McGinn’s rating of the Packers @ Seahawks

[TJV]

McGinn agrees with some here that it was a mistake to avoid Sherman.

 

[ExpatPacker]

It was an informative evaluation from McGinn as always. i also picked up on his comments about Clinton-Dix, which gives me some hope, considering he didn't have much good to say about any of the other safeties including Burnett.

I also found his comments about Rodgers very noteworthy. Yes, Rodgers' throws were off, but there's something more about his play style that I find worrying. I can't really point to any thing in particular. McGinn mentioned that Rodgers could have scrambled for good yardage twice and chose to throw it instead. In 2010 and 2011 Rodgers was the best QB in the league, in 2012 and 2013 I don't think you can make that case. Of course last year's injury kept him from that.

 

[HardRightEdge]

McGinn agrees with some here that it was a mistake to avoid Sherman; I disagree and don’t think that was a deciding factor. He notes that it was the first time since his rookie year that Jordy was at fault for an INT. He has high praise for Linsley and writes the entire OL unit played well until Bulaga left.

McGinn rates each unit from 0.5 to 5. The DL received a rare grade of 0.5 and 2 units received the grade of 1 (and that was the overall grade). The OL and RBs received the highest grade of 3.5. He makes the point Rodgers wasn’t sharp and that he missed not having a TE he could send down the seam. He notes this was the third straight game in which Rodgers lost the ball on a sack – the first such streak in his career.

On the DL McGinn confirms what I thought I saw but didn’t want to post until I had a chance to watch it again. During the game, of course I saw Guion getting pushed around but on a few occasions I saw Daniels being abused too. McGinn writes it was probably the worst game of his career. (Check what Daniels says about his performance: "I want to spit, the way I played," defensive tackle Mike Daniels said ... "I can only speak for myself, it was a pitiful performance. We're better than that. There are a lot of corrections I need to make to my game. I'm not happy at all." http://www.jsonline.com/sports/pack...-by-marshawn-lynch-b99344723z1-274057691.html) If he wants to be a vocal leader on D, he needs to step up his game big time. Capers unveiled their version of the 4-3 (called “Quad”) and used it 15 times in the first half vs. three snaps in the 3-4. He scrapped the quad in the second half. Boyd had the only pressure on the DL.

One of the few highlights of the game IMO was the play of Clinton-Dix, in spite of his missed tackles. As McGinn notes,he "stuck his nose in there" against Lynch, made up his mind quickly in run support and stayed as deep as the deepest receiver to break up a pass he had a shot at intercepting. The other bright spot was Linsley. Both rookies showed a lot of promise. The need for C-D is obvious and even when Tretter comes back, he and Linsley may be needed in some combination of OC and OG if Lang has to play OT.

Whether or not you agree with all of his takes, IMO McGinn’s “ratings” columns after each game are worth reading.http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/rating-the-packers-vs-seahawks-b99345059z1-274196611.html

I take issue with his rating of the OL. After the initial possession where Lacy had a couple decent runs (24 of the 80 rush yards were on the first 3 plays of the game), there was little good to say about the run game. Letting Bobby Wager own the second level earns minus points, Bulaga injury not withstanding. Further, assigning a rating based on a "pre-injury" assessment is lame. When one of the touted strengths of this team, "depth" such as it is, fails, it should go into the rating.

As for Daniels, guys who charge around saying, "I'm going to be a leader", rarely become one. I got a kick out of the D. Jones "tower of power" quip...he continues to look like "just a guy"...not a bad guy, mind you...but just a guy nonetheless. That's a not bad thing if he were not a first round pick and surrounded by other "just guys".