Even a buffoon has a stroke of genius every now and then. Of course, then he goes back to being a buffoon. As such, Mike McCarthy has decided to change the Green Bay Packers offensive game plan.
And the Packers more or less announced it to everyone.
According to Pete Dougherty, the Packers will return to the short-drop, quick-hitting passing attack they employed when their offensive line was similarly sucking balls in 2009. In other words, the same strategy we’ve been calling for for weeks.
Obviously, this approach is designed to negate the sieve-like qualities of the offensive line and keep Aaron Rodgers from taking a beating each and every game.
It may also help open up the deep passing game if the Packers are able to work the middle of the field effectively.
So what took so long? Only Mike McCarthy can tell us that.
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Yay!
The second coming of Joe Philbin!
Seriously–WTF did it take so long to come to this conclusion? Should have decided on this course of action much sooner than now. McCarthy cant be that stupid.
Why was this changed in the first place?
Does this finally mean the 50/50 running attack is finally gone….thank fucking god.
Anyone who watched this shit for the last five weeks could have told you the run game wasnt working.
Don’t count the chickens before they hatch!
Wierd. Same thing I have been preaching for weeks on end.
Illitartion, your conclusions are no longer relevant on these boards. Find a different one.
Hahahaha… Good stuff.
The last thing the Packers would do is tell everyone what their game plan is going to be. So, I don’t take much from this.
With Greg Jennings back, it is obvious the Packers may look to throw some short passes. If teams bracket Cobb, they single Jennings, and vice versa. Jennings being back makes it more difficult for defenses to handle it.
On the other hand, the same 2 deep defense the Packers have been seeing is designed to stop short passes. So, this is hardly an answer.
I would say the answer is the same as it was back when Dallas and the Rams used to tear up the 2 deep. You max protect, get your WRs downfield, and throw the deep in right in front of the safeties. If defenses drop their LBs so deep that they interfere with that, you dump it down to your RBs and eat them up that way until they start keeping their LBs close to the line of scrimmage.
With Jennings on one side and Nelson on the other, the Packers have the ability to run that offense, if they would so choose.
Ah, I just read the article and McCarthy didn’t say anything about the potential game plan at all, which is what you would expect.
He was only reciting a list of obvious things the offense could do: block better, throw the ball sooner, be more efficient. Ho hum.
In other words, he was spreading out the responsibility. The line needs to protect Rodgers better, and Rodgers needs to THROW THE DAMN BALL.
Duh, of course.
He didn’t say a word about HOW this was all going to happen.
“Rodgers needs to THROW THE DAMN BALL. ”
———————————–
Were you not in favor of running the ball more a few weeks ago?
“Run on 1st and 2nd downs. I fully trust Rodgers on 3rd down”- Illitarion. That;s been you the past few weeks in a nutshell. Seriously, find a different board.
HAHAHAHAHAAHA a 2 deep defense is designed to stop DEEP passes over the top with 2 deep safeties, thus opening up underneath routes if you can beat man coverage. Not the other way around dodie.
If you send 5 guys on routes, that means 5 guys have to play man defense and cover. 2 deep safeties over the top. Assuming they are blitzing 4, that means there is no “free” Lbs taking away these underneath routes u dummy, unless they want to leave the RB free, which in that case he’s open on the swing pass or split out wide running free. Its clearly obvious you do coke or just don’t watch much football.
POW!!!
I can’t wait to hear this rebuttal….everybody got a plan till they been hit and illitarion — you just got hit son!
HAHAHA…. thank you, PackAttack’s second username…. err… I mean, Casino Blitz, for that truly comical comment. I must admit that you are a genius and HAVE figured out the answer to our offensive problems!
You said- “you send 5 guys on routes, that means 5 guys have to play man defense and cover. 2 deep safeties over the top. Assuming they are blitzing 4, that means there is no “free” Lbs taking away these underneath routes u dummy, unless they want to leave the RB free…”
Now let’s all count now: 5 guys out on routes, 5 offensive lineman blocking (for a legal play), 1 A-Rodge, and…. 1 RB!!!!
Holy shit! That’s brilliant, man! All we need is a 12th guy, their LBs will be truly fucked! I mean, how are they gonna cover our 5 WRs without “leaving the RB free” ?
Hey, great fucking question! I acquiesce to the superior intelligence.
Naw man, have Monty check the IP addresses. Two different cats — I know it’s hard to believe there is more than one person that disagrees with your bullshit, but it’s the straight shit. Check the IP addresses if you want.
And furthermore, I think he’s referring to your assessment of what you think two deep defense actually is. I don’t know nearly as much about defenses as that guy does — but I know in 2 deep it leaves the underneath routes open, especially if you run w/ a 5 WR set — not only is someone going to get a mismatch in the secondary, but nonetheless those short underneath routes are going to open.
I’m still curious as to where your whole 50/50 run to pass attack argument is at here? You were all about running the rock a few weeks ago and saying how when GB ran as much as they passed they were such and such — record-wise (link me to that stat BTW), now your talking pass happy. You’ve clearly changed your stance on that — I’m hearing more about Rodgers and the passing game than am I about the running game from you.
“I don’t know nearly as much about defenses as that guy does ”
That’s probably a cue to stop talking about a defensive game play. then.
Hahaha leave the rb free!!! Hahahhaha I guarantee you we would win the fucking sb with 12 guys!!!! Not so much with 11.
Naw man….you could throw 13 bafoons like you out on the field and this team still couldn’t win the Super Bowl with the current 50/50 balanced approach McCarthy is taking.
Pretty sure he meant get rid of the damn ball… Which is true. Line needs to block, WRs get open and qb get rid of the fucking pig skin… Golly gee it all sounds so simple… Deeeeeeerrrrrrrr
I know its hard to believe illitarion, but RB’s are reciever eligible and can catch passes, making 5 people on the field who can catch the ball and run.
If you watched football, you may have known this fun fact.
im still laughing at your explanation of a 2 deep defense. Someone actually read your garbage post and you got caught not knowing what the hell you were talking about.
Sure sounded like you counted the RB twice, but hey, maybe you just didn’t explain it very well.
You got it right, though, neither I nor Mike McCarthy watch football. If we did, we would obviously know that the cure to the Packers’ problems would be to throw it short. It is truly amazing how this coaching staff, unlike you, watches every single play over and over again and has spent their whole life in football, and yet can’t figure it out while you sitting at home can.
That’s a hilarious notion.
The 2 deep defense is meant to take away the big play. True. But that isn’t ALL it does, and there are many variations of it you can play.
The big play isn’t the engine that drives the Packer offense. Passes from 5-10 yards downfield ARE.
It is difficult to throw the ball short against the two deep because the underneath coverage guys don’t have to worry about the deep ball and play very aggressive against the underneath patterns. Anyone who has seen the Bears play defense knows this. It is tough to compete short passes against Tillman and Jennings because they are so aggressive on those routes. It is easy for them to be; they don’t have to worry about getting beat deep.
The special variation of the Cover 2 that gives the Packers problems is that teams have gone to playing man-to-man underneath the safeties even on 1st and 2nd down. Teams know this is a rhythm offense and are set against allowing the offense to generate one.
Anyone can watch the tape. When the Packers lined up in the 4 WR set, single RB, against the Giants, after the snap, Rodgers would see a straight line of 5 Giants all within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. All 5 defenders can legally contact the WRs within the 5 yards AND don’t have to play the deep ball. This makes it pretty difficult to throw a 5-10 yard pass.
An obvious vulnerability of this defense is that in order to match up with the Packer WRs, the Giants had to play 3 safeties on the field with Antrel Rolle coming up to cover the slot. This meant that there were usually only 2 LBs on the field during passing downs, making the Giants, at least tactically, vulnerable to the run.
THIS is one of the reasons why the Packers have been running the ball more, because the defense is having to sacrifice some run defense to match up with the offense. It worked against Arizona. It didn’t work against the Giants or Lions.
The weakness to this defense, besides running the football, is the gap between that first line of defenders and the deep safeties.
The Giants illustrated that perfectly on their 25 yard deep out to Nicks on 3rd and 9. The Packers were in the Cover 2 and rushed just 4, essentially the same defense as has been run against them. The Giants max protected, ran Cruz on the short out, and then ran Nicks on the deep out behind that line of defenders. Morgan Burnett had to stay in his backpedal to cover the fly route, leaving the out open to Nicks as long as Manning threw a decent ball, which he did. 25 yards. Easy.
This is what the Packers need to do to start ripping up this defense. They have the personnel to do it. They just need the will.
loud noises!
The only way to beat the 2 deep look is to have more time in he pocket. Iltarion is right about the press/aggressive CB coverage in that look, it takes away the quick pass underneath. The way to beat it is to have tough, physical receivers with good awareness (of which we may have one limping around out there somewhere) to beat the press, find a whole in the zone and get to it so Rodgers can get the ball there. THIS TAKES TIME. A luxury that the Packers don’t have right now. As it stands now, by the time a receiver breaks open, Rodgers is already on the ground, or spinning away from a rusher, then, by the time he resets, there’s either another rusher in his lap, or the receiver isn’t open anymore.
Until the Packers can get a confident Rodgers STANDING in the pocket, and tough, hard-working receivers getting off the jam into open space, this 2 deep safeties look is going to keep killing them.
I question Rodgers’ confidence in his receivers and his O-line at this point. He’s not throwing the ball when he has chances, he’s looking at the wrong reads, and is being too predictable. Defenses are teeing off right now. Expect more of the same.
Until we see Rodgers get through one full game with a chance to stand in the pocket, progress through his reads, and feel confident enough to let it go when he sees an opening, we won’t see much change I’m afraid.
Hope for the best, expect the worst.
Go Pack.
Hope for the best, expect the worst….love it
I’ve been bitching about the O-line for 2 seasons now. You can’t have the most sacked QB in the NFL & win games; unless of course, you have a defense that shows up….SHIT! We’re FUCKED!
I take that last bit back. No we aren’t. Time to find a way to win.
GO PACK GO!
This problem is the same thing it has been all season. Please don’t imply a running attack is merit-less or the solution is for Rodgers to “throw the damn ball” more often….. It’s terrible line issues (something I was ridiculed weeks ago for stating) & predictable run/pass ratios in a particular order. W/o addressing these issues, the offensive arm of GB will be unable to compete in the tough games, but given the ease of the remaining schedule, could address these simple problems.
IItarion,
Most of the time I disagree with your assessments, but I think you called Pack Attack/ Casino Blitz’s dual usernames correctly. “….have Monty check the UP addresses…..” because everyone knows there can only be one computer/IP address per person! And he clearly states the RB is free for some kind of dump off while 5 on 5 coverage is in effect. But seriously, you were all up for the run a few weeks ago, so for you, what changed?
On 2nd thought & observation I disagree that Pack Attack/Casino Blitz is one & the same user…. Pack Attack has been around for a long time & Casino Blitz is a relative newcomer & as I see him (Casino Blitz) come time, & time again, to Pack Attack’s rescue with such veracity & timeliness & is done so with an energy reserved only for one lover voraciously defending his mate. They are two separate entities that have formed an intimate relationship!
I was at the Colt’s game yesterday with some cielnt’s (nothing to do when the packers aren’t playing) and they retired Edgerrin James number. They had a video clip of Peyton Manning thanking Edgerrin. That place went absolutely crazy for Peyton. As much as I love the packers, it sucked to see another organization that actually handled a huge QB controversy. Favre was a dick, but who wouldn’t be when the Packers tried to put him to sleep. Kudos to the Colt’s for knowing how to handle a QB controversy. The only reason they didn’t have problems is because they didn’t put any restrictions on where Peyton could play. Rest assured, Ted or anyone else won’t make that mistake again when its time to move on from AR.