Now that we are nearly four days removed from the Green Bay Packers loss to the San Francisco 49ers (again) in the wild card round of the playoffs, it’s time to take a look back at the game and some of the key plays that led to the final outcome.
Another early exit is hardly something to want to watch again and I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched an actual replay of the game since. I probably never will.
Our team here at ALLGBP.COM will be tackling various plays and series over the next few days and offering some insight into what the Packers did, what they could have done and what ultimately happened.
I chose the near interception by Micah Hyde with just over four minutes left in the game. Call me a frontrunner if you will, as this was arguably the biggest missed opportunity of the game for the Packers.
At this point in the game, the score is tied 20-20 and San Francisco has the ball at their own 30-yard line. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had just overthrown tight end Vernon Davis deep down the seam on the previous first down play. Below is the next play that ensues:
A few things to note about this play. Upon taking the snap, Kaepernick takes a three-step drop and immediately looks left at receiver Anquan Boldin. One of the knocks on Kaepernick is that he tends to lock in on his receiver, which he did on this play.
Boldin runs a five-yard out route. Kaepernick taps the ball a few times, loads up and makes the throw. Hyde was keyed on Kaepernick’s eyes the entire time and breaks on the ball. He is in perfect position to make an interception in front of Boldin and leaps to make the catch. Hyde gets both hands on the ball but cannot reel it in and it falls incomplete.
Had Hyde made the catch, there appears to be a lot of field in front of him and a good chance that he could have returned the pick for a touchdown. Still, if he is brought down or ends up out of bounds, the Packers are already in field goal range and they put the ball back in the hands of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. San Francisco had just one timeout left so they would have had only that plus the two-minute warning with which to stop the clock.
It is often said that there is a reason why defensive backs are not wide receivers and it a lot to do with their ability to catch the football. During the telecast, FOX color analyst Troy Aikman said it best when he stated that “those are the types of plays that are differences between winning and losing.”
Obviously the game could have gone much differently had Hyde made the play but another look at the title says it all. It’s what actually happens on the field that matters and what matters is that it’s the 49ers heading to Carolina this week and not the Packers.
One of the things that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said in his season-ending press conference is that the defense needs more players making plays. It was encouraging to see Hyde, a rookie fifth-rounder, doing everything right on the play and in a critical game. Everything including almost coming down with the ball and a key turnover. Unfortunately, as we know, “almost” doesn’t count in football.
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Jason Perone is an independent sports blogger writing about the Packers on AllGreenBayPackers.com
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That would have been a difficult catch for a receiver let alone a DB undercutting the route. It is a fingertip catch, at the top of your leap in temperatures where you can’t feel your hands – pretty tough. It was a pretty good play reading and breaking up the pass.
The game is inches and it often hinges on mistakes. Kaepernick throwing a pick would have been a game changer. Instead, Jarrett Bush blitzing and ignoring his outside containment is the mistake that makes a big difference at the end of the game. It doesn’t need to be flashy.
“That would have been a difficult catch for a receiver let alone a DB undercutting the route. It is a fingertip catch”
THANK YOU! I agree, this INT would’ve or could’ve changed the game but it was no gimme. Fingertips, falling backward.
We don’t give credit to Hyde preventing the catch, we only look at the best possible outcome in our favor, it seems. He made a good play on the ball, just not a great one.
Bush didn’t have outside contain on that play call. The stunt GB ran was stymied, and the looping lineman had outside contain.
According to Dom capers, bush did have outside contain. Said it on video. GoPack!
WRONG! And if you don’t want to believe us, believe the man who called the defense. Do you realy think he would give a guy like Pickett the job of handling Kaepernick in space? I’ll be doing a film analysis of that play sometime in the next week.
I would’ve paid good money to see Big Grease drop his full weight on Colin Kaepernick…
Pickett was not in on that play. Daniels was I don’t know if that makes a difference. Dom should know better than to give Bush outside contain. His Strength is to blitz the QB. Al, Watch what AJ Hawk on that play. He would have been just as effective at home watching on TV.
I’m not picky as to when to drop Pickett on Kaepernick.
Just once on any other play…
…or maybe twice.
…just for good measure.
This doesn’t reflect well on me as a human being.
Either way, Bush said he didn’t have outside contain on Larry McCarren’s show. If he didn’t know he was supposed to, that’s another issue. If he was supposed to, then he lied. I’m just going off of what I heard Bush say.
BTW, it was Daniels that should have looped and Mulumba who stunted to the inside. The 9’ers line met the stunt and shoved Mulumba into Daniels, who never got to the outside. At that point in the game, with Mulumba hurting, I’m not sure who you want with outside contain on Kaepernick. Bush said his responsibility was blitzing.
Well…okay, the 9’ers OL just man-handled both Daniels and Mulumba. Either way the stunt was stymied and it took care of the outside contain.
I actually credit Dom for running a stunt. Something needed to be done to generate some pressure. Daniels should have been right where Kaepernick stepped up, from what I see int he video. But if Dom said something different, I’ll go with that.
I can’t believe that you want to give Kaepernick the outside and not try to force him into your pressure. Regardless, if Jarrett Bush (who played well down the stretch) is your blitzing playmaker, then we were lucky to make it this far. We need more talent.
Its the kinda play that NEEDS to be made to win in the playoffs! It wasn’t made and the Packers didn’t win. Simple as that.
I’ve wondered 100 times what happens had maybe Sam Shields been out there for that play instead, or Clay Matthews is defending the side Kapernick made most of his runs to, but I don’t blame Hyde. He made several big plays for the Packers this season, he just came up short there. How many times this season did we see balls hit Packers defenders in the hands or even between their numbers, only to be dropped.
That was a 14 or 15 play time eating drive where the 11 guys on the field couldn’t make a stop. How many times did we see Crabtree wide open catching a pass with no one around him? To many. I know this post is about that play, but I can’t blame a 5th round draft pick that played so well for much of the season.
Mathews takes himself out of just as many plays as he makes. He most likely would have been a non factor.
It was only a fingertips catch (which I actually disagree with, he had more than fingertips on it) because he timed his jump poorly. — Hyde said it himself, he would catch that ball 9 out of 10 times. Hyde was a tremendous pickup for us. He is a good player and will continue to be a good player. He blew a chance on that play to make a big play. He made a good play, he just didn’t make a great play and a great play was warranted. GoPack!
While I would have loved to see Hyde make that play, I think that hanging the outcome of the game on it assumes too much. Akin to how the first half played out, who’s to say the Packers wouldn’t have found a way to falter in the red-zone and have to settle for a FG? Play calling and clock-management weren’t exactly stellar in this game. And much like the series following the Pack’s 1st TD after Tramon’s pick, didn’t the 9ers pretty much march the length of the field in about 1:30 and score a TD?
Odds are even if Hyde made that play, a win was no more than an even money bet.
I wish it was otherwise, but the game history tells us it wasn’t.
Another play that I haven’t see any comments when they call bakhtiari for face mask we just made a first down and had to Seattle for a field goal on the reply you can see smith grab in bakhtiari face mask but the refery call was against us game change we score and we lead by 4 different game.
very true Larry
Hyde plays his azz off. He is not afraid to tackle and plays with heart. He misses an int. and we are ready to throw him to the wolves. I disagree. He is the best of our db’s right now. He is the future…
Shields and Williams were playing really well at season’s end. I still like Hayward over Micah covering the slot, providing he’s healthy. Micah has a future with this team, but I wouldn’t say he’s the best we have.
I don’t think anyone is throwing him to the wolves. We all know he is an important future cog to the team, however, it’s ok to discuss missed opportunities, especially when they come in such a big spot. Missed opportunities are what separates winning and losing in the league. I’ll take Hydes word for it ” I should have caught it”. GoPack!
He is NOT the best of our DBs right now, but your other comments are correct. he plays football like a football player. I’ll take that every time.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Shields/Tramon situation plays out because Hyde has shown playmaking ability and with Hayward back, it’s becoming a bit of a crowd.
I don’t think they’ll move him to safety but it’ll be interesting to watch.
Regardless, I’m excited to see him next year. Love what I see and hear out of him. Wants to work and says the right things in a “yeah, this guy is legit” kind of way.
If we resign Shields, then safety is the biggest need in the secondary. Yes you want athletic guys but you need football smart guys. Hyde brings both to the party and is not afraid to get his nose in there. We need help here and drafting a mid-round answer to safety will handicap this secondary for a couple more years. I don’t want to keep hearing the safety woes that date back to Nick Collins.
As for Shields, his agent is Drew Rosenhaus so we can pretty well kiss him goodbye. Just when you think that you are solidifying a position, someone hits the reset button. Here’s hoping that Micah Hyde keeps growing into his role – whatever that might be.
If we lose Shields, I hope that Tramon is willing to restructure at a lower price. Would be tough to lose both of them. If you have Tramon, House and Hayward, that is respectable. Throw Hyde in there in some capacity and its doable. GoPack!
Davon House seems to be regressing. I just watch Mike Spofford’s, What you might have missed. You need to watch House give up on a Kaepernick scramble that goes for another 10 yards. House doesn’t even bother to reach, punch or push at Kaepernick. He has physical tools but his head is not in the game like Hayward, Hyde or Shields. You can’t teach a guy to stay in the game mentally. Too bad, he could have been a contenda…
I’d argue that House doesn’t have the physical tools – namely speed. What I’ve seen is a DB that makes mistakes and doesn’t have the closing speed to recover from them a la Shields.
He runs like he forgot to take the 5lb. ankle weights off.
TT is not likely to get a safety from FA, although it could happen. (I know, opening that can.) I’m not liking the draftable safety class either. Perhaps, and I’m just spitballing here, the best move for GB, short and long term, is to use Micah as the safety opposite Burnett. He’s a sure tackler, can play man and zone, and has shown ability off and on the LOS.
What is plan A from GB to address the safety position, the draft? Is plan B a mid-level FA? So is Hyde at safety plan C?
Thoughts from readers of the best Packer blog?
Some good thoughts on this and a further illustration that we have some of the more educated fans in the league.
This wasn’t about chastising Micah Hyde or calling this one play the very reason that the Packers lost. It was critical, but there are always a handful. This just happens to be the first post of a bunch more that are coming from our writers that will be breaking down specific plays from this game. Read each and realize that we’re not pointing to any specific one as the reason why the Packers’ season is over.
Micah Hyde is a keeper. Green Bay needs HaSean Clinton-Dix or C.J.Mosley to fall in the first round to number 21. The market price for free agents will determine whether GB can keep players like Evan Dietrick-Smith, James Starks, Sam Shields, and Matt Plynn. I would also hope that the best player available just happens to not only be a good football player but also in a position of need. Let us now “fix” the defense.
There were probably 8-10 plays like this one where, if the player makes the play, it would have tipped the scales to a Pack victory. James Jones drops were two of them. He was trying to catch with his chest instead of his hands. I understand he had broken ribs so I’m not trying to be critical, but if he catches either of those we most likely would have won.
It’s easy to pick one or two plays the Packers missed that would have changed the game.What about the other 9 plays on this drive where the defense was beaten by SF? There was ample opportunity to win this game and the defense fell apart like a cheap suit.
As I said earlier in a previous comment (I guess I can’t make you read it), this is one in a series of many plays that our team will be breaking down from the game vs. San Fran. I did say this is arguably the biggest play, so there is room for argument which, again, will be made in future posts.
Micah also has the coolest name of the bunch…
If the rest of our defense played as hard as Micah Hyde we’d be discussing a Packer victory. He is a good example of playing hard and playing with attitude that I have been writing about in many of my posts this week. He stopped the pass, that’s his first responsibility and he executed. The Pick would have been great and I believe the next time we see him in that situation he will make the pick. A quality safety, plus Hyde, Hayward, Tramon and Shields and our secondary can be good, maybe very good. Jennings gone, House a question mark, and Burnett a question mark at this point. Thanks, Since ’61
If Casey Hayward had stayed healthy, theoretically they could have moved Micah Hyde, or any one of our DB’s to safety with Sean Richardson.
Can you imagine the difference that would have made???
I agree Chad – my only concern with Hyde and Richardson is that I am not sure if either are fast enough to be safeties. Although I would be willing to give that duo a try compared with Jennings and Burnett. Thanks, Since ’61
Richardson has very good speed. That’s one of his best traits. He’s got outstanding size/speed ratio and runs 4.4’s in the 40. Most safeties, Collins excluded since he ran in the 4.3’s, run in the 4.5’s. Either way that’s not the most important trait. Quickness is more important. Hyde runs in the 4.5’s so his speed is fine at safety and he has good quickness. His speed is below average as a CB.
Stroh – thanks for the update! Hyde and Richardson for safety. Of course we’re stuck with Burnett’s contract at the moment. Thanks, Since ’61
We have too many rookie boo-boo’s, because we always have too many rookies. This is not a knock on Hyde who was drafted, but he’s still a rookie playing in a playoff game. This is especially a problem with low round draft picks and UDFA’s. Last years sensational pre-season UDFA seems to always get replaced by the new awesome UDFA. Outside Linebacker is a prime example recently. The grass always seems to be greener with the new guy. I say there is a lot to be said for a little experience. A lot of 2nd or 3rd year players we cut seem to be holding their own on other teams 53 man rosters.
Sorry if I went slightly off topic. Hyde has been great…for a rookie.
I’m with those who say that for Hyde to have intercepted that ball given the conditions and how high he jumped, would have been miraculous. He made a very good play just to have tipped it. And even if he catches it, he probably falls down and is stopped right there. It would have been huge, but the offense not scoring TD’s is what ultimately cost the Packers that game.
as the conversation changed from discussing one play to the secondary, i have to comment I don’t think it will be an issue unless we lose a few players.I have been watching the pack since the 60’s and I dont remember a better rookie corner than what sam showed- even willie buchanon.House may be slow but he has the best technique of all of them.even Banjo may have a future at safety here.
You can not go to a playoff game and only play 3 quarters out of 4 . We did not even show up in the first quarter , heck in some games we did not show up the first hall. We are lucky we won the division.