Hero's & Zero's: Lions Edition

[FrankRizzo]

Hero
#1- James Jones (was available deep all day long)
#2- Eddie Lacy (over 4 YPC, no fumbles)
#3- AJ Hawk (Quietly he's been solid all year)
#4- OLB's (Perry had 2 sacks, Neal was strong with 1 sack, Clay had 1 sack too)
#5- Mason Crosby (5 for 5)
#6- Aaron Rodgers (Solid after a very slow first half... but unlike Cinci game, made no critical mistakes)

Zero
#1- Davon House... didn't like his coverage or his stupid penalty on the punt return, hold. Plus I saw him do some trash talking after a play and almost got flagged for it.

#2- ST coach Slocum. Crosby's kicking aside, I cannot stand the coverage return units or blocking units. Also, why did Randall Cobb field a long punt in the air at the 4 yard line?

#3- Hamstrings... Brad Jones was playing great early, but left due to a hamstring by about halftime..... what's with this muscle on this team? Some wrong leg machine apparently.

 

[12theTruth]

Hero's

Offensive Line
Lacy
Crosby
James Jones
Cobb
Neal
Daniels
Rodgers

IMO, Perry will disappear again as he has little to no coverage ability as least so far. I view this game as an anomaly. I hope not but am afraid it is.


Needs Improvement

McMillian, House, and Jennings will need these guys to step up when we next play a game against a team with an actual WR.

 

[13 Times Champs]

A win but you have to temper it by the fact the Lions played without probably the best receiver in the league. Still our defense was stellar. I didn't like the play calling in the first half when Mike choose to eschew the run when we had 1st and goal inside the 5 or the 3rd and one call in the 2nd (quarter or was it the third???). His play calling needs to pick it up. Good job by Neal, Burnett, Hawk, Matthews, Clay, Perry on that awesome sack. Jones was the player on offense but Cobb and Lacy weren't far behind. OL didn't do bad

 

[FP562]

I think you should put Nelson on the Heros list. He did have a couple big plays in the game that really help moved the ball down field.

 

[13 Times Champs]

I think you should put Nelson on the Heros list. He did have a couple big plays in the game that really help moved the ball down field.

I agree Nelson should not be left off. Two spectacular catches (that made AR look good) had a big impact on the game.

 

[12theTruth]

The Packers were lethargic as all get out and Cobb's long run even though it didn't lead to a TD woke everybody up and to me was the second most important game changing play only second to James Jones TD catch.

 

[Shawnsta3]

This was my favorite game of the year so far. We needed our defense and offensive line and running game to step up, and they all did today.

 

[easyk83]

Hero's

Offensive Line
Lacy
Crosby
James Jones
Cobb
Neal
Daniels
Rodgers

IMO, Perry will disappear again as he has little to no coverage ability as least so far. I view this game as an anomaly. I hope not but am afraid it is.


Needs Improvement

McMillian, House, and Jennings will need these guys to step up when we next play a game against a team with an actual WR.

Disagree on Perry. The position doesn't call for the player to be great in coverage, just adequate and Perry fits the bill with his speed and length. To me he finally showed what some of us have been waiting for with his sack, he finally got low and turned the corner. If he can do that consistently it'll really play up his bull rush. Remember guys Perry also stripped Stafford and caused a huge TFL.

Correction, Perry had two sacks.

 

[PFanCan]

Heroes:
OL: they went up against a tough DL and did well.
Nelson: He catches everything.
Jones: Good game.
Lacy: 99 yards. Would have had 100+ but a penalty called his long run back
Cobb: Great game.
Hawk: he is quietly having a solid season. He remains durable, too.
Crosby: that 52 harder was dead on.
EDIT: Add Perry to this list. Forgot about him at first.

Zeroes:
Injuries: Too many... can Matthews play with a fractured thumb next week???
MM: Why isn't Lacy in the back field on a 3rd and short? Empty back field? Really? Also, why does he call timeouts when the Lions had the ball with two minutes before half? If the defense stopped them, you'd get the ball back with enough time and three timeouts. If the defense doesn't hold (as was the case), then you force them to use timeouts.

 

[lambeaulambo]

Crosby 5-5? He has not done that in a long time if ever. MD Jennings is still lost out there. Tramon needs to be replaced as soon as Hayward is able. With Megatron, I think the outcome may have been different. The offense was sluggish. The Jones non-TD call was wrong I think as the ball had crossed the plain of the goal line, he stepped oob in the end zone. There was an offensive sequence where MM called an inside run w Franklin followed by a screen to Lacy. That suits neither. There seems to be rhythm problems with this team. Sluggish offense will not win many games, but it did this one. Wait until the kicking yips start.

 

[easyk83]

Crosby 5-5? He has not done that in a long time if ever. MD Jennings is still lost out there. Tramon needs to be replaced as soon as Hayward is able. With Megatron, I think the outcome may have been different. The offense was sluggish. The Jones non-TD call was wrong I think as the ball had crossed the plain of the goal line, he stepped oob in the end zone. There was an offensive sequence where MM called an inside run w Franklin followed by a screen to Lacy. That suits neither. There seems to be rhythm problems with this team. Sluggish offense will not win many games, but it did this one. Wait until the kicking yips start.

Aaron has always been a rhythm Quarterback, but he's going to have to learn to run a more run heavy Offense, our O-line will not be able to protect him if we go out and pass 70% of the snaps.

 

[PFanCan]

...The Jones non-TD call was wrong I think as the ball had crossed the plain of the goal line, he stepped oob in the end zone...

I think the call was that he didn't get two feet down inbounds after the catch.

 

[Bensalama21]

Also, why did Randall Cobb field a long punt in the air at the 4 yard line?

At first, I thought the same thing, but if you look at the angle the ball was traveling, the ball could have easily gone out before the endzone. As long as Cobb got around the 10 yard line, it wouldn't hinder that drive (which he did get to). Otherwise the offense would be stalled by running it 3 times in a row on our own 3 yard line.

 

[GoPGo]

#2- ST coach Slocum. Crosby's kicking aside, I cannot stand the coverage return units or blocking units. Also, why did Randall Cobb field a long punt in the air at the 4 yard line?

IIRC, the play was very close to the sideline. The ball very easily could have bounced out of bounds at the 1 or 2 yard line.

#3- Hamstrings... Brad Jones was playing great early, but left due to a hamstring by about halftime..... what's with this muscle on this team? Some wrong leg machine apparently.

The Steelers had a rash of hammies a few years ago and had everyone scratching their heads over there. They didn't fire anyone and by the next season, the problem was gone. Some things defy explanation and just are.

 

[12theTruth]

IIRC, the play was very close to the sideline. The ball very easily could have bounced out of bounds at the 1 or 2 yard line.



The Steelers had a rash of hammies a few years ago and had everyone scratching their heads over there. They didn't fire anyone and by the next season, the problem was gone. Some things defy explanation and just are.

We've had problems with more than just hamstrings and more than just this season. It seems these injury problems (at least the propensity of them) going back at least the last two seasons.

 

[GoPGo]

We've had problems with more than just hamstrings and more than just this season. It seems these injury problems (at least the propensity of them) going back at least the last two seasons.

http://www.nfl.com/injuries

Our injury situation is pretty average. There are a lot of teams with more injury problems than we have.

 

[12theTruth]

http://www.nfl.com/injuries

Our injury situation is pretty average. There are a lot of teams with more injury problems than we have.

As in relation to at least the last 3 (This season + 2011 and 2012) seasons we have had more than our share of injuries.

 

[GoPGo]

As in relation to at least the last 3 seasons we have had more than our share of injuries.

The only season that matters is now.

 

[12theTruth]

The only season that matters is now.

That is a narrow view. Past performance is always a consideration for future planning. If there were to be a deficiency in the training regimen, etc than it is fair to look at more than just this season. Many schools of thought have examined this issue. It is evident though that the Packers have had more than their share of injuries ( hamstrings being the latest most common variety) for the recent past.

 

[Forderick]

I think the call was that he didn't get two feet down inbounds after the catch.

To me it was more of the bobling of the ball while coming down with it, I think if he had the ball secured as he crossed the goal line, it would have counted. but I still think they got the call right as per the rules.

 

[GoPGo]

That is a narrow view. Past performance is always a consideration for future planning. If there were to be a deficiency in the training regimen, etc than it is fair to look at more than just this season. Many schools of thought have examined this issue. It is evident though that the Packers have had more than their share of injuries ( hamstrings being the latest most common variety) for the recent past.

The main point is that we currently have no more than average injuries and fewer than a lot of teams. A lot of the guys who were who were injured in the past are no longer here.

 

[TJV]

Also, why does he call timeouts when the Lions had the ball with two minutes before half? If the defense stopped them, you'd get the ball back with enough time and three timeouts. If the defense doesn't hold (as was the case), then you force them to use timeouts.

I don't think there was anything wrong with those time outs - he was counting on the D, which worked pretty well for most of the game. If the Packers had forced a three-and-out, they (obviously) would have had more time on the clock than without calling the time outs and the offense, unlike the defense, can stop the clock by running out of bounds and spiking the ball.

I think the confusion regarding the reversal of Jones' "TD" has to do with the difference between running the ball and catching the ball. A runner who breaks the plane of the EZ in possession of the ball scores a TD, but a pass catcher has to get both feet in bounds while maintaining possession throughout the catch. I thought it was a close call regarding Jones having possession when his foot came down just out side the EZ but if he didn't, then the call was correct.

 

[adambr2]

I love how we are effectively running the ball, but I feel MM is not using it efficiently.

Too many times we see something like a rush on 1st and 2nd down for 4 and 5 yards, then a down field incomplete pass on 3rd and 1. Run effectively, yet still end up punting. I'd like them to shore this up as in theory our improved run game should be opening up the pass and making our offense more efficient, but its not.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

Zeros: The REFS..... Nelson got mugged, badly, twice with no damn calls. I still say the TD to jones was a rip off (ball broke the plane then he went out, how is that different than some guy diving for the pilon while going out of bounds and barely touching the ball to the pilon?)

I also saw many many holding calls that the lions committed and didnt get called, right in front of the ref.

I am tired of the pack getting ripped off on calls year after year and other teams getting generous calls all the time.

Heros: Jordy, Jones,Cobb, Lacy, Arod, Oline.

 

[lambeaulambo]

Zeros: The REFS..... Nelson got mugged, badly, twice with no damn calls. I still say the TD to jones was a rip off (ball broke the plane then he went out, how is that different than some guy diving for the pilon while going out of bounds and barely touching the ball to the pilon?)

I also saw many many holding calls that the lions committed and didnt get called, right in front of the ref.

I am tired of the pack getting ripped off on calls year after year and other teams getting generous calls all the time.

Heros: Jordy, Jones,Cobb, Lacy, Arod, Oline.

As they say, there is holding on every play. It is dependent upon the play and the circumstances. The Jones call was questionable. I think the refs may have got it right. The NFL's rules are slightly lighter handed than in the past. Pretty soon, players won't be able to tackle someone on the way to out of bounds. I watched Denver/Dallas and this is the future of the NFL. NO D. The NFL had better be leary of another league starting up with old NFL rules intact within it, where QB's are not the golden children.