Let's not ignore two simple truths about last night

[Joe Nor Cal Packer]

I don't buy into the notion that Aaron Rodgers is "terrified" of anyone.

Well he has the ability to change a play at the line. I just find it hard to believe that Boykin didn't get open for an entire game. Maybe it was MM's decision to stay away from Sherman. I think that was a bad idea.

 

[GoPGo]

Maybe it was MM's decision to stay away from Sherman. I think that was a bad idea.

How can you say something was a bad idea when you admittedly don't know if that's what happened? Why would Rodgers not throw the ball to Boykin if he was open?

 

[Joe Nor Cal Packer]

How can you say something was a bad idea when you admittedly don't know if that's what happened? Why would Rodgers not throw the ball to Boykin if he was open?

Is Sherman that good? That a receiver like Boykin is shut down by him for the entire game? I just don't buy that.

 

[PackerFanLV]

Im late to reply to this but it took a little time to digest from the beating we took in seattle. All imma say and im going to keep it short. AJ HAWK OMG WHY is he A MIDDLE LB. We have got to get physical or we will continue to lose to these physical team. Man i was so on fire Thursday. OH another thing we made Richard Sherman feel like a GOD. SMDH

 

[Sunshinepacker]

How can you say something was a bad idea when you admittedly don't know if that's what happened? Why would Rodgers not throw the ball to Boykin if he was open?

Why would anyone think that Boykin was open? The second best corner in the NFL covering a team's third receiver would generally lead me to believe that the receiver isn't getting open.

 

[PikeBadger]

He made the roster because of Barclay's injury.

I think you're right. I don't think they would have kept him to be the 8th o-lineman.

 

[CheesyCowboy]

I think AR was frustrated with MM game plan on how to attack the Seattle defense, especially regarding testing RS.
Even a few intelligent throws to RS side of the field would move a safety a smidgen, a linebacker a smidgen regardless if the pass was completed.
That smidgen opens a little bit bigger window for AR to find "open" receivers.
BTW. What is the advantage of the aomeba defense? That really worked against a glorified college offense

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Why would you throw toward a guy when the WR he's covering isn't open? They didn't avoid throwing his way by design. They didn't throw his way because Boykin couldn't get open.

Even if that's true, which I don't think it is, why not move Nelson to Sherman's side or replace Boykin with Adams and see if they can get open? They didn't even put two receivers to the right side and tried to throw to the guy not being covered by Sherman, meaning the safeties and linebackers didn't even have to think about covering 1/3 of the field. It's ludicrous to have more than four months to prepare for an opponent and not being able to come up with a better game plan.

 

[GoPGo]

Is Sherman that good? That a receiver like Boykin is shut down by him for the entire game? I just don't buy that.

And I just don't buy that Rodgers wouldn't throw the ball to him if he was open.

 

[easyk83]

I can go along with giving Sherrod more time, but it's AR's health on the line here. I don't much care for how guys do in camp or at practice. It's the real games that count. What are the alternatives to Sherrod? Are there any outside of a trade or FA acquisition.......? Scary.

But you were fine with Bulaga on the right side?

 

[TJV]

I think AR was frustrated with MM game plan on how to attack the Seattle defense, especially regarding testing RS.

Is there any evidence of this? Did you see an argument on the sideline while watching the game with a lip-reader? Rodgers was upset with Linsley on one play - Linsley confirmed that. And Rodgers was upset on a few passing plays but it's not always clear whether he was upset with himself or the receiver. IMO who he should have been upset with overall for that performance is himself: He was not sharp.

Even if that's true, which I don't think it is, why not move Nelson to Sherman's side or replace Boykin with Adams and see if they can get open?

If the Packers believe their three best WRs, in order, are Jordy, Cobb, Boykin and if they believe the Seahawks best CB is Sherman, I honestly don't have a problem with them not going out of their way to throw at Sherman. If Rodgers were his usual pinpoint accurate self, Jordy, Cobb, the TE and the RB in the game at the time should have provided plenty of targets for an efficient offense.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

If the Packers believe their three best WRs, in order, are Jordy, Cobb, Boykin and if they believe the Seahawks best CB is Sherman, I honestly don't have a problem with them not going out of their way to throw at Sherman. If Rodgers were his usual pinpoint accurate self, Jordy, Cobb, the TE and the RB in the game at the time should have provided plenty of targets for an efficient offense.

IMO the problem with that is that Earl Thomas and their LB corps can shift their coverage to 2/3 of the field without even having to think about the left side of their defense. It´s already tough to make any big plays against their defense when they have to cover the entire field let alone when ignoring 1/3 of it.

At least, I would have expected to line up two receivers or a TE to throw to on the right side (those guys wouldn´t have been covered by Sherman) to keep Thomas honest, but it didn´t happen at all (once again, three throws to the right, none longer than 2 yards).

 

[Einstein McFly]

Boykin is a good route runner, but getting to Sherman requires more quicks and separation than he has. By leaving him to cover one sideline, seattle essentially made it easy to pick on their much worse corner, which Rodgers did. Nelson and Cobb got plenty of looks and if we had a decent TE who could stretch things a little (like Bostick, say) then it may have looked better. It's kinda weird that MM/Rodgers is getting criticized here for being gutless and not taking chances when Sherman/PC doesn't want to move around outside of the one part of the field that he's most comfortable with.

 

[Einstein McFly]

Is there any evidence of this? Did you see an argument on the sideline while watching the game with a lip-reader? Rodgers was upset with Linsley on one play - Linsley confirmed that. And Rodgers was upset on a few passing plays but it's not always clear whether he was upset with himself or the receiver. IMO who he should have been upset with overall for that performance is himself: He was not sharp.
If the Packers believe their three best WRs, in order, are Jordy, Cobb, Boykin and if they believe the Seahawks best CB is Sherman, I honestly don't have a problem with them not going out of their way to throw at Sherman. If Rodgers were his usual pinpoint accurate self, Jordy, Cobb, the TE and the RB in the game at the time should have provided plenty of targets for an efficient offense.

Quoted for truth. Look at this as Rodgers picking on the much worse corner on the field who is matched up with our best WR and it makes perfect sense. We don't think it's weird when Rodgers goes after some hapless viking or lion CB over and over and we don't call it "being afraid of" whoever the other corner is and call him a game changer just because he's better than the worse CB out there.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Quoted for truth. Look at this as Rodgers picking on the much worse corner on the field who is matched up with our best WR and it makes perfect sense. We don't think it's weird when Rodgers goes after some hapless viking or lion CB over and over and we don't call it "being afraid of" whoever the other corner is and call him a game changer just because he's better than the worse CB out there.

You're ignoring the fact that safeties and LBs are able to shift their coverage by not throwing to one side of the field.

In addition Rodgers likes throwing to his right side and has been pretty good at it. During his career he has attempted 300 more passes to the right side than to the left posting a 114.1 passer rating. The Packers took a pretty good part of his game away by ignoring that side and once again it's possible to theow to that side without targeting Sherman.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

Sherrod just stood there on that strip/safety. His only contribution was to save a defensive touchdown - hardly "play of the week" material. The headline for this game is that the Packers did play scared. But how on earth did Sherrod make the roster?

Barclay's injury is my only explanation.

 

[Ogsponge]

1. As of last night Seattle is hands down a whole nother level better than us as a football team right now. This has actually been mentioned by other posters so I'm not going to say anything other than that.

2. This team is soft and weak and it has been proven time and time again by teams like the Giants the 49ers and now the Seahawks. On top of this now this team as of last night has also played scared. They we're so scared of Richard Sherman that not only was not a single pass thrown in that direction they didn't even look in that direction. Think about that, the supposedly best quarterback in the entire league was so scared of 1 player that they didn't even look in that direction. An entire one third of a football field was ignored because they were scared of it.

That is flat out embarrassing and the entire organization should be ashamed of themselves. The Packers were scared to play football the way they wanted to and instead played football exactly how Seattle wants them to and because of this they got a mudhole stomped in them last night.

The entire culture and attitude in the Green Bay locker room needs to change or what we witnessed last night will be the same result we see every time we face another elite team. Sure we will continue to win lots of football games and we will continue to be considered one of the better teams in the NFL but the goal is not to be better it is to be the best and until this team decides they want to be the best there will be a lot of disappointments come playoff time for this organization.

So I am normally not the type to drudge up old threads but in this case I feel it is entirely warranted as I don't want people to think I am just pulling stuff out of my **** after a bad loss.. Read what I had to say after the opening loss to Seattle and compare it to yesterday's game, particularly point #2. I am sorry but it is time to stop making excuses for this team. The bottom line is the Packers are soft and weak. The Packers rarely lose to the better team, however they almost always lose to the tougher team. And if the past 5 years of mostly utterly embarrassing playoff losses does not prove that to anyone I do not know what will.


That being said let me explain what I mean by soft and weak. I am not talking about physical strength although that does play a part of it sometimes but I am mainly talking about mental strength. This team lacks conviction, fire, passion, backbone, nastiness and killer instinct. This team once again played a scared football game, especially in the 2nd half, this team started playing not to lose instead of playing to win. On top of that for the entire 4th quarter you have one armed cornerback on the field and you don't test him? Not once? How more scared of playing football can you be? This team was once again on the wrong side of an historic win. It was the largest come from behind victory in the history of the NFC and AFC championship games.


When was the last time you saw a Packer player on the sideline firing up his team in crunch time? I can't remember one time since Woodson has been gone. Where is the leadership on this team? Where is the fire and overwhelming desire to win a football game on this team? It does not exist and that is what this team continues to lose when it matters most. And don't get me wrong, I am not saying it cannot be fixed, I am not saying we need to blow up the whole team because of it. What I am saying is that unless someone on this team is going to take the role of the guy that tells the rest of the team "THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE" what we saw, yet once again, is going to happen over and over and over to this team. As I said at after the season opener....


"Sure we will continue to win lots of football games and we will continue to be considered one of the better teams in the NFL but the goal is not to be better it is to be the best and until this team decides they want to be the best there will be a lot of disappointments come playoff time for this organization.

 

[mongoosev]

2. This team is soft and weak and it has been proven time and time again by teams like the Giants the 49ers and now the Seahawks. On top of this now this team as of last night has also played scared. They we're so scared of Richard Sherman that not only was not a single pass thrown in that direction they didn't even look in that direction. Think about that, the supposedly best quarterback in the entire league was so scared of 1 player that they didn't even look in that direction. An entire one third of a football field was ignored because they were scared of it.

yes, with yesterday's lose(this game will be used as a reference for future games) doesn't help packer's team to overcome those perceptions.

 

[Joe Nor Cal Packer]

1. As of last night Seattle is hands down a whole nother level better than us as a football team right now. This has actually been mentioned by other posters so I'm not going to say anything other than that.

2. This team is soft and weak and it has been proven time and time again by teams like the Giants the 49ers and now the Seahawks. On top of this now this team as of last night has also played scared. They we're so scared of Richard Sherman that not only was not a single pass thrown in that direction they didn't even look in that direction. Think about that, the supposedly best quarterback in the entire league was so scared of 1 player that they didn't even look in that direction. An entire one third of a football field was ignored because they were scared of it.

That is flat out embarrassing and the entire organization should be ashamed of themselves. The Packers were scared to play football the way they wanted to and instead played football exactly how Seattle wants them to and because of this they got a mudhole stomped in them last night.

The entire culture and attitude in the Green Bay locker room needs to change or what we witnessed last night will be the same result we see every time we face another elite team. Sure we will continue to win lots of football games and we will continue to be considered one of the better teams in the NFL but the goal is not to be better it is to be the best and until this team decides they want to be the best there will be a lot of disappointments come playoff time for this organization.

One last thing I wanted to mention was that I've seen and heard a lot of people complaining about Clinton-Dix's missed tackles last night but you know what? He missed tackles last night because he was playing with energy, enthusiasm and aggressiveness in his first NFL football game ever. He failed last night because he tried and he will get better and that is acceptable. Unfortunately a whole lot of the rest of this football team failed because they didn't even try last night and that is unacceptable.

I think you've got this right, and now add Seattle to the list that includes the Giants and 49ers. Everything Rodgers said in his after-game comments could have been said on the field, by a player. Too many things went wrong yesterday to cite one. But even a little "fire in the gut" would have prevented some of those things. We need another Woodson, not as a player, but as a sideline/locker room leader.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Comments above are spot on. Packers showed they have the talent to win but not the character. That is very hard to change on a team when the leadership stays the same. Packers really miss Woodson and before him Reggie had the fire. If Woodson is available I'd bring his old bones back to the Pack just for his leadership ability. His speech after the Pack beat the Bears in the championship game 4 yrs ago is one of the best motivational talks I have ever heard in pro football.

 

[melvin dangerr]

Well one thing is for sure Brad Jones is glad Brandon Bostick is on his team....

 

[dbain21]

Well one thing is for sure Brad Jones is glad Brandon Bostick is on his team....

Both guys need to go. Feel bad for Bostick...not so much for Brad Jones he's just awful.

 

[melvin dangerr]

Comments above are spot on. Packers showed they have the talent to win but not the character. That is very hard to change on a team when the leadership stays the same. Packers really miss Woodson and before him Reggie had the fire. If Woodson is available I'd bring his old bones back to the Pack just for his leadership ability. His speech after the Pack beat the Bears in the championship game 4 yrs ago is one of the best motivational talks I have ever heard in pro football.

I believe you hit it on the head, when the Seahawks were down and many thought were out, Richard Sherman was on the sidelines gathering his troops, where as I did not see that on the Packer sideline from none of the team captains..

 

[melvin dangerr]

I could tell the SeaHawks were dissing the Packers, when on the overtime coin flip they sent out backups and no team leaders to start overtime....

 

[dbain21]

I believe you hit it on the head, when the Seahawks were down and many thought were out, Richard Sherman was on the sidelines gathering his troops, where as I did not see that on the Packer sideline from none of the team captains..

agreed. For all we know the cameras just didn't show what was going on...but theres always a camera pointing somewhere these days. You'd think at some point anyone even a backup would be running up and down the packers bench screaming "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING WE CANT BLOW THIS ITS THE SUPER BOWWWLLL"