Five More Thoughts on Packers’ 31-26 Loss to Colts

.500

The Green Bay Packers are a .500 team after eight games. Gone is the at times dominant defense we saw early in the season. Back is the offense that just can’t score points. Flared up is the hemorrhoid of a special teams unit that alternates between serviceable and a disaster.

These are your 2016 Green Bay Packers, folks!

The Packers were embarrassed — or at least they should be — by an Indianapolis Colts team that came in at 3-5 on Sunday. Both teams were banged up, but at least the Colts came out like they gave a shit.

The Packers didn’t and they can go go to hell. Most of them, anyway.

Here’s the important stuff we didn’t cover yesterday.

Defensive Adjustments

Some people complained that the Packers’ defense was too vanilla in the loss to Atlanta. The Packers rarely brought or got any pressure on Matt Ryan and he picked them apart. I can partially understand that. They were beat up in the secondary and they chose to double Julio Jones for most of the game, as they should have. So they rarely blitzed and played it safe in the defensive backfield. That allowed the Falcons to double the Packers’ seemingly only viable pass rusher, Nick Perry. Ultimately, that game plan didn’t work and the defense was largely the culprit in that loss. This week, the Packers went the opposite way. They decided to blitz the hell out of Andrew Luck and let their still beat-up secondary largely fend for themselves. That put guys in single coverage quite a bit. Interestingly, the results were pretty much exactly the same. Although the Packers got two picks off Luck (they were only able to convert one of them into points, which is another issue) and were in his face much of the day, they only recorded two sacks. That’s the same number they had in Atlanta, when they couldn’t even sniff Ryan for most of the game. Plus, since Luck was able to get rid of the ball quickly, he was able to convert big plays, especially on third down, when his team needed them. You can thank the Packers craptacular secondary, which has been a huge disappointment all season. I’ve touted LaDarius Gunter before, but he was terrible on Sunday. Similarly, outside of Mike Daniels, where were the Packers’ pass rushers? Nick Perry was credited with half a sack, but the other 1.5 came from defensive backs. Julius Peppers, Datone Jones, Kyler Fackrell? Hello!? Whatever you think about Dom Capers’ schemes or adjustments, players need to execute. The pass rush needed to get home for this game plan to work on Sunday, since the secondary is total crap. They didn’t and thus, the result was the garbage you witnessed. On the other hand, Capers certainly could have dialed back the blitz and tried to cover someone as the game went on. It’s kind of the chicken and egg here. The game plan is only as good as the players executing it, but the players are often only as good as the coaches coaching them. There’s probably a lack of talent and execution on both levels when it comes to the Packers’ defense.

Buuuuuuuuuuuffooooooooooooooon!

I am so sick of talking about Buffoon and his buffoonish decisions, so I will make this brief. Issue No. 1: deferring to the second half. The 2016 Colts are known for one thing — starting slowly. They have been outscored in the first half by a wide margin and they’ve failed to come back in the second half more often than not. Knowing this, the logical thing to do when winning the toss would be to take the ball. If you score on the opening drive, the Colts are probably already thinking, “here we go again…” Of course, the fat prick of a gravy-filled Buffoon coaching our team is far too arrogant for logic. Issue No. 2: going for two down 31-19 with 7:40 left. Yes, I understand a conversion puts you within 10, but the Packers still needed another touchdown regardless. You go for two when you have to go for two, i.e. in this case, that would have been after the second touchdown (providing it was scored). Kicking the extra point in this situation puts you in the same position as converting the two points — you’re a touchdown and a field goal away from tying. Failing to convert the two, as the Packers did, means you need two touchdowns. So, had the Packers kicked the extra point and then gotten a field goal on their next drive, they’re down eight, i.e. a TD and a conversion to tie. I hope you’re following me here. This is basic football stuff. Not basic enough for Fat Mike the Buffoon, though.

Kudos to Randall Cobb

No one expected Randall Cobb to play on Sunday. He was deemed a long shot because of a hamstring injury during the morning news reports. We were all surprised when he was active and we have since learned he was only supposed to play in the event of an emergency. Well, having no offense was clearly emergency enough. Cobb didn’t play in the first half, when the Packers put up a pathetic 13 points. They rolled him out in the second half and he came up with two catches for 14 yards and a touchdown. Not a big game by any means, but those were key catches when the Packers were trying to mount the comeback. It’s also nice to see someone on the team is tough enough to gut it out through a hamstring injury.

Return of the Tight End

The Packers’ tight ends have been an afterthought all season. They didn’t have a single catch against Atlanta. Well, Buffoon and Aaron Rodgers must have remembered they existed this week because they actually were a substantial part of the offense. Richard Rodgers — DickRodge — had his best game of the season with six catches for 64 yards. Justin Perillo — Long Hair, Don’t Care — added two for 18. Jared Cook will be back on the field soon. It will be nice if he can get some balls in space, although one game of tight end production will remain an anomaly until we see more.

Two Guys

First, I want to say that Jake Ryan, at least at times, looks like a beast. Considering the shitty inside linebacker play we’ve grown accustomed to, this guy is a refreshing change of pace. ESPN credited him with 12 tackles on Sunday and Pro Football Focus gave him the second-best grade on the Packers’ defense at 83.7. Second, I want to say, give the damn ball to Ty Montgomery for Christ sake! I understand Buffoon despises running the football, but Montgomery carried seven times for 53 yards on Sunday. He caught three for 38. That’s 10 touches for 91 yards. You don’t have to be a genius to see you’ve got a running back (or hybrid weapon) that averaged nine yards each time he touched the ball. Of course, Fat Mike is not a genius. It is well established that he is the exact opposite, a blathering Buffoon.