many style points for yesterday but give the boys credit for playing better and playing hard.

    We won:
    – Time of Possession
    – Total yards
    – First downs
    – The GAME

    More important, this game may have rallied the guys to believe that they can win without AR. Our 2010 run had a defense that found its identity later in the season. Let’s see if the guys can build off of this win.

    1. Well, if T-Giving was a 0 on a scale of 1 to 10, this was a 2 at best. If Rodgers does not start this week, bet the Cowboys, regardless of points. Yesterday was only good in comparison to T-Giving debacle. Your standards are way too low. Defense needs complete overhaul and Flynn is not the answer at back-up QB. Tolzein may or may not be. Offense is in good shape for next year excepting for TE. Quarless is OK #2 TE. Defense needs to be gutted. GM can’t seem to pick good defensive players in draft & develop mantra and HC has a DC that is not inspiring. Not to mention a long resume of failing the longer he has been anywhere. Why would that be? I can only guess that defensive coaches have given TT bad input on players to draft e.g., McMillian as was stated by McGinn recently. Ditto all these 4-3 types playing out of position in a 3-4. It all seems bizarre to me. It is as if the entire Packer bus is full of Ass-Clowns.

      1. I agree with many of your points regarding personnel (I dont believe the D needs to be gutted, but rather would benefit by adding a veteran playmaker), but those things won’t happen for 3-6 months. They still have to find a way to make the current personnel group work.

        I do understand some of the personnel decisions with 3-4 vs 4-3: the Packers are a 3-4 team in base only. They scheme to play most of their game in nickel and dime because they expect to be able to force their opponents to score points. It would be foolish to carry too many HIPPOS (your word?) when you plan to be trying to rush the QB (which they really can’t do). Likewise, you expect to not be playing those hippos that awful much, so when you’re not scoring points (as has been the case) you’re at a disadvantage because your base D isn’t meant to play that much. The NFL is almost exclusively about packages and situational players now. That’s why the Packers have built those players that way. I don’t make any claims as to whether it’s effective. My take…shred at will.

    2. Wake up the dreaming is over. This team isn’t going anywhere the defense sucks. Any qb in the league can complete a pass against the packers because they have no pass rush and a terrible secondary. Yea they beat Atlanta a lousy team but just barely. If I were playing the packers I would throw on every down unless I needed one or two yards for 1st down. Dallas wins next week by at least 21 points. More cripples will be limping off the field for the packers because no one wants to play on this loosing team.

      1. The last several weeks the Packers have been awful stopping the run, so why would you discriminate?

  11. Disagree on the Booing. Being a fan isn’t just about being blind and cheering through everything. The Boo’s came at the correct time and when the team came back out they played with a new attitude and aggression, so maybe the coach used that small message to lite a fire.

  12. Other than first 2 Atlanta drives, I though our defense looked decent. I think our D got some confidence back in the second half – Jolly brought some much needed fire. Converting a couple of those field Crosby field goals to touchdowns and not having the freak interception would have made this score and overall game seem much different. I know I probably have the Rose-colored lenses on , but I think the Pack has a legit shot at the Playoffs. Our offense is very capable of scoring 35 points/game with Rogers. Add a couple of Turnovers on defense -hey anything can happen 🙂

  13. I predicted ATL would win.. I am glad I am eating my words.. Although I still think someone’s head(s) have to roll this offseason especially on D. They still look lost most of the time and the lack of fundamentals of bringing down the ball carrier is sad.. They don’t fly to the football and attack the runner. I wouldn’t mind seeing these guys take a personal foul 15 yarder every now and then to put a little bit of fear in the other teams WR.. I doubt the D at this point will improve on this so hopefully some change will be on the horizon after the season.

    1. I’m with you. I’ll be predicting a Dallas win next week for that very reason! 😉

      But you make a good point, and others have said the same: this stretch has exposed significant issues on both sides of the ball for the Packers. If they finish strong, but still do nothing to address those issues in the offseason, then management truly has its head in the sand.

    2. Hopefully ONE head will role. Capers… I was OK w/ keeping him after last year since the D improved from last in the NFL to about #12 overall. But at this point it is my opinion that Capers M.O. is clearly established. Turn a bad D into a strong D in his 1st couple years, then it goes downhill quickly and never quit gets close again. I’ll put some blame on McCarthy if he doesn’t make a change at DC this year. Its just time to make a change! Keep the 34, find a young DC that uses the 34 and is a leader. THis D has the talent of be a VERY strong Defense w/ the right DC!

  14. If anyone thinks we will win at Dallas or Chicago without Rodgers is to caught up in yesterdays victory and has a short memory. Beating a crappy 3-10 dome team at home in the snow is a lot different than beating a playoff contender on the road. Without rodgers, we might not even beat the steelers

  15. And the Ass-Clown Award once again goes to Nike McFatty for play calling – With time left for one play, deep in his own territory, he calls a meaningless run up the middle that results in an ankle sprain and almost broken ankle for Eddie Lacy.

    Runner-up Ass-Clown Award goes to TT, our beloved GM, for cutting Jeremy Ross.

    AROD’s absence has exposed TT/MM for the Ass-Clowns that they are.

    1. Jeremy Ross? That guy was–at best–occupying a roster spot in GB. More realistically, he was a liability returning kicks. I don’t know why, based on his performances in GB, anyone had a problem with him being let go at the time, or why anyone would feel like the Packers couldn’t do better.

      It’s one thing to feel good for the guy making a home somewhere else (although I wish he wouldn’t be hurting the Packers as he did) and getting his career together, but don’t use his current performance to retrospectively cancel out his track record in Green and Gold. He was hurting the Packers.

      1. People wanted to crucify Ross when he fumbled the ball in SF. They hated everybody that brought Ross to town when he miss handled the ball in Cincy. He has a couple of good games and we want him back. Fans called for blood and they got blood.

        I am not a Slocum fan, I think that he is a MM hanger-on and that our special teams are a huge vulnerability. We have a ton of young, athletic guys and special teams should be killer on this team. Instead we are always holding our breathe with this group and guys like Ross can’t make it with our ST unit.

        We should be doing a lot better on special teams and that starts with the guy organizing and coaching the players. He is my first upgrade for next year.

  16. And another downer is that Baltimore has only one road victory this year and NYG has 2. I’d be surprised, but not stunned, if Detroit win both home games. This leaves Detroit @ Minnesota as our best chance at a lions loss. Lets hope Petersons injury yesterday isn’t season ending.

    If Rodgers comes back this week, I hope he isn’t to rusty, we will need to win a shoot out at Dallas. The Cowgirls offense has weapons and our D didn’t look to good in our last game, on the road, against a team with weapons.

    Our playoff hopes are slim, but, im going to hope for the best. At least we have hope. I want to see Rodgers on the field this week

    1. The Packers chances of making the playoffs are a long-shot, but they absolutely needed Philly to win yesterday because of the points you make: Detroit has a very favorable stretch run.

      Baltimore wins ugly, and they have something to play for at the moment. Right now, Detroit isn’t playing all that well. Even in the elements, they should’ve snowballed Philly yesterday.

      My hope is that a motivated Ravens, coming off the high of an improbable, last-minute win over the Vikes, will be able to dust off a potentially “here we go again” Lions team. I don’t give the Giants much of a chance the following week, but if AP comes back this season, I wouldn’t completely count out the Vikes on closing weekend.

      1. Its not unrealistic to think Detroit will lose 1 of the last 3. The unrealistic part is thinking the Packers will win out…

        1. I don’t think–assuming ARod plays–that it’s impossible for the Packers to win out. Is it unlikely or improbable? Given two of the final three are on the road against teams with playoff hopes, I think it’s an uphill climb. Unrealistic? Not necessarily. I can see a scenario where ARod comes back this week and the Packers spin off three straight, and it’s not that far-fetched.

          The remaining three games feature teams that mirror an ARod-led Packer team. There’s gonna be a lotta points scored in those games…

        2. It was unrealistic that they win out in 2010. It was unrealistic that they go 15-1 in 2011. It was unrealistic that they go 6-6-1 in 2013. Sometimes the unrealistic happens.

  17. Johnny Jolly needs a game ball. That TFL was critical as the 52 yard field goal attempt only fell 2-3 yards short. Jolly also had the fumble recovery. The guy is a stud. I wish he could play more snaps. He needs to be on the field as much as he physically can.

  18. Also Crosby deserves some credit. Kicking in those conditions is not east, and he nailed all 3.

  19. Re: booing-it is everyone’s individual right to boo or not to boo. Isn’t that part of what being a fan is about? The ability to voice your opinion about how you feel the team is performing at that moment?

    Not saying it is right or wrong, just think it should not be judged by others.

    Great read Marques

  20. I’ve never understood why people complain about AR, and now Flynn, “holding the ball to long”. This is done to avoid INTs, which are ten times worse than a sack. Sacks may be drive killers, but turnovers are game changers.

    There were some plays yesterday that Flynn could have thrown the ball away, that’s a legitimate criticism, but it’s still hard to get on Flynn too much for trying make a play down field.

    1. Just as often, holding the ball too long is about a QB’s inability to process what he’s seeing in front of him. I don’t think that’s the case with ARod, but with Flynn or Tolzien?

  21. You buy a ticket and your team sucks you can and should boo. The way the packers play defense they should hear boo’s. Don’t get cocky just because they won by one point against a team that is worse than they are! If they can take the cheers they can take the boo’s. It’s hard to boo when there in Dallas but we will be swearing and yelling at poor play next week.

    1. Weren’t the boos for the team in general? Holding any team to 7 points in one half and 0 points in the other doesn’t sound like a bad defense. Allowing the other team to score 14 points off of offensive mistakes is not the fault of the defense.

      1. No matter what happened yesterday, the defense is poorly coached and there are not enough play makers to stop any real offense.

        The Saints would put up 50+ on this paper defense!

        This argument can’t be broken, good luck trying.

        1. Holding any team in this league to just 7 points isn’t good enough? So your argument isn’t based on what actually happened but solely on your opinion that both the defensive coaches and players are just bad?!

          1. Facts:

            The defense could not get of the field in the Detroit game, save for a turnover or dropped pass. Detroit only punted once and that WAS a dropped pass. Receivers were wide open not just open. Should not happen in NFL expect once in a while do to blown assignment. They cover no one. They tackle no one. Bears will shred them. Please watch the games with your eyes, thanks.

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