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Posted Nov. 28, 2005
SAMKON GADO
Insider: Gado not a one-hit wonder
By Rob Demovsky
PackersNews.com
A closer look at the Packers’ 19-14 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Thumbs up
If nothing else, Samkon Gado showed he’s not a one-game wonder. Sure, the rookie running back still has a fumbling problem — he coughed up the ball for the fourth time in the last three games — but it looks like he might have a future in this league. Maybe his fumbling problems will prevent him from being a full-time starter, but he’s too productive to simply cast aside.
Two weeks after rushing for 103 yards at Atlanta, Gado gave the Packers their second 100-yard game by a running back this season when he put up 111 yards on the Eagles. He needed 26 carries to do it and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. His most impressive run was his 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter, on which he used a spin move to juke Eagles safety Brian Dawkins.
Gado, who was promoted from the practice squad last month, probably won’t make the Packers rethink their need for a starting-caliber running back in the offseason. But they probably have found themselves a capable backup for next season.
Thumbs down
Brett Favre still might be among the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but Sunday wasn’t one of his better days. Perhaps it was another example of how limited a quarterback is without a full cast of offensive weapons, but on this day, Favre did little to help himself.
He completed only 15 of 33 passes for a season-low 171 yards and one touchdown. He threw two more interceptions to run his season total to 19. He has as many interceptions as touchdown passes. Only two other times in his career has he thrown more interceptions than touchdowns — 1993 and 1999. His passer rating of 46.4 also was a season-low.
Most perplexing was his Hail Mary shot at the end zone in the game’s final minute that was picked off by Eagles cornerback Roderick Hood. On second-and-15 from the 50-yard line and with 59 seconds remaining in the game, the Packers hardly were down to their last shot. Yet for some reason, Favre threw one up for grabs in the end zone. The only Packers receiver there was Robert Ferguson, who was surrounded by three defenders.
The big picture
Forget what Sherman and his players will tell you. There’s nothing left for them to play for this season. They’re headed for their first losing season since 1991. They’ve been eliminated from the NFC North race, which they had won the previous three seasons. Sure, they have five games remaining in this wretched season, but they’re meaningless. Even if they won the rest of their games, the best they could finish would be 7-9, and there’s no reason to think this team can do that. Who cares whether the Packers rally and win a few games down the stretch? It won’t change the legacy of the 2005 Packers.
Did you notice?
In the first quarter, Packers coach Mike Sherman declined an illegal shift penalty on the Eagles’ offense on a second-and-9 play from the Packers’ 26-yard line because the play went for no gain. Two plays later, Eagles kicker David Akers made a 44-yard field goal.
Had Sherman accepted the penalty, the Eagles would have had second-and-14 from the 31, and if the Packers’ defense could have gotten stops on the next two plays, Akers’ kick would have been a more difficult 49-yarder.
• Favre’s 4-yard scramble on third-and-3 from the 35-yard line in the third quarter was his fourth rushing first down of the season.
• A fan ran onto the field just before the start of the second half and opened what appeared to be a bag of ashes and sprinkled them onto the turf. He reached midfield, crossed himself and then allowed police to take him off the field.
By the numbers
• 8 Times in 11 games this season the Packers have outgained their opponent. On Sunday, they held a 292-264 edge in total net yards.
• 12 Completions by Eagles quarterback Mike McMahon in 28 attempts, making it the third time this season the Packers have lost to a team that completed fewer than 16 passes.
• 180 Rushing yards by the Eagles, the most given up by the Packers’ defense this season.
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SAMKON GADO
Insider: Gado not a one-hit wonder
By Rob Demovsky
PackersNews.com
A closer look at the Packers’ 19-14 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Thumbs up
If nothing else, Samkon Gado showed he’s not a one-game wonder. Sure, the rookie running back still has a fumbling problem — he coughed up the ball for the fourth time in the last three games — but it looks like he might have a future in this league. Maybe his fumbling problems will prevent him from being a full-time starter, but he’s too productive to simply cast aside.
Two weeks after rushing for 103 yards at Atlanta, Gado gave the Packers their second 100-yard game by a running back this season when he put up 111 yards on the Eagles. He needed 26 carries to do it and averaged 4.3 yards per carry. His most impressive run was his 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter, on which he used a spin move to juke Eagles safety Brian Dawkins.
Gado, who was promoted from the practice squad last month, probably won’t make the Packers rethink their need for a starting-caliber running back in the offseason. But they probably have found themselves a capable backup for next season.
Thumbs down
Brett Favre still might be among the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but Sunday wasn’t one of his better days. Perhaps it was another example of how limited a quarterback is without a full cast of offensive weapons, but on this day, Favre did little to help himself.
He completed only 15 of 33 passes for a season-low 171 yards and one touchdown. He threw two more interceptions to run his season total to 19. He has as many interceptions as touchdown passes. Only two other times in his career has he thrown more interceptions than touchdowns — 1993 and 1999. His passer rating of 46.4 also was a season-low.
Most perplexing was his Hail Mary shot at the end zone in the game’s final minute that was picked off by Eagles cornerback Roderick Hood. On second-and-15 from the 50-yard line and with 59 seconds remaining in the game, the Packers hardly were down to their last shot. Yet for some reason, Favre threw one up for grabs in the end zone. The only Packers receiver there was Robert Ferguson, who was surrounded by three defenders.
The big picture
Forget what Sherman and his players will tell you. There’s nothing left for them to play for this season. They’re headed for their first losing season since 1991. They’ve been eliminated from the NFC North race, which they had won the previous three seasons. Sure, they have five games remaining in this wretched season, but they’re meaningless. Even if they won the rest of their games, the best they could finish would be 7-9, and there’s no reason to think this team can do that. Who cares whether the Packers rally and win a few games down the stretch? It won’t change the legacy of the 2005 Packers.
Did you notice?
In the first quarter, Packers coach Mike Sherman declined an illegal shift penalty on the Eagles’ offense on a second-and-9 play from the Packers’ 26-yard line because the play went for no gain. Two plays later, Eagles kicker David Akers made a 44-yard field goal.
Had Sherman accepted the penalty, the Eagles would have had second-and-14 from the 31, and if the Packers’ defense could have gotten stops on the next two plays, Akers’ kick would have been a more difficult 49-yarder.
• Favre’s 4-yard scramble on third-and-3 from the 35-yard line in the third quarter was his fourth rushing first down of the season.
• A fan ran onto the field just before the start of the second half and opened what appeared to be a bag of ashes and sprinkled them onto the turf. He reached midfield, crossed himself and then allowed police to take him off the field.
By the numbers
• 8 Times in 11 games this season the Packers have outgained their opponent. On Sunday, they held a 292-264 edge in total net yards.
• 12 Completions by Eagles quarterback Mike McMahon in 28 attempts, making it the third time this season the Packers have lost to a team that completed fewer than 16 passes.
• 180 Rushing yards by the Eagles, the most given up by the Packers’ defense this season.
