Stream of Consciousness Monday is a day after look at the previous day’s Green Bay Packers game. It is nothing more than a personal response to a good night’s sleep and quickly reflecting back on the first 10 things that come to mind: What or who stood out, who rocked the house and/or stunk up the joint, etc. This was what stood out when I woke up Friday morning from the Packers epic loss to the Super Bowl champions and deserving favorite to repeat, the Seattle Seahawks.
1. It’s just one game. Hail to the champs. They’re good.
2. Where the hell was Jarrett Boykin? Did he even suit up?
3. Pitiful preparation reflects poorly on coaching. Not just one, but TWO too many players on a special teams play forces a wasted timeout. On 4th down the Packers go for it and it turns into a rush job. It just (always) looks so bad approaching the line on 4th down knowing Rodgers won’t have time at the line to adjust. Likely a product of Mike McCarthy waffling for 20 seconds about going for it before making the decision. We’ve seen this before. But don’t call a timeout there… nah, that’s not a big play at all.
4. Special teams stunk as always. Mike Daniels extends a drive. Why did they pull DuJuan Harris off returns? Because twice he failed to get past the 20? That’s not a very big sample size to base change upon and NO ONE WAS BLOCKING FOR HIM! Shawn Slocum and Morgan Burnett should get together and go bowling. They’re both obviously untouchable.
5. Rodgers decision making wasn’t close to elite. A horrible play on 3rd and 3 where he could have run for a first and he throws it away.
6. Why were almost all the runs from the shotgun when Lacy was standing still? He needs at least a little head of steam. I guess this was why the offense started every practice indoors and out of the public eye — to surprise the Seahawks with… NOTHING! Seriously, did the Packers unleash or unveil anything that looked unique or different?
7. I have to start agreeing with some sentiments about Teddy’s refusal to oust his guys from the lineup. Live by the sword, die by the sword. The only way Brad Jones gets removed from the lineup is via injury. That’s the way it’s always been. He obviously has compromising photos of Ted and/or Mike.
8. Morgan Burnett… must be nice to be gifted a starting role when you’ve done nothing in your career to deserve it. Thanks Uncle Ted!
9. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix didn’t start most of training camp, yet seemed to be in most of the game. Clearly he didn’t get the prep with the first team he needed. I hesitate to call his one really putrid miss a missed tackle at all. Calling it that is an insult to missed tackles. A missed tackle implies that you came close to or gave good effort in attempting to tackle someone. But you know what? Ha Ha will be good. He (usually) attacks the ball carrier with the reckless yet controlled abandon of the entire Seahawks squad and is the only one in a green and gold uniform who seems willing to stick his nose in there. I like his tenacity, but he’s obviously still a rookie.
10. Tackling. There is something wrong with this defense and its leadership. Period. The Seahawks and 49ers don’t miss tackles and the Packers can’t make any. The Packers missed 13 tackles — 11 of them against Marshawn Lynch and four being charged to Brad Jones. The Seahawks missed five, but I’m hard-pressed to remember any of them being as costly as the Packers many misses. That’s because a good defense swarms to the ball. When Seattle misses a tackle, there’s four more guys coming full throttle to minimize the damage. The Packers defense has never, as a unit, played with that type of edge. I don’t know how we get it, but we haven’t had it since the Lombardi era… or maybe the Charles Martin era. Laugh if you want, but the Packers defense is in desperate need of some street credibility. No one is afraid to play the Packers defense. In fact it is quite the opposite. They are all looking forward to it.