Tag: green-bay-packers

House Money

Posted on by nzurich9
Aaron Jones (left) and Jordan Love hug it out in the locker room after their Week 18 Playoff-clinching win vs. the Chicago Bears.

As stated prior, the Packers’ season was already a success. Green Bay found their QB of the future, even if some of us knew this heading into the season, it’s more than evident now. Aaron Jones seemed to be the locker room leader for the entire team, and he put together his best 3-game stretch of his career at the right time – for this team to carry on getting incredible experience.

Love Was Money

In a Gotta Have It game/situation, Jordan Love delivered his best game of his career.

That completion percentage is actually a bit misleading. Of his 5 incompletions, 2 were dropped touchdowns (yes, they should’ve been caught, but weren’t – Melton’s included), and one was a throw away to stop the clock at the end of the first half. So one of his 2 real incompletions was a bad toss up that should’ve been intercepted in the end zone to end the first half…just a brilliant performance.

3rd Down Efficiency

The Packers converted 7 of ten 3rd downs…70% is incredible. Anytime they do that, they’re likely winning as that’s essentially 2 free possessions. It’s also why the game was so short, each team kept the ball in bounds and moving without many incompletions (or penalties). This 3rd down efficiency made up for the lost fumble, which almost swung the game around, and was the only reason the Bears were even in the game in the 2nd half.

Jaire Alexander

Jaire had a great game…which happens when the best man-cover corner in the NFL…plays man coverage. He’s so hard to detect, that even local news reporters have trouble identifying him.

The D-Line Got it Done

The Packers totaled 5 sacks cutting Justin Fields down for 31 yards in those takedowns. The Packers also held the #1 rushing offense (entering the game) to 75 yards on 25 attempts (3.0 yards/rush), which is incredible. Play man coverage, bring a blitzer or two every once in a while, and get Lukas Van Ness more snaps…he plays well and produces when he’s on the field.

All in all, just a solid victory – however, those special teams sure are special…Kicker Anders Carlson will get a lot of the bad rap, but I have a feeling the snapper-to-holder is the crux of the issue, much alike Mason Crosby a few years back when he had issues. Once the Packers fixed that, he ended up being one of the better kickers in the game. I’ll still hold out hope for Carlson, especially since the Packers used a draft pick on him, he almost MUST turn out…however, the highest paid Special Teams Coordinator in the NFL doesn’t seem to be earning his paycheck.

Bear Week…

Posted on by nzurich9

It used to be a thing, when this was a rivalry, which was almost never. The Packers have absolutely OWNED the Bears since Brett Favre’s arrival on the scene in 1992, the Bears owned it prior to that, then Packers, so on and so forth. However, from the trash talk out of Chicago (which is always because they have zero awareness), you’d think this is a huge matchup, akin to 2010, which the Packers won both big ones.

What’s At Stake?

Chicago~ their annual tradition carries on of playing Spoiler. The Bears have a chance to knock the Packers out of the playoffs, much like Detroit did last year. The Bears have won 5 of their last 7, however, not against impressive competition. One of those wins was vs. Detroit, but they’ve been inconsistent the last 8 games, or so. Relatively, Chicago has improved – considering they couldn’t get any worse than starting the year 0-4 and in that fashion, their delusional fanbase (redundant) thinks they’re on the cusp of something, yet they’re torn on whether Fields is the future or not…hopefully for us Packer fans they decide HE IS!

Green Bay~ the Packers are in the exact same scenario as last season…win and you’re in! Coming into the season, the majority of Packer nation wanted to see if Jordan Love was the answer at QB moving forward – he is. The 2nd priority was to get all the youth as many snaps and experience as possible; mission accomplished. Should Green Bay find themselves in the playoffs, they’d be a full year ahead of schedule. Think about Detroit’s rebuild, they traded away Stafford for a King’s Ransom and have built their roster properly. Even then, they missed out on the postseason a year ago and then won the division fairly easily this year – and in Milwaukee Brewer fashion, hung a banner…

Matchup

What stands out is the Bears’ rushing attack vs. the Packers well-known awful rush defense. Green Bay has improved in recent weeks as they’ve jumped out to large leads in their last 2, so both Carolina and Minnesota avoided the rush, but the Packers still were gouged… Look for Chicago to stick with the run to open the pass game, hopefully the Packers carry on their man coverage with blitz looks to generate pressure on Fields, who’s already inaccurate when not under duress. If Green Bay can win the turnover battle, Chicago turns it over quite a bit, but they take it away a ton as well (tied for 3rd in the NFL).

To recap, Chicago runs the ball effectively (even if that’s Fields), which means they hold the ball (2nd in Time of Possession), and they generate a ton of turnovers, which makes up for a below avg. pass defense and scoring defense…this is how they’ve gone 7-9 instead of continuing on in the bottom of the league…

Prediction

To keep up with, when I pick against the Packers they win, theme….

Bears 27 (+3)
Packers 24

Season: 4-12
Overall: 91-64

They Good?

Posted on by nzurich9
Preston Smith (#91) continues to have a great season, seen here getting a QB hit on Vikings’ rookie QB (#16) Jaren Hall.

The Packers had their best showing of the season on Sunday Night Football. The Packers had their season-highs in total yards (470) and time of possession (37:32). Yes those go hand-in-hand, but also an indication they controlled the game throughout – a welcomed sign.

Did Joe Barry Save his Job?

The defense essentially gave up 3 points. The only touchdown surrendered was on the fumbled punt return by 2nd year Nebraska WR Samori Toure, on the first play of the 4th quarter. That set Minnesota on the Packers’ 7 yard line, essentially gifting them a TD. Other than that, the Vikings only had 211 yards of total offense. Would this game have been different had Kirk Cousins started? Absolutely, considering he torched the Packers in their previous matchup prior to tearing his Achilles. Along with that, the Vikings are likely in the 6th seed of the NFC playoffs and Green Bay is fighting with Los Angeles for that 7th and final seed.

Joe Barry could save his job if his defense continues to play like they did last week, but against actual competition – and no, Justin Fields isn’t good either, so any competent defense should shut him down, which they have done, Green Bay included. If the Packers’ defense continues to bring pressure and play man coverage, it’s likely good things will happen as they have the talent and playmakers to do just that. Even with all of that, anything short of the Packers brining the Lombardi Trophy back to its rightful and original home, Joe Barry is gone.

Any Doubters Left?

Jordan Love lofts a pass in the Packers 33-10 victory at US Bank Stadium on Dec. 31, 2023.

Jordan Love’s stat line (24/33, 256, 3/0, 125.3) was indicative of how he’s played over the last several games; incredible. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it…this team is far closer to 13-3 than they are 5-12, which was always the goal going into the season – get the kids reps so they can develop. When they have fun and play together, like any team, they look impressive. They’re going to have hiccups, and out of nowhere, because they’re still young, but it sure seems that Love has put those days behind him. Sure he’ll have bad games, as everyone does, but the basement has risen and he’s become a far more consistently efficient thrower and leader.

Moving forward, there’s an immense opportunity for this young team to get amazing experience a full year ahead of schedule. Should this team make the playoffs (beat Chicago and/or get a bunch of help next week), and hell, even win a road playoff game, who knows how that could propel them for 2024, when 2025 has been the plan for the true window to open…

Happy (maybe) New Year!

Posted on by nzurich9
Jordan Love’s uniform hangs in his locker in waiting for tonight’s matchup against the rival Vikings.

Green Bay is in “must win” mode, as is Minnesota. Both teams need a bit of help to get into the postseason (as of writing this article). The weird thing is each team’s fans are confident that the rookie QB, Jaren Hall, will have a great game against the Packers. Per usual, I will say that the QB that outduels the other will win — that’s likely the case, but Jordan Love will have a tough test due to Joe Barry continuing to call the defense. In addition to this malpractice, Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes (the Packers’ top 2 cover corners) are out, leaving Carrington Valentine, Keison Nixon, and Corey Ballentine as the top three corners for tonight. The last time we saw them, when they were allowed to play man coverage, they held Mahomes & Co. to 19 points. Should Green Bay limit every opponent to 19 points, they will win the rest of their games – without a doubt.

Matchup

What doesn’t bode well is Minnesota is great at moving the ball through the air. They rank 3rd in the NFL in pass yards/game. They’re also 10th in total offense, but turnovers are what doom Minnesota from scoring more. Their defense is fairly average, ranking 10th in scoring – a lot due to their shutout of Las Vegas – but the last time these teams met, could be very indicative of how this game goes. Hall may force balls to Jefferson, who’s proven to be the best WR in the NFL, when healthy. If the Packers are playing man, and if Valentine is covering like we’ve seen, that could finally result in his much-awaited first INT. I still believe Jaire Alexander is one of the best corners in the NFL (when healthy) and Valentine has proved to be aggressive/tenacious to get burned, but also make a tremendous amount of plays…let him.

Prediction

Packers 27
Vikings 30 (-2)

Season: 4-11
Overall: 91-63

Regressing Forward

Posted on by nzurich9
Packers’ CB Jaire Alexander (#23).

Where to start? Joe Barry’s defense allowed 394 yards, 298 (76%) of which came through the air. Carolina was averaging 165 yards passing/game (31st, aka 2nd to last) entering the game and only 14.7 points/game. The Panthers had no issue surpassing either of those outputs. Green Bay was able to make rookie Bryce Young look just like that, initially. They brought pressure and he missed some wide open targets – couple that with some early scoring drives and the Packers were able to play from out front the entire game.

That’s a stat line you’d see from Steven Young in his prime vs a below average defense…a 110.0 QB rating is phenomenal – that’s a problem.

The Good News?

  1. Green Bay didn’t allow 100 yards rushing and gave up less than 4 yards/carry (3.8).
  2. Jordan Love was great, yet again. He accounted for 3 TDs and posted a passer rating almost as good as future HOFer Bryce Young, with a 109.1.

Jaire???

Jaire Alexander (#23, third from the Left) was not elected a Captain, however chose to walk out for the coin toss.

What’s taking over the news in Packer country is Jaire Alexander, and not for the reasons we want. Jaire, from Mint Hill, NC (just outside of Charlotte), wanted to be a captain for the game against his hometown team. However, he went against protocol and almost cost the Packers a possession. There are many opinions as to this whole situation, Jaire, and LaFleur. However, this has been brewing for some time and this wreaks of LaFleur trying to make up for missed opportunities to establish authority. The players seem to be backing Jaire, and there seems to be brewing a shit storm that could’ve been avoided by firing Joe Barry, even as late as a week ago. Now there’s been a festering of negativity and things seem to be coming to a head.

Another positive thing…Jordan Love, again. The kid is handling himself about as perfect as one could ask. Again, my only (major) issue with Rodgers was the fans’ perception of him being far better than he actually was – but Love is fitting into his career track-line eerily similarly. With all of these distractions (Barry, Jaire), Love is moving forward and producing with less and less weapons week in and week out.

LaFleur, Time to Go?

While I’ve been a fan of Matt LaFleur since his hiring, I’m not certain he’s the best Head Coach for the team. I’d still like to give him through the end of next season, but there seems to be one major issue that no one disagrees on, firing Joe Barry immediately.

The latest of what seems to be losing the locker room – which not firing Barry could be the catalyst for – is grounds for termination. Once a Head Coach loses the locker room, it’s impossible to gain it back…

If This Isn’t a Win…

Posted on by nzurich9
Packers Head Coach, Matt LaFleur (left) and Defensive Coordinator, Joe Barry.

That’s OK, because this year was about 1 thing…(say it with me), getting the kids reps. Also, validated that Jordan Love is the QB moving forward.

Current Status

Carolina~ they currently hold the No. 1 overall pick, slot. That pick is held by Chicago in their disastrous trade to pick Bryce Young. Chicago currently holds the #1 overall pick, and if Green Bay wins, they’ll at least have a game lead in that department over 3-11 New England.

Green Bay~ sitting as the “11th seed,” the Packers need to win out, giving them a likely playoff berth. They hold tiebreakers over the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints due to their head-to-head matchups, however should there become a multiple-team tie, they may be on the outside looking in due to their losses to the Falcons, Giants, and Buccaneers…

Must-Win

As stated above, the Packers need to win their remaining games and will likely make the playoffs at 9-8. Green Bay would benefit from Minnesota losing one additional game – not counting the New Year’s Eve vs. Green Bay – and the Rams dropping one of their final three. If Green Bay ends up with the same record as the Rams, they’d be in over them, unless there’s a multi-way tie and it gets to a deeper tiebreaker than head-to-head matchup…

Barry Will Keep His Job…For Now

My guess is Matt LaFleur is loyal to his word, and will keep his Defensive Coordinator on through his contract, which allegedly ends after this season, and will re-evaluate. Joe Barry could have a good finish in these last three games, and if they make the playoffs, may even have a solid showing in the Wild Card game – which may keep his job…I wrote about this last season, about how Barry’s defenses seem to come up in the clutch, but the QB play always let the team down. Still, I wouldn’t mind a new Coordinator, someone not scared to play man coverage and bring pressure.

Matchup

Yet another offense that’s atrocious. The last couple that Green Bay has faced (New York Giants & Tampa Bay Buccaneers) have been just as bad, and each had little to no issue dicing through Barry’s squad to either win on a last second field goal or just flat out dominate the game. Either way, the Packers need to do to Carolina what all other opponents have done, shut them down. Bryce Young has struggled, immensely, all season and the Packers have the talent to make his life hell on Sunday.

Also, the Panthers actually have a solid defense. They’re 29th in overall scoring defense, and that may be due to the offense going 3 & out leaving the opposition a shorter field to score, hence not giving up many yards, but still almost 25 points/game.

Zach Kruse on Twitter, had a pretty good take (at least I like it as it’s right up my alley)…he laid out the ways that Green Bay can get to victory over the worst team in the NFL.

To get in the Christmas spirit, here’s a great take on “Let It Go” from the Crispy Brothers.

Players to Watch

#95 DT Derrick Brown- a force in the middle of the defensive line.
#0 LB Brian Burns- a super athletic linebacker that can do it all.

I could also list every player that could rush the ball, but that would list the entire offense…when facing Joe Barry’s unit, anyone could go off. However, if Green Bay is able to stabilize these two top defenders, they should have a solid chance at winning.

Prediction

Packers 20
Panthers 24 (+4.5)

Season: 4-10
Overall: 91-62

Buc’d

Posted on by nzurich9
Packers’ Defensive Coordinator, Joe Barry.

I’m one of the last to call for people’s jobs as I believe patience is one of the least-used attributes in sports. However, it’s clear to everyone (for varying reasons) that it’s time to move on from Defensive Coordinator, Joe Barry. Even the hack writer, Ryan Wood, isn’t defending his guy any longer. The premise of not getting beat by the “explosive pass” is great, until you’re killed by giving up easy 6-yard chunks for an entire 120 minutes against two of the worst offenses in the entire NFL.

Entering the Giants game, New York was ranked last in total offense (258.7 yards/game) and 2nd-to-last in points per game (13.3 points/game). Green Bay surrendered 367 yards and 24 points against the Giants. Following that abysmal performance, the Packers allowed 452 yards and 34 points to the 23rd ranked (in yards) offense and 22nd ranked (20.2 points/game) scoring offense. An above-average defense would’ve allowed less in each category to each team. However, the Packers forced one punt against the Baker Mayfield-led Buccaneers — in the 2nd half alone, Tampa Bay had 4 drives resulting in 3 touchdowns and running out the final 4:18…

Positives?

Packers’ Wide Receiver, Jayden Reed (#11), celebrates a first down reception.

Jordan Love and Jayden Reed flashed again…as well as Tight End Tucker Kraft (#85). Love was able to connect with Reed on a broken play resulting in a touchdown that was incredible – another WOW moment.

That’s really about it. Sitting in a soft zone, even Head Coach, Matt LaFleur, acknowledges that it’s easy to pick apart…yet doesn’t fire the guy that keeps calling this defense. I understand there are injuries and backups playing, however that doesn’t excuse every single player being wide open. If you play straight man coverage, the only way for the receiver to get open is for him to beat his man. I’d much rather have that as it would require a somewhat accurate throw or the pass rush might get to the QB, at least in time to affect the pass if not resulting in a sack.

Now What?

LaFleur made it clear that he doesn’t intend to move on from Joe Barry, at least not during the season. The Packers are still in the playoff hunt, but will need some help along the way – all assuming they finish the season 3-0. The #1 overall pick, QB Bryce Young, hasn’t thrown a TD since November 19th in their game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11. Can’t wait for Joe Barry’s defense to surrender a 150 yards on the ground and 2+ TD passes to the rookie that’s struggled ALL season…

Playoff Game

Posted on by nzurich9

Entering this weekend, both of these teams would be in the playoffs. Both sit at 6-7. Tampa Bay is currently leading the NFC South division while Green Bay holds the 7th and final playoff seed in the NFC. Should the playoffs begin this weekend, the Packers would be traveling to Dallas to take on the NFC East-leading Cowboys while the Buccaneers would host the 10-3 Philadelphia Eagles.

Safe to say this is a huge game for both sides. Should Green Bay win out, they’d secure a playoff spot and finish with a 10-7 record. However, should the Packers lose just one more game, it’d be tough for them to get into the playoffs at 9-8…but they still could.

Tampa Bay, while leading the NFC South, shares the same 6-7 record as their divisional rival Falcons and Saints. That division will come down to the last weekend, and the winner will be awarded a home playoff game – fair or not, it is what it is.

Matchup

The rankings are entering Week 15 and do not include the TNF game between the Chargers and Raiders.

The Packers get to face one of the worst rush offenses in the NFL. However, that may not be a good thing. The Bucs may just see what they’re able to accomplish by running the ball all game long in hopes of keeping it close, which would likely work. What Packer fans should hope for, is Baker trying to take over. In his previous two starts at Lambeau (one as a member of the Browns on Christmas Day in 2021, Mayfield threw 4 interceptions, with the last sealing the game on the final drive when only trailing by 2. Then last season, 51 weeks later, this time with the Rams, the former Heisman winner was less than pedestrian and lost 24-12. There may be something about Joe Barry that Baker can’t figure out, and with the 29th-ranked rushing offense, hopefully the Packers are able to take advantage and win the turnover battle – which seems to be the reason why Tampa has 6 wins, as they’re +6 in the turnover differential department.

This game may be decided by the availability of Tampa Bays’ outstanding DT Vita Vea (#50). He can dictate a game, however, if the Packers’ OL plays like they did in their last outing at Lambeau (Dec. 3rd vs Kansas City), Love should resemble the QB during the 3-game win streak vs the wind-influenced performance at the Meadowlands this past Monday night.

Prediction

Buccaneers 26 (+3.5)
Packers 27

Season: 4-9
Overall: 91-61

Giant Issue

Posted on by nzurich9
QB Tommy DeVito (#15) and HB Saquon Barkley (#26) combined to rush for 157 yards on 30 carries (5.2 yards/rush).

The Packers have given up 200+ rush yards in four separate games this season. That’s absolutely atrocious. Any team preparing to play Green Bay should just focus on pounding the rock for 60 minutes. Then, if close, towards the end of the game, the corners will play 12+ yards off the line of scrimmage.

The above graphic will make any defensive-minded person puke. It should come as no surprise the Packers are 0-4 in such games. If Green Bay would’ve been bailed out (twice) with a missed field goal at the end on Monday Night, it shouldn’t have sat well with anyone knowing that the Giants had no issue marching up and down the field with the worst offensive line in the NFL quarterbacked by a practice squad local…embarrassing isn’t strong enough of a word.

Special Teams are…Special

Just a couple of more penalties on special teams, paired with Nixon’s butterball routine…the Packers have the highest paid special teams coach in the entire NFL, yet nothing has improved. Hell, it may have (somehow) worsened. In the linked article, it states “To finally put an end to those annual embarrassments, LaFleur made Bisaccia the league’s highest-paid special teams coordinator, with a reported annual salary of over $2 million per year.

So far, it appears to be money well spent.”

Whether that says more about The Athletic (the publisher) or LaFleur’s choice in hiring coordinators (Joe Barry refuses to stop the run and play press man coverage on 3rd downs, unless it’s against Patrick Mahomes).

Was there any Good News?

The Packers won the time of possession. The best item about the game…Love, as we’ve seen all season, “keeps comin’.” The kid just continues to play, doesn’t ever seem to give up – that’s the 2nd best attribute a QB can have (behind clutch). After Saquon kicked the door back open by fumbling deep in Packer territory, up 5, with 4:01 left in the 4th, Love and the Packers were able to capitalize on the opportunity and score a TD. Leaving too much time for the Giants facing a Defense coordinated by Joe Barry to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.

It’s a Trap (?) – Admiral Ackbar

Posted on by nzurich9

Current Situation~ If everyone thinks something is a trap, is it a trap? The Giants are 4-8, currently sitting as the 13th seed in the NFC playoff seeding…they’re essentially dead. Should they win out, they’d be 9-8 and likely would need help to make the playoffs. That said, they did finish 9-7-1 last year and beat Minnesota in the Wild Card round to be the surprise of the NFL. The Packers have a chance to kill the Giants for the 2023 season, even if not mathematically.

Green Bay on the other hand is one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and much of that is to do with the kids getting reps (been advocating for this all this season and next), and beginning to gel. The Packers currently sit as the 7th seed in the NFC playoffs, and would travel to Dallas should the playoffs start today. The Packers actually have some wiggle room, but with Detroit losing in Chicago yesterday, Green Bay has an outside shot at winning the division. If Green Bay is able to win out (finish 11-6), they’d need another 2 losses by Detroit, which is possible. However, first things first…beat NY.

Matchup

As always, the matchup chart (above) shows the potential mismatches in an upcoming game. There should be 2 things that stand out…first, the Giants possess, arguably, the worst offense in the entire NFL. They’re dead last in passing and total yards, while scoring the 2nd least amount of points (Patriots- 13.0). Second, the Packers have a below-average defense, in terms of yardage, yet top-10 in scoring – meaning Green Bay does a good job keeping teams out of the end zone. The dreaded Bend but Don’t Break method…that’s truly it, because the Packers are tied for 27th in taking the ball away, so that’s not it.

Players to Watch

New York Giants Defensive Tackle, Dexter Lawrence.

Lawrence is a stud. Simply put. He’s relatively unknown outside of the the East coast, but this guy can flat out play. He’s also huge. I’ll leave it to former Packers Pro Bowl Guard, Mike Wahle, to explain what makes Lawrence special. Much like Chris Jones on the Chiefs, Lawrence can wreck a game, and he may do it without registering a statistic. Much like Aaron Donald, he’ll require the Packers’ offensive line to account for him every snap. They’ll also need to know when he’s not on the field as that will change the entire approach to attacking the defense.

The Packers are going to be missing quite a bit of star power in this one…while they’re used to it, it’d be nice to have Quay Walker (one of the best ILBs in the NFL) in the middle, let alone one of the best corners in the NFL in Jaire to play (missing a 5th straight game).

Everyone knows Saquon Barkley, and holding him down will be priority #1, but their homegrown Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito. He’s quarterbacked them to consecutive wins and come in, like Green Bay, feeling good. This should be a good matchup tonight. That, and the Giants are wearing their 80’s/90’s throwbacks, which are always great.

Predictions

This will be a close game, hard fought, and will come down to the 4th quarter and Green Bay will come through, this time. Think similar to Week 2 vs. New Orleans…Green Bay came back from 17-0 in the 4th, and still needed a stop to ice the game – same thing tonight, I think…

Packers 27 (-5.5)
Giants 24

Season: 4-8
Overall: 91-60