Tag: jordan-love

Quick Flip(per) The Page

Posted on by nzurich9

Finally, a complete game from both sides of the ball, and the special teams. It was refreshing to see Green Bay take advantage of a depleted 9ers team. It’s tough to win in this league, and never apologize for winning. The Packers did what they were supposed to and jumped to a 17-0 lead and should’ve been 24-7 heading into half (Christian Watson’s dropped 49-yard TD). Green Bay should’ve scored on their first 4 possessions, with 3 of those being touchdowns. While San Francisco was missing all-world defender, Nick Bosa, Green Bay was able to move the ball at will. Those first 3 possessions tallied 34 plays, 187 yards, 17 points and 19:05 in time of possession. That’s incredible production.

The other point that’s not talked about were the points off turnovers. Green Bay forced 3 turnovers (should’ve been 4 or 5, with the dropped Quay INT and fumble on the kickoff with about 6:30 left in the 1st half) and scored touchdowns off each of them. Scoring 21 points off 3 turnovers almost guarantees a victory in any level of football, but especially in the NFL.

It was covered during the broadcast, but LaFleur stuck with the ground game, early and often. Green Bay had a rush:pass ratio of 42:25 (2 sacks) for a 62.7% rush. That’s lovely, as it opens up the entire playbook and allows anything to be called at any situation. Jacobs finished the game with 26 carries for 106 yards and the hat trick of 3 touchdowns. Love was very good as well, aside from two passes that should’ve been intercepted. Love finished the game 13/23 (56.5%), 163 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 107.7 Rating. Had Watson held on to the TD pass to finish the first half, Love’s line would’ve looked far better: 14/23; 202 yards; 3 TDs; 0 INTs; 129.0 Rating.

Quay Walker

LB Quay Walker (#7) tackles Christian McCaffrey in the Packers’ 38-10 win at Lambeau Field on Sun., Nov. 24th. (photo credit: Evan Siegel; packers.com).

Answering the bell – Quay Walker put together his best game of the season. Walker finished with 7 tackles (6 solo) with 2 tackles for loss and a dropped INT. He was assertive and wasn’t thinking but rather just playing. His athletic ability coupled with his size is rare in the NFL for his position and should Green Bay get the Quay from the 9er game the rest of the way, this may be the most complete team in the NFL, aside from Detroit, who is beatable.

Current Standing

As you can see, the Packers currently sit as the 6th seed in the NFC Playoff Picture and are still 3rd in the division behind Detroit and Minnesota, each of whom they lost to. In order to win the division, the Packers will likely need to win out and get help from the opponents of Detroit and possibly Minnesota. First things first, Miami comes to town and they’re far better than their record and standing shows. The Dolphins are currently sitting as the 8th seed (first team out) in the AFC and need some help in order to earn a postseason berth.

The Miami Dolphins were a playoff team last year and have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL with speedsters WR Tyreek Hill, WR Jaylen Waddle, and RB De’Von Achane. Each of these guys can take it the distance from anywhere on the field.

Miami ranks in the bottom 3rd in all offensive statistics, however that’s a mirage. Starting QB Tua Tua Tagovailoa has missed 4 games this season, however in games he’s played, they’re a different team. They show 19.5 points/game (24th) and 323.9 yards/game (19th) on the season, but with Tua they’ve put up 25.0 points/game (would be 9th) and 352 yards/game (would be 10th). That’s a much more balanced team as they’d be 9th and 10th in yards/points, respectively coupled with 6th and T-11th in yards and points on the defensive side of the ball, respectively. They resemble a team far closer to the Packers than what the stats say. This will be an extremely tough matchup as they went 1-3 in the four games Tua missed, but easily could’ve gone 2-2 or possibly 3-1, making their record 6-5 or even 7-4, which is more indicative to their true strength than they currently rank.

Both teams are dealing with the short week, but from the Packers’ perspective, Josh Jacobs carried 26 times and dealt with cramps during the game, expect to see a larger helping of Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks in the run game. Wilson has 66 rushes on the season while Brooks has 17, but it may be a blend of 50% Jacobs and the remaining share to be split between Wilson and Brooks.

The other challenge is the injury report. Green Bay is getting thin at linebacker and is likely without Jaire Alexander, meaning pass rush will be key again (as always) for limiting their star skill players. On the flip side, keeping those star players on the sideline is the best path to not allowing them to cause damage. The Packers come in ranked 3rd in rushing offense while Miami ranks 9th in rush defense. A funny thing is that the Dolphins’ defensive run game coordinator is former Packer defensive coordinator, Joe Barry. He’s done a great job with Miami as their defense is top-10 in each yardage category and just outside the top-10 in scoring. Winning the turnover battle along with time of possession will be key as both of these teams like to possess the ball.

Time of Possession ranks:

  • Miami ranks 7th averaging 31:28/game
  • Green Bay ranks 10th avg. 31:14/game

Prediction Time

How will this all play out? It’s likely to be a tight, low-scoring game as it often is on Thursday games when neither team has had a full week of rest. Both teams will look to control the ball, Miami with a ton of short/quick passes and Green Bay with the ground game and play action.

Season: 9-2
Overall: 101-68

Survived…

Posted on by nzurich9
(#56) ILB Edgerrin Cooper won Defensive Player of the Week. (photo credit: Evan Siegel; packers.com).

The Packers escaped Jacksonville with a win and their health. There were quite a few injuries in the game, most-notably QB Jordan Love, exiting with a groin injury. The one injury that may have had the most impact on the game was rookie Safety Evan Williams. Williams injured his hamstring, which is concerning because those seem to linger for quite some time. Once Williams exited, the Packers defense relinquished 20 points stemming from late 2nd quarter. The other rookie safety, Javon Bullard, struggled immensely in both coverage and tackling – which is odd considering he showed early on that he is a good coverage safety and an aggressive tackler. Should Williams continue to miss time, Bullard must produce and more importantly, the pass rush needs to find consistency.

As someone that beats the drum on scoring off turnovers, the Packers did a perfect job against the Jaguars – and that was, by far, the difference in the outcome of the game. The Packers committed 1 turnover, on a good play by the Jaguars corner, but the Packers followed that by intercepting (McKinney’s 6th) Trevor Lawrence on the ensuing drive. From there, the Packers scored touchdowns on each of their takeaways while Jacksonville committed a turnover on their ensuing drive from their lone takeaway. With Green Bay winning that battle 14-0, that was monumental for them to bring home the win.

Cover Boy

Standout rookie linebacker, Edgerrin Cooper, had a phenomenal game. Cooper logged 9 tackles, 1 sack where he forced a fumble that Green Bay immediately turned into a touchdown, and had a monumental pass breakup early in the 4th quarter on 3rd down to keep momentum for the Packers after Jordan Love had exited the game. Cooper keeps flashing and making plays the more snaps he garners.

Malik Willis has been the perfect backup QB. The unwritten expectation of backup quarterbacks is to win half the games you start. Well, Willis has started 2 games and played half of another, and Green Bay has come out victorious in all three appearances.  Should Willis start this coming Sunday and win, we’re getting towards uncharted territory for a backup that will continue to be a backup as Love is still very good (yes, better than Willis) and is paid, but there definitely will be a market for Willis this offseason – and most of the credit goes to Willis for putting in the work. With all of this, Matt LaFleur should be front-runner for Coach of the Year. Here’s a prime example of why he’s so good, a great breakdown by Dan Orlovsky.

The Packers are dealing with quite a few injuries with key players. Not great timing considering the Lions come to town and look as though they’re the best team in the NFL, having the largest point differential in the league and having put up over 40 points in three of their last 4 games. QB Jared Goff in those games has gone 70/83 (84.3%), 972 yards, 10 TD, 0 INT for a QB Rating of 155.1. That’s absurd, and have come against solid teams in Seattle, Dallas, Minnesota, and the #1 defense in Tennessee. This does not bode well for Green Bay who has done a solid job vs. stiff competition, but without takeaways, (minus the Houston game) has relinquished quite a bit of yards – Detroit has done the best job in the league with converting drives to points. The Packers must take the ball away and convert those turnovers into touchdowns should they want to compete, let alone win the game.

Those injuries mentioned above, obviously Jordan Love being the biggest, however the most impactful one may be rookie Safety, Evan Williams. It turns out when Williams is on the field he’s a difference-maker and is solid in both the run and pass game. Compounding the issue is top-tier cornerback, Jaire Alexander, is also hurt and may miss the game, and that spells disaster seeing as the Packers can’t seem to generate a pass rush with 4 down linemen.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep beating the drum, the best indicator of a team’s true strength is Point Differential. The Lions rank 1st in the NFL with +100, while Green Bay is solid at the 8th spot at +46. Detroit also does a great job at limiting turnovers ranking 4th (tied with Pittsburgh) and is right up there with Green Bay for taking the ball away. The Packers will (as always) need to win the turnover battle, points off turnovers, and likely time of possession to come out with a victory.

What’s At Stake?

With a victory, the Packers would catapult to the 2nd seed in the NFC playoff race (assuming Washington beats the Giants) behind the Commanders who would have the tiebreaker with a better record vs. NFC opponents. However, should Detroit win, it would give them a large lead in the best division in football (NFC North) by having a 1.5 (+.5) game lead in the division over both Minnesota and Green Bay. While there’s still plenty of football left to be played, this is close to a must-win game for Green Bay to keep pace with Detroit, Minnesota, and Washington for that highly-coveted top seed in the playoffs, which would bring the only BYE in the postseason.

Assuming everyone can play (Love, Tom, Myers, Alexander, and Williams) at a high-level, Green Bay is very close to matching player for player with Detroit, but has yet to put a complete game together. What can be said is Green Bay seems to refuse to put a complete game together, however they also refuse to lose. The Packers are more battle-tested, and should this game come down to one possession, they just may be able to pull this one out.

Prediction

Season: 6-2
Overall: 98-68

Close Ain’t Good Enough

Posted on by nzurich9
Photo credit: Alli Rusco – Minnesota Vikings

The Packers committed a flury of mistakes: 4 turnovers (3 interceptions, 1 fumble); dropped interception; multiple drops; 2 missed field goals; 8 penalties; multiple drops. Green Bay made a game of it, cutting the score to 28-22 with 10:16 left in the game. Eliminate just one of those mistakes and the argument can be made Green Bay comes out victorious. Minnesota was able to jump out to a 28-0 lead which essentially iced the game in the 1st half…essentially.

There’s Fight In This Team

Green Bay, and Jordan Love, settled into the game after a muffed punt by Minnesota to set up the Packers’ first score of the game late in the 2nd quarter. It was obvious that Love had little confidence in the injured left knee in the first half. He was able to drive the ball much better in the 2nd half and played fairly flawlessly until a poor decision to chuck one up in the end zone to Wicks when Safety Harrison Smith came free off the edge on a blitz. Love had Tucker Kraft wide open in the middle of the field for a 12+ yard gain, and what makes it frustrating is that came on 1st down.

What should seem like a broken record now, Jayden Reed is on the scene and is a legit top WR in the NFL. In his 2 games with Jordan Love this season, he’s totaled 23 touches, 427 yards, and 3 TDs. He’s a weapon and head coach Matt LaFleur knows how to get him the ball in space. Reed is dynamic and can really leverage a defense and showed it in this game vs. a top defense in the NFL.

Who Are the Rams?

The Rams enter this game with a 1-3 record, however that sole victory came against the San Francisco 49ers where LA found themselves trailing by double-digits, twice, in that game before coming back and icing the game. While San Fran hasn’t looked all that good since Week 1, they’re still uber talented and, like Minnesota, anyone that beats them should be taken seriously. QB Matt Stafford can still beat you with his arm and decision-making, but he has little to work with, being his top 2 targets are out with injuries. In the Rams’ last game in Chicago, they committed 2 turnovers which the first Chicago turned into a TD and the last ended the game. There should be opportunities for Green Bay’s defense to grab a few passes, and the Packers will need to convert those turnovers into touchdowns.

As you can see, the Rams suffer terribly on the defensive side of the ball. Love has done a great job of accumulating yards and points in the 2 games he’s played, and the Packers still rank 3rd in yards and 6th in points, with half of their games started by an inexperienced QB where they focused on the run game. Look for Green Bay to put up some serious yards and points in this game – at least they should.

There are 2 players to keep an eye on from the Rams side…Kyren Williams (running back) and rookie edge rusher Jared Verse. Williams has 86 touches for 326 yards, with 6 touchdowns in 4 games. Green Bay struggles a bit vs the run, but have shown improvement over last year and this will be another test as they’ve given up big plays and yards in the 2 games where they’ve faced solid rushing attacks (Phi and Min).

Verse doesn’t have a ton of stats piled up, yet, but he’s a potential star in the making and should test Green Bay’s offensive line in this game. Keeping him from Love will be paramount if the Packers want to tally up these yards and points, I’ve referenced…

Could this go Sideways?

The Packers have suspended WR Romeo Doubs for one game after he missed practice on consecutive days this week. There have been multiple reports stating varying reasons, anything from “Doubs is unhappy with his role in this week’s gameplan,” to him having anxiety issues, etc. Speculating is all we can really do as the team hasn’t really offered an explanation, but best-case scenario is this turns out to be a similar situation to the Jaire Alexander proclaiming himself captain when they faced the Carolina Panthers last year. This might be a move to send a message that no 1 player is bigger than the team and it’ll give him time to figure out whatever is plaguing him to miss practice.

Other than these distractions and injuries, it’s hard to imagine Green Bay having a problem with the banged up Rams. Then again, it’s the NFL and the Packers always seem to lose 2 games they have no business losing. If the Packers committ only half of the mistakes as they did against Minnesota, Green Bay should depart Los Angeles with their 3rd win on teh season.

Season: 2-2
Overall: 94-68