Throw Brett Throw

[WinnipegPackFan]

With the running game the way it is at the moment I am wondering if at this point in the season ( considering we are also 1 and 5 ) that getting Brett to let loose and throw alot might be the way to go. He has his arm and a couple of good recievers. I know we want to start with a solid running game but since it is not there at the moment I am wondering if this is one way to dig ourselves out of the basement. Any Thoughts ?

A link to a article on this subject is here http://www.journaltimes.com/nucleus/ind ... temid=2497 for anyone that has not sen it yet. Sorry if this has been posted before but I did not see it. Comments ?

 

[IPBprez]

10/25: Throw Brett, throw

BY GERY WOELFEL

It's time for the Packers to throw caution to the wind.

More specifically, it's time for Brett Favre to throw the ball early and throw the ball often.

With their running game already having been pronounced dead, and with their season on a respirator, the Packers have to give Favre carte blanche. Let him do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Scrap the running game. Scrap the ridiculously conversative play-calling.

Favre has to do just what Donovan McNabb has been doing all season for the Eagles, and that's flinging the ball more than handing it off. The Eagles' coaching staff realized at the outset of the season that their running game was a disaster - Correll Buckhalter was sidelined by an injury - and smartly asked McNabb to take over. And he has.

In the Eagles' six games, McNabb has thrown 254 passes - or 42 a game. In four of those games, McNabb has thrown the ball more than 45 times. He twice has thrown the ball more than 50 times, including 54 last Sunday against the Chargers. As a result, the Eagles have remained quite competitive, posting a 4-2 record.

While it's true McNabb has the fortune of having a superstar receiver in Terrell Owens, the Packers' wide receiving corps isn't shabby.

Veteran receiver Donald Driver, as he proved last Sunday against the Vikings, still has game.
Tight end Bubba Franks is healthy again and is more than a capable receiver.
Tony Fisher is, in fact, a better receiver than runner.

So throwing the ball with regularity is indeed a viable option for the Packers. It is their only option.

 

[HatestheEagles084]

Tony Fisher is, in fact, a better receiver than runner

i wouldnt be surprised to see tony fisher split wide for a few plays this week

 

[P@ck66]

I Guarantee you that ol' tightass SherRossley will have a problem with this strategy...

You see..it is the commonsense thing to do...therefore SherRossley will NOT do it...

Like a willful schoolchild rebelling against his teachers...SherRossley will want to remain in control..and calling the shots...and of course this is a prime example of someone who is not in control...is unsure of himself..in over his head...in inner termoil....you name it...

So expect SherRossley NOT to do the right thing by letting Brett Favre be Brett Favre..but expect more of the same type of game control mismanagement and conservative playcalling..doggedly beyond all reason not opening things up...until perhaps the Pack falls behind and then when Brett Favre drives to Pack to the 20 yard line at the end of the game...where SherRossley (the NFL head coach with the pinch faced librarian's soul) will...of course..call a slow-developing draw play...

expect it...as you expect Wisconsin to continue producing cheese tomorrow....

 

[musccy]

Packers run v. pass at Minnesota...

37 pass 24 run

Packers pass v. run in 2nd half (starting w/ a 17 point lead)

~ 17 pass to 8 run.

 

[P@ck66]

Are you saying that the gameplan wasn't conservative in the 2nd half....Musscy?

 

[musccy]

the stats tend not to support that notion. Or, at the very least, the ball was in Brett's hand the majority of the time, just like ppl have been asking for.

 

[P@ck66]

You are unfu**ing believable...

do you know that..musscy?

i guess you would have heckled Johnny Unitas in his day too if you were a colts fan..back in the day...

 

[musccy]

what do the number say Pack?!? what do they say?

 

[IPBprez]

Not being an actual Coach, myself, it's pretty easy to miss a few things...

On muscy's point - I would ask what type of pass plays were they...
And, since the run wasn't going anywhere.. was that because of the run route they chose at given intervals? Like my column writer spoke of.. Tice out-strategized Sherman all second half... and Sherman just didn't make any adjustments, at least it didn't seem that way to me.. just the same 6 or 7 basic approaches and almost no variations... I specifically didn't see any passes thrown in Donald Lee's direction - did any of you?

While the passes outweigh the runs - I would offer the timing of each play in what angle against which weakness of the Vikings Defense, was it smart, or not - would be the real question..... Or, better yet - was Sherman telegraphing what he would do next, or simply leaving himself time & again.. with only one or two options, period, each time we got the ball back.... was Sherman transparent?

One wonders.......

 

[DePack]

WOW....I been off a couple days and you're still at it. I think musccy brings up a good point but his mistake is letting actual facts get in the way of a good rant.

But I am here to answer the original question. McNabb will not last the season if the eagles don't run the ball more. Andy Reid acknowledged that yesterday. He is beat up. I would hate to see Favre get killed because teams know we can't run. I would love to see Brett throw 50 times a game but if you don't at least TRY to run the ball teams will be teeing off on him.

If you guys want to see Brett hang it up after this season then abandon the running game completely. He'll never survive this season.

Disclaimer: This is only my humble and uneducated opinion. I am no Carnac or Wizard!

 

[musccy]

Pack...you totally misread my post...it didn't even occur to me to blame Brett 'til I saw what you wrote....I was just saying that you're pissing and moaning because they didn't put the ball in Brett's hands but the stats say the complete opposite

IPB...

You're right that we don't know what sort of plays were called...could they have been calling plays to Donald Driver and Lee a lot, but they were just covered, or maybe Rossely was calling garbage...none of us can really know.

However, passing (generally) isn't considered to be conservative, and the ball was in Brett's hands more often than not...that's exactly what ppl are complaining the coaches didn't do...but the stats say that they did.

 

[P@ck66]

DePack and Musscy...

as usual...we're talking extremes here...

I did not say abandon the running game...nor did I say throw the ball 50 times per game..

What i am saying is something that is alien to SherRossley...

Get a little creative out there..swing a back out from the backfield once in a awhile..use your tight some ends more...run some crossing patterns for god's sake...and how about some sweeps...get the ball outside if you're haveing problems running betwee the tackles...how about a screen pass ?..etc..etc..

Sign Levens...even if he isn't an everydown back..Dorsey + Fisher + whoever would be a welcome change..he's a crafty veteran...

But what we don't want to see is the same 20 scripted plays being run all game long..and it takes SherRossley until late in the 4th Qtr..to figure out that the other team has him figured out...

I mean..Jesus Christ..it looks like there using the same 20 or 30 plays since 2000...i think the Packers are extremely predictable and even a guy like Mike Tice will pick up on it after awhile...

Luckily Favre has the ability to rise above this..but not always...

I Mean do SOMETHING out there instead of the same predictable consevative crappy shell that they go into over and over again..!

 

[musccy]

Fischer's halfback pass is creative.

Mass highlighted how Driver broke free on his long non-TD pass...chatman lined up behind him, Driver cuts in, Chatman out, Lb bites hard and DD is wide open...seems creative to me.

You ask for creativity, then suggest screens and sweeps which are as old as old and bland as the hills.

However, I too would like to see more screens.....BUT, announcers have been touching on why we may not be seeing so many...the guards STINK and can't pull which is what you need for an effective screen (and a sweep).

 

[big3]

Funny how the packers and the Lions have been critisized for lame play calling when both have had a terrible offensive line and no running game. Jeff backus (detroit lions offensive tackle) said "the reason the lions play calling is so conservative is the plays aren't being executed well. When that happens the offensive coordinater has to simplify the playbook and therefore there are fewer plays to run." It is hard to fool NFL defenses when you have no running game to keep them honest. It also doesn't help if the offensive line collapses every play. It sounds like you guys are in the same predicament as us. The quarterback has to carry the team. That's why the lions put Garcia in, Harrington couldn't carry the team. The only thing that has helped us win 3 games is the outstanding play of our defense. I'm not sure how your defense is, but that could be the only difference in our records.

 

[CaliforniaCheez]

This is a funny thread. I agree on the "scripting". I have never been a big fan of it for its own sake. If done for a purpose and that should be for recognition of what the other team is doing and counter it.

Teams now play rather standard defense during the script to not give anything away. The script in my opinion needs some modification and creativity. I would prefer flexible scripting more like a Chinese menu. Column A, B, C. and D.

There are few big break away plays in the first qtr this year.

Do the packers still have on their staff the statistician that was supposed to analyze trends and tendencies including their own???

It is to the point where it is a bad sign for the game if the Packers win the coin toss. They only got to kick on the opening kick off of game one in Detroit otherwise they have had to receive.

 

[WinnipegPackFan]

Thanks for the comments on this piece. It has been noted above that the game stats point out Brett did have the ball and this is not in debate. it was also noted above that we should not abandon the running game and I agree. I agree with 66 however when he called the second half to conservative and although I will not venture to put the blame on anyone for this, I do think if Brett was able to continue to throw the ball like he did in the first half this game may have had a different outcome. Just my Opinion and thanks again for the comments.

Post Note - It has been great to see the defence pick up from last year but the injuries are killing us now and at 1 and 5 I say it's time to gamble and let Brett do his thing. It is def do or die time now and I for one will not be blaming Brett if he gets some interceptions while he is trying because win or lose it's time to take some shots.

 

[DePack]

66 I was refering to the article. He Does advocate abandoning the run.

I agree that I would like to see more "creative" plays but usually when you have to make wholesale changes in your skill players they "dummy down" the playcalling. Sorry about that....I can see the vein bulging in your neck. I'm not advocating that ....it's just usually the way it goes with every team in every sport.

 

[rabidgopher04]

If we start putting it in Brett's hands more does that mean he might press too hard and start throwing picks?

 

[IPBprez]

On this recurring commentary about passing ----

Creative play-speak would (at this time) demand a new tact from the all too frequent three to five yard plays we're seeing where there's almost no gain. Our total success, which is failing for now, is related to that one approach --- and it would also explain why there shows more passes being made, against more attempts to run the ball...

When was the last time you saw Brett being told to pass the ball down more than ten yards, without it being an attempt at the long-ball play? - which is more like Brett going solo than Rossley actually demanding he do it... just so ya know. We now have the return to having two potentially viable Tight Ends in Martin and Lee - and Lee has been the more successful of the two by happenstance so far..... a return to the Tiger Set is warranted. Can Rossley interpret that set adequately enough to produce some unique surprises for the Bengals.. let alone the Steelers new hi-voltage defense?

 

[TOPackerFan]

I agree with 66 however when he called the second half to conservative and although I will not venture to put the blame on anyone for this, I do think if Brett was able to continue to throw the ball like he did in the first half this game may have had a different outcome.

The playcalling was not conservative and the breakdown of passes and runs in the 22 offensive plays we ran in the second half was 6 runs and 16 passes. The problem was we were down to three receivers, only one of which is starting calibre. Pretty easy to play defense against a team with one WR and no running game.

 

[WinnipegPackFan]

Guess I blew it on this Suggestion ( this time ).

 

[IPBprez]

I agree with 66 however when he called the second half to conservative and although I will not venture to put the blame on anyone for this, I do think if Brett was able to continue to throw the ball like he did in the first half this game may have had a different outcome.

The playcalling was not conservative and the breakdown of passes and runs in the 22 offensive plays we ran in the second half was 6 runs and 16 passes. The problem was we were down to three receivers, only one of which is starting calibre. Pretty easy to play defense against a team with one WR and no running game.

I still feel that Donald Lee should be used more - taking attention away from Donald Driver.... and as usual - it's not happenin'.... go figure...